BIG FUNNY will be an oversized anthology of one page, full color strips inspired by the Sunday Funnies from early in the previous century (i.e. Krazy Kat, Little Nemo, Gasoline Alley, Polly and Her Pals, The Kin-Der Kids, Felix the Cat, etc.).
We are looking for 1 page submissions for this anthology... no multiple page strips will be accepted (although you can put multiple strips on your one page). All strips must be in full color.
Printed submissions should be printed on sheets 17" X 22." If you can't give them to me in person, you'll probably want to mail them in a tube. We will also need color separations.
Digital submissions (which is definitely the prefferred method) should be submitted as full-color zipped photoshop file, 17" X 22" 600 dpi. These files will be too large to email, so please do not attempt it. Send them in on a cd or dvd.
Please, no originals unless you never want to see them again.
Send submissions to:
Steven Stwalley
Rubber Chicken Funnies
2326 McKinley St. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418
submissions@rubberchickenfunnies.com
Submission is open to all... anyone can submit whether or not you have ever drawn a line on a piece of paper or not.
Artists retain all rights and ownership of the works, and are free to pursue publishing them in any other venues. Submitting a story does not guarantee that it will be published.
The page rate is a downright insulting 15 bucks a page for accepted entries, and at least one copy of the published book (it is possible we may give out more depending on the printing cost). In addition, contributors will be able to purchase additional copies at cost.
Rubber Chicken Funnies is paying to publish the work in the anthology, and retains the right to reprint the work in reprints of the book, and to use images from the strips for promotional purposes.
There is no deadline for submissions at this time, although it could come quick when the book starts filling up.
If you haven't read many of the classic strips from early in the last century, you will probably want to do so before attempting this. Here are some good overviews:
100 Years of Comic Strips
The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics
The Comics Before 1945
Your local library should have some stuff along these lines for you to look at, if it is worth a golly-gosh.
Here are some online examples (which is a deeply flawed way to view these):
Coconino Classics
Andy's Early Comic Archive
There are also some amazing obscure strips in the latest issue of the stupefyingly gorgeous magazine Comic Art (#7) that you probably won't want to miss.
Some general guidelines you may want to consider:
1) I'm looking for comics inspired by the Sunday newspaper comics from the turn of the last century. Participants are strongly encouraged to read and absorb some of these comics before creating the works that they submit. While previously created works are eligible for this, you are much more likely to have an appropriate and successful entry creating something specifically with these things in mind when creating your entry. Some good references for the old newspaper comics I’m talking about are provided at the bottom of this email.
2) Design of the page is generally as important to a successful entry as the content of the comics. We are hoping that every page will be as appealing as a poster to hang on a wall as it is as a comic.
3) Take your time with your submissions. Even if I find a strip amusing, it is unlikely to be accepted if it looks like it was drawn up in a half an hour. Basically, neatness counts. Sloppy or illegible lettering and unintentionally confusing storytelling will greatly hurt your chances of inclusion in the anthology.
That said, I'm a strong believer that excellent comics can be produced by people with limited drawing ability. While I am certainly not on the lookout for poorly drawn comics (quite the opposite), simply drawn comics that communicate effectively and engage are definitely very eligible for consideration.
4) Avoid clichés. Avoid the obvious. Avoid reliance on pop-culture references.
5) While I do often find poop, dick and fart jokes and their ilk funny, I see reliance on this sort of humor as a crutch... the equivalent of a male stand-up comic putting on a dress for laughs. It may be funny, but it is probably an easy laugh, so unless it is really hilarious, or serves the purpose of a larger story, it will probably hurt your chances of getting published in this anthology.
