Calling all Canadian comic creators! We want YOU for Epic Canadiana #2! Epic Canadiana #1 was published last year, featuring a host of Canadian heroes that paid tribute to the golden age of Canadian comics, from the patriotic Johnny Canuck to the ruthless gun-toting Loon, from the Arctic demigoddess Ikniqpalagaq to the gay activist Jacques de Canada. The book was featured on CBC Radio, ShawTV, and the Vancouver Courier, and now we’re ready for its sequel. Are you ready to join the ranks?
What we’re looking for:
1. A story that prominently features at least one “superhero” or “supervillain,” though these terms can be used very broadly. In the previous volume, superheroes included a costumed civil rights activist, a gun-toting Nazi-hunter, a ghost, a post-apocalyptic survivor, and a demigod, while supervillains ranged from an insane shaman to a masked serial killer, a huge Arctic monster, and an army of post-apocalyptic mutants. Either the superhero (or villain) must be explicitly Canadian or the story must take place in Canada or both.
2. The final story will be black-and-white, 3-13 pages plus a cover. This will be an online publication in “ebook” format, so no physical books will be produced. Contributors will keep the rights to their individual characters and stories. Contributors will not be paid a flat rate for their story but will receive a percentage of the ebook sales.
3. Unlike with many other anthologies, all the stories in Epic Canadian #2 will exist in the same world, one that has already been explored in #1. However, characters can certainly inhabit the far past or future of that world or find themselves flung from that world into fantasy realms. More information about the world is included later in this document.
4. We’re interested in stories that explore social issues facing Canada or are told from the perspectives of minorities, be they heroes of ethnic minorities, non-hetero sexuality, particularly faiths, dealing with various mental issues (such as clinical depression or autism), or other heroes who are for whatever reason outside the norm. That said, the book will also feature light-hearted tales to counterbalance the more introspective ones, and if you want to tell some grand adventure with no message beyond that of excitement and fun, then by all means send it to us, and we will be delighted to take a look.
5. We are open to submissions of scripts from writers who don’t have an artist and art samples from artists who don’t have a writer, and will try to match you up with the person that best suits your talents.
Submitting for the Anthology
Because of the shared world nature of this anthology, the submission process will contain a variety of steps, each with its own separate deadline. The first step is to create one or more superheroes or villains to star in your story. These characters will be created before you start your story in order to give the other contributors an opportunity to incorporate other people’s characters into their own works. If you already had a story or character published in Epic Canadiana #1 then you are certainly free to reuse your character from there.
The deadline for the initial character profiles is August 18, 2014, which can be sent to Bevan Thomas, this book’s editor-in-chief. At that time, we’ll need from you:
1. A paragraph synopsis or “elevator pitch” of your story.
2. A character profile of your superhero or supervillain. As mentioned previously, the terms can be used very broadly, and include supernatural forced, non-superpowered masked vigilantes and masterminds, ancient aboriginal warriors, adventurers in the far future, John Carter-esque figures thrown into a fantasy world, mad scientists, masked cowboys, or something else entirely. The superhero or villain doesn’t need to be the protagonist of your story but does need to be prominently featured. Remember that either this character must be explicitly Canadian or the story must take place in Canada or both.
The profile should include the character’s name, base of operations, appearance general background, superpowers (if relevant), special skills, and special equipment (if relevant), as well as anything else you feel is important. The profile should also be accompanied by a drawing. If the creator wishes to make more characters available to other contributors, he or she can include profiles of supporting heroes or villains, though this isn’t necessary.
Here are the profiles from Epic Canadiana #1. If you wish to connect one of your characters to one of these in some way (such as them being old allies or adversaries, gaining their powers or technology form the same source, etc.), you are encouraged to do so but make certain that you get permission from the creator. All the creators will keep the rights to their own characters, though a contributor will be allowed to reference other contributors’ characters. If you want someone else’s character to have a prominent role in your story, make certain you first get permission from the contributor in question.
3. Your name, phone number, email, and a few sentences about who you are. For this anthology, we are only taking submissions from creators who either currently live or have lived for a while in Canada. Tell us where you’re from so we know if you’re eligible. If you are part of a team (for example one person is the writer and another is the artist), then only one member of your team needs to be from Canada.
4. Artists, we need to see samples of previous, finished, sequential art. That means comics. We need proof that you know how to compose pages for the medium. This could be as simple as a link to a website with your sample pages on it, or as complex as a printed portfolio.
5. Writers, we need to see samples of your storytelling ability. This could be the script for this submission, the script for a previous comic story, or something from another storytelling medium (such as television or pure prose).
Later Deadlines:
1. November 15, 2014, Story
At this time, we will need a script, or script-like entity showing your entire story. Whatever form your script takes, whether it be screenplay or thumbnailed drawings, it needs to be legible and include the full dialogue of the story and the panel break-downs with an approximate page count.
As mentioned previously, the story must be an odd number of pages (3, 5, 7, 9, etc.). In addition, each story must also include a cover that resembles the cover of a comic book issue in the appropriate genre. Thus, the final page amount will be an even number from 4-14.
2. February 20, 2015, Completed Comics
This is when the final pages will be due.
Page Format
The pages should be 300 dpi.
1. Full Bleed Size: 7 inches wide x 10.5 inches high
These are the dimensions that the page files you send to us MUST be.
2. Trimmed Size: 6.75 x 10.25
This is the size that your comic will be after it has been printed and trimmed.
3. Live Area: 6.25 x 9.75
The World of Epic Canadiana
Johnny Canuck was Canada’s greatest hero, the living legend of World War II, the leader of the Allied Enigmas, the greatest team of superheroes that Canada, and possible the world, has ever seen. But after the war, the members all went their separate ways, fading into myth. In Epic Canadiana #1, at the dawn of the 21st-century, girl-genius billionaire Bernadette Wayne successfully tracks down an inexplicably still youthful Johnny Canuck, who had been living as a hermit in the Arctic. She revitalizes him with stories of numerous heroes, convincing Johnny to return to civilization and once again take up the good fight. However, little does Bernadette know that she’s being tracked by one of Canada’s best-kept secrets, the shadowy government agency known as Department None. They’ve been studying Canada’s superhumans for a long time and will keep them under control by any means necessary.
This is a world of mutants and magic, of ancient civilizations and government conspiracies. A world where the ancestors of the Inuit fought Arctic demons thousands of years ago, where a host of ghosts haunt BC, where the remnants of insane machines lurk underneath Toronto, waiting for their day to come. In short, this is a world where anything can happen. To learn more about the world and its characters, download the Files of Department None.