From: [s--ru--y] at [cbnewsk.cb.att.com] (sylvia.a.rudy) Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc Subject: Submission Guidelines: Dark Horse [5 of 12] Date: 21 Aug 93 01:42:25 GMT Company: Dark Horse Comics, Inc. Phone: ? Fax: ? Address: 10956 SE Main St. Milwaukie, OR 97222 Dear Submitter, Is it the policy of Dark Horse Comics to secure a signed Submission Agreeement before reviewing series, story and/or character proposals. If your desire is only to submit art or script SAMPLES, signing this agreement will not be necessary. If, however, your intention is to submit any original series, story, and/or character material, it will be necessary to submit a signed Submission Agreement before any Dark Horse personnel will review your proposal. _Any_ _submissions_of_original_series_story_and/or_character_ _material_that_is_not_accompanied_by_a_signed_Submission_ _Agreement_will_be_returned_or_destroyed_without_review_. Read the included agreement carefully, fill in the necessary information, sign the document, and return it to Dark Horse along with any original series, story, and/or character submissions. This signed agreement will be kept on file. You must submit a new Submissions Agreement for every story series, or character proposal. Materials that are co-authored and/or copyrighted by other persons must include a Submissions Agreement signed by all authors and/or copyright holders. Dark Horse has the highest regard for creators and for the owndership of original properties, and this agreement should in no way be misconstrued as license for Dark Horse to appropriate your creations. The purpose of securing this agreement is to protect Dark Horse from any liabilities involving coincidential similarities to works-in-progress or other submissions. We hope that this procedure will cause you no undue inconvenience, and we hope, as always, that you will consider Dark Horse first whem looking for a publisher. Sincerely, Edward Martin II Submissions Editor (end of page) SUBMISSION AGREEMENT Dark Horse Comics, Inc. 10956 SE Main St. Mikawukie, OR 97222 To Whom It May Concern: I am submitting to you the following materialsm ("the Material"): _____________________________________________________________________ in accordance with the following agreement: 1. I represent and warrant to you, your successors and assigns that the Material is original with me and that no other persons other than those who have signed this agreement have collaborated with me in creating and developing the Material. 2. Your consideration of the Material and any negotiations between us regarding the Material shall not be deemed an admission of the novelty or originality of the Material. 3. You may retain a copy of the Material and I release you from any liability for loss or damager thereto. 4. I hereby grant you the right to use the Material provided that you shall first conclude and agreement with me for such use or you shall determine that you have an independant legal right to use the Material or any portion thereof which is not derrived from me either because the material is not new, novel or original or has not been reduced to concrete form or because other persons (which may include your employees and other persons presenting materials to you) have submitted similar or identical suggestions, features and material which you have the right to use. 5. At your election, any dispute between us may be submitted to arbitration in Portland, Oregon, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the American Arbitration Association. I agree that any action against you, your employees, officers, directors, or shareholders based on the Material must be brought within one year after the date of your first publication or other relevant use of the Material. 6. This agreement constitutes out entire understanding and my signature and the signature of any person who has collaborated with me in the creation or development of the Material shall constitute agreement to the terms and conditions set forth herein. This agreement may be changed only by a written instrument signed by you and me. This agreement also applies to any other material which I may submit to you unless it is agreed bu us in writing to the contrary. The invalidity of any provision of this agreement shall not affect the remainder, which shall continue in full force and effect. ------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ^signature ^name (please print clearly) ------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ^street address ^city,state,zip code ------------------------------- ------------------------------------ ^telephone number ^date NOTE: In case of collaboration, each collaborator should sign and provide the above information. (end of page) PROPOSAL AND SCRIPTING GUIDELINES FOR WRITERS To submit a written proposal to Dark Horse, the following material must be included for your proposal to be reviewed: 1. SIGNED SUBMISSION AGREEMENT -- Before Dark Horse will review an original proposal, a Submission Agreement must be signed by the proposals's copyright holders and returned to Dark Horse. A Submission Agreement may be obtained by sending a self-addressed atamped envelope to the above address. *Please note that Dark Horse will not review unsolicited scripts, story ideas, or proposals pertaining to any licensed property currently published by Dark Horse (_Aliens_, _Predator_, _RoboCop_, _Indiana_Jones_, etc.) or any copyrighted or licensed propertly not owned by the submitter. Such material will be destroyed or returned without review.* 2. COVER LETTER/BRIEF OVERVIEW -- This is the sales pitch for your proposal. Proposals shall be neatly typed -- handwritten proposals will not be reviewed -- and proofread for spelling and grammar. Be clear, succinct, and cover all bases. Your cover letter should include: * The addresses and phone numbers of all collaborators, date of submission and title of story or series you are submitting. * A list of any published professional credits of all collborators. * A brief (as in a couple of sentences) story or series overview, concentrating on central characters, themes, settings, and story situations, including the project's desired format (how many pages, issues, etc.) and any acceptable format alternatives. *Remember, the more ambitious and inflexible the project, perticularly from unproven talent, the less likely a publisher is to risk involvement.* If you are an unknown, a short story will be much more likely to be accepted than a 36-issue miniseries. 3. COMPLETE SYNOPOSIS -- Being as succinct as possible, this portion must include all important story elements. Tell the entire story -- beginning, middle and end. Avoid details that are not absolutely essential. A short-story synopsis should be no longer than a half of a page. A synopsis of a series (limited or ongoing) or graphic novel should be no longer than four or five pages. Make sure that major character names are always typed in caps. Double space between paragraphs. Clearly indicate where each issue begins. 4. FULL SCRIPT -- If you are a published professional, you need not include a script of your proposed porject. If you are not an established professional, you *must* include a full script for any short story or single-issue submission, or the first issue of any series. *Proposals from unknown writers that do not include scropts will not be reviewed.* It is important than an editor know that the writer has the requisite skills to carry out an assignment. Script fortmat guidelines are included. If the work is already completed -- story, art, and lettering, copies may be sent instead. 5. SELF-ADDRESSED, STAMPED, ENVELOPE -- Make sure the envelope is large enough and that you have attatched sufficient postage for the return of your work. Without a proper SASE, your work will be considered disposable and you are not likely to recieve a response. If you like outside of the United States, yoiu must use appropriate postage or International Reply Coupons. 6. OPTIONAL INCLUSIONS -- If you wish, you may include such items as character profiles or descriptions of possible future storylines, but they are not required and usually have no bearing in the publisher's descision. NOTE FOR PROPOSALS WITH COLLABORATING ARTIST -- If a submitted project has an artist collaborator, samles of the artist's continuity work *must* be included (panel storytelling, *not* illustrations or pinups). If the artist is a well-known professional art samples will not be neccessary, but the artists name and phone number must be included in the cover letter so that Dark Horse can confirm the artist's involvementn in the project. If the collaborator is also a copyright holder of the project, they must also sign the Submission Agreement. * DO NOT SEND FAX PROPOSALS! The Dark Horse fax machine is reserved for business purposes. *Faxed unsolicited sumbissions will not be reviewed!* * DO NOT MAKE TELEPHONE FOLLOWUPS TO UNSOLICITED SUBMISSIONS. Dark Horse phones are for business purposes only. If you include a S.A.S.E., you'll recieve a response. A FINAL NOTE: Dark Horse is always looking for fresh ideas from talented creators. But bear in mind that Dark Horse wants only superior material from creators with well-developed professional skills. Our is a very competitive industry, and although we make every effor to aid talented newcomers in their struggle to become published, we do not have the time or the facilities to teach you your craft. Classes, workshops, and writer's groups exist for that purpose. Good luck! (end of page) CRIPT FORMAT AND SPECIFICATIONS. Please create your scripts as follows. WRITER'S NAME [name, address, and phone should appear on the first page of your script] Street Address City, State and Zip Phone Number BOOK TITLE AND ISSUE NUMBER [should appear on first page] "Story Title" [if there is one] _PAGE_ONE_ (five panels) [Begin each new story page on a new sheet of paper, label it, and indicate how many panels make up that page. Panel 1. Number your panels. Panel descriptions should be typed in standard upper and lower case. 1 CHARACTER #1: DIALOGUE SHOULD APPEAR IN ALL CAPS, JUST AS IT WILL BE LETTERED. NUMBER ALL TEXT SECTIONS CONSECUTIVELY FOR EACH STORY PAGE, STARTING AGAIN WITH 1 ON EACH NEW STORY PAGE. 2 CHARACTER #2: INDENT ALL LINES OF DIALOGUE SO THAT THE EDITOR AND THE LETTERER CAN EASILY IDEENTIFY THEM AND THE CHARACTER TO WHOM THEY BELONG. Panel 2. There is no set limit for how much or how little information should be included in each panel description; generally a sentence or two is enough. But remember, if there are specific character traits, objects, or placement of either than you desire, make sure you tell the artist. If it doesn't appear in the script, it won't appear in the art. 3 SFX SOUND EFFECTS ARE INDICATED JUST LIKE DIALOGUE. 4 CAP CAPTIONS ARE DONE THE SAME WAY. ALL DIALOGUE, SOUND EFFECTS, AND CAPTIONS SHOULD BE LISTED IN THE ORDER THEY SHOULD BE READ IN THE FINAL ART. 5 CHARACTER #1 (thought): THOUGH BALLOONS ARE INDICATED IN THIS FASHION. CAPTIONS AND DIALOGUE SHOULD BE LIMITED TO APPROXIMATELY 15 WORDS PER PANEL (DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE PANEL). 1 [number each sheet of paper in your script] (end of page) WRITER/BOOK TITLE #1 [on the top of each sheet] _PAGE_ONE_ [always list story page at the top of each sheet] Panel 3. Exact panel layout is usually left to the artist, but if you have something specific in mind, put it in your description. If absolutely necessary, you can draw a rough version of what you want. 6 CHARACTER #1 (OP): CHARACTERS SPEAKING FROM OFF-PANEL ARE INDICATED IN THIS WAY. Panel 4. For action sequences, you'll get best results if you limit yourself to four or five panels per page. Remember: the larger the panel, the more spectacular the action; hence, the more spectacular your action description, the larger the panel should be and the less room you'll have for other panels. 7 CHARACTER #1 (whisper): IF A CHARACTER IS WHISPERING, THE LETTERER NEEDS TO KNOW. 8 CHARACTER #2: DIALOGUE THAT CARRIES OVER FROM ONE BALLOON OR ONE PANEL TO ANOTHER IS INDICATED A SPEECH THAT IS CUT OFF BY EVENTS IN THE STORY -- Panel 5. For non-action scenes, you can have more panels per page, but keep in mind how many characters and props are necessary in a scene you are writing. The more panels in a page, the smaller each of them will have to be. Trying to cram too much information into small panels will resultn in a comic that's difficult to read, and will irritate your artist. 11 CAP (CHARACTER #1): "A CAPTION CAN BE USED TO CARRY OVER DIALOGUE FROM A PREVIOUS SCENE TO A NEW SETTING BY PLACING THE SPEECH IN QUOTATION MARKS." 12 CHARACTER #3: UNDERLINE WORDS THAT YOU WANT TO _EMPHASIZE_. ELIPSIS POINTS (THREE PERIODS) INDICATE A PAUSE... OR A SPEECH THAT TRAILS OFF AT THE END... 2 [number each sheet of paper in your script] :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) :) "Why do you wear a mask?" :) Do you think I smile too much? :) :) "Look, I'm called the Masked :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) :) Wonder, right?" :) Sylvia A. Rudy - whamt!sar.att.com :) :) "Yes..." :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) :) "Well then, I'd look pretty damn :) Do you think for one second AT&T :) :) stupid going around without :) even cares what I think and say, :) :) a mask, wouldn't I?" :) let alone endorses it? :) :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)