Hello, and thank you for your interest in Blackline Comics. We are currently in development of both new and exciting original comics material and revolutionary ways of bringing such content to our readers digitally as well as through traditional print methods. Blackline is looking for quality stories and art from all interested comic industry professionals, whether they are new creators or established veterans.

 

One important ideal we stand behind is that all of Blackline Comics’ content will be exclusively and 100% creator-owned properties. There will be editorial guidance offered to participating creators by Blackline to preserve the integrity of their properties and to maintain quality control over the Blackline Comics line, but UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will Blackline take any copyright and/or trademark ownership or creative control from a participating creator, or any percentage thereof.

 

Blackline is currently seeking to produce original content created specifically for our planned digital comic formats, including for our Blackline Comics website for viewing on iPhone and iPod Touch formats and for the downloadable e-book format, as well as print comics in the form of collectible trade paperbacks.

 

Whether you are an established industry professional with a previously or currently published comic title you have ownership of, or a talented newcomer with an idea for a new series that is complete or close to completion, and are interested in Blackline Comics publishing your concept in digital formats for a vast and diverse global audience, please contact us. We welcome the opportunity to review submissions for consideration. All proposals that are sent to Blackline without proper copyright notices on scripts and artwork showing proof of creator ownership will be deleted without being read. Blackline’s format guidelines for submissions follow below.

 

For your proposal to be considered for submission at Blackline, it MUST adhere to the following guidelines without exception:

 

First, there must be a writer and an art team in place for your proposed series, unless the writer and artist happens to be the same person. All writing submissions without artwork and all art submissions without a brief plot synopsis will be automatically rejected. The project’s art team must include a colorist, but having a letterer on the team is optional. If you do not have a letterer for your project, Blackline can provide you with one for a nominal per page rate (or per panel rate, depending on the project’s format) that will be deducted as a one-time expense after publication as part of Blackline’s profit share. Please remember: all members of the creative team need to be fully committed to the project BEFORE submission to Blackline Comics.


Writers

 

Please include a one-page summary of the plot of your entire story, from beginning to end. Part of the test of your skill as a writer is that you can convey a concise and engaging story using brevity as a tool. All story submissions not adhering to this simple guideline will be rejected.

Also, be sure to include a one page document about the creative team. Give us a brief (one paragraph or less) biography about each creator, including what each member’s goals are, and what previous experience each has, if any.

Artists

 

Blackline Comics will be developing comics material for display on our web site and through downloadable e-book publishing, a format that we call Blackline e-Sequentials. Also in development are Blackline i-Sequentials, digital comics for the iPhone and the iPod Touch that require a different formatting for artwork.

 

Here are the differences in detail:

 

Our Blackline e-Sequentials line

will be set up like traditional comic book pages of art for a printed comic book are, comprised of several panels of continuity of varied sizes per page. If you are drawing the art on actual comic art boards to be later scanned in and cleaned up (which the artist is responsible for), the size of the boards should be 11” x 17” or scalable to that size. Please set up the ruler size of your file documents for each page to match this if you are drawing the book on your computer using a digital tablet. You will be producing the work at a higher resolution and then scaling it down. Blackline will at a later date publish the most popular among its series as printed trade paperbacks, with the agreement of the creators involved. Please submit a cover image, character designs and 5 pages of sequential art continuity for your story concept.

 
 For all creators

• Blackline Comics is only accepting digital submissions for story and art.

• Please be aware of the pacing for your comics submission. We need to see that you can tell a great story that is paced well in these revolutionary formats. All submissions should be fully inked, colored, and if possible, lettered, but as stated earlier, Blackline can provide lettering if creators so desire. If the story is designed to be published in BLACK and WHITE, there must be a healthy balance of light and shadow conveyed in the art for clarity, or even better, using grayscale tones is preferred.

 

• Creators are under no obligation whatsoever to pursue a trade paperback publishing deal with Blackline Comics if they do not wish it, and are free to seek a print publishing deal with any comic company of their choice.

 

• Blackline Comics does not pay page rates for any accepted proposals. Blackline will accept a back-end percentage of revenue made from the sale of the digital comics it publishes for e-books, smart phones and PDAs and print on behalf of its creators, after Blackline’s expenses are recouped.

 

• As a reminder, Blackline cannot accept incomplete proposals, nor any submissions that are without proper copyright and/or trademark notification. Any that are sent to us will be deleted without being read.

 

• Blackline will not consider publishing any adult material, including nudity, graphic sexual content, excessive foul language or arbitrary, gratuitous violence that does not further the plot of the story submissions. No exceptions.

 

• Blackline will respond to ALL completed proposals submitted, even if the response is a rejection notice, although reasons for rejection will be explained, and constructive criticism will be offered. Please be mindful, though, that we have many proposals to review, so please be patient.

 

SUBMIT

 

Once your proposal is completed, send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please compress your files into a ZIP format to conserve space. If you can provide a link where we can download the files that would be even better. Blackline Comics will respond as soon as possible, typically within 2 to 4 weeks.

 

Thank you again for your interest in Blackline Comics, and we wish you success!