You probably already know about Shadowline’s Who Wants to Create a Super-Heroine Contest. But just in case, here is the contest announcement (copied from the original announcement on Newsarama):

 
Most contests in the comic book business are geared toward artists. Shadowline is bucking the tide and creating a contest geared toward writers!

According to Shadowline editor, Kristen Simon, “I’d been hoping to see a super-hero book with a strong female lead to act as a counter-point to our popular Bomb Queen series, but none were forthcoming. So I decided to come up with a contest to create a super-heroine for the 21st Century.”

The character will be 100% creator-owned as all Image and Shadowline books are (Trademark and copyright to be shared by writer and artist). The winning entry will be featured in their own self-titled three issue mini-series to be drawn by fan-favorite artist, Franchesco! (She-Dragon, Green Lantern Corps Quarterly) and back-end profits will be split between the creators.

Contest regulations are listed below. Neither Image nor Shadowline can or will be responsible for synchronicity (similar ideas appearing at the same time).

No feedback will be provided on submissions, just a confirmation of receipt.

Contest will be divided into three parts as outlined below, deviation will result in immediate disqualification:

Round One:
Contestants e-mail a BRIEF one paragraph story synopsis by January 31, 2008 to: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . Stories/concept must be original with original characters. No pre-existing characters may be used unless owned by contestant.

Round Two:
Ten semi-finalists will be chosen from all entries received by the above date and notified by e-mail. They will then be required to turn in 5 (five) fully scripted pages by February 29, 2008.

Round Three:
The five finalists will be announced and their synopses published on March 10. Readers will be encouraged to vote on their favorite.* (Writers are strongly advised to direct traffic to the contest via message boards, myspace, etc…every vote counts!) Polls will close on April 4, 2008.

The winner will be announced April 28 with initial concept art/character design by Franchesco. First issue will be solicited with a cover date of November, 2008.

 
This contest has received a HUGE amount of publicity, and comic-related message boards across the Internet have been abuzz with questions, comments, more questions, the same questions repeated (and answered) for the 45^th time, and an occasional dose of outright asshattery.

 
And then the same questions repeated for the 378^th time.

 
So… because I'm either (a) an idiot with way too much time on my hands, or (b) actually want to do something constructive and helpful to the folks out there who may come across this contest late in the game, and/or (c) am so confident in my own pitches that I welcome all competition, I decided to sift through all the postings that Kris (and on occasion, Jim Valentino) have responded to, and copy/paste/organize into a hopefully easy-to-understand, well-organized, ultimate FAQ.

 
(For the record, I should state that this project has been undertaken with both Jim and Kris’s approval, and Kris has perused these extracts from her own words prior to me posting this -- lest anyone think I am just making things up for my own nefarious purposes!)

 
(And one more note: all answers are by Kris, unless preceded by “(Jim)”, in which case they are by Jim Valentino)

 
Without further ado, here you go, boys and girls, friends and neighbors, aspiring comic book writers from far and wide:

The Shadowline

Who Wants to Create a Super-Heroine Contest

Ultimate FAQ

Can I submit more than once?

Yes.

What are you looking for exactly?

Please keep in mind this is for a SUPER HEROINE. The yin to Bomb Queen's yang.

Do not submit a vigilante, or a normal girl who is really smart and uses her brains to save the world. Or a demoness who kills people and then something changes her mind.

A super-heroine. She's good. She fights bad stuff. And she doesn't have a team. It's just her.

That's what we are looking for, and no...there are no exceptions!

 
* * *

 
We want a hero. A good guy. Well, a good female. So the less dark, the better your chances.

 
* * *

 
A Super-heroine. Not a team, not a duo. A super-heroine. Or if you prefer: a female super-hero. Singular.

 
* * *

 
We're looking for a super-heroine.  I've been getting in submissions for a vigilante.  I've been getting them in for characters that go on a bad guy killing spree.  Neither of those are super-heroines.  While we are open to all different types of super-heroine's....just make sure that that's indeed what she is.

 
* * *

 
(Jim) I must say that I find it amazing that so many people cannot seem to understand what a super-heroine is or means. I find this amazing in the extreme.

Let me try to help those of you who are being confused: Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Invisible Woman, the Wasp. What do they have in common? Well, they're all female, they all fight for the cause of justice to help those weaker than themselves, they all wear costumes, they all have nom de guerres, they are all HEROES.

 
* * *

 
What we are interested in is the story. If the story is good then a heroine could conceivably be non-powered (Catwoman, Batgirl, etc.).

 
* * *

 
Write the story YOU want to write. Don't trot out something that you think I am looking for, please.

 
* * *

 
I have seen a lot of synchronicity with the submissions. Lots of teenagers, single moms, and college students with the same kind of problems...how to handle their superpowers while juggling school, raising a kid, having a social life, etc. Lots of similar ways of gaining their powers, such as alien technology, a lab experiment that explodes, being in the general vicinity of another superhero who dies, and of course, inheriting it from super hero/villain parents. Lots of heaven/hell stories, as well as Greek/Roman mythology and alien invasions. TONS of ditzy socialites who have the alter ego of an intelligent super-heroine, or heroines who are famous.

Point being, not that any of these things are BAD per se, but if you're choosing to write one of these, the story itself has to stand out. What kinds of powers she has and how she got them becomes irrelevant if the story is typical. If I get a paragraph that says "So and So grows up in an orphanage and suddenly manifests powers…she goes on a search to find out why and discovers she is the daughter of a Greek God and Goddess (insert names). Feeling unwanted and unloved, she vows to go out and help orphans in trouble everywhere, taking the name of (insert name). Eventually she understands why her parents did what they did." That's boring. And I am seeing a ton of that where I can switch out the powers, how she got them, how she grows up, and who her parents are and the story is essentially the same. And that goes for the single moms, the college students, and the teens who typically have a rough home life. It's formulaic. If you're feeling you need to write one of the above, you have to make sure the STORY itself is interesting.

What are people submitting so far?

(Jim) I don't know how many Super-Britneys/Paris Hiltons we've seen, super-powered fetuses, teams, groups, clandestine agencies, siblings, parent-child, aliens, etc we've seen or how many don't actually tell us a STORY.

 
* * *

 
Weirdly, there are definite recurring themes to the submissions. Aliens, future technology, moms and a father/daughter thing. Librarians and journalists are the alter egos of choice.

 
* * *

 
I have seen a lot of synchronicity with the submissions. Lots of teenagers, single moms, and college students with the same kind of problems...how to handle their superpowers while juggling school, raising a kid, having a social life, etc. Lots of similar ways of gaining their powers, such as alien technology, a lab experiment that explodes, being in the general vicinity of another superhero who dies, and of course, inheriting it from super hero/villain parents. Lots of heaven/hell stories, as well as Greek/Roman mythology and alien invasions. TONS of ditzy socialites who have the alter ego of an intelligent super-heroine, or heroines who are famous.

Point being, not that any of these things are BAD per se, but if you're choosing to write one of these, the story itself has to stand out. What kinds of powers she has and how she got them becomes irrelevant if the story is typical. If I get a paragraph that says "So and So grows up in an orphanage and suddenly manifests powers…she goes on a search to find out why and discovers she is the daughter of a Greek God and Goddess (insert names). Feeling unwanted and unloved, she vows to go out and help orphans in trouble everywhere, taking the name of (insert name). Eventually she understands why her parents did what they did." That's boring. And I am seeing a ton of that where I can switch out the powers, how she got them, how she grows up, and who her parents are and the story is essentially the same. And that goes for the single moms, the college students, and the teens who typically have a rough home life. It's formulaic. If you're feeling you need to write one of the above, you have to make sure the STORY itself is interesting.

Do I have to/do I get to use Bomb Queen in my pitch?

Feel free to use Bomb Queen in your pitch. Jimmie Robinson has given us permission to use her for this contest. You can't use her outside of this contest, that's a no-no.

I want to make it clear, though: Whether or not you elect to use Bomb Queen in your pitch will have no reflection on any decision to move you on to the next round (or not). So far, I have a smattering of both singled out. Some include the use of BQ, some don't.

 
How long should my single paragraph be?

You should be able to get it down to about 150 words.  As I told someone else...look at the text solicits that are in previews.  You have 50-60 words to convince retailers to buy your book.  Examples from books we have solicited:

Cemetery Blues: Bumbling monster hunters Ridley and Falstaff are hot on the trail of their nemesis, the mysterious sorcerer Orlok.  The trail leads them to the town of Hernesburg, where the heroes are asked to dispose of a lurking evil in the woods…only because the town’s own hunter has turned up dead!

New World Order: Inspired by the research of occult master Jordan Maxwell—the man who exposed the Illuminati— New World Order is the untold story of the “Lonely Ones”, the real-life truth seekers who are attempting to awaken the masses to a world that is torn between its own unlimited potential for greatness…and self-destruction!

 
Now see, those are about 50 words.  You have 100 more words to put in any brief details...like the ending.  And perhaps what her powers are.  To me, a brief paragraph is absolutely doable.  If these are all 50 words, and they are 3 issues long, then they can give me what happens in each issue in one brief paragraph.

 
* * *

 
I'm not counting the words, guys.  The reason I say "brief" and not "150 words" (or whatever) is because I realize that different stories need to be described in different detail.  I've gotten paragraphs that are 3 sentences, and ones that are a quarter of a page long.  A quarter of a page long is really the longest you should go.  Think of this as an exercise in brevity.   I have a lot of these things to go through, and when I open an e-mail, I don't want to have to scroll down to read the entire thing. 

 
Or think of it this way:  You've won the contest, and you're at San Diego Comic Con, behind the table.  People are walking by, and some are stopping and glancing through the book.  THE most asked question you will get is "so what's this about?"...and you have maybe 30 seconds to a minute to answer before they nod and either give you $3 or say thank you and walk away.  How are you going to describe your book?  How will you convince them to give you that money that could be spent on a million other things at that convention?  They've never heard of you.  BE.  BRIEF.  If you go on and on and on, they'll get a vacant look in their eye and start to edge away from you.  You will be repeating the answer to that question for hours.  You will not be able to keep repeating a long-ass explanation, trust me.  5-10 sentences, max.  I usually shorten it down to ONE. 

After the Cape: A super-hero succumbs to alcoholism after bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders, and this is the story of his fall from grace.

Another good exercise is to look through the Previews catalogue at the Shadowline solicits.  Writers are required to sum up their first issue in 50-60 words in order to sell it to retailers.   You'll have to do that if you win.  If you do it for all 3 issues, that's only 150-180 words for the entire series. 

Can you give me some great examples of single paragraph pitches?

Taken from the first mini of Cemetery Blues that was self-published by Ryan and Thomas (our series is not a sequel, merely a new adventure), this is what I would call brief:

 
Charles Wallace is devastated when his family dies in a car crash, but he is even more horrified to discover their mangled corpses occupying his mansion! When no one else will help him, Charles enlists the aid of Ridley and Falstaff, two odd thugs who claim to have a history of dealing with all manner of spook, spectre, and monster. Armed with a golf bag full of gardening tools and guided by the crotchety ghost of Wilhelm Lear, a once-legendary monster hunter, Ridley and Falstaff seemingly do little more than bumble and blunder their way through the mansion. But as more and more ghosts and ghouls pop up to terrorize them, they discover that behind it all is Orlok, a centuries old necromancer who seeks to use Wallace Manor in his plan to tear down the wall between the world of the living and the realm of the dead.

 
This was perfect. It told us the entire story (ending omitted to prevent spoilers).

 
Perfect example of what a brief paragraph should read like, by Jimmie Robinson, Bomb Queen creator:

 
16 year-old Dee Ironwood wants to see the world traveling across the country via freight trains - but one night she hops a train owned by the military and discovers a biological weapon.  She tries to jump, but the train derails killing all onboard - except Dee, who is infused with strange chemicals that allow her to surf the rail network that crisscrosses the country.  Dee embraces her newfound freedom and becomes a hero of the rails.  Traveling wherever there are rails to glide on and solving railroad crimes in the process.  But when Dee stops a train full of illegal drugs she runs head-to-head with Bomb Queen.  A high-speed fight breaks out but Dee tricks the Queen on a suspension bridge and turns the drugs over to the police.  The Queen vows revenge as our heroine rides the rails off into the sunset.

What about my character’s origin story?

 
To be honest, her origin story is the least of our concerns. Establish your character first...then when readers are invested in that character, an origin story might fly.
 
Do not lead off with an origin story. Because it really isn't that important until people get to know the character.

 
If the origin of your character NEEDS to be told, make it a subplot.

 
* * *

 
Well this all boils down to what we asked for in the original contest announcement. A brief paragraph of the STORY. What we're doing now is debating the semantics. What we mean by "story" vs. what everyone else thinks that means.

Jim, Jimmie and I are saying that if you only have 3 issues to make your debut as a writer with your own character, do you really want to spend it all on what essentially amounts to set-up? Because that's what an Origin story is...a set-up to tell readers why/how your character does what she does. How she came to be. Which is what a lot of paragraphs are focusing on.

Basically, all this discussion should be to you is food for thought. Which, as writers, you should have already been exploring on your own. I can't know where all the writers are going to go until I get to read what they send in. So there is no way to tell you what we are looking for, until we start to see a deluge of what we AREN'T looking for. If that makes sense.

And honestly, this is all just helpful hints. I'm not deleting paragraphs left and right based on a list of things I DON'T want. If I see an origin story that completely WOWS me, I'm not going to delete it just because it's an origin. So no one freak out and start re-tweaking previous entries. I'm just saying to really THINK about what you want to do with these 3 issues. Be smart about it.

 
* * *

 
I won't reject an origin story if it's good. But I'll say it one more time: You will keep more readers if you make the origin story a sub-plot or make it a completely separate story to be told at a later date.

 
* * *

 
A good writer can pace the issue so that the background of the character is woven into the action of the story. It's not an either/or thing, it can be both. Every issue is someone's first, so the character needs to be re-introduced in a subtle way each time. An example: Frank Miller's run on Daredevil. He told the origin of Daredevil in every single issue without disrupting the storyline. Most readers probably didn't even realize he was doing it.

How exactly and where do I email my pitch?

Email your pitch to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

If you’re worried about it getting marked as spam, use “Superheroine Contest Entry/Submission” for the subject, as that has been a popular subject line and obviously gets through just fine.

You can put your pitch in the body of the email or attach a Word doc.

If submitting multiple pitches, you can put them all in one email or submit them in separate emails.

You will get a canned response within 24 hours acknowledging receipt of your submission. If you do not receive this, inquire.

 

What if I want to revise the pitch I already sent in?

And to everyone out there submitting....just so you know...sending in 3 revisions of the same submission because you "didn't think you explained it well enough the first time"...doesn't make you look that great speaking as an editor to a writer.

You have an entire month. What is the hurry? You'll make a better impression both as a professional and as a writer if you send in a prepared, well-written, condensed paragraph the first time around. Seriously. Once you hit the send button, you can't take it back. This is essentially a job interview and you need to beat out all the other candidates applying for the same job. You can't just crap something out and expect me to take it seriously when you send in two or three "do overs".

As the shampoo commercial says...you only get one chance to make a first impression!

 
What is the secret key to winning the contest?

Here's the secret key...I'll only tell YOU guys on this forum: Write something different, interesting, compelling, something that stands out from everything else out there...and write it well.


P.S. Be Nice

You don't realize exactly how many people are reading this thread...and not responding. Other publishers, professionals (be they writers or artists) you look up to, idolize, or even potential fans of the concept you just submitted, or retailers who will be ordering this book. It is to your advantage to come across as smart, professional, and ultimately likeable to your peers. Can you do it 100% of the time? Probably not, God knows I lose my temper at least 3 times daily! But I do give it my best effort. The nicer you are, the more people will want to support you and your endeavors.

  Here Ends The Shadowline

Who Wants to Create a Super-Heroine Contest

Ultimate FAQ

And now that you’ve got the answer to every question you could possibly have about the contest, it’s time to get cracking on your submission.

So get to work and give it your best shot. I know I’m going to – and if I can’t win the contest, then I hope the winner is... YOU!

(No, not you, Mom – I mean, the lone reader of this column, the fabled Audience of One that is my sole target audience. Sheesh!)

• The courtship of an artist
  
  
• Dialogue Last: the best thing ever?
  
  
• My magical Boston Red Sox cap
  
  
• "By the Southern Grace of God" actually IS a lovely and wonderful story, and how it got that way (for Drew, who loves my long column titles!)

• The power of being nice