OFFICIAL Top Cow Talent Hunt 2015 Discussion Thread

[mhawkins]

Hi Matt,

This will be my third Talent Hunt. One thing I've been very curious about is continuity; have the winners' submissions chronologically fit in the timelines of their respective books? Or have their submissions just earned them the opportunity to write a new issue within the timeline? I've been trying to kind of balance the two, and I'm not sure which way to lean continuity-wise, between timeline-sensitive and completely isolated.

Thanks for any answer you can give.

We've been lenient on this. If something dramatically counters continuity we've dropped it in the no pile. My best suggestion would be to do something easy, a story based on character and a single plot point or two. Keep it simple. I really liked the Artifacts 39 story from the last year's Talent Hunt. That winner wrote a bedtime story where Jackie told Hope about the first Darkness bearer. At the end of it when she asked if that was true, he said nope, he made it all up. That's in Jackie's character, kind of funny and works well as a one shot story. Nominal nods to continuity or storylines of the comics is good, but don't do anything earth shattering. Don't blow up a city, kill a major character, do something that we'd have to explain in the regular books. The only two you really need to worry aboutthat with are Aphodite IX and Witchblade. There aren't regular publications of the others.

[Andrew1]

8 pages minimum of sequential work. That was in the PDF might have been cropped out, sorry about that.

Matt

Hey Matt, thanks for the clarifications on artist's pages to draw/paint. (8 pages minimum) It's very cool that you're taking the time to run this contest, I really appreciate it!

[flashparker]

8 pages minimum of sequential work. That was in the PDF might have been cropped out, sorry about that.

Matt

Thanks Matt!

[Top Cow Ryan]

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to step in and introduce myself. My name is Ryan Cady, and I'm the Editorial Assistant here at Top Cow! Basically, I write the articles for the website, I help edit all the books, etc. - additionally, I'll be assisting Matt and Marc in all aspects of the Hunt itself - so stay on my good side! (Just kidding. Mostly.) I'll be checking in on this discussion fairly regularly to answer your questions and ensure that discussion is going swimmingly. I'll be going through and answering all of the previous questions, as well, so never fear - answers are here!

I should be getting ADMIN flair at any moment, but until then, proof that this is really me and not an elaborate attempt at trolling is on my Twitter account: @rycady.

I'm more than happy to interact with all of you on Twitter/other social network sites (I'll probably make a few Talent Hunt-related announcements on Twitter as well as on this forum), but let's try to keep all of the Talent Hunt-related questions to the this forum. It'll keep everything together, and undoubtedly, if you have a question, someone else probably has the same one, so we're killing two birds with one stone. Additionally, if you happen to have the email for any members of the Top Cow crew, PLEASE do not email us your questions (or spread our email addresses around). For the same reason, as well as keeping our email clutter down.

Okay, that's it for all the rules and regulations - let's get on to the fun stuff!

[Top Cow Ryan]

ANNOUNCEMENT #1:

Artists
If you were planning on drawing the Cyberforce for your submission, you might want to redownload the scripts/rules! The script in that bundle was mainly lettering, and not really conducive to an art submission.

We've reuploaded the script bundle to now include the original plot script for Cyberforce #1, which is definitely what you should be working from.

Apologies!

[Top Cow Ryan]

Previous talent hunts have included particular guidelines about the format of the story, such as it being a story told of a past Darkness or Witchblade wielder or the tale of a minor artifact wielder after reality was rewritten. I don't see any such story guidelines this time. Does that mean that we have free reign to tell any kind of story we wish as long as we restrict ourselves to the particular characters on the list?

Essentially, yes! This is your opportunity to tell a self-contained story within the Top Cow Universe. Matt's advice on creating new characters (be wary) and messing with continuity (usually a bad idea) within the rules are the best advice we can give concerning what story you'll tell.

[Top Cow Ryan]

The rules about which "characters" we can use are a little confusing. At one point the PDF says that any submissions that feature "those characters [listed] AND other characters not on the list will not be reviewed and their submission will be disregarded." Taken literally, this would suggest that there can't be supporting characters in the script that are not existing Top Cow characters included in the list given. Can this actually be what is meant, or am I taking this too literally? (When the rules say that violations of the rules won't even be reviewed, and will be thrown away, it makes me want to make sure I understand the rules properly!)

Then later it says "In past years I've been asked if writers can create new characters. Yes you can do this but you are STRONGLY encouraged NOT to." Now this, taken literally, not only seems to give permission (even if it's discouraged) for "new" supporting characters, but it could even be taken to mean "new" LEAD characters. And yet that would contradict the rule that only characters from the list can be used.

A further source of confusion is that "artifacts" are being called "characters". Obviously a past or future bearer of an ARTIFACT as is probably a new CHARACTER--in fact, IIRC, last year we were supposed to make up a "new" past or future bearer of one of the artifacts. That's certainly what I did. And yet other people in this thread are saying things like "As with the last Talent Hunt, you can create original characters to feature in the story but you are discouraged from doing so..." This makes me wonder if I misunderstood the guidelines last year. Were we strongly discouraged from creating original CHARACTERS (not ARTIFACTS)? I thought we were supposed to create original characters using existing artifacts.

I'm not trying to seem difficult here, I just find that there are a lot of nuances here to keep track of, and the use of "characters" and "artifacts" as interchangeable terms doesn't help.

I just want to make sure my entry isn't discarded without even being looked at. At this point I'm not even 100% sure that isn't what happened last year.

Fret not. You ARE taking things a tad too literally. I see other members have effectively answered your questions, but I also wanted to reassure you - NO entires were discarded without being looked at. I read through every single one of them.

[Top Cow Ryan]

Another question. Last year someone asked in the forums if we are allowed to submit more than one submission. At first the answer given was "no", and then this was retracted and changed to "yes". I've just looked through the guidelines for this year and can't seem to find this addressed, so I'm wondering if multiple submissions are allowed again this year.

It's not against the rules, but I wouldn't say it really increases your chances of winning.

Personally, I'd say to focus on making one really solid submission that will stand out above the rest.

[Top Cow Ryan]

Dear Top Cow Team, I was wondering if I could use parallel realities for my writers submission. I see that the rules are "We've decided to open it up a bit this year and your submission can feature any present, past, or future versions of the Top Cow Universe characters using 13 Artifacts from this list or any of the characters featured in the 2012-2014 publications of Aphrodite IX or Cyber Force." But was wondering if a parallel universe could be allowed? Specifically a past use of an artifact with a new character set in a parallel world.

I would STRONGLY advise against something that intricate, Shawn. Especially since in our continuity we haven't really explored parallel realities all that much.

[Top Cow Ryan]

I used an existing historical character last year, but yeah, I've taken it to mean that you can create a new past or future bearer... they just need to be the bearer of an existing Artifact.

The main reason that new characters were discouraged last year (and again this year) is because Top Cow would assume the rights to the character. And this is something a new creator might not be aware of or want. And, obviously, Top Cow doesn't want creators claiming that their characters have been stolen. This is why it has been made so clear.

Personally, I wouldn't use any characters that I've previously created and want to hold onto. But I would create a new character if I came up with one for a story set in the Top Cow Universe that demanded that a new character be created. I wouldn't be worried about Top Cow having the rights to such a character because I would've created said character for the Top Cow Universe.



I think they are referring to characters like Batman here. Like, say, if you were to write a Darkness/Batman crossover. That wouldn't be allowed. The stories need to be based on these characters (and by these 'characters' they mean bearers of the Artifacts, pre-existing or newly created), not other existing properties or entirely new properties.

So, you can create a new character if they are the bearer of an Artifact or a cyborg existing alongside Cyber Force but not an entirely new concept.

That would be my interpretation, anyway.



It says it's a twenty-two page script (although, this usually results in more actual pages being written as part of a word document).

I don't know if we're allowed multiple entries or not this year, although it has been allowed in previous years. If you're referring to a single entry, they'll only want the final finished document. Only submit it once, if you're unsure and think you might want to rewrite it, wait until the deadline to submit.

The Talent Hunt will run 10/15/14 to 03/15/15 (or 15/10/14 to 15/03/15, if you're British like I am ). That means we have until the 15th of March next year.

Pauul gets it.

[Top Cow Ryan]

Can I just say kudos to Top Cow for releasing a Witchblade guidebook the day the talent search link went live? I know nothing about the Top Cow universe to be honest, but I'm a writer who'd like to give it a shot, so that Case Files issue and the Top Cow bible should hopefully be enough to give me a head start.

Kudos to YOU for picking up Case Files. Vince and I worked really hard on that book and it means a lot to us that people want to read it, fortuitous timing aside.

Good luck with the Talent Hunt!

[Marko Svraka]

Hi.
Just checking if it is all right to submit digital pencils/inks.

[Top Cow Ryan]

Hi.
Just checking if it is all right to submit digital pencils/inks.

Of course! Send 'em on over!

[Subt1e]

I'm thinking about writing and drawing a "Cyber Force" story, but using the original incarnation of the group not the new version.
I would include both the script and obviously the penciled art. Just making sure that would be all right...

[Top Cow Ryan]

I'm thinking about writing and drawing a "Cyber Force" story, but using the original incarnation of the group not the new version.
I would include both the script and obviously the penciled art. Just making sure that would be all right...

Subt1e, I'm afraid that for art submissions, we're only considering submissions based on the scripts we sent out in the rules zip.