Comic Book Resources

Idol Thoughts 10/9

Here is a Q & A with Chris Ryall, Editor-in-Chief of IDW Publishing, and one of the three weekly judges on Comic Book Idol 3.

Enjoy!

1. Had you been following the submission thread at all before the ten finalists were picked?

I haven’t, actually. I’m coming to this pure.

2. Have you perused the galleries of the ten finalists? If so, any first impressions? Any early front-runners?

I’ve glanced, but am mostly trying to not let anything but the actual contest sway me one way or the other.

3. Did you follow the past seasons at all? If so, how do you think this year’s group compares?

I did–former IDW EIC Jeff Mariotte was a judge on this right before I took over, and I kept up with things then. Mostly sight unseen, though, I’d still say this year’s group should be the best yet.

4. During each round, is there any one thing that you plan on looking for first in an entry?

Nope, nothing in particular–that wouldn’t seem quite fair to the artists, since everyone has different strengths, and I’d like to see what they have to offer. Although, if you want a generic answer that’s very important for all of the samples, I’d say “storytelling.”

5. Do you plan on following the “play at home” thread to see work by artists who did not make the top ten?

I tend to monitor these things with a watchful eye for possible future talent, yeah.

6. Do you find the Comic Book Idol format helpful in finding artists who can meet a deadline? How important, relatively, is it to you to have an artist who can work relatively quickly?

Oh, it’s essential. That’s the big point I try to make to people showing off their portfolios full of splash images. Most anyone can produce a good cover image if they take a lot of time to do so. But working quickly, on deadline, AND producing quality work, that’s what we’re all looking for.

7. Have you found any previous artists for IDW through any other internet talent search contest?

This is really the only talent search of its kind that I pay attention to, but I’ve found a lot of artists online just by checking out their sites or their posts on message boards. The more an artist can get his work seen, the better.

8. Is IDW currently accepting submissions over the internet?

Artist submissions, sure, always.

9. When receiving submissions, what is the most important aspect in an artist’s sample pages that you look for?

I don’t know if there’s one thing above all else, but an ability to tell a story is key. So is an understanding of anatomy, perspective, lighting, all those things. But it does all come back to storytelling, the ability to clearly communicate what’s going on from page to page and keep a story moving.

10. Conversely, what is the biggest mistake that you see artists make with their sample pages (not counting “not doing sequentials”, as that should be ingrained in the mind of anyone reading this by now)?

You say that, but really, that can’t be said enough, even still. It’s not always something that can be seen in samples, but artists should also have a realistic handle on how many pages they can handle per week, pencils or pencils/inks. Being deceitful in that area usually ends badly, so it’s important to be honest with themselves and with editors.

Thanks a lot, Chris!!