Dark Horse decided to pass on The Festival Season. That's the bad news, as you've probably guessed.
The good news is that the assistant editor gave us a lot of useful feedback. He liked the art and the story, but he didn't feel like the marketing department would know what to do with it. There are no men in tights (hmm...not so sure about that) and no buxom females in leather and metal leotards with flowing hair. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
He suggested that we look into smaller publishers that cater to serious readers. He also suggested that we give up more of the goodies on Harlan in the first issue. It makes sense for Joseph to be kind of mysterious but Harlan is a more assertive person so no need to hold back on how brash and manipulative his character can be.
More from the good news department, he thought that our "frank" treatment of sexuality was "refreshing." I was wondering how that theme came across (not that I was going to change it, LOL).
The next thing we're going to do is look into other publishing houses that are more literary and work on expanding the first issue to include more details about Harlan.
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3 comments:
I think perhaps the assistant editor isn't aware of the potentially large audience which doesn't actually crave men in tights - in the conventional superhero fashion - and/or buxom wenches in leather and chains. I'm thinking, of course, of the female readership which seems to be the mainstay of slash fiction. Whether they are prepared to actually buy a book is another matter.
I do think his thoughts about Harlan are valid. Having read as much of the original prose version of FS as was available, and having come to it from the slash background, I'm mentally reading ahead when reading the graphic version. This is something a new reader wouldn't necessarily bring with them.
Anyway, when I look around the rapidly expanding graphic novel section of my local library, I see heaps there which are not the traditional men-in-tights stuff so I'm guessing it's just a matter of finding the right publisher. It will all come together, never fear.
Hmmm, that was very wordy - perhaps I should just have drawn a picture instead :)
Yes! A picture, WC! No, I love your words. Your question about whether fans of slash fiction would buy a book is a good one but I think they would. I mean sure, one can get it free online but if given the opportunity to purchase in a nice, printed volume, it seems like it would be really attractive.
Yes I can see the point about Harlan. Friends and family who have read through it on this blog and who I have let see the color copies, many mentioned lots of questions about Harlan. It's as if they accepted that Joseph is a mystery, and his story is to be unraveled and that's the journey, but Harlan? What's his deal? That question seemed to come up quite a bit.
I am sure that the right publisher is out there for you. If you ever decide to self publish, sign me up for fifty copies of your amazing epic. I am often so tired of the stacks of typical super-hero based comics and would love curl up with your project in my hands on a cold, rainy day - or any day.
Thank you so much for posting your process and your road to success - and there will be success. Something this amazing has to make it out there.
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