Fancy bagging yourself one of the comics industry's highest accolades? CJ reports as MCM Expo announce their new competition for writers and artists to land an Eagle Award...
In partnership with the Eagle Awards and Universal Pictures, MCM Expo is launching a competition to produce a five-page dark fantasy comic between 1 and 29 February. Winners will receive a prize new to the Eagle Awards, the MCM Expo Award For New Visionaries, and their story will be printed in the programme for May's MCM weekend.
The competition's theme is inspired by the MCM Expo sponsor, Universal, and its forthcoming film Snow White and the Huntsman. No dwarfs for you. The movie is directed by Brit-newcomer Rupert Sanders and stars The Avengers' antipodean fighting-machine Chris Hemsworth, the psychedelic Twilight franchise's Kristen Stewart and lapsed plumber Bob Hoskins. As for what the limits of dark fantasy are, well, that's anybody's guess. Malevolent gingerbread men or something along those lines.
The judging panel will consist of Titan Publishing senior editor Steve White, Eisner-Award-winning Fables artist Mark Buckingham, and New York Times best-selling writer and IDW Doctor Who supremo Tony Lee. Two winners will be selected: one judged on artistic merit and the other for top-notch writing skillage. Once chosen, the final favourite will be voted on by the Internet-going public.
All entries must be five pages long with a beginning, middle and end that's fully finished, coloured and lettered. Files should be submitted as 300 dpi jpeg or pdf format with page dimensions of 170mm width and 230mm height. They probably won't go for it if you muck about with the Emboss tool too much.
Budding Brothers Grimm should visit www.eagleawards.co.uk for specifics on how to submit an entry. All accepted entrants bag themselves an invite to the Eagle Awards on the Friday night prior to the MCM weekend. Sweet. The two winners will also party at the after-show bash and get industry passes for the whole weekend.
The Eagle Awards began in 1976 and moved to the MCM weekend in 2010. As the comics industry's longest-running gongs, the Eagles are recognised and respected globally. Nominations for the 2012 awards opened this month and the ceremony will take place on 25 May at the ExCeL Centre in London's Docklands.
Best get started then, hadn't you? Chop-chop!
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