Call for Submissions for the BOOK version:

Call for Cartoonists Against Bullying Anthology Submissions:

A mini-comic version of this anthology was published in 2012.  In the back, I posted a call for submissions for a second volume.  I have received some phenomenal pieces in response to this request.  So I'm hoping to make a book-style version of this anthology.  The book is open for submissions from anyone who was bullied whether it was because of their sexual orientation, race, religion, appearance, socio-economic status, or perhaps the reason wasn’t clear. I’m looking for submissions on topics such as:

For those who were targeted by bullies

• your experiences being bullied with the aim of letting others know that they are not alone
• your experiences coping with bullies and how they may have impacted your academic performance or other ways bullies negatively impacted your life (Let's let school administrators know this is a problem they should be addressing in their schools)
• how you responded to the bully, especially if there was a confrontation
• if you’ve run into this former bully as an adult, what happened?
• how your life has improved since that time with the aim of letting others know that it does indeed get better
• letter to your bully

For People Who Were Once Bullies Themselves

• apologies to those whom you bullied

When: The deadline for submission is May 31, 2013

Where: Please send your submissions to Melaina Comics. Electronic submissions are preferred, which can be emailed to MelainaComics@gmail.com. If you need to mail the documents for any reason (I can scan them if you do not have a scanner), please email for snail mail instructions.

Specs: Accepting comics anywhere from 1 to 4 pages in length. Black & white or grayscale. Artwork should be saved as a TIF document at 300 to 600 dpi. Longer submissions and color submissions may be considered for an e-book format for the iPad, but may not be included in the print format. The print format will be 6" x 9", though I recommend creating your art at a larger size in the same scale which can be shrunk down (this creates a better quality image).

A portion of the proceeds will go to The Trevor Project. One free copy will be provided to each person whose work is submitted for the anthology. And know that your story may save someone's life.

Anything That Loves

My comic, Bewildered Bisexual (previously only available in a limited edition print) will be included in the upcoming anthology, Anything That Loves.

There is a great line-up of artists who will be included in this anthology, including my dear friend and comics mentor, MariNaomi.  If you're interested in getting a copy of the book, please support the Kickstarter fund.  At this point, I'm not sure where else the book will be available, but I will keep you posted.

I hope your spring holidays (whichever ones you celebrate / have celebrated) are full of fun and joy!

Events - Past

Exhibits

• Alternative Press Expo (APE): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012
• San Francisco ZineFest: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012
• Small Press Expo (SPX): 2010

Readings

• Papercuts, Kimo's, San Francisco:  2009
• Look At Me, Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco:  2009

Guest Lecturer

• The Art & Craft of Comic Making, City College San Francisco:  2011

Cartoonist in Residence

• Charles Schulz Museum, Santa Rosa, CA:  November 2009

SF ZineFest 2012

I can't believe there are only two days left until the San Francisco ZineFest. I will be revealing my Cartoonists Against Bullying comic anthology for the first-time-ever at this event! The event is free, so I hope you will swing by and check it out!

When: Saturday, September 1st and Sunday, September 2nd from 11am to 6pm

Where: San Francisco County Fair Building, 1119 19th Avenue at Lincoln in Golden Gate Park

Cost: FREE!!!!

Comic Buying Preferences

I had an interesting conversation with MariNaomi and the owner of Comix Experience the other day. I hadn't really considered before the number of challenges I have to face as a cartoonist in terms of reaching my audience. Customers (specifically people who buy comics) have many buying preferences that traditional print book customers don’t necessarily have:

-Art style
-Genre (i.e. superhero / mainstream vs. indie)
-Subject matter preferences which to me is somewhat different from genre - more specific, maybe? (i.e. travel log, memoir, horror stories, romance, comedies, tear-jerker, thrillers, animal stories, etc)
-Font style (i.e. typed verses hand-lettered, readability, etc)
-paper (i.e. slick commercial print vs. 8 1/2 x 11" folded and stapled zine)

This conversation happened after I'd already been perusing comics at Comix Experience and had picked out a few comics and a graphic novel to buy for myself. And it's true. I definitely have my own preferences with all of the above. The challenge is in the fact that I may like a particular story, but decide not to buy the comic because I don't like the art style or the font. Or, on the contrary, I may like an artists illustrations but decide not to buy a comic because I don't like the subject matter.

Somehow thinking about this has both been discouraging in realizing what a small audience I am writing and drawing for (those who like my art and my story and my font, etc etc). But there was also some relief in thinking about this. Because it's not personal whose comics I buy. I buy the ones whose art/plot/font match my personal preferences. So... not everyone loves my comics and well, that's okay. *sigh* What a relief! I don't have to try to please everyone!

My Talk at City College of San Francisco

Last night, I had a wonderful time at City College of San Francisco, giving a lecture on "The Art & Craft of Making Comics." The audience consisted of students who are studying design, type and illustration. I *love* public speaking and did my best to make the talk as interactive as possible. Along with the obvious explanation of how I make comics (literally), I shared what motivates me to make comics and solicited from the audience information about what motivates them to create. We talked about the question of style verses skill. This has been an interesting topic for me when working with cartoonist groups (who like writing groups give one another feedback), particularly the Sunday Night Comics Group whom I met with for a couple of years. That group was amazing and I grew so much as an artist from my time with them! But back to the lecture... I talked about distribution and the pros and cons of paper verses digital mediums, including the differences in formatting for a paper comic or zine verses formatting for a digital medium and how I had to go about reformatting and often re-drawing images when I have translated my physical comics that had already been printed to be used in a digital format (for my iPhone app). And then... dun dun dun dun... I went over the COST of making and distributing comics (an unpopular topic for any artist). And reviewed how to determine the monetary value of a comic when deciding on sale price. That was an interesting piece for me to prepare for. Kind of discouraging to realize my prices would not even pay me minimum wage for the time I put into my art. But then I talked about success and asked them to tell me "What is success?" And that helped a lot. Because for me, personally, success is if one person reads one of my comics and hears something in them that resonates with them and they feel less alone in the world for even those 5 minutes it takes them to finish the comic. That alone is success.

Giving this lecture was a wonderful experience for me, talking with these students. I hope I get to give talks like that again. I've already been thinking of other topics to cover for next time!

Request for Submissions: Cartoonists Against Bullying comic anthology

Call for Anthology Submissions:

As you’ve heard in the media, we have experienced a tragic number of suicides of teens you were being bullied, particularly young men who were bullied for being gay. In response, I am creating an anthology of comics on the topic of bullying. There will be an introduction specifically referencing this recent series of events, however, this anthology is open for submissions from anyone who was bullied whether it was because of their sexual orientation, race, religion, appearance, socio-economic status, or perhaps the reason wasn’t clear. I’m looking for submissions on topics such as:

For those who were targeted by bullies
• your experiences being bullied with the aim of letting others know that they are not alone
• your experiences coping with bullies and how they may have impacted your academic performance or other ways bullies negatively impacted your life (Let's let school administrators know this is a problem they should be addressing in their schools)
• how you responded to the bully, especially if there was a confrontation
• if you’ve run into this former bully as an adult, what happened?
• how your life has improved since that time with the aim of letting others know that it does indeed get better
• letter to your bully

For People Who Were Once Bullies Themselves:
• what was going on in your life that led you to engage in aggressive bullying behaviors
• apologies to those whom you bullied

When: The deadline for submission is February 1, 2012

Where: Please send your submissions to Melaina Comics. Electronic submissions are preferred, which can be emailed to MelainaComics@gmail.com. If you need to mail the documents for any reason (I can scan them if you do not have a scanner), please email for snail mail instructions.

Specs: Accepting comics anywhere from 1 to 4 pages in length. Black & white or grayscale. Artwork should be saved as a TIF document at 300 to 600 dpi. Longer submissions and color submissions may be considered for an e-book format for the iPad, but will not be included in the print format. The print format will be 6" x 9", though I recommend creating your art at a larger size in the same scale which can be shrunk down (this creates a better quality image).

A portion of the proceeds will go to The Trevor Project and to Stomp Out Bullying! One free copy will be provided to each person whose work is submitted for the anthology. And know that your story may save someone's life.