Our 2022 in Numbers

With just a few short days to go before Big Ol’ Santa Day (Christmas, in some cultures), we’ve taken a look back at the work we’ve put out this year, and broken it down for some clarity and a little pat on the back. This is: 

For some context, before we get into the nitty gritty, Limit Break Comics was set up in 2018, with its official launch as a collective at the Small Press Day celebrations in Dublin. Four and a half years into our little creative endeavour, which began with two collections of four-page comics, we’ve been through:

  • A global pandemic
  • A country change for one member
  • Fatherhood for another
  • Two jobs losses for the third
  • Bar exams
  • Broken bones

Just some hurdles. Aside from the pandemic and the Bar exams, the rest are quite ordinary occurrences, and everyone usually goes through one or another. The main thing for us was that through it all, we stuck together. So, let’s start with the small numbers first: the number of books published.

Books to Print

The small blessing of the pandemic was that it really makes our 2022 look exceptionally busy. As a group, we published:

  • Five new books, including three new titles
  • Four zines from two creators

It may not look like a lot, but given this is more of an expensive hobby than anything else at the moment, we’ll take it!

March 2022 allowed us to launch Meouch #2 and Plexus #2, alongside the first issues of Limit Break Presents and Old Game Plus, two new short story series. LBP is our way of showcasing the work by the creators in the group, while OGP is Seamus Kavanagh’s debut with Limit Break Comics. Joining them, collected in print for the first time, is the first Lens book, by Gary Moloney and Raquel Kusiak (edited by Claire Napier.)

Those five new books were launched alongside Turning Roads’ first big Irish show.

Fast forward five months later, Paul and Gary put together a collection of zines to launch at the big summer show. Taking breaks is for suckers. 

Then, to close the year, we launched Down Below, the first book that contains stories worked on by Paul, Gareth and Gary. It took a while.

Event Spaces

Launching books requires events. Mostly.

We’re not ones to shy away from a public gathering, so long as we get to hide behind the table whenever the crowds get too big. In 2022, we took to the road – and to the skies – to attend ten events in Ireland and the UK.

Included in the line-up were two new events for us – Glasgow Comic Con (with IrishComics.ie) and Offaly Libraries Comic Con – as well as a return to some of our favourites, like DCAF, Octocon and Thought Bubble.

Getting to mingle with readers and other creators is always a special experience, and the events that allow us to do so are always memorable.

We even got to take part in some programming at Dublin Comic Con in August and Octocon in October! More of that, please!

Telling a story… or a few dozen

In our first two calendar years – 2018 and 2019, before the world ended – we published 14 stories between 3 and 20 pages in length.

In 2021, we published just one new book: Turning Roads, with 18 short stories inside.

Not one to be outdone by ourselves, in 2022 the collective published 36 stories between 4 and 30 pages in length.

Between them, it’s 210 pages of comics. Not too shabby, if we do say so ourselves!

Meet the Creators

Aside from the number of pages we’ve put in print, no other number really explains what we do more than the number of creators who’ve been published under our banner this year. Granted, a lot of this from work included in Down Below, which does its best to bolster the other numbers in its own way. But still, including the founding members and the friends we’ve picked up along the way…

In 2022 we worked with 66 artists, writers and letterers (including colourists and editors and cover designers and… well, you can see why we stopped at those three words that sum up the work of comics succinctly.)

Not included in that count is our amazing printer for Down Below and Turning Roads, without whom the work of producing books of that scale would be impossible. Thank you Rich from Comic Printing UK, and we’re sorry about your floor. (But also, we’re going to order more books next year…)

Here’s to 2023

In case you missed it – even though we were really loud about it – we’re already looking forward to publishing Fractured Realms in 2023. This will be our third Myth Anthology, and promises to be even bigger than Down Below.

Paul was one of the lucky ones (okay, people have told him he has to stop saying lucky, because he’s worked hard at this stuff) to receive the Literature Project Award from the Arts Council. As part of that, one anthology and two graphic novels will be produced in 2023, with an aim towards launching them at the end of the year. We’ll have more news on the other books as the year unfolds, when we can reasonably estimate whether they’ll make it across the line according to schedule. (Life happens, and the artists don’t do this full-time, so we won’t be throwing them under the bus by promising anything before they’re ready!)

We’ll be back in January, properly, but you can always catch us on social media where we’ll be working towards helping folks team up for Fractured Realms ahead of its end-of-January pitch submission deadline.

Happy holidays,

Paul, Gareth and Gary

Fractured Realms: A Norse Horror Anthology – Coming 2023

Good things come in threes… after the success of Turning Roads and Down Below, we’re delighted to open up pitches for our third myth anthology. Fractured Realms is an anthology of Horror comics inspired by Norse mythology. The book will be co-edited by Paul Carroll and Gary Moloney, with a cover by Nick Roche and JP Jordan.

With thanks to the Arts Council’s Literature Project Award 2023, we are delighted to guarantee the publication of the book and a minimum payment to its contributors in excess of our previous anthologies.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

Fractured Realms will feature 24 four-page comics. Your pitch should incorporate an element of Norse mythology – a god, a monster, a story – with a horror twist. We’re especially looking for stories in a modern setting. Stories can include elements of science fiction and fantasy, but must be horror first.

Every story should consist of four pages, with page 1 beginning on the right hand side of the book, in full-colour. Note that full-colour does not necessarily mean technicolour, and the Editors are happy to talk to people about the colour design of their comics to engage with the horror element of the book.

When preparing your pitch, consider:

  • What sort of terror can you inject into a Norse tale?
  • How recognisable is the story to the public?
  • Is your story unique enough when compared to existing materials?
  • How can you put a twist on a familiar tale?

Please note that we are not looking for:

  • A rehashing of ideas from The Wicked and the Divine (we love it, we just don’t need a re-telling of it!)
  • Stories that closely resemble those from Marvel Comics or the God of War franchise
  • Illustrated prose or poetry
  • Illustrations that are not comics

As with Turning Roads and Down Below, we are unlikely to accept multiple pitches examining the same aspect of Norse Mythology. Creative teams are permitted to submit more than one pitch.

Please note that we are only accepting pitches from complete teams (or solo creators). Writers and artists may only be included in the book once.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Pitches are open as of November 30, 2022. The deadline for pitches is January 29, 2023. More details on pitching and the link to the form are below. Please note that the form will close at 11:59pm (GMT) on January 29.

On February 26, applicants will be advised whether they have been accepted into the anthology. If you pitch more than one story, you will be advised specifically which one has been chosen.

On March 01 through to March 31, the book will be funding on Kickstarter.*

The deadline for final pages is June 18 with Kickstarter fulfilment planned for August.*

WHY PITCH TO US?

Limit Break Comics has been building its brand in Irish comics since July 2018, with the publication of eleven books, including short story collections, an on-going series and a one-shot story. 2021 saw the publication of Turning Roads, which received backing on Kickstarter from over 500 people. This was succeeded by Down Below, with over 880 backers on Kickstarter.

Fractured Realms seeks to build on the momentum of the project, to further showcase Irish and international talent. The project timeline allows for the book to appear at Dublin Comic Con, Octocon and Thought Bubble in the second half of 2023.

As well as offering a platform to lots of lovely comic readers, we want to pay contributors!

Payment of €65 per page will be made to each creative team in the book, made via PayPal. Teams are responsible for deciding how they split the payment. It is the intention of Limit Break Comics to increase this page rate through a pre-order Kickstarter campaign. Further details will be discussed with teams if they are successful.

Contributors maintain copyright over their work; Limit Break Comics is granted first publication rights for one calendar year

WHERE TO PITCH

Pitches should be made through this form. You may submit more than one pitch. We are seeking pitches from complete teams for this project, which includes creators who can complete all of the work solo.

When pitching, you do not need to submit sample art or a script related to the story. Please provide:

  • Portfolio links for each creator in the project
  • A working title
  • A logline for the story
  • A brief summary of the story
  • The myth your story is based upon

WHY KICKSTARTER?

We’ve built up a community on the platform, and we want to build upon that to increase the page rate we offer to our contributors.

WHO ARE THE EDITORS?

Paul Carroll is the editor of Turning Roads and co-editor of Down Below, as well as the writer behind Plexus and Meouch. In 2021, Paul co-founded IrishComics.ie. When not working in comics, Paul writes prose and publishes short story anthologies through Cupán Fae, and is Chair of Octocon in 2023.

Gary Moloney is Limit Break Comics’ resident law-talking guy, both as a profession and as a genre-expert. He is the writer of Lens, along with a number of crime stories, following his debut collection Mixtape, and co-editor of Down Below.

QUERIES?

Any queries should be sent to limitbreakireland (at) gmail (dot) com.

*These dates subject to change, but contributors will be notified in advance.

Down Below: A Greek Myth Noir Anthology – Coming 2022

After the success of Turning Roads earlier this year, Limit Break Comics is proud to announce our second open-submissions anthology. Down Below is an anthology of Noir comics, inspired by Greek mythology. The book will be co-edited by Paul Carroll and Gary Moloney.

Noir Hades – Art by Gareth Luby

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

Down Below will feature four-page comics. Your pitch should incorporate an element of Greek mythology – a god, a hero, a monster, a story – and put a Noir twist on it. Think The Big Sleep but with an element of the extraordinary. Stories can include elements of science fiction and fantasy, but must be a Noir story. We’re seeking crime drama, not space opera.

Every story should consist of four pages, with page 1 beginning on the right hand side of the book, in full-colour. Note that full-colour does not necessarily mean technicolour, and the Editors are happy to talk to people about the colour design of their comics to engage with the Noir element of the book.

When preparing your pitch, consider:

  • What sort of crime would a particular god, hero or other character from Greek mythology find themselves involved in?
  • How recognisable is the story to the public?
  • Is your story unique enough when compared to existing materials?
  • How can you put a twist on a familiar tale?

Please note that we are not looking for:

  • A rehashing of ideas from The Wicked and the Divine
  • Illustrated prose or poetry
  • Illustrations that are not comics

As with Turning Roads, we are unlikely to accept multiple pitches examining the same aspect of Greek Mythology. Creative teams are permitted to submit more than one pitch.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Pitches are open as of November 10, 2021. The deadline for pitches is January 28, 2022. More details on pitching and the link to the form are below. Please note that the form will close at 11:59pm (GMT) on January 28.

On February 11, applicants will be advised whether they have been accepted into the anthology. If you pitch more than one story, you will be advised specifically which one has been chosen.

On February 23 through to March 25, the book will be funding on Kickstarter.*

The deadline for final pages is June 10 with Kickstarter fulfilment planned for August.*

WHY PITCH TO US?

Limit Break Comics has been building its brand in Irish comics since July 2018, with the publication of three short story collections and the first of three issues in a limited series. 2021 saw the publication of Turning Roads, which received backing on Kickstarter from over 500 people.

Down Below seeks to build on the momentum of the project, to further showcase Irish and international talent. The project timeline allows for the book to appear at Dublin Comic Con, Octocon and Thought Bubble in the second half of 2022.

As well as offering a platform to lots of lovely comic readers, we want to pay contributors!

Payment of €50 per page will be made to each creative team in the book, made via PayPal. Teams are responsible for deciding how they split the payment. It is the intention of Limit Break Comics to increase this page rate through Kickstarter stretch goals and outside funding. Further details will be discussed with teams if they are successful.

Contributors maintain copyright over their work; Limit Break Comics is granted first publication rights.

WHERE TO PITCH

Pitches should be made through this form. You may submit more than one pitch. We are seeking pitches from complete teams for this project.

When pitching, you do not need to submit sample art or a script related to the story. Please provide:

  • Portfolio links for each creator in the project
  • A working title
  • A logline for the story
  • A brief summary of the story
  • The myth your story is based upon

WHY KICKSTARTER?

We want to pay people. It’s that simple. The Kickstarter will enable us to pay contributors and print the book. The intention is that contributors will know with plenty of time before the pages are due that the book will be proceeding as planned.

WHO ARE THE EDITORS?

Paul Carroll is the editor of Turning Roads, as well as the writer behind Plexus and Meouch. In 2021, Paul co-founded IrishComics.ie. When not working in comics, Paul writes prose and publishes short story anthologies through Cupán Fae.

Gary Moloney is Limit Break Comics’ resident law-talking guy, both as a profession and as a genre-expert. He is the writer of Lens, along with a number of crime stories, following his debut collection Mixtape.

QUERIES?

Any queries should be sent to limitbreakireland (at) gmail (dot) com.

*These dates subject to change, but contributors will be notified in advance.

Limit Break Comics to Crowdfund Irish Folklore Comic Anthology – Press Release

Limit Break Comics to Crowdfund Irish Folklore Comic Anthology

February 26th, 2021, Dublin

Dublin based comic collective Limit Break Comics has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its Irish folklore comic anthology, Turning Roads. The book contains stories by over 30 comic creators, retelling Irish myths and legends in modern and future Ireland. The anthology is due for publication in the summer of 2021.

Turning Roads is edited by Paul Carroll, taking a science fiction and modern fantasy approach towards retelling familiar stories. 18 short comics from Irish and international creators address legends including the banshee, the headless horseman, Tír na nÓg, and the Children of Lír. The crowdfunding campaign aims to raise €6,000 before March 28th 2021, with an online focus on Irish folklore planned for St Patrick’s Day.

“By utilising a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter, we hope to emulate the communal traditions of Irish storytelling in a distinctly modern setting,” says Carroll.

If successfully funded, Turning Roads will join Limit Break Comics’ previous titles, Plexus, Meouch, Life & Death and Mixtape. The showcase of Irish creators in Turning Roads is set to raise awareness of Irish small press comics talent in domestic and international markets.

Limit Break Comics is a Dublin-based comic collective, founded on the back of a shared desire to see small press comics grow in Ireland. It is made up of Paul Carroll, Gareth Luby and Gary Moloney.

# # #

Check out the Kickstarter campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulcarroll/turning-roads-an-irish-folklore-comic-anthology

For more info, email limitbreakireland (at) gmail (dot) com or visit our Contact page.

Contact person: Paul Carroll

Creator list (alphabetical by surname):

Ned Barnett, Fawn Blackwood, Hugo Boylan, David Browne, Jason Browne, Brian Burke, Paul Carroll, David B Cooper, Colin Craker, Richard Davidson, Josh Davison, Dominique Duong, Triona Farrell, David Ferguson, Aaron Fever, Clare Foley, Colm Griffin, Leeann Hamilton, Reese Hannigan, Dave Hendrick, Ember Johnstone, Mark Kielty, James Killian, Alice Leclert, Hugh Madden, Pete Marry, Aisling McGee, Gary Moloney, Emmet O’Brien, Colin O’Mahoney, Mari Rolin, Kerrie Smith, Kato Thaggard, Steven Young.

Turning Roads: An Irish Folklore Anthology – Coming 2021

After a nightmarish year without conventions, we’re delighted to shine a light on a new project for 2021: Turning Roads, an anthology of Irish folklore stories. The book will be edited by Paul Carroll, and is now open for pitches from creative teams.

What are we looking for?

The idea behind Turning Roads is to take old Irish folk tales and elements of Irish mythology and tell those stories in a modern or future Ireland. Every story should consist of four pages, with page 1 beginning on the right hand side of the book, in full-colour.

When preparing your pitch, consider:

  • How would an Irish fairy fit into modern Ireland?
  • How can a story be told using technology instead of magic?
  • What does the world look like in which your story is taking place?

If in doubt, look for a twist on a tale through the lens of science fiction or flowerpunk.

Please note that we are not looking for:

  • An Irish version of The Wicked and the Divine
  • Illustrated prose or poetry
  • Illustrations that are not comics

Project timeline

Pitches are open as of December 9th, 2020. The deadline for pitches is January 29th, 2021. More details on pitching and the link to the form are below.

On February 12th, applicants will be advised whether they have been accepted into the anthology. If you pitch more than one story, you will be advised specifically which one has been chosen.

On February 24th through to March 25th, the book will be funding on Kickstarter.

The deadline for final pages is June 11th, with Kickstarter fulfilment in August.

Why pitch to us?

Limit Break Comics has been building its brand in Irish comics since July 2018, with the publication of three short story collections and the first of three issues in a limited series. 2021 will see the publication of additional books, and our first UK comic conventions – pandemics allowing.

Turning Roads will be our largest project to date, and our first title open to submissions. The project timeline allows for the book to showcase at Dublin Comic Con, Octocon and Thought Bubble in the second half of 2021.

As well as offering a platform to lots of lovely comic readers, we want to pay contributors!

Payment of €50 per page will be made to each creative team in the book, made via PayPal. Teams are responsible for deciding how they split the payment.

Contributors maintain copyright over their work; Limit Break Comics is granted first publication rights.

Where to pitch

Pitches should be made through this form. You may submit more than one pitch. 

Why Kickstarter?

We want to pay people. It’s that simple. The Kickstarter will enable us to pay contributors and print the book. The intention is that contributors will know with plenty of time before the pages are due that the book will be proceeding as planned.

Queries?

Any queries should be sent to paul (at) paulcarrollwriter (dot) com.