horror – Limit Break Comics

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.

Dublin Comic Con is this weekend, and Limit Break Comics has been busy behind the scenes working on a new addition to our convention circuit: zines!

What’s a Zine?

The word ‘zine’ is an abbreviation of ‘magazine’, but that’s about as far as the connection goes. Zines are one-topic publications, sometimes hand-made, other times printed and bound professionally, sometimes a mix of professional printing with a hand-made finish. In our case, we went to our trusty printers with four zines, created by Paul Carroll and Gary Moloney, with design work by Paul, and a cover by Gareth Luby. (You’ll know it when you see it!)

How to Thrive & Survive in a Horror Movie

Paul’s a big horror fan, binging franchises in his spare time, writing horror stories for comics and prose, and generally diving into the spookiness of Halloween as soon as possible. In How to Thrive & Survive in a Horror Movie, Paul shares the rules of the Scream franchise with additional commentary.

The zine is meant to be a fun collection of the many rules the characters in the franchise must remember to survive – provided they have a horror expert to explain the rules first!

The Daredevil’s Advocate

When Paul and Gary first started talking about the zines, the first one on Gary’s line-up was a zine adaptation of his article The Daredevil’s Advocate. The conversation quickly turned to asking Gareth to draw the cover.

Gary takes a hard look at Charles Soule’s Daredevil: Supreme, its place in the series and how it addresses the law. One part academic, one part entertainment, The Daredevil’s Advocate is for fans of comics who like to read a little bit into the subject matter.

What’s It Like Being a Twin?

If you didn’t already know – and you will when it comes to Dublin Comic Con, at least! – Paul’s a twin. His identical twin brother, Conor, is an artist in the convention scene in Ireland. And they’re always asked one question: What’s it like being a twin?

This zine is designed to answer that question, and address the many other questions and topics that come up as a result of having an identical twin brother. It also features a centerfold of the dumbest question they have ever been asked. More than once. By several people.

A Novel Murder

To round off the first wave of zines from Limit Break Comics, we have a prose story from Gary Moloney. A Novel Murder is accompanied by some work by Paul to create a designed narrative approach to the story.

Interspersed throughout the zine are pull-quotes with a punch, looming steadily closer to the reader as the story progresses. We’re keeping the details of the mystery hidden, though – you’ll have to pick up the story to find out what happened!

Where Can You Get One?

Our magazine rack has seen better days, but it’s still perfect for housing our new line of titles alongside Paul’s enamel pin collection – before either one grows, that is. The first set will launch at Dublin Comic Con on Saturday and Sunday, August 6th and 7th 2022. We’re in the Artist Alley on the First Floor, tables AA15 and AA16.

Come say hi! And if you like our zines, let us know if we should make more!

Limit Break Comics

Tag: horror

Fractured Realms: A Norse Horror Anthology – Coming 2023