Our Experience with Work-for-Hire Comic Writing
Bombshell and Atomica #1 launches on Kickstarter! We talk about our experience with work-for-hire comic writing for Bad Bag Media!
Hello Lifeline Comics readers!
The big topic of this week’s newsletter is Work-for-hire!
We’ll talk about our experience writing The Misadventures of Bombshell & Atomica - the NSFW 1950’s Superhero comic we were hired to write for Bad Bag Media - as well as some of our past forays into work-for-hire comic writing.
We’ve also got some fun announcements for you this week (including our next “Slice of Life” Kickstarter and a one-week-only Valentine’s Day Cover for “Nightmare in Wonderland”).
And Eagle-Eyed readers just might be able to figure out our next EverAfterVerse series (which will be officially announced in our next newsletter)!
Let’s get into it!
“Slice of Life” Season 1 Graphic Novel!
Let’s start off with a “Slice of Life” announcement - we’re finally collecting the entire first season of our most popular series as a HUGE 232-PAGE GRAPHIC NOVEL!
This is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of storytelling and we genuinely couldn’t be more excited for it. We can’t spoil too much about this campaign yet, but rest assured that we have plenty of surprises planned!
Be sure to keep an eye on future newsletters for more info. And help ensure the strongest launch possible by following the Pre-launch Page for the Kickstarter below!
Work-for-Hire Comic Writing
Now onto the main topic of this post: Work-for-Hire Comic Writing.
For the uninitiated, this simply means comic writing that you are paid to do by a publisher or other entity. Most of the time, writers on a work-for-hire gig are producing a script over which they maintain no ownership (or reduced/shared ownership with the publisher) in exchange for an agreed-upon rate. This as opposed to self-published/creator-owned work, where a creator produces their own work and maintains full ownership, but also bears all of the costs of the project.
You know us very well for our Creator-Owned Work (the stuff we post about every other week). But what you don’t know is that we’ve actually worked on several Work-for-hire Comic Gigs over the years.
Paid writing gigs are often sought after for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they are (or at least, should be) a guaranteed payment for your work versus an investment in a property you hope will turn a profit. Secondly, these gigs often help creators expose their work to an entirely new audience (the publisher’s audience). And thirdly, most work-for-hire gigs have a very well-defined scope. If you’re producing a creator-owned project, you likely have to wear all (or most) of the hats. Writing the script, gathering the team, laying out the capital, determining distribution, advertising, fulfillment, etc. That’s all a HUGE time suck (trust us, we know), compared to paid work wherein you’re performing a specific task for a publisher.
Below, we’ll talk about how to get work-for-hire gigs, our experience with work-for-hire, how we approach it compared to our creator-owned material, and things to expect with work-for-hire (including projects that never end up seeing the light of day).
Let’s get into it!
What is “Bombshell & Atomica”?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of work-for-hire comic writing, let’s introduce you to our most recent WFH project: “The Misadventures Bombshell & Atomica” from Bad Bug Media!
“BETTY BOMBSHELL & VERONICA ATOMICA - 1950’s era Queer Superheroes navigating suburbia and a passionate affair! They must keep their superpowers and forbidden lust for one another a secret in this sexy, post-WW2, pulp superhero comic!”
We had so much fun writing this for Bad Bug Media and encourage you to check it out if you're a fan of our past work, classic superheroes, and/or NSFW queer romance!
And if you need a little extra incentive, know that supporting both Bombshell & Atomica and our currently-live Nightmare in Wonderland will get you both halves of an AWESOME connected art print by Elena Ominetti!
Supporting each campaign gets you one half of the print for free. Either half makes an awesome print by itself, if you want the full scene be sure to check out both campaigns!
How to Get Work-for-Hire Gigs
There’s a fine balance between letting people know you’re available and begging for work. If you’re looking for more work-for-hire gigs, we recommend letting your self-published work speak for itself. The success of WEBTOON’s Slice of Life was a big avenue for us finding work.
Instead of repeating the same “Hire me!” post every month, talk about the type of stories you like to write and the right people will find you. This can either be through social media or interactions/friendships you make with other creators on and offline. A rising tide lifts all boats. Comics shouldn’t be a competition, but a celebration of community.
And our biggest advice (this goes to artists, writers, etc.): make it easy for people to find your contact info. There have been countless times that we have wanted to hire an artist, but they didn’t have an email readily available or an easy to find portfolio. Employers aren’t going to hunt you down. Put your email or point of contact in your bio!
Our Experience with Work-for-Hire
We’ve actually done a number of work-for-hire projects. Kat has contributed a few shorts to the likes of Charlie McElvy’s Spider-Squirrel (and some unannounced shorts that will hopefully be released in the later half of 2024). And there have been a few work-for-hire projects that never found their way to publishing. But we still treasure those positive experiences and lessons.
Bad Bug is the first long form work-for-hire that has found its way to the public, and we couldn’t be prouder of the project!
A lot of work-for-hire projects start with a simple prompt, and Lifeline Comics has been lucky enough that most of those prompts gave us wiggle room to easily fit in our individual voices.
We are forever grateful to Bad Bug for loosening the reigns and allowing us to truly create a world for Bombshell & Atomica. If you read the book, you’ll see a lot of our writing staples (humor, queer exploration, and in-depth character study), because the Bad Bug team not only allowed us to make this project our own - but cheered us on to do so!
How we balance Lifeline Comics with WFH
Organization and project planning can honestly be its own newsletter post (and maybe someday it will be). These skills are absolutely essential for balancing work-for-hire with creator-owned work, and for maintaining your own library.
With over ten titles already in our library (and more to come soon), Lifeline Comics has a lot to balance in 2024 and onward. This includes our planned projects, our writing/art deadlines, conventions, and more.
Keeping all of that straight is definitely a challenge, but a doable challenge. Our key is to always be organized (we routinely rearrange our Google Drive), to keep a strict and up-to-date “Master To Do List”, and to set realistic deadlines and check-in dates for those deadlines.
Fun Fact: we actually wrote Bombshell & Atomica when Phil was in the Philippines last year. So coordinating co-writing a new series with a 12-hour time difference was an especially unique challenge. But one that strengthened our organizational skills!
For every newsletter going forward, we’ll also take some time to talk about news relating to our Dark Fairytale Shared Universe: the EverAfterVerse!
As you know, Nightmare in Wonderland #1 is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter and continued the EverAfterVerse Tradition of funding on Day #1!
We’re already three Stretch Goals deep in the project! And now we’re excited to announce a new ONE-WEEK-ONLY initiative for the project!
Valentine’s Day Cover Nightmare
For this week only (2/12-2/16), we’re offering a Limited-Edition NSFW Valentines Day edition of our Cover A art by Jason Muhr (By the Horns) and Warnia K. Sahadewa!
This cover features Sleeping Beauty AKA Princess Bianca with a sexy Valentine’s Day twist!
The new cover is now available as both a Reward Tier and Add-on for this week only and will never be available again. Don’t miss out!
What’s next for the EverAfterVerse?
We’re honestly blown away by the reaction to Nightmare in Wonderland. You all came out so hard for The Beast & Snow and now are continuing to do so for this next installment in the EverAfterVerse.
We couldn’t be more excited to keep telling these stories and building this world. And we’re excited that in our next newsletter (much sooner than we originally planned), we’ll be announcing the next upcoming EverAfterVerse series (which we dubbed Code Green in our last post).
We won’t tell you what it is yet, but we’ll give a pretty big hint…a lot of people are talking about this property following the Super Bowl Commercials… 💚🩷
What have we been up to?
Let’s talk about some of the other things we’ve been up to these last few weeks!
Kat Goes to A Basketball Game
As a late birthday present, my Dad and I grabbed seats to the Knicks Vs Lakers game.
Our spot was even better than expected with a great view of all the action.
LOOK HOW CLOSE WE WERE TO LEBRON!
Snow Packing
While launching the second installment of the “EverAfterVerse”, Lifeline Comics has been packing hundreds of Beast & Snow packages for the post office. We were able to send out 1K packages in a matter of a week (a record for us).
We need to give an extra thank you to our families for spending countless hours taping and packing after their own long days at work. In more ways than one, we wouldn’t be able to do this without you guys!
Media
And let’s discuss some popular non-comics media!
Lisa Frankenstein
Phil: I’ve been on a Diablo Cody kick these last few weeks, having rewatched Jennifer’s Body and seen Juno for the first time. So the release of Lisa Frankenstein (written and produced by Cody) was perfect timing. I dragged my family and friends to the theater for what ended up being a truly bizarre experience.
Lisa Frankenstein is a fascinating movie in how bizarre it is. It’s incredibly tonally inconsistent - ranging from somber to darkly comedic to full-out-farcical. The behavior of the characters is all over the place (particularly the relationship between Kathryn Newton’s Lisa and Cole Spouse’s Creature). And the film really takes a minute to find its footing - to the point where we almost walked out of the theater after the first 20 minutes.
But I’m glad that we stayed, because this insane spectacle really managed to win me over. For starters, it’s surprisingly hilarious. At first, I genuinely couldn’t tell if the comedy was intentional or Riverdale-style edgy teen speak. But as the film went on (and became more ridiculous and sardonic), the comedy really started to land.
The film has a wonderful gothic aesthetic. Right from its animated opening credits sequence to the end of the movie, everything from the lighting to the costuming to the set design was a real visual treat. When the movie wasn’t landing with us in the beginning, it was the visuals that kept us in our seats until the story and comedy caught up with it.
One of my favorite throughlines in the film was the relationship between Lisa and her stepsister, Taffy (Liza Soberano). The new siblings had such a layered, imperfect, real relationship with one another - one that honestly felt too nuanced for the movie that they were in. Their relationship alone really elevates this movie significantly from “bad teen horror/romance” to something that, in my opinion, has the potential to become a cult classic. Not everybody who saw this movie with me enjoyed Lisa Frankenstein as a whole. But everyone agreed that the Lisa-Taffy relationship was the most interesting part.
Lisa Frankenstein is definitely not a movie for everybody. And I think even the most avid fans of the movie would agree that its tone is a hot mess. But it oozes with charm and is full of genuine laughs, and even a few surprisingly moving moments.
Abbott Elementary Season 3 Premiere!
Spoilers Ahead
Kat: Abbott is back with an hour-long premiere that shakes up the show’s status quo for a promising new chapter. It’s an interesting leap to have Janine join a different side of the school board that will hopefully bring new and exciting challenges for the whole ensemble.
But there are some lingering elements from season 2 that the show doesn’t seem to want to step away from, namely: their “showmance”. Janine and Gregory are far from my favorite part of the show, and they continue to spend far too much time on them. I want to see more of the ensemble! Ava continues to steal the show, and she and the others deserve more screen time.
Overall, the premiere has some solid storytelling, even if there aren’t as many laughs as season 1.
Anime Office Comedies - “Cherry Magic” vs. “My New Boss Is Goofy”
Phil: Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been watching two Office Comedy Anime, each with either explicit or implied Boy Love themes:
“Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!” (Sanjūsai made Dōtei Da to Mahōtsukai ni Nareru rashii)
“My New Boss Is Goofy” (Atarashii Jōshi wa Do Tennen)
But which is the better Office Comedy? Let’s find out!
“Cherry Magic” sees gloomy office loner, Adachi, gain the ability to read the minds of people with whom he comes into direct physical contact. It’s through this ability that he learns that office superstar, Kurosawa, is secretly in love with him. Adachi must now sort whether he reciprocates feelings with Kurosawa while not betraying the fact that he knows about the other man’s crush.
There’s some pretty interesting commentary in this series with regard to sexuality. Neither of the protagonists identified as queer prior to developing feelings for one another. And in the case of Adachi, who has had zero romantic experience in his life, there’s some unique exploration as to whether his possible same-sex attraction is based on his lack of experience, or vice-versa. It can be a little frustrating to see Adachi flip-flop on his feelings, but it also feels somewhat authentic to the experience of questioning one’s sexuality. And there are a few surprises along the way that make this a very fun watch.
“My New Boss Is Goofy” follows a new employee at an ad agency, Momose, recovering from the traumas inflicted by the abusive boss from his previous job. Lucky for him, his new boss, Shirosaki, is the exact opposite of his previous boss. Kind, considerate, and GOOFY. Frequently absentminded and klutzy, Shirosaki always manages to make Momose laugh and helps him come out of his shell through his kindness.
While I’ve enjoyed both Anime, “My New Boss Is Goofy” is my favorite of the two. On paper, that may be surprising. It’s much thinner in the plot department. And it’s the option that is less explicitly queer. But what pushes this anime over “Cherry Magic” for me is the comedy and the sincerity. It’s hard not to smile watching “My New Boss Is Goofy” - whether it’s at Shirosaki accidentally making Momose his desktop screensaver, or at one of the leads opening up about the lessons they’ve learned from their past mistakes and traumas. It’s sweet. It’s wholesome. It’s fun.
That said, if you’re looking for a slice-of-life comedy and/or a Boy Love anime, I think both are worth a watch. And refreshingly, they give very different viewing experiences.
Comics
Let's discuss some comics we've enjoyed recently!
As usual, we'll spotlight a Direct Market Indie Book, a DC or Marvel book, a Kickstarter book, and a Webcomic!
Indie Comic: Ghostlore (BOOM! Studios)
Kat: As a big fan of Basketful of Heads, I was very happy to see Leomacs back on a horror book, and this time with another king of horror, Cullen Bunn. I can only describe Ghostlore as Ghost Whisperer on steroids.
How can you help the dead if they’re constantly shouting and trauma dumping on you? The conflicting father/daughter relationship is the core of this book and helps Ghostlore stand apart from familiar counterparts. This is a reliable series to add to your pull list!
DC Comic: Titans: Beast World
Kat: Events are hard, but DC superstars, Tom Taylor and Ivan Reis, truly subvert expectations with DC’s newest installment. Fun fact, I rarely like event books. They tend to spin their wheels and don’t always give a good reason for why the WHOLE UNIVERSE needs to be involved. They tend to feel like cash-grabs.
However, Beast World reminds you why events are important to the backbone of DC and Marvel comics. They should be used to affect the characters and the larger world they inhabit. This event has a solid through line as Beast Boy takes center stage, but most importantly it leads to some bigger story beats that will surely affect Titans and the DC universe as a whole.
Webtoon: Bad Plan Man
“A world after collapse, now a dangerous wasteland. Three misfits and their chaotic road trip across it.”
Phil: A post-apocalyptic sci-fi comedy that already has a lot of personality only six episodes into its run. We open on our two leads, Hue & Ram, fighting over who gets to eat a giant bug. And then follow them to the desert citadel, Rockolm, in their search of a car.
We go on to learn that our leads are “Hosts” and have unique powers (good luck for Ram, aquakinesis for Hue). Things move briskly with plenty of fun and snappy dialogue and character interactions.
Fair warnings that the art switches from color to black-and-white three episodes in. It didn’t bother me since the art style is so expressive. But some might find it jarring.
Definitely looking forward to seeing where this one goes!
Check out “Bad Plan Man” here: https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/bad-plan-man/list?title_no=897321
Kickstarter: Crossover Division #1-5: Hyde & Seek
“The growing evil of Mr. Hyde stalks Hank and Hector in a transformed London. Can they end the crossover before Hyde ends them?”
Phil: We always love seeing a new Kickstarter from our friend, Will Allred. Crossover Division sees a world where stories come to life and threaten to fracture reality beyond repair, and only an English professor and a research librarian have the knowledge and smarts to save us all.
An issue with a heavy focus on Mr. Hyde is very fun, and one we’re really looking forward to!
Back it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wallred/crossover-division-s-1-5-hyde-and-seek
In Closing
Thanks, as always, for reading our newsletter! Be sure to check out Nightmare in Wonderland #1 and The Misadventures of Bombshell & Atomica #1 on Kickstarter, and to follow the Pre-launch Page for “Slice of Life” Season 1!
And if you’re not already subscribed, GET ON THAT! You don’t want to miss future posts!
Current Kickstarters:
Nightmare in Wonderland #1 (Ending 3/07)
The Misadventures of Bombshell & Atomica #1 (Ending 2/23)
Next Kickstarter: “Slice of Life” Season 1 (Launching 2/26)
Next Convention/Event: Emerald City Comic Con (2/29-3/03)
Kat & Phil:
Another great newsletter, as always. LISA FRANKENSTEIN was already on my radar, and now I'm MORE interested. Although, with my life as it is right now, I'll probably wait for it to stream somewhere.
WORK FOR HIRE: Maybe I missed it, but I didn't really see you talk about your different approaches to work-for-hire vs creator-owned. I think you two might be in a unique situation because you're already used to dealing with another creative voice in the writing process (each other!) so when you add in the desires/directions of an editor, you're kind of used to that sort of give-and-take already. Unless the editor DOESN'T give-and-take, but just demands. Which doesn't sound like the case with BOMBSHELL/VERONICA ATOMICA. (BTW: Veronica Atomica is a MUCH better name than the generic "Atomica." Seeing her full name made me instantly 1000% more interested in the project.)
Speaking for myself, I had very few problems doing work-for-hire for Marvel and DC— but then, I wanted to work for them because I was already attracted to and in sync with the style of stories they told. I was not a rock-the-boat type. Of course, there were times they would insist on something I disagreed with, but I knew the deal going in and had very few complaints.
In creator-owned I have developed a very simple philosophy: whoever is most passionate about something should get their way. If someone just can't let something go, if it gnaws at them so they bring it back up later on— that says something to me, and I take it seriously. And I've been on both sides of that line— saying "you know that thing you said didn't work for you? I *really* think we should do it" and "You think that's the best way to go? Truthfully? Okay, then we'll do it your way." The story has ALWAYS been better because of it.
KK