The Tim’rous Beastie anthology project is now open for submissions. We’ll be accepting them between Dec 1st, 2016 and Jan 1st, 2017. The full list of anthology participants will be announced Jan 15th, except in the instance we receive more submissions than expected, in which case this may be extended 1 week to accommodate volume.
WHAT IS IT?
Tim'rous Beastie is a black-and-white comic anthology about small lives in a big, big world.
This is an anthology by and for those of us who grew up inspired by Redwall, The Deptford Mice, Rats of NIMH, and other tales of brave and imperiled critters defying their size and place in the natural order. We want to not only channel that inspiration into the medium of comics, but to approach familiar themes with fresh eyes.
Featuring fantasy, urban fantasy, and sci-fi, Tim'rous Beastie aims to explore the potential of stories told from a scale that, while still very human, makes even the mundane aspects of human life seem gigantic.
The anthology’s title is Scots for “timid little beast,” and from a line the 1785 Robert Burns poem, “To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough (link),” which is also where the phrase “the best laid plans of mice and men” originates.
Tim’rous Beastie will be a joint venture, with Amanda Lafrenais as Managing Editor and Iron Circus Comics publishing and distributing.
PARTICIPANTS
The following creators are currently slated to appear in Tim’rous Beastie.
Stories of all genres – adventure, romance, horror, etc – about the lives of anthropomorphic intelligent animals. The acceptable level of anthropomorphism ranges from giving voices to realistic animals in their natural habitats to “civilized” creatures who wear pants, build homes, cook meals, and soforth. However, all the animals featured in creator submissions should be depicted in realistic scale with one another. Mice should be mouse-sized, cats cat-sized, and so on.
Think Mouse Guard, not Mickey Mouse.
WHAT WE DON’T WANT
Pin-ups and prose submissions.
This anthology will exclusively feature comics.
Excessively graphic content.
Like the books that inspired this anthology, we welcome darker themes, however they must be equivalent to a PG-13 movie rating. No profanity, nudity, erotica, or gore.
Proposals from incomplete creative teams.
If you’re an artist without a writer, or a writer without an artist, please find a partner before submitting your proposal.
Fanfic, fan art, or pastiche.
Please don’t submit stories using intellectual property you don’t own, or stories that are clearly referential of such work/take place in the same universe or reality.
Racist/xenophobic allegory.
Tim'rous Beastie will not accept stories that generalize or caricature entire species of animals as the equivalents of or stand-ins for human races or ethnic groups. We would also prefer it if submitted stories avoided the cliche of rats, weasels, snakes, and similar animals being inherently evil by design, and mice or bunnies as inherently good.
Cute mice vs. The World.
We won’t reject submissions with mice as protagonists, but we urge you to put more thought and originality into your stories than Cute Mouse Protagonist vs. Irredeemably Evil Whatever.
Examples
Some existing media that inspired or captures the spirit of Tim'rous Beastie:
Tim’rous Beastie will pay a $50 page rate, plus ten contributor’s copies per creator and the perpetual right to buy copies of the anthology for 50% off the cover price for as long as the comic is in print. There will also be a bonus for all contributors if the Kickstarter campaign does well.
Creators’ Rights
Creators submit stories to Tim’rous Beastie with the understanding that, if accepted, they are ceding exclusive first worldwide rights to the story for a full calendar year from the date of publication, and non-exclusive worldwide reprint rights in perpetuity. Intellectual property rights will remain in the hands of the creator. We don’t want your characters or concepts, just your comics.
Production Size
If your proposal is accepted, the final art must be designed to fit standard American graphic novel dimensions: 6.625″ × 10.25″. What this means for your production process depends on your choice of medium, but the following guides may be useful.
If you have any questions about this project which have not been addressed here, you can contact us at [email protected] or send a tumblr ask. Please read this page, including the FAQ, in its entirety before emailing us or sending a Tumblr ask. Thank you!
FAQ
Can my submission be grayscale? Or does “black and white” MEAN black and white?
Grayscale is just fine!
Can people outside the United States submit to this anthology?
Absolutely!
I am under 18 and/or will be turning 18 when the book comes out, can I submit?
No. For legal reasons we are only accepting submissions from people who are 18+ at the time of submission.
Can I submit more than one story proposal?
Yes, but please, try to keep the total number of stories you submit low, maybe to a maximum of three. We want your best ideas, not every single idea you have!
When will you need the finished pages by?
TBA.
Can my story have humans?
Humans may be alluded to or depicted as part of the world building, as in they can have an impact on the world the characters live in, but they themselves cannot be characters. This means small Beasties can have things like sardine can beds, teacup bathtubs, and framed postage stamps on their walls. Humans can also have an impact on the plot, much like in “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” wherein the events of the story are necessitated by the actions of the human farmers. But submitted stories cannot star these humans.
Can I make my submission about a non-existent fantasy creature?
No. While fantasy elements are allowed (magic, sorcery, the occult, etc), animals must represent real-world counterparts.
The latest Iron Circus Comics anthology is now accepting submissions! Please read the post above and click the links provided there for more information.
Letters for Lucardo by @claystorks is the first in a planned four-book series, and Iron Circus Comics' latest erotic graphic novel!
This fantastic new comic is about an aristocratic immortal, and his ill-advised love for a human man in the autumn of his mortal life.
Ed Fiedler is a common man, 61 years old and employed as a scribe in a royal palace. His most regular client is Lucardo von Gishaupt, a forever-young member of the mysterious and revered Night Court. When the eternally 33-year-old Lucardo and the aging Ed develop feelings for one another, both are forced to contend with the culture shock of a mortal man’s presence among the deathless, the disapproval of the sitting Lord of the Night Court, and Ed’s own ever-present mortality, threatening to bring an end to their romance in the blink of an everlasting eye.
Iron Circus Comics' next Kickstarter launches October 24th! Follow Spike on Kickstarter to know the moment the project goes live!
Sophie Campbell ( @mooncalfe ), author of Shadoweyes, Volume 1, is up for Favorite Graphic Novel/Book, and Melanie Gillman ( @pigeonbits ), author of As The Crow Flies, has been nominated THREE TIMES for Favorite Webcomic – Serial, Favorite Cartoonist, AND Favorite Comics Anthology for their work on The Other Side!
Autostraddle Award winners are determined by popular vote, and voting lasts until Saturday, September 24th at midnight, Pacific Time. If you have the time, please help these worthy comics and creators secure some recognition! Vote here!
Launching TODAY on GoComics: Poorcraft, the Funnybook Fundamentals of Living Well on Less!
Heya, folks! I am beyond pleased to announce that Poorcraft, Iron Circus Comics’ first-ever Kickstarted book and evergreen bestseller, is now syndicated on GoComics! It updates Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays.
It’s Friday again! That means I get to announce the newest Iron Circus Comics title!
And this time the TITLE OF THE WEEK is Sparks, by Sarah W. Searle!
Set in the late Victorian era, Sparks begins with Patience, a kindhearted country girl, and her introduction into the world of formal service on the grounds of an English country manor. Selfless, dutiful, and just a touch naive, she takes to both her place as a parlor maid and to her new roommate, the bookish and progressive lady’s maid, Esther.
In another time, the two women would have likely kept one another’s company forever in their little attic bedroom, living out their days together in the employ of a Lord. But the world is changing. The age of Empire has brought with it not only plundered wealth, but worldliness and social revolution. Suffragists agitate in the street, idle-rich bohemians challenge sexual mores, and Patience and Esther slowly come to realize the world is wider and full of more adventure and opportunity than they ever imagined… so long as they find the will to seize it.
Currently serialized on Filthy Figments, the internet’s biggest and best collection of woman and NB-made erotic comics, Searle’s Sparks will be collected, remastered, and published by Iron Circus Comics in 2017 as part of the Smut Peddler Presents line of erotic graphic novels! But if ya can’t wait that long? Subscribe to Filthy Figments and start reading it right now.
Thanks for reading, everybody! Don’t forget to follow creator Sarah W. Searle’s tumblr at @swinsea. And keep following us right here! We have MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS coming!
Holy crapola, y’all, The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ & Amal has just been nominated for a Harvey Award!
This nomination comes hot on the heels of an Eisner Award nomination, and a Lambda Literary Award WIN!@bigbigtruck, this is YOUR YEAR! 😀
Still haven’t read this critically-acclaimed, award-winning masterpiece? Get on this train, folks! TJ & A is available at Amazon, on Comixology, and via the Iron Circus shop! And the ICC shop not only has the TJ & A omnibus, but the special epilogue floppy and the sexy TJ side story, Kung-Fu Hustlers!Order soon, and your books SHIP TODAY.
Thank you again for voting for Less Than Epic, fellow comics pros! And please, don’t forget to help us seal the deal and vote on the final ballot! We’re under Best Graphic Album Previously Published!
Happy Friday! Who wants a sneak-peek of the latest graphic novel project signed by Iron Circus Comics?
TITLE OF THE WEEK: Meal, by Blue Delliquanti!
The irrepressible Yarrow McMurray is a woman on a mission: A mission to put bugs in your burgers. Worms in your stir-fry. Maggots in your… muesli?
Sure. Why not.
In short, Yarrow eats bugs. And cooks bugs! And loves bugs. Inspired and driven on her quest by short-tempered guiding force and employer Chanda Flores, she won’t rest until everybody else feels the same way, including her skeptical girlfriend Milani Spence.
Written in the spirit of classic food and cooking manga like Drops of God, Cooking Master Boy and Yakitate!! Japan, Blue Delliquanti, author of the critically acclaimed and Lambda Literary Award-nominated O Human Star, plans to bring Meal to ICC and adventurous readers in 2017!
Check out the artist’s tumblr at@bluedelliquanti!
And keep watching this blog! NEW ICC COMICS ANNOUNCED EVERY WEEK!
