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Column:
Comic Book Junkie
"Pitching Manhunter"
By Matt Yocum
Published: 2006-09-22
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In November 2005 I rode the train from Washington, D.C. to New
York, having successfully secured a meeting with DC Comics editor
Stephen Wacker (who now is working the editorially challenging title
52). I had numerous concepts I wanted to pitch, but the strongest was
a miniseries I proposed for the Martian Manhunter, someone I
seriously believed needed a reboot. Everything about him, from the
perpetual loneliness as the last of his people to his outdated costume
(those boots! that cape! sheesh!) to his Cro-Magnon Man brow. It all
needed an update.
How did I prepare? It began with research. I read the earlier
ongoing series of the Martian Manhunter, moved to the
JLA, learning about his background and where writers had
taken him. I knew several key moments already, but I needed more
depth. I decided I wanted a challenge he’d faced in his past,
Fernus, from the JLA arc “Trial by Fire.” Providing for an
emotional arc, J’onn J’onzz needed a renewed sense of loss
which meant he needed something to give him hope again. I wanted to
raise the prospect of a new group of Green Martians, and then I
proposed something to rend his heart once again.
After finishing the pitch I was told the reality: DC already had
a Martian Manhunter miniseries in the works with a chosen creative
team. Steve Wacker had no other options for me; since he was about to
start 52, his creative teams were set for the next year or two.
Although there was no editorial room for my ideas, I was pleased
with my proposal. In putting together my proposal I used various
resources including Image Comics’ Invincible Ultimate Collection Volume 1.
In supplemental material at the end, writer Robert Kirkman includes
the original proposal pages he used to pitch Invincible to
Image, including one page each for the premise, the plot, and the
twist along with proposed artwork on each of the pages.
Included here are two pages I developed to offer to DC Comics when
pitching the Martian Manhunter miniseries. Included with this, I
gave them a releasability statement to cover the legal aspects of
pitching ideas using their characters.
I hope these pages offer at least some idea of how to put together
a proposal. There are many other resources available to see
proposals, and the avenues writers and artists use to break into the
industry are as many and varied as the creators themselves. The keys, as I believe
them to be, are creativity, professionalism, brevity, solid writing,
and persistence.
Like many of you out there, I still hope to break into the
industry. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be making calls to you,
bouncing ideas back and forth on our latest projects.
Feel free to email me at myocum@comiccritique.com and if
you’d like to learn more about me, go to www.mattyocum.com.
—CCdC—
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