Yes indeed. I always love the ocean and seafood, and miniature golf is a favorite activity of mine :-)

oooh! he has emo kid hair, but it works!!

Hi Buttercup. I'm afraid I'm not a moderator, or (sadly) affiliated with Zach in any way. I wish I were, though!!! I'm just someone who knows a whole lot about comics, from the creative and academic ends. Quite a few people have asked about contacting BTD with unsolicited material, which is why I posted. That post wasn't aimed at you specifically. If you were told to contact someone at Comicon, obviously you're in a unique situation, but I'm not sure to whom you would speak. Your work sounds interesting. Best of luck getting through the proper channels! -Bailey

Lol. Cartooning as a hobby is great, and of course practice makes perfect. It just seems there are a lot of people out there who don't take it seriously as an industry, and that's a little frustrating. Of course, people can do great things with initially non-serious web-comics these days, so keep on truckin'!

I know there's a misconception that getting into comics is easy. It is not. It is one of the hardest industries to possibly break into because its' a flooded market. Even if you do break into it, you'll make almost nothing (unless you're an Alan Moore). If you're serious, kick your own ass drawing every single day, have a quality, recent, completed project to show, and create a solid business plan. And always remember what Charles Schultz said: "Cartooning will break your heart".

I answered this question a couple other times when other people posted the same thing. BTD's contact page says NO unsolicited submissions. The comic industry is not one where you just send stuff out to companies and hope for the best (unlike publishing novels). You have to have a full comic, comic strip, or webcomic completed and have a pretty substantial fan base. THEN you contact publishers, or, more likely, they come to you. Comics is a risky industry for publishers and they don't take risks on unknowns. As Marvel/DC told my partner, (who majored in sequential art/comics), they need to know you have a fan base before they'll even look at you.

OOh. My favorite!

I write, but don't do any design type stuff. For me inspiration often comes from fear. Like Raine, I'm also working on a piece that revolves around the detrimental effects of medical progress. The inspiration for my most recent book came from my family. I had always thought of them as boring and pretty dull, until I realized that they have the most interesting deaths ever. We may not live well, but we go out with a bang.

Noooo! Florida is a trap for old people and disgusting bugs. You best get out of there soon! :-)

For some reason, I love this pic! The non-matching shirt/tie combo is also great.

Lol. Threats can be great motivators, as can deadlines. I generally mark on my ICal when I want to have each chapter (or scene for GN writing) finished. I always make sure to finish when I said I would, even if it's not perfect. You can always go back and revise later.

Hi Raine. I write graphic novels, boring regular novels, and short stories. Thus I often face writer's block. The best technique I have found is to force yourself to write anyway. Prepare yourself to write just like you normally would (for me that's in a shut, tidy, quiet room with a cup of coffee) and start writing where you left off, making a notation of where you started for that day. Just free-write. If you want to start with 'I don't know what to write today, but I'm going to just talk about whatever..' that's fine. Just talk about your writers block if you need to, or put your thoughts for the day on paper. Keep on writing until you fall upon something you like. This may take minutes, hours, or days, but the only way to get past the block is to write through it. As you flesh out your thoughts, you may also find pieces you want to use in the future. Since you've noted where your rambling began, you can always delete it out once you're over the hump. Best of luck! Kykat, your technique sounds interesting. It's fascinating to realize how different everyone's approach is.

THere's a contact tab that says they do not accept unsolicited materials. Sorry guys, but you'll probably have to go about it the way most published comics artists do: write/draw/self publish your own work, get up a fanbase, then approach a company. Comic publishers don't take chances on non-established artists. Sucks, but that's the way of the world. (Trust me I know, my partner went to art school for comics and this is what Marvel/D.C/DarkHorse all told him.) Best of luck!

If you check out Before the Door's website and take a look at the Contact section, it says they will not accept unsolicited materials that don't go through the proper industry channels. So no, BTD is not looking for artists from the public. Your best bet is to get your stuff out there yourself, get an audience and fanbase, then wait for someone to approach you. That's how most artistic industries work (and definitely how comics works).

Don't worry: I watch Halloween movies and sometimes leave certain decorations out year round. Holloween is the best day of the year and should last infinitely longer.

That's one of my new favorites. Thanks picture lady!

Wow. Pay shouldn't really be subjective that way.... I hope your work gets better.

I love the crazy beard insanity :-)

I love the scene in "Six Feet Under" where they sing along to "Transatlanticism".

Hi Sarah! Great pic :-) It finished raining last night here in Pennsylvania. I wish it were still going, it's too hot now! Eisbar, I've just been reading about it raining in Seattle. Tom Robbins loves to set his stories there.

Nico I also love that one from Royal Tenenbaums. My favorite, though, is the one where Gene Hackman surprises Angelica Houston on the street and tells her he has cancer, then that he doesn't (then goes). Her acting there is phenomenal. "Well do you or don't you?!" "What?" Another favorite scene of mine is in "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", where the house is falling down around them. It's the only scene in any movie that makes me want to cry. Last one: the Reflecting Pool scene in Forrest Gump. "Jenny!"