As well as writing stellar small press comics like white NOIR, The Ether, Chunks and the recent Red Rocket Comet, Matt Garvey has turned all altruistic and offered to self finance a small press anthology – called Gotta Start Somewhere – for creators who have never been published before which he will help get into comic shops in the UK. The criteria for entering was originally published over at the MillarWorld forum but he has given us permission to repost it here in an attempt to get more people involved in this excellent project. So keep on reading and if you have ever wanted to make a comic, perhaps this is your way to get started!

Some of you know me…others might not.

My name is Matt Garvey and with the help of some amazing artist collaborators, I make my own comics…

The reason I mentioned this is because we all gotta start somewhere.

BUT it’s hard…for many factors…

You are putting yourself out there and that’s scary.

Plus, not knowing where to start…is hard, because jumping into a full 24-page comic is a HUGE commitment of time and money.
You have to start small.

So, My plan is…
I’m am going to put together a 24-page black and white anthology called:
GOTTA START SOMEWHERE
It is going to contain 6 x 4-page comics created by people who have never made a comic before but wanna give it a go.

Once I’ve picked the six stories, I am then going to put my money where my big fat mouth is and pay for 300 copies to be printed…I’m not kickstarting it and i don’t have any secret funders…this is my money out of my pocket

Once they are printed, then i’m going to send them to comic shops around the UK to give away for FREE!
(I’m happy to send to the US if the stores will cover the shipping costs…because I can’t afford it)

So, if you are a comic shop and you would like some of these FREE comics, let me know. Send me a DM on twitter @mattgarvey1981

Why am I doing this?

Why the hell not!

Along with my amazing wife, the people on this board helped encourage me when I started out making comics and I thought it would be nice to try and give something back…help you MAKE A COMIC and get it out there for the world to see!

But there are rules…
RULES:
• Your comic must be black and white only (if it is in colour I cannot use it)
• Your comic must be 4 pages long (if its longer or shorter I cannot use it)
• Your 4-page comic can be ANY genre you want.
• Your comic must have a beginning, middle and end (no cliff-hangers and no launching off into other stories. It must be self-contained) not sure how to write a 4-page self-contained sstory? Go read some 2000AD future shocks to get some ideas of structure.
• You must be a complete team, either a writer/artist or a writer and an artist team.
If you are the latter, it is up to you to find your partner and work out your own “arrangement” with how you work with each other (again I am not getting involved).
PLEASE do not try use this thread find a partner. This thread is purely finished comics ONLY.
• I am NOT looking for solo scripts or art samples; I need completed 4-page comics. Pencilled, inked, and lettered comics. So, please do not post unfinished work here. If you need help lettering your comic, I will happily help letter your story for you. If so, once you have completed every other stage, Direct message me and we’ll see about me helping out.
• If you are a member of Millarworld Forum you can post your four-page comic entry in the thread here. Alternatively, you can send your story to me privately via twitter at @mattgarvey1981. My DMs are open.

• DEADLINE: December 4th 2018, so this will give just over three months to find a partner (if needed) and create your completed four page stories.
• I am the one and only judge, so it is my choice. I will have the final say about what stories goes into the and I will pick the six stories to go in this comic. No arguments.
• You or any member of your team cannot have had any comic work previously printed (including self-published & web comics) because the point of this is to encourage NEW people, who have never tried it before.
• No nudity in your comic
• No swearing in your comic
• No Gratuitous violence
• No HATE in any form! By this I mean no Homophobia, no racism, no transphobia…basically BE NICE!
• Nothing inappropriate….if you can’t let a ten year old read your comic…I can’t use it!
• It needs to be in English.
• The comic, story, characters and everything involved must be completely your own work and original. So, do not be using other people’s characters or intellectual properties. So, no Superman stories…
• One entry per person/team. So if you are a writer you can’t write four scripts, team up with four different artists and enter four times.
• You and your creative team own all the rights for the stories and characters you create. So, after I have printed the initial 300 copies you re free to do whatever you want with your story, it’s yours, not mine. The only thing Matt Garvey will own will be the title of the comic GOTTA START SOMEWHERE.
• You and your creative team (if applicable) need to work out the ownership of your comic. Matt Garvey is not liable for any disputes over ownership of your comic, story or characters. In the words of Bill and Ted “be Excellent to each other”
• There is no money involved. I am doing this purely to help get people making comics. The creators of the six stories contained in the printed edition will be given 6 copies to distribute between you.
• Feel free to ask questions in this thread, if I haven’t been clear, but apart from that complete comics only to be posted, please.• When posting your finished comics in this thread or sending them to me via twitter you MUST include the words “I (and my creative team) AGREE TO ALL THE RULES ABOVE/MILLARWORLD THREAD” because I do not have time to write up a legal document to get you to sign and send back…THIS IS NOT THE MILLARWORLD TALENT SEARCH it is just a small press comic with a small print run.
• I (Matt Garvey) have the right to change or alter the rules as I see fit. So, basically if there is something important that I have missed or if something needs tweaking after a question is asked, I can change these rules…so please don’t scream at me. This is a learning curve for me too.
• This offer has nothing to do with MillarWorld or Mark Millar [or Pipedream Comics] and they are not responsible. Please do not badger Mark or the Mods.
So, worst case scenario, you make your comic. You post it and you don’t get into the anthology…but you know what YOU JUST MADE YOUR FIRST COMIC…So keep going…because you are now a comic maker!

AGAIN, I am only doing this purely as a gesture of kindness, because I thought it would be nice and I want to encourage people to go out and make their first comics.

If you are looking for any kind of monetary reward from me, please do not enter.

I cannot stress that enough.

Now go out there and make a comic!

YOU CAN DO IT!

Because if I can make a comic anyone can!