“FTL, Y’all’s” Official Line-Up Has Been Determined!

Congratulations to all successful applicants!

Unlike previous Iron Circus anthologies, the concentration of excellent submission to “FTL, Y’all” was so high that we’ve completely foregone invitees. For the first time in ICC history, ALL the anthology participants were picked from open submissions.

Successful applicants were picked from over 400 submissions. And they are:

Look for this anthology on Kickstarter in the first half of 2018. Follow Iron Circus on tumblr, Twitter, or Facebook, or join our mailing list to keep updated! 

The announcement listing the successful submissions to “FTL Y'all” will be delayed one week.

Book editors @littlefroggies and @spikedrewthis are recovering from a cross-country move and five consecutive weeks on the road respectively, and will need seven more days to finalize the successful submissions list. Keep watching the space. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

“FTL, Y’all” submissions are CLOSED.

And holy MOLY, did we get a LOT.

Thanks, everyone.

Give us a month. Successful submissions will be announced October 15th.

You have 48 hours. We WILL leave without you.

FTL, Y’all submissions close IN 48 HOURS, at 11:59 PM, September 15th. 

Click here to review and complete the form to submit your comic proposal for consideration for FTL, Y’all: Tales From the Age of the $200 Warp Drive.

USE THE SUBMISSION FORM. Do not email your submissions to Amanda, Spike, or Iron Circus. We won’t see/be able to consider incorrectly-submitted proposals.

Submissions will close September 15th.

The full list of anthology participants, including any invitees, will be announced October 15th, unless we receive more submissions than expected. If this eventuality comes to pass, the final decision may be delayed up to one week to accommodate the unexpected volume.

Successful submissions must be completed by April 30th, 2018.

Questions? Consult the newly-updated FAQ and Submission Guidelines first.

What is FTL, Y’all? Read the prompt.

Still unsure of something? Ask managing editor Amanda Lafrenais at [email protected]. Please do not send tumblr asks.

A sneak peek at FTL, Y’all’s front cover, by the incredible Paul Davey.
You have 15 days left to be on the other side of this breath-taking image when someone turns the page. Submit now.

A sneak peek at FTL, Y’all’s front cover, by the incredible Paul Davey. 

You have 15 days left to be on the other side of this breath-taking image when someone turns the page. Submit now.

ironcircuscomics:
“  The FTL, Y'all anthology is HALFWAY THROUGH its submissions period. Creators, you have just about 15 days left to submit a proposal as outlined by the submission guidelines.
Check the tumblr. Read the posts. And get in by...

ironcircuscomics:

The FTL, Y'all anthology is HALFWAY THROUGH its submissions period.

Creators, you have just about 15 days left to submit a proposal as outlined by the submission guidelines.

Check the tumblr. Read the posts. And get in by September 15th, or we’re blowin’ this godforsaken rock without you.

Hurry!

FTL, Y’all submissions are OPEN.

Click here to review and complete the form to submit your comic proposal for consideration for FTL, Y’all: Tales From the Age of the $200 Warp Drive.

USE THE SUBMISSION FORM. Do not email your submissions to Amanda, Spike, or Iron Circus. We won’t see/be able to consider incorrectly-submitted proposals. 

Submissions will close September 15th.

The full list of anthology participants, including any invitees, will be announced October 15th, unless we receive more submissions than expected. If this eventuality comes to pass, the final decision may be delayed up to one week to accommodate the unexpected volume.

Successful submissions must be completed by April 30th, 2018.

Questions? Consult the newly-updated FAQ and Submission Guidelines first.

What is FTL, Y’all? Read the prompt.

Still unsure of something? Ask managing editor Amanda Lafrenais at [email protected]. Please do not send tumblr asks.

Looking forward to seeing what you folks have got! You have a MONTH. START PACKING.

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Submission Guidelines

Below are the submission guidelines for FTL, Y’all: Tales from the Age of the $200 Warp Drive.

Submissions open August 15th.

Submissions will close September 15th.

The full list of anthology participants, including any invitees, will be announced October 15th, unless we receive more submissions than expected. If this eventuality comes to pass,  the final decision may be delayed up to one week to accommodate the unexpected volume.

Successful submissions must be completed by April 30th, 2018.

FTL, Y’all will be a black-and-white/grayscale, all-comics anthology. Each story will be between 4 and 20 pages in length. The stories will be individual, creative interpretations of a universe where humanity has discovered how to build a faster-than-light engine for $200 in easily available parts. Space travel has been democratized, and the entire cosmos irrevocably changed.

The anthology will be edited and managed by Amanda Lafrenais,  and Iron Circus Comics will publish and distribute the finished volume.

WHAT WE WANT

Original stories of all genres – adventure, romance, horror, etc. – about a universe where FTL travel is cheaply and readily available to all strata of all human societies. Consult the FAQ for more details and specifics.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT

Pin-ups and prose submissions.

This anthology will exclusively feature comics.

Excessively graphic content.

Submissions to the anthology must be equivalent to a PG-13 movie rating. No “hard” profanity, nudity, erotica, or gore will be accepted.

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. Iron Circus Comics can’t play matchmaker. 

Single-creator submissions are fine. We don’t prefer multi-person teams over single creators, or vice-versa.

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. This includes the original inspirations for FTL Y’all, both in the RPG.net thread and the Oltion novels.

EXAMPLES

Below is some existing media (apart from the original inspiration, of course) that captures the feel and spirit of FTL, Y’all.

PAYMENT

FTL, Y’all 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 meets stretch goals.

CREATOR’S RIGHTS

Creators submit stories to FTL, Y’all 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 submission 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.

For more information, consult Blambot’s page on the subject.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions about this project which have not been addressed here or in the FAQ, you can contact us at [email protected]. Please do not send tumblr asks. Please read this page, and the FAQ, in its entirety before emailing.

Thank you!

The “FTL Y’all” FAQ

Included here are frequently asked questions about the FTL, Y’all anthology. Please read this post over in its entirety before sending any questions to the editor! This FAQ will be continually updated as the submissions period approaches, opens, and progresses, so keep checking back!

What a cool idea for an anthology! Where did it come from?

The concept for FTL, Y’all was inspired by an 11-year-old RPG.net thread, which was in turn inspired by the work of Jerry Oltion; primarily The Getaway Special and Anywhere but Here. You should buy them.

What does “FTL” mean?

Faster Than Light. It’s a common acronym in science fiction to describe the capabilities of warp drives, hyperspace, etc. There’s even a spaceship management video game with “FTL” as the title.

Do I have to worry about time dilation/inertia/radiation damage? Will I be expected to work those into my story?

Only if you want to. No submission will be dismissed from consideration for not being “hard sci-fi.” We’re talking about faster-than-light travel; this is already pretty absurd!

Can I make my comic about whoever uploaded the FTL engine schematics?

If you have an AMAZING idea, I wont tell you not to submit it. But this book is meant to be about the results of that act, not the act itself.

Can I include aliens?

Sure!

Is this a shared-universe project?

No, each story will be an individual interpretation of the prompt. The fiction and RPG projects that originally inspired FTL Y’all are not the setting, and should not be used or referenced in your submission.

How soon/long after the upload can I set my comic?

Seconds to millennia.

What level of ability will you be looking for in submissions?

This is a professional publishing project. Writing and art will have to meet our standards of quality. Please browse our previous anthology efforts to get an idea of what we consider acceptable.  

Can I submit prose fiction, poetry, pin-ups or illustration to “FTL, Y’all?”

No, this is a comics anthology. It will be 100% comics.

How old do I have to be to participate in this anthology?

You must be at least 18 years of age at the time of submission.

I’m not American. Can I still submit to this anthology?

Sure!

Can I submit more than one comic proposal? I have multiple good ideas!

Yes, but please, no more than three per creator/creative team. We want your best ideas, not every idea you have.

I have an already-finished comic that fits this prompt perfectly. Would you be willing to consider it?

Only so long as it truly fits the original prompt, follows the stated guidelines, and has never been physically published before. (online publication as a webcomic is fine.) 

What’s the difference between black and white and grayscale? Which format will this anthology be in?

Black and white is grayscale. As far as printing is concerned, they’re synonyms. Feel free to submit your comic in pure black and white, halftones, made on a scratchboard, cross-hatched, flood-filled with shades of gray in Photoshop, etc.

What age group will this anthology be meant for?

Middle grade and up. “Hard” swears (F***, C***) and nudity won’t be permitted.

Is this a paid project?

Like all Iron Circus Comics anthology projects, this project will pay a minimum $50 page rate, supplemented by a Kickstarter bonus. Participants will also receive 10 complimentary copies of the anthology, and the right to purchase additional copies at 50% off the cover price.

Is the page rate per comic, or per team member?

Per comic. If the anthology finishes its Kickstarter with a $100 page rate, that page rate will be universal, regardless of the size of the creative teams. A comic with three creators won’t make $300 per page.

What about intellectual property rights? Are you buying those from selected stories?

No. Participation in FTL Y’all cedes universal first publication rights to Iron Circus for a period of one year, and general publication rights in perpetuity.

What that means in practice is that only ICC and no one else will be permitted to sell your story in the agreed format (as part of an anthology) for one calendar year, and will be permitted to continue to sell your story in that format until the heat death of the universe non-exclusively. After that initial year concludes, you can put your FTL submission on Gumroad, sell it to a different anthology, stick it up on itch.io with pay-what-you-want pricing, print it as a mini for cons, anything you like.

And ICC is not purchasing intellectual property rights. If Steven Spielberg decides he needs to make a movie out of a story we’ve published in FTL, he’ll have to go to you, not us. ICC exclusively publishes creator-owned comics.    

6 Months From Now

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detailed schematics anonymously uploaded to the Internet will describe, with absolute precision, how to build a faster-than-light engine for $200 in easily-available parts.

Space travel will be instantly—and chaotically—democratized. The entire cosmos is suddenly within reach of all humankind, without organization, authority, or limitation.

This comics anthology is about what happens next.

The open submissions period for FTL, Y’all, Iron Circus Comics’ next anthology project, begins August 15th.

Follow this tumblr for news and updates.