FAMILY FROM HELL Contest Finalists

We got a great number of submissions for the recently concluded Family From Hell contest and are happy to announce the two finalists for the Grand Prize—a custom sketch by Shadow Hunter cover artist, Greg Horn, drawing the winner getting their ass kicked by the badass Shadow Hunter! Keep the comments coming and let us know who you think should win! First prize winners will get email notifications but be sure to check back on April 15th for the Grand Prize winner.

Coaltion Comix Update

Read Mike Carey’s latest blog for the Queen’s Rook outline. Post your thoughts about pacing, content, sequence, structure… and, y’know, anything else…

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=215822519&blogID=339729660

See the entire comic unfold at www.myspace.com/coalitioncomix

COALITION COMIX: Vote 2 is in

Exciting developments are afoot with your very own Coalition Comix. We have just posted the results of Vote 2. YOU have spoken and here are the results!

The vote went like this:

1. Betrayal 57.6%
2. Gaining Self-Knowledge 18.2%
3. Loss/Bereavement 16%
4. Obligations to self or others 8.2%

The next vote is central to the story:

What sort of protagonist(s)/main character(s) should we have in our book?

1. Solo hero of either sex, loner
2. Duo, or hero with friend/sidekick
3. Team book or ensemble cast
4. Ensemble cast built around solo hero, a la Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Mike Carey wants to hear what you think — drop by the profile, read his blog, and join the discussion on the forum. And don’t forget — VOTE! This vote ends on November 7th so VOTE EARLY and VOTE OFTEN!

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Hola! Quick reminder about Coalition Comix — where MySpace users and Richard Branson’s Virgin Comics teamed up to build a brand new comic book from the ground up. VOTING HAS STARTED and you can now decide what genre the comic book should be!

The first vote at ends on the 23rd (ONE DAY LEFT), so click below to make sure your vote counts! Exciting new features soon — stay tuned!

COALITION COMIX IS LIVE!

COALITION COMIX are original comics books created from a blank canvas by YOU! Story Master Mike Carey will present the Coalition with a decision to make – and let you decide the course of this comic with your votes! The power is in YOUR hands!

Place your first vote here: http://myspace.com/coalitioncomix

Discuss your ideas with Mike in the forums: http://tinyurl.com/2uozng

VIRGIN COMICS and MYSPACE CREATE COALITION COMIX

Leading Social Networking Site Provides New Creative Showcase for Its Members

New York, NY—July 20, 2007—Virgin Comics and MySpace have teamed up to launch Coalition Comix (http://www.myspace.com/coalitioncomix), a new online comic book platform, allowing thousands of participants to work with leading comic book creators in the development and creation of new characters and stories.

Coalition Comix will open up the role of comic book writer to the world at large, allowing participants to providing artistic direction for the comic by voting on the plot twists and turns at each step of the way.

Coalition Comix will commission some of the comic book industry’s leading creators to collaborate with users as virtual “Story Masters.” Leading creators will guide participants to collectively craft new story properties for comics and subsequent development into film, games and animations.

“Coalition Comix will allow readers to collaborate artistically with both a leading comics professional as well as thousands of like-minded MySpace users all over the world,” said Sharad Devarajan, CEO of Virgin Comics. “It opens the door to a new world of interactions and collaborations, taking an exciting step into the creative possibilities of the internet, and a new form of collaborative art without borders, barriers, or limits.”

“MySpace is about self-expression and the interactive format of Coalition Comix will allow the MySpace community to make themselves part of the story,” said Shawn Gold, senior vice president of marketing for MySpace.

Each digital issue will have a real time creation period of two weeks, with sketches, artwork and scripts continuously uploaded for interactivity with the community. The first comic planned will be guided by leading comic book author, Mike Carey (Voodoo Child, X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four).

Carey will dialogue with readers and guide the development of the plot at each step along the way by reviewing feedback from readers, and posing questions with five or six choices for the Coalition Comix community to choose from. During this time the Story Master will evaluate progress at timed intervals to give feedback to the community. Their ideas and votes will determine the final plot, generating a final work of sequential art that was created and influenced by hundreds or even thousands of contributors.

Gotham Chopra, Virgin Comic’s Chief Creative Officer added, “Creativity and innovation our the core ingredients to everything we try and do at Virgin Comics. So when we decided we wanted to experiment online and do something different, there was only one partner that made sense to work with – MySpace. What are we gonna
create together? No one knows, but it will be cool. That’s the point.”

Users can join up to participate in Coalition Comix on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/coalitioncomix.

Comic book fans can also learn more by visiting the official MySpace Comic Books profile (www.myspace.com/comicbooks). This profile is the official community for manga, graphic novels and comic books on MySpace, where fans and friends of MySpace Comic Books can find the latest comic book news, interviews, special features, contests, exclusives and more. MySpace Comic Books spotlights the most exciting projects, creators and events in the industry including user generated comics by MySpace members themselves.

JOIN VIRGIN COMICS’ MYSPACE FRIEND LIST: http://www.myspace.com/virgincomics

CLICK TO DIGG THIS STORY: http://digg.com/tech_news/VIRGIN_COMICS_and_MYSPACE_CREATE_COALITION_COMIX