Entries Invited for COMIX.INDIA - the Comic Magazine

Entries are invited for COMIX.INDIA, a self published comic magazine in association with Pothi.com.

Concept and Rules of the magazine

  1. COMIX.INDIA is a self-published magazine, in partnership with pothi.com, which is a website that prints and sells self-published books on a ‘print-on-demand’ basis. To learn more about self-publishing and print-on-demand, please go to www.pothi.com .
  2. There is no investment of money involved since the magazine is printed only when somebody orders it on pothi.com.
  3. However, whenever a copy of the magazine is sold on their website, the profit generated is split equally between all the contributors. For example, if the magazine costs Rs.200, and the profit is Rs.50, this Rs.50 will be divided equally between all the comic authors. This is the earning for the author. Pothi.com will keep adding up the sales accounts of each author, and as and when a decent amount is reached, will send a cheque to each of them. Each author will have a pothi.com account so that he or she can keep track. This co-operative system means that each author is part ‘owner’ and ‘publisher’ of the magazine, and is entirely responsible for the magazine’s success. This is why the magazine is called ’self-published’. The Editor and Designer are simply part of the authors of the magazine.
  4. The copyright of individual contributions rests with the author. Neither COMIX.INDIA nor pothi.com hold any copyrights over the magazine.
  5. Another incentive for authors is that they can buy the magazine from pothi.com at a discounted ‘Author’s Price’. This allows authors to sell copies to others and pocket the profit. To clarify, this means that in this case the profit is not shared by all authors but will go to the author who put up the money to buy copies from pothi.com. Authors can order copies at ‘Author’s Price’ by logging into their accounts at pothi.com .
  6. The authors for the first Volume of COMIX.INDIA will get a FREE COPY of the magazine from pothi.com.
  7. Please register on The COMIX.INDIA Forums before sending work. It will help connect with each other.
  8. The magazine will be edited by the Admin, COMIX.INDIA website, for the first Volume. For Volume 2, any other member of the COMIX.INDIA Forums can be Editor, which will be decided either by consensus or a poll on the forum. If no one else is willing, Admin will do the dirty work.
  9. There will be one Designer, also a COMIX.INDIA Forum member, who will put all the contributions together into book form in PDF, including designing the cover, which will then be passed on to pothi.com for sale. The Editor chooses the Designer. Again, if no one else is willing, Admin will do the dirty work.
  10. The magazine will be on sale permanently at pothi.com.
  11. Finally, depending on the response to Volume One of COMIX.INDIA, we can decide at what intervals to release further volumes.

What does this magazine hope to achieve?

The idea behind the magazine is to create a space where both new and experienced comic authors can show their work, interact with other comic creators, and build a culture of buying and reading comics that is not restricted to any one target audience or genre. A self-published magazine does not have the pressure of recovering investments, so comic authors can afford to take a few risks, which is desperately needed if we want to foster the comic medium in India. We need hundreds of comic authors, and this magazine can give an opportunity for new voices. Even if the magazine doesn't sell a single copy, (which we don't expect to happen), the magazine will not be out of circulation, since it is not printed until someone orders it. Since distribution is internet-based, the potential audience for the magazine is worldwide, not just India. The magazine hopes to be a platform for talented new comers as well as experienced pros wanting to have some fun. With future volumes, the magazine can only get better, and comic authors will learn from experience. The CDBi forum is always available for feedback and peer reviewing of the works. The magazine has the potential to be produced bi-monthly or even monthly perhaps.

Tech Specs

  • Size – width= 7 in. height= 9 in.
  • Interior – Black & White (as in, all comics must be in B&W. Why? Because it is way way cheaper to do B&W than colour. It's easier for the authors too, and since it is a magazine, B&W ensures speed and efficiency.)
  • Cover – colour.
  • No. of pages – Depends, but we hope to touch 200-250.
  • Price – Depends on the number of pages. Will be decided by Editor & Designer.

Instructions for Authors

  • The comic should be in black & white.
  • Page size should be A4 (width= 8.3 inches, height= 11.7 inches). We will reduce it for the magazine.
  • Send individual page JPEGs scanned at 300 dpi to editor.comix.india(at)gmail(dot)com .
  • The comic should be between 20-40 pages, no less, no more. (This is an important point. We want to ensure that every contributor puts in the same amount of work in order for the profits to be distributed equally)
  • If strips or short works are being submitted, then a 20 page compilation is minimum requirement.
  • Do not put in page numbers in the pages. Indicate page numbers only in the filenames of the JPEGs.
  • Authors wanting to use a language other than English must have English text side-by-side.