Earlier this week Top Cow opened up the polls for their second Pilot Season competition, which allows fans to help determine what the company’s going to publish. While last year’s competition featured creators working on stories about pre-existing characters, this year’s competition featured two pre-existing characters and four new concepts.
I spoke with Adam Freeman, who co-wrote Genius with Marc Bernardin, after the AiT panel in San Diego about the competition. “I think it’s really important that people remember to vote,” Freeman said. “I think all the entrants this year are just so amazing. There has to be something there that appeals to you or that you feel your shop is missing.”
You can vote on the Pilot Season MySpace page, which also has a rundown on the six properties:
TWILIGHT GUARDIAN
Twilight Guardian, a property created by Eisner nominee Troy Hickman (Common Grounds), centers on an average woman with a particular kind of OCD which drives her to patrol a nine-block area in her neighborhood every night. Not a superhero, no special powers, just your average model citizen who likes to keep an eye on things and keep tabs on all her neighbors–especially the weird ones. Drawn by Singapore-based artist Reza of Imaginary Friends Studios.
LADY PENDRAGON
Created by current Top Cow President Matt Hawkins, Lady Pendragon first debuted in 1996 and had successful series runs published by Image from 1998-2000. This issue is the story of a direct descendant of King Arthur and Lady Guinevere who revives magic in the modern-day world, but is conflicted when she discovers her doing so may have done more harm than good. Filled with nods to Arthurian legend and fantastic battle scenes with dragons, the issue is drawn by Eru, also of Imaginary Friends Studios, and features a beautifully painted cover by Star Wars and Indiana Jones movie poster artist Drew Struzan.
ALIBI
Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov (a Pilot Season 2007 winner with Cyblade) and artist Jeremy Haun (Civil War: Iron Man/Captain America) tell the story of a hitman who always has the perfect, air-tight alibi whenever he’s accused of a high-profile assassination—how can he be in two places at the same time? But now someone knows his secret, and now he’s wrapped up in more intrigue than he can handle.
GENIUS
From Entertainment Weekly senior editor Marc Bernardin and “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” producer Adam Freeman (writing partners who’ve previously worked on The Highwaymen and Monster Attack Network) comes a story about an exceptionally clever 17-year-old who unites the gangs in her neighborhood to wage war against the Los Angeles Police Department. Fresh newcomer Afua Richardson (Half Dead) provides art.
THE CORE
Critically acclaimed writer Jonathan Hickman (Pax Romana) and Madame Mirage artist Kenneth Rocafort combine to create a unique sci-fi tale about the first human appointed to an interplanetary Special Forces unit, and the trials he must endure to earn the respect of his extraterrestrial teammates.
URBAN MYTHS
Fan-favorite writer Jay Faerber (Dynamo 5) teams with up-and-coming artist Jorge Molina (Superman/Batman Annual) to craft a story about a world where the Greek gods still meddle in the lives of men, and the best private investigator out there happens to be the mask-wearing son of Medusa.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Thanks for voting, gang! Top Cow really is doing something remarkably bold and different here, and there’s no better way to show your appreciation than to head on over to the site and vote.
And… Don’t forget you can vote once a day every day. And, coincidentally I hope your vote is for Alibi.
August 6th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Twilight Guardian. If you find yourself yearning for something genuinely different, like I often do, vote for Twilight Guardian.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Y’know, I kinda wanted to pick up a couple of those titles (“Genius” and “Urban Myths”), but I felt $4 was a bit too pricey. Especially for books that felt as thin (and potentially inconsequential) as they did.
I don’t know if it’s possible, but if they do this again next year, maybe they should look at ways of lowering the cost or increasing the page count. Maybe even look at publishing all the books in one volume for around $10? Or online?
And now I feel like a cranky old man. “Darn you kids, in my day, comics were only 75¢! And get off my lawn!”
August 6th, 2008 at 9:34 am
I voted for Urban Myths. Without a doubt the most fun and entertaining of the Pilot Season entrants this year.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:35 am
@MattR:
I know last year they made them available online, but i’m guessing that caused conflict with the buyers of these one-shots.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:26 am
I voted for Genius. Because I wrote it. But that’s just me. (I also voted for Alibi. On someone else’s computer, so it couldn’t be traced back to me.)
Seriously, though. For everyone who claims that they’re sick of the comic status quo, that they’re tired of the same 23 spandexed people pummelling each other into inconsequence across 15 monthly books, here’s your chance to affect change. Vote for the kind of book you want to see more of. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. Choose your Destiny!
August 6th, 2008 at 11:06 am
All of these titles are worthy candidates. Since the top two votegetters get in, I wish that you could vote for two titles each day. My order of preference from worst to first is as follows:
THE CORE – Jonathan Hickman may be critically acclaimed, but this work doesn’t do anything for me. I found this issue to be dense and a hard read. 1/10
LADY PENDRAGON – This title really didn’t do anything for me either. The artwork was fantastic, but the subject matter didn’t grab me. 3/10
ALIBI – Wow, this is a tough one. Great premise, good execution. Problem is, the magician showed the reader how the trick was performed which leads me to believe that this was a good one shot, but it’s also a one trick pony, and now the readers know the trick. 5/10
TWILIGHT GUARDIAN – If this had been “Common Grounds,” this would be my number one pick, hands down. But it’s “Twilight Guardian,” and while I enjoyed it as a one-shot, I don’t think it has legs for an entire series. Maybe a story in the next “Common Grounds” series? 5/10
URBAN MYTHS – I could see this being my #2 because I like Dynamo #5 and I thought this issue was a fun read. I also thought that this issue would be a good introduction to what I think could be a fun series steeped in mythology. 8/10
GENIUS – This is my #1 pick. Great Concept, Great execution and I really felt that this could be an actual series that I would buy on a monthly basis. 10/10
August 6th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I picked Genius but The Core was a really close second.
August 6th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Thanks to everyone who votes (and, hopefully, picked up the comics!). I think we’ve had a fantastic crop of books this year, and while I definitely want you to vote for Twilight Guardian (because I’m generally against starving myself), I don’t think you can make a mistake voting for ANY of these comics. Great, great work all around.
Now get out there and vote (especially for Twilight Guardian!).
August 6th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
GENIUS is my #1 pick because it dares to do such a story despite many people being afraid of the whole cop killer label, without looking at the bigger picture and issues the writers are posing here. It is a fresh without a doubt and MAKES me want to turn the pages to get more.
August 6th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Thumbs up for Urban Myths. Hope to see it winning.
August 6th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
My fave was Urban Myths. I know that everyone seems to get off on Kirkman over at Image, and I like Invincible, and TWD,(but really? Astonishing Wolfman? Really?) but Jay Faerber is really doing great things with Dynamo 5, Gemini, and the Noble Causes relaunch. Lets hope he gets a new monthly through Top Cow.
On a different note, when the hell are last year’s winning series starting?
August 7th, 2008 at 12:28 am
SWEET MOTHER OF GOD HOW DO I CHOOSE?!
August 7th, 2008 at 6:29 am
That’s one tough choice. Genius and Twilight Guardian are both really good books. For me it boiled down to how sustainable can a series be. TG is, IMHO, a better written book but I’m not quite sure where you can go with the story. Genius, on the other hand, is a story I want to see unfold.
Good luck to all involved.
August 7th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Well, Gbob, the top two books get a mini-series, so maybe you can have both (yes, you can have your pudding without eating your meat; who would’ve thunk it?).
August 7th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
GENIUS is my main pick. Loved that one. I also dug TWILIGHT GUARDIAN. I liked the concept to ALIBI, but cost was a factor and wasn’t able to buy it to fully read it. Skimming it I got nothing, so it ended up on the chopping block (sorry, just being honest). I just read the CORE concept and it sounds interesting, but I didn’t remember seeing it until I saw the cover on the myspace page. I did see it in the store, the cover just didn’t strike me.
I agree with MattR… next year could all of the pilots be put in one thick book for like $9.99?
August 8th, 2008 at 3:54 am
Hands down, the #1 pick for me is URBAN MYTHS, especially because of the art work by artist Jorge Molina, it is really what caught my attention on this book, which also was a good read, hope it wins as I would like to continue with this title as a monthly.