Posted in: Comics | Tagged: digital comics, Magnus Aspli, Michael Mcdermott, Outre, Vikings

Of Viking Lords and Free Digital Comics – Outré #2

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2013 17:00:50 -0600

Michael McDermott writes for Bleeding Cool:

On 12-20-13 the second issue of one of my favorite online comic anthologies, Outré, premiered. You can download the entire second issue for free right here: http://outrepress.com/?p=1216

In an effort to turn you gals and guys on to some original and inspired creator owned comics, I asked EIC Magnus Aspli to field a few questions for us here at Bleeding Cool. The smoky-eyed, square jawed Viking lord was happy to oblige.

First of all, Magnus, can you give our loyal Bleeders a brief introduction to yourself and your work history?

I've been writing comics and screenplays for quite some years now. My most notable output so far is The Vessel of Terror, a comic book mini-series set up here in the arctic cold, where the study of a mysterious squid is the cause of bizarre and horrible incidents. I've also had a few shorts published, most notably in Once Upon a Time Machine and FUBAR. On top of that I write screenplays and have tried myself at some game writing lately. And lastly, and why I'm here now, I'm one of the editors on Outré.

What exactly is Outré and how did it come about? Who's your target audience?

Outré is a free, digital comic book anthology, with a goal to have a strong voice in the indie scene. Me and my fellow Norwegian co-editor Glenn Møane came up with the idea for Outré at Oslo Comics Expo in summer 2012. We found a mutual love for the short story format, but felt that maybe too many – especially indie – anthologies were a bit less thought through than what they could have been. Both of us being writers, we understood the value of editorial feedback done right, and felt an anthology with a clear goal and unifying theme, topped with editorial feedback already on the script stage, could become something quite special. One and a half year later and here we are, launching our second issue. The theme for our initial issue was responsibility, and now, for #2 and the merry holiday season, it's hopelessness. Our lofty goal was, and still remains, that Outré will showcase quality short comics for not just your average indie comic reader, but mostly for the book crowd, "the literary folks", where some, surprisingly still think comics are "banal", "childish" and not dealing with heavy subjects. A secondary goal for us is to showcase the talented pool of people who've joined Outré. Without them, there would be no comics to read.

What lead to your choice in format and venue? Can readers expect traditional print issues or collections of Outré in the future?

Our choice on format and distribution channel was set in stone from the first discussion. Each issue contains four 8-page stories, with other illustrations and interviews as supplement. Only releasing Outré digitally was also a no-brainer. If you've ever been to a Norwegian post office these last 5 – 10 years, you'd know why. Although digital comics can still be said to be in its infancy, it is the only channel with the potential of reaching thousands upon thousands for a project like this. Now I'm not saying we're there at the moment, but we've got off to a good start with #2 and intend to keep creating Outré for a long time. With the rise of Kickstarter and similar things, a print edition of, say, a collection of Outré issues is of course not impossible, but I will not speculate if or when that might happen. First and foremost we intend to build a strong digital channel to release Outré semiannually.

Creator wise, who has contributed to the anthology so far and who do you have scheduled for future issues?

So far, over 30 creators have join Outré and made it a reality. I think they all deserve to be mentioned, so here's the list. Alex Elykov, Ronald Montgomery, Jim Giar, Tim Switalski, Rafer Roberts, Dan Hill, Alex Wilson, Ben Garriga, Glenn Arseneau, Valentin Ramon, Jelena Đorđević, Aleksandar Božić Ske, Cécile Brun, Brian Gilman, K. Michael Russell, Sindre Foss Skancke, Brett Uren, Kevin Fong, Shane Smith, Kevin Enhart, Mick Schubert, Michael DeShane, Laszlo Seber, Shaun Dobie, Jonathan Clode, Jonas Larsen, Nic J. Shaw, Sarah Jones, Allen Byrns and Ruben Rojas. Plus the lovely Fiona Staples, Rachel Deering and Tony Lee have contributed in the form of interviews and a foreword. Most of these talented folks you can read more about on our blog. [www.outrepress.com]

We've already got a handful of really talented people join us for Outré #3, but we'd like to keep that a secret until the stars are right.

A fair share of our readers aspire to be comic creators themselves. Is the submission process open to anyone or is it invite only?

The submission process is open and we encourage up-and-coming talent to reach out to us. The story submissions for Outré #3 are now closed, but we're always on the lookout for artists to join our family, so don't hesitate sending us an e-mail if you want in. We will likely open the story submission gates for our 4th issue early next year, so keep checking back on outrepress.com.

Do you pair the creative teams together or does someone have to come to you with a completed comic submission?

We lock down a story pitch, then the writer turn that into a script. Once the script is fine and dandy we pair the writer with an artist. Or they bring someone with them. In our second issue we also have a story all done by one creator.

We feel a pitch is a better way of spending time than submitting a finished comic, should it not be accepted. Also, it makes sure the stories in Outré are 100% fresh and faithful to the theme.

If they aren't currently, why should our loyal Bleeders be reading Outré?

Hey, don't listen to me, listen to what other people said about our initial issue:

"…one of the better ambassadors for the comic book medium seen from the indie community in recent years." – InGenre

"[…]infused with a comics-for-the-people sentiment that makes this book both a delight to read, and a breath of fresh-air." – Unleash The Fanboy

"The art is equally as varied and each style works for each story. There's a range of color and black and white and all of the pin-ups are very powerful in getting their message across." – Omnicomic

And finally, a pre-Thanks for downloading Outré! And for spreading the word, if you liked it!

Happy holidays!

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