Basic definition of the Exner Alert is that it’s about me, my comics, making comics and probably more comics.
Soooo I thought it might be fun to talk about my process for making comics, in particular everything that’s gone into the process for making MoonRise, my upcoming series at Webtoon!
Now, I could also talk about my other project that’s coming out at Webtoon, but technically I’m still not really allowed to talk about it, so… I won’t. I guess. For now!
But that’s okay! Because I can fill a newsletter talking about MoonRise, okay? I mean, boy, can I! I’m about to talk/type your ears/eyes off, o’ alert ones! How’s that sound?
For those of you not in the know, MoonRise is an original series I’m creating along with artist Cem Iroz.
I pitched the initial concept to an editor at Webtoon, who dug it, and asked me to come up with a full-fledged pitch. Now, what that entails is always different depending on the publisher. But the general idea with any final pitch is that you follow the guidelines to the letter. Don’t mess around because if they can’t trust you to follow simple instructions, then how are they going to trust you to produce comics on a consistent basis? Riddle me that, Batman!
The answer is, of course, that they can’t trust you in those circumstances, so follow the instructions, no matter how you feel about them. Do the work.
In this instance the work I speak of entailed completing a pitch document. Not saying this would be the case for anyone pitching to Webtoon, but in our case it very much was. The pitch doc required creator info (name/title), a logline (an elevator pitch, basically), themes (what the story is actually about, rather than just what happens), comparative works (books, comics, movies, TV, etc. somewhat similar to your project), a series concept (a synopsis - paragraph describing your series in a bit more detail), character descriptions (important details about your main pro and/or antagonists), and finally a series breakdown (a few paragraphs explaining what happens in your series from start to finish - or in our case, the first three seasons). Whew!
For my part, that required quite a bit of writing. I mean, I had a pretty fair idea about what MoonRise was all about, but I hadn’t actually sat down and planned the series out from start to finish… or anything close to that, really. In fact, other than Kam, the main character, none of the other characters even had names! So I sat my butt down and started working. Sorting everything out one-by-one until I had all the pieces I needed for the pitch doc. Now, the logline was simple, that’s what got my foot in the door in the first place. Here’s that:
An ousted and abandoned werewolf [REDACTED], abused and traumatized by his captors on Earth, must return to [REDACTED] to [REDACTED] and prevent all-out war between his people.
Yeah, so I had to redact some of that to avoid spoilers. I’m sure you understand. But you get the idea. Once the logline was squared away I had to tackle the theme of the story. Also easy, and there’s even a hint in the logline. The primary theme of MoonRise is:
Trauma is the worst kind of monster. The monster within is far worse than the monster without.
In short, Kam is a werewolf, but what makes him feel he’s a monster is the trauma he’s undergone and how that impacts his self-worth. Themes he struggles to overcome throughout the series, and that are hopefully applicable and relatable to the audience.
Comparative works was also relatively simple. MoonRise has a lot in common with Flash Gordon or Star Wars, Lone Wolf & Cub and one of my all-time favorite comics series… Y: The Last Man (show was axed way too soon if you ask me). Among others, really, but I only had to name three in the pitch doc, so there.
Now, the character descriptions, series concept and series breakdown I really can’t get into without revealing spoilers out the A, but once the first episode of MoonRise drops and some of those spoilers aren’t as spoiler-y anymore I can share quite a bit more.
The main point is that the hard work paid off! The pitch was well-received and based on it Cem and I were asked to produce a sample of MoonRise for the Webtoon brass. 40 panels, 5 finished and 35 more sketched out, the script for said panels, and some revisions of the initial character designs based on their feedback.
We did all that, and in fact produced 40 finished panels rather than the 5 that were required, and that was enough for Webtoon to greenlight the project.
At that point we were assigned editors, signed our contracts and began our work in earnest.
Which (glances nervously at word count) I’ll talk about in much greater detail next Alert!
Quickies
Webtoon Rec. As mentioned in my last Alert, I’ll be dropping one of these every Alert until MoonRise and/or my other Webtoon drops. The webtoon I’m recommending this time around is:
How to describe Everything is Fine, a series written and drawn by Mike Birchall, which you can click above to start reading… Hmmm. The easiest way is probably to say it’s a comic that perfectly encapsulates this familiar image.
You know the one. We all know it. Heck, we’ve all felt it, right? Reading Everything is Fine is a lot like that. Only all the time. From the series blurb:
Sam and Maggie are a normal couple, in a normal house, in a normal neighborhood. There is nothing strange about their heads, their neighbors or their sweet little dog. Everything is Fine.
So yeah, none of that is true. Well, I suppose Sam and Maggie are a (relatively) normal couple, but their house, nor their neighborhood, nor their heads, neighbors, nor their sweet little dog are normal in any sense of the word. Everything is Fine is one of those stories that hooks you right from the get-go with the strangeness of it all. Things seem normal, even downright pleasant, but in actuality they’re not. There’s a sinister undertone to it all that takes hold of you and by the end of each episode you’re itching (no, desperately demanding) to know more. Why are their heads like that? Why is everyone so unnaturally polite and non-confrontational? Why is everyone afraid to say what they really think? Why is everyone pretending Everything is Fine?
Read an episode, and then another, and another (it’ll be hard to stop), and I promise you’ll want answers to those questions too!
What I’ve Been Watching. Ahh! So much!
Movies: The Lost City (funny, and nice to see an older leading lady with a younger male love interest for a change), Mute (watched this one on the plane from Spain, and liked it for what it was, not great, but a neat character twist near the end), Wheelman (your basic Grillo vehicle -pun intended- with fair to decent action and snark aplenty), The Gentlemen (entertaining crime flick - McConaughey kills it, and Hunnam and Hugh Grant are darn good too), Thor: Love & Thunder (got what they were going for with this, but don’t think the execution was there), Samaritan (Stallone was appropriately growly, a decent superhero flick), Minions: The Rise of Gru (genuinely funny, a fun-for-the-fam animated romp) and Top Gun: Maverick (which was good, I’ll grant, but not 5 stars good like a lot of peeps have been saying).
TV: Cobra Kai S5 (every season I think this is the season it’ll start getting bad, and it never happens), Stranger Things S4 (best season since S1, maybe better), The Patient (kinda slow burn thriller/character study with Steve Carrell about a psychiatrist that’s kidnapped by his patient so the doc can cure him-from being a serial killer!), The Witcher S2 (first season was a bit hard to follow, but worth it for S2), Sneaky Pete S3 (forgot how much I enjoyed this show about a con man released from prison who impersonates his former cell mate, Pete, to get in good with the guy’s family since they haven’t seen Pete since he was a kid - the only problem being the family is dysfunctional and has plenty of secrets of their own - so damn good, especially the cons themselves), Upload S1 (only a few episodes in, but entertaining/humorous show about a digital Heaven), The Terminal List (only one episode in thus far, but seems to be about a special ops soldier whose entire team is killed, he can’t remember quite how it happened, believes there’s a cover-up, and is possibly being targeted by whoever did - either that, or it’s all in his head and he’s crazy). I also watched House of the Dragon and LOTR: Rings of Power but all I’m gonna say about those is I liked ‘em, I’m aware many didn’t, and to each their own.
-Weight Loss. I don’t want to get into specifics, but a friend of mine’s son recently passed away. A loss that hit me pretty hard, to be honest. While I was confirming that it happened I then found out that an acquaintance of mine recently had a severe heart attack. This person is someone I’ve long admired and consider an inspiration to my own comics-creating career. This person is also in the neighborhood of my age and weight. Needless to say, the tragedies that befell my friend, her son and my acquaintance are awful and waaaay beyond what I’m going through, but what they’ve also served to do is make me take stock of how I’m living my life, and helped me come to the realization that if what I’m doing doesn’t change that I could be going through similar circumstances in the not-so-distant future. So yeah, once again I’ll be keeping track of my weight loss in the Alert. Weight at time of this writing - 293.0
-Comics Writing 101. Okay, so yet again I’ve gone long in the Alert and so I’m not going to regale you all with the tidbits I gleaned from Scott Snyder and Donny Cates on Characterization quite yet. I promise I’ll get to it next Alert, and yes, I know I said that last time and then didn’t do it this time so how can you trust a word I’m typing, right? And I agree! I don’t really have a good argument other than to say I’m sorry and I’ll endeavor to do better the next time one of these here Alerts go out, o’ alert ones. Until then!
I'm sorry for your losses, but I'm glad you're making a turn for the better on your health! Please feel free to reach out to me for tips, helpful insight, or just encouragement! I'm all over some fitness shit.
Love all the stuff you're doing. We really need to get together some time and chat about all KINDS of stuff...
Be well, brother! Stay dope AF!