Accepting 4-8 Page Finished Short Comics
June 4 — July 31

Let’s see your finished short comics!

Competition is open to fully finished short comics of all genres. Individual creators or full creative teams are welcome to submit their projects.

The grand prize winner will receive 1-hour mentorship call from a mentor hand-picked for your needs as a creator or creative team, and 1 runner-up will receive a mentorship call with the Negative Space Co-Founders.

The winner and the top 10 finalists will all be featured in a digital anthology presented for everyone to enjoy!

Submission Windows & Cost

  • $35 REGULAR DEADLINE: June 4 – July 2

  • $50 FINAL DEADLINE: July 3 – July 31

  • +$50: TWO PAGES OF FEEDBACK

Announcements

  • FINALISTS: September 8

  • WINNER: September 15

Benefits

1 Grand Prize Winner

  • 1-hour mentoring sessions with hand-picked mentor

  • Featured story in digital anthology!

1 Runner-Up & 8 Finalists

  • 1 Runner-Up: Mentoring session with Negative Space

  • All Finalists: Featured in Digital Anthology

Submission Windows & Cost

  • $35 REGULAR DEADLINE: June 4 – July 2

  • $50 FINAL DEADLINE: July 3 – July 31

  • WINNER ANNOUNCED: September 15

1 Grand Prize Winner

  • 1-hour mentoring sessions with hand-picked mentor

  • Featured story in digital anthology!

1 Runner-Up & 8 Finalists

  • 1 Runner-Up: Mentoring session with Negative Space

  • All Finalists: Featured in Digital Anthology

2024 Judges Coming Soon…

2024 Judges Coming Soon…

2023 Judges

Andrew Drilon
Comic Book Writer & Artist

Andrew Drilon is an independent writer & artist based in New York. He’s currently working on several DC Comics projects (SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods, DC Pride 2023) as well as his creator-owned comic series Secret Heart Attack. He is a recipient of the Neil Gaiman Philippine Graphic/Fiction Award for his comic, Lines and Spaces. His first book, Kare-Kare Komiks, won the Manila Critics Circle National Book Award. Since 2020, he’s been chronicling his journey as a comics creator on the YouTube channel, Comicbooker.

Instagram: @andrewdrilon

Michael Coast
Senior Editor at AWA Studios

Michael Coast is Senior Editor at AWA Studios and a ten-year veteran of the comic book industry. His passion for storytelling has seen him take a long, circuitous route to comics with stops in film, television, and freelance writing.

Fell Hound
Comic Book Illustrator & Writer

Fell Hound is a Ringo nominated illustrator/writer best known for her work on the critically acclaimed Commander Rao with Scout Comics, as well as her love of drawing sword women. She is also a creative advisor for LGBTQIA+ publisher Extra Pages Press. When not giving herself rampant carpal tunnel, she enjoys re-watching Witch from Mercury and playing video games.

Twitter: @FellHound_

Fabi Marques
Comic Book Colorist

Fabi Marques (she/her) is a Brazilian comic book colorist and writer. Her portfolio includes work with Penguin Random House, Panini, Mad Cave, Boom! Studios, and DC Comics. Notable works include Batman: The World, Power Rangers The Death Ranger, and her contribution to the Eisner-nominated anthology Femme Magnifique. Fabi believes colors are to comics what soundtracks are to movies. She’s also vegan, anti-fascist, and proud Latina.

Twitter: @porrafabizinha

SHORT COMICS MENTOR

Mentoring for this competition works differently. Once we establish our winner, we will connect with the creative team to learn about where they are professionally. Then we will find a mentor that best fits the genre, next career steps, and overall career needs. We have a large circle of editors, professional writers and artists, agents, publishers, and more — we know that not every mentor is the best fit for every writer and/or creative team.

We hope that this format can lead to the best connections and career growth for our winner!

Competition Rules

Rules

  • This finished short comics competition is open to all creators in any genre. But we ask that all stories be aimed at young adult to adult audiences — no excessive adult situations or mature comics will be considered.

  • Applicants will submit an original 4-8 page fully drawn and lettered short comics. The comics can be color, black & white, or grayscale.

  • Comics must be the original work of the author and cannot be adapted from existing property. You must have rights to the work, characters, and story. The rights to the short comics will remain with the original creators, we at Negative Space Comics LLC take zero control over your story other than publishing it within our digital anthology for online distribution only.

  • You can submit multiple scripts. Each new submission requires a new application and fee.

  • Writers from all over the world can enter the competition, but scripts must be submitted in English.

  • Cover pages are not necessary for your submission — but if you do include a cover page it will NOT be counted towards your 4-8 page submission count. If you do not include a cover page, please include creators names and titles within the comic somewhere.

  • Scripts that have been picked up by a publisher, produced for a profit, or are currently under option are not eligible. Comics do not need to be produced specifically for this competition, they can be previously self-published, but nothing that has been published in another anthology or collection of any kind.

  • Creative teams can submit together, but they should only submit once for each story. You will need to note on the submission form each creator on the project and their title/involvement, and if the story advances, you will need to specify who will be present at the mentoring session should you win the contest.