April Fool's Day, 2006

Comics Jam War is a collaborative cartooning competition which will be held in comic book shops across the U.S. and Canada. Teams of 2 or more cartoonists will be given some starting information about the story they have to create, and will then each have 12 hours to create an 8 page comic book story. The stories will be judged by a group of comics professionals.

• Prizes (all prizes are per-team):
  • First place: $300 US, plus copies of an anthology comic that includes all the winners and honorable mentions (50 copies or $395 worth at cover price, whichever is more )
  • Second place: $200, plus copies of the anthology (30 copies or $245 worth at cover price, whichever is more )
  • Third place: $100, plus copies of the anthology (30 copies or $245 worth at cover price, whichever is more )
  • "Honorable mentions" chosen to appear in the anthology (numbers to be determined): copies of the anthology (30 copies or $245 worth at cover price, whichever is more )
• Teams can have anywhere from 2 to an infinite number of people on them.
• Teams must work at an official sponsoring event host site.
• At noon Eastern time (9 AM Pacific time), the details for the story content will be posted on the event website. 12 hours later, all work on the story must be complete, and the story must be 8 black and white pages (no more, no less) in the standard American comic book format.
• The work should not include vulgarity, nudity, obscenity, or other material that would keep it from seeming appropriate for general audiences. It also should not violate any copyrights and trademarks.
• Participants must promise not to publish their finished work in any form (including, but not limited to, print and online comics) until the judging is complete and the winners are announced. In the event that your story is selected for the anthology, you may not publish the work in any other form through December, 2007. About Comics retains the rights to publish the material in Jam War-related collections. (There will be a participant form at the event. All members of the team must sign this form or the work will not be considered in the judging.)
• Each team must include a designated captain. All prizes will be sent to this captain whose responsibility it will be to distribute the money and copies to the team. About Comics takes no responsibility for this distribution.
• Entrance fee (if any) and other details will be set by the event host.

NOTES ADDED JANUARY 28th:

• Bring your own art supplies! Rather than supplying something that doesn't meet your needs, we want you working with the materials that you're most comfortable with. So bring your drawing tools, your favorite paper or board, or even computer. Just remember to keep the height-to-width ratio appropriate for the typical American comic book.
• The food situation will vary from location to location, so if you don't know that your store is supplying food, be sure to bring enough munchies to last you through the 12 hours.