Rocket Pirates

August 3rd, 2006 | comics talk

Who wants to be a Rocket Pirate?

Joey Manley talked me into curating a mass webcomics site. I’ve known Joey for getting on for six years now. It’s partly my fault that he got involved with comics at all. I suspect this is his revenge.

People who want to make webcomics are invited to submit their ideas to me for membership in the Rocket Pirates, a webcomics collective which will be housed at http://www.rocketpirates.com.

Rocket Pirates will be the first site to launch with the new Webcomics Nation Collective Edition technology, which will be available as a commercial product for people wanting to quickly and cheaply launch their own multi-creator webcomics portals sometime in the next few months. Because we’re all about being quick and cheap, believe me.

Rocket Pirates will be free to all readers, all the time. This means, of course, that there is no cut of subscription fees to offer to creators. Instead, the system allows each creator the freedom to install Google Ads, Amazon Associates ads, ads for their own products, rate cards for prostitution services or any other damn thing on their comic’s Rocket Pirates page. Also, since we’re not paying, all Rocket Pirates engagements are on a non-exclusive basis, allowing the creators to run their comics on their own websites or any other place that’ll have them.

The non-subscription approach means that I’m also doing this for free, so anyone who wants to send food and clothing c/o Joey Manley at Modern Tales is welcome to do so. I also offer inexpensive adult services.

The submissions system is simply this: email your materials to me at warrenellis@gmail.com. I want to see at least three completed pages and an overview of what you intend to do. No need to be formal — rambly emails talking about the central concepts and what you want to achieve are fine.

I’m open to anything — series, serialised graphic novels, single panels, self-contained shorts, newspaper-style strips — in any style, from manga to clipart to whatever the hell you just invented in your basement. No limits.

I’m open to any kind of content. You’re going to have to work pretty hard to get me to accept a superhero project for the site, but if you’ve got something that knocks me flat, I’ll take it. But, seriously, I want to eventually curate something that takes in a wide breadth of what comics can achieve. Surprise me. Give me something straight out of literary mainstream fiction, give me a warped genre, give me something I’ve never seen before. That’s the “theme” of the site, the glue that holds it together. It is quite simply “stuff Warren really likes.”

The submissions process is open to everybody. I don’t care if you only decided you wanted to try and make a comic ten minutes ago — I’ll look at it. I’ll warn you in advance that the chances of my being able to provide detailed and constructive rejections are slight, but I’ll do my best.

(Also, if the site turns out to be all-male because only guys submitted, I’m going to be very pissed off, and will infect you all with this lung disease my girlfriend seems to have passed to me over the weekend.)

I’d like to be up and running by the end of the month, but I won’t kick the site live until I have enough work of quality. The submissions process will remain permanently open. Unless, you know, I change my mind. I am unpredictable and I drink a lot.

That’s all I’ve got. Please feel free to pass this unedited post on anywhere you like.

– Warren Ellis

(In-depth discussions will probably happen in the dedicated section at THE ENGINE.)

29 Responses to “Rocket Pirates”

  1. And lo, Internet Jesus did perform another miracle for his faithful.

  2. I have this idea for a comic about a journalist in the future. It’s called ‘Dodecatuplepolitan Ice Cream’, and the guy is always hitting people and smoking.

  3. Why the hell not?
    Shit is on its way, mein Ellis.

  4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/hammersley/201056819/

  5. […] Warren Ellis speaks out about his new side project. He’ll be curating a webcomics site called Rocket Pirates. All submissions go through him, which basically means that Internet Jesus will scarcely be sober these days. Who wants to be a Rocket Pirate? […]

  6. […] Rocket Pirates.com posted: Thu 3rd Aug, 2006, categories: Arte Seqüencial Who wants to be a Rocket Pirate? […]

  7. Hmm.. I’ll make an attempt at tomorrow, after I find my Wacom.

    Drawing stick figures in Microsoft Paint is soo much easier with a tablet. Even though I mastered the Straight Line tool (those TV ‘learn your computer’ tapes are awesome, only took me an hour!), the Wacom is still better.

    I’m torn though.

    On the one hand, I have a lot of material in my head for “Terry, Queen of Inter-modal Box Connectors”. The sexually ambiguous adventures of a 40-something gay man who sports a man-purse and long hair. But have you ever seen stick-figure boobs? Hard to be sexually ambiguous when there’s that huge triangular difference between the sexes.

    On the other, “My Parents Basement” is likely to be a close subject to home for the webcomics audience, lots of empathy with the characters, and my preferred art style (uber-awesome stick figures!) are well matched to the subject. The downside to that is that it’s too autobiographical.

    Any input?

  8. […] Interesante iniciativa la del inquieto Warren Ellis. Desde su blog, el británico ha anunciado que inaugura un portal de webcomics que serán seleccionados personalmente por él mismo. Al parecer un colega le ha convencido para involucrarse en Rocket Pirates, que así se llama la página. La página será totalmente gratuita, utilizará un sistema de tecnología llamado Webcomics Nation Collective Edition. Los autores que participen en la página pueden utilizar cualquier formtao (serie, tira, novela gráfica), aunque Ellis pretende que esta página amplíe las posibilidades del medio, es decir, que el material sera audaz y creativo. Los autores no recibirán pago alguno pero tendrán total libertad para añadir cosas como google ads y tal en sus webcomics y, por supuesto, no gtendrán ningún tipo de exclusividad con Rocket Pirates. Si alguien se anima, sólo tiene que enviar un e-mail al propio guionista a la dirección warrenellis@gmail.com . […]

  9. Ah, an artist! My kingdom for an artist!

  10. ACK! alas, my current comic is ending and my next comic won’t start until January! I hope submissions will be open then too! :D

  11. […] Warren Ellis has updated about a new site he is helping out with called Rocket Pirates. […]

  12. Ah, an artist! My kingdom for an artist (who won’t charge for subpar McGuinness cloning)!

  13. Rocket Pirates

    nice..

  14. Ahhh. Yes.
    [starts furiously drawing sketches of multi-tentacled penises and labia detata, fighting in spandex]

  15. You’re going to have to work pretty hard to get me to accept a superhero project

    Oh. Well.
    [erases spandex]

  16. A question from the techno-enfeebled: May I assume submissions go to you via the normal online address that you prefer?
    Or is there somewhere else specific for those to go that’s wholly obvious and I’m entirely missing?

  17. People who cannot read the post are, of course, immediately disqualified.

  18. If you’re looking for an artist, unless you’re a highly polished professional writer yourself, don’t expect to find highly polished professional artists. Especially ones who will be working for little to no money. The first project you do is always a learning experience for all involved.

  19. […] Xeni Jardin: Famed graphic novel creator Warren Ellis will curate a free, mass webcomics site called “Rocket Pirates”. He is now accepting submissions, and the criteria is “stuff Warren really likes.” Link […]

  20. Prepare for a slashdotting.

    SlashDot entry…

  21. I’ve got an idea for the first page of a comic that anyone is free to steal:

    Camera is flying over a dystopian cityscape that’s packed with dark skyscrapers, columns of flame, etc. like the beginning of Blade Runner or The Crow or some shit.

    Then a little subtitle appears at the bottom: TOPEKA, 2078

    Sheeit. It basically writes itself after that. Just light up a smoke and feel guilty about how easy it is.

  22. Please, sir. Allow me to be part of the scurvy scalawags.

  23. I’m interested in trying my hand at this, so if any of you writers are looking for an “artist”, you can find my work at http://van.vox.com . You’ll notice there are no sequentials there, or even any particularly good work at all. I’m no professional, and this would be my first attempt at a sequential comic. Keep that in mind if you’re considering talking to me. And just as your interest in me is dependant on my skill as an artist and my style, my interest in working with you will rely on your story idea, your writing skills, and your ability to work as a team.

    Right on.

  24. Hi!

    I like the Rocketpirates concept. That’s cool. :-) Here’s a wish:
    I’d like to be able to translate web comics (for “community rank points”?), so that readers from other countries can read comics in their native language. :-)

    -Günther

  25. I have a project that’s been stewing for about five years. This past month I’ve been working on collecting all the scattered fragments into something coherent. To my surprise, it actually holds together, and is still a story I feel I really need to tell.

    That done, I’ve gotten distracted by day-to-day life. Rocket Pirates might be the kick in the pants to get me moving again. Thanks.

  26. […] Also, via Uncle Warren, comes Rocket Pirates. […]

  27. how about a series of single panel maybe semiautobiographical moments that are Not Always About Relationships?

    and no superheroes, not even sad ones.

  28. […] Xeni Jardin: Famed graphic novel creator Warren Ellis will curate a free, mass webcomics site called “Rocket Pirates”. He is now accepting submissions, and the criteria is “stuff Warren really likes.” Link […]

  29. Will not be very sober for the next week or two in your honour.

Positive Reinforcement Therapy

Coilhouse - 20 Nov 09

This one goes out to Nadya, Zo, and especially Courtney Riot, our beloved creative director. Hang in there, babies.


Post tags: Coilhouse, Serious Business

?I?m bad? I?m a man? I HATE my penis.?

Coilhouse - 20 Nov 09

Well hello there!

PrimalScreeeeeamEEEEEAAYYYAAGH

Do you lack healthy boundaries? Are you guilty of the compulsive overshare? All-too-eager to share gory, palpating details with complete strangers that no one besides your own mother and/or proctologist would ever want to know?

Non-consensual rape anecdote telling. Tactical uterus hurling in lieu of real intimate contact. The “I wasn’t breast fed enough so now I need to publicly air my personal anguish to feel properly nurtured and validated” power point presentation. “Cry For Help” cutting (across the street, not down the road). Cloaking references to life-shattering trauma in Obfuscating Yet Ominous Faerie Singsong? (patented by Tori Amos).  “Fuck You Daddy, I’m a Suicide Girl Now!” blog posts. Spontaneous primal scream therapy in the supermarket. If you have ever attempted one or more of these maneuvers, chance are, you’re a TMI Avenger.

Relax. You’re among friends. And you’re gonna loooove Body Memories. A squirm-inducing, low budget indie film directed by the same fella who brought us one of the most fabulous independent documentaries of the decade, Body Memories is…

…one man’s journey inward to find meaning in his life. He becomes an archeologist of the soul, digging through the layers of his past. Evocative images blend with a riveting performance that uncovers family secrets and buried traumas.

Enjoy.

(More clips under the cut.)


Read the rest of “I’m bad… I’m a man… I HATE my penis.”


Post tags: Crackpot Visionary, Culture, Film, Gender, Sexuality, Silly-looking types, Surreal, Testing your faith

Miss Piggy?s Teaches of Peaches

Coilhouse - 20 Nov 09

Every time an issue of the magazine goes to print, things somehow turn Highly Inappropriate here at Coilhouse. This is apparent to anyone who was there on Twitter during the hours of our final revision deadline last night. And it’s only going to get worse before Issue 04’s out. So to celebrate, a video of Miss Piggy singing “Fuck the Pain Away” by Peaches. It’s that kind of day.

[via Shannon]


Post tags: Madness, Music, Puppetry

claytoncubitt: Will Blanche, ?The Newly Constructed Towers of...

Brian Wood - 20 Nov 09



claytoncubitt:

Will Blanche, ?The Newly Constructed Towers of the World Trade Center Seen From the South Side on West Street, May, 1973? (via These Americans)

See also: Mitch Epstein, ?West Side Highway, New York City? [looking towards World Trade Center] 1977

Percy Jackson trailer

Kung Fu Monkey - 20 Nov 09

Seriously, if I were 12, this would have melted my brain. I love this trailer.

JOURNAL: How to Break and Open Source Insurgency

John Robb - 20 Nov 09

Short Answer:  divide it.

It's long been my contention that Iraq was stabilized at an acceptable level of controlled chaos due to a happy accident by al Qaeda (in an attempt to expand/lead the loose insurgency in a new direction).  What did they do?   They blew up the Golden Mosque in Samara in 2006.  This act of symbolic terrorism did indeed disrupt social networks as anticipated, however the consequences were ultimately disastrous for the Iraqi open source insurgency.  

Baghdad_Ethnic_2007_late_smThe reason for this is it broke the dynamics of the open source insurgency in ways the US and Iraqi government's COIN efforts could not.  First, it created a permanent split between Sunni and Shiite insurgent groups/militias.  Coopetition ended.  Second, it motivated large Shiite militias to start an ethnic cleansing of Sunni areas.  This put acute pressure on Sunni guerrilla groups who were too small (by design to avoid US counter-pressure) to defend themselves against large militias operating in the open.  The result was an opening, very close to the one I described in my 2005 NYTimes OpEd, that allowed the US to convert Sunni guerrilla groups into militias that were not loyal to the central government (in direct contradiction to its COIN manual).   

It's a nice example of the dynamics of many to many conflict, social network disruption, and the development open source counterinsurgency.

See this excellent description at the blog, "Musings on Iraq" for more detail on the ethnic cleansing operations.  It also includes this money quote: "the majority of the Sunni insurgency gave up and switched sides to align with the Americans rather than face annihilation at the hands of the Shiite militias, Al Qaeda in Iraq, or the United States."

NOTE:  it's pretty clear from the above that social network disruption (either through attacks on symbolic targets or blood and guts terrorism) is like playing horseshoes with live hand grenades.  It's ultimately a losing strategy for advancing an open source insurgency.  Social network disruption is very likely to break standing order 6:  don't fork the insurgency.

Twitter Updates for 2009-11-20

Girl Farts - 20 Nov 09

LINKS: 20 NOV 09

John Robb - 20 Nov 09

Some random items of interest:

  • Vigilante militias in Rio are displacing the drug gangs -- favelas under the control of militias has grown from 108 in 2005 to 400 in 2008 (out of 965).  Why?  They have a better (albeit parasitic) conflict/business model than the drug gangs since they act as a substitute for missing public goods/services normally supplied by the government.  First, they provide a minimal level of security and conflict adjudication.  Second, they make more money than the drug gangs by "taxing" everything from propane to cable TV to the gray market.  
  • US gray economy estimated at $1 Trillion (not including criminal, outside of the evasion of taxes and regulation, activities) and growing faster than the "legal" economy.  
  • Proposal and wiki for an open source fabrication lab.
  • Somali pirates are expanding operations into the Indian ocean.  The combination of positive feedback loops (maritime insurance + rapid payoffs by crisis negotiators) and legal ambiguity (the biggest fear of a western navy and governments is that they might arrest a pirate -- prompting a massive/expensive legal tussle with few certain penalties and the forced extension of a visa to the former pirate once he is released from his short incarceration).  Is a franchise model for other locales possible?
  • Yes-we-can-secede
  • A business group in Ciudad Juarez asks for UN peacekeepers.  Hilarious. "Ciudad Juarez, population 1.5 million, has an average of seven homicides a day, with the total at 1,986 for this year through mid-October."
  • Seccession.net.  County based secession effort.  

Untitled Post

blissblog - 20 Nov 09

Yume no Byouin Project

Jean Snow - 20 Nov 09

Yume no Byouin Project

Beautiful (and simple) site design featuring the illustrative work of Yorifuji Bunpei. Via Paul Baron.