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F.A.Q. How did Keenspot get started and what are some notable events in its history? Keenspot was founded by cartoonists Chris Crosby (SUPEROSITY) and Darren Bleuel (NUKEES) in February 2000. After finding themselves extremely unsatisfied with their webhost, Chris and Darren banded together in an attempt to not only provide a better service, but to revolutionize the world of online comics. How? Two major ways: 1.) By providing one steady place for readers to find what we believe are some of the finest webcomics available. 2.) To attract large advertisers and get them to sponsor Keenspot (and therefore each cartoonist under the Keenspot umbrella), with the goal of every Keenspot cartoonist eventually making a living through such sponsorship. After a lot of hard work (which continues to this day), the Keenspot.com website launched in March 2000. Dozens of the web's best cartoonists were very happy to join the 'Spot, thankfully! For many, their readership numbers rose by hundreds and even thousands of percent after joining and taking advantage of our promotional capabilities. As of January 2004, about 55 cartoonists are members of Keenspot. We have exclusive web publishing rights (including full archives) to the features we sign up. The individual creators retain all other rights. Side projects like merchandising deals (comic books, toys, etc) are worked out seperately. Because Keenspot is an invitation-only group and the four Keenspot executives (lovingly referred to as "The Fab Four" by some) tend to be crazily picky about who gets in, we launched Keenspace in June 2000. Keenspace is an all-inclusive, non-exclusive webhost providing unlimited space and bandwidth to all of the web's cartoonists free of change. Many current Keenspot cartoonists started their strips on Keenspace, including Michael Poe (EXPLOITATION NOW), Howard Tayler (SCHLOCK MERCENARY), Ian J. (RPG WORLD), and others. In July 2001 we started our own print comic book line, launching our first two titles (BLACK PLAGUE and SUPEROSITY) at Comic-Con International: San Diego. We had moderate success with our first few comics and sales rise with each new title we publish. By 2002, the industry started to move toward larger graphic novel collections, and Keenspot followed suit, premiering 100+ page collections of CUTEWENDY and WANDERING ONES at San Diego 2002, and then one year later our first "pocket-sized" collection, the wildly successful EXPLOITATION NOW: SELLING OUT FOR FUN AND PROFIT at San Diego 2003. In the summer of 2001 we also launched Keenspot PREMIUM, a subscription service for fans who want to read Keenspot comics in a more cozy manner (i.e. no ads, all on one page, etc). Hundreds of readers have signed onto PREMIUM since its debut, most opting for the $44.95 one-year subscription. There have been more than a few bumps in the road since Keenspot launched almost two years ago. The internet economy collapsed, ad revenue (our main source of income) dropped to an all-time low in every single form of media, and we've been no stranger to horrible technical problems. Still, two lovably insane cartoonists with an intense love of funny ink lines on paper, along with hundreds of supportive fellow cartoonists and friends, have kept the 'Spot going for nearly two years. And it shall continue on, annoying the naysayers long after they all die of old age and the living exist in a fantastic, far-flung future world. Is there a way I can read through all the Keenspot comics faster and easier? Keenspot PREMIUM's WarpKeen service is the fastest and bestest way to read Keenspot comics. If you don't want to spring for PREMIUM membership, try QUICKKEEN. Or the dropdown menu at the top right corner of every page. How can my comic be listed on Keenspot.com? Only comic strips that are hosted by Keenspot and are members of our network can be listed on Keenspot.com's frontpage. We are not a listing service for all webcomics. However, Keenspace offers free webhosting and technical services for all webcomics. How can I become a member of Keenspot.com? To apply for membership, send an URL where your comic strip is located to along with the TITLE OF FEATURE, DESCRIPTION, CREATOR(S), and ESTIMATED NUMBER OF CURRENT READERS. Keenspot is not very interested in working with cartoonists that have not yet published their work consistently on the web. However, if you can't put your comics on the web yourself for some reason but you still feel you have what it takes to become a member of Keenspot, send photocopies (no originals!) of your work to Feature Submissions, c/o Keenspot Entertainment, P.O. Box 110, Cresbard, SD 57435. Submissions will not be returned unless you enclose a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope. Would you be interested in hosting Macromedia Flash-format animated shorts? Yes, we would! Keentoons.com is now up and running, and we would be interested in flash cartoons that would update on a weekly basis. How long will it take you to reply to my comic strip submission? Because of the volume of submissions that we receive, and the fact that we consider every strip very carefully, it may take weeks or longer (possibly forever) to receive a response from us if we decide to invite you to join our group. Please be patient, and know that we're considering it as much as we did our current members. We do not send out rejection notices, because any strip may eventually prove it's got the goods to join Keenspot. We don't ever rule anyone out for good. Also, we just don't have time to send out rejections to everybody, because we get thousands of submissions and it takes all of our time just keeping things running. There's also that little detail. What is Keenspot.com looking for in a feature? This is a really hard thing to answer. Basically, if we're gonna pick up a comic, either we'll personally like it a lot for whatever crazy reason people like things, or we'll be fairly certain that a ton of other crazy people like it even if it doesn't appeal to us. If we don't pick up a comic, neither of those things happen. It's all incredibly subjective. That said, here's some stuff we like...
ARTIST/PENCILLER SUBMISSIONS: We are looking for all styles of artwork. Comic book artists work in a 10 x 15 image area on a sheet of Strathmore Bristol board that measures 11 x 17. They usually lay out their pages with a lead pencil or a non-repro blue pencil, and finish their art with a regular pencil. Samples can be sent via clean, clear photocopies, either full size (ledger 11 x 17) or reduced to 66% (letter 8.5 x 11). INKING SUBMISSIONS: Inking submissions should be in the form of 4-6 pages. Inkers should submit photocopies of both your inks and the pencils you have inked, so that we can compare the two. We would prefer to see your inks over more than one penciller. We recommend that you submit samples of artwork inked over someone elses pencils rather than your own. WRITING SUBMISSIONS: Submissions for writers should take the form of 2-3 story synopses and one five-page full script sample. Each story synopsis should be a 1-3 page, double-spaced, typed, complete story concept. These can feature any character, any genre. COLORING SUBMISSIONS: Coloring submissions should be in the form of 4-6 sequential pages. Colorists should either submit color printouts or color copies of their work or E-Mail superosity@hotmail.com the URL of where these samples can be found on the web (NO ATTACHED FILES!). Along with the story pages, 1-3 pages showing cover/pin-up/painted images will be helpful. SEND TO: Keenspot Comics Submissions Dept. c/o Keenspot Entertainment P.O. Box 110, Cresbard, SD 57435. IMPORTANT: Send only photocopies or reproductions of some kind. If applicable, please include a resume describing your education and work background. Hard copy submissions only. Do NOT send attached E-Mail files under any circumstances! NO HARD COPY SUBMISSIONS WILL BE RETURNED WITHOUT A S.A.S.E. (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope). Got a question not answered here? E-Mail it to us at or post your question on the Keenspot Forums. |
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