Hi.

This might sound like a bit of a weird request, since I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for yet, but I wondered if there were any writers out there who'd be interesting in collaborating on a slightly different kind of graphic novel.

Right, so I was listening to an interview with Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, ( the guys behind Phonogram) and became kind of inspired to try and do something myself. Theres just one problem... I can't draw. Well ok thats not strictly true, you can't spend 4 years at art school without picking a few things up, but I know my limits and I know i'll never be an illustrator. Can't draw people to save my life. But I'm not going to let a little thing like that stop me. I work as a graphic designer and wondered if there was a way I could use the skills I have got, to create something half-decent. I was thinking of something a bit more abstract and stylized than the usual 6-panel comic, something that relies a bit less on figurative drawings, and uses typography, layout and things like found photos in ways that they're not usually used. Like I said, its kind of a half-formed idea at the moment, which is why I'm really looking for someone else to work with. Its always easier when you've got someone to knock ideas back and forth with, and hopefully there'll be someone out there whos got a few suggestions what we could actually do with this. A few examples which popped into my mind, were 'Signal to noise' or theres a little webcomic called 'A softer world' (http://www.asofterworld.com/) which does some nice stuff with photos. Even something like the extras in Watchmen (the newspaper clippings etc). I'm not necessarily suggesting doing something exactly like any of those, but something along those lines.

As for what sort of story, I don't really mind. I'd rather steer clear of Marvel, DC etc stuff but thats really just personal preference. Fantasy is fine, so long as its interesting and original. A few writers I'm into for pointers are people like Warren Ellis, Daniel Clowes, Neil Gaiman, Jamie Hewlett and then in novels, people like JG Ballard, Murakami, Douglas Coupland, Will Self, China Meiville. Anything a bit dark and weird is fine by me.

Hopefully there are a few writers reading this whos thinking, 'I know, what if you...' If you feel like trying something out and seeing what we can come up with, get in touch.

Andy

andy@straighttohelvetica.co.uk