We take submissions for our affiliates (Comics Experience and Comics Connection) throughout the year, and accept only projects for which at least one of our services was utilized. You must have workshopped your part of the project through either a Course, Comics Connection, Pro Critiques, Mentoring, or through Creative Services.
To submit through this portal to CEX Publishing, at least one member of the creative team must fit within one of these categories:
- Be a Comics Connection or former Creators Workshop member.
- Developed a script or art through Pro Critiques.
- Be an alumnus of one or more of Comics Experience’s Courses.
- Be a Mentoring client, having worked with one of our Mentors on the project.
- or be a Creative Services client, in which Comics Experience managed the project.
If you and your project met at least one of the above criteria for eligibility, email info@comicsexperience.com to request a link to the official submission form.
Have you read the Overview & Eligibility tab about the program to make sure your project is eligible for submission?
Full disclosure. We’re sticklers for anyone submitting following these rules. You’ve been warned!
ALL submissions MUST be through the official CEX Publishing online form. Form link will be sent to eligible individuals only upon request. Requests can be sent to info@comicsexperience.com. NO email pitches will be accepted.
You will be asked to submit the following information:
YOUR SUBMISSION PITCH DOCUMENT
You must provide a LINK on the submission form to a SINGLE PDF FILE that is a PUBLIC shared link – maximum 25mb):
Your pitch PDF should include the following:
1) A single pitch page that includes:
- the creators
- the length in issues and/or total number of story pages
- the concept
- a less-than-200 word synopsis of the story from beginning to end
- a link to the completed first-issue or one-shot script
2) 6-10 completed pages (finished pages only – inked, colored and lettered).
No email attachments will be accepted.
What happens after my project is submitted?
- When the form is completed fully, it will automatically notify CEX staff. Submission reviews are conducted once per month.
- The best projects for CEX are one-shots (generally 24 pages or less).
- You will be required to provide a minimum of two covers per issue.
- You and your team need to be highly motivated and involved creators
- The story should be easily marketable.
We are able to publish one-shots, stand-alone graphic novels, anthologies, and small mini-series.
Note that even if you develop a project during a CE Course, through Pro Critiques, with one of our Mentors or through Creative Services, you are under NO OBLIGATION to publish with CEX. We encourage you to shop your projects around to multiple publishers.
We do our best to provide decisions to creators who have submitted projects within 70 days of submission.
If you are interested in developing your skills and craft, receiving feedback from peers and pros, and generally learning about the industry, we hope you will check out the Comics Connection community and Comic Experience courses.
Saga Of A Doomed Universe
By Scott Reed
1984's most shocking comic book, revealed at last! The heroes have been murdered - all except for Roy Brannon, a costumed loser who could never become the champion that Earth needs. Now, it will be Roy's chance to prove everyone wrong.... even if he has to destroy the entire Universe to do it!
Past The Last Mountain
Written by Paul Allor, Art by Louie Joyce
Past The Last Mountain is created and written by CE alum and Creators Workshop member Paul Allor, who's written issues of Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, G.I. Joe, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He’s also the creator of the critically acclaimed TET. It’s illustrated by Louie Joyce and has layouts by Gannon Beck, also a Creators Workshop alum.
It’s four issues long and tells the story of fantastical creatures on the run from the government. A faun, a dragon, and a child troll must work together to survive their journey to a land of myth where creatures such as themselves will find peace.
STUD and the BloodBlade
Written by Perry Crowe, art by Jed Dougherty
Welcome to Ouroboros, a world teetering between far future and primordial past, where aliens and barbarians, bigfoots and robots, monsters and puns wrestle for control! Mightiest is Stud, he of immense strength and nonexistent impulse control! Follow Stud's caravan of carnage as his cursed BloodBlade, keeps him on a razor's edge between hero and Gary! From co-creators Perry Crowe and Jed Dougherty: it's He-Man meets The Tick meets Judge Dredd - it's STUD!
Paradox
By Phillip Sevy
From acclaimed cartoonist Phillip Sevy (Triage) comes a sci-fi epic told in one issue. Paradox follows a boy who is racing to prevent the paradox that creates him but also threatens to destroy reality. Written, penciled, inked, colored, and lettered by Sevy, this poignant and emotional story explores the evolving relationship between fathers and their children.
Gutter Magic: Smoke & Mirrors
Written by Rich Douek, art by Fei Chen
A new day dawns in the world of Gutter Magic, as the fan-favorite comic returns! Set in a magical modern-day New York, Gutter Magic: Smoke & Mirrors catches up with Cinder, the black sheep in a wealthy and powerful wizarding family. Following the events of Gutter Magic, Cinder must learn that his newfound skills will not come easy – all while dealing with a power vacuum in New York’s criminal (and magical) underworld!
Fuhrer and the Tramp
Written by Sean McArdle and Jon Judy, art by Dexter Wee
The critically celebrated, Eisner-nominated comic comes to print for the first time! Charlie Chaplin – comic, filmmaker, and raconteur – didn’t become the world’s biggest star by courting controversy, but when he comes face-to-face with the horrors of Hitler, he feels compelled to get off the sidelines and get involved. And then Charlie is approached by FDR himself with a special assignment. His mission, if he chooses to accept it: create a propaganda film to drum up public support for joining the war in Europe!
Backfired
Written by Dave Pantano, Art by Diego Toro, Colors by Kote Carvajal
Wally’s life isn’t going so great. His marriage is falling apart; his extended family barely knows him; he works as a comic-book creator (‘Nuff said!). And just when Wally thinks things can’t get any worse, he comes face to face with his greatest enemy: his own most famous creation! When the villainous Reverse Backfire comes to life – and begins to dispense some truly terrible advice – Wally does all he can defeat his own subconscious and set things right, in this very adult, very funny slice-of-life superhero comedy!
Achilles Inc.
When a sliver of the world's population gains extraordinary abilities overnight, the result is massive and economic upheaval! The so-called Boosters displace the majority of the world's workforce. But Ransom Yeung and Achilles Incorporated are here to bring the boosters down, and put regular people back to work, in this exciting sci-fi thriller that's growing more relevant day by day.
Wild Strawberries at the World’s End
When Te-Su's childhood love supposedly kills herself, Te-Su investigates, and finds himself drawn into a tangled web of conspiracy involving a mysterion shaman, a murderous doomsday cult and an apocalyptic monster. In this haunting, elegaic tale, Te-Su must search his memories, both beautiful and painful, to discover the truth; the truth that will lead him to the world's end.
The Family Graves
Meet the Family Graves! After discovering a set of magical mirrors and the power they hold, this dysfunctional, mismatched family of monsters must race across dimensions to capture the mirrors and prevent the chronal vampire Gustav from devouring the space-time continuum and destroying reality! But can this fierce family stick together long enough to keep reality from falling apart?
The Love She Offered
Six weeks ago, Brian Thompson's daughter Julia was stabbed to death right outside her home. The police questioned her ex-boyfriend, Sean, but he was never charged. Brian, however, is convinced that Sean is the killer. He knows it. And he wants revenge for his daughter, in this twisted mini-series about two young families and the brutal crimes that tie them together.
Grief
In this critically-acclaimed anthology, ten very different people struggle with the pain of loss and with their own personal demons. Writer Frank Gogol pours his heart onto every page of these short comics, and together with his collaborators he creates a truly stunning work of fiction -- one that lets us all know we are not alone.
Gutter Magic
Gutter Magic is a four-issue series written by Comics Experience alum and Creators Workshop member Rich Douek and illustrated by Brett Barkley. Set in a world where World War II was fought with magic instead of technology, we meet our hero—the heir to a powerful magical dynasty who can’t cast a spell to save his life—as he sets out on a quest to find his family’s birthright and restore their honor.
Tet
by Paul Allor and Paul Tucker
Tet is a four-issue series written by Creators Workshop member Paul Allor and illustrated by Paul Tucker. In this hard-boiled crime drama set at the height of the Vietnam War, we meet Eugene, a detective in the U.S. Army as he falls in love with a Vietnamese woman while he serves in the United States armed forces. One part star-crossed lovers and one part crime noir, Tet delivers on multiple levels.
“Tet is the kind of thing I'd like to see more of: a comic about something that actually counts.”
Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Punisher)
“Tet is exactly what I want from a story about war. Not patriotism or polemics, but an exploration of people being human under the most inhumane circumstances.”
Corinna Bechko
“Allor is the real deal. He's a fresh voice who pulls you into intriguing territory that doesn't feel like what you've read before. When his name is on a book, you should take that book home.”
Jeff Parker
“Paul Allor and Paul Tucker craft a fascinating tale of one man's loss that's every bit as brutal and heart wrenching as its setting. The characters will haunt you long after you've turned the final page.”
Ed Brisson
Deluge
A three-issue crime thriller set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this hard-boiled drama delivers a lot of punch as corrupt police officers boat around flooded neighborhoods looking for criminals and to dispense their violent justice. But one of those suspected criminals is an under cover cop, and he’s determined to uphold the law, even when the world has been turned upside down.
Written by Comics Experience alum J.D. Oliva and illustrated by Comics Experience alum Richard P. Clark, Deluge is an action-packed story that delivers.
Karma Police
Created and written by Creators Workshop member Chris Lewis, this four-issue series weaves reincarnation into a murder mystery that spans life times. Chris’s previous title, Drones, was praised by Mark Waid, and we’re pleased to features Chris’s mind-altering take on storytelling with Karma Police.
Wretched Things
It was written in blood by the rat kinds, woven in silk by the spider sages, recited in verse by the ancient warlords of the centipedes: "The Vermin shall inherit the Earth." When a young mouse named Bran loses his entire clan to poison, he embarks on a journey that will take him through the hidden world of things that creep and crawl in the night, in a shocking comic that often feels like a twisted version of a Pixar film.
Drones
Drones is a five-issue series written by Comics Experience alum and Creators Workshop member Chris Lewis and illustrated by Bruno Oliveira. It follows the strange adventure of two Predator drone operators as they run through a terrorism-themed hotel in Las Vegas. Follow Chris and Bruno into a world where entertainment and war blend in unexpected and mind-warping ways!
“I love, love, love finding really good and worthwhile comics… I vouch for (Drones)—check it out!”
Mark Waid (Kingdom Come, Daredevil)
Creature Cops: Special Varmint Unit
Creature Cops: Special Varmint Unit is a three-issue series written by founding Creators Workshop member Rob Anderson and illustrated by Fernando Melek. It follows the lives of two Animal Control officers in a near-future city who must deal with patchwork, hybrid animals—from gator-snakes to panda dogs. Follow these working-class heroes through a world of gene-splicing and mutating horror and action.
"...a low key police procedural that's more invested in the day to day lives of its Animal Control Officers than the cool monsters. It's a near perfect first issue that makes me want to read more."
Steve Bennett (Review from his column “Confessions of a Comic Book Guy”)
WHAT DOES THE CEX DEAL LOOK LIKE?
Royalty Structure
10% of MSRP for first 2,000 units sold of any comic book
13% of MSRP for units above 2,000 sold of any comic book
– Royalty starts over at tier one with any new printings
8% of MSRP for first 2,000 units sold of any collected edition or Hard Cover
12% of MSRP for units 2,001 – 3,000 sold of any collected edition or Hard Cover
13% of MSRP for units above 3,001 sold of any collected edition or Hard Cover
– Royalty starts over at tier one with any new printings
Crowdfunding Campaigns: 20% of Net Profit of a campaign specifically for the Property.
Retailer Exclusive Deals: CEX pays a one-time flat fee of $150 for every retailer that makes a deal for exclusive product. No additional royalty is paid on these items.
Owner(s) Comp Copies: Owner(s) receive 25 copies combined of regular edition comics (multiple covers add up to 25 total copies). Excludes limited run or special edition copies.
Owner(s) Comp Copies: Owner(s) receive 5 copies of a regular collected edition of the Property.
Additional Owner(s) Copies: Owner(s) may purchase available additional copies at 60% off MSRP plus shipping if ordered in advance of printing. After printing, copies are available for 50% off MSRP plus shipping, while supplies are available.
Comic Book Production Fee: $200
Collected Edition / Graphic Novel Production Fee: $350
CHOOSE ONE OF TWO ENTERTAINMENT & LICENSING OPTIONS:
Option 1: Entertainment and Licensing:
- Owner(s) exclusively represents the property’s Entertainment, Licensing and Merchandising Rights and looks for opportunities in Film, Television, Animation, Gaming, Audio and Merchandising.
- CEX receives 10% of Owner(s)’s net profit from the sale and any production fees paid to Owner(s) based on the Property.
- Owner(s) and their representatives will make best efforts to include a “Based upon Title Published by CEX Publishing” credit (or equivalent that names CEX) in any production.
Option 2: Entertainment and Licensing:
- CEX exclusively represents the property’s Entertainment, Licensing and Merchandising Rights and looks for opportunities in Film, Television, Animation, Gaming, Audio and Merchandising.
- Owner(s) and CEX split the net sale/option price 50/50.
- Owner(s) representation (if they have any) is invited to consult with CEX’s representation to try to secure a Producer deal for the Owner(s).
- If Owner(s) do NOT get a Producer deal for any reason, then Owner(s) are entitled to:
- 15% of CEX’s net profit of CEX’s producer fees for a first feature.
- 15% of CEX’s net profit of CEX’s producer fees for a live action series for the first run and if the show airs.
- 10% of CEX’s net profit of CEX’s producer fees for an animation series.
- For other licensing and merchandising, Owner(s) are entitled to 50% of the net of the deal with a third party.
- CEX and its representatives will make best efforts to include a “created by” or “Based upon” credit in any production.
