After the success of Volume 1, Octal is releasing Volume 2 of their project to help get independent comics in front of publishers for consideration. Volume 1 had over two dozen publishers subscribe to the catalog, showing 8 pilot stories, all of which received feedback. 4 are discussing proposals, and 2 are working out contracts for publishing; Necromancer Bill with Darby Pop and Sane6 with Rat&Crow.
What the anthology looks to do is gather these works and format them according to the guidelines of various publishers, to help provide a packet of work for submission. They do their best to meet the various criteria of the different publishing houses in order to give the creators the best chance of hearing back. They translate these guidelines into a template for the creators to use to create editor-friendly content for the catalog.
Octal Volume 2 will feature 8 titles
- Celflux from Dixie Ann Archer-McBain and Everard J. McBain Jr., an afro-centric sci-fi adventure where a priestess must unite a group of reluctant heroes in order to save their planet.
- Fantaco’s Night of the Living Dead returning after 20 years out of print. It is being pitched as an omnibus which will include the official adaptation of the cult classic, Clive Barker and Steve Nile’s ‘Night of the Living Dead: London’, and much more.
- Disunity from Ron Batchelor and Rem Fields is a genre-bending action, mystery set in a collapsing multiverse.
- Ulfberht tells the story of a viking crew searching for a legendary sword that needs to be destroyed, from Irene Berbee and Wim Wijdenes
- Charmer is a supernatural thriller from Bill Williams and illustrated by Ricardo Silva which pits a young sorceress against the cult who raised her.
- Travelers is a neo-noir story from Emir Pasanov and Milenko Bogdanovic that explores robot-human relations.
- Possession is a throw-back to indie comics of the 80s that blends romance, action and horror by Michael Norwitz and Mary Ann Vaipel with art by Julian Taveras.
- William Henry Dvorak, Krzysztof Budziejewski, and Christy Bontrager blend horror and western themes in The Seekers, the story of a priest and a young girl tasked with cleansing the frontier of its demons.
Octal Volume 1 is available on DriveThru and Comixology. Octal Volume 2 is now available on DriveThru and coming soon to Comixology.
Octal Volume 3 is already underway and slots are filling fast. For terms, templates, and guidelines, head over to OctalComics.com.