(TOP COW 05/15/08) Contest gives aspiring comic writers and artists a chance to get published — and paid!

Spacedog Entertainment and Top Cow Productions have teamed up to create a contest where aspiring comic writers and artists can submit their work for publication. The contest, dubbed “Choose Your Own Creator,” launched on May 1st, 2008 and runs through April 15th, 2009. The contest will have 22 winners total that will be paid for their work and be included in the resulting five-part comic series to be published by Top Cow Productions.

Entries can be submitted for the series’ treatment, character designs, individual issue scripts, cover art, black-and-white sequentials, and color sequentials. The contest consists of seven rounds, with each new submission building off the winning entries of the previous round. Contestants are welcome to submit entries for as many rounds as they like.

“Since its inception, Top Cow has been a beacon to comic writers and artists, launching many of the industry’s best. We believe that with Spacedog’s ability to create compelling stories, married with Top Cow’s artistic expertise and credibility, we have the ability to create something special while helping to launch the careers of upcoming artists,” says Roger Mincheff, founder and CEO of Spacedog Entertainment.

Entrants will be responsible for creating a prequel to Spacedog and Top Cow's already successful Proximity Effect graphic novel. To learn more about the contest, visit www.chooseyourowncreator.com.