Larime
03-05-2009, 09:56 PM
I'm in the process of re-submitting HOLLOW to publishers now that we've put it back on the market, and I want the pitch to be the best damn pitch I can make. To do this, I'm asking anyone and everyone to help with the wording and presentation that is willing to - Gail, Kurt, any other pros are most encouraged to chime in, too.
Here's my initial attempt.
HOLLOW
Created by Larime Taylor
Sixteen year old Sam Andrews was born without a soul. As a result, he is destined to either destroy existence or be its savior.
Diagnosed with albinism and autism, one might think that life never gave Sam any color. They'd be right. But the truth is much more disturbing than that - Sam was born without a soul, and because of this he is a living, breathing Void, the very antithesis of existence. Left unchecked, this Void will grow and reality around him will unravel until he devours it all and nothing is left. He is not aware of this, though he senses that something within him is very, very wrong, and he did not choose this path. It was chosen for him by an ancient entity older than the Earth, itself, tired of making the trains of the universe run on time. Fitting, then, that it is in the city of Phoenix where Sam will either destroy the world or help it rise from the ashes. He will not go unnoticed for long, however. As the Void grows in strength, beings and powers long forgotten by man have started to take notice.
Israfel, the angel of Judgment, long ago lost her faith in humanity after watching it make the same mistakes again and again. Now she is a weary, cynical shadow of her former self desperately trying to find her purpose in world she feels no longer needs her, or even cares. She has sensed the Void in her midst, but has searched for it for sixteen years without success. She must stop it, must save mankind from destruction even as she wonders if it isn't what they really deserve.
Satanail, or ha-satan, was created to be The Tempter, The Adversary. Neither a demon nor a rogue angel, he is simply a being with a job to do - tempt and test humanity's weakness. The fact that he has come to enjoy his job is merely a bonus. He, too, now feels this Void, but he is curious about it and wishes to know more. Who created it? Why? The embodiment of temptation, he is himself a prisoner of his own curiosity, and it is starting to get under his skin. He must find it, but he cannot see it.
Only Iris Vega can. A Gen Y slacker, she is the picture of wasted youth, working a dead end job in a record store and doing too many drugs. But the drugs make her feel sane. Iris sees things, things man was not meant to see, and it is she that dreams of a pale boy destroying world. It is she - and only she - that can find him. Iris was gifted by her Mother with The Sight, and Seers are very, very rare these days. The only path to Sam and the Void will be through a reluctant hero that, like Sam, never asked for any of this.
And so the fate of existence comes down to a girl who is running from herself and her true calling, and a boy who really isn't a boy at all, but like Pinocchio, desperately wants to be, one day.
---
HOLLOW was created in 2002 by award-winning playwright Larime Taylor as a study of the human condition and a metaphor for his life as a disabled man. Issues of identity and belonging are at the heart of the story - a boy who is not a boy and does not fit in, an angel doubting her very reason for existence, a tempter that is hostage to his own temptation, and a young woman afraid to embrace who she really is and the way she was made to be.
Larime has also taken over art duties starting with issue #2, drawing the book with his mouth after Duncan Eagleson (Sandman, Shade the Changing Man) did guest art for issue #1. The book is colored by Larime's wife Danielle, a legally blind painter.
This is not your average comic book.
And this is why, even in today's market, a book like HOLLOW can thrive. The human interest angle of the husband and wife creative team is unlike anything in comics today, and is capable of bring mainstream media attention to a place it rarely goes. Newspapers, magazines - even television - the publicity and PR opportunities are unlimited due to the unique and fascinating story behind the story.
It has also been well received within the industry and without it. Gail Simone (Wonder Woman) and Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night) have praised the book and written glowing commentaries in support of it. Bad Hat Harry (House) and Benderspink (The Ring, A History of Violence) have previously expressed initial interest in the project for adaptation to television or film.
Samples of the art from #1 and #2 have been attached for your evaluation, and scripts of the first five issue story-arc are available upon request. Your time and consideration are greatly appreciated.
Here's my initial attempt.
HOLLOW
Created by Larime Taylor
Sixteen year old Sam Andrews was born without a soul. As a result, he is destined to either destroy existence or be its savior.
Diagnosed with albinism and autism, one might think that life never gave Sam any color. They'd be right. But the truth is much more disturbing than that - Sam was born without a soul, and because of this he is a living, breathing Void, the very antithesis of existence. Left unchecked, this Void will grow and reality around him will unravel until he devours it all and nothing is left. He is not aware of this, though he senses that something within him is very, very wrong, and he did not choose this path. It was chosen for him by an ancient entity older than the Earth, itself, tired of making the trains of the universe run on time. Fitting, then, that it is in the city of Phoenix where Sam will either destroy the world or help it rise from the ashes. He will not go unnoticed for long, however. As the Void grows in strength, beings and powers long forgotten by man have started to take notice.
Israfel, the angel of Judgment, long ago lost her faith in humanity after watching it make the same mistakes again and again. Now she is a weary, cynical shadow of her former self desperately trying to find her purpose in world she feels no longer needs her, or even cares. She has sensed the Void in her midst, but has searched for it for sixteen years without success. She must stop it, must save mankind from destruction even as she wonders if it isn't what they really deserve.
Satanail, or ha-satan, was created to be The Tempter, The Adversary. Neither a demon nor a rogue angel, he is simply a being with a job to do - tempt and test humanity's weakness. The fact that he has come to enjoy his job is merely a bonus. He, too, now feels this Void, but he is curious about it and wishes to know more. Who created it? Why? The embodiment of temptation, he is himself a prisoner of his own curiosity, and it is starting to get under his skin. He must find it, but he cannot see it.
Only Iris Vega can. A Gen Y slacker, she is the picture of wasted youth, working a dead end job in a record store and doing too many drugs. But the drugs make her feel sane. Iris sees things, things man was not meant to see, and it is she that dreams of a pale boy destroying world. It is she - and only she - that can find him. Iris was gifted by her Mother with The Sight, and Seers are very, very rare these days. The only path to Sam and the Void will be through a reluctant hero that, like Sam, never asked for any of this.
And so the fate of existence comes down to a girl who is running from herself and her true calling, and a boy who really isn't a boy at all, but like Pinocchio, desperately wants to be, one day.
---
HOLLOW was created in 2002 by award-winning playwright Larime Taylor as a study of the human condition and a metaphor for his life as a disabled man. Issues of identity and belonging are at the heart of the story - a boy who is not a boy and does not fit in, an angel doubting her very reason for existence, a tempter that is hostage to his own temptation, and a young woman afraid to embrace who she really is and the way she was made to be.
Larime has also taken over art duties starting with issue #2, drawing the book with his mouth after Duncan Eagleson (Sandman, Shade the Changing Man) did guest art for issue #1. The book is colored by Larime's wife Danielle, a legally blind painter.
This is not your average comic book.
And this is why, even in today's market, a book like HOLLOW can thrive. The human interest angle of the husband and wife creative team is unlike anything in comics today, and is capable of bring mainstream media attention to a place it rarely goes. Newspapers, magazines - even television - the publicity and PR opportunities are unlimited due to the unique and fascinating story behind the story.
It has also been well received within the industry and without it. Gail Simone (Wonder Woman) and Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night) have praised the book and written glowing commentaries in support of it. Bad Hat Harry (House) and Benderspink (The Ring, A History of Violence) have previously expressed initial interest in the project for adaptation to television or film.
Samples of the art from #1 and #2 have been attached for your evaluation, and scripts of the first five issue story-arc are available upon request. Your time and consideration are greatly appreciated.