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GLASS ONION: Artist Search

February 6, 2002

A sequential artist is sought for a new series entitled GLASS ONION. This series is not about costumed super-heroes, dragons, of elves. It is about ordinary people who sometimes face extradorinary circumstances. The series taps the genres of science fiction, horror, fantasy, and mystery.

I intend to provide rough layouts for the artist to follow though the artist may be expected to also work from a script for specific details. The artist should have a solid understanding of drawing ordinary people and should be comfortable drawing from a grid layout. The stories mainly focus on one or two characters each issue, so it's important that the artist be able of rendering faces that look similar panel to panel. The ideal artist will pencil and ink his or her own work.

Interested parties should send five to seven pages of their sequential art (8 1/2 x 11 photocopies) to:

Sleeping Giant Comics
4344 Freeland Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19128
attn: David Yurkovich

and should include a self-addressed-stamped-envelope. DO NOT SEND ORIGINAL ART as the pages you send will not be returned. DO NOT SEND PIN-UPS or flashy drawings of characters accentuated by speed lines. I am looking for an artist who is able to render ordinary individuals in everyday situations.

Submissions will be accepted between February 7 and March 31. After reviewing the submissions, a 5-page sample script and layouts will be sent to those artists being considered for the project.

The following is a synopsis of issue 1 of GLASS ONION. Reading this synopsis should give you an indication whether this project would appeal to you as an artist. Keep in mind that this is merely a synopsis. Actual page breakdowns will be provided for those interested in this proejct:

GLASS ONION: Issue 1: Happy

In which the glass onion, a mysterious object of unknown power, is introduced and a man, who never thought his life was very special, realizes that he is, in fact, the happiest man he knows.

Five years ago: This is the story of Falls Crest, Iowa native Arnie Hendersen and the story is told from Arnie’s POV. To hear him tell it, he is “the happiest man I know.” Arnie, a 34-year-old introvert with rather low self-esteem, is a real estate agent, and while he has a likeable demeanor, he is, in fact, a rather inept sales agent. Nonetheless, he manages to meet his monthly sales quotas despite being given some of the worst properties in his territory. When the sales force is cut, Arnie is given the black hole of properties, the Montgomery mansion. This once prestige estate has been a burden to the agency for more than a decade. With a tainted history that includes the unsolved murder of the Montgomery children in the 1920s, the property is pretty much a no sell. Arnie is, therefore, understandably surprised when a gentleman calls and asks to be shown the property. Because of the mansion’s remote location, the two agree to meet there rather than commute from Arnie’s office. While touring the mansion, the pair separate. Arnie soon finds the man, whose name is Tyler, in one of the bedrooms; he is opening a wall safe and removing from it a box. As Arnie confronts Tyler, a fight ensues. It ends with Arnie bringing a metal candlestick holder down upon Tyler‘s head--killing him instantly. Arnie goes a bit mad at this point and says something like “The Salesman, in the Library, with the Candlestick.” Rather calmly, he buries Tyler and disposes of Tyler’s car before returning to the mansion to clean up the mess. Upon closing the safe, he stares and gazes at the box inside. However, Arnie does not succumb to curiosity; he hastily closes the safe and returns home.

Weeks pass and Arnie grows tense and restless. He receives a phone call from a woman who claims to know what Arnie’s done. They meet at a diner and she instructs him to take her to the mansion. At the mansion, Arnie shows her the safe which she unlocks with ease. She removes the box and holds it in her hands. In that instant, Arnie lunges at her and wrestles from her the box. Despite her protests, he opens the box and removes from it a shimmering object: the glass onion. In that instant, Arnie is changed. His mind is experiences sensation overkill. Specifically, Arnie experiences every moment of joy he’s ever had in his life--he experiences these sensations simultaneously. A lifetime of memories hit him like a bolt and his bliss is unlike anything you or I could possibly imagine. During this time he hears a loud crack. At first he is unaware that he’s been shot. He merely watches the onion fall from his hand and roll across the floor where the woman carefully picks it up with a gloved hand. Arnie is not concerned; he is still in a state of bliss.

Our final scene occurs in a hospital room where two men who are definitely NOT doctors discuss Arnie and the woman he was with. From their dialogue, it is obvious that these men have a vested interest in the whereabouts of the onion and the fate of Tyler, whom they refer to as Agent E. As they pull the life-support plug on Arnie, we see that he has been shot in the head. His face has a stupid silly smile on it, and he is still oblivious to all. As he reminds himself that he’s the happiest person he knows, he flatlines.

Please direct any questions to David
and good luck!