The Anti Continuity
Last time I brought up the ‘standalone episode series’ and the ‘serialized episodes’ approach.
Used Books mentioned Anthologies, which is (kind of) the anti-continuity approach. I love anthologies, and have contributed to a few over the years.
Nothing but respect to The Twilight Zone, one of the iconic anthology series! Of course, there've been horror anthologies like Tales From the Crypt.
For horror, or for a fantasy/dark fantasy/horror series like Twilight Zone, the anthology is a great model. Obviously, in an anthology, the main character can die. Or all the main characters could be changed irrevocably. Or the entire planet could be destroyed! Or even the Universe!
that's…cheerful…ahem!
Anyway, short stories or anthology-type stories can be a blast to write as well. Not only for the grim delight in killing off characters, either! It frees us up to have any rules we want for the world of the story, and to make a point with only the amount of world building that's needed to tell this particular tale.
Of course, things still have to make ENOUGH sense for the story to work…but that's not a restrictive ‘rule’, really.
Often - very often - the anthology series follows some kind of theme, or tone, or something like that that gives the collection or series some kind of coherence. The Twilight Zone has to have some extraordinary, unnatural element to it (there might be some exceptions; I'm not sure. But they'd be rare!).
Our own upcoming Anthology, all about DREAMS, will get plenty of attention here when it releases!
Have you ever contributed to a comic, or some other kind of Anthology?
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And 'Thologies
Banes at 12:00AM, July 11, 2024
5 likes!
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KAM at 11:40AM, July 11, 2024
The KAMics is an anthology. I'm a scatterbrain so my brain likes jumping around to different characters and ideas rather than focusing too long on one story or group of characters.
bravo1102 at 7:49AM, July 11, 2024
I have an on going anthology comic. Belle's Best: the Films of Belinda Brandon is an anthology with self contained stories fitting into an overall narrative of her career. Last movie got way too long because I kept adding stuff. But then I did the story for the anthology and kept right to the original idea outline and it was 16 pages. I just have to rein myself in. Had a very hard lesson about that bunch a years ago and I'm very aware of it. There is a lot on the cutting room floor even when I do add things.
marcorossi at 5:25AM, July 11, 2024
I have a lot of problems with short stories, I tried to write one (Bunyan Mk7) in 20 pages, but I couldn't do it and it ended up being 32 pages long, and that was the absolute minimum and I felt it saw still ultra-cramped. Even at 32 pages long, since it takes me 10 hours to draw a page it still takes me more than half a year to do something like that, so at this point I prefer to write a longer self concluded one in two year. Although in some sense, it might be that my stories are all very long short stories, in terms of structure. So for this reason I could never partecipate in one anthology.
bravo1102 at 5:15AM, July 11, 2024
About the last anthology I actually wanted to get several for my whole family but getting expenditures past the wife has been very difficult with everything that is going on. I really want to see what everything looks like in print. Saw a few digitally but so want to see a hard copy. But ask She Who Must Be Obeyed and we can't swing it. I Really should start that patreon. Lol.
bravo1102 at 5:08AM, July 11, 2024
I always feel honored to be included in them. Short stories are one of my favorite art forms and one I can't do very well. Keep dragging things out. I really should do more but this long form comic I'm doing is just sucking up all my energy. I had a story, actually a couple for the dreams anthology but wasted too much time and just couldn't get started.
PaulEberhardt at 5:01AM, July 11, 2024
My problem with anthologies on Gumroad is that they want me to pay by entering my credit card number as the only option, which is a pity, as that'd the one option I never take and even had mine blocked for internet use just in case. Why can't they take PayPal or just send a bill or something for $§%$§&'s sake?! Else, I'd have bought the last Duck Anthology long ago and would have tried to scratch something together for the current one.
PaulEberhardt at 4:53AM, July 11, 2024
I love anthologies! They're my choice of reading material in busy times when I still want to read something captivating to wind down after a long day. The self-contained short stories allow me to put the book away for as long as I have to without having to be afraid of losing track. Should do some anthology stories myself some day.
usedbooks at 3:47AM, July 11, 2024
My intro to anthologies was Are You Afraid of the Dark on Nickelodeon (or "Snick"). It's still a favorite. I don't have the confidence to participate in a group anthology. The imposter syndrome is very strong.
plymayer at 12:32AM, July 11, 2024
Speaking of anthologies and group efforts, what ever happened with Lite Bites Comic Jam 5? Genejoke did a page to start, and I did one. I'm sure he'd still be interested in others contributing. Genejoke has been busy with the Duck's Anthology....