Big news from Jim Zub and the rest of the Skullkickers team. Zub announced at the Image Expo this last weekend that he will be taking two stories submitted by fans and putting them in their next issue of Tavern Tales. The contest will run through April 30th and will offer both an artist and a writer to work on two separate stories from the SK universe.

“Last summer I went to a slew of different conventions to promote Skullkickers. Everywhere I went there were people shopping around their creations, showing their portfolios, talking about how they don’t just want to read comics, they want to make them too. It’s a substantial part of comic fandom. I thought about that and figured that the Tavern Tales short story issues are a great outlet for trying out new talent and seeing what diamonds come out of the rough.” Zub told Multiuniversity Comics over the weekend.

The submission guidelines for artists require two sample pages drawn from a script that Zub has already written, which you can find here. Writers must submit a minimum of one page giving an overview and description of their 6 page story idea. If selected the writer will be paired with an artist of Zub’s choice to refine their vision. The first round of submissions do not need to be a full script, just an outline of page by page action.

I spoke with Zub briefly about what he is looking for in terms of written submissions and he had this to say,”I want to get a sense of the story first and foremost: Does it feel like a Skullkickers story? Are the gags in-line with the world and characters? Is there a fun payoff?” Zub also went on to express the importance of a professional, well written story pitch. That means grammar and spellchecks everyone.

The submission guidelines require filling out a release form before anything can be taken by the time. You can find the release form as well as a step-by-step outline of the submission process right here.

If you are looking for inspiration on what Skullkickers is all about then head over to Keenspot, where the entire series is currently being collected digitally.