LA Strong: my first time writing blind
Creating with zero input on art -- an incredible new sensation
The horrible fires in Los Angeles earlier this year sparked so much charity and goodwill for the victims, and the comic book industry certainly responded. Mad Cave Studios is publishing an anthology to help comic book creators that suffered losses, and I'm so grateful to be a part of that effort. I received a tip that Mad Cave’s Mike Marts and Sarah Brunstad were looking for contributions from writers and artists, just like when Mad Cave supported the war in Ukraine with this charity anthology.
As a native Californian, I felt called to contribute and pitched Mike and Sarah on a concept for a one-page story wrapped around the theme of California Love. A short time later, I received the green light to proceed with my concept, and I was off and running — and running a bit blind. I was writing not knowing anything about the artwork or the artist I’d be paired with. It felt a bit like the old “Marvel Method,” where an artist would draw a story first and the writer would fill in the words later. In this case with Mad Cave, it was a simultaneous effort, where I imagine Sarah was curating the art and written submissions, and making pairings after everything was submitted. I have never worked on a comic in this way… and it was exhilarating!
I now know that the title of the anthology is called “LA Strong,” and you can pre-order it here: buy LA Strong and support comics creators impacted by wildfires.
This week I was floored when an e-mail came in from Mad Cave to notify me that I’d been paired with legendary artist Stefano Cardoselli. It was an honor to say the least, because I love Stefano’s distinctive art style. His imagery lends itself to so well to futurism, dystopian stories, and SciFi, as clearly evidenced by his work for Heavy Metal Magazine, 2000 AD, Epic Games, and more! When his splash-page with my words hit my inbox, my jaw fell to the ground and I had to pinch myself. I’m not sure if I can share the art, but if you look at his Instagram page, I bet you can figure out which image is the one you’ll see in the pages of “LA Strong.” It is a thing of beauty.
Suffice it to say, I’m beyond thrilled to be included in this most honorable endeavor alongside so many incredible comic book creators, listed below.
If I’m ever in a position to jump in head first for a charitable comics endeavor like this one, where the end product is a joyous surprise, I shall do so with much love in my soul. Thank you Mad Cave. Thank you Mike and Sarah. Thank you Stefano!
And lastly, thank you for reading, and I really do hope you consider supporting this incredible effort for comics creators that need a hand! Here are some closing details:
The book will be on-sale on March 19, 2025 as a drop-in solicit for comics retailers with Lunar code 1224MA843. The final-order-cutoff (FOC) date is February 24, 2025.
Mad Cave will then solicit the issue with Lunar Distribution through its regular catalogue cycle with an on-sale date of May 7, 2025 and FOC date of April 14, 2025. That will allow retailers to get full orders for the project.
100% of the proceeds are planned to go directly to the comic-book creators who Mad Cave is confirming have lost their homes.
#LAStrong
#MadCaveStudios
#CharityComics
What a great cause! Congrats on getting into the anthology and hope this helps many people who were displaced because of the fires.
That is awesome, Omar. Huge congrats! And I believe I saw the right illustration you pointed us to, which you had commented on. It's beautiful.