Submission Guidelines

We are currently OPEN for pitch submissions!

If you are interested in creating a comic for inclusion in verum/vitae, please apply to be a contributor.

Our current theme is WORLD BUILDING.

If you are interested in becoming a contributor to verum/vitae, you must fill out our contributor application form.

Submission Guidelines

For final content submission please follow the guidelines provided below. If your submissions do not meet our criteria they will be automatically rejected. Any questions can be directed to us at verumvitaesubmissions@gmail.com with "OPEN CALL 2019" in the subject line.

By submitting you are granting 7000 BC the limited distribution rights for both print and digital publication and distribution in the following: official series issues, official series collected anthologies, series digital publication, series or group promotions and educational materials. Your artwork is still yours and you can subsequently publish or submit it elsewhere should you desire.

Story, Content and Themes

  • ALL submissions must take place in or around New Mexico OR be thematically linked with New Mexico in some obvious way.
  • Each issue will have a call based around a particular location, concept, or thematic element upon which the participants will build their submissions. The theme for the 2019 call is World Building.
  • All submissions must be original content and cannot have been featured in a previous publication.
  • Story submissions must be in even page increments (i.e. 2, 4, 6, etc), up to a maximum of 16 pages.
  • The content should be roughly PG to PG-13. We want this anthology to be marketable to a broad audience. It's not geared towards children, but we don't want anything that is blatantly "objectionable" so as to reach as wide a market as possible. This means no graphic depictions of sex, nudity, fetishism, or extreme violence/gore, and limited use of foul language.

Behind the Scenes Content

In addition to the final pages, we request the following work-in-progress and related content for our behind-the-scenes documentation of the comic art and creation process including:

  • Contributor Portrait and/or Self-Portrait
  • Concept Art
  • Thumbnail Sketches
  • Scripts
  • Pencils
  • Inks
  • Toning (if applicable)

A major component of the project is the collection of work-in-progress documentation for use in educational materials for 7000 BC. As such, participants are asked to document each step of their process with photographs, screenshots, scans, etc. that can later be used as examples in 7000 BC produced educational publications. We may ask participants to fill out surveys at a later date to obtain insight into their creative process.

Publication Format

  • The anthology will be printed in black and white.
  • The anthology will be printed to the USA Comic size standard (6-5/8" x 10-1/4").
  • Lettering must be legible at final print size
  • Scripts and final lettering must be edited and proofread.
  • The first page must include the title and credits, preferably at the top of the page. Any variation must be approved ahead of time.
  • The first page of a comic must always be the "right hand" (odd-numbered) page. This means if you wish to have a two-page spread you must submit a minimum of four pages, with the second and third page creating the spread. The first page cannot be part of a two-page spread.
  • Comic pages will be provided at 11" x 17" size at a minimum of 300 DPI (see template below) and submitted as monochrome or grayscale TIFF files.

The Comic Page Template

We have provided a sample template for reference in a variety of file formats that shows the important regions of your comic art as pictured to the left.

Comic Art Dimensions (300 DPI or higher)

Page Size: 11" x 17"

Full Bleed: 10" x 15-3/8"

Trim Line: 9-3/4" x 15"

Safe Area: 9" x 14-1/4"

Click here to download the official comic page template files.