- Pilot Season
Pilot Season is an annual initiative begun in 2007 by comics publisher
Top Cow Productions . Readers are able to vote on the future of six one-shotpilot comics released throughout the year. Voting takes place on the Pilot SeasonMySpace page [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=125011 WW Chicago: Top Cow Teams With MySpace For Pilot Season Voting] ,Newsarama , August 12, 2007] and the highest vote-getters later become ongoing series. [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=118405 Top Cows Pilot Program - Talking About Pilot Season] ,Newsarama , June 27, 2007] [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=11130 Top Cow's Pilot Season with Rob Levin and Jason Aaron] ,Comic Book Resources , August 9, 2007]2008
The entrants for the 2008 season are:
*Twilight Guardian #1 [ [http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=21907 Pilot Season: Twilight Guardian #1 - The FULL Issue] ,Newsarama , August 29, 2008] (winner) [http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090818-PilotSeason2008.html Pilot Season 2008 Winners: Genius, Twilight Guardian] ,Newsarama , September 18, 2008] (W)Troy Hickman [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16568 Hickman talks "Pilot Season: Twilight Guardian"] ,Comic Book Resources , May 28, 2008] [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=157172 Shedding Light on the Twilight Guardian with Troy Hickman] ,Newsarama , May 15, 2008] (A) Reza (Cov) Hendry Prasetyo
*Lady Pendragon #1 [ [http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=21960 Pilot Season: Lady Pendragon #1 - The FULL Issue] ,Newsarama , September 1, 2008] (W)Matt Hawkins [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16656 Knights of the Red Planet: Hawkins talks "Lady Pendragon”] ,Comic Book Resources , June 2, 2008] (A) Eru (Cov)Drew Struzan
*Alibi #1 [ [http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=21857 Pilot Season: Alibi #1 - The FULL Issue] ,Newsarama , August 28, 2008] (W)Joshua Hale Fialkov [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16938 Alibi Checks Out: Fialkov talks “Pilot Season: Alibi”] ,Comic Book Resources , June 25, 2008] (A)Jeremy Haun (Cov) Jeremy Haun [ [http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=18750 Exclusive Preview: Pilot Season: Alibi] , June 21, 2008]
*Genius #1 [ [http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=21807 Pilot Season: Genius #1 - The FULL Issue] ,Newsarama , August 27, 2008] (winner) (W)Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman (A) Afua Richardson (Cov) Afua Richardson [ [http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080623-TCGenius.html Bernardin & Freeman - Creating Top Cow's "Genius"] ,Newsarama , June 23, 2008]
*The Core #1 [ [http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=21697 Pilot Season: Core #1 - The FULL Issue] ,Newsarama , August 25, 2008] (W)Jonathan Hickman (A) Kenneth Rocafort (Cov) Kenneth Rocafort
*Urban Myths #1 [ [http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=21790 Pilot Season: Urban Myths #1 - The FULL Issue] ,Newsarama , August 26, 2008] (W)Jay Faerber [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17151 Greek to Me: Faerber on “Pilot Season: Urban Myths”] ,Comic Book Resources , July 9, 2008] (A) Jorge Molina (Cov) Jorge MolinaThe 2008 season included 4 new original properties. Only 2 of the comic books, Twilight Guardian and Lady Pendragon, had a history of publication prior to participation in Pilot Season. This was a markedly different situation from the 2007 event, in which all five of the Pilot Season issues (along with the cancelled Aphrodite IX pilot issue) had been based upon pre-existing Top Cow characters.
The voting period ran from August 4th through to September 8th 2008. In a departure from the previous year's competition (which allowed people to vote as often as they liked), individual computers were only able to vote once per day.
The final distribution of votes has been detailed as follows: [http://topcow.com/boards/index.php?s=&showtopic=42256&view=findpost&p=675740]
*Twilight Guardian 29%
*Genius 24%
*Urban Myths 22%
*The Core"' 15%
*Lady Pendragon 7%
*Alibi 3%According to Mel Caylo, Top Cow Vice President of Marketing & Sales, some entrants that did not win the 2008 competition may still have a future at the company. "While we have two, very clear winners in TWILIGHT GUARDIAN and GENIUS, voting for the other books was so fierce that it doesn't preclude us from ever doing something else with those properties down the road."
2007
The entrants for the 2007 season are:
*Ripclaw #1,(W)Jason Aaron (A)Jorge Lucas (Cov) Tony Moore
*Cyblade #1 (winner) [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=147336 Velocity & Cyblade Wins Top Cow's Pilot season] ,Newsarama , February 19, 2008] (W)Joshua Hale Fialkov [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=11412 Life Before Cyberforce: Fialkov talks "Cyblade"] ,Comic Book Resources , September 12, 2007] [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=128997 Joshua Hale Fialkov on Pilot Season: Cyblade] ,Newsarama , September 12, 2007] (A)Rick Mays (Cov) Rick Mays
*Velocity #1 [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=11596 FIRST LOOK: "Velocity: Pilot Season" #1] ,Comic Book Resources , October 2, 2007] (winner) (W)Joe Casey [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=11332 Joe Casey Hits Terminal "Velocity"] ,Comic Book Resources , August 31, 2007] [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=132982 Joe Casey on Pilot Season: Velocity] ,Newsarama , October 15, 2007] (A) Kevin Maguire (Cov) Kevin Maguire
*Necromancer #1 (W)Joshua Ortega [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=11771 Believe in Magic: Ortega Returns to "Necromancer"] ,Comic Book Resources , October 24, 2007] [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=131849 Necromancing: Joshua Ortega on Pilot Season: Necromancer] ,Newsarama , October 5, 2007] (A)Jonboy Meyers [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=133559 Drawing The Necromancer: Talking to Jonboy Meyers] ,Newsarama , October 19, 2007] (Cov)Francis Manapul
*The Angelus #1 (W)Ian Edginton [http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=12462 Divine Retribution: Edginton talks "Angelus: Pilot Season" #1] ,Comic Book Resources , November 26, 2007] (A)Stjepan Sejic (Cov) Stjepan Sejic
*Aphrodite IX #1, (W) Dan Jevons (A)Eric Basaldua (pulled from schedule, never published as part of Pilot Season) [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=130809 Top Cow Pulls Pilot Season: Aphrodite IX From Schedule] (press release),Newsarama , September 25, 2007]Over 4.1 million votes were received over the space of one month, beginning from December 17th 2007 and lasting until the closing date of January 21st 2008. Voters were allowed to vote as many times as they wanted. Although anyone was able to participate in online voting, those who had purchased the books themselves were able to increase their voting power by inputting special codes that appeared on their copies. These practices were not continued in Pilot Season 2008.
The protagonists in both of 2007's winning comics, Cyblade and Velocity, were characters spun off from
Marc Silvestri 's popularCyberforce comic series.Both Cyblade and Velocity are slated for release as series in fall 2008. Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rick Mays will continue writing duties and art for Cyblade. Joe Casey will also resume writing for Velocity, but
ChrisCross will be taking over from Kevin MacGuire on art.Collected editions
The first season is being collected into a trade paperback:
*"Pilot Season 2007" (144 pages, June 2008, ISBN 1582409005)
Notes
References
*comicbookdb|type=storyarc|id=2797|title=Pilot Season
External links
*myspace|pilotseason|Pilot Season
*2008 Winners [http://www.comixology.com/interviews/10/Interview-with-Top-Cow-Pilot-Season-2008-Winners interviewed] at [http://comixology.com comiXology.com]Reviews
* [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/118730441475182.htm "Ripclaw"] ,
Comics Bulletin
* [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/119353808294580.htm "Velocity"] ,Comics Bulletin
* [http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/details.php?id=1872 "Twilight Guardian"] , Broken Frontier
*" [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/121182645733730.htm Twilight] [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/121302477278621.htm Guardian] ",Comics Bulletin
* [http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/875/875754p1.html "Twilight Guardian"] ,IGN
* [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/121364147440315.htm "Lady Pendragon"] ,Comics Bulletin
* [http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/details.php?id=1898 "Lady Pendragon"] , Broken Frontier
* [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=179 "Genius"] ,Comic Book Resources
* [http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/details.php?id=1892 "Genius"] , Broken Frontier
* [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/121423862589539.htm "Genius"] ,Comics Bulletin
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