A new contest, and more: How do you follow a contest as successful as last month's Great Losers Giveaway? How about with something bigger and, depending on your tastes and perspective, possibly better?

This time around, we -- and by "we," I mean Johnny Bacardi, Shane Bailey, Rick Geerling, Ken Lowery and me -- are spotlighting Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan's Demo, published by AiT/Planet Lar. If you're not familiar with Demo, it's a 12-issue series of standalone stories -- miniature graphic novels, if you will -- about teens trying to cope with superpowers, and life (and death) in general. For issue summaries, go here.

So, we're asking: What if you were different? What if you had powers that set you apart from everyone else? What would become of your life? How would you change? We want to know what superpower you'd want to have, and what you'd do with it. Be creative. None of that "I'd want invisibility so I could watch people shower" nonsense. Make it good.

Top prize is the first five issues of Demo, copies of Channel Zero, Jennie One, Couscous Express, Public Domain and The Couriers 02: Dirtbike Manifesto, and a piece of original art from Planet of the Capes, all courtesy of Larry Young and AiT/Planet Lar, plus a six-issue subscription to Digital Webbing Presents and four back issues, courtesy of Digital Webbing.

See? I wasn't kidding when I said this contest was bigger and better. That's some serious swag. First through fourth prizes are no joke, either. For a complete rundown of prizes and more contest details, go here and to Near-Mint Heroes. The contest ends May 12.

Be sure to check the other participating blogs for Demo-related entries throughout the week.

And now, here comes the "more" part ...





Demo artist Becky Cloonan took a break from her hectic schedule to answer a few questions, and to help kick off the contest:

What was it about Demo that sold you on doing the series?

Well, Brian Wood and I had just finished the graphic novel Jennie One, and we had talked a bit about doing a monthly book. It just made sense to work together again. I don't really think there was any selling involved. Brian just threw it out there, and I was totally for it.

You alter your style so much from one issue to the next. How did you settle on the particular "look" for each issue?

While I'm sketching out the characters, something will usually hit me, like, "Oh, that's the style I want." I'll read over the script a few times, and I'll get a picture in my head of what I want the feel to be like. Since each story is different, I feel like the art should be a bit different in each, too, and the monthly format is perfect for it.

The "extra features" in Demo provide a glimpse behind the scenes, but can you tell us more about your creative process? How do you tackle an issue?

Well this kind of changes with each issue. Like the style, I think that having a different process is important as well. I'll approach each issue a little differently depending on how I want to tell it. But usually it goes something like, I'll read though the script and do some sketches of the characters. Sometimes I'll ink a few drawings to get a feel for what the issue will look like. Then, I'll do a few layouts, work out any tricky scenes, then just start on the pages.

It's been about a year since you drew the first issue of Demo (what would become Issue 3). Looking back, would you have approached it differently, or are you satisfied with the results?

Demo has definitely been a learning process. I guess I would redraw some of it, but at the same time I am totally happy with it. I think it's kind of pointless to look back too much; I learned a lot from that issue, so all I can do now is apply that to the next comic I draw.

Although many comics readers are familiar with your work on Demo and Jennie One, you're also known for your mini-comics, band fliers and gig posters. Do you still get to work on those, or has comics consumed all your time and energy?

I still do fliers, and some free-lance work. But for the most part it's all Demo. I haven't been able to make a new mini-comic in about a year, but I still make copies of my old ones. I have one that's halfway done. Hopefully, I'll get that out maybe this summer? Doesn't leave much time for much of a life, though (haha)!

It's obvious from the Demo "mixtapes" that music is an important influence on your work. How much thought goes into assembling the soundtrack for each of the issues -- or is it simply whatever you're listening to at the time?

I listen to a lot of different music ... but the play lists in the back are mostly coherent with the issue -- yeah, almost like a soundtrack! I listen to music constantly, when I'm working or not.

What kind of free-lance work are you doing outside of comics? Are you still involved in animation, and RPG illustration?

Actually, I've just done some ecards for MTV.com, and I'm working on a comic for an RPG book right now. I also do illustrations for band t-shirts, CDs, and some logo work. Maybe in the future, I'd like to do get involved in different fields, but for now this keeps me busy enough.

What's next on your schedule? What can you tell us about Every Cowboy Sings A Sad, Sad Song? Is it still a go?

After Demo? Yes, I'm still working on Cowboy with Matthew Woodson, but I want to give it my full attention. So it's on the backburner until the fall. Also, my friend Jen Quick and I are planning out a graphic novel called Off*Beat, which should be a really fun time. I have a few other ideas up my sleeve, but we'll see how they work out.