November 4, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Alex de Campi was an energetic presence at NYCC, where she talked about her own experiences publishing comics digitally across a number of platforms, and in a number of languages, all at once. In case you missed her, check out Johanna Draper Carlson’s interview with Alex for PWCW, where she talks about the challenges of creating and marketing comics for such a wide arena. And then go check out her comic, Valentine—you can read the first two chapters for free.
The creators of Ulysses “Seen,” the webcomics adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses, have turned to Kickstarter to raise enough money to work on the comic full time for the next couple of months. You should totally check this out, as they have some cool offerings, including original sketches for just $35. Anyway, in celebration of reaching their goal, they have released the first four pages of the second chapter, Calypso, exclusively on Robot 6. Check it out!
At Storming the Tower, Lauren Davis discusses the startling success of The Machine of Death and what it means for the future of webcomics.
John Wigger of Zombie Roomie is the latest guest at the TGT Webcomics podcast. The Webcomic Beacon looks at manga-style webcomics this week.
Robert Gryfft reviews MS Paint Adventures at This Week in Webcomics.
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November 3, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Kate Beaton's Rogue
Comics Alliance has a long, meaty interview with Kate Beaton, who talks about the challenges of making history comics, why The Great Gatsby is over-analyzed, and the comic she drew for Marvel’s Strange Tales anthology.
Faith Erin Hicks answers questions for Eric Kim’s students about her working methods and her experience with webcomics.
And Brian Heater concludes his interview with Drew Weing at The Daily Cross Hatch.
Let’s go multimedia: Here’s an audio interview with Ben Costa, creator of Shi Long Pang. And here’s a video of Hawk, the artist from Applegeeks, explaining how he makes the magic. (Via ComixTalk.)
Nominations are now open for the Webcomics List Awards, which are designed to replace the now-defunct Web Comic Cartoonists Awards.
Looking for something new? Warren Ellis is calling on creators to show us their webcomics at The Whitechapel Forums.
Apparently it’s Manifesto Week in the Greater Comics Blogsophere; Shaenon Garrity kicked things off with Ten Things to Know About the future of Comics, in which she basically says that “comics” are no longer a single format, and Larry Cruz counters with Ten Things To Know About the Future of Webcomics at The Webcomic Overlook.
Celadore creator Canaan Grall shows off some of his NYCC sketches at Comics Should Be Good.
Shaenon Garrity is starting a new story arc of Li’l Mell. This one will be drawn by Cameron Nielson. And Nick Gurewitch just posted a new Perry Bible Fellowship comic, but just one. (Via Robot 6.)
At ComixTalk, Xaviar Xerexes reminds us that the first chapter of The Sisters Grimm is complete, which makes right now a great time to jump in and start reading.
Scott McCloud shares his thoughts on Flattr, a system that supposedly makes micropayments easy. And he also recommends a webcomic by German creator Ulli Lust.
Questionable Content is now available in book form!
If you’re tired of just listening to podcasts and want to do some talking of your own, now is the time: The Webcomic Beacon folks are looking for some new contributors to join their team.
Reviews: At Digital Strips, Steve and Jason discuss Pokeweed and Faraday the Blob. Other reviews of note:
Esther Inglis-Arkell on The Bunny System (Comics Alliance)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on Eros, Inc. and Michael Jonathan is Jewish (All About Manga)
NTH on Golden Boy (The Cool Web Comic List)
Delos on Integration (ArtPatient)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 1 of Johnny Wander (print edition) (Read About Comics)
Larry Cruz on Motokool (The Webcomic Overlook)
NTH on The Replacements (The Cool Web Comic List)
Lauren Davis on Skin Horse (io9)
Larry Cruz on The Watcher of Yaathagggu (The Webcomic Overlook)
Francisco de Freitas on Weregeek (Tangents Reviews)
Delos on Witch Knots (ArtPatient)
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October 19, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
New webcomic alert: If you’re getting into the Halloween spirit, check out The Deadlys, a new webcomic by Chris Cantrell about an Addams-family type household. (Via ComixTalk.)
And here’s another interesting post that came via the same source: Jason Brubaker sorts out his income streams to show how he makes money from his webcomic, reMIND.
John Freeman writes about Alex DeCampi’s digital comic Valentine at the downthetubes Mobile Comics blog.
Podcast watch: Jason and Steve check out String Theory and two new webcomics, Grumpiverse and The Dawn Chapel, at Digital Strips. Jamie Jennings, creator of Emerald Winter, is the guest on the latest edition of TGT Webcomics. And The Webcomic Beacon invites Adam Huber, the creator of Bug (one of the funniest comics on the net) to join them in their latest episode.
Reviews
Robert A. Howard on Ana and Gabriel (Tangents Reviews)
Greg Burgas on Bite Me (Comics Should Be Good)
Esther Inglis-Arkell on Buttersafe (Comics Alliance)
Sean Kleefeld on I Think You’re Sauceome (Kleefeld on Comics)
Larry Cruz on Left for Dead: The Sacrifice (The Webcomic Overlook)
Robert A. Howard on Lit Brick (Tangents Reviews)
Robert A. Howard on Order of the Stick (Tangents Reviews)
Larry Cruz on Sam & Fuzzy (The Webcomic Overlook)
Larry Cruz on Walking the Lethe (The Webcomc Overlook)
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August 26, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
The Everyday
Time to go: Adam Cadwell has wrapped up his autobiographical webcomic The Everyday, after 200 episodes, and Mark Ellerby has called it quits on his diary comic Ellerbisms after comic number 250. That leaves both those webcomics at a nice, easy to read size for those who want to look at them from the beginning. Cadwell has a big post about his future plans and a flurry of alternate endings to finish his strip in style. (Hat tip: Forbidden Planet blog.)
Here’s some big news: Tickets go on sale today for New England Webcomics Weekend.
Brian Heater is doing a massive multipart interview with Dan Goldman, creator of Red Light Properties, at The Daily Cross Hatch.
In Maps and Legends started running on Zuda in May, but the site shut down two months later so it didn’t get too far. It’s coming back, though: Creators Mike Jasper and Niki Smith are relaunching on a variety of platforms, including the web, on September 1.
Creator on creator: John Walsh, the creator of Go Home Paddy, a webcomic that is new to me but looks kinda cool, interviews Mark Siegel about his webcomic, Sailor Twain. (Via Fleen.)
Looking for a new webcomic to check out? Daniella Orihuela-Gruber has ten suggestions.
Podcast watch: The guest on the latest TGT Webcomics podcast is Yamino, co-creator of Sister Claire. Meanwhile, The Webcomic Beacon goes to Minneapolis Indie Expo and talks to Evan Dahm (Rice Boy.)
Reviews
Larry Cruz on Amazing SuperPowers (The Webcomic Overlook)
Jason and Steve on Bullfinch (Digital Strips)
Larry Cruz on Nathan Sorry (The Webcomic Overlook)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of The Night Owls (print edition) (Comics-and-More)
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August 20, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Seedless
I saw the solicitation for Corey Lewis’s Seedless a while ago, but I didn’t realize it was a webcomic. Chris Arrant interviews Corey at Newsarama; who knew there was so much to know about grapes?
For those coming late to the indignation party, Larry Cruz has a summary of the Penny Arcade fiasco. Read the comments and follow the links if you have a lot of time; it’s an interesting debate.
Looking for some closure in your life? Alexander Danner posts a roundup of webcomics that are scheduled to end soon at ComixTalk.
Geeks of Doom has an interview with Brian Clevinger, who is best known for Atomic Robo but also has a couple of webcomics, How I Killed Your Master and Warbot in Accounting.
Patch.com talks to Mark Siegel, the editorial director of First Second Books and the creator of Sailor Twain, about his webcomic and his love of the Hudson River.
Erica Moen (DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Diary) chats about her life and work with Dan Copulsky of Question Riot.
At Robot 6 I offer quick takes on five webcomics that I’m catching up on over my summer vacation.
At ComixTalk, Max Vaehling discusses Flattr, which allows readers to tip a webcomic they like, but he expresses doubts about whether it’s going to make much of a difference for most people. And he also has an interesting survey of the German webcomics scene.
Laura Hudson of Comics Alliance visits a gallery show by John Campbell, creator of Pictures for Sad Children, and finds it has the same brooding, wistful vibe as the comic.
Podcasts: Kurt Sasso chats with DJ Bogtrotter and Brock Heasley at TGT Webcomics, and comics management systems for webcomics sites are on the agenda at The Webcomic Beacon.
Reviews
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on vols. 1 and 2 of DAR (All About Manga)
Alexander Danner on Family Man (ComixTalk)
Jason and Steve on HIKYM and Nathan Sorry (Digital Strips)
Sophie Stevens on vol. 6 of Megatokyo (print edition) (Animanga Nation)
Koltreg on Octopus Pie (Koltreg’s Nerding/Review Blog)
Leroy Douresseaux on Penny Arcade 6: The Halls Below (The Comic Book Bin)
Robert A. Howard on Requiem (Tangents Reviews)
Lauren Davis on Shi Long Pang, The Wandering Shaolin Monk (print edition) (Storming the Tower)
Sean Kleefeld on Shi Long Pang, The Wandering Shaolin Monk (print edition) (Kleefeld on Comics)
Jason and Steve on Strewth! (Digital Strips)
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August 13, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Set to Sea
Drew Weing’s Set to Sea is one of the most beautiful webcomics around (well, beautiful and violent), and it’s interesting to hear him talk about how he developed his style and his story in this interview at Avoid the Future. (Via Journalista.) Also: Cody Clark of the Somewhere in Utah Daily Herald profiles Howard Tayler, creator of Schlock Mercenary.
At CBR, Alex Dueben talks to Karl Kerschl about The Abominable Charles Christopher.
Katie Monnin talks to Dan Goldman, creator of Red Light Properties, at Graphic Novel Reporter.
And Brian Heater has an epic, four-part interview with Dean Haspiel (somehow it seems like everything associated with Dean is bigger than life, so why not have the interview be too). Start here and keep going.
Chris Hazelton talks Misfile with Randall Danger at The Epic Sandbox. (Via Spwug.)
Podcasts: The Webcomic Beacon looks at organizing your work area in their latest episode. Barry Linck of Phineus: Magician for Hire is the guest on the latest TGT Webcomics podcast, and Kurt and Mike are heading to Fan Expo 2010 in Toronto in a couple of weeks.
Reviews: At Spwug, DKM Marlink has a few thoughts on the end of Dreamless.
Michael Meylikhov on Cat Versus Human (Multiversity Comics)
Larry Cruz on Ctrl+Alt+Del (part 1, part 2) (The Webcomic Overlook)
Robert A. Howard on Lizzy (Tangents Reviews)
Larry Cruz on Manly Guys Doing Manly Things (The Webcomic Overlook)
Koltreg on Manly Guys Doing Manly Things (Koltreg’s Nerding/Review Blog)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars in Brooklyn (print edition) (All About Manga)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on Set to Sea (print edition) (Las Vegas Weekly)
Lauren Davis on Split Lip 2 (print edition) (Storming the Tower)
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July 28, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Girl Genius heroine Agatha Heterodyne
Kaja and Phil Foglio, the creators of Girl Genius and several other comics, have a stern rule about not letting their intellectual properties sit idle. Not only do they publish Girl Genius as a webcomic and as print compliations, but they also have their older work up on the site, running as webcomics as well, in order to promote the print editions.
And now Agatha Heterodyne herself will be doing triple duty: The Foglios have just signed a deal to have Girl Genius adapted into prose novels, and those novels will in turn be converted to audiobooks. Tor Books will publish an omnibus edition of their first three Girl Genius trades, and Alpha Entertainment is bringing out a Danish edition of the comic as well. No doubt other languages will follow. And there’s games and iPad comics and all kinds of other stuff; can a movie deal be far behind? Full press release after the cut.
Continue Reading »
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July 14, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
PvP
This seems counterintuitive, but he’s not the only one doing it: Scott Kurtz is ending his deal with Image Comics and moving back to self-publishing with the latest print collection of PvP. The PvP monthly comic book will end with issue 45.
“Over the last three years our business has shifted,” says Kurtz. “Sales through brick-and-mortar stores are declining and online sales are increasing. Readers who discovered PvP in comic shops have shifted from monthly readers to online readers, and their buying habits have changed. The monthly floppy is selling less and the trade paperbacks are selling more.”
Kurtz says some nice things about Image, but he seems to be moving away from Diamond:
Although Kurtz has no immediate plans to offer future collections through Diamond, he’s still eager to work with interested retailers.
“The retailers have always supported PvP and I want to make it as easy as possible for those who wish to carry our books moving forward. Any interested retailer can contact me directly via email and we’ll do our best to get them whatever they need.”
In other news…
Tall Tale Radio interviews Adam Huber, the creator of one of my favorite comics of all time, Bug.
San Diego Comic-Con is coming up, and Gary Tyrrell has compiled a pretty impressive list of webcomics creators and collectives who will be there.
Johanna Draper Carlson surveys the digital comics scene to see how all the folks who aren’t comiXology are doing. Executive summary: Everyone else is too late or too limited in scope, although it’s still a moving target.
Lauren Davis takes a look at some webcomics supervillains at Storming the Tower.
Erika Moen is the latest guest on The Webcomic Beacon.
Reviews
Delos on Ace Hoyle (ArtPatient)
Robert A. Howard on Gypsy (Tangents Reviews)
Larry Cruz on The Masque of the Red Death (The Webcomic Overlook)
Lauren Davis on Nathan Sorry (Storming the Tower)
Greg McElhatton on Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars in Brooklyn (Read About Comics)
Robert A. Howard on Red String (Tangents Reviews)
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July 6, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Screenshot of the DC Comics app
It has been a little quiet around here, mainly because I have been busy in other quarters of the internet, not to mention going to the American Library Association midsummer meeting in Washington, DC. But now I’m back and ready to round up the latest news and links.
One story that broke while I was away was the news of DC joining the digital fold. Their announcement that they are going to pay royalties to creators for work that goes digital spawned a bit of discussion; Augie de Blieck has a nice summary at CBR.
The other big news, also from DC, was the shutdown of Zuda, their online comics site. As with their summary execution of CMX, their manga line, earlier this year, this was done with amazing speed: The site was down within hours of the announcement. Some of the comics will continue as part of the abovementioned DC Comics app, while others will have to find new homes. My Robot 6 colleague JK Parkin talked to DC’s Ron Perazza about the move. Sean Kleefeld thinks there was a disconnect between the capes-and-tights crowd and, well, everything that isn’t capes and tights, and Lauren Davis is none too pleased with the whole thing, especially the part where we may be able to read the comics on an iPad, if we want to fork out for 1. the iPad and 2. the comic.
It was Marvel that made the big news a few weeks ago with their announcement that they would release the Iron Man Annual in print and in pixels on the same day, although the digital version is more expensive. Chris Sims gives it an early review at Comics Alliance; he loves the comic and favors digital but still had some complaints about the experience as a whole. Chris also speculates that Marvel is going to use its iPad app for backlist comics that have gone out of print, rather than do a second printing on paper.
In other digital news, the manga publisher Tokyopop announced that they would be partnering with Zinio to offer their manga online; the offerings all seem to be global manga. Tokyopop was an early entry in the digital sweepstakes; they were among the first publishers to put manga online, and they developed an iPhone app so early that no one could figure out what it was, so it’s kind of strange to see them going with an outside provider.
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June 2, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Fragment from Ulysses
Good stuff today. At mpd57, Mike Perridge has some questions for Robert Berry, who is working on a webcomics adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses, and Maximo V., creator of the Zuda comic One Hit Knock Out.
The Toronto Star profiles hometown girl Rina Piccolo, a member of Six Chix and the creator of the gag strip Velia, Dear.
DJ Coffman writes about dropping his longtime comic Yirmumah and moving on to the next level, whatever that may be.
At Question Riot, Dan Copulsky interviews Joey Comeau, co-creator of the photo webcomic A Softer World.
At PWCW, Kate Culkin talks to Octopus Pie creator Meredith Gran and her editor about the upcoming print edition of the Brooklyn-based webcomic, and there’s a nice interview in Gothamist as well.
The drumbeat has begun for New England Webcomics Weekend, and the first round of guests has been announced. This year, I’m hoping to be there.
Voting is open for the Eagle Awards, and apparently anyone can play.
Delos has an interesting post on the most-used search terms and how to make them work for you.
Podcasts: Kurt Sasso continues to post interviews from C2E2 at TGT Webcomics; you can see them all here, and he celebrates his 100th podcast with an interview with Ryan Sohmer of Least I Could Do. The Webcomic Beacon has been taking on some interesting topics lately, including Collage Webcomics and LEGO Brick Webcomics. And the Digital Strips guys review Woody after Hours, pick their choices for the Eisners, and celebrate their 200th podcast with a wide-ranging conversation and some special guests.
Reviews
Luprand on Ace Hoyle (Luprand’s Webcomic Musings)
Luprand on Currhue (Luprand’s Webcomic Musings)
Coyote Trax on Cyanide & Happiness (Coyote Trax’s Webcomics Critique)
Robert A. Howard on Dominic Deegan (Tangents Reviews)
Larry Cruz on Galaxion (The Webcomic Overlook)
DKM Marlink on Least I Could Do (Spwug)
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