February 8, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Cover to the original Koko Be Good
Jen Wang has a preview of her upcoming book, Koko Be Good, due out in September from First Second. While you’re waiting, enjoy her comics, including the original Koko Be Good and my favorite, the short piece Dance of the Flight Attendant. (Via Scott McCloud.)
Scooter & Ferret is back, in its original comic strip format, and the archives are all online as well.
It’s a wrap for Anders Loves Maria. Gary Tyrrell gets a little misty-eyed at Fleen.
Growly Beast talks to Jessica Cantlope, a.k.a. Senshuu, about her comics Lovefeast and Millennium.
Storming the Tower has a few more Hourly Comics Day entries.
Smile creator Raina Telgemeier drew a short webcomic about novocaine. Yes, novocaine.
Voting ends this Wedesday in the Washington Post’s best webcomic contest, so get your vote in now.
Sound check: Jason and Steve take on a variety of topics, from the iPad to Bill Watterson, in the latest Digital Strips podcast. TGT Webcomics posts a video about Manga Studio and Anders Loves Maria, among others, and their latest podcast features Jeff Scheutze of JEFbot fame.
Reviews
Robert A. Howard on City of Reality (Tangents Reviews)
Xaviar Xerxes on Copper (ComixTalk)
Jennifer Hubert on vol. 1 of Gunnerkrigg Court (print edition) (Reading Rants)
Coyote Trax on Gunshow (Coyote Trax’s Webcomics Critique)
RKB on Pavlov’s Dream (Zuda comic) (Pigs of the Industry)
Mike Perridge on Sci-Fi Drive-By (Zuda comic) (mpd57)
Mike Perridge on Techno Insecto (Zuda comic) (mpd57)
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February 5, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
After disappearing from the January Zuda competition because of some sort of shenanigans—sorry, we were out sick that day—Thunderchickens is making a comeback.
Looking ahead, Storming the Tower has a quick overview of this month’s Zuda contestants.
Brothers Malachai and Ethan Nicolle discuss their webcomic Axe Cop at Comics Alliance; the twist here is that Malachai, who writes the comic, is five years old.
Comics Alliance also has a roundup of Hourly Comics Day comics.
Flash-created comics are on the menu in the latest episode of The Webcomic Beacon.
Reader beware: The Abominable Charles Christopher was hacked the other day, and readers may have been infected with a nasty virus. Everything is back to normal now, although Gary Tyrrell warns WordPress and ComicPress users that we all may be vulnerable.
Mike Payne reviews Love Puppets and other webcomics by Jessica McLeod and Edward J. Grug III at Strange Horizons.
At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson enjoys issues 11 and 12 of Love and Capes.
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February 4, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
iPad mania continues: At PWCW, Calvin Reid and Heidi MacDonald talk to comics publishers about their plans for the iPad, and at About.com, Manga Guide Deb Aoki does the same with manga publishers.
At Rocket Bomber, Matt Blind points out that the iPad doesn’t do anything new, but it makes things easy and wraps it all in cool. Simon Jones considers what effect the iPad will have on artists. And Marc Alan Fishman weighs in at ComicMix with some analogies to what iTunes did for the music industry.
Lori Henderson, on the other hand, is not impressed.
And for those who actually want to put their comics on the iPad, or other handhelds, Alex De Campi has some nuts-and-bolts advice. And she points out that Longbox, which was rumored to be part of the iPad IP stable, is out of the running because it uses Flash and the iPad doesn’t. Interesting.
Meanwhile, Yamila Abraham of Yaoi Press is disappointed that her comic Zesty was rejected without comment by the iTunes store. Zesty is a romantic adventure featuring a cheery, gay-positive hero, and it is strictly PG. YP titles are available via Kindle, but Abraham’s readers are heavy cell phone users and she thinks the iPhone is the way to go—and the Kindle app is not the best way to read comics on the iPhone.
In other news…
Down the Tubes has news of a wordless iPhone comic about the life of Jesus as well as a Shaun the Sheep comi.
Your not-comics e-book link of the day: Aaron Pressman argues that the big boys just want e-books to go away. And John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan? He’s not your friend; he only loves you for your money.
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February 3, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Girl Genius
At Robot 6, I talked to Phil Foglio about how he makes money by giving away Girl Genius for free online, the origins of his Myth Adventures comic, and how the subscription model is working for his adult series, XXXenophile.
John Hogan talks to Kazu Kibuishi, creator of Copper, at Graphic Novel Reporter.
New comic alert: Yellow Peril, an office romance gag comic by Jamie Noguchi. (Via Fleen.)
The Escapist has a webcomics contest going on right now; click here for details. Elle Dee cautioned potential entrants to look carefully at the terms and conditions to ensure they aren’t giving away more than they intend to. Refreshingly, the Escapist folks re-worded it to be clearer and less scary. Also, their comic about what not to do is probably good advice for every webcomics creator.
Johana Draper Carlson quotes Dan Goldman at Comics Worth Reading and sparks a discussion on why creators choose to do webcomics.
Sean Kleefeld wonders if webcomics creators have grown up with a feeling of entitlement, and he also has some interesting discussion about race in Ethan Young’s Tails.
Robot 6 looks ahead at Del Rey/Villard’s 2010 publishing schedule, which includes a number of print editions of webcomics: Goats, Octopus Pie, Penny Arcade.
The Continentals is getting a print edition as well.
The latest TGT Webcomics podcast features Audra and Scott of nemu-nemu, one of the cutest webcomics around.
Reviews
Robert A. Howard on Blip (Tangents Reviews)
Chris Schweizer on North World: Other Sagas (Chris Schweizer’s LJ)
RKB on Phantom Sword (Pigs of the Industry)
Delos Woodruff on Urban Jungle (ArtPatient)
RKB on War of the Woods (Pigs of the Industry)
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January 31, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
PC Weenies surveys the landscape
Kirk Warren has a nice iPad 101 article at The Weekly Crisis, although I disagree with his contention that Marvel and DC are comics; I think this just opens up a new space for other publishers.
Kiel Phegley talks to IDW’s director of ePublishing, Jeff Webber, about what they have learned so far from their digital experiences. He pointed out one problem with marketing comics on the iPhone: The lack of a comics category in the iTunes store. The Sony PSP, however, which puts comics front and center, has become a surprisingly strong channel.
It looks like Apple will sell e-books on the iPad via its iBookstore, and five publishers are in on the ground floor: Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette Book Group. It looks like this only covers books, not magazines and periodical comics.
The iPad will use an already existing standard, ePUB, for its e-books; this has been around for a while, and Sony uses it for the eBook, but when David Rothman tried to use it for a graphic novel a while back, it didn’t work so well. (Via Yen Plus Info, which is speculating on whether Yen Press will be making its books available on the iPad.)
Teacher Chris Wilson foresees some interesting improvements that will make it more useful for students.
ComiXology has a concept video for how its comics might work on the iPad.
What about webcomics? Laura Hudson asks webcomic creators what they think, and the answers were somewhere between a yawn and a shrug.
nemu-nemu creator Scott Yoshinaga has some thinks you need to try it out before judging.
A few non-comics links: At Mediabistro, Todd Ogasawara thinks the iPad will be good for e-books in general—yes, even Amazon. And he weighs the Android tablet as a possible alternative. Gizmodo checks out all the iPad alternatives.
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January 30, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Sailor Twain
Mark Siegel, best known as the editorial director of First Second Books, has just launched a webcomic, Sailor Twain, or The Mermaid in the Hudson. He has a few pages up so far, and the art looks mighty nice—he’s using a very atmospheric charcoal style rather than inks. Publishers Weekly has the details on the comic, which First Second will eventually publish as a collected edition.
The Forbidden Planet blog has a lengthy interview with Sean Azzopardi and Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, the creators of Necessary Monsters. (Via Jason Thibault on Twitter.)
I think this is a first: Axe Cop is a webcomic written by a five-year-old, Malachai Nicolle, who just happens to be the younger brother of cartoonist Ethan Nicolle, who was nominated for an Eisner for Chumble Spuzz. Big brother not only illustrates the comic but has been promoting it energetically on Twitter. Sean T. Collins explains at Robot 6 and reviews it at his own blog.
Dina Weinstein talks to Josh Neufeld about how A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge evolved from blog to webcomic to print graphic novel.
At Robot 6, JK Parkin interviews all the January Zuda competitors, although it’s sort of academic now that the contest is over.
“This food is terrible—and the portions are so small!” At The Cranky Old Gnome, Fizz observes some ranting in comments to a comic that doesn’t update often enough and is moved to offer his thoughts on webcomics criticism. (Via The Webcomic Overlook.)
The Comic Riffs blog at the Washington Post has been asking readers to vote for the best webcomic of the decade. As of this writing, the results are surprisingly lopsided. Meanwhile, blogger Michael Cavna answers some questions from readers.
Reviews
Jason and Steve on Boxcar Astronaut (Digital Strips)
Tom Spurgeon on Copper (The Comics Reporter)
Coyte Trax on Jesus and Mo (Coyote Trax’s Webcomics Critique)
Elle Dee on North World (Storming the Tower)
Sean T. Collins on The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack (Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat)
El Santo on Raine Dog (The Webcomic Overlook)
Steve on Realm of Atland (Digital Strips)
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January 29, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Celebration at HijiNKS Ensue
While the bloggers have been busy speculating about the effect the iPad will have on comics, comics creators have been chiming in as well. Here’s a roundup of what I saw, and if you have featured the iPad in your webcomic in the past week, feel free to send me a link and I’ll add it in.
Even though this strip is almost a year old, I really feel like The Joy of Tech nailed it. Of course, they have been all over this thing for a while, but here are their most recent comics, on super-macho iPad carriers and breaking the news to iPhone.
Penny Arcade sums up the pre-announcement suspense and the morning-after letdown.
PvP expresses skepticism and features a visit from the iFuture.
PC Weenies focuses on audience reaction (start here and read the next two as well).
There’s celebration and speculation at HijiNKS Ensue.
Urban Jungle suggests some slogans.
AppleGeeks Lite looks at the practical side.
More disillusionment at Kick in the Head.
Stale Bacon makes the inevitable pun on the name.
E-Orbits suggests an upgrade… to God.
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January 28, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Trouble with Comics talks to Von Allan about The Road to God Knows, which is now in print.
Paul DeBenedetto of Wednesday’s Child interviewed Dean Haspiel at Baltimore Comic-Con last year and is finally getting around to posting it.
I interviewed Josh Alves, creator of Araknid Kid and Heropotamus, for this week’s Unbound column at Robot 6.
The Frederick NewsPost chats with local-gal-made-good Danielle Corsetto, of Girls With Slingshots fame. You know, lots of papers are running stories about local webcomics artists lately; why is it that it never occurs to anyone to include a link to the comic? (Via ComixTalk.)
Growly Beast is talking to creators of longform comics; so far Diana Stoneman (Sweet and Sour Grapes) and Kory Bing (Skin Deep) have taken part, and I believe there is more to come. (Via Fleen.)
I always knew he was subversive… The Webcomic Overlook is banned in China. Congratulations!
Storming the Tower has some webcomics-related Valentines Day gift suggestions for you.
Sound check: Steve and Jason check out Kukuburi at Digital Strips. The new TGT Webcomics podcast features Rose Loughran, the creator of Red Moon Rising, as the special guest, while the latest Webcomic Beacon podcast is an open forum.
Reviews
Coyote Trax on Bug (Coyote Trax’s Webcomics Critique)
RKB on Candy from Strangers (PIgs of the Industry)
Robert Greenberger on Copper (ComicMix)
Rob on Edmund Finney’s Quest to Find the Meaning of Life (Panel Patter)
Mike Perridge on Harkovast (mpd57)
Delos on Insert Comic Here (ArtPatient)
RKB on Iron Sam (Pigs of the Industry)
Luprand on Nicky510 (Luprand’s Webcomic Musings)
El Santo on Order of Tales (The Webcomic Overlook)
Mike Perridge on Phantom Sword (mpd57)
RKB on Road Monster (Pigs of the Industry)
Mike Perridge on Thunderchickens (mpd57)
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January 28, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
Well, today we got our iPads, or at least we know what to expect. Heidi MacDonald gives the basics at The Beat, and be sure to read the comments.
Kiel Phegley rounds up reaction from comics insiders at Comic Book Resources, and at Newsarama, Vaneta Rogers is working overtime, checking in with Marvel and other comics industry pros to get their take on the new toy; comiXology even has a preview of their app.
Glen Weldon looks at the possibility that the iPad will save comics at the NPR blog. (Via Fleen.)
While most folks are thinking about reading comics, Caleb Goellner is already contemplating creating comics on the iPad.
And numbers-crunching blog The Comichron looks at trends in subscription sales, which may be a big part of the iPad comics experience.
ETA: Two more good links: ICv2 looks at the impact on retail sales, and Anthony Schiavino looks at the iPad in the context of the comics industry as a whole.
In other, non-iPad news…
Reliance is launching a line of Cartoon Network comics for cell phones in India.
Asiajin has word of the first manga on Kindle. At Publishers Weekly, Michael Fitzpatrick looks at the growing popularity of manga on e-books in Japan.
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January 27, 2010 | Posted by Brigid
The Apple iPad has been unveiled. Nothing yet on comics apps, but give it a few days…
Robot 6 has more here.
ETA: When I talked to David Steinberger of ComiXology a while back, I mentioned this and he said their contracts already cover it. I assume most of the other iPhone/iPod providers have done the same.
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