Archive
September 5th, 2010
Weekend Comix Talk
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 5, 2010 - 07:44
A big thanks again to all of the great guest bloggers this past month. The site would have been pretty dead without their lively posts and comments. I'm extending the guest blogging one more week because I need a week now to dig out from the avalanche of work that piled up during my travels in August. This coming week we'll have posts from two comic creators: Brandon Carr and Ben Gamboa. Both have worked with webcomics for sometime now and I think you'll enjoy their contributions.
While I'm here let me point out a few stories I thought you might find interesting as well as take care of some of the ComixTalk mailbag.
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF WEBCOMICS
Dave McElfatrick, one of the four creators of Cyanide & Happiness and the only one not based in the United States (he's from Ireland) -- recently got a visa to the U.S after initially getting rejected:
McElfatrick turned his Internet celebrity to his advantage: He asked his fans to sign a petition to show the government that “his work and the comic he’s a part of have a huge global audience.” More than 146,000 signatures later, the US Immigration Office has reversed its initial judgment: Today, McElfatrick announced that he’s been approved for the visa.
Also, I just saw this article in the Times of India on webcomics there. A few links in it to the webcomics mentioned -- a range of quality to be sure but great to see a story on a thriving scene there.
MILESTONES
I heard from the man himself, but haven't had a chance to post until now: Box Brown wrapped up Bellen! and launched a new comic project with three full stories in the archives for Everything Dies. Brown got some deserved hype from USA Today here.
BUSINESS
I've never heard of publisher DarkBrain, LLC before but they recently announced that all of their webcomic are now available for free. Their comics includes original music, and voice-over narration, hmm.... not sure what to make of that.
From the mailbag
- Nina Paley writes that she has a new webcomic -- Mimi and Eunice. Paley is the uber-talented artist and creator behind the animated Sita Sings The Blues and her earlier comics: Nina's Adventures, Fluff, and The Hots.
- Nikole Jones writes about her webcomic Full Armour -- a humorous action adventure all ages comic which has two stories finished and is in the midst of its third one. It's the saga of thirteen kids that make up a team that takes on special missions. Jones describes the comic as "one part character study, one part globe trotting treasure hunt, and one part explosive action with blue daemons and angels with no mouths."
- Jerome Genevray writes that he's made a trailer for Le Greenboy -- a movie project he's working on about a superhero in Paris which will feature two actresses you may have heard of: Alysson Paradis (the sister of the wife of johnny Depp -) and Diane Dassigny plus Aurélien Jégou stars as Greenboy. It's got to be a comedy -- it's about a guy who dresses up in a green costume and picks up litter, inspiring others to do the same. I think there's an unintentional cross-border laugh though -- apparently supporters of Le Greenboy put their index finger and thumb on their forehead in the shape on an "L" -- that's slang for "loser" where I grew up.
September 4th
Muliplex Book Giveaway Contest
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 4, 2010 - 11:03
One of my current favorite comics is holding a contest. Gordon McAlpin's new Multiplex book, "Enjoy Your Show" looks great. He's giving away 5 copies - entries are due by September 22, 2010. Read the giveaway details at Goodreads and enter to win (The giveaway is valid for Goodreads users in the US and Canada only).
September 3rd
Printed Version of Walking the Lethe Available for Pre-Order
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 3, 2010 - 12:49
Daniel and Amanda Potter were guest bloggers at ComixTalk this past August. Daniel's webcomic Walking The Lethe is coming as a print graphic novel. It's written by Dan and the first two chapters are painted by Sam Ireland and the second half of the book is illustrated by Aditia Wardhana. Walking the Lethe Volume #1 encompasses the first four chapters of main character Richard Harrison's journey to win back his wife from her untimely death:
He will scour the afterlife until he finds her and will break down the heavenly gates if that’s what it takes. This first volume takes him from his home in Boston Mass, through the shadowscape and into America’s mountains of faith, the ghosts of the Twin Towers. All the while, Angels and Demons battle over the fate of his journey.
Walking the Lethe Volume 1 is available for pre-order for 15 euros (not sure what the exchange rate to US dollars is but I'd guess this is about $20?) -- the price goes up on September 19th.
Thierry Groensteen on Webcomics
Submitted by Derik Badman on September 3, 2010 - 09:58
Over at his "Neuf et demi" blog French comics theorist Thierry Groensteen just posted (what I believe is) an excerpt about webcomics from his forthcoming (in 2011) book on comics (a follow-up to his Systeme de la bande dessinée, translated as The System of Comics (UP Mississippi, 2007)). It's a mixture of clichéed anti-screen-reading objections and some more astute observations about the difference between reading comics online and reading them in print. Here's a quick summary with commentary.
September 2nd
Trade Paperbacks, Continued...
Submitted by Scott Story on September 2, 2010 - 21:33
Hi, Folks! Now it’s time to fill out your trade paperback’s contents. It may seem a little unfair, because you’ve already spent the time to get all those comics created, but these are some of the considerations you need to take into account:
Trade Paperbacks
Submitted by Scott Story on September 2, 2010 - 12:35
So, you are ready to collect your comic into a trade paperback.
September 1st
Fine Art vs. Illustration, the Eternal Battle...
Submitted by Scott Story on September 1, 2010 - 11:36
Hi, Folks—Scott Story here. I was going to write today about preparing your comics for a trade-paperback collection. Maybe I will tomorrow. Today, I’m going to write about a subject much closer to the heart: Fine Art vs. Illustration.
On "Long Form Comics..."
Submitted by Derik Badman on September 1, 2010 - 08:47
My co-guest blogger Scott Story (a pseudonym of some kind, surely) posted yesterday with some tips about long form comics on the web. While his advice has some merit for certain types of webcomics, I'm not at all in agreement that they are general rules or even good rules.
Some of his tips are all too focused on a webcomic that is based on the single episode/strip/page as the primary structure of the narrative. This is the traditional model that so many webcomics seem to work from, the comic strip model. Scott suggests each episodes have a "beat" and a "cliffhanger" the same type of advice you see in action when you read classic comic strips, particular those in the adventure genre: Roy Crane, Alex Raymond, Milton Caniff, etc. But I don't think this applies to webcomics working in more of a "graphic novel" mode where the work is considered as a single story/book not an series of episodes. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few webcomics that work in this latter mode, such as Family Man or Finder.
Jed McGowan's Lone Pines
Submitted by Derik Badman on September 1, 2010 - 08:23
(web to print, print to web, part 3)
I wrote about one of Jed McGowan's webcomics at ComixTalk back in September of 2008. After that he started posting a longer comic (which at the time he called "Bluesy Face") to his website that was an intriguing and slightly abstract mystery that had a wonderful visual style using light blue and grey screentones. (I wrote a bit about it here.) McGowan won a Xeric award for the finished work and now it is being published with the title Lone Pine. He has a pretty long preview up at his site.
McGowan recently posted some photos from the printers as his book was being printed. As of November the book will be available, distributed by AdHouse. And just today he added images of some test prints, pages that have been printed on twice.
Tuesday's Webcomics
Submitted by Derik Badman on September 1, 2010 - 08:15
Comics in my Google Reader "Webcomics" folder between Monday night and Tuesday night (or thereabouts):
This must be my lucky day as far as online comics discoveries goes. Brian Chippendale's new webcomic "Puke Force" has it's first eight strips up at the Picturebox site. It's about what you'd expect from Chippendale's work if you've read Ninja. Thought the art is less dense that a lot of Ninja, the ubiquitous marks that almost define Chippendale's work is still to be found, as well as his might-as-well-be-trademarked snaking panel reading path.
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