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American Elf

alternative kids comics for the mainstream

Submitted by dave_roman on February 6, 2008 - 15:42

Lots of people are talking about how there aren't enough comics for younger kids. And my comics loving friends are always saying it would be cool if Nick Mag had more pages of original comics. Of course, I agree!

So hopefully lots of you will check out the third volume of The Best of Nickelodeon Magazine ALL-COMICS SPECIAL which is on newsstands right now!

Webcomic Wire - 12/17/07

Submitted by NightgigTim on December 17, 2007 - 21:21

Drawn from sources scrounging for news…

End of 2007 ComixTalk Roundtable.
Shaenon Garrity will be the cartoonist-in-residence a the Cartoon Art Museum for January.
Brian Warmoth has a conversation wth American Elf creator James Kochalka.
The Transmission X crew gets a spotlight on Canada’s sci-fi network SPACE.

 

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Webcomic Wire - 12/17/07

Submitted by NightgigTim on December 17, 2007 - 21:21

Drawn from sources scrounging for news…

End of 2007 ComixTalk Roundtable.
Shaenon Garrity will be the cartoonist-in-residence a the Cartoon Art Museum for January.
Brian Warmoth has a conversation wth American Elf creator James Kochalka.
The Transmission X crew gets a spotlight on Canada’s sci-fi network SPACE.

 

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Looking Back Through 2007

December 2, 2007 - 18:53 | Xaviar Xerexes

In years past (2004, 2005) we undertook the monumental chore of picking out the biggest headlines of the year. This year, I took another swing at it. So without further adu, here's the biggest webcomic headlines of 2007.

If I missed a story you think was key to this year, please post it in the comments to this article.

Updates On Entries in the Ill-Fated Webcomic Directory Project?

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on July 24, 2007 - 14:31

I built a "library" of webcomics and creators back in the fall of 2005 which I put into beta before realizing it was too much editorial work to deal with and the same information could be better provided through the community edited webcomic wiki - COMIXPEDIA.

Nevertheless looking back on the assortment of names collected (some from me, some sent in from you) I wonder if anyone has any significant updates on these creators 18 months later. Maybe we should interview some of them?

Harvey Award Nominees Out

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on June 4, 2007 - 10:05

The Harvey Awards have released their nominations for this year's edition. Up for BEST ONLINE COMICS WORK are:

This is the second time the Harveys will recognize webcomics. James Kochalka's American Elf won last year.

Brian Fies, the creator of Mom's Cancer, is also up for several awards this year.

Panels & Pictures: Ordering Strips

May 14, 2007 - 23:38 | Derik A. Badman

How can we order comics besides the traditional plot (where cause and effect lead to a conclusion)? Derik Badman looks a few examples from comic strips (web and print).

News & Views for May 4, 2007 UPDATED

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on May 4, 2007 - 10:28

HEADLINES

EVENTS

COMIXPEDIA

INTERVIEWS

REVIEWS

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

  • Joey Manley ponders the nomenclature of "webcomics""versus "comics", prompted by someone's description of Dilbert as a webcomic. It's best not to get too hung up on nomenclature. As comics as a medium (not as a genre/format) have gotten (slightly) more visibility in America we can all talk about "comics" at that level. But that doesn't mean the term "webcomic" won't continue to be useful, just as "comic book" and "comic strip" (and more recently "graphic novel") have been used and useful for many years. Given the growth of comics on the web versus every other format though I won't be surprised if most people will begin to use comic and webcomic much more interchangeably. (Manley also links to a Google trends graph of the use of the word "webcomic(s)".)

NOT COMICS

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BLOGS

Why American Elf Is Important To Webcomics

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on May 2, 2007 - 10:25

Derik Badman has a review of the second collected volume of James Kochalka's webcomic American Elf in print. (I wrote a review of the first volume of American Elf which you can read here)

We don't write as much about Kochalka as we did in the earlier years of Comixpedia, but that is really no reflection on the creativity and importance of his work (instead I tend to think it shows the growth of webcomics as a whole). I think Kochalka is important to webcomics for a couple of reasons. Kochalka's self-enforced construct for American Elf (one comic a day capturing a moment therein, without any compulsion to build an overarching storyline), turned out to be such a natural fit for the web that he both inverted his entire publishing strategy for the comic (he now publishes everyday on the web and then collects the work for print in these large volumes), and he also inspired a whole movement of "journal webcomics" that roughly followed his construct.

American Elf Volume 2 Out

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on April 10, 2007 - 23:30

The Daily Crosshatch has a review of James Kochalka's second big collection of his webcomic American Elf (vol. 2). (I reviewed the first collected volume for Comixpedia's November 2004 issue.)