Archive - Mar 18, 2003
Copyright protection, URL's and web comics
Submitted by kdreger on March 18, 2003 - 20:39
A recent article in Econtent covers the case of a Dilbert fan who created an unofficial Dilbert webpage using official Dilbert strips.
"Wallach, an avid fan of the Dilbert comic strips, found the layout of United Media's Official Dilbert Web site 'really lame'. And so, taking it upon himself to offer the world a better layout, he linked—the better to skirt the copyright issue—directly to United Media's Web server. He called his creation The Dilbert Hack Page.
"'It didn't take long for UM's lawyers to come knocking. 'Thank you for your enthusiasm,' they wrote. "However, this material is copyrighted by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.'"
Cinderblock Celebrates First Year!
Submitted by Cindermain on March 18, 2003 - 19:56
Cinderblock's First Year!
Cinderblock celebrates its first-ever anniversary on Wednesday, March 26th!
Coincidentally, this also falls upon the same day as Hotel Grim's first birthday. Seeing as the two strips are basically the same except in art style, storyline, and characterization, this came as a totally surprise to no-one.
Come celebrate! Bring a friend.
It's Dr Vivisectus versus Dr. Madblood!
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on March 18, 2003 - 17:17
Who doesn't love a good cross-over between webcomics? Well I do and I suspect more than a few more do. Maybe it comes from a youth spent reading comic books where there was always a chance Batman would team up with Superman or Spiderman might try to get a date with the Black Canary (alright I'm pretty sure the latter never happened). I haven't had a chance to create a new topic icon for this category yet, but we'll be happy to post news regarding cross-over events.
And that reminds me - fans of mad science ought to check out the ongoing visit of Dr. Madblood to Man-Man-land that starts here.
Hotel Grim's First Year!
Submitted by indybuda on March 18, 2003 - 16:19
Hotel Grim celebrates its first anniversary of moroseness with its 145th strip on Wednesday, March 26th! Come check it out for a special Doomy-sized update!
Is PNG the format of choice for the webcomic?
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on March 18, 2003 - 13:08
Lots of webtoonists are using the PNG format these days. Here's a good tutorial page on how to use PNG for your webcomic.
Two key advantages of PNG over GIFs is that PNG is open source so there will never be a patent holder to chase after you and if used correctly, PNG has better compression than the GIF format.
Pulse Interviews Roger Langridge, creator of Fred the Clown
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on March 18, 2003 - 12:54
Since the early '90s, Roger Langridge has worked for tons of comics publishers. His work has appeared in the pages of DC, Paradox Press, Fantagraphics, Marvel, Heavy Metal, Dark Horse and more. Currently his series Fred the Clown appears on Modern Tales.
Resources for Sharpening Your Writing Skills
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on March 18, 2003 - 12:48
Another useful thread on the Rocketbox forums, this one concerning resources for writers.
3rd Annual Web Comics Awareness Day - May 5th
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on March 18, 2003 - 12:34
Jim writes:
For those of you who remember the Web Comics Awareness thing we did for the last two years, it's that time of year again. If anyone wants to get involved, or just wants to know what it's about, you can still check out the FAQ page that Russ put up last year.
Like the last two years, the actual date of the thing will be May 5th. (I believe the hub pages from the first two years are also still up: WCA 2001 and WCA 2002.)
Anyone and everyone can participate. Contributions can be any size: a small, single panel; some written text; a photo; a 42,000 page book -- whatever you'd like to do. We had around 50 participants last year, and would like to do better this year. Also, please feel free to pass the word to anyone else you know who may be interested.
If you'd like to participate, email me with the appropriate info (your name, the name of your strip, and the URL where the strip will appear on May 5th).
