Archive - Oct 2003 - Story
October 21st
Welcome Back Xerexes and Time for Some News
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on October 21, 2003 - 09:46
You hardly noticed, didn't ya? I was gone for a whole week and a half (almost completely disconnected from the online world), on a relaxing vacation in an undisclosed location.
While I was gone, webcomics continued to flock to Bitpass, including: (1) The Package, a self-described webcomic about a character who's too well endowed for his own good; and (UPDATE!) Geeks In Love, which is actually animation but if Scott McCloud can link to it, I guess we can, too.
Next, check out this 3-D webcomic: The Starry Ones by Ancram Hudson and Mitch Waxman, who also have new stuff at Weird-Ass Net.
Also, R Stevens (Diesel Sweeties) sends a buddy to check out the 'Pedia, so check out his webcomics: Fat Red Duck (the story of a fat red duck and his friends, including a twinkie, a homosexual cupcake, a worm, and a snowman) and BANG! (mostly hand-drawn and cut-and-paste webcomics).
And last but not least, here's a belated semi-rookie mention: Cap'n has finished his first storyline (76 episodes). Full-color webcomic adventure, folks!
Finally, some helpful folks at Talkaboutcomics are talking about Fright Night! Here's a thread with links to Fright Night entries. You can also chat about it on the Fright Night forum (and if you want to add some comments to this month's story on Fright Night, go right ahead!).
October 18th
UNA Frontiers Debuts at Drunk Duck!!
Submitted by Coydog on October 18, 2003 - 12:16
UNA Frontiers, the post-apocalyptic web comic with a difference, is moving over to Drunk Duck for the benefit of those who like to start from the beginning and in smaller bites. This will enable the comic to reach a wider audience faster and serve readers with faster and more timely updates. The beauty of Drunk Duck's hosting system is that readers can enter commentary directly on the page! The best is yet to come!
October 16th
Externality at E-merl.com
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on October 16, 2003 - 13:32
Just like reality. Only different. Externality is a new ongoing hypercomic series updating every day (or so) at E-merl.com. But just what is the series about?
"It’s kind of a companion piece to the Nile Journals on Serializer" clarified series creator, Daniel Merlin Goodbrey. "They’re both journal comics of a sort. Although Externality’s focus and execution is going to be pretty far removed from Nile’s. And from reality in general, I guess."
October 15th
What Bill Duncan is Reading
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on October 16, 2003 - 01:02
Bill here, your resident image jockey for Comixpedia, and the occasional brains behind much monster mashing. I'm up early most mornings, and often in a rush, but I make time to read a few of my favorites before I hit the shower and go on about my day.
1. American Elf by James Kochalka. I'm a big fan of Kochalka's Sketchbook Diaries, and I really enjoy being able to experience it day by day. Sometimes it's brilliant and sometimes it's inane, but that's life.
2. Scary Go Round by John Allison. Bobbins was one of my first favorites, but Scary Go Round has all the bits I liked about his last strip and everything I wish I thought of first. Great stuff.
3. WIGU by Jeff Rowland. I came in late for When I Grow Up, but just in time for Jeff to reinvent himself with WIGU, which has been one of the most consistently strange and funny strips on my reading list. Who doesn't love a potato made of poison?
4. Man Man by James Duncan and Matt Shepherd. Even if I weren't related to one of the creators and good friends with the other (no bias here), I would still read Man Man every morning - particuluarly since the recent revamp. Although they have irrevocably affected the way I look at cheese and meat, they still manage to make me laugh.
5. Ornery Boy by Michael Lalonde. Though Michael only publishes one or two strips a week, I find myself looking forward to finding another update notice in my email. Ornery Boy and Dirty Girl are kind of the every-boy and every-girl of the Internet. Besides, if you subscribe you can be a "moody bastard."
More Webcomics Join The Keenspot Family
Submitted by Anonymous on October 15, 2003 - 20:44
Keenspot seems to be going through a significant growth spurt this year.
Kristofer Straub's Checkerboard Nightmare, Michael Terracciano's Dominic Deegan, Frank "Damonk" Cormier's (Naught-)Framed!!!, and Paul Taylor's Wapsi Square are the most recent additions in what seems to be a massive wave of new blood at the popular entertainment hub. With these latest recruits, the total of new webcomics to join Keenspot this year has now reached 11.
Checkerboard Nightmare has chosen a novel way of marking the occasion through its most current spoofish storyline. The webcomic's main character, a charismatically pathological publicity-whore named Chex, has just announced his acceptance into a Famous Webcomic Group -- this FWG's main page will seem awfully familiar to many.
Sources also report that these are not the last new inductees of the year -- readers can expect to see one more handful of additions to the Keenspot lineup in the next few months.
JohnBarberComics.com: same great address, new great taste.
Submitted by johnbarber on October 15, 2003 - 18:50
The new JohnBarberComics.com is now still live!
The site has still been revamped from head to toe, sporting an easier-to-use interface and a cleaner design providing access to all of John Barber’s comics, writing, and more.
Still headlining the new site is a short comic called Archeologistsby Toon Art author Steven Withrow and John Barber. Archeologists is a visual poem, and the first collaboration between the two, and features an intriguing linking of word and image.
October 11th
Kingdom of Fools begins Part 2
Submitted by mbernal on October 11, 2003 - 15:44
Digital Fear has begun posting part 2 of Kingdom of Fools, a free webcomic created by Mark Bernal. The website, which opened its doors in early September, publishes bizarre science fiction and fantasy webcomics.
October 9th
Don't Miss This Blood-Light Special!!!
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on October 10, 2003 - 01:05
Shopping. Furniture. Murder. Anything can happen when you sign up for the Comixpedia Hallowe'en Event.
We want you to create a 13-panel scary story starting from a random panel we assign. It's a fear-fraught opportunity to work with some of the most twisted minds in webcomics.
Take your random panel and see just how far you can take it. Be creative... be creepy... be exactly what Mother always feared you'd become.
New Bitpass comic: "Directions" by Neal Von Flue
Submitted by Neal Von Flue on October 9, 2003 - 16:13
Neal Von Flue's latest comic, "Directions" is a four-part formal experiment in artistic constraints, and is now available using the much-discussed Bitpass micropayment system. Each chapter costs 25 cents (or you can buy all four at once and get the artist commentary on the series included).
Modern Tales Launches Free Syndication Service
Submitted by Joey Manley on October 9, 2003 - 16:11
The Modern Tales syndication service allows webmasters to place a constantly-updating version of their favorite comics in the Modern Tales family on their own websites. At any given moment, the latest episode of the syndicated comic will appear within your own web page. Your readers will be drawn back to your website to follow the comic (which is, of course, the same reason that newspapers and magazines carry comics). Some percentage of those readers will follow the link back to Modern Tales or one of its sister sites, and eventually choose to subscribe, to gain access to the archives (which is, in turn, analogous to buying a Dilbert paperback). So: your site gets more repeat visits, and our site gets a stream of new readers who would never have found us before. Everybody wins.
Not every Modern Tales family comic is available for syndication. In some cases, the format of a particular series might make it technically inappropriate for plopping into the middle of another website. In other cases, the cartoonists themselves have not chosen to put their work on the syndication cart (the artists own all the rights to their work, and have full power to decide what happens to it). In other cases, a comic may be cancelled or completed (rendering syndication meaningless, since there will be no updates for your site).
A complete list of Modern Tales family comics currently available for syndication, as well as a little snippet of code for each comic, can be found here:
http://www.moderntales.com/tooncast_list.php
All you have to do is copy the code snippet, and then paste it into your own web page's HTML code. Note that Modern Tales syndication will not work in environments where Javascript is disallowed.
While we don't require registration or prior approval for use of this feature, our artists do appreciate knowing where and when their comics will appear. Be sure to pop us a note and let us know! We might just link to your site in our newsletter (um, no promises)!
Joey
www.moderntales.com
