Archive - Feb 2003 - Story
February 28th
Not Bad for a First Month
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 28, 2003 - 12:58
First of all, thank you to everyone for showing up for the launch of Comixpedia and our first issue. In our first month, we've had well over 50,000 pages served and over 250 readers register with the site. Counting our features, reviews, interviews and our daily news posts, we posted approximately 150 stories to Comixpedia in February. We've also already posted 60 links in our Useful Links directory which is becoming a very useful guide to finding all things webcomic.
Our second issue rolls out next Monday on March 3rd. In week one, we will be examining in more detail the aspects of online community that make reading webcomics such a unique experience compared to other forms of comics. We also have a great interview with Dorothy Gambrell, creator of Cat and Girl, among other cool comics. And other stuff, but you'll have to wait until Monday to find out the rest.
Return of Supernatural Crime webcomics site
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 28, 2003 - 12:15
Christopher Mills, the editor of Adventure Strips dot com, has relaunched his personal comics site, Supernatural Crime, which features online comics such as Femme Noir, Brother Grim, and Nightmark. The first new feature is scheduled to be a new issue of Femme Noir to debut March 7th.
Wowcomics.com - Online comics publisher gone bad.
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 28, 2003 - 12:10
K. Dreger has an article on the demise of Wowcomics dot com, a defunct company started to publish comics online that left its site running long after the company seems to have collapsed. Although the article is scant on the details of the wowcomics business plan (there must have originally been some promise there as they do appear to have signed up several creators and obtained rights to their work), it does show how messy cleaning up a failed online venture can be if the owners don't do the responsible thing in winding it down.
Software for Presenting Comics Online "A Frame at a Time"
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 28, 2003 - 12:02
K. Dreger has an interview with Aaron Urbina, the creator of Beamable, a software package designed to support online viewing of comics, a frame at a time.
Jon Arbuckle and female lead (Liz?) cast for live-action GARFIELD film
Submitted by Chris Crosby on February 28, 2003 - 11:44
This is probably of much interest to the many webcartoonists (including yours truly) obsessed with GARFIELD as kids. I'm glad the fat orange tabby cat's finally getting a movie, but the casting makes me feel strange.
February 27th
Googlism: Get the Google on Your Favorite Webtoonist!
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 27, 2003 - 15:46
Find out what Google thinks about your favorite webtoonist. A few examples:
boxjam is free of such restraints
boxjam is married to mrs
boxjam is drawing his own life
boxjam is the most cameo'd character in webcomics
boxjam is kind of like that guy in the painting "the scream
boxjam is taking over the world
boxjam is the fruit of my loins
james kochalka is one of the most prolific and distinctive artists in the comics scene today
james kochalka is a jungle
james kochalka is a subscription
james kochalka is the master of cute comics
james kochalka is a superstar
james kochalka is a cartoonist's cartoonist
james kochalka is like six years old
keenspot is good people
keenspot is your friend
keenspot is really wigging out
keenspot is an awesome host for awesome webcomics
keenspot is blindly relying on the return of the old banner ad economy
keenspot is a professional comic hosting site
keenspot is on a separate server from keenspace
keenspot is doing something right
keenspot is not the elitist group the angry tend to call it
keenspot is running a lot better now
New PVP Comic Book Sells Well
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 27, 2003 - 14:13
Over at PVP Land, Scott Kurtz posted that the new PvP #1 in the Image line is ranked #166 in sales for comics in March. Kurtz notes that in comparison the last issue PvP in the Dork Press run sold only 2,600 copies. He goes on to say:
That's an INCREDIBLE success story, due in no small part to your support, orders, calls and demand for PvP comics. We had a lot going for us, because Image really has gotten behind the book. With a jump to a new publisher, cover by Frank Cho, placement on the cover of PREVIEWS, recent mentions in Wizard and Wizard's Edge magazine and a tidal wave of demand from online readers...how could we not do well.
Kurtz will be at Zeus Comics on March 5th (the day PvP #1 ships) from 4-8PM for a release party for the new PvP comic book.
Same Difference and Other Stories graphic novel
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 27, 2003 - 13:50
After gaining phenomenal popularity and critical acclaim online with smallstoriesonline.com, Derek Kirk Kim collects the stories that garnered him all the attention in the past two years with this handsome new collection.
Through a series of sensitive--and often hilarious--short stories, Kirk Kim, deftly explores the not-so-average twenty-somethings' quarter-life crisis, romantic neurosis, and perhaps most refreshingly of all, Korean-American life. In September 2002, Kirk's self-effacing wit, ear for dialogue, and meticulous art style earned him the Xeric Grant as well as an Ignatz nomination, two prestigious industry awards. Find out for yourself why Derek Kirk Kim is considered a stand-out among the new generation of cartoonists and a fresh new voice in Asian American literature.
"Rocketing out of obscurity in 2001. A powerful storyteller in 2002. No American cartoonist has more promise in 2003 than Derek Kirk Kim." --Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics.
Sub-distributed by Alternative Comics.
By Derek Kirk Kim, Mature Readers, 154 pages, $12.00 US. ISBN: 1-891867-48-2.
A Graphic Search Engine to Webcomics
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 27, 2003 - 13:44
It's in beta and it's got an extremely limited database but it does show some promise as a possible new webcomics search tool. Check out the Splurd Search Engine and be sure to provide them with feedback if you see anything worth improving in it.
KeenSpot & Space Forums Are Back Online
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 27, 2003 - 13:37
Well after about a week or so, the Keen Forums are back online. Apparently all of the February posts were lost but everything else has been restored. Read on for more from Gav's own description.
