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Trisha L. Sebastian Interviews Plan 9 Publishing’s David Allen

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For eight years, David Allen and the gang at Plan 9 Publishing have been bringing the best and brightest of the webcomics world to readers’ bookshelves, releasing collections of such popular titles as Sluggy Freelance and Kevin & Kell. Now, the North Carolina-based company is branching out into prose and non-fiction by tickling our funny bone, and even tackling national political issues. Trisha Sebastian sat down with publisher and owner David Allen at Ubercon in New Jersey to get the full scoop. Continue Reading →

The Blue View by BoxJam B. Boxjam

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BoxJam Does Boffo! (Interview-style, That Is)

Joe Martin has produced 30,000 individual strips, by his count, has Mr. Boffo, Cats With Hands, and Willy 'n' Ethel in current production, and produces other strips as well. He does all these without collaborators. He's been able to keep all his strips among the consistently funniest around, and his productivity has landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records.

He's also written other strips, he paints, he writes books, he writes songs, and has written for TV. We didn't ask, but he probably writes ballets and operas as well. Continue Reading →

“I’ve Been Robbed!”: A Practical Guide to Copyright Infringement

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Here's a scenario: you're browsing the Internet, looking at various sites, when you unexpectedly come across some very familiar comics. You know all the characters. You can quote from the dialogue. You know exactly how the story ends, without even having to read it. And yes, it's even got your name in the credits. It is, in fact, your work, reproduced on someone else's site. They never even asked permission.

What do you do? Continue Reading →

The History of Online Comics by T Campbell (Part 6)

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The Business of Free

The early months of Keenspot were a revelation for all involved. Finally, webcomic hosting by webcomickers! The mood was giddy with optimism.

"It was great," remembers David Willis, as if the memory stuns him all over again. "When I would email the group, I would get a response. I wasn't used to getting a response. Following the response would be an appropriate action if needed to help solve or eradicate the problem reported. They done fixed [my domain name problems], and started sending checks." Continue Reading →

I Hate You All by Dalton Wemble

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Death of the Funny What?

Now if I were going to be all knee-jerk about this, I’d be all about "out with the old, in with the new, the traditional comics page was stale and it’s time to bring in some fresh blood, viva the internet, viva webcomics, viva endless chatter about the newest video card from Alpha Omega Corp and people getting off on their bloody brilliance by yammering endless about whether or not Green or Blue dragons spit acid in AD&D first edition."

But Jeebus Godot, let’s take a look at what’s replacing what, here.
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Elliott Garbauskas’ Buttercup Festival, reviewed by Shaenon K. Garrity

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As the daily newspaper page becomes an increasingly boring place, original and experimental comic strips have moved to two frontiers: the World Wide Web and the free weeklies. Some occupy both spaces at once. So it is with Elliott G. Garbauskas’ Buttercup Festival, a sweetly sardonic strip that appears in a handful of weekly newspapers and on its own website, where it has attracted a cult following. Continue Reading →

Webcomics Are From Uranus: No, They Don’t All Just Say “I draw this comic for myself” Because That’s a Cool Artist Thing to Say

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With Return of the King still gallivanting in theaters, everyone knows J. R. R. Tolkien these days (except, evidently, my spell check). So it won’t be big news to bring up why it was that the good professor wrote the books in the first place. He wrote a story that he himself wanted to read but had been unable to find.

Tolkien was not a writer of fiction by deliberation, but stumbled into it. Continue Reading →