Erik Melander's blog
Update and anniversary
Submitted by Erik Melander on April 2, 2006 - 15:17
Yesterday, April 1st, was the second anniversary of vir Bonus so I felt I really couldn't miss this update.. So I didn't.
Did I cross the line? Art theft the silent killer
Submitted by Erik Melander on March 15, 2006 - 11:01
I was sitting there and working on the update for my webcomic and it just wasn't working. I was trying to draw a bottle, that's all. Just a bottle, but I just wouldn't come out the way I wanted it too look. I've drawn plenty of bottles before, but mostly just for backgrounds so I've never spent much time on them, but this one was supposed to take up the left third of the "strip row" I was working on. The really big problem here was that I knew how I wanted it too look and I knew where I could find the visual reference for that look. Eric Powell's Goon. Goon is published by Dark Horse and I have all the Trade Paperbacks sitting on my bookshelf. So I bring out "Nothin But Misery" and look at the page with the bottle and sure enough it's just the way I envisioned that I wanted it in my panel. So I draw it and finish up the rest of the update, add text and so on and post it on the webpage.
Me, myself and Comixpedia
Submitted by Erik Melander on March 15, 2006 - 10:56
The move by Comixpedia to Drupal has changed the way newsposting is done. Instead of creating posts as one did in the old CMS, you post to your own blog on the Comixpedia site and then promote that post to the front page. Having a blog has brought back some memories from the old 24hourpixel blog, which was the Comixpedia staff blog in 2004 and also where I joined the staff as a writer. I mostly did linkblogging for the staffblog as well, but I did feel that there was a certain amount of freedom as to what I could put in a post in the staffblog as opposed to the news section of the 2005 site. When the staffblog was discontinued in favor of consolidating all news on one page in 2005 I became a news editor, which meant that I could post items to the news section as well as approve submitted items. While Xerxes has always been cool with adding some opinion to posts, I felt that as a news editor I should try to keep the POV as neutral as possible. There were times that I failed at this, such as the time NY Times had an article on infinite canvases and webcomics that I felt was misleading and I couldn't help but add a sour note at the end.
Another update
Submitted by Erik Melander on March 12, 2006 - 11:46
The comic has been updated. I have also decided to quit the Comixpedia Top List, for the time being at least. Thanks to everyone who voted.
First Second Books to Publish Gene Yang's American Born Chinese
Submitted by Erik Melander on March 8, 2006 - 07:48
Industry site ICv2 takes a look at the lineup of graphic novel publisher First Second Books.
It includes Gene Yang's American Born Chinese, which has been published online by Modern Tales.
