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Clay Yount

May 2008 Cover

Cover art by Clay Yount.

Straight Outta Warrenton: Clay and Hampton Yount

May 11, 2008 - 12:37 | Xaviar Xerexes

Clay and Hampton Yount are the co-creators of the weekly-updated comedy comic Rob and Elliot.  Clay is also the creator of the now on hiatus Cosmobear as well as the creator of "Bikini Frisbee Suicide Days", the former Saturday-only series at Sluggy Freelance.

Rob and Elliot is one of those "wacky roommates doing crazy random things" comics that is a lot stronger than its thin premise would initially suggest.  As a comedy comic it scores on the most crucial criteria -- it's funny.  And it does so through both the writing and the artwork. 

Read on for my interview with the brothers Yount.

Updates On Entries in the Ill-Fated Webcomic Directory Project?

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on July 24, 2007 - 14:31

I built a "library" of webcomics and creators back in the fall of 2005 which I put into beta before realizing it was too much editorial work to deal with and the same information could be better provided through the community edited webcomic wiki - COMIXPEDIA.

Nevertheless looking back on the assortment of names collected (some from me, some sent in from you) I wonder if anyone has any significant updates on these creators 18 months later. Maybe we should interview some of them?

A Decade of Niftiness: Comixpedia Talks to Pete Abrams

June 3, 2007 - 12:17 | Erg

Pete Abrams, the creator of Sluggy Freelance, one of the more celebrated and long-running (longest-running?) serialized webcomics ever not only is coming up on 10 years of Sluggy, but recently welcomed a new addition to the Abrams family: Sarah Emily Abrams, born May 12th, 2007. (Ed: Congratulations!) We managed to catch up with Pete before Sarah Emily's birth and talked to him about his favorite Sluggy moments, balancing running a webcomic with family life and how he makes his living from Sluggy.com.

News for Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on April 24, 2007 - 09:44

First off a quick thank you to current advertisers: the Learn To Draw The Human Figure training course; Nick Bertozzi's new comic, The Salon; and the webcomics Argon Zark; Super Unit 5000; Running In the Halls; and Things Change.

REVIEWS

BUSINESS

  • Brooke McEldowney’s daughter sent a note to blogger Joshua Fruhlinger to explain that McEldowney's comic Pibgorn has left Universal Media’s Comics.com site and will eventually appear online elsewhere. (link via Journalista!)

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BLOGS

The March of the Collectives

March 12, 2007 - 00:44 | Xaviar Xerexes

A collective, loosely defined, is any sustained grouping of webcomic creators. What they do together varies greatly from group to group. Some are largely a peer group offering each other critical feedback and encouraging support. Others throw in cross-promotion for each others' work. Some build a collective brand with logos, advertising and a central website. Some share business experience and expertise in areas as varied as merchandise, books, conventions, hosting and website creation.

And what did I find from my research? There's a tremendous number of collectives out there (and that I never want to attempt another "survey" article again). And, oh yeah, checking out collectives can be a great way to find excellent new comics.

Pimpin' Ain't Easy, But It's Necessary

Submitted by Erg on February 14, 2007 - 15:56

One of the phenomenal cosmic powers bestowed upon bloggers by the gods of the internet (including but not limited to the former vice president Al Gore and that poor fat kid with the invisible light saber) is the ability to foist their opinions on unsuspecting victims. This is a power this reader relishes. So today I am going to pimp some comics I think you should be reading: Cosmobear, Havesomehats and Sluggy Freelance.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007 News Update

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on January 2, 2007 - 11:02

DEAD TREES

  • Diesel Sweeties starts showing up in selected newspapers today - the full launch kicks in next week.

GOIN' TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET

JUSTIFY MY HYPE

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BLOGS

News For Tuesday December 19, 2006 (UPDATED)

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on December 19, 2006 - 12:54

MAGAZINE

  • A smaller December issue then years past but still full of great webcomic recommendations and plenty of opinions to discuss. There's a slight chance we'll have a few more pieces, but I may hold those until January.
  • I just wanted to say thanks and congrats to Kris Straub who has contributed to Comixpedia for a couple years - first with Modern Humor Authority and this year with Checkerboard Nightmare. Kris' plate has gotten considerably more full lately so he won't have time to contribute next year.

    We'll see you in Xanadu, Mr. Straub... They call it Xanadu.

  • If you have a minute please vote for the Roundtable and People of Webcomics articles over at ComicNe.ws - it's a different crowd at CBR and having Comixpedia articles on the front page over there has helped bring some of their readers over here to check out Comixpedia. At this point it only takes about 6 votes to get something on the front page over there so click that little "c" below your posts if you think it might be of interest.

BUSINESS

A warning to those using google ads and placing images near the ads themselves - that appears to be against Google Adsense's new policy:

Can I place small images next to my Google ads?

We ask that publishers not line up images and ads in a way that suggests arelationship between the images and the ads. If your visitors believe that the images and the ads are directly associated, or that the advertiser is offering the exact item found in the neighboring image, they may click the ad expecting to find something that isn't actually being offered. That's nota good experience for users or advertisers.

Let's All Go To The Movies

Journalista has a significant section today on Scott Rosenberg and Platinum Studios called "Meet the new Scott Rosenberg, the same as the old Scott Rosenberg." (A side note: Rosenberg was included in our People Of Webcomics list this year.) Obviously anyone who has followed Rosenberg in the news this year knows at this point he's been around comics in various ventures for quite some time. A chief, recurring, criticism seems to be that Rosenberg is interesting in comics properties solely for their potential to be licensed to filmmakers and that he does not actual perform the basic publishing function of a comics publisher.

I can't comment too much because I haven't done my homework on this subject, but it does strike me as odd that when numerous creators are abandoning the monthly comic book format for webcomics (albeit with a goal to collection in a graphic novel) that there is an expectation that Platinum would want to vigorously compete in the direct market. It also seems odd to criticize Platinum for using a creator-for-hire approach on its first comic book, Cowboy & Aliens -- isn't that the standard model for the majority of the industry (you know, DC and Marvel)? Deppey reports that a deal from 2004 may require Platinum to put out comic books in order to comply with the deal - to the extent that Platinum is treating such publication as an expense rather than a profit center, I'd think the most obvious question is what does that say about the health of the direct market?

If this is of interest, there's lot more on the topic at Journalista! today.

NEWS ABOUT COMICS NEWS SITES

I didn't realize that it was a common practice for comics publishers to own comics journalists, but today's Journalista! also alerted me to the fact that Platinum Studios bought the comics news site Broken Frontiers earlier this month. (Similarly, Journalista! and TCJ are owned by publisher Fantagraphics.) I'm sincere in asking how do such journalists deal with the obvious conflict of interest this presents? Is there a corporate separation that protects the ability of the journalists to cover the news without interference or does the journalist just not cover their owners?

JUSTIFY MY HYPE

If you haven't been reading ICE by Faith Erin Hicks get over there and check it out (the archives aren't that long). I'm not sure I like the black & white as much as the earlier coloring but that's only as a comparative matter - both periods of the comic are amazing. If you have been reading, the current scene is getting particularly tense as major plots points are revealed.

NOT COMICS

Joe Barbera passed away. I thought this guy's name meant animation when I was a kid.

Around The World in 80 BLOGS

A Webcomic Tutorial Primer

August 24, 2003 - 23:03 | Xaviar Xerexes

So you draw and/or write a webcomic?

No matter how good you are, there's always something more to learn. One way to learn is to read a lot of webcomics. You can also learn a lot from countless free tutorials created by some truly talented artists.