Jerry Holkins
This isn’t about the past. This is about the future.
Submitted by Morgan Wick on July 2, 2009 - 17:48
One year ago last week, I began doing webcomic reviews on Da Blog.
Recently, I’ve been having a crisis of confidence about the whole enterprise.
This should be obvious enough to anyone who read my 8-Bit Theater review. Quite frankly, I completely stalled while writing it. I found myself trapped in a place where I couldn’t say much more than “It’s a webcomic, and it’s not Order of the Stick. Um… it loves non-sequitur. Um… it… structures its updates well. Um… I got nothin’.†Roger Ebert (or even Eric Burns(-White)) I’m not.
This Day in ComixTalk: June 19th
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on June 19, 2009 - 11:01
This Day in ComixTALK:
2008
Chuck Whelon posted the cover art for his new edition of the first collection of Pewfell Perfingles comics. He also posted a great page from that book. Neil Cohn noted the 30th anniversary of Jim Davis' Garfield and covered some of the webcomic experimentalism incorporating that comic. Brad Guigar reported back from exhibiting at Wizard World Philadelphia. Kate Beaton? Before she became famous for historical comicking, she posted this take on the Anthony-Liz storyline from For Better or For Worse.
And the nominees for that year's Online Comics category at the Harveys included Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney, EZ Street, Robert Tinnell and Mark Wheatley, Penny Arcade, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, Perry Bible Fellowship, Nicholas Gurewitch and Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo, Dwight L. Macpherson, Thomas Boatwright and Thomas Mauer.
2007
I was in the midst of spinning off Comixpedia.org and rebranding this site as ComixTALK. While it all hasn't worked out to "bigger and better" it has worked well enough for me. (Never did activate the so-called umbrella site "Comixmedia")
Todd Allen was covering the DC webcomics plans; another Platinum story was in the news and FLEEN speculated on the webcomic future for Elfquest creators Wendy and Richard Pini.
2006
Back when we did "Summer of Guest Bloggers" -- we had Barry Gregory (01 Comics) and Clay Gardner (Wirepop) on tap for this week. Clay wrote a post on "the hidden style of manga". And Zach Lewis hyped Jack of All Blades -- the "most popular adventure comic featuring a doppleganger, a penguin, and a horrid swordfighter".
2005
June 2005 was our "webcomics in print" issue. Ben Towles wrote about his experiences self-publishing a print collection of his webcomic Townies. Eric Burns wrote about some of the webcomics that had jumped to print and mused about what would be the future role of print in webcomics. Meanwhile in Kelly Cooper's MoCCA report we have early photographic evidence of Gary "Magnum P.I." Tyrrell.
2004
Cartoonist Hard (aka Clay) who used to blog pretty often, wrote about various comics publications and objecting to the Webcomics Examiner approach to webcomics. It just reminds me of how overblown some of the discussions online became back then. And the fact that for a long time Comixpedia/Talk was largely alone in trying to provide coverage of webcomics which often meant we got swept up in whatever the drama of the moment was.
2003
I linked to this article in the NYTimes about building an audience for your blog. It's a bit like driving a mustang while looking back on the Model Ts. How about this quote:
But Susan Mernit, a blogger in San Francisco, is actively trying to increase her readership from its current average of about 50 visitors a day. "I value hits highly," said Ms. Mernit, a consultant for nonprofit organizations and a former vice president for programming at America Online. "I'd like to see my traffic increase by 10 readers a month."
Webcomics Rumble Podcast 02 - UStream / Cons / Mobile
Submitted by webcomicrumble on May 23, 2009 - 03:02
Mike and Kristen talk about the desire of innovation in existing and potential services that provide better experiences for readership.
Sites & Services Mentioned: Ustream, San Diego Comic Con, Phoenix Comic Con, Oh No Robot, Zuda, and ComixTalk. Webcomics Mentioned: Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, Horribleville by KC Green, Octopus Pie by Meredith Gran, Cyanide and Happiness by Kris, Rob, Matt, & Dave, MegaTokyo, Player v. Player by Scott Kurtz, Sluggy Freelance, and Templar AZ.
This Day In ComixTalk: May 15th
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on May 15, 2009 - 10:52
A look back at some of the stories we covered from the world of webcomics:
2008
I mused on the future of comics and links to all of the other news I found worth linking to that day - including the conclusion of Evan Dham's Rice Boy.
2007
We had a review of the Paranormals and in award news: Brian Fies won the Blooker Award for Mom's Cancer and Krahulik and Holkins won the UK's Eagle Award for Penny Arcade.
2006
Artist Onezumi commented on the then-in-the-news Brownstein/Soma story, ByrobotDotNet started up, we updated the list of surviving contestants to the Daily Grind contest (as of 2009 there are still 8 surviving contestants listed - I wonder if anyone is still tracking this?) and links to all of the other news I found worth linking to that day.
2005
David "Shortpacked" Willis announced he was leaving Keenspot.
The 2nd week of our May magazine update went up: a review of Spamusement, an interview with J. Grant and Mel Hynes of Two Lumps, Alexander Danner's guide to collaboration, a new column from Eric Burns, and a new Welton Colbert comic from Ryan Estrada.
2004
The 2nd week of our May magazine update went up: with a review of Spark Needle and an interview with Gilda Rimessi of The Sinner Dragon as well as columns from Frank "Damonk" Cormier and Jim Zubkavish. We also had a look at the history of comics syndication.
2003
Eat the Roses by Meaghan Quinn turned 3 years old (I think the last time this was updated was in 2006).
Nominations for the 3rd edition of the WCCAs were almost due.
Infinite Typewriters... while supplies last...
Submitted by Brad Guigar on May 11, 2009 - 00:01
My friend, Jonathan Rosenberg, is announcing pre-orders for his new Goats graphic novel, Infinite Typewriters." From the press release:
Who Are You?: An Interview with Neil Kleid (Action, Ohio)
Submitted by El Santo on January 25, 2009 - 16:00
What if superheroes, created by analogues of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, were real and based on actual people with powers? What if they were hidden away in a sleepy town since the 1950’s? And if there are superheroes, are there supervillains?
Action, Ohio, written by Neil Kleid and illustrated by Paul Salvi, was originally one of the hopeful competitors trying to win a contract with Zuda Comics. The comic follows heroine Andi Bruce, a Detroit detective with a sad past, who is compelled to solve a brutal murder. Her investigation gradually leads her to learn about the existence of superheroes in a town on the Michigan-Ohio border. Eventually, she must decide between solving her case or protecting the heroes’ freedoms by keeping things quiet.
I first encountered Action, Ohio, when Jack, Anthony, The Doctor, Delos, and I did a round of reviews at Comic Fencing. I heard about the comic again when Neil sent out a press release that the comic had moved to Shadowline, an Image Comics affiliate that begun publishing webcomics in October 2008. I did some quick research, and it quickly dawned on me that Neil Kleid was prolific. Winner of a Xeric Award (for Ninety Candles), writer for several print comics published by NBM to Slave Labor to Image, art director for Comedy Central and Miramax campaigns, creator of several webcomics…. Good God, y’all.
A large sample of his work can be found at his Rant Comics site.
I contacted Neil if he’d like to do an e-mail interview, and he graciously accepted. Neil had already conducted two excellent interviews with Newsrama and io9. I wanted to touch on subjects that hadn’t yet been covered at the other sites: what it was like working for Zuda and Shadowline, what common themes were within his body of work, and … why Ohio?
Webcomic Beacon #49 - Working with Images
Submitted by fesworks on November 8, 2008 - 19:49
Webcomic Beacon #49 - Working with Images: This week Tanya takes a crack at hosting the show, along with Fes and someone named Al. And Tycho Brahe of Penny Arcade introduces the show!
We dicuss various points on how you should save your images, and we even go over a few free imaging software programs. … For those that can’t afford Photoshop, and don’t want to use MS Paint.
Spotlighted Webcomics this week are: Lonnie Allen and Marsh Rocket! Check them out!
The Fundamentals of Webcomics Are Still Strong
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 21, 2008 - 11:31
So after wandering the wilds of Arizona last week I thought I'd catch us all up on some things from webcomicland:
First off here's a post from DJ Coffman any creator looking to do the webcomic thing should read: "Host your own friggin' webcomic" shows how you can start up a webcomic for almost nothing.
INTERVIEWS
Last week there was a good interview with Gordon McAlpin, the talented creator of Multiplex and a co-host of the Triple Feature movie podcast. I've been reading Multiplex from day one so I don't really know if it's underrated or not -- either way if you're not reading it give it a look -- it's a great mix of actual story along with a big box of popcorn movie-related subjects.
BUSINESS
Chcuk Rozakis ask some good questions about how comics publishers will make use of the web. Is he right that a "perfect" e-reader will be a print-killer? Is DRM (i.e., copyright protection) going to slow down or stop fans migration to the publishers' web offerings?
El Santo takes a look at Marvel's announcement it's putting original material - comics based on the Hulk and Iron Man movies - up on the web.
CONVENTIONS
Here's an interview with aka Gabe and Tycho from this year's PAX about the Penny Arcade empire, including the location (BOSTON!) of next year's PAX EAST.
COLLECTIVES
The Eyeskream webcomic collective adds three new webcomics to its roster: Little Terrors, Gamer Candy, and Somewhere in SF.
CONTESTS
Roddenberry comics is giving away stuff: a 2009 Roddenberry Comics Calendar, featuring episodes from “Gene’s Journal’ and “Rod Barry,"; a pair of clocks of both “Gene’s Journal” and “Rod & Barry,” and a “Gene’s Journal” journal, ready to keep your most trusted thoughts and memories. Check out the site for contest details.
JUSTIFY MY HYPE
Check out the newest bit of robot-goodness: Lovesick Robot.
Apologies for not posting much in a while. Been…
Submitted by chuckwheel on September 10, 2008 - 11:24
Apologies for not posting much in a while. Been busy working on a ton of projects. one which has been an upgrade to the first volume of the Pewfell Archive. My co-writer, Adam Prosser, and I have been hard at work writing several new stories, I've resurrected some long-retired material from the archives and with the help of colorist Carla Costa have colored it for the first time. We hope this new, expanded edition will provide the perfect entry point to the strip that the series had been lacking for a while now. Starting Monday, I'll be publishing updates 5 days a week for the next couple of months as the new stuff is released. You'll be able to see it all right here.
For now here is the cover (which I did post here already a couple of months ago -- new strips on Monday, I promise!) and the promotional blurb I'm releasing with it:
Meet Pewfell, a slacker wizard who lives in the fabulous city of Spirekassle. He's married to Tina the warrior princess and works a day job in a local pharmacy. When Tina has to take a month off due to a shortage of orc settlements to pillage, Pewfell must find other ways to supplement his income...
Webcomics Working Overtime
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on June 19, 2008 - 10:25
AWARDS
The 2008 Harvey Award nominations are out. The nominees for BEST ON-LINE COMIC are:
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney
- EZ Street, Robert Tinnell and Mark Wheatley
- Penny Arcade, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik
- Perry Bible Fellowship, Nicholas Gurewitch
- Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo, Dwight L. Macpherson, Thomas Boatwright and Thomas Mauer
TOOLS
Drawn! links to a video of Mark Criley showing how to draw "manga-style" hands.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BLOGS
Kate Beaton distills the Anthony-Liz romance from For Better Or For Worse. (h/t FLEEPN)
The Bear Trap - a comic about the meltdown of Bear Stearns (h/t Journalista!)
Raw Materials - an ongoing science comic by Larry Gonick who is the award-winning author of “The Cartoon History of the Universe,” “The Cartoon History of the Modern World,” and Cartoon Guides to Physics, Statistics, and other scientific subjects.
Noted musicologist and sometimes webcomicker Johnny A reviews the leaked tracks of the someday-may-come GnR album "Chinese Democracy".
