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Kate Beaton

Comixology's Top Five Webcomics for 2008

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on November 13, 2008 - 20:06

I guess we'll start seeing year-end type lists now (still feels a mite bit early though...).  Here's a link to Comixology's Top Five webcomics for 2008 by Tucker Stone.  Apparently he limited consideration to comics first appearing on the Internet and he came up with Get Your War On, Achewood, Dinosaur Comics, Bodyworld and "anything" by Kate Beaton.  I'm pretty much going to quibble with any list because... well, I can.  Any list is going to leave off a lot of good stuff so it's not much harder than catching fish in a barrel (I don't know how to shoot so shooting fish in a barrel would be kind of hard for me.  Besides I don't think I'd like cold steel served up with the fish for dinner).

So... I've always been a fan of Get Your War On and wrote about it very early in its meteoric rise but it's a far, far ways from its creative peak.  I don't see how the output in 2008 alone gets it on this kind of list.  Maybe a Hall of Fame forever list but not a 2008 list.

Kate Beaton definitely deserves a nod.  Someone ought to publish her stuff on paper pronto.  Achewood is going to wind up being one of the most important comics of this decade (did we decide on "naughts" or did we just decide not to decide...).  It's hard to question Dinosaur Comics either.

Surprisingly, I'd missed Bodyworld before.  Interesting comic -- really the only one of the five on the list not aimed at humor to some significant degree.  It's a pretty intensely strange comic.  The art really conveys the trippy feel of the comic -- it's very well done.  I'm a little less convinced of the actual characters and the plot and pacing but it's certainly a comic that grabs you.

100 Greatest Webcomics Thread

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on November 9, 2008 - 12:41

NOTE:  An updated version of this list is here - please go there to offer your suggestions and comments.  Thanks!

See you, Space Cowboy

Submitted by El Santo on September 29, 2008 - 16:28

Well, folks, it looks like it’s time to power down The Webcomic Overlook for a while. As some of you already know, in a short while, El Santo is getting hitched! So you’ll probably be calling me “Mr. El Santo” in the near future, I suppose. Also, the updates will probably slow to a trickle. It’s already been rather difficult to update this site lately, what with all the picking up relatives from the airport and wrapping up wedding favors and scheduling spa appointments and coordinating with the bridal party and such.

Webcomics are serious business

Submitted by El Santo on September 12, 2008 - 11:22

Entrepreneur magazine recently ran an article about the business of webcomics:


Entrepreneur.com: Funny Business

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:

MILESTONES
The Daily Cartoonist has just about everything on the web you'd want to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Jim Davis' Garfield.

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".

John Campbell vs. Kate Beaton: War of the Webcomics

Submitted by El Santo on May 12, 2008 - 21:15

… or “Two Artists Enter, Three Walk Out.” What?
On the SomethingAwful forums, I just read about a very interesting exchange that happened over this weekend. On his blog, John Campbell (Pictures for Sad Children) took a light-hearted jab at everyone’s favorite historical-based webcomic artist, Kate Beaton (of, uh, Kate Beaton):

Most webcomic artists would [...]

One Punch Reviews: Kate Beaton

Submitted by El Santo on May 8, 2008 - 03:35

The New Yorker is infamous for publishing cartoons that are absolutely impenetrable. If you don’t have an Ivy League degree, you scratch your head to try to make sense of the joke, fighting the urge to track down the cartoonists so he can explain it to you like Elaine did on that one episode [...]

WCCA 2008 Nominees Are Out

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 5, 2008 - 11:00

The nominees for this year's WCCAs were released this past Sunday (sadly without any fanfare, or press release... again). But lots of interesting choices (and good links to comics!):

OUTSTANDING COMIC FINALISTS:
Achewood by Chris Onstaad
Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell
Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch
The Phoenix Requiem by Sarah Ellerton

Nikola Tesla mad for science and the ladies mad for Nikola Tesla

Submitted by Shaenon Garrity on January 29, 2008 - 16:01

I am in love with Kate Beaton's history comics. And not just because she did one about Emperor Norton and one about Nikola Tesla.

Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on November 21, 2007 - 00:22

Frontpage posting will be light (as in almost nonexistent) this week so keep your eyes peeled for interesting updates in the reader blogs and the forums. It's up to... you!

HEADLINES

JUSTIFY MY HYPE

  • Tom Spurgeon reviews Set to Sea by Drew Weing. This is a great comic and one I actually look forward to buying in print someday.
  • Gunbaby was in the BSC Webcomic Idol contest but didn't last long enough. It's a good comic that seems very promising even as it is less then perfect. Wonderful art (reminds me a bit of Alpha Shade) but sometimes static shots kill the momentum. Interesting story ideas but sudden uncued scene and perspective jumps could be handled a bit better. Creators Matt and Gabe White have talent though - you get the sense that they could get a lot better. I'd definitely give the archives a read.
  • Kate Beaton is funny!

MOST READ

DEAD TREES... For me!

  • I'm playing around with a book swap service called Book Mooch. Potentially cool, although it's pretty weak in the graphic novel side of things right now... You can check out what I'm willing to trade through a widget on my home page here.