Scott McCloud
Art and Narrative: Everything I Needed to Know About Comics I Learned in 24 Hours
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When my friend Matt first suggested it, I thought it sounded a little crazy. I'd read Scott McCloud's dare, and I knew that plenty of people had already done it. But could I do it? I'd never drawn so much as a three-panel comic in my life.
Then again, I'd never tried.
Scott McCloud's Morning Improv is back!
Submitted by Teel on July 13, 2003 - 12:22
The Morning Improv by Scott McCloud is back, after over a year's hiatus.
The comic is still free, but now instead of Scott selecting the title of the next comic from the thousands that get submitted to him, readers 'vote' for their favorite of ten titles by donating pennies to Scott McCloud via BitPass. Readers can donate from 1 cent to 99 cents, and each penny counts as a vote for that title. At the end of the voting, Scott improvises a comic based on the title with the most pennies.
The archives from all of last year's Morning Improv comics is still online, and still free. Check 'em out!
Roll Out the Red Carpet, Cue Joan Rivers, It's Time for Webcomics Awards!
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The comics medium has more than its fair share of awards. There are multiple awards for comic books and comic strips including the Eisner, Harvey, Ignatz, and Reuben, (see sidebar for more details) so it should not be surprising that with the explosion in webcomics publishing, there would inevitably be an award, or even two, for webcomics. But while everyone seems to agree that webcomics should be recognized for excellence, there is no agreement on the best way to present awards to webcomics.
Micropayments -- An Issue of MacroProportions?
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The topic of micropayments is a tricky one. Often the source of raging debate, it's difficult to discuss in a simple way without someone shouting that it's going to save the Internet while someone else shouts that the whole idea is crap.
Reaction to McCloud's Micropayments Project
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on July 3, 2003 - 11:39
Several sites have posted reactions to Scott McCloud's use of a new micropayment system to sell Part 1 of The Right Number for a quarter.
Comic Book Resources has a short write up of Scott McCloud's press release.
Slashdot posted a short piece on it today and has generated a substantial number of replies already.
Penny Arcade and Goats have both posted more skeptical, sober reactions to the announcement.
I LOVE Comics, I HATE Comics
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I have a ruling reputation online as being outgoing and wacky. An online friend was once shocked to find out that my voice is not, in fact, at ALL chipmunky, despite the fact that I can yammer and pun and load on the sarcasm for paragraphs in chatrooms. But for some reason, around accomplished comic book people I'm a complete dimwit.
Scott McCloud & Micropayments: Reality At Last?
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on June 23, 2003 - 10:09
Scott McCloud wrote extensively about micropayments as an optimal solution for webcomics in Reinventing Comics and on his website. This week he announced that he has finally rolled out his first webcomic that will be offered for purchase through a micropayments system.
McCloud will be offering "The Right Number", a three part comic about "math, sex, obsession and phone numbers," through a brand new micropayment system. Each part will be priced at 25 cents.
Twenty -Four Simultaneous 24 Hour Webcomics?
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on June 18, 2003 - 10:24
Eric Millikin (Fetus-X) has an ambitious twist on Scott McCloud's 24 Hour Comic Challenge.
There's more discussion on this thread at Talkaboutcomics but here's the basic idea:
I think a coool idea would be a 24-hour jam comic, with 24 artists. Each artist gets an hour to do a page, then they hand off to the next artist, so that in the end of 24 hours there are *24* 24-page, 24-hour comics, each comic having one page from each artist.
Maybe the best way to do it would be online, where each artist has an hour to post a page to a web site. Might make for an interesting Modern Tales Longplay, updated in real time for all the world to see ...
Turning Japanese by T Campbell
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Japanese culture has so thoroughly melted into American culture that we can't always tell where one ends and the other begins. Speed Racer, Godzilla, Voltron, and Tranzor Z are nostalgic for millions of Americans, almost a part of "Americana." Weightlifters train by eating sushi. The Matrix seamlessly blends Japanese martial arts and Eastern philosophy into Western cyberpunk and American car chases. Japan makes our cars, our computer parts.
Nowhere does the Japanese voice speak more clearly than in the true avant-garde, the avant-garde of comics, the Web, and especially of webcomics.
Makeshift Musings and Comic Book Bliss by Jim Zubkavich
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An Electric Manga Mirror
Scouring the Internet comic scene, it’s easy to see how prevalent manga imagery and ideals are. Thousands of fan sites are dedicated to Japanese anime, comics and characters. It’s a cultural tidal wave that can easily wash away the uninitiated with way too many facts and trivia about the multitude of worlds that have been created by eastern artists. Whether you’re a fan or not, you can’t deny its influence on popular entertainment.
