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Scott McCloud

Is This A Comic?: Four Criteria

December 2, 2007 - 12:42 | Patric Lewandowski

In my first column, I took a look at the various previous attempts to define what exactly is a comic. The fact that so many people have struggled to define comics demonstrates that we have yet to do so successfully. Well, if everyone else is trying, why not me?

In order to answer the question “Is this a comic?” we need to apply four criteria: Intent of Creator; Audience Experience; Closure & Synthesis; and Use of Visual Language.  Only if a work meets all four of these criteria can it be considered a comic.

Comics and Community Service

Submitted by John Baird on November 5, 2007 - 18:26

Something that has always impressed me from organizing the Create a Comic Project (CCP) is the level of support it's received from the general webcomic community. I've contacted dozens of creators, asking them permission to use their comics to teach urban youths, and received overwhelmingly positive replies.

This reflects well on the attitudes underlying today's webcomic culture: the "me first" attitude prevalent in many parts of the entertainment industry have not yet become widespread among webcomic creators. This is likely due to what Ryan North said was the "humbling" experience of being a star in the Internet, but being a regular guy in the real world.

This also indicates an as yet untapped potential among creators: a move towards greater real world visibility through community outreach by volunteering. As Scott McCloud noted in Reinventing Comics: "public perception matters." And there are few things that can create a positive public perception better than community service.

Is This A Comic?

November 4, 2007 - 09:49 | Patric Lewandowski

Is this a comic?

Admittedly, that is probably the last question a reader consciously asks themselves when reading a comic. Yet, subconsciously, most readers have already asked and answered that very question each and every time they view a piece of work.

In part one of a series, Patric Lewandowski takes a look at some of the most well-known efforts to define "comics" and explains what's wrong with them. Lewandowski then introduces a new approach to defining a comic. In part two of this series, Lewandowski will then explain this new approach in greater depth.

New Edition of Scott McCloud's Zot! Coming

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 25, 2007 - 23:28

I'm kind of excited to read one of Scott McCloud's actual longer comic-comics Zot! as opposed to his comics-about-comics. The new book edition from HarperCollins will collect all of the black & white stories. I would be even more excited if McCloud was putting out a new webcomic (with possible Fogley-like book collections to follow) but I'll take this for now.

Zot! by Scott McCloud

MoCCA Has Big Exhibit on Webcomics

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on September 7, 2007 - 09:13

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) is proud to announce its upcoming exhibit: Infinite Canvas: The Art of Webcomics, set to open on Sept. 13.

"Infinite Canvas: The Art of Webcomics” brings comics from the web page to the MoCCA stage. The exhibit explores three aspects of online comics: the unique format and design of webcomics, their appeal to niche audiences, and the transitions between web and print comics.

Curator Jennifer Babcock, who also draws the syndicated webcomic C’est La Vie, explains that webcomics are free of the space constraints and editorial censorship to which printed comics are often subjected. Webcomics also provide an outlet for a greater diversity of creators and audiences, she says, resulting in numerous niche-specific features.

This exhibit incorporates original artwork, prints of finished art, and digital displays. Featured in the exhibit will be the immensely popular Penny Arcade, PhD, Sluggy Freelance, User Friendly, Diesel Sweeties, Mom’s Cancer, Finder, Supernatural Law, Something Positive, Scary Go Round, Young Bottoms in Love, Narbonic, Goats, and “My Obsession with Chess” by Scott McCloud, among many others.

Six degrees of your comic

Submitted by Adrian on September 3, 2007 - 14:29

Given the downtime experienced by comixtalk, Xaviar was kind enough to let me post stories a little bit more, so, for the four of you who missed me, here it is:

***

Created List of Creators Page

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on August 16, 2007 - 12:23

I just created a List of Creators page (like the List of Webcomics page): http://www.comixpedia.org/index.php/List_of_creators

I also added links to the list of webcomics and the list of creators to the main navigation box on the site.  People will have to go in and add in the creators to the list since we haven't been doing that for the last 2 years but I think over time the creators list will get populated.

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?

Seventh Day Webcomicists

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on July 8, 2007 - 11:43

COMIXTALK

HEADLINES

DEAD TREES

  • The Beat reports that Dean Haspiel and Michel Fiffe of the webcomic collective ACT-I-VATE are bringing their webcomics to print in a black & white, three-issue creature romance double feature, entitled BRAWL, this October.

WIKI WATCH

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 BLOGS