Last month, we spoke of arcane wonders. We learned what XML-based web content syndication is, how it works, and a few ways in which webcomic creators might make use of it. In this installment, we're going to expand on the possibilities raised briefly in the last article, and hopefully correct some misperceptions about how syndicated feeds are used by readers.Last month, we spoke of arcane wonders.

I'm sitting here listening to Jay Z's Black Album and wondering about classics.

Former comic-strip star Jeffie P. Wunderkill, who as a child costarred in the wholesome newspaper strip The Family Circus, and as an adult seemed bedeviled by its reputed curse, died of an accidental prescription-drug overdose Saturday in West Virginia, just one day after declaring on nationwide radio, "I've never been happier, ya chiseling bastards."

He was 43.

Comics have a bit of an identity crisis: our culture cannot decide what they really are, leaving them to pay the price both financially and legally. A common remedy for this is the insistence that comics are "art", which is probably the number one expression used to justify their worth as a medium. This statement abounds in comics literature. Claiming "comics as art" is an overt part of Eisner's term "sequential art," and a primary argument running throughout McCloud's Understanding Comics. However, is the quest to claim "comics as art" really worth doing in the first place?

In this piece, I will examine the problems found in claiming "comics are art", and how "comics as language" is a more beneficial perspective.

Comictastic: 'tastic or not so 'tastic?

I'm getting tired. It seems I've been reading discussions on the whole Comictastic thing for ... three or .. maybe 5 .. or 6 hours now. (link, link, link, link) It's silly. No, Comictastic and similar programs are not a "distribution system", they are NOT "redistributing" your comics - your web server is doing the distributing. Comictastic and similar programs don't even do "deep linking" which has been found illegal in at least one US court case. Comictastic and programs like them are simply specialized web browsers doing something that I have done manually in the past; requesting only the image of the comic from the web server because of bandwidth concerns.

BoxJam Does Boffo! (Interview-style, That Is)

Joe Martin has produced 30,000 individual strips, by his count, has Mr. Boffo, Cats With Hands, and Willy 'n' Ethel in current production, and produces other strips as well. He does all these without collaborators. He's been able to keep all his strips among the consistently funniest around, and his productivity has landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records.

He's also written other strips, he paints, he writes books, he writes songs, and has written for TV. We didn't ask, but he probably writes ballets and operas as well.

Here's a scenario: you're browsing the Internet, looking at various sites, when you unexpectedly come across some very familiar comics. You know all the characters. You can quote from the dialogue. You know exactly how the story ends, without even having to read it. And yes, it's even got your name in the credits. It is, in fact, your work, reproduced on someone else's site. They never even asked permission.

What do you do?

The Business of Free

The early months of Keenspot were a revelation for all involved. Finally, webcomic hosting by webcomickers! The mood was giddy with optimism.

"It was great," remembers David Willis, as if the memory stuns him all over again. "When I would email the group, I would get a response. I wasn't used to getting a response. Following the response would be an appropriate action if needed to help solve or eradicate the problem reported. They done fixed [my domain name problems], and started sending checks."

You asked the questions, and Chris Crosby and Darren "Gav" Bleuel of Keenspot answered. Crosby is the writer/artist of Superosity and the writer of Sore Thumbs, and Bleuel is the writer/artist behind Nukees. Both webtoonists joined together with Nate Stone and Terri Crosby to form Keenspot Entertainment, one of the leading publishers of webcomics.

Crosby and Bleuel talk about Keenspot's plans for online and print comics for 2004, the resurgence of the online advertising market, and drop frustrating hints about future projects.

Death of the Funny What?

Now if I were going to be all knee-jerk about this, I'd be all about "out with the old, in with the new, the traditional comics page was stale and it's time to bring in some fresh blood, viva the internet, viva webcomics, viva endless chatter about the newest video card from Alpha Omega Corp and people getting off on their bloody brilliance by yammering endless about whether or not Green or Blue dragons spit acid in AD&D first edition."

But Jeebus Godot, let's take a look at what's replacing what, here.