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December 2003 Issue

2003 In Review.

Alpha Shade by Christopher and Joseph Brudlos

By: Apis Teicher
Department: Reviews
Issue: December 2003 Issue

"The latest Flash Player is required to view this site properly"

The title page of Alpha Shade should be read like a warning marker to the unwary, letting the potential reader know what they may find within the home of Christopher and Joseph Brudlos' tag-team foray into the steampunk genre. Still fairly new – having launched only this past July – Alpha Shade is a unique mix of traditional manga cobbled together through the creative use of (Flash) technology.

Get Your Words On: A Community Interview With David Rees


We sent your top questions to David Rees, the creator of Get Your War On and My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable. All of Rees' webcomics can be found at mnftiu.cc.

Read on for Rees' answers.

I Hate You All by Dalton Wemble


Fish Muffin Scream Asphalt: Funny?

I remember with great fondness the first time I stumbled upon a totally surreal webcomic. I won't say which one, just that it was one of the originals, something mindbogglingly bizarre that, over time, picked up its own cult following and is now a Minor Institution among webstrips.

Boy on a Stick and Slither by Steven Cloud, reviewed by Michael Whitney


In an arena that's crowded with elaborate Sci-Fi themes, baroque fantasy themes and byzantine plots, it�s refreshing to note that one of the best comics on the Web features two main characters who don't even have arms.

Why Do Online Comics: Faith and the Webcomic


I knew my wife was the person I was going to marry two weeks before our first date. We got together for coffee as friends, talked until one in the morning, and I walked her to her car. As she drove off, an overwhelming peace came over me, and I knew down to my core she was the one. It wasn't like lightning striking or fireworks going off. It was as though I had just learned a new fact, like two plus two equals four or that water is wet. That's how convinced I was.

The Blue View by BoxJam


I had to make a phone call today to the town of Hawthorne, California – yes, to the town itself. The woman who acted as the town's agent was disappointed to talk to me. I'm shutting down a store in a famous chain there.

Behind the Cartoon Shield: The Comic Book Legal Defence Fund

By: Ericka Crouse
Department: Features
Issue: December 2003 Issue

You probably know that a court can prevent shops from selling certain materials. Did you also know they can prosecute retailers for selling adult comics to other adults? That retailers can be prosecuted and convicted for selling obscene material even if those comics are in a separate part of the store from regular comics? Did you know that law enforcement and the District Attorney's office can make life very difficult for a private individual, for selling comics that are not obscene to minors? Did you know they can prevent you from drawing or creating anything, even if it's for yourself in your own home?

You'd know all these things if you follow the thrilling exploits of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. You'd also know that sometimes, but not always, justice wins out over stupidity and repression.

Comic-Fire! Round Three: Pierce Versus Millikin


This is the FINAL installment of Comic-Fire! between Eric Millikin and Justin Pierce. Comixpedia would like to say a special thank you to both gentlemen for providing us with excellent examples of their creativity, good humor, and prodigious talent.

The question, in which we think about politics as it applies to the real world... sort of:

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the new governor of California. Does this type of Hollywood showmanship have its place in politics?