Theory
Theory of webcomics
Leftovers
Submitted by Ben Gamboa on September 10, 2010 - 20:06
As the week draws to a close, I thought I'd wrap my guest blogging stint up with some assorted things I've learned over the years, that didn't quite fit into the other articles. Maybe you'll find them useful, too.
Putting It Out There
Submitted by Ben Gamboa on September 8, 2010 - 19:54
Once you've finished toiling away on your first few comics, and you've produced a work of staggering greatness (or, at least, a couple of pretty good fart jokes), your next step is to create a home for them. Now, there are places that will offer to do all the work for you; Webcomics Nation is one respectable example. But, if you're in it for the long haul, eventually you'll want to set up your own web site. And the first step is selecting a domain name.
Freewriting Re: Writing
Submitted by Ben Gamboa on September 7, 2010 - 14:50
There's a well-known (in certain circles ...) doodle by Bill Watterson wherein he shares his writing process, which pretty much consists of staring blankly into space, waiting for inspiration. I imagine this holds true for a lot of cartoonists – it does for me, at least. Which makes writing about Writing a bit of a challenge, as I can't give a simple set of directions and send you on your merry way. I think the most I can manage is some random observations, which I'll try to tie together as best I can.
On Art, or Make Bad Comics
Submitted by Ben Gamboa on September 6, 2010 - 08:18
Cartoonists (and artists in general, I suppose) love to argue. Or, at least, we have strong opinions on things; spend all your free time cloistered and toiling, you're bound to ruminate. One favored topic is the ol' “Art vs. Writing” debate, which usually seems to degenerate into “I think I'm good at X, and know that I'm terrible at Y, but that's okay, because isn't X more important, anyway?"
Truth is, if your goal is to make quality comics, Art and Writing are equally important. Intertwined. Yin and Yang. If one falls short, the other suffers. Which can be discouraging, because people tend to think that they're gifted with certain talents and not others, and thus it shall ever be. But Art and Writing are skills, not talents, and like all skills, you can improve your proficiency over time.
When a Webcomic Isn't a Webcomic But Is
Submitted by Ben McCormick on August 9, 2010 - 08:00
There once was a horse named Print vs. Web and it died. Soon people from every corner of the Internet came with sticks. There was much beating of this dead horse. I thought I'd try to edge past the beating grounds with my comments trying not to cause an unexpected restart of the beating or at the very least no to get anything on me.
There are three webcomic sites everyone should check out. Candorville by Darrin Bell, Foxtrot by Bill Amend and Oh, Brother! by Jay Stephens and Bob Weber Jr. All three look like your regular, family friendly, well written, well-drawn webcomics on well-designed ComicPress sites, right? Kind of, but the common point between these three comics is all of the creators are syndicated or backed by a syndicate; Bell with Washington Post Writer's Group, Amend with Universal Press Syndicate and Stephens and Weber with King Features Syndicate.
Villains AND time travel?
Submitted by DAJB on May 7, 2006 - 12:53
Outpost, the Op/Ed column over at Broken Voice Comics has fallen behind schedule a little lately but, in an effort to make amends, this week it brings you two slices of wisdom (and at no extra cost!)
Longform Comics On The Web: That Which Should Not Be
Submitted by The William G on May 2, 2006 - 09:06
As some of you may know, I make a longform webcomic (thanks for clicking). And I'm using the term "longfom" as to mean serialized story comics.
I've been thinking about webcomics, as I always do, and though I'm lacking access to Rob Balder's holy grail of data, I have managed to notice a few things. First off, gag-strips dominate the webcomics. And second off, longform comics don't.
Duh~
Now, this isn't meant to be a debate over Art vs. Entertainment, nor Quality vs. Quantity. We all know those topics have been done to death, and have no value save their acting as a platform to launch pissing contests.
This is meant to air a thought/ reinvention of the wheel, I had that I think may be discussion-worthy.
Longform comics have no place in what we now know as webcomics.
Baby Steps
Submitted by Compugasm on May 1, 2006 - 04:39
I've got an observation. People have an expectation a comic follows a certain format. It's based on the artwork and what they know about other comics. The simplistic line-art style is typical of a comic with a punchline. It seems the more serious comics have more detailed artwork. Rex Morgan M.D. or Prince Valiant come to mind.
I recently made a change to how I draw my comic. I spend more time drawing scenery and background. I don't always tell a 4-panel joke. Sometimes it's a "to be continued..." storyline. My thought is, if it's not a funny strip, the drawing might be interesting enough to look at the next strip. Otherwise, the comic comes off as badly drawn and not funny.
Scott McCloud Speaking at U. of Maryland
Scott McCloud will be speaking Tuesday May 2 at the University of Maryland's Susquehanna Hall at 3:30pm. Directions here. Campus Map here.
Joey + Joe Podcast
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on April 30, 2006 - 15:40
I finally got a chance to listen to the podcast of Joey Manley and Joe Zabel chatting about webcomics. A little bit about Zabel's Introvert/Extrovert article, serialization, pacing and different genres of stories. Interesting stuff (about 30 minutes long) from two knowledgeable, opinionated guys.
