Posted By:
midnightcartooner on May 11, 2008
More and more creators are learning that it’s easy as cake to take their webcomics and get them printed. Even if an established printing house won’t pick up a collected work, there are options via Lulu and other print-on-demand services that ensure your ego, large and shadow-inducing as it is, can be seen by as many eyes as you can shove it under.
And so, with that in mind, I bring you Under Review, my weekly (and in some/most cases, bi-, tri-, and quadra-weekly) review space for the latest in webcomics print volumes. I inaugurate this new column with the first volume of Looking For Group, the fantasy-adventure webcomic, written by Ryan Sohmer and drawn by Lar DeSouza.
Read on…
Posted By:
midnightcartooner on May 5, 2008
Newest addition to the DS team and Senior European Correspondent Michael Rouse-Deane (or Mike Rouse-Deane, to those who know him) wrote about the recent Beaver and Steve contest to determine who might take over art chores on the next few weeks of strips for the hiatus-fearing B&S creator, James Turner. From the moment I spotted this on
my RSS, I knew I would have to peer deeply into the souls ofevery entrant of this competition.
Luckily for you, that time is now.
Turner has already named his winner and runners-up, so speculation can be laid to rest. It’s now time to take a second look at the pool of hopefuls and see what made this a grand try at matching, and in some cases surpassing, the dry-as-bones humor of B&S.
Alphabetically (by first name, anways) we shall go, and we start off with my personal favorite, the runner-up Andy Powell. It took some lookin’, but I was finally able to track down more of his work and don’t you worry about Mr. Powell. Dude’s got enough chops to make it in any art field.
Clare Potts’ entry must be noted as she is the only one with the stones to have her own human characters act out the script as Turner wrote it. Bravo on a job differently done, Clare.
And the award for Best Alternative Milk-Pouring Style goes to… runner-up, Drew Mokris! Behind-the-back!
Read on…
Posted By:
midnightcartooner on May 2, 2008
If you play video games, and have played either Assassin’s Creed or Grand Theft Auto IV, you’ll know (and possibly even understand) why I’ve had few updates recently. I also put my own strip on indefinite hiatus which you would think would free up more time for more posts, but whatever.
If you know what the above title means, then you’ve probably already heard this news and are saving up your Xbox Live coin to get it. If not, the term “gone gold” means it is finished and ready to be shipped to retailers. Except in this case, the game is downloadable, via the PA crew’s own new Greenhouse service or Xbox Live. PC owners can take their own created character side-by-side with Gabe and Tycho sometime later this quarter, but 360 players will have to wait a bit longer for their chance to fight alongside two of the most charismatic characters ever created.
For those who salivate over such things, the press release can be found here.
Posted By:
The Geek on April 27, 2008
Just a quick bit of news because I can’t seem to delete my double post of my review below, but I can replace it with something else (Yay Internet!).
Maniac Graffiti, one of my favorite comics that I’ve never mentioned hear because only World of Warcraft players would enjoy it has come to an end. Creator Anya has decided to quit the game and with it the comic. The strip however, is still excellent and I urge everyone who does or has played WoW to check out the archive. The strip had a lot of great in-world jokes and a really fun and intricate style about it. You should also take a look at the commissions of other people’s characters that are included with a lot of the later strips. All in all a great look at the world’s most popular MMORPG.
In other, yet similar new, VGCats creator Scott Ramsoomair has started a new comic based entirely on the PokeSaga called “Super Effective.” I don’t know how long a strip all about Pokemon can last, but I’m happy to see him try.
Posted By:
The Geek on April 27, 2008
Did your grade school have a big toy? A big piece of play ground equipment for the kinds the climb all over to burn off extra energy and possibly hurt themselves. My school had a great big toy. It came with all the essential big toy parts, ladders, slides, monkey bars but ours also have a castle, complete with turrets and a draw bridge, a space ship with lasers, a view screen and a helpful robot and a superhero/supervillian lair full of all kinds of super equipment.
While all the “cool kids” (no one is really cool in fourth grade) were playing football and trying to kiss girls, my friends and I were having the time of our lives pretending to be all the cartoon heroes of the time: Ninja Turtles, He-man, Darkwing Duck, the Thundercats. I don’t know who kids these days are pretending to be, but they should be imaging that they are in the World of Quest.
Read on…
Posted By:
Mike on April 25, 2008
Beaver & Steve has been around for a few years now and as sporadic as the stories have become, so has the updates. Recently artist and creator James Turner has been troubled with getting guest strips to help him out in this cause, but currently it’s been getting dire.
Instead of leaving Beaver and Steve in the abyss, he’s thrown the gauntlet down to other artists and creators out there for a fantastic competition to contribute to a storyline for the next 4-5 weeks!
The first script is available in which any artist is able to draw and contribute and send to James himself. Each strip is then judged by himself (and probably his girlfriend who tags along to many conventions with James) and chose who will complete the rest of the weeks. The competition ends on May 1st, which means less than a week you’ve got to draw and send over your entry.
You can do whatever you wish with it, be inventive but entirely be Beaver & Steve. If you think you have what it takes, not only to be helping out fellow artist James Turner but also winning yourself a fabulous prize of the two Beaver & Steve books available signed and personalised, then visit Beaver & Steve’s website for more information and happy drawing!
Posted By:
Mike on April 23, 2008
The whole of the UK and several other countries around the world celebrate St. George’s Day when the tale goes St. George sleighed a dragon.
For the past six years the British webcomic community come together, either in the form of Britains overseas or located within the British Isles and join in the great British Webcomic Piss-Up.
For the past few years the Piss-Up was organised and began with Eddie Bowley who gave webcomics the chance to participate by using a specific theme within their comics, such as swords, shields, dragons. This year the baton was passed to Jon Scrivens with the event focusing around castles.
Only a few participated this year, but check out the British lineup for this year and celebrate St. George’s Day in style!
Posted By:
midnightcartooner on April 22, 2008
In terms of dream crushers, my next interviewee is the tops. When it came time to choose a new artist to kick start his strip, Life’s A Bluff, Frank Frisina did what every talent scout worth his salt does these days: he held tryouts. The call went out and was answered by many artists, many of whom are already well known in the webcomics and digital comics communities.
With the field narrowed down to a select few (including yours truly), the site’s new main backer, pro poker player, Phil Laak, got the final say in who would usher in the next era of LaB greatness. Sadly, he chose Ryan Estrada.
But this is no place for sour grapes or spilt milk! That place is called LiveJournal. No, this is where I will probe Frank’s mind on the success of LaB under the watchful, cartoony, bulging eye of Mr. Estrada. He’s gotten himself into a bit of hot water with the Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA) as well, so we’ll start off with whether or not he’ll still be doing LaB and go from there. Enjoy the e-mail conversational goodness, after the break!
Read on…
Posted By:
midnightcartooner on April 21, 2008
The first time was sad, but kind of exciting. The next time, you had had enough of the bullying and it was time to fight those the gothic geek chic crowd to a standstill. This time? It’s just sad, and very tired.
Comic book superstar and sometimes webcomic (or is that digital comic?) creator, Stuart Immonen has come to the aid of a friend who has fallen victim to the online art plagiarism scare, or OAPS (pronounce it and it’s pretty close to being funny) that is sweeping the Intertubes. Before, it was studio art, then came the T-shirt phase, and now the problem has hunkered down in the realm of possibly-fraudulent, definitely-stolen, Hong Kong-produced books.
At his request, you can find the link to the full post on Immonen’s site here and below are some choice soundbites from the whole debacle straight from the latest victim, Darren Di Lieto, complete with editorialized notes:
Read on…
Posted By:
Mike on April 21, 2008
Butternutsquash has finally reached the big 5 year mark and in celebration they’re thinking of releasing either a book, some limited edition art, something for the fans from their extensive artwork.
The guys from Butternutsquash have done it all, including participating in the calendar Tastefully Done in 2007.
Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun and it seems the guys are trying their best to keep on top of their updates. Butternutsquash was also responcible for allowing one of their characters, Rob, to trawl through many comics in a coma. Who knows what the next five more years will have instore?
