Anything Warren Ellis does is news, pretty much by definition, so it’s big news that his webcomic FreakAngels will launch tomorrow. Warren writes it, Paul Duffield draws it, and it updates once a week with a five-page installment. I’m not sure what I think about that format, actually, but I guess we’ll see.

Katsucon is this weekend, and they’re climbing on the webcomics bandwagon big time this year. Phil and Kaja Foglio, Chris Hastings, and the Applegeeks creators will be there, there’s an Epic Webcomic Win contest, and unlike San Diego, you can still get a hotel room. Plus, it’s named for a breaded pork cutlet. What’s not to like?

Artists wanted: Manga publisher Go!Comi is looking for an artist to create both a webcomic and a print manga aimed at teenagers. They are already publishing Wendy Pini’s Masque of the Red Death, which has a really unusual presentation, and their other non-Japanese property is Japan Ai: A Tall Girl’s Adventures in Japan. The rest of their line is translated manga from Japan, most of it of high quality and well produced. According to the post, they are looking for an experienced artist for a property that is already in development.

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If you have been working on a comic and aren’t quite sure what to do with it, or if you have an idea sitting on the shelf gathering dust, check this out: Comics Village, a new commentary and review site, is teaming up with Markosia Enterprises to host a webcomics competition. Unlike Zuda, where you are one of many, the winner gets their webcomic posted for a year on the Markosia site, then rendered in glorious print and distributed throughout the UK.

While you’re at it, check out Comics Village itself, which has a fresh selection of comics news, commentary, and reviews up every day.

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Discovery of the day: High Maintenance Machine, by Matthew Reidsma. I stopped into Hub Comics, the new comics shop in Somerville, MA, on Friday, and they had his adorable mini-comic on the rack. I snapped up the last one and went to the website for more. It’s a deceptively simple diary comic about married life. Well worth a look.

Thinking about the Eisners? Given the number of really strong webcomics out there, I thought last year’s selection was pretty weak. So by entering your work not only do you have a shot at winning, you may actually improve the gene pool. Here’s the procedure:

Entries are also being accepted for the category of best webcomic. This category is open to any new, professionally produced long-form original comics work posted online in 2007. Webcomics must have a unique domain name or be part of a larger comics community to be considered. The work must be online-exclusive for a significant period prior to being collected in print form. The URL and any necessary access information should be emailed to jackiee@mindspring.com.

Over at Fleen, Gary Tyrrell is trying to subvert the process for his own selfish ends. Just ignore him!

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Odd comic of the day: Exploding Head Man, which is worth a look for the interface as well as for the comic itself. (Found via The Comics Reporter.)

With Fishtown getting ready to go into print soon, The Daily Crosshatch talks to Kevin Colden about where the story came from and why he turned down a Xeric grant in order to keep the comic online. (Found via The Beat.)

A Maine newspaper talks to new neighbors Joey Manley and Josh Roberts about their plans for a new, comprehensive webcomics space. Related: ComicSpace is looking for a senior web designer.

The march of print comics to web distribution continues; the latest defection is Brian Wood, who put his Public Domain: A Channel Zero Designbook up for free download. He has quite an assortment of other comics and samples up at the site as well.

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A few webcomics links to start off your week:

The Eyeskream collective is looking for new members. Submission information is here. Also, you have until January 31 to cast your ballot in the Skreamie Awards.

The first regularly scheduled webcomic by a Zuda.com winner is up on the site. Check out High Moon, by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis, and get an inside look at how the sausages are made at the creators’ blog.

Purity Brown just doesn’t get Achewood.

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One of the best uses of the web, IMHO, is to post older comics that otherwise would never see the light of day. Today, the always informative Journalista links to this post on Big Boy, the iconic cartoon restaurateur. The post includes photos of a Bob’s Big Boy (it was Azar’s where I grew up), menus, some truly horrible black-and-white photos of salads, and an entire Big Boy comic. Because that was the best thing about Big Boy—the food was pretty good, but you got a comic with it. Of course, the comic was free, only about 16 pages long, and cheaply produced, so most people threw them out; I don’t have any of my copies, which is why I was so tickled to see one on the web. 

The allure of most of these comics is not so much nostalgia as the surreal gloss that the years have given them. That’s certainly the case with two classic Christian comics, Hello I’m Johnny Cash and The Gospel Blimp, Continue reading →

Awards time: WCCA nominations close today. If you’re a webcomics creator and somehow missed the memo, get on over there. We’ll wait. Meanwhile, Xavier Xerxes interviews WCCA chair Frank “Damonk” Cormier at Comix Talk. 

In other awards news, Broken Frontier gives their Best Webcomic Creator award to Ursula Vernon for Digger.

Alexander Danner takes a look at webcomics readers (interfaces, not people) at Webcomics.com.

Will webcomics kill newspaper strips? The McGill Tribune uses that as a teaser for a nice survey of the world of webcomics.

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