It might be the larger-than-usual amount in my PayPal account, but it seems that there are a lot of webcomic books coming out these days. Every day, my Inbox is filled with more reminders of yet another printed edition coming out, and unfortunately, most of them are already my Favorites.
I have neglected K.C. Green’s Horribleville for too long. For whatever reason, it resides at the bottom of my Favorites sidebar and so I regularly forget to check it. Could be because it doesn’t update as regularly as others, but whatever.
My point is that, when I do check it, it is chock full of WIN. InterWin. As an example, check out the current strip, of which I’ve posted the most… intriguing panel of below: (NSFW, if you’re offended by back-nudity)
You know, if this was like a traditional publishing venture and our Editor-In-Chief was actually paid more 
than us lowly bloggers, I would have to stage a coup. After all, when talking about webcomics, you’d like your leader to know more than you about the subject.
So Brigid, fearless leader, this post is for you.
In the vein of clip art funnies like Wondermark and Dinosaur Comics, today we find PartiallyClips, by Robert T. Balder. Like the other clip art-based webcomics out there, Clips is done entirely with artwork that he himself had no hand in creating. Don’t believe me? Ask Balder:
I write PartiallyClips and I put it together graphically, but I do not draw it. I use royalty-free clip art, and you will quickly notice that the same piece of art is used without modification in each of the three frames. I sometimes get compliments on my art, and I never know how to respond. One guy even invited me to illustrate his book…on stupidity.
Months ago, Steve (The Geek) and I came across Rice Boy, and we instantly entranced by its subtle beauty 
and epic adventureness. The full-color tale about a chosen boy who might someday bring balance to the universe is certainly not fresh by any stretch of the imagination, yet Evan Dahm, the strip’s creator, was somehow able to make it just that.
Now, with Rice Boy having wrapped up, Dahm brings us Order of Tales, a new tale set in the same world of Overside and though the use of black and white instead of color is jarring after having enjoyed the pop-off-the-page work in Rice Boy, I’ll be along for the ride to hear yet another story set in this fantastic place.
You should do the same, and also check out the Rice Boy collected edition, which has 468 pages of Oversidey goodness, including the entire Rice Boy story, a map of the world, and other little tidbits to answer all of your Overworld questions.
Maybe I missed my calling as a travel agent?
Let this be a lesson to you fanciful artist types out there. Just because you strike a two-hit combo of Ctrl and S, don’t think that somehow, magically, your file has been saved for all eternity. It’s always, always, ALWAYS a great idea to keep at least one backup of your file(s) in case of freak emergencies. As our unfortunate volunteer example, Tom Brazleton of Theater Hopper, will attest to.
He, too, has experienced that moment when you boot up the ol’ hard drive only to hear or see something not at all common. Smoke, clicking sounds, small imp-like creatures, these are just some of the oddities that seem to affect random hard drives around the globe. The problem is, you never know when one might strike next. It’s an unproven science: I could pour water in my hard drive, let it dry out for a few days, put it back in the PC and see no change in performance.
Yes, the official definition of webcomics is obviously vague enough that comic books online can be seen as digital comics. And yes, I’m probably one of the only people to even care about such frivolities.
But Brigid, Steve, and I did a podcast on this very subject and so my mind has already been made up. And the verdict? Any comic deserves to win that wasn’t created by Joss Whedon and hosted on MySpace.com. So… let the winner stand up! Not so fast, Billy Dogma…
No, it looks like no one listened to our Eisners 2008 podcast from a few week’s back where we all agreed, unequivocably, that we would be fine with The Abominable Charles Christopher, PandaeXpress!, Billy Dogma, or The Process winning Best Digital Comic, so long as the comic book-in-disguise, Sugarshock, didn’t even dream of approaching the podium.
Now, get ready for some feedback, because this just plain sucks.
I’ll be the first to defend anything Joss Whedon works on, and the comic itself is certainly a quality one. But the manner in which it’s been translated to the web (re: poorly) and the company it has chosen to keep (MySpace carries diseases, you know) make it about five evolutionary steps backwards for webcomics.
And A.D. wasn’t even nominated!
Steve? Brigid? Care to elaborate?
You need proof? I, The Midnight Cartooner, known to the non-webcomics world as Jason Sigler, am a Kansan. And I have never been prouder of my Great Plains heritage than I was when I discovered this.
The above link will take you to the website of one Sean Tevis, an information architect in Kansas who is now running for State Representative. To appeal to the Web-masses, Tevis has chosen to convey his message the
only way everyone on the Internet could understand it; in the form of an XKCD homage.
The tribute was obviously made in MS Paint and not with hand-drawn stickies, as XKCD is, but the style of nerdly dry humor is certainly present and the overall effect is one of hipness flavored with just the right amount of street cred.
For too long, the children of the land of Oz have lain dormant in this nation. it is time to show that we are better than you ever gave us credit for. And we shall start with a State Representative.
His name is Sean Tevis. And he is our leader to greater fortunes.
Ladies, you know as well as I, comics has historically been a male-dominated profession, yes? And you’re changing that with webcomics, completely destroying that barrier that says, “This is sharp writing, but you’re a lady, and ladies can’t write comic books”?
Yeah, we’re not cool with that.
Kidding, all a joke, of course. There are countless creators out there of the XX persuasion, and many of them are the more successful creators of our day: Danielle Corsetto (work pictured, right), Charlie Trotman, Jennie Breeden, Lea Hernandez, Corey Marie Parkhill, Meredith Gran, and many, many others are kicking butt, taking names, and chewing gum. That’s right, they even have bubble gum.
Sean Kleefeld of Kleefeld on Comics made a quick post about this very subject, specifically how the “go anywhere, do anything” style of the Web has opened the doors to creators from all walks of life who might not have gotten the chance to break out and really show their stuff with a syndicate or major publisher. It’s an interesting take on why the freedom the Internet offers might be the best thing to ever happen to the artform, as well as yet another place to pick up some more links for strips you might not know about yet.
And the hits just keep on comin’!
Wowio is now part of Platinum Studios and wouldn’t you know it? Former Platinum advocate and all-round chatty fella, DJ Coffman, has decided to pick apart the new agreement for Wowio distributors for everyone to enjoy.
Until you’re up and making webcomics yourself (which, judging by the crop we currently have to choose 
from, would be about 98% of our viewing audience) this probably won’t shake up your day too much, but it is interesting nonetheless. Coffman takes a look at such important aspects as royalties:
In light of Platinum Studios telling me that Hero By Night only generated 800 bucks in ad revenue for a webcomic that has been online since October 2006 and consistantly had the HIGHEST pageviews on all of Drunk Duck… I don’t have faith that they can either A. figure out real well paying advertisers, or B. tell the truth about how much they actually made off of web advertising revenue.
As well as the unnecessary “you can charge people for it if you want to” clause in the contract. It’s perfectly acceptable to ask for compensation for your work, heck, it’s even encouraged once you reach a certain level of performance, but to allow PlatiNowio to take 50% of the profits is ridiculous when there are plenty of other, do-it-yourself methods out there that allow the creator to retain 100% of everything. To help you out, there are even books that have been published to assist you in this venture.
Given the recent history between Coffman and Platinum, his take on this new joint project is a welcome one indeed. I know I would be wary about entering into any contract with Platinum about anything, but the again, I’d leap at the chance to sign a contract for anything right now.
Over on Blog@Newsarama, Paul Levitz, the President of DC Comics, has presented the community with the company’s current thoughts on the digital medium and where they might take it. Judging by the reader feedback thus far, it seems they still have a long way to go before they “get it”.
This most recent attempt is an animated(ish) version of the popular series-turned-graphic novel-soon-to-be-turned-into a movie, Watchmen. Though I am certainly an avid fan of both Marvel and DC and have been for years now, I can cop to having never read this beloved classic. Just for kicks, I also love movies and have yet to see Gone With The Wind or any of The Godfather trilogy.
So until I see the Watchmen Motion Comic (I guess they want to make it obvious what it is…?) for myself, I can only rely on the words of those who, at least purportedly, have seen it and can make judgments on the quality and promise of such a service. You can read my favorite comments after the break…