Now That RatFist Is Over, Go Tell People About RatFist

RatFist coming to bookstores in DecemberAnd that is creator Doug TenNapel’s desire, not my own (though it is certainly a sound one). In the upcoming Episode 253, Steve and I put Ratfist up against Battlepug to see who wins the Internetiest Webcomic Title Of All Time and came away with a realization that we loved both comics equally, though for very different reasons. I also got to tell Steve in that discussion that Ratfist was ending this week, which he conceded to be a good thing as so many comics seem to wear out their welcome.

With 150 updates in the bag, Ratfist has called it quits, but not only can the comic be found in its entirety at the handy dandy, easy-to-remember URL, but a collection featuring bonus content and landing at 176 pages drops later this year from Image Comics (front cover, pictured left). Doug encourages people to tell everyone they know about the comic and for existing readers to pick up the book to show the big publishers that putting out books based on webcomics is a great idea. Can’t really say I disagree with any of these sentiments.

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Help Fund The Bean Vol. 1: Riddles and Shrooms

Another day, another Kickstarter. This time around, it’s Travis Hanson, who’s asking for help getting his first collection of The Bean off the ground. He’s also posting updates to the project as they come along, so there’s more reason to visit the KS page and pledge your money to help him out. To his credit, it looks like the funding process is already going along swimmingly.

The Bean Vol. 1: Riddles and Shrooms

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Tweet Thread of the Day ~FOR~ Monday, June 14, 2010

On a day marred with Twitter issues (start scoping out the official Status blog for insider updates when this chicanery goes down again) and the kick-off to the E3 gaming convention (I will buy Kinect day one and I’m working on Red Ringing my current 360 so I can pick up the snazzy new model), a lone self shout-out from Meredith Gran caught my attention:

granulac The new Octopus Pie book comes out 6/22, and I’m kicking off my signing tour at Comics Dungeon in Seattle! Info: http://tinyurl.com/2f2fus8 15 minutes ago via web

Check out the tour schedule and stop by your local bookstore when Gran comes to town to say hey and pick up a collection!

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Tweet Thread of the Day ~FOR~ Friday, June 11, 2010

Let’s finish off the week in TTotD with a plug for a true friend of Digital Strips, Lucas Turnbloom. Not only is the 2nd collection of Imagine This, “Dewey Defeats Truman”, ready, but a second, all-ages book that appears to feature many of the bears from IT, will also be releasing soon, both by the end of July.

RobertThePlant FINALLY, Details on my 2 new books: http://imaginethiscomic.com/?p=1928 3 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

Check the article out and you’ll also find the announcement that he is working on a new webcomic for one of the stars of the former NBC show, Heroes. I doubt any of the stars had much to do with the fact that the show bombed creatively after the first season, so hopefully this is only the start of another great work from Lucas.

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Silly Daddy Blasts Into Space with Star Chosen Sci-Fi Novel

Star Chosen: A Science Fiction Space Opera for the Whole Family.

It’s a 67,000 word science fiction novel called “Star Chosen.” The book took over five years to write and is a cross between Battlestar Galactica, Narnia, and of course, Silly Daddy. Star Chosen, the 126 page, softcover book retails for $10 US and is available now through Amazon. The book’s back cover description follows:

“Deleting history was just the beginning. Blast off with STAR CHOSEN, a space opera! After war, heartbreak, and the erasure of all history and culture, whose side will you fight on: the Proud… or the Chosen? In a time yet to come, the high-tech Faith War threatens to destroy all religions across the universe. One small yet bold group, known as ‘the Chosen,’ survives, but will they rebuild, or be torn to space dust across a cold universe?”

While the printed book is available through Amazon, the novel is also selling on Chiappetta’s website as an e-Book in all the major e-Reader formats: ePub, Mobi, PDF and even as a TXT file. Star Chosen, the e-Book, sells for $5, and is DRM-free. The book can be loaded onto multiple devices, and can be read on the Kindle, Sony E-Reader, iPhone, iPad, any computer, and any smartphone

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Noir Et Blanc

With the turn of the decade this year marks the 5+ years that I have been reading webcomics. In that time my list of favorites has grown and shrunk with the amount of free time my life gives me. Although my recent eureka that if I stopped playing facebook games would give me more time I think the list will grow past 7 to 20. We can only hope. Anyways one of those lucky few I’ve kept up with is LICD, if only because Rayne is is secretly based off of my life. So I am forced to find out how the guys render my telepathic communications.

That’s why it is so exciting to hear about the release of the first 127 pages in print form. The book takes these strips done by Trevor completely redrawn by Lar. Starting Friday, March 19th at 12:00 AM EST the long awaited prequel remastered for a new age will be released as LICD: Noir et Blanc. The book itself will be shipping out in early April.

The book will be the same size as the normal LICD collections and be full of commentary. The real differences will be in the lack of color in the interior, a length of only 88 pages and, of course, half the cost. As is par for the course Lar and Ryan will be signing the first 1,000 books sold. So do not delay in ordering come Friday. And naturally, a pre-sale announcement wouldn’t be the same without a look at the cover.

Noir et Blanc: available for sale this Friday, March 19th at 12:00 AM EST.

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Least I Could Do Revisits The Past ~PRESENTED IN~ Re-Digitized, Remastered, Lar-i-vision

Last week, Ryan Sohmer announced that he and Lar DeSouza would be working together on a redux of the first 127 Least I Could Do strips, originally illustrated by Trevor Adams. As Sohmer himself puts it:

While I’m not proud of the writing done in those strips, they nonetheless contain many historic moments that still resonate with our characters today.

With that in mind, he playfully told Lar he should redraw all 127 strips so the continuity of the current look is kept intact. Lar, being the drawing machine that he is, took him up on the challenge and the resulting LICD: Black and White book is what will result from this dare.

I can’t think of a single artist who wouldn’t jump at the chance to redo any older work, especially elements that effect current storylines that were never under their control. The link above will take you to the LICD post where we are given a taste of what this remastering might offer. The more polished, cleaner work of DeSouza is tasty to say the least and I can’t wait to see how these older strips are given a new life with this book.

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Horribleville Vol. 1 ~NOW~ Up For Pre-Order

If you like webcomics and especially enjoy humorous, grotesque, random comics that tell just about any story you could think of in a childish, sophomoric manner, then you must have heard of KC Green. The man excels at keeping things simple and yet ridiculously funny and has done so with various titles, like his current hit, Gun Show, and Horribleville, the precursor to the Gun Show that delved into the twisted pseudo-real life of KC Green.

I’ve yet to experience any of KC’s masterpieces in print but that won’t hold true for much longer as Horribleville Vol. 1 is now available for preorder! The write-up for the book says it all better than I ever could, so check it out and drop the bones to make sure you get your copy when they start shipping in February!

Started on Christmas of 2005, Horribleville was, indeed, a gift unto the world. A young KC Green (then 18) began writing about moments from his life, the worries and self-doubts we have about our abilities and having long conversations for your internal editor (as well as the physical manifestation of your writer’s block and your childhood pet cat).

DOES he ever find true peace with his inner struggle about his work?
WILL he ever be truly confident in his abilities?
DOES he ever stop feeling bad?

The answer to these and many more questions is “no”, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun trying to figure things out.

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Tom Dell’Aringa’s Marooned: Book 1 ~NOW~ Up For Pre-Order

Marooned first appeared on my radar in the latest Webcomic Idol contest last year and instantly perked up my artistic sensibilities. The art harkened back to an era where detail was minimized and fun was the order of the day, and I was all for that. However, after reading only a few strips, Marooned departed my attention as quickly as it arrived and I’ve since lost touch with the strip.

maroonedBook1Header

But lo! What’s this? The first Marooned book is available for pre-order? I believe that would make it the perfect time to get reacquainted with this comic, then! The art has progressed from simplistic to being more deceptively so, offering just enough details and precision to offer an experience that contains more depth than the first strips did.

But what does this book contain? Why don’t I let Tom do the rest of the talkin:

After a year and a half of producing Marooned online, I’m proud to announce the release of my first book. Out of Orbit is suitable for all ages and is full of fun comics and spectacular artwork. It makes a great gift for anyone!

110 FULL COLOR 9” x 9” Pages, 100 Comics, 2 Short Stories, Artist Gallery and More!

Follow the exploits of Captain John and his not-so-faithful companion Asimov the robot as they discover the deep secrets of Mars! With Ugo the friendly alien, John and Asimov settle down to what appears to be a long stay on Mars. But before they can finish their first Martian nusnor, they are waylaid by Bob the crazy robot and his Time Cube!

(Find out all about the book right here, including a FREE 10-page downloadable sample!)

Laugh along while John meets Ril, the young female Martian orphan and bumbles his way through obstacles and adventures. Become strangely concerned as John gets sick and seeks treatment from the mysterious Dark Ones!

Don’t miss these exciting adventures! Preorder your book today! Quantities will be limited!

Limited quantities? Best get mine while I still can!

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Review ~OF~ Evil Inc. Vols 1 and 2

Evil Inc. is one of those strips that I always wanted to get into. A ridiculously long Google Reader’s worth of webcomics always drove me away from it’s daunting archives and rich, deep cast of characters. When March’s Webcomics Weekend provided me with not only the chance to jump on board the good ship Evil but also to meet The Nicest Guy In Webcomics in person, I dove head first at both opportunities. That, plus Steve, a long-time Guigar supporter, noted that if I didn’t meet the man himself, I would be missing out on meeting a true webcomic luminary. Good call, Steve.

It broke my heart a little to get home and find that Evil Inc. Annual Report: Volume 1 had suffered some damage to its cover, but luckily the stories and artist’s sketch on the inside cover had survived intact. Having finally observed for myself the warmth and silliness that is Brad Guigar, I was ready to begin my journey into the world of Evil Inc. And, just as I assumed, this creation of pithy puns and average superheroes in a modern workplace turned out to be right up my alley.

evilIncLogo Continue reading

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