Rather than make jabs about men raining down and unicorns galloping through the land, I’ll just let the headline speak for itself and get right to the gay-friendly, week-in-review goodness. Enjoy!

-Dean Trippe, the well-known creator of Butterfly, a webcomic about the life of a sidekick of a sidekick, has joined forces with assistant editor over at Dark Horse Comics, Rachel Edidin, to form Sequential Heart, an organization geared towards providing youth-friendly comics to programs and shelters serving homeless youth.

According to an article at PrismComics.com, over 20% of today’s homeless are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transexual (LGBT) community, a startling statistic that has driven several people to take action. Trippe has championed other causes in the comics community and this just adds to the growing list for the socially-conscious creator.

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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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You’d be amazed by the kind of news you stumble on with a handy Google Alert in place. Here are just some of those stories, mixed liberally with my own Interest Piquers, and seasoned to taste.

-Scott DeWitt has announced with his January 28 update that F@NB0Y$, his gaming-centric webcomic, will be taking February off, returning in March. Here’s hoping it brings with it a more typographically-favorable title.

-By way of USA Today, it appears the New York Times bestseller, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, started out as a webcomic. Available for perusal at Funbrain.com, it’s even more proof for the argument that webcomics can gain you recognition, provided you’re good at it. Check out Wimpy Kid creator, Jeff Kinney’s, work at wimpykid.com.

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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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