While Steve is out, Jason takes the opportunity to catch up with friend of the show and amazing creator of all things … well, all things, David Gallaher. Hear David talk about his work on The Only Living Boy, the follow-up, The Only Living Girl, his contribution to the upcoming Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, and why many people are wrong about who the best Green Lantern of all time is.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
David Gallaher is adding a new achievement to his list with his work on Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Steve is hyped about the Midnight Radio Kickstarter supporting a new hardcover collection of comics, and Jason catches us up on his criticism of Pepper and Carrot, which has taken a turn NO one saw coming!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Sometimes, you just wanna curl up with a good story about a boy who is also a chosen one. And that’s what (we think) we have here, with a look at the first two-ish chapters of Brian Shearer’s William the Last. Read up, we’ll probably return to this one sooner than later.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Jason muses on the possibilities of a Mrs. Doubtfire sequel and massive poop travel emergencies, and Steve admits his shame publicly while giving Jason a new nickname. They also join forces to pick apart Fowl Language and The Only Living Boy. We’ve only been at this for seven years but already we’re getting hot flashes.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Big news out of Comic-Con, shared via none other than our good friend and webcomicker extraordinaire, David Gallaher (you have to actually Google most of his work as it’s largely behind a Flash-based, link-hating site, but search it out you should).
It appears that Yen Press and several Japanese publishers are gearing up to bring manga to the U.S. in a big way, as big as, say, Comixology’s push to distribute digital comics for the big comic book publishers based in the U.S.
Yen Press brings with them a localized version of their iPhone app which features a great deal of manga, while the publishers have come together to form JManga.com, a destination for the hottest and most popular manga, coming straight from Japan. The Yen Press app is already available in the App Store and JManga.com should be launching in near future, but given the ridiculous popularity these works already enjoy here, it’s not hard to imagine something like this being a huge hit with the target audience.
Admittedly, I do not find myself in that group, but with mainstream American comics gaining increased traction in the digital arena (despite being largely derivative and exhaustingly recycled), a move like this is sure to do at least a few favors for a type of comic that has already permeated several forms of American entertainment.
SDCC 2011: Yen Announces 3 Licenses, Publishers Unveil JManga.com, Brigid Alverson (MTV Geek Blog)
Co-Host Month rolls on in Steve’s absence with a creator I’ve actually met, face-to-face, mano a mano. Rosscott is responsible for those hilarious play-on-word strips you’ve seen over at The System, featuring characters that hail from such renowned places as The Door to the Bathroom and Just Outside the Bathroom.
As I found out in our first interview segment, he also helped create the growing comics phenomenon known as Super Art Fight (13:50). Part pro wrestling (sports entertainment?), part artist’s studio, this battle sounds intense, hilarious, and most of all, ridiculously fun. Head over to SAF’s YouTube page for just a small taste of the raucous, inventive experience that awaits you.
With SAF at his disposal, Rosscott has encountered many names in the world of comics, making the list of name drops in that first segment quite long, but entirely worth mentioning:
Things take a turn for the dirty, but in name only, as we break with The Missionary Position’s “The Big Sleep” (21:00). In the second review segment, we take a look at a comic that Rosscott himself brought to our attention:
This comic plays exaggeration into the genre of journal comics pretty well and creates an atmosphere that is instantly familiar to all Northeastern dwellers and graphic designers alike. To the rest of us, it’s just a humorous, fun romp through what may or may not be a true person’s story. Either way, I enjoyed getting to know Kane (pronounced kah-nay, so you know he’s not a girl, apparently) and the gang and I think you will, too. Another comic mentioned in our critique:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The winds of change have been blowing in Zuda’s direction ever since the competition site decided to drop the competing clause and just become a home for digital creators. Then, DC Comics announced a digital initiative that would see their comics appear on the PSP, PSN, iPhone, iTouch, and iPad. This change seems to have whipped up a hurricane that has decimated the ZudaComics.com domain itself, which will now be shuttered.
It’s still unclear as to which comics will survive this swath of destruction, though you can bet the award winners will make the move. One comic that won’t be migrating to greener (alternate?) pastures is Brock Heasley’s Monsterplex, the winner of the February competition. The following thread explains loosely why, including the heart-breaking reaction to the news straight from someone directly affected by the culling:
brockheasley Well, I just got the worst news of the year. about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck
Seriously, this is disappointment on the level you would not believe. about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck
DavidGallaher And the started so nicely too about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone
RobertThePlant @brockheasley you OK? about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone in reply to brockheasley
DavidGallaher Oh … Thursday. You started so nicely. about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone
brockheasley @RobertThePlant I’ll be fine. And everyone will know what’s up soon enough. Just waiting for someone else to break the story. about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck
brockheasley @DavidGallaher Not you too though, right? about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck in reply to DavidGallaher
DavidGallaher @brockheasley: no, but e-mail me at David @ davidgallaher dot com about 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone
ValerieDOrazio Oh good gravy. That’s all I’m going to say. Sheesh. about 1 hour ago via Echofon
brockheasley Hey, remember #MONSTERPLEX ? Good comic, right? http://bit.ly/cwpHxX #zuda about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck
JohnnyZito Take a good. long. look. http://BlackCherryBombshells.com & http://LaMorteSisters.com about 1 hour ago via web Retweeted by tonytrov
mdevito Very proud of my #MONSTERPLEX co-creators @brockheasley and Dave for what they accomplished. http://bit.ly/cwpHxX #zuda 39 minutes ago via Echofon Retweeted by brockheasley
nortoons I’m very sorry to hear about DC canning so many great Zuda artists and writers. Especially my city-mate, @brockheasley. Rough break 🙁 37 minutes ago via web
zudacomics Zuda: The Collective – The Future of Zuda: http://zuda.blog.dccomics.com/2010/07/01/the-future-of-zuda/ 27 minutes ago via API
