With one more volume of Inverloch to go, faithful readers are finally getting a reveal about exactly why Kayn’dar is wanted by the elves. There were always hints — Lei’ella’s similar coloring, but lack of magic, things that were said in passing by those who knew just enough to send the travelers in the right direction…

But, in a run down, here it is: Elves are immortal, and those with silver hair and yellow eyes die like mortals and possess no magic. Kayn’dar had the coloring, but kept the magic, and so he was supposed to save them all.

The question is, who is using him and why? Can a Da’kor with friends keep a hopeless promise? I can’t wait to see the rest of this chapter and the final volume take shape.

Lady Yates of Earthsong ocassionally makes the comparsion between her original artwork and her Redux of Earthsong for the readers, particularly when there are differences in character design.

Today, however, the story board of the Redux was highly superior to the original. Where as the original used one page to introduce the character, complete with declaration of identity, the Redux page gave the reader — and Willow — first a hand, and then a full page splash for our first view of Earthsong, the title protagonist.

Hey kids, got sporadic WiFi, so fast updates and no graphics until later; heck, probably won’t be able to keep up on regular webcomics trawls. Things that stuck out at Preview Night of San Diego Comic Con:

• Live photo updates (well, every five minutes or so) from the Dumbrella (our corporate master) booth may be found here.
• Liz Greenfield is super nice, and you need to see her three comics to appreciate how cool the CD-style packaging is. How nice? Write one review comparing her to John Cusack, and she will envelop you in affection.
• Check one more item off my list of things to do before I die: tell Scott McCloud in person that I’m the guy that liked The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln. As he put it, “Oh, you’re the one.” Hopefully, there will be a chance to pick McCloud’s brain on webcomics business models over sophisticated adult beverages, as I have long since owed that guy a beer.
• Cool Thing of the Day: Jon Rosenberg and Andy Bell both had toys for sale, the culmination of a two-year ordeal involving capricious manufacteries, literal slow boats from China, and virgin vinyl stock (so named, I suspect, because it’s hand-made by craftsmen who roll it out on the thighs of Bolivian virgins). Congratulations to Rosenberg and Bell! And to the person who stole the Diablo sample off the table: this is why we’re not allowed to have nice things.
• Possibly Cooler Thing of the Day: R Stevens will have three dozen Red Robot toys in the booth Friday; no two-year ordeal here, just a bit of luck meeting the right guy at MoCCA. Okay, they’re wood and feature zero points of articulation, but as Stevens puts it, “Three goddamn weeks, I have toys.” Score one for a craftsman who doesn’t need Bolivian virgins, just supreme skill with a bandsaw and an appreciation of pixels.
• Lastly, keep your eyes on this site in the near future for news of a Very Special project devoted to a Very Special topic: HAM. Although be warned: say the word “ham” to Dave Kellett, and he hears “pig fisting”.

Thursday Sessions of Note: Webcomics 101: Getting Started at 6:00 to 7:00 pm. Webcomics-interest panels also at 6:00 – 7:00 pm — Fred Gallagher will be part of CMX: Mega Manga and Kazu Kibiushi will be part of Random House Publishing Group Graphic Novels.

Over at Cartridge Comics, the infamous Emo-Spider has returned. The original Emo-Spider saw some recognition at Cartridge, but now is having a glorious return since the Spiderman 3 Trailer came out. For those who haven’t seen the trailer, Peter Parker is sporting some angsty emo hair. So Cartridge is planning to bank off this uncanny likeness of the two characters by selling Emo-Spider tees. I think I might get one to sooth the tormented, web-slinging side of me.

Technical difficulties are preventing the awards presentation at the moment; hopefully they will be up at the main site before long. In the meantime, the list of winners may be found here.

And from the conspiracy desk, please note that Achewood was a) shut out of the Winners Circle; and b) unavailable for a good chunk of time yesterday. COINCIDENCE? Or proof of something SINISTER?

Okay, that’s all I got — time to hit the plane and haul out to San Diego; updates from the Nerd Prom as I’m able.

Hey everybody! Jeph has hit the big 666 over at Questionable Content, and has drawn a pretty evil-tastic comic in honor of the big day. All I have to say is that Dora looks sextacular in that corset and makeup. Don’t you agree?

I just thought I’d mention today’s Diesel Sweeties as well because it made me laugh out loud. The line “My life may suck, but it sucks exactly the way I like it!”  cracked me up. If you are any type of nerd like myself you understand where our friend Electron Mike is coming from. I do love me some nerd humor.

So it appears that Jeff Rowland is on-board (ha, ha) with the Snakes on a Plane panel at SDCC, along with with Samuel L. Jackson(!), David Ellis (director), and Jules Sylvester (the snake wrangler).

Rowland reports a 10:30am Friday panel time (same as the Blank Label panel — tough break, guys), but as of this writing the SDCC schedule lists what appears to be that session on Friday at 5:45pm. As always, check frequently for time revisions.

While reading today’s comics, I skimmed the commentary of several, and came across this article written by Chicago City Arts about four Chicago based webcomic creators. They are Gordon McAlpin (Multiplex, Stripped Books), Lance Stahlberg (PowerfulPress), Neil Brideau (Sock Monster) and Gretchen Hasse (Freaks’ Progress).

Each creator has an individual interview discussing the nature of the medium as well as the community involved. It’s an interesting read, especially when they’re discussing the traditional and digital processes involved.

Something I find personally interesting is that they list Keenspot as a site to “discover the creative variety present in the world of Webcomics,” as well as The Webcomics List, but didn’t go far enough to look into independent webcomic collectives.

Since the SDCC is going on, the web comic world has been a bit quieter than usual. Though Rob and Elliot did learn that you can never go to a Con without a costume, it is forbidden.  I’ve always wanted to go to a con with a kick-ass costume. My dream would to go to the SDCC or one of the major Star Wars cons and be Leia in the gold bikini or Mara Jade. But enough of my personal nerd fantasies. If you were to go in costume to a con, who whould you be?

I was all set to write about the continuation of videogame themes and the purest form of intimacy on display at Diesel Sweeties, but then I came across Modern Tales and The Big Announcement from Colonel Joey Manley. Key excerpts:

Putting aside the question of business models, the most unique aspect of Modern Tales is that it operates as an edited filtered, high-quality collection of work … Yes, it’s a great thing that anybody can publish anything at any time. Yes, many great webcomics that would never have made it past an editor are big hits, earning money and acclaim for their creators. If there were only edited portals, that would be a bad, bad thing indeed — webcomics would be no more interesting, or exciting, than traditional media. I am completely in agreement with that line of thinking. But, given that webcomics is dominated by non-edited, self-published media, as great as that is for the vitality of the medium, there’s room for at least one site, maybe a small handful, that are run along more traditional magazine-style lines. An edited portal provides a point of reference for new webcomics readers, who aren’t already familiar with the scene, as well as for big-time webcomics fans who are always looking for more great stuff to add to their extensive bookmarks. It allows all readers to dive into webcomics that they’re likely to enjoy, without having to read through 4,000 duds first.

and

As you may have heard, we’ve decided to open up the vast majority of the site to non-paying readers, and to recruit even more webcomics to join us on a free basis, while maintaining our tightly-focused editorial mission. You’ll see those new free strips roll out in the coming weeks and months. The new editor for the free section of our site, who will be posting here soon, will have more to say on that subject.

The new editor referenced, as you may recall, is a one Mr Eric Alfred Burns I, Esq., BA (Snark), whose work one may find here-ish. What with the propitiousness of the week and all, we at Fleen expect to hear from Burns at MT shortly; it’s been a long road since Manley and Burns announced the forthcoming changes at MT, and I think we all hope that the time was well spent. Congrats to Manley and Burns, and here’s to the new Modern Tales.