Fleen: The Awkward Christmas Dinner Of Our Obligation To Existence

Several things I noticed (some today, some holdovers looking for the right theme), all of which refreshed my hope in webcomics, humanity, and the universe in general (although understand it’s a sliding scale — we’re not talking Mentos levels of refreshment here).

First, allow me to draw your attention to the the Young Adult panel at MoCCA in a little less than a month’s time; I didn’t notice it when it first posted, but happened to today when Raina Telgemeier tweeted about it (odd, as it’s even harder to pick out in the tweet). It’s on Sunday, at 4:30:

Young Adult graphic novels are swiftly gaining popularity among librarians, teachers, and most importantly, young readers! Join Hope Larson (Chiggers, Mercury), Jillian Tamaki (Skim), Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Baby-sitters Club), and Tracy White (How I Made it to Eighteen) for a discussion about their work, their influences, and their audience. Moderated by The Beat’s Heidi MacDonald.

Everybody on that panel is allowed into this year’s Drink & Draw Like A Lady (Eastern division), and it’s not on the topic of What’s It Like To Be A Comics Creator With A Vagina? I think we just hit the comics panel equivalent of the Bechdel Test.
Also on the refreshing scale: sharing data to the benefit of all. The most instructive panelist I’ve ever seen talk about the business of webcomics remains Jennie Breeden at SDCC ’06 because she talked about the hard lessons (not quitting the day job, struggling to not lose by going to a convention, how all paths to success involve a million baby steps). She remains that which all aspiring pro cartoons should figure they are going to emulate, one way or another.
Now steps in another willing to share the tales of what it takes to make comics, and it’s Tyler Page of Nothing Better, and in a pair (so far) of Livejournal posts, he’s pulled open the metaphorical kimono to share all the gory details on self-publishing. Want to know how much you get for US$46,918.60? Read the posts, and consider them carefully.
You know what’s fascinating in an awful, stomach-churning kind of way? Reading a comment thread on a topic that you care about. So it’s refreshing that a lot (but never all — thanks, Ted!) of the reflexive rancor towards webcomickers and webcomicking has muted over the years, to the point that Ryan Sohmer (an admitted webcomics author) has been accepted as an associate member of the National Cartoonists Society.
No doubt his success with Least I Could Do and Looking for Group had a lot to do with it, but one cannot deny the love Sohmer has for cartooning in general or the lengths to which he will go to support it (although some will try damndest — thanks, Ted!). Fleen offers congrats to Sohmer, and holds out hope that this rapproachment and blending of cartoonists (regardless of distribution medium) may continue.

Refreshing

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