Fleen: The Awkward Christmas Dinner Of Our Obligation To Existence

Yeah, so the Washington Post is doing that “Best Webcomic” poll thingy again (cf: last year’s version). I remain deeply ambivalent because it’s asking for categorization based on physical format — webcomic, comic strip (presumably newspaper, although most webcomics are strips), “graphical narratives” (I think that means graphic novels, or maybe comic books?) and animated film. So because of choice of distribution medium, webcomics are all comparable?

Think about this for a moment: comparing (say) Bucko against Family Man (which are produced in the same room, from adjacent drawing tables) makes about as much sense as comparing (say) Roger Langridge’s The Muppet Show Comic Book against Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose¹ because they’re both printed in color with floppy covers and staples up the middle.

So webcomics are all webcomics? Fine. I’m nominating Oglaf, SS Myra, and Get Fucked²; at least they’re more comparable than other comics would be to each other. Let’s see if WaPo acknowleges ’em.

Speaking of Charles Christopher³, a double-size update dropped, along with this note:

See you next week, for the exciting conclusion of Chapter 2!
-karl

Given that a chapter means the possibility of a new book, I’m all excited. Oh, heck, I was already excited because Luga showed up again last week, bringing to an end my worry and fretting of more than a month. The wheels of Luga’s justice may grind slowly, but I think in the end both the Chief and Sissi Skunk will have cause to regret their misdeeds.
Following up from yesterday — the Bradster and the G-Man have revealed their collaboration at the ECCC site, in the form of a weekly gag strip about comic convention goings-on, out front on the floor, in the planning and backstage process, and the inevitable bar circuit. More from Guigar at his blog, but for me the most telling part was his explanation about a key piece of logic — this strip, if done well, will give people a reason to come back to the ECCC website all year round, and not just when they’re specifically gearing up to attend.
The next EmCity Con isn’t until the end of March, and possibly only the hardest core of attendees are paying much attention to the daily announcements this far out … until now? That’s a lot to ask of a new webcomic, even from two established creators with built-in audiences, but it’s going to be one hell of an interesting experiment, one that I think will be repeated elsewhere in the coming years.

_______________
¹ In the former case, the comic made me laugh; in the latter, the reviews.

² If I felt like doing more than just making a point, I’d have to go with Vattu, The Abmoninable Charles Christopher, and Octopus Pie, which are all character-driven, chapter-oriented, longform stories, and absolutely killing it, each update.

³ I was so, right there, in footnote #2; you think I write these for my amusement? Well, that’s where you’re right.

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