First Krishna Sadasivam, then Onezumi & Harknell — one more webcomicker in a motor vehicle accident, and it’ll officially be a meme with its own Livejournal page. Remember kids — always buckle up and assume that everybody else on the road is a suicidal idiot without the least idea how to operate a vehicle and thus best given a wide berth.

Happier thoughts: Johanna Draper Carlson has a copy of Erika Moen‘s new book, and has reviewed it up better than I ever could. Also, I am a lazy, lazy man who hasn’t gotten around to ordering a copy of DAR volume one yet despite my clear instructions that you do so. Lame excuse: I prefer buying things directly from artists when I can; it’s much more enjoyable that interacting with Mr PayPal … but really I just keep forgetting, and will likely forget again until I actually see Moen and stacks of the book in front of me. Unfortunately, she and I will likely not be in the same place at the same time before SPX. On the plus side, this means that I will probably have forgotten the much better reviews of DAR by then, and can write about it myself in good conscience.

One of the nicer side-effects of banging out this vaguely informative prose each day is that I get exposed to a lot of new webcomics. A lot a lot, and while many don’t grab me (or fold between me getting the email and slotting them into the posting schedule), some grow and thrive and hit milestones of success. There’s an almost indefineable quality to some of these webcomics, where you can almost see the satisfaction that their creators derive from doing them. So let me point you towards one of those today, which hit a milestone recently:

Ravilob, the little town that awesome built, turned a year old recently. In that time, it’s grown from a four panel black and white humor comic to a full page in color; it’s not the most polished art or most complex story you’re going to see, but both are developing nicely and creator Casey Williams is clearly pushing himself to improve his first attempt at an ongoing comic. And there ain’t a damn thing wrong with that.

I dropped into ye olde locale comicc shoppe yesterday and noticed a small item in the latest Comic Shop News; issue #1143 is their once-a-month listing of everything that’s due to hit the stores next month (that is, June). And in that set of listings (photo above), I noticed something. See it now?

• Also found yesterday: the first Applegeeks book from Dark Horse was on offer, then in my bag, and eventually my home. It’s got to be the heaviest trade paperback yet made from a webcomic — really dense color on weighty paper stock … hefting this makes you feel like you’re reading something substantial.

  Then of course there’s the time scale — these strips date to 2003/2004, prompting one to remember that Ananth Panagariya and Mohammad Haque have been at this a loooong time … and succeeding (sometimes inadvertantly) since the beginning.

• Also also to be found yesterday with a suitable webcomicky tie-in: Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #1. Here’s the deal — I really don’t read superhero comics. There will be exceptions, naturally; Warren Ellis‘s name on the spine will always pique my interest, and I’ll buy just about anything by Amanda Conner because she’s a sweetheat and I adore her sense of character design.

  And Chris Eliopoulos, who may have cornered the market on getting corporate-owned characters to lighten the hell up and be funny. Case in point, L&TPA, which serves to get all the goofball animal characters in the Marvel continuity and send ’em off on an adventure. Even better, Karl Kerschl did the cover! If the Big Two made more comics like this, they’d get a lot more money from me.

• I know that I shouldn’t have to ask, and forgive me for doing so, but I couldn’t live with myself if by some chance you had been missing out on this. Everbody is reading the collaborations from Laserpony Studios, right? Take one part Anthony and one part Emily, mix well, and let the magic happen.

Oh man does it feel good to be back in the swing of things. A whole bunch of stuff went by in the past ten days that I’m never going to catch up on, so I’m declaring an Informational Amnesty and giving myself a pass. If you sent in email about something that happened in that timeframe, I’m very sorry that the moment has passed. From here, we look to … THE FUTURE.

• In the immediate future, the biennial Toronto Comics Art Fest runs this weekend, with a slew of indy- and web-type comickers in attendance (and even more that’ll be there for the fun of walking around). Tell everybody I said hi.
• In the even more immediate future (like, now), there’s a new webcomics meme that’ll be especially resonant for those of you that grew up in the northeastern quarters of ‘Merica: it’s Fudgie the Whale week! For those of you going Wha?, Fudgie the Whale is one of the theme ice-cream cakes you can get from Carvel ice cream shops, one of the finest of all Zombie-American-run corporations, and a beloved cultural icon in its own right.
• Even more now-ish, something for all you webcomics consumers of merchandise to consider: US postal rates are going up next week, so if you get your buying in now, you can maybe save a couple bucks on shipping.
• Finally, in that part of the future that is so immediate that it slips back and actually becomes the past, it’s been a good week for webcomics books arrivals — Octopus Pie volume 3 (An Interstate Oasis), Phables volume only (Who Needs Trees When You Have Green Awnings?), and Kate Beaton volume one of God I hope many (Never Learn Anything From History) have all arrived in the past week, and were invaluable in trying times. Particularly wonderful are the personal connections I feel for these three books:
  • I own two pages from the Octopie book
  • I have heard the story about Brad Guigar losing his shit in traffic in person
  • I have dibs on one of the originals in NLAFH if Kate Beaton ever decides to sell her originals (and in the meantime, the paper stock is so heavy, it’s practically an archival print on each page — were it not sold out, I could buy another copy and carefully cut out every page, giving myself suitable-for-framing wall decor)

  Seriously you guys these books are so good, you should buy the first two right now and subscribe to the Topatoco Twitter account to learn when NLAFH is back in print, or pick up one of the copies reserved for MoCCA or TCAF, which brings us full circle to … THE FUTURE.

There may be irregular or absent posts this week, and maybe the one after.

Yesterday, one of my brothers and one of my sisters were in a really bad auto accident. Thing #1 I never need to hear again: “The orthopedic surgeon and the neurosurgeon are trying to figure out which one should operate first.”

They’re both receiving excellent care, but they’re also both looking at multiple surgeries and my free hours are probably going to be more attuned to progress reports and hospital visits than internet laugh-chuckles. If anything big in webcomics happens, I’m confident that Xaviar, Marshall Willenholly, the War Moth, Dirk, Heidi, or The Spurge will have the scoop.

But I will say this in lieu of the proper review it deserves: Kean Soo’s new Jellaby: Monster in the City was a goddamn sanity-saver for me today and you should go get a copy.

Thank you for your kind indulgence. And wear your fucking seatbelt.

Hard on the heels of last week’s Twitshirt … I think we can safely use the word fiasco … comes a new player. While Twitshirt is circling the wagons (its website has had a parking page for about three days now that seems to indicate a wholesale abandonment of its core business model), a new group called Fair Trade Tweets has popped up to try to fill the void; information is sparse at this time (that link contains all known policies and practices of FTT), but if even half of what they’re promising is true, Twitshirt is dead as the proverbial dodo.

The lesson here? Things move fast here in the future, social media are quick to anger/slow to forgive, and when roused must be placated with the blood of their enemies. Those who would tread these territories, go carefully.

• Today’s Hey Kids! [Web]Comics! story comes from the venerable New York Times with news of the first xkcd print collection. Is it just me or do they get it almost completely wrong? Is anybody in the webcomics world (or more broadly, digital media) so enamoured of bits and pixels that they would turn down the chance to do reprints? The Times seems puzzled that Randall Munroe would even consider collecting strips into a book. Hey, Times, those of us that live on the internet still like books, honest.
• Even further into the realm of paper, Gunnerkrigg Court makes the leap to classroom reading to second graders in Thailand, prompting the creation of puppets on sticks (be sure to check out all the video). The poster teaches English and was looking for other strips that might be appropriate for youngsters.

  Although it’s not laid out page-style, but I’m going to suggest Little Dee. And Copper doesn’t have a plot per se, but might be usable. And fun as Lil’ Mell is, we don’t want the kids getting ideas. So the best recommendation I’ve got is Jellaby. Any ideas? We got comment space right down there.

• Lastly, quick note that the Wallopers of Koalas have gotten a little more wallopy as Bear and Kitten (which I like a lot) and The Secret Knots (which I don’t know but will be checking out) join up.

Seriously, all the connections to the Land of the Rising Sun today are creeping me out.

• F’rinstance, you got Shaenon Garrity slacking off on Lil’ Mell because she was doing stuff at the Ghibli Museum and hanging with Miyazaki-sensei. To quote Ms Garrity,
  

  Holy crud.

• You also got news that probably the most important living creator of manga (and certainly one of the most prolific this side of Tezuka), Rumiko Takahashi, is going webcomic. Thanks to Gordon McAlpin for tipping us to the details:
  

  … a new manga series from legendary creator Rumiko Takahashi. The series, titled RIN-NE, will be launching simultaneously April 22nd exclusively in Japan in WEEKLY SHONEN SUNDAY magazine and online for North American audiences on www.TheRumicWorld.com, the brand new official North American web site for all Rumiko Takahashi-related news and information. Through this unprecedented collaboration, a new chapter of RIN-NE will be released each week for English-speaking manga fans to enjoy at the same time as their Japanese peers.

  Holy crud redux.

• Okay, let’s make it a three-peat. Know who’s got a Japanese name? Tatsuya Ishida. Dunno if you’ve been following his saga of a devil girl questioning her choices in life, but it appears to be reaching a crescendo. Gotta say, this story’s really making me go awwwww.
• Um … hey, look, new Dresden Codak! Starring a very young Kimiko! That’s a Japanese name, too.
• Okay, I’m out of even tenuous connections to Japan … how about a really nice review of Bellen! to wrap things up?

Listen well, my loyal minions, for I bring you wisdom that is great and deep.

• Firstly: Erika Moen. Y’all read DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary, right? It’s got adventures, surprising emotional depth, and BOOBIES. Also wang, buttsex, and precious bodily fluids, in a completely non-exploitative way (except for when it’s really damn funny).

  And now there’s a book! You are all instructed to go get it because there’s no way it’s not going to rock your face off. Also, update your links because Moen now has her own domain, www.darcomic.org, which makes this all kinds of a triumphant week for her. Even better, next week will be the joint book-release party with Dylan Meconis’s Bite Me, which is more awesome than one venue should be allowed to have.

• Speaking of books, a little bird tells me that Goats Book 1 has achieved physical form; release date is edit: see below prior to MoCCA, and you can bet that Random House sprung for the good paper stock on this sumbitch.
• New feature at MTV Splash Page from Friend o’ Fleen (and newly engaged guy) Rick Marshall — ADAPT THIS focuses on comics stories that would make awesome movie adaptations, and launches with Alex Robinson’s Too Cool To Be Forgotten (which, appropriately enough, really is too cool). If I may, this feature needs to look at a webcomic with appropriately epic scope & sweep, which logically means Templar, AZ.

  Tell me that a giant statue of Jimmy Carter wouldn’t look kickass on the big screen. Tell me that Reagan Mancuso isn’t the breakout role of the millenium. Tell me this sequence wouldn’t be the biggest laugh-chuckle in Oscar history. Hell, just do a short film of Reagan meeting her younger self — got a storyboard for ya right here, Bunky..

  Anyway, let Marshall Willenholly know what works you’d like to see get the treatment, and see you back tomorrow.

Emerald City Comic Con runs this weekend, and about the time you read this everybody I know in webcomics (almost) (not really) is on their way there. According to various twitterings, most of them are either delayed until further notice or on the Turbulence Express from Hell, so be kind when you drop by to say howdy. Additionally, rumor has it that Aaron Diaz will have a pre-order going for the long-anticipated, limited-edition Hob hardcover. If you say hi, remind him that my name should be at the top of that list.

• Small-Town (perhaps it should have been Tiny-Towne, or Sinkytowne?) is a little more crowded today, as Emily Horne & Joey Comeau are added to the lineup of talent. One night only in Brooklyn! Woo!
• Happy Birthday! Josh Lesnick’s Girly has been running for six years (and considering it’s an offshoot of the earlier Cute Wendy, you could credit it with a bit more age still. By amazing coincidence, today’s strip is #665, which is an awful lot of sixes for a strip that just happens to be six.
• Happy Birthday! David Willis has now been variously obsessed with toys, cartooning, Transformers, Transformers wiki, toys that transform from one shape to another, pie-throwing, and an awesome fiance (bonus points if you pronounce that word like Holly Hunter did in Raising Arizona) for 30 years. Congrats on living past your twenties David, and remember: it’s all a downhill slide into decrepitude and senescence from here. Have some cake to celebrate! Aw, heck … cake for everybody!

Oh my goodness so many books to talk about.

• You got yer massive sale to make space for a secret project over at Exploding Dog. Seriously, ten bucks for 250 pretty pictures? When people ask you what it’s about, tell them It’s about half a kilo of awesome.
• You got a street date for Jellaby: Monster in the City. April 21st! I’m torn between grabbing this one as soon as it hits the shelves and buying it direct from Kean Soo at MoCCA in June just for the pleasure of handing him crisp money in exchange for his wares.
• You got Howard Tayler crankin’ out a dozen-plus illos a day for the next month so he can provide the drawings for (and publish!) a dungeon-masterin’ book. For those that dated in high school, Tracy Hickman (author of said book) is a big name in circles that feature dungeon masters, so this is a pretty big deal for Tayler.
• You got business majors across the country wanting to get a good look at the books of Topatoco (see what I did there), as we see their talent roster expanded by two names in the past two days (with promises of three more this week). Topatoco’s pretty much in charge of the webcomics merch business at this point, which makes founder/exalted leader Jeff Rowland that most mythical of all creatures in these challenging times: a small business owner who’s creating jobs. I am utterly convinced that each time Rowland falls into fitful slumber he wonders How the hell did this happen?

There’s even a few non-book things going on; think of them as “stages of a webcomics life” sorta thing.

1. (Re-) Birth: I met Shoolhouse Daze creator Mike Ciccotello at a bookstore event in my town about two years ago. He’s gotten his strip into a major college paper (with a circulation of 17,000+), experimented all over the place, taken hiatus to retool and sharpen his skills, and now relaunches better than ever tomorrow, April 1st. Get in on the new ground floor, y’all.
2. Difficult teenage years: Help Desk turns thirteen damn years old today. And it hates you! You never understood it! It wishes you were dead! If you really want to infuriate Help Desk, pay attention to it in public in front of its friends (the RSS feed is particularly handy for this).
3. Starting the career: As of yesterday, Daisy Owl creator Ben Driscoll has left the world of “paychecks” and “benefits” to make his living by his wits and his webcomic. For now, signed strip prints are all that he can sell you, but let’s hope that we see a nice, beefy collection in book form soon.

Look at that, we’re back to books. Enjoy the rest of your day.

So here’s a travelling thought for you all — I picked up Lars Brown’s North World volume 2 (which you can find serialized online) last week, but just had a chance to read it. It’s a lot of fun, it builds on vol1 nicely, and I can’t tell you too much because the book includes things that haven’t happened in the webcomic yet.

But let’s just say that it’s a nice job of telling Conrad’s story, that it sets up volume 3 by having a deep cast of interesting characters, and that it’s a clever inversion of the Joseph Campbell hero’s journey — sometimes, the interesting things happen when you stop hunting monsters, come back to the ol’ hometown, and become an accountant.