So I’m guessing that the occasional explosion and plume of smoke/flame from over that way would be the trail of destruction left by various webcomickers on their drive south to Bethesda, Maryland for SPX. Those flying are, I’m guessing, about half a rum-and-coke from getting tazed by air marshals.

• For those of you heading that way, look for a small (potentially drunk and/or naked) woman named Bree Rubin and tell her “thanks” for me, ’cause she tipped me to a new webcomic that’s a continuation of a play:
  

  Disgraced Comics is the new off-shoot of Disgraced Productions, offering original online visual dramatic storytelling. And in our first online comic, The Adventures of Max Quarterhorse, you will get to see the first-ever Independent Theater-to-comics crossover. The Adventures of Max Quarterhorse picks up where Disgraced Productions’ 2008 play, All Kinds of Shifty Villains, leaves off. [emphases original]

  The first half of the first ten-page issue of TAoMQ are online now, starting here, and the art (by Miriam Gibson) is damn pretty. Can’t think of anybody that’s done this kind of cross-media use of webcomics yet, so hats off to Robert Attenweiler (creator of Max Quarterhorse) for taking the artistic leap.

• Speaking of webcomics-slash-other-artistic-medium (as opposed to webcomics slash, which is full of Ryan North and Jeph Jacques and squishy noises), the last time I attended SPX (and goodness, was that nearly two years ago), I thought about webcomics as a distinct medium:
  

  We’ve really reached that happy point where the distinction between indy/small press comics and webcomics is largely academic.

  … was the conclusion. Although we at Fleen continue to use the word “webcomic” as a signifier, really, all it signifies is a means of distribution within the larger realm of comics. I bring this up because there’s an interesting discussion about the separateness of webcomics vis a vis comics over at the Transmission-X forums that’s worth your time. There’s a good level of thinkin’ going on, and given that TX are Canadian (and the conversation is in the context of a Canadian comics industry award), it’s exceedingly polite. Nice to see so many people thinking along these lines.

• Finally, quick note that Johanna Draper Carlson (who’ll be trawling the aisled at SPX on Saturday) has caught an interesting tidbit: the Android phone platform (aka “Google phone”) has a new category coming up in its applications market — comics. More than one person declared the iPhone to be an ideal mobile platform for comics (especially of the webbish variety), but the open API and lack of Apple approval at the Android Market may make it an even better platform. I know for a fact that at least one creator designing comics for a mobile generation made sure to test against the Android G1 (which, full disclaimer, is my phone of choice) in addition to the more ubiquitous Jesus Phones and Crackberries. Could be interesting times ahead.

Sure, there’s awesome stuff in Bethesda, like John Campbell’s debut Pictures for Sad Children book — don’t buy all of them, because the leftovers will go on sale online next week. Oh, and I guess Latin Heartthrob Aaron Diaz will have a new Dresden Codak book available. And other attendees (missed yesterday) will include Dylan Meconis (tabling with Carol Burrell) with a new print, and Dave Shabet and Evan Dahm getting a last-minute table assignment.

And that’s not even considering Raina Telgemeier giving away two galley copies of her forthcoming graphic novel, SMILE:

I’m also holding a raffle and a contest! I have a few advance-reader galleys of SMILE available, and I’d like to give them away. There are two ways to win:

Raffle! Come fill out a raffle ticket at our table, any time before 4:30 PM on Sunday. I will draw a winner at 5 PM.

Contest! Tell me a horror story about your teeth! You have to come and tell me your story in person, also any time before 4:30 PM on Sunday. I will choose a winner at 5 PM. Most horrific dental story wins.

Man, I have a great horrific dental story, too. I won’t go into it here, because I realize that some people are squeamish; if you have a strong stomach, the short version is below the cut. Suffice it to say, nearly 20 years later I am still fully prepared to run down a respectable member of the dental profession in cold blood in front of his terrified family, then kick my car into reverse and repeat until the cops drag me away.

But I promised you good news for those not going to SPX, and that would be the First Ever Topatoco Tag Sale:

[W]e ain’t no second-rate ham-shop runnin’ T-shirts out the back of an off-label methadone distillery either — we’re the world’s largest graphical internet entertainment licensing firm, and we got literally twenty dozen different designs that we throw away on a daily basis. We are straight-up and down-low professional and the side effect of all this legitimate-businessin’ is that we got tee-shirts in every orifice and stacked up to reach the danged rafters.

Solution? TAG SALE. This Saturday, September 26, we are opening our doors and urging you, a bunch of strangers, to come paw through a giant stash of our clean cotton miscellany. That’s right — the TopatoCo offices will be open to the discount-loving public for a one-day bargain-basement housecleaning hootenanny. [emphasis original]

Note to every random entertainment company that sends me press releases — use the words “methadone distillery” in your boilerplate, and I’m far more likely to run with it.

(more…)

SPX is coming up in a few days and dammit I won’t be there because virtually every cool creator is going to be. You should check out all of the webcomicky people, which list includes — but probably not exhaustively so — the following creators (big breath now): Aaron, Ami, Box, Bree, Bryan, Carla, Carol, Chris, Danielle, Dave, David, Dern, Emily, Erika, James, Jeph, Jess, Joey, John, John, John, Jon, Julia, Kate, Marion, Mer, Raina, Rich, Sara, Spike, Sam, and Scott. Whew!

For added fun, Box Brown has a list of must-buy books, and The X-Man will be wandering the floor on Saturday.

• Know who won’t be at SPX (besides me?) Liz Cusack Greenfield. ‘s been a while since Ms Liz stepped away from webcomics, but that doesn’t mean she’s given up drawing. Behold: magazine spot illos, which I’ll take because I love her stuff so much. Should she ever decide to return to the reprobate-filled world of [web]comics, I’ll be waiting with bells on. On what? I hear you cry. None of your damn business.
• Finally, thanks to Webcomics-dot-com for reminding me: 24 Hour Comic Day is coming up! From the aforementioned w-d-c, thoughts by Trev Wood as to why 24HCD is something you should be in on; read it, accept the wisdome, then stock up on the No-Doz and Jolt cola, sharpen up your Sharpies, and get crackin’ oh my sleep-deprived droogs.

Busy weekend.

• There’s a strip and a half that launched today — half because Bad Machinëry is a continuation of John Allison’s Tackleford Stories, albeit with a “three years later” prepended. Who is this young protagonist that we see? And might his older sister be Charlotte Grote? There’s a similarity there, but I’m not sure. Dang, one update and already I’m hooked by the mystery. Anybody that goes to SPX this weekend (alas, I can’t make it), tell Allison I said, “Well done, good sir!” No improvising, use those exact words only.
• The whole launch, natcherly, would be the hinted-at Paul Southworth/Bill Barnes collaboration, Not Invented Here; it’s not a spinoff of Unshelved, but since we’re in Crossover, Ahoy! territory this week, they at least share a reality (and longtime readers of this page will recall the dangers inherent in such situations). Let’s hear what the writer has to say on the subject:
  

  Since Gene Ambaum and I first created Unshelved, a comic strip drawn from Gene’s experiences as a librarian, people have asked me why I didn’t start a comic strip based on my two decades in the software business. After several false starts it’s finally ready.

  This time around I wanted to write, not draw. I was lucky enough to snag one of my favorite cartoonists, Paul Southworth. Paul is one of the most talented and respected artists in the business, and also a really funny and sweet guy.

  Not Invented Here by Bill Barnes and Paul Southworth runs Monday through Thursday every week. I hope you enjoy it as much as you enjoy Unshelved, and I also hope you’ll tell your friends about both strips.

  (Speaking of which, don’t worry: Gene and I will continue to make Unshelved untli the heat-death of the Universe or until it stops supporting us, whichever comes first.)

  So that’s all right then — I get Southworth on strippin’ four days a week, Barnes gets another project to keep him busy (and trust me — this is not a dude you want to have free time if you value your sanity), and the computer programming demographic (and surely, the computer-savvy nerd demo is underserved at the moment) gets another webcomic, and we’re all happy “untli” the inevitable killing spree. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts, kids!

• Speaking of kids enjoying things, by all accounts the immediate vicinity of Columbus, Ohio had its face rocked off on Saturday by the WEXTRAVAGANZA ( ZA Za za za), which is a much better name than that “It’s Wedding!” thing I came up with. Let’s share a little excerpt of the actual wedding ceremony of David Willis and Maggie Weidner:
  

  May this union be blessed, and may the seven seas echo with tales of your love wherever the Jolly Roger flies. Your fleets are now one, and its sails have unfurled. You may both kiss.

  SMOOCH-O-RAMA

  Fellow pirates, scalliwags, rascals, and buccaneers, I am honored to present Admirals David and Maggie Willis as husband and wife. Yo ho ho, me hearties!

  CANNONS FIRE

  Also, there was gun violence in the middle of the rite. Awesome. Congratulations, you crazy pirate-lovin’ wackos!

There is now officially no resolution time for my broadband outage at home, making Gary a cranky guy. As my employer prefers I work at work, this severely cramps the amount of webcomic reading I’m getting in, so forgive if this is thin.

• On the convention front, TCAF (consistently rated by participants as one of the top shows of the year) goes from every-other-year to annual in 2010, and applications are available now. In the past, TCAF has been an invitation show, but the demand (and size of the show) have grown to the point that the organizers are asking all desirious of exhibiting to fill in the form; these will then be looked over in a juried process, and those that fit in best will be given space. Deadline is 15 November, but you know what they say about early birds and worms.
• In a similar vein, if you’ve noticed a gradual coalescing of webcomics into a defined area at San Diego Comic Con, a lot of the credit for that can be given to Phil Foglio, who’s been planting the idea in the brains of those responsible for booth assignment for literally years. It’s worked so well that Foglio now informs us that the grouping logic is now being extended to Wondercon in San Francisco.

  People who are exhibiting at Wondercon and want to be in the webcomics section should make their preference known to Justin Dutta, floor manager; a quick list of your URLs for confirmation would be a good idea. And if you should see either Dutta or Foglio, be sure to thank ’em for making it easier to find the webcomickers. And hey — if this continues to work well at SDCC and does well at WC, and other con organizers hear that the exhibitors are grateful and — oh, I dunno, promoting the shows on their websites, offering to do posters or badge art or program covers or whatever — maybe it’ll spread.

• Also speaking of conventions, there’s one coming up in Mary-land end of next week, where you may find a slightly dazed John Allison trying to get other webcomickers to stand still long enough to refine their portraits. Apart from poor Doc Hastings, I’d say that Allison has done a bang-up job portraying everybody in the community that he’s encountered so far. Soon we’ll see what the SGR successor is, which I can only pray involves barn owls.
• Finally, the burst of guest comics that came about as a result of the Nerd Flu appears to be tapering off. I have a feeling that today may be the last of them; for my money, Becky and Frank of Tiny Kitten Teeth win guest strippery forever, producing the most in-character evil cat (and bassets!) and keeping up the tradition of torturing Gabe. Go over to TKT and keep in mind that what you’re looking at is gouache and ink on paper; it’s simply insane that such fluid lines and vibrant colors don’t have a million “undo” edits behind them, but they don’t. They’re physical. Hey major publishers and animation studios, why are you not throwing money at these two?

For those of you that haven’t been following what may be the most significant story out of PAX, let me sum it up in two words:

“Swine Flu”.

Confirmed cases of H1N1 among attendees, with reports trickling in from around the country, are being tracked at Penny Arcade. From a PR standpoint, having to say Our event has spread disease to the four corners of the continent is never high on the “to do” list, but kudos to the PA folks for providing information on flights & trains taken by those known to have been afflicted. That they take the effort to do so while they themselves (along with fellow cartoonists) are afflicted is laudable.

Maybe they’ll rename it “Gamer Flu”. Maybe Jack Thompson will take it as a sign of heavenly retribution on degenerate murder-simulator-loving sociopaths. Maybe there will be missing/late/guest strips across webcomicdom.

While “Patient Zero” is yet to be identified, please enjoy some pertinent information from the King County (Washington) Department of Public Health and some more from the CDC. Putting so many people together all weekend, perhaps contagion is inevitable but I can’t say it enough — cover your coughs and sneezes with your upper arm/shoulder and wash your damn hands.

And because — judging from every time I use a public restroom — nobody knows how to wash their damn hands, here’s the deal:

1. Turn the water on as hot as you can stand it
2. Wet your hands thoroughly
3. Get more soap than you think you need and lather up
4. Scrub aggressively — get between fingers, underneath the nails, and along the nail beds
5. Keep this going at least as long as it takes you to hum the alphabet song; alternately, you may use the chorus to Re Your Brains, the intro to Layla, or you may be a little teapot twice … just keep going for at least 20 – 25 seconds (and longer is better, assuming you don’t get into OCD territory)
6. Rinse thoroughly with hot water
7. Dry

Next one of you bozos I catch turning on the water, waving your fingertips near the stream, then leaving? We’re going to have words.¹

• You know who probably knows how to wash his hands so they know they’ve been washed? Harvey Pekar. I had a really awesome talk with that guy once about jazz that left no doubt in my mind that no man can stand against him when he is resolute in his opinion, much less mere germs. Marshall Willenholly has an interview with Harvey about his new webcomics project over at MTV Splash Page.

_______________
¹ The words will be on what remains of the label on a broken beer bottle.

Which means that Fashion Week is nearly upon us. Thankfully, I won’t be coming into the office most of next week, so I get to avoid the crowds that are dressed in black, reeking of too much money and other peoples’ work. True story — I once asked a cop on guard duty outside the main tent if he got that gig by being supercop or by pissing off his desk sergeant. He thought a moment before answering, “A little of both.” Here, there is no runway, there are no tastemakers that annoint the ridiculous and see how many go along with it. There’s just stuff that I think is cool, and you can either agree or not. Let’s start the show!

• Oh my stars and garters, Patched Together (who have already brought you Paul Taylor‘s Shelley and Monica figures (and will be bringing you David Willis‘s Amber figure) are now gauging interest in Ursula Vernon‘s Biting Pear of Salamanca, perhaps better known as the LOL WUT Pear. Let ’em know if you want one.
• Speaking of garters, know who has none? Julia Wertz. That’s because garters absolutely do not go with the hopelessly unstylish garment known as the hospital gown. To raise money to defray her medical bills, Wertz is having a bash in Brooklyn that promises “free booze n’ snax!” to all who attend. 282 Broadway, 8:00pm on September 18th (that’s a Friday, so no need to fake being sick at work the next day) — come for the comic reading, stay for the medical horror stories!
• Interesting experiment over at Something*Positive: every strip in the month of September (there are two so far) will take place in the same day of story-time. October first, I’m going to be re-reading all of them to figure out how the story’s world changed. Given that the little blue psychohorror is actually being — quiet? Potentially remorseful? — I’m guessing that the changes will be nothing good for at least some characters.

  By the bye, if you ever meet S*P creator Randy Milholland and provide him with enough larynx-soothing liquid refreshment, his voicing for Fluffmodeus (yes, that’s its name) is both frightening and hilarious.

• New strip alert: Like his Applegeeks cohort Ananth Panagariya, Mohammad Haque does a journal-ish comic on the side (Panagariya with co-creator Yuko Ota, and Haque with co-creator Jessica Watson). Check out The Watsons while it’s still got that new-strip smell.
• Further proof that Topatoco is a Real Boy Grown-Up Company publisher now: book signings and other events are now a semi-regular occurence in the secret lair of reclusive genius Jeff Rowland. Next Friday, Little Gamers creators Pontus Madsen and Christian Fundin (son of Farin — sorry, geek joke), will be signing their fourth book and you can come if you wanna:
  

  “We believe we have obtained the proper permits to allow Pontus and Christian into our town for a few days,” said TopatoCo president Jeffrey Rowland. “The police and fire departments have been notified, power grid secured, emergency items stocked, and everyone over the age of 65 has been vaccinated. If all necessary safety precautions are taken and all recommended action items are performed in a timely fashion, this experience should prove to be calm and orderly.”

  TopatoCo urges all attendees to bring along any sprays and/or unguents they may need for the event, as the house supply is expected to go quickly.

  6:00 to 9:00 pm, Eastworks, September 11th, 2009, and may God have mercy on your souls.

I guess that whole “seasons are backwards on the other side of the world” thing is really backwards this year. Let’s do this so I can trudge home in the cold and rain.

• If you don’t mind the cold and rain in New York, trudge your ass over to Rocketship in Brooklyn at 7:00 tonight, for the launch party for Raina & Dave‘s take on the X-Men. Everybody I know that’s read it has really enjoyed it (except, inexplicably, The AV Club, who are normally pretty congruent with my tastes, but for some reason gave it an unneccessarily vicious review). Also, there’s a really good bar next door to Rocketship, and they both a) know how to, and b) are willing to shake one of the best modern cocktails in the world: the Gin-Gin Mule; have one for me.
• Speaking of Brooklyn and webcomickers, the upcoming Brooklyn Book Festival is going to feature a smattering of Topatoco author/creators.
• Speaking of creators, did you vote for the Harvey Awards? You still have a few hours.
• I got nothing to link to that last item. Sorry. Via Tom Siddell’s Twitter: proof that Archaia Studio Press is getting its shit back together after that financial difficulty last year, in the form of a solicitation for Gunnerkrigg Court book two. Yay! With any luck, Siddell will actually be able to buy a copy himself this time.

I vaguely remembered that Butternut Squash is due back not too long from now, and that led me to spend entirely too much time draggin’ my ass through six years or so of strips. Okay, it was irregular updates, and prolly fewer than 200 strips total, but still. I am weak. Still, it’s later in the day than I like, so let’s get this thing done.

• Three comic-related updates in less than a week? The snarky academician may be back for good; I really enjoyed his take on recent (and likely future) events in Starslip.
• I am offically Chris Onstad’s bitch. I know there’a an RSS feed for Achewood, and I suppose it’s still Monday evening somewhere and my watch is just fast. I keep … updating … wanting to see what happens with the OnStar lady.
• Speaking of Achewood, it appears that the SPX Gorilla won’t be making a return appearance this year; Ignatz nominations are up and Achewood is not to be found in the nominees for Outstanding Online Comic. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s good to have the love spread around a bit, and the offerings presented all have a very small-press vibe to them:
  • Bodyworld by Dash Shaw
  • Danny Dutch by David King
  • Thingpart by Joey Alison Sayers
  • Tablet magazine comics by Vanessa Davis
  • Year of the Rat by Cat Garza

  We at Fleen have no dog in this fight (although seriously — no love for Kate Beaton?), lots of good work there; good luck to all the nominees. The Ignatz Awards (which are bricks) will be presented at SPX next month.

• Speaking of awards, if you’re a working cartoonist you can vote for the Harveys, to be awarded at the Baltimore Comic-Con. May I draw your attention to the categories of Best Biographical, Historical or Journalistic Presentation, Best On-Line Comics Work, Special Award For Humor In Comics, and Special Award For Excellence In Presentation? Why yes, I believe I may. Voting concludes on Friday, people.

Hey. Coupla things for you today — been crazy, so I’m sure there’s more going on in wider Webcomicstan than what’s listed here, but this is stuff I knew about from over the weekend and didn’t have to go digging for. And yes, that last sentence is particularly designed to drive prescriptive grammarians up the wall. Feel free to Tut, tut! me all you want.

• You read Sin Titulo by T-X‘s Cameron Stewart, right? Modern day, creepy-as-all-hell noir mystery comic, with the most disturbing tree in all of comics as a featured player and head injury as a recurring motif? No? Well, you check out Stewart’s art blog on a regular basis, on account of his warm–up and wind-down sketches put most finished art to shame?

  Seriously, you’re not? What the hell’s wrong with you?

  Well, if you’re going to be that way about it, I suppose there’s no point in telling you that Cameron Stewart, along with the rest of the T-X crowd, will be presenting a panel called Webcomics 101 at the 2009 Toronto Fan Expo, at 5:00pm, this Friday Aug 28th at room 713A.

  Keep in mind that Sin Titulo, and The Abominable Charles Christopher, and Kukuburi are the sort of creator-owned work that these very capable, artists do when not working for The Big Guys. If you’re in the TO this Friday, you owe it to yourself to hear what they have to say. And if you want to participate remotely, you can send questions with Twitter hashtag #asktx.

• Friday, news broke (although I first saw it Sunday at Johanna Draper Carlson‘s site) that WOWIO is no longer owned by Platinum. Instead, it’s apparently now owned by Brian Altounian, the President & CEO of … Platinum.

  I don’t make this up, folks, I just read what’s on the ‘prompter.

  In any event WOWIO was apparently spun off from Platinum to a new holding company on 1 July (I have a low and suspicious nature, and I note that 1 July would be the first day of a new financial quarter, and the entire interview does not mention at all the creators who are still waiting for monies owed them for Q2 2008.

  Oh, but WOWIO are launching a “new non-profit intiative” to build readership, so that’s all right. Those inclined towards snark might note that WOWIO appears to have been a non-profit initiative since its launch — shame on you for taking such a cheap shot.

  As usual, any creators that actually wish to talk about the status of their WOWIO (non-)payments may use the comments thread below or the contact page up there to the right. We’d love to hear from you.