The latest iterations of two cool things are now available:

• Winterview #7: Kazu Kibuishi and Amy Kim Ganter (on their wedding day, no less).
• A non-ugly floor map for webcomics at SDCC. I give you: WebComiCon! While you’ll find representatives of literally dozens of webcomics in a tight grouping between aisles 1200 and 1400 (there may be hijinks), don’t overlook the others in the Small Press and Indy Press areas.

  This map is an evolving thing, and late-breaking additions will be noted here at Fleen. Case in point: Topher Davila of TomatoTV.net will be in Small Press booth P9, which would be about mid-way between The Devil’s Panties (with special guest Striptease) and Young American.

The latest version of the SDCC webcomics map is now available; the very dreamy Mr R Stevens is busily revising to make it print-worthy so you can carry it with you. Map legend below the cut.

DC Comics apparently decided that Platinum is onto a good thing with the Comic Book Challenge, and has offered up their own version under the name (I wish I were kidding) Zudacomics. Check out the breathless announcement where they essentially claim to be inventing webcomics (and let the PTO please note that webcomics has been a common term of art for some years now, so no fair issuing a trademark to those wacky jokers at DC!).

Hey, anybody log into Steam over the weekend? Penny Arcade strips are now featured there on the home screen, providing exposure to (on average) more than 3 million unique pairs of eyeballs a month. Robert Khoo, business guru at PA described it to me as, “We were talking to [Valve] about a bunch of other stuff (and no, nothing to do with our game :), and were just brainstorming different ways to work together. This one just popped up.” I think it’s pretty indicative of the hard work that Khoo has put in over the years if this is the sort of thing that just pops up; for the good of webcomics, we must clone him.

And as a final note, I hereby declare Rich Burlew a stand-up guy (even when flat on his back in bed with various nasties in his system). Advance notice of an irregular schedule is always appreciated, but more so is his linking of charities that, were you considering contributing to his health costs (which Burlew reports are well-covered), could use a few bucks more than he can. Okay, that was a torturously-parsed setence, but if you just go read his announcement, it makes sense. Fleen wishes Burlew the best of luck with his condition.
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Should be about one more day to clear the backlog of news items — do bear with me. In the meantime:

• A Girl And Her Fed brings us corneas for only the second time by my count. I’ve gotten so used to The Girl and Sparky having no eyes that it’s actually a little creepy today.
• Seriously, guys, Jennie Breeden has a comic in stores with strips that aren’t online. Don’t make her make them bigger, or we’ll be overrun with Rob Liefeld fans.
• Does doing something twice make it a tradition? Bookcarts gettin’ pimped again.
• Not webcomics, but when has that ever stopped me? John K. at The AV Club.
• MoCCA Art Festival this weekend, to feature webcomickers Andy Bell, Sam Brown, Steven Cloud, John Green, Liz Greenfield, Chris Hastings, Jeph Jacques, Hope Larson, David Malki !, Ryan North, Tyler Page, Ramon Perez & Rob Coughler, Dave Roman, Jon Rosenberg, Jeff Rowland, Ali Solomon, Rich Stevens, Raina Telgemeier, Jim Zubkavich, and maybe more. Get yer ass down to the Puck Building, it’s a fun time.

Advance convention circuit news in the mailbag from Mike Russell today, regarding the 4th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest. Want a table? They’re on discount for another week or so:

The Stumptown Comics Fest is preparing for its 4th-annual celebration of comics and cartooning — to be held Saturday and Sunday, September 29 and 30, at the Exhibit Hall of the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel in Portland.

The exhibitors’ hall is larger than last year — allowing the Comics Fest to offer 8-foot tables to exhibitors rather than the 6-foot tables of previous years.

Tables are available at discounted early-bird rates of $90 for a full table, $50 for a half table, through June 15.

After June 15, tables will be available at $110 for a full table and $70 for a half table.

Stumptown’s always been webcomics-friendly, so go check out everybody that can’t make it out East for MoCCA, and tell Guest of Honor Shaenon Garrity, that I said hi if you see her.

One thing about webcomics that I really love? Innovation. You’ve got a couple zillion really creative people grinding away out there, and when one of them stumbles on a clever idea, it spreads slowly at first, then quickly becomes just a standard part of a well-designed site. Case in point: social bookmarking.

Sites like Beaver and Steve and Little Gamers have had links to add particular strips to sites like del.icio.us and digg for a while now; Diesel Sweeties has feeds via RSS and a host of alternate readers/syndication sites for the main page (but not, as far as I can tell, for individual strips).

To that list add Sheldon, which this week added a tactical nuke-out of feed readers (15 by my count) to the front page (like DS, Sheldon appears to take the inform me when there’s a front page update approach, rather than the hey check out today’s installment approach favored by B&S and LG). My guess is that in two months, we’re going to see those little buttons on most of the high-traffic sites. For reference, the various links and readers are:

• Beaver and Steve: StumbleUpon, digg, del.icio.us, reddit
• Little Gamers: RSS, LiveJournal syndication, del.icio.us, digg
• Diesel Sweeties: StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, Bloglines, LiveJournal syndication, My Yahoo, Google, RSS
• Do me, Sheldon: RSS, My Yahoo, My msn, Windows Live, Google, My AOL, Bloglines, netvibes, newsgator, Pageflakes, Rojo, Newsburst, feedlounge, LiveJournal syndication, StumbleUpon

Oh, and if we email and ask him politely, do you think Andy Bell will grace us with some pictures of Darth Creature?

Before you get your hopes up about the return of a long–dormant favorite-of-the-masses webcomic, be aware of two things:

1. It’s previously-published material, not the resumption of the story.
2. The creator is on record as saying, “Every time I get an email that tells me I have to finish RPG World, I push back the date that I’m gonna bring it back by a month.”

As of this morning, Fleen estimates that RPG World will return no later than September, 2057.

I hadn’t really done more than skim the Wapsi Girl Project since it launched ’bout two months back, but something about this young lady caught my eye; can’t imagine what it might have been. A quick stop by her artblog led to her webcomic, The Monsters’ Republic of Monstairia, which is proving to be pretty damn good. Starts here, and I’m enjoying my read-through.

And finally, It’s apparently Webcomics Baby Week (what did you expect with all the webcomics boning last year?). Congrats to Chicklike Godhead Pete on the birth of baby Sarah Abrams, and to Jon Rosenberg on the birth of baby To Be Announced (maybe … we don’t have a definite report yet, but I have 6:12pm yesterday in the pool) Norah Hayden Rosenberg. And naturally, condolences to their wives for the traumatic experiencing of birthing webcomics spawn.

We’ve written about John Baird and his Create A Comic Project at the New Haven Free Public Library previously, so it was a pleasure to hear from Baird that he’s got new stuff on tap, and you (yes, you) can help out:

On June 2 the Create a Comic Project (CCP) will have a Comic Making Tournament (CMT). The CMT will be at the New Haven Public Library in New Haven, CT, on June 2 from 11 AM – 2 PM. A brief summary of the tournament is here.

There are several sponsors for the event (including Yale University), but volunteers to help with judging are greatly needed. Anyone in the New England area is welcome, especially webcomic artists. Any comic creator who shows up will be dubbed a celebrity judge. The chief reward for doing this will be a massive ego boost from being treated as awesome by several dozen kids.

One idea for a concluding tournament event: all the children will issue a mock challenge to the artists for a comic making showdown, á la Iron Chef. This should prove to be a very fun time!

If you’re interested in helping, please send me an email to createacomic at NOSPAM gmail dot com. Thank you!

Man, I wish I could attend that. Given the number of New England-located webcomickers, there better be at least one that shows up in a Chairman Kaga costume. I’m looking at you, Southworth.

Scott McCloud has some last-minute changes to his speaking tour; if you live anywhere near Cheyenne, Wyoming (and I realize that out thataway, the concept of “near” is somewhat fluid), you can join in on the fun on Wednesday at the Laramie County Public Library, 7pm. Also please consider that the McCloud family minivan will be ass-haulin’ from South Dakota to Wyoming to Montana, so if you see them in your rear-view, pull over to let ’em pass.

In other news, Dinosaur Comics is about to turn 1000 strips old! But this week is Guest Week, so does that count? Maybe! Today’s strip is numbered #993, which means that sometime next week the strip odometer rolls over. In any event, today’s strip (by the dudes from Dr McNinja) is pure, distilled awesome and features bacon and a secret Achewood (which is today the source of my new favorite saying) shout-out. What more could you want?

And lastly: new SGR book. Ryan dies and Tim gets run out as mayor and Esther and The Boy get it on in a caravan in Wales and there’s Devil Bears and Rachel and Tessa and crime doin’ and justice is served via giant bazongas!

Any day that starts with an email from Scott McCloud (philosophical question: if McCloud ever gets a postage stamp, do you prefer Young Scott or Slightly Less Young Scott?) is probably gonna be pretty good. Let’s hear what the guy has to say:

MCCLOUD/MAKING COMICS 50 STATE TOUR UPDATE:
DATES FOR MAY & JUNE

31 states down, 19 to go! Starting May 1, The Making Comics Fifty State Tour moves into into its last third with stops in eight northern states and two Canadian cities.

Spanning thousands of miles, the long-anticipated “northern leg” is certain to be the biggest challenge yet faced by comics’ most adventurous family. The trip to and through Alaska in June will be over a thousand miles of driving alone!

Stops include lectures in Toronto ON, Sioux Falls SD, Portland OR, and Juneau AK; seminars in Portland and Alaska; and store signings and other events in Toronto ON, Detroit MI, Iowa City IO, Missoula MT, Moscow ID, Seattle WA, Vancouver BC and Portland OR.

Scott McCloud and his family continue to make waves at every stop, commanding strong attendance and, in some cases, standing-room only crowds. In the last eight weeks alone, four lectures (in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois) were packed to capacity and beyond. In one case, three overflow simulcast rooms were set up when the main hall was filled. In another, dozens of fans sat in the aisles or on the floor to hear McCloud.

Next stop, Free Comic Book Day at Green Brain Comics in Detroit (May 5) and Toronto for a lecture and store appearance at The Beguiling (May 6 and 7). Details at the Making Comics Tour Page.

If you haven’t had the chance to see the McCloud & Co. roadshow, definitely do so. And for God’s sake, look at that map — slip the family a couple of donuts for the ride or something.

In other news: Digger. 400 strips. Still my favorite wombat-themed comic, with unforetold levels of awesome every Tuesday and Thursday.

Finally, There are unconfirmed reports that the borders of Wheatonia are expanding. Citizens are urged to stay calm, and seek shelter behind plastic sheeting and duct tape.

Conratulations today to Owen Dunne on 10 years of The Kid, Jethro, The Poz, and the rest of the You Damn Kid cast. Having gone through much of the archives this morning in honor of the occasion, I can only hope for Dunne’s sake that the strip isn’t too autobiographical.

Turning from the sepia-toned Sixties to the near future under a bruise-colored sky, check out what Hawk & Ananth have been working on. There is something distinctly Shirowesque about that bundle of cables in the back — I like it. No definite plans to go to production yet, but if enough people stand up and say they’ll buy one, it could happen. And hey, I like webcomics toys, so count me in.

If, on the off chance, anybody reading this knows anybody at Reed Exhibitions, could you please smack them? For a company that’s trying to go from zero to San Diego scope in the space of three years, they really need to rethink their entire approach to comic con management. From the floor layout to bizarre, unworkable line-wrangling, it was pretty badly done. That being said, even a poorly-executed convention (“Extrosion”, anybody?)can be a lot of fun, depending on who you’re hanging with. Random thoughts to help you get a feeling of having been there:

• The Digital Strips crew are commandos. In, get an interview, camera rolling, done, fwoosh! Gone in the blink of an eye. Can’t wait to see the footage.
• Speaking of DS, they spoke to old school indy creator Wendy Pini about her upcoming webcomic plans; interesting writeup, as I spoke to her husband, old school indy publisher Richard Pini on Saturday morning at the Dumbrella booth. He was very excited to see Diesel Sweeties make the leap to syndication, having looked at that route himself once upon a time. He also bought an Old School shirt, thus completing the theme.
• Had a tough time finding BLC representatives Brad Guigar & Paul Southworth, as the sign over their tables inexplicably read Dave Kellett. But they did well for themselves, with Brad having sold just about everything he brought, and Paul’s new Medieval Friday kicking ass. Oh, and confidential to Brad Guigar’s kids: Don’t get in the suitcase, no matter what Daddy tells you!
• Likewise, I missed meeting up with Jennie Breeden, but via the magic of email, the promised interview will go on.
• Ironic moment of the weekend (as reported by Chris Hastings): During the “web comics” panel Friday morning, a question from the floor touched upon the ads-and-merch model of revenue, practiced by so many independent creators. The panel (all corporate types) thought it wasn’t a good model, in part based upon their reading of T Campbell’s A History Of Webcomics. Ironic part: the question in question came from T Campbell. I’m sure that T will tell the story better, so keep an eye out for his report.
• I met a Dr McNinja cosplayer and the man who gave Paul Southworth lube. I did not get a picture of either. I did, however, purchase a handmade, alcoholic zombie cat, which is creeping my dog out.
• There was also the thing about Genital’s Discount Tittery and crying pterodactyls, but you had to be there.