• Adam York Gregory’s strip, The Flowfield Unity, has recently become part of the Transplant Comics collective; he will be appearing at the Lancaster Comics Festival in on Saturday (along with other webcomics luminaries). Also new to Transplant Comics, Grumps by Chris Jones (about which more here).
• Speaking of Lancaster, John Allison will have a special set of prints and a new SGR book that can only be had in person. Somebody pick me up one of each.
• Whitney Robinson wishes to direct your attention to her new comic, Alma Mater. It’s a slice-of-life comic set at Blenheim, an all-girls’ secondary school. New comics on MWF, and we are promised experimentations with the form in the future (psst: nobody tell Eric that means fucking infinite canvas).
• Jason Kotecki tells us that he really enjoys reading Fleen to get the inside scoop on new web comics. Thanks for the kind words, Jason! Coincidentally, he informs us as well about his comic, Kim & Jason; it’s about childhood, and he’s been running it, seven days a week, for about six years. Daily strip free, subscription to get into the archives.
• A. Nonymous reports that the WCCA committee is considering some changes to the awards; we’ll be following up with the committee to find out if the report is in fact true, and we’ll bring you the response. Along similar lines, Lewis Powell writes to suggest that we at Fleen set up our own readers choice awards, suggesting “The Fleenies” as the name. I dunno about that one … what do you guys think?
• Chad Diez informs us that he’s officially ending his comic, Today: The Comic, mostly due to copyright issues. The full story is available at the site of our arch-rivals, Digital Strips.
• And finally, Sean Conchieri writes:
  

  Bomb Shelter Comics Wants YOU

  So you’ve got a webcomic, huh? You’ve even thought about trying to join a collective, but never heard back from anyone, right? Well, this is your lucky day. Because Bomb Shelter Comics is having their first-ever first annual Webcomic Idol membership competition! That’s right, we’re letting you guys try for a chance to join the BSC.

  Not only that, we’re offering up some goodies to whoever wins. We’re gonna give you everything you need to make that comic of yours wicked sweet, things like:

  a free BSC subdomain to host your comic on if you need it
  your very own forum on our board
  free web-design
  and a free comic management script decked out just the way you like it
  To enter all you have to do is send an email with your name and comic URL, DeviantArt accounts and things like that are okay too.

  There is a catch though, you have to update at least once a week. Miss an update and you’re out of the running. Of course, things like losing a limb and alien abduction will have exceptions made for them.

  We’ve even compiled an all-star team of judges to help out on this thing too, like:

  Tim Demeter — editor, Graphic Smash
  Daku the Rogue — founder/podcaster, Digital Strips
  and DJ Coffman — cartoonist, Yirmumah!
  plus a one or two BSC members may get in on the action
  So what’re you waiting for, drop that email on us. We’re ready and the judges are starting to foam at the mouth.

Things is happening over Dumbrella way; many people seem to think that Jeff Rowland doesn’t actually like Garfield. In other news, Rich Stevens is picking his battles; two shirts are going away on Friday, one may be hanging in there, but final disposition remains to be seen. On the positive side, Pixelween starts today with a little animation action.

Speaking of action, Jon Rosenberg‘s got an action figure, and if you pre-ordered one, you possibly have it now, too! At least, I do — waiting on my front porch when I got home last night. My wife was very amused by the back-of-the-box copy, and thinks that the little tiny Necronomicon (2nd edition) accessory is the funniest toy supplement ever. As an added bonus, I now have proof positive that as he was autographing my toy’s box, Jon ordered pizza. Bringing you the nutritional habits of your favorite webtooners is what we’re all about here at Fleen.

Speaking of my porch, I’m carving my annual webcomics–themed Halloween pumpkins this week. One will be an Andy Bell design (and some day, I hope to be able to manage a devil bears and Esther tableau), and one is a mystery until I see if I can make it work the way I want to. Pictures coming soon.

If you can’t make SPX (starting today in Bethesda, MD), or the ZLIKS party (tonight in SoHo), or Stumptown (coupla weeks in Portland, OR) (and at least two of those events feature booze + webcomics artistes), there are a few things you might want to look into.

• Tomorrow and Sunday in Memphis, TN, it’s Con-Sequential, with Steve Troop representin’; drop by and let him know what you think of the 24-hour comic experiment he’s running.
• Do you like food? Because also in the great expanse of flyover country, Dave Kellett will be at Monty’s Gourmet Foods in Kansas City. Not really a comics-kinda deal, but Kellett designed labels for the sauces and salsas, and will be on hand from noon to six on Saturday. When you go, be sure to challenge Kellett to a rousing game of Eat That Taco (I can’t believe I found that strip).
• The Lancaster Comics Convention in Lancaster, UK hits on the 28th; webcomickers expected in attendance include Liz Greenfield, Ali Graham, James Turner, and the Mancunian Dreamboat himself, John Allison. Ladies, please! One at a time!
• In today’s Why Was I Not Informed Of This Earlier category, a quick disclaimer: the words “fan fiction” usually give me the jibblies pause, so why am I so taken with Serenity Tales? There’s some pretty damn good webcomics over there, set in the context of a pretty damn good story, with names like Mike Russell and Bill Mudron contributing. If you can’t make any of the events coming up and like things that are awesome, you could do worse than spending some time here.
• Finally, and appropos of nothing, I got a real kick out of the first panel of today’s Two Lumps. Cats know they’re superior to us, and sometimes they’ve got good reason to feel that way.

As promised yesterday, the Third Annual Stumptown Comics Fest is kicking off at the end of the month in Portland, OR; as a relatively new event, this one has fallen a bit below the radar, but to me, it seems like a Pacific Northwest version of MoCCA. Check out the attendees list, which includes Christopher Baldwin, Vera Brosgol, Kazu Kibuishi, Jenn Manley Lee, David Malki !, Dylan Meconis, Kevin Moore, Los Bros Smith, Colleen AF Venable, and Chris Yates. Plus, the other Dinosaur Comics.

If you make it to SPX in Bethesda this weekend, something you might want to check out would be the stage production of Get Your War On, playing in DC through Saturday. Yesterday’s Washington Post had a hell of a good review of the show.

And if you can’t make it to SPX this weekend, there’s a good chance it’s because you’re at the launch party for Andy Bell‘s new Psycho Zliks toys in Manhattan. It’s a little early for Halloween, but knowing Bell’s work, you’ll still have that creeped-out, not-so-fresh feeling in 2½ weeks.

In case anybody wants to see Scott McCloud at Princeton next week, the main university website is kind of useless. I did a bit of digging, and there’s better information found here. Some details (like when the tour started) are wrong, but at least it lists the time (4:30pm on Thursday, October 5) and location (Jimmy Stewart Theater on Nassau Street).

No info on tickets or pricing (if any), but another page says that “All members of the Princeton community are invited to attend”, which sounds like an open door policy to me.

So Scott McCloud and family pulled into Midtown Comics in Times Square last Friday, for the first signing of the year-long Making Comics tour. This is just the start of a long-haul marathon, so be sure to keep your eyes open for when they’ll be coming through your town. For example, McCloud will be travelling within a few miles of Fleen Central in about a month, and it’s hoped that we can get a little interview in.

In the meantime, check out the photos! A continuous line of people waited for the opportunity to buy a book, get an autograph, and thank McCloud for his creative works (look for a review in the coming day or two). McCloud and family were well-nourished with cupcakes, leading to what The Greatest Theoriest of Comics to called The Money Shot. Fleen is offering a small reward to anybody who can identify the goofball tossing ‘the horns’ there behind Winter and Sky.

Local webcomics mafiosi (the print comics folks seemed to all be in Baltimore) in attendance included (left to right) Rich Stevens, Phillip Karlsson, and Chris Hastings. Most ironic moment: an earnest young man was speaking excitedly to McCloud about micropayments in the world of Korean on-line games; McCloud then looked up to see that the next person in line was a demonically-grinning Jon Rosenberg (shown here with the most patient woman in the world). The moment was tense, but then they all laughed like at the end of an episode of Super Friends.

Also, because I love you people so, please enjoy this podcast of the interview Scott did on launch day with Leonard Lopate of WNYC in New York. A little on the short side, but it’ll tide us over until Sky can get her computer fixed and mix up some Winterviews.

Speaking of Sky, you may have heard that she’s looking to get signatures from as many artists whose work is excerpted in Making Comics as possible. At the end of the tour, she’s donating the book to the CBLDF for auction, so if you’re an artist who might be in the book (and there’s about 50 webcomics artists represented on page 200 alone!), be sure to offer to sign. And if you’re not one of those artists, go to the signings anyway — you won’t find a smarter, more humble, gracious guy in comics than Scott McCloud, and you can tell him I said so.

Hey, where are you gonna be in, oh, eight hours or so? If you’re anywhere near New York City, and you don’t feel like dealing with the vast crowds of contrived hipsters, smelling of too much money and other people’s effort, get over to Midtown Comics Times Square location. From 5:00 to 7:00 this evening, Scott McCloud and family will be holding court, with a signing of Making Comics; I got my copy yesterday and I’ve started my first pass; initial impressions are that it’s brilliant (but be honest, we all suspected that).

McCloud has promised that every signing he does eventually turns into a Q&A session, so no worries if you missed last night’s event at SVA. Come early, stay late, and let the man know that you appreciate his work. Word is you might be able to congratulate Rich Stevens on his syndication deal, too.

Also, contrary to scurrilous lies told elsewhere, cupcakes are delicious.

Midtown Comics is the one place I’ve ever bought my funnybooks on a regular basis that hasn’t gone out of business, lost a lease, or carried such an embarrassingly-narrow range that I couldn’t get what I wanted. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and their frequent-purchaser plan just saved me $20 on Lost Girls. Bonus: they’re about two blocks from the office where I usually work.

Ultra-mega-super bonus: in one week, they will be hosting Scott McCloud for one of the first events of the year-long Making Comics 50 States Tour.

Here’s where I might embarrass McCloud a bit — he told me he’s a little concerned that the first signing of the tour might get overlooked. He mentioned the scene from Spinal Tap with a slight shudder of dread. I assured him that New York has at least a couple of people that like comics.

Now Midtown’s a big store, and I don’t want to look like a liar here; if you live within commute distance of Manhattan, come on down on the 8th. We want that room packed with people buying books, and to set the tone for one hell of a tour. If you don’t live near NYC, well, there’s lots of other cities where the metaphorical bus will be pulling in, so expect to read more stories of McCloud clan adventures on their extended trek.

See you Friday between 5:00 and 7:00 pm; I’ll bring cupcakes. Seriously, I will.

First dates for Scott McCloud’s Making Comics Tour announced; we at Fleen will do our best to cover various stops by McCloud and family.

Continuing from yesterday; if you’re interested in some of pictures of these sessions, Gilead Pellaeon has ’em, along with his writeups of these sessions.

Webcomics 103: Making Money
At the podium, Bill Barnes (Unshelved)
On the panel, Robert Khoo (Penny Arcade), Howard Tayler (Schlock Mercenary), Jennie Breeden (The Devil’s Panties), Phillip Karlsson (Dumbrella Hosting), and Scott Kurtz (PvP).

The Sign Said, “I’ll Just Blow It On Bandwidth”
Barnes opened up the floor to questions, and the first one dealt with making money when starting out — and how can comic books be a part of that? Khoo leapt to the fore with a strong answer that we’ll quote here: “I don’t know why everybody has a fuckin’ hard-on for the book deal. This is webcomics. The goal is not to make comic books when you can do so much more. You can create lots of kinds of content, you can monetize lots of different things.”
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