Thanks to everybody for their well-wishing over the past week; my siblings are out of the bad part of the hospital (the part that ends in “intensive care”) and into the good part (the one where boredom and crappy food are the big headaches). I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, but I want to take a moment to thank Brad Guigar and Kate Beaton for seeing to it that you were kept busy last week.

Normal posts (to the extent that we’ve ever had anything normal around here) resume tomorrow.

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.

Re: the nascent web/print poo-fling in The Daily Cartoonist Ted Rall de-jobbed thread. When all present have a sense of humor about such things, truly inspired lunacy can result once it is realized that print/web are not nearly as important as the great controversies in life:

My vote’s for Kirk

That’s all very well, Peter, but you’re just closing your eyes to Picard’s superior business model.

Janeway! Janeway! Janeway! *grins, ducks and runs like the wind*

Clearly this Kirk, Picard, and, uh, Janeway argument is ridiculous … everyone knows Sisko was the dude!

Yeah, well I challenge Picard to show us his tax returns. The Borg don’t buy that many T-shirts.

Kirk got more ladies than Picard did. Maybe if Picard wasn’t so closed-minded, he could have picked up some tips from Kirk.
[emphasis to aid readability]

Well done, TDC commenters, well done.

So a couple months back, a gent named Neil Cohn made an open call for people to participate in a survey of how people perceive visual language (via a bunch of Peanuts strips). The data are being used to further his research into visual language theory, and your help is once again requested:

This one consists of making judgements about various created comic strips, and takes roughly 20 minutes. Participation again enters you into a drawing for a $50 Gift Certificate to Best Buy (redeemable either online or in store).

The study can be found online here.

Best,

Neil
——
Department of Psychology
Tufts University

One of the things that’s generally prevented better models of webcomics success (popularity, business, etc.) is having enough data to make statistically valid conclusions. While Cohn isn’t addressing any of those things I just cited, any research into how comics work ought to be seen as in the interests of our community. Go, click, maybe win.

• Also in the “maybe win” vein: Ryan Estrada is looking for reviews of his Zudaentry, and is not above a little incentivizing to get ’em. Review TKYDBHTM (either good or bad), post it, and link it here, and you’ll be automatically entered to win STUFF. As Fleen is nominally a news/information propogation vehicle, we do feel somewhat constrained by the occasional tug of journalistic ethics so we’re not entering … but if you’re a comics fan, get to it.

  Even if you aren’t after his stuff, Ryan would also like you to know that he’s re-launched his adventure video series, starting with death defiance in Africa. This is so exciting — I hope he makes it.

• Speaking of Zuda, long-time readers may remember the review of Intergalactic Law than ran here a few years back, and may wish to know that a spinoff is also in competition at The Big Z with Intergalactic Law: Grey Squad. Even more, you may wish to know that your votes for IL:GS will benefit a good cause:
  

  Lisa Fary and John Dallaire, are devoting their latest comic effort, Intergalactic Law: Grey Squad, to raising money for Philadelphia’s Fraternal Order of Police survivors fund.

  For every vote and comment that Grey Squad earns, Fary and Dallaire will donate twenty-five cents to the Philadelphia police survivors fund. They know it doesn’t sound like much, but they are hoping to raise $1000 for the survivors fund.

• Probably gone by now, but holy crap: Dresden Codak HOB hardcovers! This is just my impression, but given that the pre-order has nearly been filled (as of this writing) in less than 12 hours means that DC readers are in a state of excitement normally reserved for the author of this modern masterpiece of film critique (no pics, but still possibly not safe for your place of employment if the naughty words filters are up). Hurry if you want one.

Ted Rall reports that he was laid off as the comics acquisitions editor at United Media; the inevitable shit–fight between webbers and strippers in The Daily Cartoonist fora has actually been pretty evitable so far, but the day is still young.

Whoops! Took too long to edit this. Wiley Miller’s made it all about webcomics and while Randy Milholland’s possibly defused the situation, there’s every possibility it could erupt again. Monkey-boys and -girls, prepare your poop for flinging.

It’s probably way too soon to declare any lessons from this situation, but let’s try anyway:

• The one syndicate editor (that I’m aware of) that was aggressive about finding new strips that don’t look like every other legacy strip on the comics page is out
• The chances of making it as a new syndicated cartoonist just officially fell even further
• Losing your job sucks; yes, Rall is a professional gadfly and I am not the only person who cannot not reconcile his in-person demeanor (amiable, considerate) and considerable journalistic courage with his public persona (which can be charitably described as slash and burn, and don’t get me started on his near-religious adherence to the idea that Only print pays), but it’s a shame that he now faces the financial difficulty that comes with job loss

Speaking of jobs, more job postings should contain the words lunkhead, nunchucks, and MWA HA HA HA. This interested in working for free developing valuable skills as an intern for a possible madman, David Malki ! is looking for some help.

Anybody else finding Gmail acting weird stuff on Opera today? Odd bits of formatting & display that go away in the Basic HTML mode? I don’t think it’s just me because it’s happening on multiple computers, and sudden mysterious behavioral changes have happened before. Anyway, webcomics:

• The Stumptown Trophy Awards for 2009 (does anybody call them “The Stumpies”? If not, they should) have been announced, and it looks like a big day for Templar, AZ creator Spike. She picked up the Outstanding Art, Outstanding Writing, and Outstanding Webcomic awards. I’ll also note that Ellie Connelly creator Indigo Kelleigh was recognized for his outstanding work creating the Stumptown Comic Fest edit to re-add accidentally deleted clause: and Oustanding Design winner Jeffrey Ellis for Historyonics, a Vancouver webcomicker anthology, which kind of cements the idea that Indy Comics and Webcomics are pretty much the same thing. Time for a new word to describe the genre, rather than the distribution channel? Answers on a postcard.
• Holy crap KC Green is putting up a sketchbook for auction which is (as of this writing) only fetching $61. If you’re familiar with Green’s webcomics work, you know he’s got an incredibly fluid, organic quality to his linework, but that’s absolutely squat compared to seeing his actual ink-on-paper. Right now this moment, this sketchbook is the bargain of the year. Next week just before the auction closes and it’s going for many hundreds of dollars? Still the bargain of the year.

There’s other stuff I wanted to talk about, but Gmail’s straight-up bitchassedness (that has quickly become one of my favorite words) means my story-ideas emails are inconvient right now. Hopefully, Google will stop futzing with the code and it’ll magically get better again.

Updated to add (and clarify the link trail): Heidi MacDonald has been pointing towards Van Jensen, who read Platinum’s annual report so you don’t have to, but go ahead and read it anyway. My favorite part was this little gem (bottom of pg 10, spilling over to pg 11):

We believe that the success of WOWIO is dependent on a number of factors, including the ability of the Company to sustain an aggressive marketing campaign to attract readers, a multi-pronged effort in business development to attract corporate sponsors, and an outreach program to attract more publishers. These efforts require an infusion of capital until the revenues can make the endeavor self-sustaining. Due to a number of factors that include 1) a global economic pull-back, impacting all industries, including the online advertising market, and 2) an inherited liability to pay WOWIO publishers royalties for the quarter immediately preceding the Company’s acquisition and subsequent inability to pay off such obligation, the Company faced unforeseen factors that required a cessation of marketing, promotional, and sales activity for WOWIO. The Company kept WOWIO in a maintenance mode with the intention of re-charging the efforts in 2009. [emphasis mine]

That bolded bit? I’m not a securities lawyer, but I think that’s legalese for Webcomics content creators, you are never getting paid what WOWIO owes you.

Listed under “Risk Factors”, I noticed (pg 22):

IF WE DO NOT MAINTAIN THE CONTINUED SERVICE OF OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, OUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS MAY BE AFFECTED.

Our success is substantially dependent on the performance of our executive officers and key employees. Given our early stage of development, we are dependent on our ability to retain and motivate high quality personnel. Although we believe we will be able to engage qualified personnel for such purposes, an inability to do so could materially adversely affect our ability to market, sell, and enhance our products. The loss of one or more of our key employees or our inability to hire and retain other qualified employees, including but not limited to development staff, business development staff, digital publishing staff and corporate office support staff, could have a material adverse effect on our business. [emphasis original]

No comment. And I’ll leave note 2 on pg 53 as an exercise for the reader.

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.

No reason, it’s just nice and sunny today in New York, and I’m wishing I had my sunglasses with me.

• Update: Frank Frisina’s niece safe.
• Titans of Small Town chat with O.N.S.T.A.D. transcript now available; click here for the PDF.
• Chris Sims of The Invincible Super-Blog (referenced last week on this very page) spoke to Valerie D’Orazio about comics, of the print and web varieties:
  

  I’m also a huge fan of Rich Burlew’s ORDER OF THE STICK and Chris Hastings’ DR. McNINJA, which is probably the best thing the Internet’s ever given the world. I don’t read them regularly, but I’ve been picking up the print collections that Dark Horse has been doing for ACHEWOOD and WONDERMARK, and those are both fantastic as well.

  In fact, Sims reviewed the latest Dark Horse Wondermark book on his own site; both the interview and the review are good reads.

• So … Twitshirt. I’m wagering that somebody there knew copyright law before yesterday, but just to make sure here’s the short form: I create it, I own it, I don’t have to opt out of crappy IP-farming schemes.

  Yes, there are exceptions for Fair Use, but note the language regarding transformation and amount taken. But just to be sure, I sent this to their contact page (inaccessible right now, as the site appears to be down — perhaps due to the massive backlash that I imagine is brewing). If that doesn’t do it, I have a boilerplate C&D right here ready to be sent to the Twitshirt brain-trust known as Airbag Industries LLC. Oh, look! A contact email address!

• Let’s end on a happy note, shall we? Some webcomics love, courtesy of The AV Club.

Update to add: She’s safe.
Frank Frisina, partner with Ryan Estrada’s on Life’s a Bluff, is having a nightmare right now. His 14 year old niece (that’s her above) is missing since Saturday night from her home in Colorado. Details here.

We don’t seem to have “sticky” capability for posts, so if the dates on this one keep changing, it’s to keep it at the top of the page. Regular post later.

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?