People coming to NYCC have a little too much cool stuff for sale. Jeff Rowland is rumored to have brought 15 plush Joannas (and I heard tell of a cheerleader outfit that she likes to wear), Paul Southworth is unveiling the first Ugly Hill t-shirt (it’s a secret design that you can only get in person), Jon Rosenberg has that swanky Science Is Satan Spelled Backwards shirt on pre-order, but all that pales in comparison to the coolest new piece of webcomics merch.

Jennie Breeden continues her quest to drag webcomics into new product categories; having brought us the kilts/leafblower calendar and the playing cards, she now adds a picture puzzle. 500 pieces, full color, detailed art, and a punchline (plus boobies). Add that to her ongoing Devil’s Panties comic book, which is up to issue #9 in the direct market where it’s common wisdom that:

1. humorous,
2. black and white,
3. independently published,
4. non-superhero comic books
5. by/about women

don’t sell. But she’s releasing regularly & on schedule, while massive corporations can’t get their marquee books out the door without months-long delays. Breeden is doing something really cool, and I’m going to do my best to talk with her about it this weekend.

Unshelved hits the Big Five-Null today; take away some of the more explicit trappings of library and it’s fundamentally a workplace comic, just with lots more books around than most workplaces. But even if that was all that Unshelved was (and it’s not), you’d still have to give big “ups” (as the kids say) to Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes (a noble fellow, to be sure) for two things:

• They really, really want you to know about good books; if you’ve never checked out their Sunday strips (which take the form of short book reviews, and form a suggestion list for book clubs), do so. Great variety of stuff there.
• They really, really want you to appreciate what librarians do. Far from the cliche of the shhhshing lady with the hair in a severe bun, modern librarians engage in a wide variety of services and programs, across all media, forming an invaluable resource in any community, and it’s free to you. And Ambaum and Barnes get ’em to pimp up their book carts for shits ‘n’ giggles.

So congrats to Ambaum and Barnes; next time you drop by your local library, make sure the local staff knows about the boys and give ’em some love.

First off, a few of you had contacted me regarding it, so I’ll mention that my NYCC press credentials came through officially making me something resembling a hack journo, now. I’m so proud. I that vein, we have some news for you.

Tim Demeter, editor/T II of Graphic Smash and Clickwheel, informs us that Clickwheel has been acquired:

Clickwheel Ltd, the comics to iPod company, has been acquired by computer games super-developer, Rebellion, developer of such video games as Alien vs Predator and Rogue Trooper.

A videogame developer seems an odd bit of synergy, until we realize what else Rebellion owns: 2000AD. A company that exists to put comics on the iPod, one the most elegant pieces of consumer electronics engineering ever, is now owned by JUDGE DREDD. If Demeter approaches you and declares that HE IS THE LAW, don’t argue with him.

In gentler (but no less ass-kicking news), Whitney Robinson of Alma Mater has told us that she’ll be making an announcement on Monday — she’ll be holding a contest with an iPod up for grabs. Be sure to check out Alma Mater on Monday for the full deal, and if I were you, I’d start reading the strip very closely, paying attention to small details.

Webcomics will be making themselves known at various conventions in the near time frame. For instance, you gots the New York Comic Con (now with added breathing room!) starting this Friday. Things kick off in the morning for members “of the trade” only (which means that webcomics panel we wrote about last week? You can’t go.) and open to the public at 4:00pm. Multiple members of Dumbrella will be in evidence, as will selected members of Blank Label, a wandering-about Chris Hastings, and the nomadic Jennie Breeden. Anybody that travels for work, think you got it bad? Check out Breeden’s convention schedule.

I’m assuming at this point that NYCC has approved my press pass, since I’m getting a mountain of come-ons from publicists to come see their stuff at the show, but work will keep me from the webcomics panels; see Mr T’s blog for a writeup that he’s promised us. Anyway, look for me perhaps Friday afternoon, and most of Saturday, and be sure to check out R Stevens on the Syndication panel (which, mysteriously, he’s not listed as being a part of) on Sunday afternoon.

Other cons coming up include No Such Convention (at Vassar) the following weekend, with RK Milholland and Jeph Jacques, and The UK Web and Mini Comix Thing in London on March 17th. The latter will feature John Allison, Chris Hastings (assuming they let a ninja on a plane), Dave Roman & Raina Telgemeier, Tom Siddell, Mr Madsen, James Turner, Liz Greenfield, Lem, and others that I’m totally missing. It’s the most webcomicsariffic show this side of MoCCA, and you know what? I’m going to be in London, and with most of a Saturday to kill before making my way to Heathrow.

One week beforehand. Dammit! Well, try to have a nice Thing without me.

Remarkably consistent results this year, as every single award was won by either Perry Bible Fellowship, or Questionable Content. Ladies and Gentlemen, the issues surrounding webcomics are now settled, and it behooves us as lovers of the medium to throw our support behind our new Glorious Leaders, Nicholas Gurewitch and Jeph Jacques. I, for one, welcome our new webcomicky overlords.

Okay, not really, but they really did dominate the results. And I do welcome them as overlords … you ever seen Jeph Jacques in person? Guy’s a looming giant.

In other WCCA news, there was a glitch in the link trail, so go here for the Outstanding Writer, and here for Outstanding Use of the Medium. And it looks like Scott Kurtz picked a good design shop, since Thin Slice won Outstanding Web Design for their makeover of PvP.

Oh, and because it wouldn’t be webcomics without it … a Wikirant!

Quick roundup, then off for the long weekend.

• Andy Bell wants us to know about a gallery show that’s got a good cause behind it: the Gimme Shelter group show will be at 193c Gallery, at the rear of Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The webcomics connection? Bell hung most of the works on the gallery walls! Opening reception is in about 4½ hours, so get moving, people.
• After two months away from webcomics, Grant Thomas is back with a series of reductos on his Graphic Poems comic. New work added every Friday.
• Taija tells us that the scifi webzine/podcast Slice of Scifi just picked up Webcomics Nation denizen G.A.A.K: Groovy Ass Alien Kreatures for tooncasting. Zany!
• Michael Kinyon writes to ask what the deal is with all the ear infections in webcomics these days.
• The Fermento Show creator SuiZ writes to tell us about Matt Simpson, creator of Nuclear Powered Toaster, who’s lost two artists in less than a year. Anybody looking to work with a writer? Check out NPT.
• And lastly, from me — I’m getting some responses for the solicitation for Guest Columnist pieces, so let’s just lay out what you can expect:
  Think of it as like the op/ed page — anybody can submit, but we at Fleen reserve the right not to publish (keep it on topic and not too self-aggrandizing). You send it to me, but I won’t edit you beyond simple fixes on format, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. If it runs, it runs largely intact. I’ve add a new Guest Column tag so that people can find these articles and reviews. We may have our newest one as soon as next week, and it’s by an established, respected creator.

Okay, that’s it. Enjoy the (US only) holiday weekend (unless you have work) (I don’t).

Kris Straub, as usual, kicks asses that need kicking. More to the point, as an experiment, he engineerined a call for deleting his own webcomic, complete with fake users arguing the point on invalid grounds:

I started the vote to delete Starslip Crisis using a freshly-registered user with no other edits under his belt.

I also used faulty logic to initiate the discussion: I said www.starslip.com has no Alexa data, and isn’t notable as a result. (www.starslip.com is just a redirect: the comic’s URL is www.starslipcrisis.com and has an Alexa rank.)

Then I registered ten more fake users to stuff the original delete vote. This is called “sock puppetry� in Wikipedia terminology, and is frowned upon. The names of the fake users I used in the AfD are: Salby, Incredulous, Banalzebub, Hammerabbi, LKeith30, Repromancer, Expiwikist, Floxman, YothSog, and 66.27.212.63.

Gaming the system like that is strictly verboten at Wikipedia, and yet Straub was not surprised at the outcome:

What I tried to do was take the popular point of view among Wikipedia’s editors — “delete webcomics� — and then prove that it would be accepted even under fallacious/suspicious circumstances. And it looks like I was successful.

Starslip Crisis is gone from Wikipedia for made-up reasons championed by my team of ten grudge-carrying fakes.

As it turns out, it’s not hard to get something deleted from Wikipedia, especially if it’s on some ice-blasted, barren frontier land on the internet like webcomics, where no one really knows what’s important and what isn’t, and no one really cares to make sure. That’s pretty goddamn weak.

I believe that my future response for all Wikipedia/webcomics interactions will be That’s pretty goddamn weak. And I’m in agreement with Straub when he derives an Important Lesson from all of this: No playing ball in the house! No, wait, that was The Brady Bunch; Straub’s lesson is (in so many words) Screw you Wikipedia guys, I’m going home to make better webcomics!

And that’s pretty goddamn strong.

I think it’s safe to say from today’s Old Skool Diesel Sweeties that the very sexy R Stevens is a fan of Pearls Before Swine; what does today’s print version (temporary archive on comics.com; permanent link from Stevens to come in the next week) make him a fan of? There’s a tentacle reference, and an ambiguously-placed “ow” word balloon — did Stevens just take the comics page, bastion of family-friendly fun for six year olds of all ages, and slap an H on it?

Speaking of messin’ with The Man, Raymo Smookels is hacking the Google logo, and you Firefox users can get it for yourself. Chris Onstad promises more Smookel Doodles for appropriate days.

Now here’s where The Man starts to push back — given the accomplishments of so many webcomickers, a significant number of whom are in the gravitational sphere of Manhattan, how come the New York Comic Con is running panels concerning webcomics that:

1. Overlap in time
2. Feature no actual webcomics creators?

I’m applying for press credentials for this show, and this makes me want to ask some really rude questions of panelists who aren’t to blame for the stupidity of designing the panel like this, but are guilty of willfully participating. How about, “Hey, have any of you talked with the webcomics creators that make a living from webcomics and who are RIGHT NOW down on the show floor?” Or, “Hey, do any of you actually MAKE a webcomic?” I FEEL THE NEED TO START A RIOT COMING ON.

Fleen offers congratulations to Brad Guigar on having completed 2557 days as a webtooner. Through thick, thin, four strips, and numerous books, he’s been a mainstay of our little corner of the intertron, and one of the nicer guys you could ever meet. Whew! Urge to burn things fading.

Okay, this tempest has settled down, but should I find it … notable … that the guidelines for notability re: web content (including our beloved webcomics) may actually be more stringent than the guidelines for notability re: porn stars? Guess now we can, as suggested, get a grip.

Slow day. Yep. Shall we dip into the mailbag?

• Like round numbers? JG Brin wrote us last week to point out that his webcomic, The Crown Prince, hit strip #100. The happy news got lost in the shuffle of the Wikiwars (which tragically continue), but Brin soldiered on with quiet determination and produced stirp #101 in the meantime. Inside sources indicate that Brin may even be at work on #102 as we speak.
• Howsabout that Brinkerhoff? There’s something about the character designs that reminds me of Life In Hell with a case of pygmyism, and that’s never a bad thing. Anyhoo, Brink will be going the comic book route, with the first issue, I Bet It Tastes Like Licorice due in full-color glory at Emerald City Comic Con next month. Creator Gabe Strine is soliciting for letters to be included in the first issue, so get writing.
• Webcomics: we’re all friends here.
• New Livejournal comic! André Babyn (who used to do Canadian Creation Myth) has returned with Frank and Earl The Astronauts. Babyn informs us that It has poor art but not so poor that you will be spending ten seconds wincing at it. In fact, the art is about 37.8 times better than CaCreaMy, so that’s all right. No crazy astronaut ladies yet, but I have hopes!
• Spot the reader! Brian Wilson tells us that Hookie Dookie Panic is running a cameo contest in which the readers can post their photos and be drawn into the strip. Six have been so honored, with more to come. Seriously though — the concept is slightly dangerous; you never know what kind of whacko the reader might turn out to be.
• And wrapping things up, Michael Moss celebrates a year of torturing smiley faces and celebrating the “life” of register jockeys. Something tells me that the latter has a great deal to do with inspiring the former.