You want new? We got new! First up, David Morgan Mar wants you to make a webcomic. You put your skills & preferences into a matrix, and when your name comes up in the queue, you contribute to an ongoing comic. This could be insanely, bizarrely awesome, or collapse like a game of “Telephone” with too many people whispering purple monkey dishwasher. I cannot wait to see what happens.

Also new, the long-running PC Weenies, which will cheerfully put you in the strip for a modest fee, is looking forward to strip #1000 in grand (ha, ha!) fashion. Wanna be in the landmark strip? It’s up for bid. Ironically, the 1000th strip extraganza is currently going for less than the usual guest-star fee; barring a last-minute bidding frenzy, this could turn out to be the bargain of the year

And, not strictly speaking new, but new for 2007, there’s a brand new set of 12 card for Valentine’s Day over at Scene Language, and more at The Devil’s Panties (featuring images from the deck of cards — hearts, naturally). Panties creator Jennie Breeden is also doing custom greeting cards — you pick the strip, pick the wording, and hey presto, it’s on the way to you. It’s like a completely-customized piece of merch for you and you alone. Neat.

So the new WCCA nominations have hit, and one may notice a few changes over years past:

1. Per Mark Mekkes’s report a month or so back, the genre categories remain, but fourth-tier categories for next year are up for nomination.
2. The voting round will continue until 11 February, with winners announced on 19 February; this is not only a compressed schedule compared to last year (with nine full weeks between preliminary nominations and final winners), it’s much earlier in the year. Recall that last year, the awards weren’t announced until more than halfway through the year, which probably lessened their impact a great deal.

All that being said, what’s an award without some Whaaa moments? I mean, seriously, Best Adapted Screenplay? Similarly, some headscratchers at the WCCAs:

• I thought it slightly odd that A Lesson Is Learned … is nominated for Outstanding Layout despite being officially on hiatus for fully a third of the year and having released a total of seven comics in 2006 (and none after May). But they are very good comics, it is a very nice layout, and the question of Should there be a minimum amount of work in the year to qualify for nomination? has been asked before.
• I like the redesign of PvP that Thin Slice did; since the site took a nomination for Outstanding Website Design, I hope that Scott Kurtz will share it with them if he wins.
• There’s always going to be differences of opinion; for example, I probably would have put Gunnerkrigg Court up for Outstanding Science Fiction Comic, instead of Outstanding Fantasy Comic as it was. Even Scott Kurtz seems to wonder if PvP is really a gaming comic (which would be a prerequisite to being Outstanding Gaming Comic). And in a crowded field of seven (!) entries, Outstanding Single Panel Comic inexplicably omits xkcd; if only for his tireless efforts to keep us warned as to the continuing threat of velociraptors, Randall Munroe deserved a nod.

But if these are the biggest things I can bitch about (and they are, pretty much), then the WCCA committee did a pretty good job. It’s especially gratifying to note that the nominees for Outstanding Comic represent a wide variety of artistic and storytelling styles. If you’re not familiar with Girl Genius, Gunnerkrigg Court, Narbonic, Perry Bible Fellowship, Scary Go Round, and Templar Arizona, now’s the time to get started.

Ugly Hill creator Paul Southworth in GENERIC SEX-LUBE shocker in the hallowed halls of Harvard Goddamn University! No news at this time as to the state of his pants.

Naturally, this means that I owe “Jonathan Gaudet and Allycia” a dollar. Email me, kiddies, and your American Cash Money will be on its way.

From David Malki !, an announcement:

The following announcement is only for people who write short stories and would like to get paid for it! Everyone else please close your eyes.

This is an open call for entries for a book that Ryan and Matt and I are publishing. It’s called Machine of Death and the premise is basically “What if everyone knew how they were going to die?”

Details on this coolness at machineofdeath.net!

Webcomickers will be found at opposite ends of Massachusetts starting today, what with Jephy McJacquespants, the Applegeeks crüe and Rob Balder holding forth at Genericon, on the campus of RPI, in Troy, NY (and rumor has it that at least one more long-time webcomic guy lives ’round those parts). Meanwhile, look for Paul Southworth, R Stevens 3, J-Ro, and Shaenon Garrity bringin’ the love and panel wisdom to Vericon, on the campus of Hahvahd in Cambridge, MA. If you bring Southworth some lube, I will give you a dollar. Update: And some Charmin! And yes, I know that Troy, NY is not technically in Massachusetts, but I did my graduate work at Rensselaer, and trust me, it’s bloody close enough. And, given the cold snap in the Northeast this weekend, coolness will be in extra-abundance.

I’ve felt like this on occasion. Don’t tell my wife, but it’s really cool.

Ever wonder what it’s like to be Liz Cusack Greenfield? She is very polite about penises, and exudes cool even in a steam room.

Update: What’s cooler than a new Winterview? How about one that a) takes place in Halifax; and b) features Bryan Lee O’Malley and Hope Larson? Five bucks says that somebody gets a powerup during the interview.

On the one hand, you have a McCloud tour stop interview in comic form — very cool. Good likenesses of Scott, Ivy, Sky & Winter, too.

On the other, Friend-o-Fleen/foe of syndication¹ Dave Kellett informs us in his blog (no direct link, sorry) that:

Looks like Sheldon started a bit of an trend over at comics.com! Fellow comics.com refugee Barkeater Lake has moved to an independent site … and it’s lookin’ good. Head on over!

We at Fleen will be keeping our eyes on comics.com, and we’ll be sure to tell you if any other comics follow the lead of Kellett and Barkeater creator Corey Pandolph.

Lastly, the guys at Unshelved, fresh off their ALA convention trip, took some time this morning to tell us that their Pimp My Bookcart contest has a winner. Check out the winner out (pictured up top) here, and the runners up here. Congratulations to Bill Barnes & Gene Ambaum for having such a tremendous response, and to Katie George and the teens of the Miller Branch Library in Ellicott City, MD for their win.

¹ It turns out that Kellett is actually the once-torrid-lover of syndication, bummed at the thought that the system doesn’t really offer the professional life it once did.

Killroy and Tina‘s been on my read list for a damn long time — more than five years now, since we first saw a despotic space tyrant banished to Earth and bionetically bonded to a 17 year old girl with a goofball boyfriend. And it looks like after all that time, Brandon gets his wish today. Too bad Killroy’s getting a front [al lobe] row seat for all that hot ‘n’ heavy action.

Justin Pierce has made a lot of progress with his art and storytelling in the ensuing five years, and he’s decided to retire K&T at the top of his game. The story that he originally imagined may not be complete, but it was always funny and weirdly candy-colored, plus it had the occasional TMBG reference. And we still get Wonderella on Saturdays, so that’s all right.

Also going away, Toyzville is on indefinite hiatus; but let us speak of beginnings! Larry Merrill is taking the time saved from Toyzville and turning it into a new project with Steve Campbell. And as long as we’re speaking of beginnings and endings, THE END has recently begun, as has August Jessor. Both of them are pretty new, and off to promising starts. One of them (THE END) being an apocalyptic sort of mysterious journey; the other (Jessor) reminding me of Kazu Kibuishi‘s non-Copper work (such as you might find in Flight), by way of Finland. And hey, look at that — August Jessor updates weekly, just like Killroy and Tina did, and I have an open slot in my reading list. Funny how things work out like that.

In the interests of completeness, please note that the Jessor folks are publishing a friend’s webcomic in the US in the new two months; that webcomic is the new-to-me Gone With The Blastwave, which is remiscient of the best of, say, Get Your War On mixed with Red vs. Blue. Keep your eyes open for it.

Where to start, where to start? How about with Owen Dunne

On March 13, YDK! will celebrate it’s ten year anniversary. Whew!

Yeah, it was on that date in 1997 that YDK first appeared in the pages of the Milwaukee, WI alternative Shepherd Express. Having never missed a week in the paper since then, that’s 520 childhood stories, each edited down into a little four panel comic strip. Add the extra stories and other bits that have appeared exclusively on the web and the total goes up to over 600. That’s a lot.

All the way from some doodlings on the back of an envelope while I was working at a car dealership to an option deal with Fox. Ten years. I think YDK as we know it, has done all it can do.

The ten year anniversary will be ending, but also a beginning. On March 13, 2007, www.youdamnkid.com will re-launch with all new features and an updated version of the comic strip you’ve come to enjoy. Not just a cosmetic change, with new layouts, etc, but a complete overhaul of the whole damn thing. Until then, I’ll be running “best of” strips.

Much as I enjoy The Beevnicks, I’ve always liked YDK better; this is welcome news, and we at Fleen congratulate Dunne, and look forward to the relaunch with eager anticipation.

Next up (by way of Journalista) is the news that American Born Chinese has won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature for young adults, from the American Library Association (that would be the same group that doles out the justly-famous Newbery and Caldecott medals). ABC is the first graphic novel to win; it may be noted that MT Anderson‘s The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume One: The Pox Party, which defeated ABC for the National Book Award, was a runner up. We at Fleen congratulate Yang once again for his achievements.

In still more news (slightly belated this time), Andy Bell is celebrating the fifth anniversary of The Creatures In My Head, which is surely worthy of recognition. We at Fleen congratulate Bell, and sincerely hope that he gets the help he so desperately needs.

And, from yet another Ryan that does webcomics:

I’m the guy that does Funny Farm (7th year) and a relatively new comic called Banished! (1 year now). Banished! is a humor-space opera-adventure themed comic that WAS on hiatus, due to artist problems. Now I have an exciting new illustrator that’s taking the comic to a whole new level.

So that’s an anniversary, a new artist, and a return from hiatus, all in a combo-platter or awesome. We at Fleen congratulate Ryan [Smith], and wish him the best with of success with new collaborator Brandon Zuckerman.

If you follow webcomics at all, I’m certain you’ve seen the announcement, but here it is anyway:

Dear Valued Bitpass Merchant,

We want to thank you for your past business, however due to circumstances beyond our control, we are discontinuing our operations.

We have partnered with Digital River to provide operational support during the period prior to shut down. As of today, January 19, 2007, all Bitpass Buyers with US dollar denominated accounts are being notified that they will have seven (7) days to spend any amounts that currently exist in their Bitpass Account.

During this seven day period, US Buyers will not be able to add additional funds into their account.

On January 26, all US Bitpass Buyer accounts will be closed and we will begin the process of refunding all unspent monies to the accountholder.

Bitpass Merchant Accounts will be available for viewing until February 28, 2007. At that time any funds that you have on account or owed to you will be refunded or paid. All account records and materials will be retained for 60 days and available upon request.

Again we would like to thank you for your business and support.

Matthew Graves
Chief Operating Officer
Bitpass Inc.

Or maybe you hadn’t; at the time of writing, the Bitpass home page featured nothing in the News section more recent than last October. With Bitpass going the way of the non-avian dinosaurs, that leaves IndieKarma to process small payments in a (semi-) transparent way. Since IndieKarma has, as of this writing, managed to sign up a total of 1140 people (despite the promise of one free dollar of credit to the first 5000 accounts) since founding last May, don’t expect micropayments to suddenly rise from the ashes like a phoenix.

Want to know why Bitpass failed? I think the answer lies in a poll at Goats (where, it must be said, Jon Rosenberg has been notably unimpressed with the concept of micropayments for some time now). He’s got some surprisingly kind words to mark the passing of BitPass, and asks how people will be spending the money they get back. The results (as of 11:00am GMT – 5:00) are:

• 14% (22) 1/10 of a lapdance
• 4% (6) 3 pages of a novel
• 6% (10) 0.5 Tootsie Rolls
• 1% (2) Lots and lots of interweb comics
• 73% (113) I never got a Bitpass account

Highly unscientific, but it’s about as good as you’re going to get, and that last number has been holding steady at about 72 — 73% even as the number of votes has gone up. And speaking of highly unscientific surveys, the deadline for getting in on the traffic/income analysis is next week, and we’re still only halfway to the 100 responses I’m looking for. Maybe with a few more hard numbers, BitPass might have fared better.

So when two so very different people as Howard Tayler (upstanding SLC family man destined for heaven) and Jon Rosenberg (insane NYC whackjob headin’ straight to Hades) both tell me to check out a new webcomic, I figure there’s gotta be something there. And when said webcomic shares a collective with Order of the Stick, is written and drawn by established creators, and is opened up under a Creative Commons license that allows remixing, then it’s pretty much a no-brainer.

Thus, Erfworld. It’s every fantasy, RPG, and gamer geek trope rolled into one, with Giant Magical Elvises (Elvii?) and speech impediments thrown in for good measure. Short version: the idiot Lord Stanley, attempting to conquer the world, has managed to decimate his own forces by putting a series of prettyboys in high military offices. His chief magic slinger, Lady Firebaugh, has a plan to import the ultimate tactical genius (from whatever dimension) to take over the army and prevent Gobwin Knob from being destroyed.

But it looks like they got Parson Gotti, a semi-depressed gamemaster/webcomics creator who works at Kinkos and waits for marshmallow peeps to get good ‘n’ stale before eating them. Clearly, Parson getting imported into a fantasy game world is the key setup of the story, and we’ve only just gotten there (Balder and Noguchi have taken their time setting up the world and its rules), so there’s lots of potential in front of us.

Given that the plot is just getting started, what I’m really digging most right now are the little details and touchstones that populate each page; it’s hard to tell if a magic communicating hat that accepts messages with a POOF and delivers them with a FOOP was Balder’s idea or Noguchi’s, but it’s hilarious. Likewise, keep an eye open for obligatory Tolkien references, IM without technology, poop jokes, turn-based game references and comically oversize weapons, graphical memes and leetspeak, more poop jokes, Watchmen references, and Tron references with more cleavage than Jeff Bridges ever dreamt of.

And what the hell — if you actually followed all those links, you’ve read most of Erfworld already, so you may as well read the rest. It’s good stuff.

Oh, Graphic Smash, why hast thou forsaken me? Girlamatic, I’m pining away for your wholesome companionship! Modern Tales, I die for lack of webcomicky goodness! Serializer and AdultWebcomics … okay, I don’t really read you guys, but still.

Looks like the entire MT family is down right now. Citizens are urged to remain calm, and to stay tuned for further updates.