First off, some new kinds of content coming to Fleen; we’ll be experimenting with guest authors in the next couple of days, so be sure to let us know what you think of the experiment. Also, more interviews means more fun!

Secondly, Child’s Play is back, with nearly 30 hospitals world-wide for you to support. Speaking from a personal level, the past few years, my nieces and nephews have had donations made in their names to various childrens hospitals, and they’ve all told me that it means more to them than more stuff for themselves. Fleen hopes to talk with the coordinator of this massive effort shortly, and to find out exactly how the heck it’s been live for four days, and has already reached the $50,000 mark.

Thirdly, remember to update your bookmarks, because tomorrow Dave Kellett‘s Sheldon casts off the shackles of syndication to stand proud and free on its own. No more pop-ups and pop-unders, full archives for five years of strips, RSS feed, and much more coming your way. Don’t forget to kneel before Zod.

Update in the interests of full disclosure: Kellett’s new home on the web will be provided by Dumbrella Hosting, parent corporation of Fleen. Along similar lines, DH has finished migrating the WIGU and When I Grow Up archives, so any links to those sites are probably broken now; if you find any here, let us know and we’ll fix ’em.

We got new comics, we got review requests, we got nudity. Onwards!

From Brian Wilson:

I have been reading fleen for quite a while now, and really enjoy you’re professional reviews and insights into the comic world. I have found alot of strips through fleen that i really enjoy and would never have found otherwise. Anyway, I was hoping you guys could take a crack at reviewing my strip. I really think your readers would like my strip, and professionally it would bragable on my end.

and similarly from Kevin Forbes:

Simulated Comic Product is a chronically under-reviewed webcomic. Just sayin’ :)

Guys, your heartfelt appeals touch me, on the inside; consider yourselves in the Queue of Review.
(more…)

Two good links via Dirk Deppey today: a great interview with Gene Yang by Shaenon Garrity at Sequential Tart, and a story about Charlie Brown and a political campaign (with echoes of copyright infringement and what constitutes Fair Use) at the Nevada Appeal.

Speaking of copyright infringement If, like me, you thought that Steven Cloud might have actually been on the receiving end of a C&D over his character, Florida Cracker, you may breathe a sigh of relief. I was 99% certain that he was funnin’ with us, but the whole idea was just stupid enough that it could have been real; Mr Cloud has confirmed that all is well.

Still speaking of copyright infringement Unnamed sources tell us that Steven Cloud is considering suing “Florida Cracker” horses and cattle for infringing on his character, Florida Cracker. More on this story as it develops.

So we at Fleen have spoken to a number of creators about webcomics and (semi-)syndication, and it turns out a couple of ’em have news these days. First off, Chris Baldwin (Little Dee, Bruno), reports that:

[A] piece I wrote, illustrated, and colored is in MAD magazine this month (November, page 40). And it looks promising that we’ll sustain a continued relationship.

So go pick up a copy of MAD and check out page 40, and let the usual gang of idiots know that you like what Baldwin’s doing.

Secondly, it’s been hinted at for some time, on this page, and elsewhere, and now the day has finally come:

A heads-up for Sheldon readers…on Tuesday, Nov. 7th, I’ll be moving the strip to a new site at www.sheldoncomics.com.

…

The majority of Sheldon readers currently get the strip via comics.com/comics/sheldon, or via United Media’s e-mail delivery. And when the strip moves, these readers won’t have any way of know where the strip went to (I tried putting a notice in the strip…it got edited out).

BASTARDS! They barely edit for years, and now they cut stuff? Anyhoo, Dave Kellett’s promised us more info tomorrow, so check back then for details on his new digs on the internets.

Rachel! Tessa! My God, how long has it been? And to return on Halloween day, with all the pieces falling into place! Ladies and gentlemen: John Allison, Super-Genius.

Rest in peace, Gordon Frohman. Alas, we hardly knew ye. Congrats to Christopher Livingston on reaching the end of Concerned, the epic story of one not-very-smart guy trying to get through the apocalypse with a minimum of fuss. We’ll miss your wacky adventures, and can’t wait to see what Livingtson comes up with next. Which, coincidentally, we might see on Monday, so be sure to check back then.

Okay gang, new webcomics rule: When Paul Taylor does color? It’s worth paying attention. And if you’re so inclined, you can own a tasty full-color print of the strip, or even the B&W original.

Seriously, I wish that every webcomics artist would do splash panels the way that Taylor (and, come to think of it, Phil & Kaja Foglio) does. And the 9 – 10 month interval that he’s established between these little story breaks/nuggets of fanservice? Just right.

The redoubtable T Campbell (so don’t doubt him unless you’re willing to redoubt as well, Slappy!) dropped some email on me earlier today; let’s share, shall we?

Today sees the launch of One Simple Ad, a simple and original idea, an unprecedented value for advertisers, a unique and intriguing idea for a site, and an unapologetic attempt to keep myself out of the poorhouse.

I would appreciate it if you gave the site a moment of your time and attention, and asked others to do the same.

Done, and done (and, my I say, noble goals on Campbell’s part). My time and attention having been spent, here’s my thoughts:

Interesting idea on an intellectual level: one ad plays on an otherwise empty page, nothing to distract, pure laser-like attention from the viewer on the ad and nothing else, all good things from the perspective of an advertiser. But I don’t get it viscerally; I don’t see the benefit to the person with the eyeballs that are intended to be captured. Campbell’s got an interesting take on the FAQ page:

Who will visit?
People who believe that advertising is an art form in its own right. Andy Warhol showed us that neat things happen when you combine art and commerce in new ways, and Super Bowl commercials have shown us that advertisers respond well when you give them one big chance to make their pitch. I grew up the proud son of an advertising executive, so I appreciate ads at their best, and this site should give people an incentive to create some!

Which, um, yeah. I might be speaking purely for myself, but advertising is what I put up with to get free media, not something I seek out … and I think most people are of like mind. The fact that, in a world of near infinite space on the digital cable converter, there’s no Ads Channel is clue #1. The fact that if you ask 100 people what one gadget in their house, if it broke today, they’d have a new one by tonight, will cause most of them to answer “My TiVo” is clue #2. And I can see the Super Bowl argument kinda, but then Campbell adds in this bit from the T & C:

• Ads should be non-animated image files (GIF, JPG or PNG). [my emphasis]

That’s not a Super Bowl ad, that’s going outside the house at intervals during the Super Bowl and staring at a billboard for 30 — 60 seconds. And nobody’s gonna stare at a billboard that long, even if it’s as brilliantly wrong as the [in]famous Pork the one you love. That’s clue #3.

Anyway, there’s about five ads in the rotation now (four if you discount the fact that one is for Campbell’s own webcomic); they’re … ads. Campbell’s is pretty to look at and all, but nothing that’s going to make me want to come back and hit the refresh button on a daily basis. Unless you’re already reading James Lileks tributes to old ads, I’m afraid that this one’s not likely to capture your imagination.

Happy Halloween, everybody. I trust you all recognize the source material. Spooky, yes?

Next year: Hastings!

In no particular order:

• Alien Loves Predator goes multimedia today. Beer goggles!
• Stumptown Comics Fest kicks off today, and Lancaster tomorrow. Go stalk your favorite webcomickers!
• Scott McCloud will be bouncing to-and-fro cross-continent over the next few days while his family catches its breath. I doubt you’ll be able to talk your way into the closed event that he’s doing today, but it’s worth a shot. Or you could just plan on catching him in Maine & New Hampshire next week, or the UK in the weeks after that.
• Regarding the rumors of changes at the WCCAs yesterday, Mark Mekkes (of the WCCA planning committee) replies:
  

  We (the WCCA planning committee) have already done a major revision to committee organization and the nomination editing process. These changes can be seen in our charter.

  Each year we take a close look at every element of the awards and the 4th tier awards have been reconsidered every year that the awards have taken place. Currently we are in the process of reorganizing the entire list of categories and tightening up that list is a major priority this year. But at this point I honestly don’t know if the “genre” awards will be effected either completely or in part. Since the awards are coming up fast, we’re hoping to have a finalize list VERY soon.

  So sure, it’s possible, but the fat lady hasn’t sung yet.

  Fleen will be sure to report on the changes once they’re finalized. I’m not sure if that satisfies Mr (?) Nonymous’s concerns, but if it doesn’t, I’d suggest contacting the committee and asking how you can get involved (if not this year, then next).

• Fleen will be experimenting with Project Wonderful in the near future; keep an eye out on this page for button ads you can bid on. And rest easy that despite the presence of filthy advertising, our motives and opinions will remain pure.

That’s all for today, kiddies; gotta go carve me some gourds.