Editor’s note: This is the first of the Fleen Guest Columns; this came about because we were put in touch with Anne Thalheimer, who has some interesting views on comics, art & suchlike, and was amenable to writing them up for us.

Anne, by the way, has studied comics at the graduate level, written a book on gender/comics issues, has written on comics for Popmatters, and works in that [web]comics-friendly Mecca of Northampton, MA. Want to join in the fun? Throw us a suggestion, we’ll ask you to send us some copy; just like the Op-Ed page, if it doesn’t require too much fixin’ we’ll run it.

Both Natalie Dee’s work (which she calls “comic art�) and Sam Brown’s (which he calls “stick figure art�) are interesting to me for a number of different reasons. I enjoy the similarities in their visual styles; the simple lines, bold colors, and the “cute� feeling they both evoke. I also like the seeming dissonance between this “cute� look and the fact that Dee’s work often as not is peppered with profanity and Brown’s is, well, there’s monsters and fangs and bloody folks. These are not necessarily bad things; as a reader, I actually find the dissonance they create kind of engaging.

Brown’s work is particularly savvy in this sense, as he creates pieces from titles readers email him, and so you click on the title and the image opens, and you’re left to wonder how a certain title sparked the image that you’re seeing. You see the title, and then the picture, and you’re left to make the connection. Dee’s work does something similar when looking through her archives as sometimes the connection between the image and the title is readily apparent, and sometimes the title itself is what makes me laugh, as it provides a new frame through which to view the work, which shifts how I think about what I’m seeing.

That said, in all the times I’ve seen Natalie Dee’s and Sam Brown’s
work appear on this site, there’s always a comment or two asking, either, Are they webcomics? or, what I think might be the real heart of the question, Are they comics?
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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.

He makes a rich woman beg, he makes a good woman steal..

He’ll make an old woman blush, he’ll make a young woman squeal…

Ladies and gentelmen, today and for one night only, I give you the fabulous, sexy, astounding, Mr. Paul SOUTHWORTHHHHHHH
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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.

To start off the new-year, I decided to interview Wiz Rollins of Bad Shape and Yirmumah. This is gracious of Wiz, especially when most of his time is consumed with writing comics and straight chillin’.

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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.

You know it’s gonna be a good day when you get this in your mailbox from Tyler Martin:

We’re announcing the launch of Lunchbox Funnies, a new comics collective featuring some of the finest all-ages comics on the internet!

The term “all-ages� has become something of a mantra for our creators. We’ve each been working towards creating highly entertaining comics that can be enjoyed by beginning readers, teenagers, and adults alike. We’re convinced that “all-ages� doesn’t mean “just for kids,� but rather it’s a label that should apply to entertainment that allows for shared experiences across generational lines. Our creators benefited greatly from quality all-ages entertainment growing up, but these days stories that can be enjoyed by children and adults seems incredibly rare. Lunchbox Funnies wants to change that.

The lineup features:

• Aki Alliance by Ryan Estrada
• Astronaut Elementary by Dave Roman
• Butterfly by Dean Trippe
• Cow & Buffalo by Mike Maihack
• Lunchbox by Ovi Nedelcu
• Silent Kimbly by Ryan Sias
• Wally & Osborne by Tyler Martin
• Zip and Li’l Bit by Trade Loeffler

At the Lunchbox Funnies website, you’ll find links, news, and information for each of our comics and creators.

Plus, and this is just a personal observation, Lunchbox Funnies has two Ryans, which may be 50% more than any other webcomic collective! Except, um, The Ryans, which Ryan Sias and Ryan Estrada are already in, so it shouldn’t count.

So what could be better than Lunchbox Funnies launching? How about Abby L. taking some time out from deciding who’s webcomics-sexy to resume The Green Avenger after a brief hiatus. Plus, and this is just a person observational, I’m digging the textures that got used in today’s strip … kinda hazy on a cold day, kinda fuzzy like memories from too long ago. So what could be better than a strip coming back from hiatus?

How about a pair of one-year anniversaries? One year pretty much seems to be the make-or-break point for a webcomic … if you don’t find a voice and a style and an audience in that first year, you probably won’t ever. So congrats to Charles Smith of Justice City Recovery Center and Brian Oaster of Misunderstandings Between Friends. Plus, and this is just a personal observational, you’d be hard pressed to find two webcomics as opposite in intent and execution as JCRC and MBF, yet I believe there’s an excellent chance you’ll enjoy a readthrough of both of them. What could be better than that?

How about another new collective (dark themes here, kiddies … I especially like the warning about potential cannibalism), a brightly-colored new webcomic complete with advice column, and a new comixcast (it has cool beats, and it’s easy to dance to!) from exciting, exotic Ottawa? Plus, and this is just a person observation, there’s also a new interview regarding Diesel Powered Sweeties in Publishers Weekly. Pretty good deal for a Wednesday.

Corey Marie Parkhill of Scene Language sent a big box o’ comicky goodness to Fleen recently — well, okay, it was about two weeks ago, but it’s taken a while to plow through everything. Given how much was in the box, this was an extraordinarily cool thing to do.

What? You want contents? Check it: you got the Greatest Hits of collection Life’s So Rad, the Big Ol’ Book of BIZMAR anthology (that’s bunnies, insects, zombies, monkeys, aliens, and robots, with contributions from webcomics/indy comics creators), a stack of mini-comics, and more, all from Young American Comics.

The LSRGH collection is strips interspersed with commentary from Parkhill about what was going on in her life at the time, and how it affected the direction of the strip; interesting reading, but it sort of precludes a traditional review — it doesn’t really work to critique a life as it was lived. Likewise, anthologies are tough to put a single handle on when they contain so many contributors (dozens, in the case of BIZMAR), so suffice it to say that some contributions are better than others, and I found Stephen Notley‘s to be particularly funny.

Also, by a peculiar corinsidence, this year’s anthology from Young American, small town/BIG CITY, has open submissions until the 7th of March. Want to get in on the fun? Check out the guidelines. And even if you don’t want to get in on that fun, you can get in on other fun — this being the best bit of shameless self-promotion that we’ve received yet, we at Fleen have decided to share, and hereby announce our first ever contest with an actual prize.

You can win the Big Box o’ Comicky Goodness (books! minicomics! pins! stickers! a t-shirt, adult medium!) by sending the best response, in 25 words or less, to the question:

Send your entries to me (that would be gary), who can be reached at this here website (that would be Fleen), which is of the dot–com variety. Entries must be received by, let’s say, midnight EST (GMT – 5), Tuesday, the 23rd of January. Judges decisions are final, Fleen contributors and Ms Parkhill are not eligible, residents of Canada may be required to answer a skill-testing question, and we’ll contact you if you’re the winner. Good luck, everybody.