By the time I get through all the stuff I brought home (purchased, given, and would have been given but Gina Gagliano told me it would be waiting for me when I got home and she was right)¹ from San Diego, webcomics will be over, done, a quaint form of amusement from Ye Olde Dayes. So in the meantime, here’s what’s going on:

• Box Brown is taking a creative leap and ending the comic that he’s best associated with; Bellen! is in the midst of breaking down the boundaries between the real Box and the thinly-disguised Ben, and when that’s done, it’s over. The good news is that this is so Brown can concentrate on the very interesting and creatively-fulfilling Everything Dies, which will become a webcomic in addition to a print series.

  This, I think, is what web/indy comics allow that print/corporate comics don’t — the ability to wrap up a story or strip, or turn it into something completely different, and let the creator not get subsumed by the creation. Look back at the early days of comic strips, and you’ll find creators that let one strip finish and another take its place all the time. Today, get into the papers with a big enough hit and that’s it — you’re locked in forever (I believe the legal term is in perpetuity) and long after you’re dead, something you thought might last for a decade is still be put together by the former assistants of former assistants or children and grandchildren.

  The ability to change direction, try an experiment on a whim, or get out on top and do something new? I think that flexibility is the unique characteristic that answers Valerie D’Orazio’s concern that webcomics might have come and gone. Les webcomics sont morts, vive les webcomics.

• Speaking of the web/indy vs print/corporate divide, the first question from the Webcomics Lightning Round Pseudo-Transcript has been getting a lot of attention, and it may be time for a clarification. Chris Eliopolous rightly comments:
  

  [T]here are a couple of us in print comics, also trying to make a go of web comics as well. Karl Kerschel, me, Skottie Young has given it a go. I’ve always been taught not to take one path-diversify. Web and print aren’t opposite ends, they are different venues.

  And I’ll have to say that this confusion is more on me than on Brad Guigar. I was typing as fast as I could, but answers were condensed and I’m pretty sure that if we asked Guigar for a clarification of his position, it would be that no one creation is both print- and webcomics; certainly a given creator can work in both worlds. Fleen apologizes for the confusion.

• Speaking of the flexibility to try something new — Meredith Gran’s Octopus Pie collection provides a case in point. Covering more than 200 comics that ran over a period of a year and a half, the shift of tools and techniques is apparent, and it’s a delight to see Gran switch from pencil and pens to purely digital to her current arrangement of pencils on the Cintiq and final production with brush on Bristol. Providing a different example of flexibility, a year ago Gran decided to update Octopus Pie with whole story arcs in a massive update, but now has decided to go back to three times a week:
  

  In August, Octopus Pie is going back to a 3-a-week update schedule. …[M]ainly comes down to productivity. I know I can do way more pages on a self-imposed deadline.

• Speaking of August, one of my favorite webcomics, A Girl and Her Fed comes back from a short house-moving hiatus next week. The second part to the story kicks in then, and I’m hoping there are lots of opportunities for creator K Brooke “Otter” Spangler to use the word stabby. It’s a fun word.
• Following up on our story last week, here are the details on the new publishing ventures for Girl Genius: starting next year, three major new ventures with three publishers will spread the tale of madgirls and madboys further and wider than every before.
  
  1. Night Shade Books will publish prose novelizations of the series, starting with the first volume in Spring 2011 and subsequent volumes in 2012 and 2013. At the same time, Brilliance Audio will be releasing audio adaptations of each of these novels.
  2. TOR Books will launch their new graphic novel line in Fall 2011 with a color omnibus edition of the first three Girl Genius volumes even as Studio Foglio is publishing volumes 10 and 11, completing the first great arc of the Girl Genius saga.
  3. Finally, Alpha Entertainment (couldn’t find a link) of Copenhagen will begin publication of a Danish version of Girl Genius, in their new magazine, Comic Party in spring 2011.

  Finally, various game licenses are expected to be released in 2011: the Girl Genius ‘The Works’ card game is in for a reissue, and iPhone and Facebook games are in development.

Tomorrow: catching up with all the emails.

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¹ You can find these fine wares from the following cool people.

• Purchased: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O’Malley; Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars in Brooklyn by Meredith Gran; Penny Arcade: The Halls Below by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik; Templar, AZ: Trouble Every Day by Spike; Flight 7 edited by Kazu Kibuishi; Much The Miller’s Son Books 1 & 2 by Steve LeCoulliard; Drive: A Hero Rises by Dave Kellett; Overcompensating: A Dangerous Obsession by Jeffrey Rowland; Chainsawsuit 3 and F-Chords by Kris Straub; Android toy by Andy Bell.

• Given: Shi Long Pang book 1 by Ben Costa; SMBC Theater DVD by various; Tent Sale by Ian Jones-Quartey.
• Would Have Been Given But: Brain Camp By Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, and Faith Erin Hicks; Koko Be Good by Jen Wang
• Missed Them When I Took The Earlier Photo, Dammit: Super Stupor #3 by Randy Milholland (given in conjunction with original art purchase); Family Man volume 1 by Dylan Meconis (previously ordered, picked up in person).

Whew, I think I’ve finally caught up with everything that should have run yesterday. Onwards to things that didn’t crop up over the weekend tomorrow.

• Now available for your purchasing pleasure — Spacetrawler originals at the low, low price of $80, which is a damn bargain, especially considering that the originals are sepia-toned, not just black and white.
• Still running in Portland: Trek in the Park 2; while waiting for Khaaaaaan!! to overact, please enjoy some fanart from the always-interesting Bill Mudron and Mike Russell
• The good folks at the Cartoon Art Musuem wish to remind you that they will be at San Diego Comic Con, booth 1930 (Master List o’ Webcomickers amended to include this fact), and will be running the Fourth Annual CAM Sketch-a-thon Thursday, July 22 through Sunday, July 25, 2010. There’s a huge-ass list of highly skilled cartooners who will be taking part (including more than a few who make regular appearances on this page); for a $10 suggested donation, they will do their absolute best for YOU.
• The Dallas Webcomics Expo is back for a second year of fun come August (God willin’ an the creek don’t rise), and this year they’re adding a charitable component. To benefit the Texas Scottish Rite Hosptial for Children and Bryan’s House, DWEX will be conducting an art auction, and all are welcome to contribute originals within the show guidelines (at least 8″ x 10″, nothing R-rated, pleased). Submission form here, [PDF], and they’d like to physically receive the art by the 12 of next month (or bring it with you if you’re attending).
• Speaking of art auctions, as of time-of-writing, the Web-Comics Auction for the Gulf is sitting at a total of $3031.95, with a little less than two days to go on the first batch of art. Far be it from me to drive The Wedge of Envy between artists, but I am forced to note that at this time, Anthony Clark’s contribution is currently out-pacing that of Christopher Hastings by fifteen dollars.

  Clark, of course, is the colorist of Dr McNinja, which sort of makes Hastings his boss. Will keeping these bid amounts where they are affect their working relationship? It could! It could destroy their sense of mutual respect and a beloved webcomic at the same time. Somebody better start a bidding war if Dr McNinja is to continue!

• Below the cut is a list of SDCC programming sessions that may be of interest to those working (or seeking to) in webcomickry. Actually, everything tagged webcomics is available here, including some things that are only marginally related to Our Interests. What’s called out are sessions that either weren’t tagged as webcomics-related, or were and I wanted to make sure you saw them.

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

A pair of followups for you all this Monday morning:

• Dale Zak, who you may remember from a fast-moving backlash against an iPhone webcomic-reading app that he released and then almost immediately withdrew, has come back for Try Two.

  This time, his app seems to be more explicitly designed (or perhaps just more accurately described) as an RSS reader, and doesn’t appear to be using the names of webcomics in his promotional blurbs (which had been one of the loudest points of protest last time).

  Given that I don’t have an iPhone/iPad and can’t test-drive the thing myself, it does appear from casual inspection to follow all of the ethical concerns one would want from such an endeavour. Thoughts?

• Also, there’s been a recurring discussion in the community about spec work, particularly a flavor where a “contest” harvests work from lots of creators but may or may not ever pay out. NPR’s On The Media considered the pros and cons of crowdsourcing in a story broadcast this past weekend that’s worth a listen.

In other news, lots of convention news.

• The run-up to San Diego Comic-Con continues apace — programming highlights will be discussed tomorrow, and there are a few more additions to the Webcomics Exhibitors List. In addition, Becky Dreistadt and Frank Gibson appear to be supplementing the (ridiculously underpriced) Tigerbuttah book with Tigerbuttah plushes. Hopefully, Customs doesn’t become so enchanted with these cute lil’ guys that they “confiscate” the entire supply for themselves.
• New Show On The Block Intervention scored a bit of a coup: Molly Crabapple will be bringing Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School to the show as both a discussion panel and a full-blown three-hour event with free admission for con attendees. Artists, however, are encouraged to reserve one of the limited (though free) slots at the front of the room, where sketching will be easiest.
• Baltimore Comic-Con will again host the Harvey Awards, with MC duties again provided by Scott Kurtz (who will have to work pretty hard to top his performance last year, which killed). The Harveys announced their nominees, and of interest to webcomics fans are certain names:
  Misery Loves Sherman creator Chris Eliopolous for Best Letterer (for his comic book work)

  Steve Hamaker (with lots of webcomics at his site) for Best Colorist (for his work on BONE)

  Longtime webcomicker Kazu Kibuishi for Best Original Graphic Publication For Younger Readers (for the second Amulet book)

  Flight 6 and ACT-I-VATE, both done by more webcomickers than one can reasonably count (for Best Anthology)

  A.D.: New Orleans After The Deluge (for Best Previously Published Graphic Album, the “previous” being online)

  Oh, yes, and the category for Best Online Comics Work:

  Kate Beaton’s Hark A Vagrant
  Steve Ellis, David Gallaher and Scott O. Brown’s High Moon
  Nathan Schreiber’s Power Out
  Scott Kurtz’s PvP
  Cameron Stewart’s Sin Titulo

Finally, some congratulations are in order:

• To Blank Label Comics for their spiffy new homepage
• To Angela Melick, engineer, webcomicker, and now no longer a planner of weddings

Whew! Is that everything? I think that’s everything. If I missed anything, promise I’ll get to it tomorrow.

Lotta stuff coming up in the immediate future. Let’s dig in.

• Waves of webcomickers are, even now, making their way toward ConnectiCon, including all the fine folks listed here. A pretty significant subset of them will be heading home after the weekend and then promptly u-turning their way cross-continent to San Diego in — urk — eleven days time. Before they do, though, keep an eye out for Super Art Fight, both in Hartford, and in SAF’s secret underground lair of Baltimore next weekend for SAF7.
• Speaking of San Diego, they’ve not only got booth numbers now attached to the exhibitor list (highlights below the cut), but the schedule of events is going up, and it’s personalizable this year. I’m going to be playing around with this a bit this weekend — I’m particularly interested to see if it detects schedule conflicts and lets me know that the BONE panel probably runs over the start of the Dumbrella panel (which I usually get drafted to moderate).
• Also: holy crap, TopatoCo got a new client, and it’s Jhonen freakin’ Vasquez.

Below the cut: as complete a list of webcomics-related folks as I could find. If there are any missing or incorrect entries (especially where people are sharing space), let me know. The small map previously posted fits into the big one here.

Webcomics Pavilion and Around

Artists Alley

Small Press

From time to time, this page notes the efforts and work of Ms Carly Monardo, animator on Venture Bros., illustrator, original Dr McNinja colorist, poster designer, superhero character (re-)designer, etc., etc. Well, she’s back, and this is a big one.

Spurred by various fundraisers from creative types to support cleanup and restoration efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, Carly has decided to organize an auction of originals from webcomickers, which was announced Saturday afternoon via Twitter and is just now ramping up. Ms Monardo took time from her busy charity efforts to talk with Fleen about it.

Yes, it’s true — while the interview was being transcribed, Ms Monardo was sending through updates, because creators keep pledging. We’ll wrap this up so she can get back to organizing things.

If you want to get in on the auction and support the best of causes, contact Carly, whose family name is Monardo, and who keeps an email account at the Google-run email service, which is a dot-com.

Spent a couple hours running down what appeared to be a virus on my computer before I figured out that somebody had messed with a DNS server upstream, and that’s why trying to browse to google.com (but not www.google.com) was redirecting browsers in my office to a crappy social network with a history of such stunts. So frustrating when people make the active to decision to suck.

• Speaking of sucking, got a rough story to share with you. Indigo Kelleigh does some pretty neat comics, including Ellie Connelly and the pretty awesome 8-bit Tarot deck. Long, unfortunate story short, Kelleigh’s in a financial bind and is liquidating his entire stock of merch at below-cost. Long story slightly longer, it’s in anticipation of bankruptcy. Long story fully told at Kelleigh’s site, which should probably be taken as a companion piece with Brad Guigar’s thoughts on preparing for retirement [subscription required], which doubles as a cushion for financial ups and downs.
• Let’s get to the non-suck, shall we? Kids Read Comics kicks off this weekend in Dearborn, MI, with a stack of guests including webcomics own Raina Telgemeier & Dave Roman, John Green, Krishna Sadasivam, and organized by the people behind the Art & Story podcast. Upper Midwesterners, go check it out.
• Those of you that haven’t ordered Karl Kerschl’s first collection of Abominable Charles Christopher, you’re doing yourselves a disservice. For what was originally designed by Kerschl as an exercise in spontaneous creation (no plotting ahead, no sketching, just sit down on Wednesday and draw whatever popped into his head), there’s a remarkably rich narrative that doesn’t reveal itself easily when going update-by-update.

  Sure, you could read the strips online, but there’s been some judicious re-arrangement, leading to stronger story arcs interleaved with one another. My favorite arc, curiously, isn’t about the big guy, or even Vivol and Moon Bear … it’s the story of this bird, trying to be a good husband and father, and not finding it as easy as he’d hoped. Of course, she could do worse.

  Second favorite: the bug psychiatrist. He’s awesome. But what’s really awesome is I care about these characters — most of whom don’t even have names that we’ve learned (aside from the irrepressible Sissi Skunk) — because they’re living, breathing, distinct personalities that make themselves known to Kerschl on Wednesdays.

Andy Bell’s Android figures were much anticipated by me. Then they went on sale and disappeared in minutes, leaving me a sad camper. Then Bell brought a small stock with him to MoCCA ‘10 and I scored two of the blind-boxed wonders. Now, thanks to the generosity of a collector (and compatriot from the old Goats forums) who scored a stack, I have been given the opportunity to purchase duplicates and have nearly the entire set. They loom over my head as I type these words, menacing, casting off the volatile gases that constitute “new toy smell”, and ready to destroy me the moment I let down my guard. Hooray!

• Speaking of Goats, the third volume of The Infinite Pendergast Cycle, Showcase Showdown, is up for pre-order. This will complete the three-part saga that took the long-running webcomic from the two guys sitting around drinking beer story model that it pioneered (now, commonly found in webcomicdom) to the groundbreaking two guys alternately imperiling and vaguely attempting to save the universe, but they’d rather be drinking beer story model that continues to break ground (and occasionally my brain).

  With luck (and an assist from you), the three-book package (commissioned back before the economy went poof) will have done well enough that Random House will re-up for the next three-book set. These are handsome volumes, and as soon as I’ve got a copy in my hands, the megastory represented by these pages will get the long-overdue writeup here that is deserves.

• Speaking of both deserving things, and things wrapping up, did you see the latest costume redesign contest at Project: Rooftop has announced winners? Black Canary has her makeover, and I can’t help but notice that Carly Monardo is once again one of the top finishers. After her second place result in the Wonder Woman contest, and her giving BC a costume that I think would get a favorable critique from the guy who is correct about such things, I think it’s now official: DC and Marvel need to have Ms Monardo redesign costumes for their entire line of heroes.
• Speaking of heroes — Hey kids, do you know what tomorrow is? Besides the day that my rail fares go up by a tremendous amount, dammit (PDF)? It’s Free Comic Book Day, and you’ll find a variety of webcomickers doing things all over the damn place. Assuming you live in any of those places, give ‘em some love, and remember: all those free-to-you books cost the stores money. Buy something.

So there are hints in the aether, here and there, that the Webcomics Town Hall at C2E2 didn’t go entirely well (although the information I’ve been able to gather is at times contradictory). I wasn’t there, and haven’t seen a specific writeup on the issue; given the talent promised in the session listing, it should have been a case of point ‘em at the question and stay out of their way = surefire success, but apparently not? If anybody who was in the audience would care to comment, please do so.

• Success or failure of the panel aside, C2E2 appears to have been sufficiently lucrative for many to come back next year — although apparently there’s a confusion about whether or not the pricing of webcomics pavilion tables for next year because the sign-up sheet didn’t have a specific tickbox for that option. Reports are that the pavilion option does exist, although this far in advance, the specific layout of the space may not be known. If you were thinking about exhibiting there next year, a careful inquiry may be of benefit to you.
• Also of note from C2E2: Carla Speed McNeil (who, like the Foglios before her, took her critical-darling print comic to the web, and took an Eisner for Best Webcomic in 2009 as a result), looks to be getting back into a fresh release schedule for her collections, having partnered up with Dark Horse.

  Lots of reporting of the announcement, but let’s go with Brigid Alverson’s writeup for Robot 6. This is awesome news, as I have already bought all the Finder volumes in print, and wish to give Ms McNeil money for the story that has only appeared (thus far) online. Hooray for me.

• In news from the far (i.e.: the “no-fly zone”) side of the Atlantic, professional bastard and Internet Jesus Warren Ellis has declared it Webcomics Week, with the opportunity to pimp your webcomic to all and sundry:
  

  You do a webcomic? Tell me about it here. Not more than one or two images, please, or else the thread takes forever to load. Don’t forget the bloody link.

  Relax. There are only 8000 members of Whitechapel reading, plus god knows how many drop-ins who aren’t registered members.

  Let’s get a sense of who’s around and who’s doing what. Create me a big list.

  And tell your friends.

  NOTE: this is not for people to list their favourite webcomics. We’ve done that before. Boring.

  Go to it. And if you like this service (previously irregular, but which now promises to be monthly), do thank the Bearded One by looking over his wares, why don’t you? Mr Ellis has had a clever idea going for a while now — each week, a new t-shirt design goes up for sale for that week only, then disappearing from view forever. Until now, when all the previous weekly tees are making a one-week only return engagement. Want to be a Science Gangster, Space Bastard, or person without a functioning liver? Now’s your chance.

I therefore declare it Merch News Day at Fleen, on account of, uh, I got a lot of news about webcomics merchandise? They can’t all be gems, people.

• Scott Pilgrim trailer! And at several points (cf: 00:49), clearly-visible Diesel Sweeties Pixel Skull t-shirt!
• Although Andy Bell swears that more of his Android figures will be available this summer in wider numbers than the blink-and-they’re-gone fast sells in February, I somehow can’t bring myself to hope that I may someday have one of these guys for my very own. Dramatic sigh. In the meantime, One may content oneself with the first in a series of process descriptions on how idea became vinyl from the master of nightmares himself.
• Moving sale! A Girl And Her Fed creator (and person most statistically-likely to have me whacked; oh, sure, my wife is most likely to actually kill me, that’s basic criminology, here we’re talking Mafia-style farming the job out) Otter (no last names) is moving house, and you get the benefit of the mad rush to not have to pack up t-shirts and cart ‘em across the state.

  If you aren’t reading the story of civil rights, secret government conspiracies, the ghost of Ben Franklin, and the evil genius koala, now’s the time to start, since there will be a brief hiatus in the strip at the conclusion of Part One in about two weeks. Part Two, I’m told, will pick up the story some five years later; jump in while the jumping’s good.

• The official Singer-Songwriter to the Greater Internet and Other Nerdly Quarters, Jonathan Coulton, has broadened the portfolio of the official Merchandise Distribution Service of Webcomickstan, TopatoCo. By joining forces in this fashion, TopatoCo appear to be making good on their stated threats plans to expand out of serving the webcomics industry, and into independent artists of all stripes; sure, they picked up the merch-handling for Maximum Fun/The Sound of Young America last autumn, but let’s be real — this is a much bigger deal. One wonders how much longer TopatoCo can occupy only the periphery of American culture before they start pulling mainstream mindshare. I’ll be sure to ask TopatoCo VP of Special Ops Holly Post this weekend.
• This weekend, naturally is PAX East, at which I expect to see a number of webcomics stalwarts. Then there’s this from the official PAX twitter:
  

  All jokes aside, we just heard norovirus is spreading in Bos. Area colleges. Purell ineffective but WASHING HANDS helps-Avoid the salad bar!

  Norovirus is that thing that keeps making cruise ships cut their trips short because so many passengers and crew end up forcefully expelling partially-recycled foodstuffs from both ends of their gastrointestinal tract simultaneously. Like almost all casually-communicable diseases, there’s an easy way to help break the transmission vector: wash your damn hands. Anybody I see waving their fingertips near the water stream after using the bathroom? I will glove up¹ (to keep your filth off me) and beat you senseless. Get the water as hot as you can stand, soap up, and scrub vigorously for at least 30 seconds. No negotiation on this one — you’re either part of the solution or you suck.

  Anyway, tomorrow’s post likely to be short and written in advance as I make my way to Boston. Apologies in advance, I’ll try to make it up to you next week.

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¹ I’m an EMT. I am never without gloves, loose-poo disease outbreak or no.

Where to start? How about with a live-action adaptation of the mystery solving teens — en español! Or with the extremely limited-edition fat pony sculptures (lovingly crafted by Nikki Rice Malki, who apparently does not take the honorific exclamation), which go on sale at Topatoco tomorrow at noon EDT, inevitably leading to an even bigger rush and hordes of frustrated, denied, would-be patrons than today’s SDCC hotel wrangle (which, as of this writing, amazingly does not show as sold out yet).

Or maybe the fact that she’s up for a Shuster Award again this year¹, in the category of Webcomics/Bandes Dessinées Web (along with such worthy competition as Attila Adorjany, Andy Belanger, Rene Engström, Karl Kerschl, Gisèle Lagacé and David Lumsdon, Tara Tallan, and Steve Wolfhard, not to mention Cameron Stewart in the Artist/Dessinateur category for his print work).

Long-time readers of this page know that I have a thing for webcomics depictions of squid, and it should be noted that on a day when all the rest of that was happening, Our Kate also drew: squid. Seriously, if I were the sort to believe that God was sending me signs to start a cult, yesterday would have been shouting THE BEATON SHALL SHOW YOU THE WAY.

In non-Beaton-related news (unusual, I know), did everybody see that Rich Stevens’s inevitable march to conquer all media (via t-shirts) has claimed another milestone? Namely,prime-time network comedy featuring TV’s Wil Wheaton. Now I’m gonna have to explain that I owned the Electric Sheep shirt before it was cool.

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¹ I have to admit, this is the award that leaves me most conflicted every year, since the slate of nominees is always so strong. I think this year I’m pulling for Engström, because the ending of ALM made me sniffle and smile, or Wolfhard because Cat Rackham rocks my face off.