TOOLS
Scott McCloud has a post (and comment thread) on the ratio of comic to controls (navigatin) to crap (everything else) on the screen.  

BOOKS
An interview with Randall Munroe on the unusual publishing strategy for his first book, xkcd, Volume 0.

JUSTIFY MY HYPE

Rebecca Dart illustrates an old murder ballad.  Everyone is linking to this today and with good reason - Dart's imagination and the linework for the comic are both fantastic.

Josh Lesnick gives us an advance preview of next week's FWEEN headlines.

The Boston Comics Roundtable, in partnership with River Bird Studios, is pleased to announce the release of the premier issue of Outbound, a Science Fiction anthology. Outbound is a spin-off of sister publication Inbound, the anthology of comics from Boston. Outbound contains comics and short stories from a mix of Boston-based creators and artists all over the world, from Australia to South America, including a cover from talented Uruguayan artist Marcelo Buchelli.

Outbound #1 retails for US$ 6.99 and is available in every comic book retail location in the greater Boston area and online at
http://OutboundMagazine.blogspot.com/. Outbound is also distributed nationally by Direct Comic Book Service http://www.dcbservice.com/ and Heavy Ink http://heavyink.com/.

The Boston Comics Roundtable was created in 2006 and has produced three issues of the Inbound comics anthology. Outbound is the Roundtable’s second ongoing series and its first foray into science fiction territory. The release of Outbound marks an exciting new chapter for the Boston Comics Roundtable and for the science fiction genre. Fans can expect new issues of Outbound every six months.

Outbound is the brainchild of Roundtable member and Inbound contributor, Roho, the principal of River Bird Studios. More information and publications from the Boston Comics Roundtable can be found at http://www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/. River Bird Studios is located on the web at http://riverbirdstudios.blogspot.com/.

Each of the comic stories in Outbound #1 will be serialized, with new ongoing stories premiering in each subsequent issue. Issue #1 contents include:

• “The Caerulean Dream” by Roho and Brett Barkley.
• “Space and Time” by Josh Mills, Michael Paoloni, and Alexandra Mills,
• with chapter cover by David Newbold.
• “The Null Device” by David Marshall.
• “Flek” by Erik Heumiller.
• “Scientists Gone Wild” by Eric Boeker.
• “Mark and the Aliens” by Aya Rothwell.
• “Black Fuska” by Roho, with chapter cover by Richard Jenkins.
• Special sneak preview of “The New Kid” by Dan Mazur (to premier in Outbound #2).
• Outbound #1 also includes two tales of short fiction:
• “Breezes of Heaven” by Joe Cannon, with art by Paul Marquis.
• “How I Learned to Tolerate Vegemite” by Aya Rothwell, with art by the author.

And rounding up the issue as extra bonus features:

• Marsnik 6 Paper Model by Marcel Sirer, with design by Roho.
• An interview with Sandy Collora, director of the independent science fiction movie “Hunter/Prey”.
• Endcap essay by Hugo-nominated author Michael A. Burstein.

The Boston Comics Roundtable is an independent organization of comics creators in the Greater Boston area. The group meets weekly to workshop, educate, and network. Meetings are open to the public. Information regarding publications, artist galleries, and meetings can be found at http://www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/.

• I Am Legend reviewed Nahast and Pheonix Requiem while Webcomics Critique covered Nobody Scores!. Pigs of the Industry critiqued Evil Ain’t Easy and Fly Me From The Moon as the Artiste Manquee talked about School Spirit. Not to be outdone, Webcomic Overlook peered at The Meek and pondered about the thousands of words each image condensed into a story.
• This Week in Webcomics reviewed Theater Hopper books one and two and had a lot of good things to say while Fictions cautiously recommended Spleenal. Digital Strips looked at Evil, Inc volumes one and two and Newsarama snuck in a review of Dark Corners while Optical Sloth reviewed a number of comics by Austin English. Ink Destroyed My Brush analyzed Asterios Polyp and Forbidden Planet speaks in awe of The Man In Black. Speech Balloons covered Here’s to Suzie! and Read About Comics looked at Monsters. MangaBlog also covered Deka Kyoshi, which has a slightly different premise I enjoyed learning about. (I know. It’s probably manga typical but I like to see comics applied to other things beside fantasy, horror, supers and gamer life journals.) For instance, these comic mashups are something different and pretty funny,too.
• Let’s join Odori Park in celebrating a 100 strip milestone. (Check out the temporary switch from inking to ball point pen starting here.) Comic Critics is also getting close, Nahast passed the seven year mark and Silly Daddy reaches 500.  And Tyler James is doing 30 characters in 30 days, which sounds like a fun project. This is now the logical spot to point to Fraggmented’s character analysis of the Marvelous King of Atlantis, the Sub-Mariner.
• Super Show interviewed Shawn Pryor and Thought Bubble talked with Emma Vieceli. A Nickel’s Worth talked with Glenn McCoy and Comic Book Resources talked 45 with Andi Ewington.

♦ Wednesday’s Haul reviewed Box 13; a made for the iphone comic by Gallaher and Ellis. Seven pages of Box 13 will be released every Thursday, if I read this right.
♦ Sometimes I run across supers comics that give me hope that not all is lost. In this well written story, Detective Montoya met up with Two-Face and in this other one Babs faced off against Lois Lane. Both had tension and real character in them.
♦ I was reading this review of Aria 5 and towards the bottom, there is a mention of “a lengthy introduction.” That, through a few uninteresting mental gyrations, brought me to recall every Robotech episode’s insistence on restating ‘how-we-got-here’ at the beginning of every show. I found myself wondering if that would be a useful technique for story oriented online comics as opposed to having to constantly update an about page. It could be worked into the regular updates or back-placed after a new chapter/season/storyline is started. I’m imagining it would educate the reader, catch them up to speed and prep them for the new wonders in the storyline before them – without giving everything current away on the about page. And now, of course, I am starting to think about applying the same principles to cast pages… sometimes you’ll see comics with cast pages included in the updates. For a story based comic, a character update with a brief history and maybe some foreshadowing might be a good thing. At the very least, these things could provide for more interesting filler updates when the main story update isn’t ready yet. Anyway, this is just me thinking out loud again…
♦ But let’s look at some advice that’s a little less theoretical. We get some tips on the four questions to ask about your character, how to create distinct characters like a daring archeologist, how to build and more importantly, talk to your character with some solid advice about the setting you place them in.
♦ And lapsing back into the theoretical, another way we might be able to distribute our free comics is through Scribd. I got the hint from here (#62) and you can already see items like Nosey Parker and Way oF The Samurai on there, plus all this comic stuff. Why not put some of our best webcomic archives (with links to your site) into a pdf and add it there?
♦ A couple of sobering thoughts: Whereof One Can Speak has its last post ever and Robot 6 has an article basically advising that us all to make our comics have an ending.
♦ Charlotte got the axe. Boing Boing brought us a shot from Imaginative Realism and a 400ft long graphic novel.
♦ You probably don’t want to miss the post where Project Fanboy discusses the origins (or rebirth) of grim and gritty comics. It all begins with a quote from Alan Moore…
♦ The Art of Non-Conformity brought us an inspiring artist interview with the quote “I did it with nothing, because nothing is free.” Scott McCloud gets the least word where he shared a text only comic contest. By the time you read this, the contest will be closed to entries but maybe we’ll see something inspiring.

ArtPatient.com

Enter a Drawing of Becky to win as the official art of The Webcomic Beacon’s WAGON Webcomic Battle TCG, Promotional Card!

We’ve seen many people draw Becky presenting various episodes of The Webcomic Beacon. Now let’s have a contest to make the official card art of Becky for The Webcomic Beacon’s Official Promo Card for WAGON Webcomic Battle Trading Card Game!

Many may enter. ONE will win! Similar to that of the card art contest for the Jenny Everywhere Promo Card, one main addition to this will be that all art may also be used in actual episode cover art as well! However, only one person’s art will be used for the card.

The top ten art submissions will (for sure) be featured as Episode Cover Art (eventually), as well as receive a copy of the final Promo Card! The #1 winner (by vote), will win the newest deck of WAGON Webcomic Card Battle, when released, and TWO copies of the Webcomic Beacon Promo Card!

Webcomic Beacon Promo TCG Art Contest Full Details

HORROR!
Brigid Alverson writes about the lifecycle of webcomics, especially the zombie-like state of so many not-done but not-live anymore...

VILLIANS!
Midnight Cartooner reviews the first two volumes in print of Brad Guigar's webcomic, Evil Inc.

MAYHEM!
Webcomic Planet's Webcomic Readers' Choice Awards are now open for voting.  You need to register as a member of Webcomic Planet to vote.

Andi Ewington wrote Forty-Five, a graphic novel in which a fictional James Stanley’s unborn child may have the Super-S gene which grants super powers. Mr. Stanley decides to interview forty five supers to answer the question of what is in store for the child, the parents and the family. It appears to have been more than he first imagined.

Despite a number of other interviews he’s done, I have some unanswered questions for Andi himself. He has graciously offered to answer them.

You’ve said that Fort-Five took about seven months to complete the transcript for the book. How long (as an average) did it take the artists to choose their page to illustrate?

Each artist took on average a week or two to choose a page that resonated with them. Some obviously took a touch longer but, on the whole, the response was pretty quick (I was reminding them that it was a first-come first-served situation, so if they wanted to work on a particular interview it was in their interest to get in quick!). As for the art itself, I’d say around a month for each artist to complete their pages, again this varied wildly from those that had the time to turn it around in a couple of weeks to those that took three months or more.

What direction did they typically ask for?

I was quick to state at the beginning that there were no predetermined thoughts on my part, so directionally they had a free rein. In fact I went further to say that the more creative the thinking behind the page the better. Also I supplied a style guide for the interviewer (James Stanley) when I briefed in the page so they had everything they pretty much needed straight off the bat.

Did anything need to be adjusted in the transcript based on the artist’s interpretations?

A couple of things, generally small little touches that I had overlooked. Simon Coleby for example added a meaty Claymore to his superhero interview, something I had overlooked – so it was enjoyable adding that little detail into the transcript. Also Jock had used jigsaw pieces as a theme for his page, something that gave me the inspiration to go back and adjust that particular scene.

Each artist did one page of art for each interview – some are splash pages and some are sequentials. How were the splash pages and sequentials decided upon?

It all started with John Higgins – as he was pretty much the first to work on his page. From that I decided the pages before and after should be splash pages where possible, and from there I tried my best to alternate the pages accordingly. That’s not to say that’s wholly possible all the way through the book, in some instances the artists changed their minds and went for a splash rather than a sequential or visa-versa, but I was fine so long as there wasn’t too long a run of splash page after splash page or sequential pages following one another.

How much did the initial artist rendition of James Stanley differ from your mental image of the interviewer?

Ha! I said to the artists at the beginning, think of it like a cross between me and Ewan McGregor and you’ve pretty much got it. I’m relieved nobody paid attention to that!

Any good supers book will have sub plots and evil organizations. With just a page for each interview, how tough was it to work those things in?

I’d say ‘interesting’ rather than tough. I always had in mind to introduce XoDOS as the main antagonist, and I found it was easy to weave them subtly into conversations. Cropping up to offer their ‘help’ to interviewees for example meant that sub-plots presented themselves nicely as the story progressed. I’d like to think there are plenty of little tasty morsels for expansion at a later date.

You described where the artists were chosen from with some being recommended and others found online. Any advice for other writers seeking artists?

I’d probably say research and see as many portfolios as possible. Try and get yourself off to one of the many cons out there and meet as many artists as you can. And don’t just go for the big names (generally they are locked into exclusive contracts or are on long lead times) there are plenty of often overlooked artists that deserve consideration. Oh, and be honest with them with timings, costs and commitment!

How about artists seeking writers? What could an artist have done in order to stand out to you?

That’s a difficult one to answer as all art is subjective so what works for me might not work for another writer, however I’d say the more ‘finished’ the piece the better – I love sketches and scamps but what generally seals the deal for me is seeing what the page could potentially look like all done and dusted. If an artist’s portfolio has a few full colour images scattered through it I have a better handle on their work and, more importantly, if it will suit my project.

Based on your experience working with these high caliber artists, what do you now feel capable of that you wouldn’t have felt capable of before? Different kinds of stories, more epic tales or difficult-to-show-visually subject matter?

I think overall it’s the confidence to carry on with the ‘next’ thing. I’ve been fortunate that ‘Forty-Five’ has put me in touch with probably over sixty top artists, inkers and colourists, all of them receptive to the odd email from me. That’s an amazing position to be in, it means I can get an idea in front of these guys and see if they want to attach themselves to it very easily.

You’ve mentioned a couple of different related Forty-Five books that you’d like to produce. It might be a little early to ask but is there any further news at this point?

Well, funnily enough I was chatting to Com.x a few weeks back about developing one of the characters from ‘Forty-Five’, and I can say that I’ve just signed a contract for my second book! I’m working on a 40 page one-shot and it’ll be co-written with Eddie Deighton from Com.x (I had a blast with him on the edit), the artist is from the original pool of talent on ‘Forty-Five’ and we’ll be announcing more soon. It’s slated for a late 2010, early 2011 finish and I’m really excited, this time round it’ll be what I would call a ‘traditional’ comic format.

Congratulations! Finally, what facet of 45 are you most proud of?

I think that it’s that I ‘finished’ it. When the printed version is in my hands, I think it’ll finally hit home that I’ve achieved my dream to be published and have inspiration to give to my son. Mission-almost-complete.:-)

Thanks for answering these questions, Andi.

Forty-Five was spotlighted in the October 2009 Diamond Previews catalog (under DCD#OCT090823 for retailers). For more news about Forty-Five, please visit the Forty-Five comic blog and Com.x.

For the past few nights I've been playing around with this new online game/virtual world called Metaplace. The concept is really interesting in that it allows users to create their own worlds within the game. The tool set is actually very robust and I think the users who are there now have only scratched the surface of what's possible here. You could actually create your very own multiplayer role playing game with all your own graphics, sprites and sounds.

I created a small world of my own that looks like Walter's hill with a cartoonist studio inside the house. I set it up to promote Hermit Hill with some strips and linked sketchbook pages. I could potentially see creating an entire world within this deceptively simple framework. There's a lot of potential for webcomics here and I can't wait to see what people come up with. If this thing takes off it could become quite the community. As far as I can tell from my searches of the current online worlds within Metaplace I think I can lay claim to being the first webcomic to create a presence there. Check it out for yourself!

Hermit Hill on Metaplace.

There's no other comic out there quite like School Spirit by Daniel VanderWerff.

Not only is it an Australian webcomic (ooh, exotic!), but it also has some of the most unique character designs I've ever seen... believe me, nothing else looks like this comic. The big-eared, vaguely mouse-like cast of schoolchildren is well balanced and endlessly amusing, as are their frequent encounters with the eponymous "spirits." Did I mention that this comic is Australian? I did? Well it bears repeating, because it really is an important point; the story is packed with references to its down-under setting, and while reading through it you'll get the additional benefit of learning an astonishing amount about the land of dingos and cricket. It's one comic that'll definitely stay in your mind.

Well, it went from a germ of an idea to a full-fledged month-long comics event in less than two weeks! That's right, November is 30 Characters Challenge Month.

We're up to 25 participants, and there are already 30+ characters posted on the site. How about that? Pretty cool, no?

My first two are up...characters from Colosseum X, my 2010 superhero slugfest I'm working on with Enrique Savoy, a local artist with major chops.

Check out Kurt Blackburn and Cason Cole, the antagonist and protagonist respectively.

This month, voting takes place for the 2009 Webcomic Readers Choice Awards. Far be it from me to ask you to cast a vote for my comics (though I’d be very humbly appreciative), rather – I would like you to vote for the webcomics you enjoy the most.

Take a look at the nominees – there’s lots of terrific reading to be had by looking through the list.

500 webcomics is still a pretty tough milestone on the road to webcomics... survival, if not outright success.  And perserverence in comics isn't anything to sneeze at. Congrats to Joe Chiappetta on 500 installments of his the all-ages family webcomic Silly Daddy!  Here's the press release:

The family comic series, "Silly Daddy," posts its 500th online cartoon November 9th, 2009. Started as a print comic book in 1991 with the birth of his first child, cartoonist Joe Chiappetta has received much award recognition for the series, including Harvey and Ignatz nominations. When his story arc combined science fiction with real life family drama and humor, he won the Xeric Award.

Since 2004, Silly Daddy has also been a webcomic with an emphasis on one panel cartoons. Here are five reasons why you should take note of Silly Daddy's 500 webcomics milestone:

1. Silly Daddy is one of the longest running autobiographical comics still releasing new material. It's definitely the longest running autobiographical comic about family by a father.
2. While the all-ages webcomics are drawn on a variety of media, Chiappetta is one of the only cartoonists to regularly complete comics on a Pocket PC (handheld mobile computing devices with 4" diagonal screen or less, running Windows Mobile operating system).
3. Many of these webcomics (74) were created entirely on a mobile phone. Chiappetta is the first cartoonist to pioneer in this field of phone-made webcomics, calling it "telephomics."
4. The Silly Daddy website is one of the few cartoonist sites wherein all the comics are fully accessible to people who are blind or have low vision. Every webcomic posted has a described narrative that assistive technology software (such as JAWS or ZoomText) can read to the viewer.
5. Roughly half of the 500 comics are works on paper and the other half were drawn entirely on some type of computer device. It took 5 years to make these webcomics and cost $2000 in materials to produce.

I'm not sure about number 1 (Isn't Kochalka a father?) actually -- you'll have to fact check the others on your own.

Hey! A shout-out to cartoonists who like Secret Santa exchanges: I am running a Web Comic Secret Santa Exchange and registration is now open for 2009. So, if you would like to draw a gift comic/image, receive a gift comic/image, and maybe find a few new fun comics to add to your reading list, then come check it out. Details, including rules and how to sign up, are available at my Web Comic Secret Santa Exchange 2009 site. Thanks and have fun!

The Webcomic List Awards exist to honour the best the medium has to offer.
Everyone actively involved in webcomics in some way can nominate candidates for the awards.

Clicketyclick here for more information and to nominate!

Well, folks, it’s time to wrap up “El Santo vs. The Vampire Women” month. I reckon that, by now, you’re downright sick of any ladies with pointy canine. You are very tempted to wash out your mouth with listerine because you can almost taste the hemoglobin. You are tempted to say, “Santo, vampire women suck! And that is totally not a pun about them being vampires … or a double entendre, for that matter!”

Such is the menace of the vampire women. Their powers warp the minds of mere mortals.

In case you’re just tuning in, here’s a list of webcomics featuring vampire women that I covered in the month of October:

1. Eerie Cuties – vampire schoolgirls have all the fun!
2. School Bites – vampire schoolgirls are on the run!
3. Annyseed – vampire schoolgirls …um … need some sun?
4. Juliette: Worst Vampire Ever – vampire schoolgirls something something hot cross buns.
5. Abandon: First Vampire – the vampire Lara Croft.
6. Blood Bound – a vampire girl and her dog.
7. Danielle Dark – real vampire women of Indianapolis!
8. Last Res0rt – space furry vampires.
9. My Immortal – vampire schoolgirls being handed a gun! By Lord Voldemort!

To coin a phrase that a famed mathematician of vampiric descent once said: “Nine! Nine

webcomics about vampire women! Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!” *thunder, lightning*

So what did we learn from this experience?

Vampire women — despite doing creepy things like breaking into your house, talking to shrubbery, playing in reality shows, and eating Count Chocula drenched in human blood — are no different than you or me. They have urges, dreams, and a nasty habit of living for up to two to three millennia. Get to know your vampire women. There are many kinds. They range from schoolgirls to girls who go to school. In the best case scenario, befriending your local vampire can win you a powerful ally in the inevitable vampire armageddon. But, if all else fails, go ahead an stake them through the heart.

So where does El Santo go now?

Shall I do battle with mummies?

Frankenstein?

The Diabolical Axe?

Vampire men?

More vampire women?

Perhaps all of them at once?

Only time will tell, mi amigos. Until next time, viva la raza.

Additional Reading

A couple of shout outs to a couple of webcomics I had considered covering but for some reason or other didn’t make the cut:

• Bite Me! – This famous webcomic by Dylan Meconis deals with a group of vampires who live during the French Revolution. While the cover does show a vampire woman waving the French flag to lead the revolt, it turns out that this webcomic was more of an ensemble piece. The ironclad rule that I set for myself must not be broken!
• Youngbloods – I know what you’re thinking, but no… this isn’t that one superhero comic where beefy guys with no feet have names like “Badrock” and “Riptide.” This does, in fact, feature a vampire woman. There aren’t many webcomics featuring Black characters in the main character role. There are even fewer webcomics with a predominantly African American cast. Which is why Youngbloods caught my eye: it featured a young Black girl in the inner city caught up in a violent vampire gang war. I only found out about it this week, though, and at 188 pages I didn’t think I’d be able to read through the whole webcomic before October was through.

Who’s That Girl?

If you were wondering who the gal in my makeshift “El Santo vs. The Vampire Women” banner was,

wonder no longer. She is wrestling valet Shelly Martinez. When Shelley was in the indies, she went as “Halloween Barbie,” who I assumed was a vampire. I never watched her in action the, so I can’t confirm or deny, though. WWE fans remember her as the vampire Ariel, who debuted as a valet to Kevin Thorn. It’s this gimmick that’s being portrayed in the banner pic. She was also seen in TNA Wrestling playing the part of Salina, who was not a vampire. Recently, she quit that role to star in some Italian movies. Wrestling star and movie star? Sounds like she’s having a very El Santo career.

But seriously…

… thank you, everyone, for checking out the “El Santo vs. The Vampire Women” series. I’d like to think I introduced quite a few of the lesser known webcomics out there for folks who are in the mood for horror… even though most of the time it was the lighter side of horror. It’s an experiment I wouldn’t mind repeating again.

Interestingly, while searching out comics featuring vampire women, I ran across a comment on Websnark where the poster mentioned that he was surprised that there weren’t many vampire comics. That was probably true when he posted back in 2007. Nowadays, though, we got vampire comics coming out the wazoo! And with vampire in media going through a huge resurgence, there’s probably more to come.

Bonus

And well, since this is Halloween, here’s a bonus video. I’d considered posting the trailer for the movie “Santo vs. The Vampire Women.” However, luchador movies are actually very difficult to watch, even for fans of bad movies like myself. The trailer was just a bunch of vampire women slowly emergine from their coffins and blinking menacingly. It’s very appropriate for this month’s theme, but it’s also very boring.

Trust me… this video is much more awesome by several magnitudes. It features luchadors (namely La Parka, the overweight luchador who dresses up as a skeleton), sexy women, and the Thriller (complete with Michael Jackson impersonator):

Happy Halloween!

Below are all the specs for the NCWCCC Anthology 3 Book. I have offered two versions. The short version goes over stuff you NEED TO KNOW. The long version includes greater detail.

Short Version (Stuff you NEED to know):

1. The theme is Religion.
2. The anthology will be juried. Submitting work will not guarantee a spot in the book.  
3. There is no strict deadline for participation this year. Just get it to me before the deadline.
4. Deadline for all work, covers and biographies is Sunday, November 29^th. Biographies cannot exceed 100 words and must begin w/ your name or handle of choice. Please include your URL in your bio.
5. Work must not exceed 8” x 8” in dimension. All art must be B & W or grayscale, at least 300 dpi and in TIF format. You may submit work in PDF format, but please export to high quality print settings, or use equivalent dpi (300). note - You may send in larger sizes, but they must be reducible to 8” x 8” with the fonts still being legible.
6. FTP information will be provided via email.
7. I encourage you to read the long version.

Long Version

Okay, if you really want to know what’s going on, read below.

THEME: Religion. You may be as broad as you wish w/ this subject. 

PARTICIPATION: Anyone associated w/ the NCWCCC may submit work for the Anthology.  Unlike previous years, there is no separate deadline for participation. This means that if you would like to submit something, just get it to me before the deadline Nov 29th

MEDIUM: Like Anthology 1 and 2, we will accept comics, art, photography, short stories, essays, poetry or a mix of all of the above. While we prefer new art, you may submit something you have already done, but it cannot be from any previous NCWCCC anthology. It won’t fit the theme. ;)

TECHNICAL SPECS: Comics/art/photography – Please send black & white or grayscale art. (If you send color pics they will be turned to grayscale.) All art must be at least 300 dpi and in TIF format. JPGs will be accepted, but please note that quality may suffer as a result. You may submit work in PDF format, but please export to the high quality print settings, or use equivalent dpi (300). Stories/essays/poetry – If at all possible please send any written work in a WORD doc, but that is not mandatory. If you desire a specific font please send a True Type font w/ your work. Mac fonts cannot be accepted at this time. Book will be 8 ½ x 8 ½, same as the last one.

YOUR WORK MUST BE 8” X 8” OR REDUCIBLE TO THAT SIZE. If you do send in a larger size, please ensure your fonts are legible at 8” X 8”.

FTP info will be provided via email.

PAGE COUNT: You may submit two to six pages which may be a continuous story or a series of illustrations, or whatever. The six page limit is only a suggestion. If you can produce 16 pages by the deadline date, go for it. Please try to keep your page count to an even number. (We need to know your page count by July )

BIOGRAPHIES AND URLs: Please submit a small biography about you, your comic or both. Biographies cannot exceed 100 words and must begin w/ your name or handle of choice. Ten words more or less will make no difference. Also include no more than TWO URLs to be listed along w/ your biography. (Deadline for Biographies is same as other work, November 29th).

EDITING: Once again, our book will be edited by Zack Smith. He will be editing comics, stories, introduction, blurbs, copyright page, etc. I plan to submit each work to Zack as it comes in. If any corrections are needed we will contact you with Zack’s notes. Once the work is corrected, please upload the work to the FTP again AND LET ME KNOW!! If your work does not require any corrections we will send you an email stating so. (Corrections should be made and uploaded or sent in by)

JURRIED SELECETION: Currently we are planning to have the third anthology juried which means someone outside the NCWCCC will decide which stories, art, etc will make it into the book.   Definitely on board for this duty is Wednesday White of Websnark. Others will follow. This means that by submitting work does NOT guarantee you a spot in the book.  Please, think about this very carefully before submitting anything. 

DEADLINE: Sunday, November 29th – Hard deadline for all work and biographies to be submitted. This includes front and back covers. (This means that your finished work MUST be uploaded to the FTP site before Saturday, October 31st. Bios should be emailed separately and include your name and URLS.)

IN HAND DEADLINE: Like last year we would like to debut the book at What the Hell Con. WTHC is scheduled for February 5th – 7th, 2010.

Current NCWCCC Anthology 3 Participants

Alan Welch

Ursula Vernon

Mike Moon

Larry Holderfield

Justin and John Lapoint

Gabriel Dunston

Phillip Wright

Zack Smith (editor)

Jamie Robertson

Evan Dahm

Chelsea Black

Kate Daniel

Cladwell Tanner & Clarck

November is NaNoWriMo month! Even if you aren’t one of those starry-eyed hopefuls churning away at putting out a 50k novel, there are many other ways to challenge yourself. Heck, maybe we should just rename the month “National Challenge Yourself Month” (NaChaYouMo), no?

There’s a blog version of NaNoWriMo, for example, that challenges bloggers to write 50k words in a month. (Which is a far, FAR easier task than the novel thing.)

And then there’s Darcie Frederick of Later, Watch The World End. Darcie has taken on the challenge of writing a new strip of her comic for each day of the month for a total of 30 new strips at the end. She writes: “The concentrated time will, I hope, push me further artistically.”

Frankly, I think it’s a great idea, and more useful than writing a novel that, in a compressed time frame, will likely turn out terrible. Thirty pages in quick succession, which is close to what folks at Marvel and DC churn out in a month, have a better chance of turning out to be good.

Anyway, I browsed through Later, and it’s a very serene and contemplative look at a post-apocalyptic world where folks wander through the sparse, moody landscapes in utter loneliness. It’s definitely different and worth checking out.

If there wasn’t a mainstream urge to create indie comics before, there will be now…

• The Webcomic Overlook reviewed Danielle Dark while mpd57 looked at Where Evils Darent. Pigs of the Industry looked at Doc Monster and I Am Legend covered Asylum Ink. Digital Strips returned to their pile of reviewed comics to see how the new ones have done over time.
• SMASH hit an exciting end to Season One. It’s on my review list but you would be upset with me if I rudely kept this comic to myself. And another treasure you won’t want to miss is Forty-Five. I’d like to get more in-depth with 45 a little later; it’s a fun concept worth exploring.
• Paperless Comics had some good links to great stuff for you but I also liked the discussion about landing pages in the comments. And Webcomics.com more or less encourages us to not make our readers think if we can help it – which was echoed by Smashing Magazine’s Cheeseburger Interface. I think the lesson is to make sure the thinking/processing our readers have to do is centered on the comic itself.
• The Webcomic List forums had this fun thread called Before and After which compared the first comics of a series and current comics. It was interesting to see how the art changed in ways over time that you might miss if you were a regular reader. There was also an Awesome Strips thread where posters showed off awesome strips. Inkstuds compiled a list of five cartoonists you should be reading.

• And yet another opinion on Robot 13 that echoes how I felt about reading it. Comic Vine covered The Anchor and Fictions reviewed Reasons WHy I’m Scared To Love You and Thorgal. Warren Peace reviewed Pluto and Optical Sloth told us about Jin & Jan, And Then One Day, a bunch of mini comics by Julia Wertz and Sausage Hand.
• A Nickel’s Worth interviewed Paul Gilligan of Pooch Cafe. Question six was interesting but I found eleven to take the cake this time.
• Journalista gave us, among other things, a couple of links about comic making. One was about making a four issue comic mini series and the other was Urasawa’s process. What wonderful variety of approach there is to enjoy about comics!
• Kez had some thoughts on BCC with some lessons learned. Last Resort also gave us ten good reasons to create guest strips.
• And Jason Thibault tweeted about an article that talks about the right way and wrong way to write. Change a few details and it could be all about your art, which is likely why Jason tweeted about it. It’s inspirational.

ArtPatient.com

Ideally anyhow.  Just a reminder that ComixTalk does review comics in all forms now (not just webcomics) so if you want to send us a review copy of a book send it to ComixTALK world HQ care of Robert Tanner, P.O. Box 3362, Arlington, Virginia 22203.

Right now I've got a review copy of Malice by Chris Wooding on my desk - extremely cool packaging of this book (a molded cover gives it a little extra heft); I also got a review copy of The Good Neighbors: Kith (Book Two) by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh but it's a sequel so I may try to pick up the first volume before reading it.  I just finished the print collection of Rice Boy from Evan Dahm which I bought from Dahm at SPX this year. A little expensive for a paperback (although it is in full color) but factor in the fact that you already read it for free on the web.  Rice Boy deserves more review and praise online (unless I'm just not googling it right) -- it's has this demented Dr.Seuss artwork that creates a sustained other world from Dahm's imagination.  I was struck by how much more I enjoyed it as a book -- taking a long chunk of time to sit in a comfortable chair and just read it through.