Webcomics
New ‘Axe Cop’ trailer delivers words to live by
As part of its upfront presentations Monday in New York City, Fox screened a new trailer for Axe Cop, an adaptation of the hit webcomic by brothers Malachai Nicolle and Ethan Nicolle premiering July 27 as part of the network’s new late-night animated programming block.
If you’ve read the source material, or watched any of the previous teasers, you pretty much know what you’re in for with Axe Cop, although this trailer features Parks and Recreation‘s Nick Offerman offering some wisdom for the ages: “I want you to listen very carefully: There is something even better than friends — killing the guy who killed your friends.”
Part of Animation Domination High-Def, Axe Cop also features the voice talents of Megan Mullally, Patton Oswalt, Ken Marino and Peter Serafinowicz. ADHD premieres Saturday, July 27 at 11 p.m. ET/PT.
Rucka & Burchett launch Kickstarter for ‘Lady Sabre’ collection
For nearly two years, Greg Rucka and Rick Burchett the high-flying adventures of Lady Seneca Sabre in their twice-weekly webcomic, and now they’re looking to bring their special blend of steampunk, magic and the Wild West to print. To that end, the duo has launched a Kickstarter campaign to publish the first five chapters of Lady Sabre & The Pirates of the Ineffable Aether in a 192-page hardcover collection.
Mere hours into the drive and they’re nearly halfway toward the $27,500 they need to pay for their initial 2,000-copy print run, plus shipping, Kickstarter fees, etc. So odds are, this project is going to get funded. Their pledge tiers a pretty reasonable, too, which may help to explain the campaign’s speedy progress; for instance, $30 gets you a copy of the book. Additional incentives include keychains, bookplates, an inscription from Brian Michael Bendis, and dinner at HeroesCon with the creators.
There’s a lot more information on the Kickstarter page. The campaign ends June 5.
The Endless Coffin: Webcomics get seriously freaky
I’ve seen this linked in the last couple of days at David Hine’s blog and Shaky Kane’s Facebook page: The Endless Coffin, wherein the blogger Inigo Saenz de Viguera takes the contents of Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred #4 (the experiment in Burroughsian cut-up techniques that gained a certain notoriety in fanboy circles after this publicity stunt), and turns it into a genuinely disturbing psychedelic experience.
Jason Little gets his hobo on with ‘Borb’
Who said the daily comic strip is dying? Whoever it was apparently didn’t tell The Shutterbug Follies cartoonist Jason Little, who recently launched his third serialized strip Borb.
In this new project, Little has dispensed with his titular photographer Bee from his previous two strips in favor of a mangy but lovable vagrant and a scratchy, black-and-white art style. Launched on March 18, new installments of Borb are released Monday through Saturday, with each week a story of its own.
Quietly launched on his blog BeeComix, Borb looks to be a mightily raucous piece of cartooning in both story and in style.
Tapastic poised to make a splash at WonderCon
Tapastic is a new digital-comics platform that allows users to upload their comics to the Internet. That isn’t a new idea, and when Nina Kester, whom I first met when she was working with Archie, contacted me about it, my first question (asked and answered below) was “How is this different from SmackJeeves or Drunk Duck?” Well, I was a bit more polite than that.
One way to look at it is that Tapastic is webcomics sites 2.0. It’s sleeker, more polished, and it has venture capital funding, so someone is planning to make money from it. I asked Nina to explain what Tapastic is up to, talk about the plans for WonderCon, and recommend a couple of her favorite comics from the site.
ROBOT 6: What sets Tapastic apart from other webcomics sites?
Nina Kester: The first thing everyone notices about Tapastic in contrast with other comic websites is our design. Our CPO Daron Akira Hall’s minimalistic aesthetic for the site and Tapastic’s apps and his design of the user experience always tend to be the first “wow” because it makes the content look so attractive. In his own words, “the main focus for the overall design UI from my perspective has been to keep it simple and flat, not too colorful … in order to let the content shine through, keeping the focus on the art, etc.”
‘Big Bang Theory’ meets ‘Freaks & Geeks’ in ‘Wannabe Heroes’
If you’ve been a comics fan for any significant amount of time, you’ll know that the people who work at and frequent comic shops are sometimes just as interesting as the titles you’re there to buy. With that in mind, cartoonist Jayson Kretzer has been doing a webcomic called Wannabe Heroes based on the exploits of a group of comic shop friends who find themselves with powers of their own. Oh, yeah, and a ninja bear.
Kretzer’s Wannabe Heroes has been running as a webcomic for several years, switching between humor about the unique subculture that is comic fandom and action-oriented exploits that include the aforementioned ninja bear. And now this month, Krezter is looking to take his creation to a new level — with some help from you. Kretzer has launched a Kickstarter campaign in an effort to raise $3,200 to publish a full-color first issue of a conceived four-issue Wannabe Heroes series containing all-new material. He’s already halfway to his goal.
Wannabe Heroes‘ webcomics are online now, and the first issue of Wannabe Heroes is set to be released in May.
New video takes you inside the heads of five webcomics creators
Nicholas Gurewitch
Have you ever wondered what goes through the mind of Nicholas Gurewitch as he is creating The Perry Bible Fellowship, or Andrew Hussie when he works on Homestuck? Check out the short (7:39) video The Rise of Webcomics, part of PBS’s “Off Book” series, that features interviews with Gurewitch, Hussie, Christina Xu (Breadpig), Sam Brown (Exploding Dog) and Lucy Knisley (Stop Paying Attention), along with snippets from lots of other webcomics.
It’s fast-paced and entertaining, and there are some interesting insights from the creators as well as some webcomics you may not have seen before.
‘Feminist’ superhero comic looks promising, but not very superhero-y
Comics scholar Will Brooker (he’s a top expert on Batman) has taken a step over to the other side and started writing a superhero comic that veers pretty far from Gotham City. As he tells Alison Flood in an interview at The Guardian, his new comic My So-Called Secret Identity takes a “feminist approach from the ground up, in terms of story, character, artwork and production.”
That’s a nice idea but not much of a selling point. How about this: It’s a good story. The lead character is interesting, and the first issue draws you into her world, and then brings in a dramatic twist to hold your interest. Brooker’s writing is witty, and the art, by Suze Shore and Sarah Zaidan, is attractive and easy to “read” visually, something that is not always the case with superhero comics.
Lord knows, as a reader who rolls her eyes at most superheroines (and superheroes for that matter), I like the idea of what Brooker is doing, but Comics With Agendas seldom turn out well. Good comics are all about good stories, and good stories seldom fit neatly into ideological niches. This has the makings of a good story, and I would hate for the “feminist” selling point to be a turn-off for potential readers. I’d prefer see this comic presented as something new, rather than a pushback at a tired genre.
Admittedly, My So-Called Secret Identity uses many of the storytelling conventions of superhero comics—the paneling and the way the character is narrating the story from inside her head, for instance. There’s even a grim edge to Cat’s point of view, as she opines that in her city, if you’re not a celebrity or a superhero, you’re “little people.” But then on the next page she’s thinking about the scent of warm muffins and her favorite bookstore. I’ll go out on a limb here (I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong) and say that no one in Gotham City thinks about muffins.
Chris Onstad debuts ‘Achewood’ animated clip, reveals TV hopes
Achewood cartoonist Chris Onstad is ready to take the next step with his insanely popular webcomic — clear to Hollywood. To that end, he’s debuted a 19-second clip showing Ray, Roast Beef and the others in animated form, the first step in what he hopes is the path to television.
“I’ve been working with a team of artists, engineers, and producers to bring Achewood to life,” Onstad wrote Sunday on his blog. “To give it the voices, richness, and opportunities it never had as a comic strip. [...] I’m flying to Los Angeles today to begin a week of network pitch meetings. If things go well, we’ll find a home for our show. Please cross your fingers for us, send us your good energy. And please, share this clip with your world. I’m very proud of what we’ve done.”
Warren Ellis launches ‘largely improvised’ Scatterlands
Nearly a month after announcing Scatterlands, Warren Ellis has kicked off his webcomic collaboration with Jason Howard (Super Dinosaur).
In doing so, he reveals it’s a “largely improvised” riff on a newspaper comic strip that will be serialized daily for free on his website, one panel at a time, for the long haul. Debuting the first installment, Ellis writes, “We’ll take a short break every four or five weeks, at which point we’ll run a digest of that block of panels somewhere or other (we have no serious plans in this direction beyond the intent, and are basically making shit up as we go along).”
Penny Arcade’s reality game show Strip Search prepares for launch
We warned you about this a few weeks ago: Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the duo behind the ultra-popular webcomic series Penny Arcade, are looking to cultivate the next generation of comic artists with a web TV series titled Strip Search.
It’s a reality competition series in which 12 aspiring webcartoonists are locked in a house and pitted against each other in a Thunderdome-like scenario (minus a mohawked Tina Turner) in which their talent, skills and dedication are tested with the ultimate prize of $15,000 in cash and a year working in Penny Arcade‘s offices and taking advantage of the company’s resources. Even the break room.
The show is set to premiere later this month, with the cast members cartoonists already announced. As we await the first episode, scan through the artists’ bios and choose your early favorites.