Three Years is a very short time.

And yet it is a very long time as well. So many things have happened I don't think I recognize webcomic-dom anymore.

Oh scratch that, I don't think it can even be called webcomics-dom anymore. On return from my self-imposed exile from the world of webcomics I find that it seems more "mainstream" than newspaper comics nowadays. Certainly none of that "GOSH! They've got comics on the web!" vibe it used to exude!

Admiteedly I am no longer a dewy-eyed idealistic college student. Maybe a little older, (the wiser part is debatable) and maybe a little bit more cynical and jaded (sorry, I had to make that pun), but still with a love for comics and writing...

Well I guess it will make re-exploring webcomics a little bit more interesting then!

So ok, I'm still Alive

Time flies when you're running around applying for jobs and going for interviews. I do apologise to those of you who worried about me. I didn't realise over a month had passed before Kelly over at Comixpedia gave me a poke about my Essence contribution. Which, btw, you can read here. I grouse a lot about vampires there.

As you will no doubt have noticed, there is a new review below. Hooray!

Lastly, if any of you feel like pimping comics, this is the time to do it. I'm looking for recommendations for comics with a mystery theme to them. Please post them in the comments section and I will be very grateful (and so would the creator, I suppose.)

I'm still going to be busy. I've had to put The Jaded on hold and am barely managing to keep The Longest Sojourn running, but one thing at a time, and as much as I love comics, some things are just more important sometimes.

Aaannd it's 2 am in the morning, I am going to sleep.

September...

...hasn't been a very good month so far, to put it mildly. Bad luck and more bad luck keeps stacking up one after another. I won't bore you with details. I'll just say comics aren't exactly my top priority right now.

I do have the report of the next leg (Dementia of Magic) in the works, but that's about it.

This is just in case you're wondering why I haven't been blogging much.

Stopover at Astronaut Elementary: The WCN Effect

I'm not sure how I missed it, seeing that it was on Websnark, but Dave Roman's Astronaut Elementary apparently moved from GAM to WCN, which is the webcomics equivalent of shifting rooms in the same building, except that one is behind the subscription curtain and one isn't.

I like Dave Roman and his stuff, and naturally his being able to unleash his creativity unrestricted upon the rest of the webcomics world can only be a good thing in my view. But I can't help but wonder about this new shift in direction, especially when I know Dave isn't the only one to be/who will be doing this.

From the point of view of Joey Manley of course, it probably wouldn't make that much of a difference, because whether it's Girl-a-Matic or Graphic Smash or WebcomicsNation, they'll all under the Modern Tales umbrella. Still, I can't shake off the feeling that things are going to change a lot after this. Like it or not, the WCN effect is in motion, and I highly doubt that there is much anyone can say or do to change that.

Ps: I realise that with that last link I am admitting to reading the webcomics tabloid, but tee hee... that silly stuff is interesting sometimes. ;)

Stopover at WebcomicsNation

Webcomics Nation launched today. Granted, I've been a beta tester for WCN for a while so it hasn't really felt very different for me.

I do find myself in an interesting position of course, as you know I'm involved in Comic Genesis (formerly known as Keenspace) and now I'm also in the rival WCN camp. Given that CG is having humoungous teething problems at the moment (Teething? More like sabre-toothed Fangs) it probably couldn't be a better time for Joey to lauch WCN.

Personally, I think WCN is quite easy to use. People have been making comparisons to Blogger and Flickr, and they're almost spot on except the interface isn't as shiny yet. The only thing that recently I realised annoyed me about it is the dubious HCI-design aspect of it, where it commits a cardinal sin in HCI (Human Computer Interface) and has a shifting interface. Bad Bad Bad. You want all your navigational stuff to stay the same if possible.

However, putting up a comic in WCN is something like

1) Press button that says "Add New Page"
2) Press button that says "Upload Comic"
3) Enter date you want comic to display.

It's much simpler, though more restrictive compared to CG, but there are a lot of cool features, such as this "tooncasting" which I would use on a lot of my pages if the green "Hosted by WCN" text wasn't so big and ugly. Automated gallery and cast pages are pretty cool too, I admit. And having free advertising doesn't hurt either.

The price is $9.99 per month, which some people have mentioned as 'steep'. It'll be interesting to see if the price remains there or if it goes up or down.

All in all, I think WCN will be a good thing for webcomics. Anything that makes it easier to put up a webcomic is a good thing, certainly, and I like the idea that there's an alternative for Comic Genesis.

Granted I may have ulterior motives since I help run the Comic Genesis Help Center and less complaining is always welcome ;)

Edit: And it's ad free. I forget to mention that.

Oh Here We Go With the Goddamn Helicopters Again.

I woke up to the sound of helicopters again. And this time around I didn't pay them as much attention, as they've been flying over quite regularly since the London Bombings a couple of weeks ago.

But just as I was about to set off, I got a call from my sister, and heard that some wanker bombed Warren Street station. (I'm told it was a nail bomb, not as serious as the last one)

I live in the Euston Towers area. My nearest tube station IS Warren Street. I pass that every day, I take that quite frequently, and would have been passing there if I had left a bit earlier. I suppose it was my guardian angel who was telling me I ought to have some breakfast before I go, which was what delayed me today.

Now the entire area is covered in police tape, I couldn't leave the building if I wanted to, and police, emergency services and reporters are effing everywhere. They just arrested some guy outside my hall.

Geez. Living in Central London sure ain't boring, is it?

The Helicopters are the Harbringers of Doom

After a late night out with a friend watching Kung Fu Shuffle Hustle, I woke up this morning to the sound of helicopters circling.

It took me about half an hour of the constant noise to make me realise something was wrong. Logging on to BBC's website, I quickly found out that it was due to a series of Tube 'explosions' on the London Underground.

But the enormity of the situation didn't sink in until we had reports of an explosion on a bus in Tavistock Square. That really gave me a chill.

You see, Tavistock Square is ten minutes walk from where I am.

Now they're talking about more blasts and terrorist attacks taking advantage of the timing, right after London Olympics bid.

So yes, it's kinda freaky to be living where I am right now.

U2 Cardiff 2005

Star Sailor. The Killers. U2. OMG. Absolutely amazing.

I might talk about the full thing later, but that was just mind-blowingly fantastic.

Whoo!


Edit: Mos has a report on the concert here.

Being Irresponsible Again

I forget to mention that I'm currently being very very very irresponsible regarding my online projects. Not only is my The Jaded buffer at an all-time low (I'm so sorry T. Please don't kill me!) I haven't been particularly active with blogging either. And I still have a half-completed review that I haven't the heart to just bang out haphazardly because I dont't want to produce some half-assed review so I can run away and go play in the sunshine.

I'm also currently up in Cardiff, Wales at the moment, visiting MosHunter. We're going for the U2 concert in Millenium Stadium, and the fact that their supporting act is The Killers (which is another band that rocks my socks off) makes this a not-to-be-missed-no-not-even-for-webcomics experience.

Add to the fact I'm graduating, I have to see to a hundred and one things. (My God. My graduation gown makes me look like I'm about to enroll into Hogwarts!)

However, for distraction value, check out the latest issue of Comixpedia for the latest The Essence Of... Full credit for the golden-haired virgins goes to my friend Alan.

Speaking of Golden... damnit, it's still my turn. It never rains but it pours.

Milestone: No Longer A Typical Webcomic Demographic

I won't do this very often, because I try to keep this blog and my personal life separate.

But...

I Graduated!!

I haven't been in the mood to write or draw much lately because of the incessant worry, but now that it's all done. Whew.

Now excuse me, I need to go dance a happy dance.

Ever Get the Feeling You've Created a Monster?

Because between my initial tabloid idea, Minivet's fictional headlines and xmung's naming sense, I think we have.

Now if I can only stop laughing...

Stopover at Comixpedia: Invading comics with collective uteri

Joking. ;)

But there's one debatable column here, and here's Wed's report on the UK Web and Mini Comics thing, done in the form of a photo-comic. It does have a picture of me drawing the 24minute comic, which I didn't manage to get for obvious reasons.

Note: Private Eye Butterfly seems to have won the vote by a rather large margin, so that should be next leg.

Stopover at The Daily Grind: Damnit Bob! I nearly spit tea on my monitor... AGAIN!

I'm sure the majority of you have heard ofThe Daily Grind competition already. I mean it's been Comixpedia'ed, Websnarked AND Slashdotted, that's a LOT of publicity.

The first two losers being declared already, and I'm curious to see if Zampzon's fallout prediction over at Digital Strips is going to be on the spot. I think he's got a point, and so far it seems to be accurate, but it remains to be seen if where it runs true all the way or not.

Anyway, with the Keenspace servers being flakey and the recent rucki (Thinking about it, shouldn't that be the plural of 'ruckus'? And yes, I will keep on using that word because I like it. Ruckus ruckus ruckus!) over at Keenspot, I found the following comic incredibly funny and couldn't believe I missed blogging about it:

The following should be taken with a big pinch of salt, a good sense of humour, and some knowledge about the webcomics world, just so you know.


That last panel is a gem, especially.

This was a quick little comic by Bob Oosterwijk, whom I will hopefully get to meet at the UK Web and Mini Comics Thing on Saturday! (Click on the picture to see the comic in full-sized, and two others besides! AND Chris Crosby's response to it).

The funny thing is that these comics were created long before the Grind started dropping people, Keenspace started going flakey and the whole Keenspot Anti-Gay/PvP/Penny-Arcade thing.

Maybe Zampzon isn't the only one good at making predictions here ;)

Stopover at the UK Web and Mini-Comics Thing: I have a little blue ticket stuck to my wall!

Just a quick head's up to announce that on March 19th, I will be going to...



... as a visitor. I'm not exhibiting anything, as I don't have the time to organise and get a table and make stuff to sell.

But I will be there, checking out the stalls of all those great webcomics. Maybe I'll get a some Scary-Go-Round mechandise for Mos, and I'll definitely take lots of pictures and post them here. Of course, no one's going to to know who I am, much less recognise me, but hey, I'm fine with that... it's my very first Con after all.

Oh, I should mention that I am also planning on participating in their 24 minute comic event. Originally, I hadn't really decided and was pondering if it was possible to do it with the other people I'm planning to meet up with, so I emailed the person in charge and asked for more details.

Not only did she give me those details... she added me to the list.

I blinked twice, then decided... "Oh hell... why not?"

Carpe diem. Seize the day! This is just going to be so much fun.

Stopover at Comixpedia: "The Essence of... Infinity Canvas"

I'm still writing the Ascent leg, but just wanted to to give a quick head's up in the meantime; there's a new The Essence Of... comic over at Comixpedia.

This month's comic is based on Scott McCloud's "I Can't Stop Thinking!" series, which you can read here.

My schedule is a tad busy right now, currently it runs:

1. Run around like a idiot who has never seen snow while it's snowing
2. University work
3. Dragonforce Concert
4. Write Ascent Leg
5. University work
6. Apply for jobs
7. Build up The Jaded buffer
8. Juggle
9. University work
10. Work on next Comixpedia submission
11. Update Keenspace Gear
12. University work
13. Sleep when possible

Well... you get the idea. At least my life isn't being wasted. ;)

Why yes, something might look a little different...

And about time too! That blue tic tac template was beginning to really annoy me.

There's bound to be a few bugs around, so DO let me know if you find any!

Stopover at Real Life: Webcomic Proposals must be coming in to fashion...

In case you missed this yesterday:

I think the first time I ever saw an online proposal was when Gabe of Penny Arcade did it.

And while technically Greg Dean didn't do it the same way (proposed first, asked question later) I'm beginning to wonder if a trend is beginning to develop.

Regardless, something to keep in mind for those of you who are dating webcomic artists, since it's something that's highly likely to happen if you're dating one and one of them proposes. ;)


Oh and I forgot. Congratulations to Greg and Liz are in order ;)