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Crowd Funding Watch: 'Fearless Dawn' Raises $15K from Fans of Pretty Girls and Gross Dinosaurs [Video]

Aaron Colter — 2013-01-23T15:00:00+00:00

Platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo have given creators with projects than tend to skew a little more esoteric a way to raise money outside of getting published through traditional routes. Sometimes, however, the crowd sourced sites give the people what they want.

Case in point: Fearless Dawn: Jurassic Jungle Boogie Nights by Steven Mannion, an offering for art lovers that's filled with babes, dinosaurs, and violence to spare. We break down the latest inneration of the Fearless Dawn series into What It Is, How Much It'll Cost, What You Get, When You'll Get It, and Why You Should Care.

What It Is: A black and white, 32-page story of Steven Mannion's vivacious character Fearless Dawn and her friend Sidekick Betty in a tale full of rampaging, mind-controlled dinosaurs and Nazi soldiers like the villainous Helga Von Krause. Imagine if the movie Iron Sky was mixed with aspects of The Goon and set in The Savage Land.

How Much It'll Cost: $6,800, but that doesn't matter because Mannion has raised almost $15,000 as of this writing.

What You Get: The best bang for your buck is the $12 tier that gets you six digital issues, including the Jurassic Jungle Boogie Nights along with Bomb issues #1-4 and Fearless Dawn in Outer Space. Unfortunately, most of the higher-reward tiers have already sold out. But if you'd like a physical copy of the book, including some PDFs of past material, then you can pledge just three dollars more.

When You'll Get It: April 2013. Mannion has almost completed the book, so he should be on track to getting the relatively short issue out to backers on time.

Why You Should Care: Do you like dinosaurs, killin' Nazis, and beautiful artwork? If not, then don't purchase this book. If you answered, "Hell yeah!", well then I think you have your answer. Head on over to the Kickstarter page to get your copy today.

(click image to enlarge)

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Crowd Funding Watch: The Beautiful and Adorably Sad 'Jaybird' [Video + Extended Preview]

Aaron Colter — 2013-01-15T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Previews, Video, Opinion

Getting original material into the hands of readers without a publisher was difficult before ye grand ol' Internet came along, and perhaps no one understood that often insurmountable obstacle more than creators looking to break into markets beyond their own country's borders. Thanks to platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, the ability to gain funding and awareness has never been more promising.

After a couple weeks off, we're back with a look at crowd funding project worth your consideration and hard-earned money, breaking down What It Is, How Much It'll Cost, What You'll Get, When You'll Get It, and Why You Should Care.

This week: Jaybird by brothers Lauri and Jaako Ahonen from Helsinki, Finland.

What It Is: A mostly wordless story of a scared, little bird who lives with only his bed-ridden mother in an old, dusty house. He has never been outside. One day soon, however, he may be forced to confront the outside world...

How Much It'll Cost: $11,000 for a 1,500 print run of 6"x9" hardcover, 128-page, full-color books. It's a fair price, especially if the paper and ink quality are superb.

What You'll Get: $5 for a PDF of the book, which is OK. But looking at the art, this project is a must-have in print. $50 will get you a physical edition -- technically it's $40, but you have to chip-in $10 for shipping. It's a little pricey, I admit. There are higher-priced tiers for a poster and having your likeness drawn in the book, but the campaign is straightforward without the often annoying (yet, seemingly successful) rewards of t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc. that are usually just ways to get a little more of a profit margin out of people.

When You'll Get It: As early as March of this year. Although, it's best to set your hopes a little further down the road, especially with international shipping.

Why You Should Care: It's the brothers' first comic book, which is impressive considering the sample pages below. What better way to welcome them to the American comics community than by helping back their debut? Plus, according to an update on the IndieGoGo page, because of the flexible funding option the creators have enough to do at least a small print run for backers, even if they can't reach their final goal.

Check out an extended-preview of the book, and then head on over to the IndieGoGo page to donate today:

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Crowd Funding Watch: Bill Plympton's Animated Feature 'Cheatin'' [Interview]

Aaron Colter — 2012-12-27T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Interviews, Video, Animation, Opinion

A variety of comics projects have taken to Kickstarter and IndieGoGo in order to get readers to pony-up the cash needed to create print collections, and while it's easy to consider this crowd-sourced avenue a mainstay of independent books today, it's worth remembering that Kickstarter is only three-years-old as a platform. And though the website has grown to encompass a variety of artistic endeavours, it started as a way for indie filmmakers to find alternatives to the often hesitant studios that wouldn't back more obscure projects.

This week, ComicsAlliance is taking a look at a project that follows in the vein of Kickstarter's roots as we talk with animator and cartoonist Bill Plympton about his campaign for his new feature-length film, Cheatin', breaking down What It Is, How Much It Will Cost, What You Get, When You'll Get It, and Why You Should Care.

For those unfamiliar with Plympton's work, he might be best known lately for his collaboration with the musician Kayne West on the video "Heard Em Say," and on the subsequent book Through the Wire, but Plympton has been receiving critical praise for decades following an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his short film, Your Face, that ran on MTV. In 2008, he was named "Cartoonist of the Year" by the museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, and recently created one of the halmark couch-gag scenes for an episode of The Simpsons.

Plympton's most recent film, Idiots and Angels, was lauded by critics from the New York Times and Variety as being his best work to date, but he believes Cheatin' will be even better as he's learned more and more over the course of six feature-length projects, perhaps even being his breakthrough work to greater mainstream recognition and success.

Passion doesn't pay the bills, however, and although Plympton has financed the film up to this point, he's run out of money. "Studios don't really like my work," he told ComicsAlliance. "They want computer-animated kid stuff." So, he's taken to Kickstarter to finish the project.

What It Is: A roughly 75-minute animated film that's a metaphor for modern love, following the story of two people who start becoming jealous and eventually try to kill one another.

"People freak out and get excited when they see this -- it's beautiful artwork," Plymptons said, "like watercolor animation. And it's helping someone who's fighting against the mega corporate world of the traditional system who don't usually back something done by one artist. If this is successful, then doing this might show that anyone can really make a film."

How Much It'll Cost: $75,000. So, a sizable amount. Still, relatively nothing compared to the budget of most movies of similar quality and running time.

What You'll Get It: $10 gets you a limited-time stream of Cheatin', a download of some of Plympton's other work for $25, $40 for a DVD of the film, $100 for an original animation cel from the film, $1,000 for an original caricature, all the way up to $10,000 for an associate producer credit and tickets to the New York screening.

When You'll Get It: November 2013, but Plympton hopes to be finished with the film by June of next year and submit it to the Toronto Film Festival, but at the latest by September for Sundance, and, of course, in time for the Academy Awards. But that all hinges on the campaign reaching its funding goal.

Why You Should Care: Plympton has been an independent animator and cartoonist for decades, so his standards of quality are higher than the average novice taking to Kickstarter for their first movie or graphic novel. Last year, he successfully funded a Kickstarter to restore Windsor McCay's 1921 classic The Flying House. Plus, Plympton has already finished the animated portion of Cheatin' (unlike the successfully funded campaign for The Goon, where funds were going towards completion of a story reel), the funds are primarily going to pay a team of colorists to finish the whole production. The team is made up of mostly recent graduates from the School of Visual Arts, so you can feel good about donating some money to college kids facing, you know, the worst economic downturn in nearly a century. (That's not over yet, is it?)

"We let [SVA] know we were looking to hire, and we looked at a lot of portfolios," said Plympton. "We had to be sure they knew the software and chose the ones we thought best. We also had to make sure they weren't offended by nudity or graphic violence."

When asked how much nudity and violence will be in the film, Plympton replied, "It won't be very much. A lot of butts and a lot of humping, but mostly from the back with something tastefully covering parts -- kind of 'wink-wink nod-nod'."

So, do your part to further an animation project meant for intelligent adults and help back Cheatin' today.

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Crowd Funding Watch: Brilliant Western Webcomic 'Next Town Over' Rustles Up Print Edition

Aaron Colter — 2012-12-13T12:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Webcomics, Opinion

With tradition publishers and retailers taking less risks in an unstable economy, many creators are forgoing the standard route of getting their books to readers and taking to newer platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo to get the funding they need to make their project a reality. With several books looking to gain your hard earned dollars, ComicsAlliance is breaking down some of the best campaigns to the basics: What It Is, How Much It Will Cost, What You Get, When You'll Get It, and Why You Should Care.

This week we take a look at one of my personal favorite titles that's finally making its way into a print collection, the stunning Western webcomic called Next Town Over by Erin Mehlos.

What It Is: A kickass Western comic that has demon horses, gun fights, drinkin' and general ne'er-do-wellin' drawn in a beautiful fashion that gives the story a thoroughly epic quality.

How Much It Will Cost: $6,500, the smallest amount any campaign we've covered has asked for.

What You Get: $25 for a paperback version of the final book or $25 for the digital version along with a t-shirt. For a great bargin, I recommend the $50 tier, which gets you a signed, limited-edition hardcover of the book along with a t-shirt. If you're feeling particularly generous, $500 will get you the hardcover book, t-shirt, a bunch of goodies like bookmarks and your name in the credits and a sketch, and a full-color original illustration of your choice (Sorry, no porno or licensed characters. So my idea would be shot down twice, but maybe you can think of something).

When You'll Get It: April 2013, but Mehlos recently found/purchased/spawned something called "a baby," which is popular among human beings. So maybe give her a little slack if it ends up being late. Apparently these young creators cannot sustain themselves upon entering the world. Hahahaha! Crazy humans.

Why You Should Care: Back in March of this year I called Next Town Over "easily the best webcomic to come out in the last five years." (Yet, Mehlos quotes another site on her Kickstarter page and not this one -- come on, Mehlos! What gives?!) And, while I'm not as up-to-date with the titles available online now as I was in the spring, I welcome being corrected in the comment section below if someone can point to a superior effort.

My word is not enough, you say? Scoundrel! Well, then feast your mind's eye on the assorted pages below and be convinced. Still not enough? Fine! Read the first four chapters online for free and you'll understand why Next Town Over Volume One: Maybe Next Time is worth your support.

One last note before ending this week's column, another Kickstarter project deserving of your monies is called The Bargain. As the book has already reached its goal, I thought it better to highlight Next Town Over. Still, you might want to check it out if you're a fan of supernatural noir set in the 1950s.

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Crowd Funding Watch: 'The Big Feminist BUT' Tackles a Cultural Taboo

Aaron Colter — 2012-12-07T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Video, Opinion

Comic book projects that might not otherwise be made through traditional channels are turning to Kickstarter or IndieGoGo in order to crowd-source the funding necessary to get their books to audiences. The Dungeon and Dragon's-inspired webcomic The Order of The Stick famously raised over $1 million on Kickstarter, and although such success is rare, several well-known creators have turned to the site for their next books. IndieGoGo tends to see fewer comics artists using the online tool, but it's given international authors the opportunity to break into the U.S. market by directly reaching readers.

ComicsAlliance has been highlighting some of the books that we think have the most potential by breaking down each project to clarify What It Is, How Much It Will Cost, What You Get, When You'll Get It, and Why You Should Care. This week, we take a look at The Big Feminist BUT, a collection of shorts from independent comic artists including Josh Neufeld, Gabrielle Bell, Jeffrey Brown, Sarah Oleksyk and more that discusses the issues surrounding the cultural taboo of identifying as, you guessed it, a feminist.

Feminism, however you identify with the word, is laced with controversy and preconceptions. From connotations of homosexuality and restricting the freedom of men to the image of the over-sensitive bourgeoisie, many in American culture seemingly feel the need to distance themselves from proudly wearing the label.

Two women, Shannon O'Leary (contributing editor to The Beat) and Joan Reilly (Stud's Terkel's Working: A Graphic Adaptation), got tired of hearing phrases like, "I don't want to sound like a feminist, but..." before someone would describe their support for issues of equality and respect. Their creative friends began making short comic strips around the topic, and so O'Leary and Reilly (title of the a buddy-cop TV show I'm going to pitch -- patent pending!) decided to collect the work in The Big Feminist BUT.

What It Is: A book from writers and artists (including editors from io9 and Bitch magazine), both men and women, about their perceptions of feminism through the form of comics shorts.

How Much It Will Cost: $13,995 -- hey, it's not $14,000, right? -- that will go towards paying each artist involved, along with the printing costs of the book. In fact, almost $7,000 from the original funding goal will go towards paying contributors.

What You Get: A 200-page, black and white, paperback copy of the collection for at the low-end, up to $250 for an original illustration of yourself by Reilly, with plenty of tiers in-between to fit your wallet.

When You Will Get It: Late February 2013. The content of the book is nearly finished, and is going to print at 1984 Printing in Oakland, California.

Why You Should Care: The collection will feature some first-time creators, which is usually a mixed bag, but always interesting to see. Understanding that the potential of new talent isn't enough, The Big Feminist BUT will feature Emily S. Flake (New Yorker, The New York Times), Hilary Florido (The Third Horseman), Josh Neufeld (A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge), Gabrielle Bell (The Voyeurs), Jeffrey Brown (Darth Vader and Son), Sarah Oleksyk (Ivy) and several others.

Many of the contributors to the collection are some of the best creators in the field of black and white, autobiographical comics. If you're a fan of that genre, you'll likely enjoy the conversations and through-provoking discussions that The Big Feminist BUT will hopefully create within your own head and in the comics community.

One last item, the IndieGoGo project Magpies that previously mentioned in this column is close to being successfully funded with only a couple days left. Make sure to visit the project's site before it's too late.

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Crowd Funding Watch: Ryan North Remixes A Shakespeare Classic With 'To Be Or Not To Be' [Interview]

Aaron Colter — 2012-11-27T16:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Interviews, Video, Opinion

The cross section of webcomics creators and crowd-sourced funding is logically large. Having bucked the traditional route of starting their project with a publisher, creators of webcomics have often needed to find new ways of raising funds in order to keep releasing their art to a wider audience. Perhaps no other collective of artists embody this D.I.Y. spirit than the friends and colleagues connected to the online merchandise company TopatoCo.

Started by Overcompensating creator Jeffrey Rowland, the company has drawn-in the talents of people like Wondermark!'s David Malki and Dinosaur Comics' Ryan North. A favorite of this site, North has gathered some of the finest independent artists for a new Kickstarter campaign for an illustrated, choseable-path book based on Shakespeare's Hamlet, titled To Be Or Not To Be: That Is The Adventure. The campaign has already wildly surpassed its original funding goal, but because the project looks so appealing we're still going to talk to Ryan North What It Is, How Much It Will Cost, What You Get, When You'll Get It, and Why You Should Care.

What It Is: Over 100 different endings and death scenes illustrated by creators like Randall Munroe (XKCD), Kate Beaton (Hark! A Vagrant), Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content) Anthony Clark (Nedroid), Aaron Diaz (Desden Codak), Meredith Gran (Octopus Pie), Chris Hastings (Dr. McNinja), Jess Fink (Chester 5000 XYV), David Malki! (Wondermark) Ray Fawkes (One Soul), Emily Carroll (The Prince and The Sea), and many, many others. Think of a popular webcomic artist; they are probably doing an illustration in this book.

How Much It Will Cost: $20,000, but that doesn't matter because the project has already raised over $100,000 and there's still two weeks left in the campaign. This book is being made. In fact, North has already pledged to write a sequel. If the project raises over $200,000, then there's a hint that North will try to take the project to stage.

What You Get: A reasonable $20 will get you a physical copy and digital download of the book. $50 will snag you the hardcover (worth it), and if you're really into the project, $5,001 will get you a painting of dinosaur along with you're own adventure story pamphlet and a ton of other stuff like posters, temporary tattoos, and a soul-searching conversation with North (intense emotional revelations not guaranteed).

When You'll Get It: May 2013, which is pretty quick considering all of the different artists involved and the complexity of the plot, which North has already plotted out.

Why You Should Care: If you don't want to see a tremendous cast of webcomics creators that have a history of delivering quality, independent books contribute to a choose-your-own-path remix of Shakespeare's Halmet, which has already been promised a sequel, then I don't know what I could write that would convince you otherwise.

Wanting to know more about this expansive project, I reached out to North with a few questions.

ComicsAlliance: Did you expect to raise this much money?

Ryan North: Hah! No. No, I did not. When we launched I put stretch goals out to $100k, thinking, "Well, at least worst case I'll be prepared." Four days later I had to write stretch goals out to $200k because we'd blown past all my previous ones, and two of those new ones have already been met, too. To say that the response has been "amazing and incredible" would almost be underselling it. I'm humbled and grateful! And it's exciting, because each of these goals has made the book better. It's going to be a really cool book.

CA: Are you sharing the funds with the other artists, or are they being paid a flat rate for their work, or did they donate to your book?

RN: Before the Kickstarter launched I contacted the artists involved saying "Hey, here's a book I wrote, here's a copy of it for you to read, and I'm planning to launch this with a Kickstarter. Would you be willing to do an illustration at fair-rate, and if so, would you be willing to let me mention your involvement on the Kickstarter page?" Everyone who said yes also said I could mention them on the Kickstarter, which was super exciting. And when they submitted the illustrations they got paid, even before the Kickstarter launched.

That's actually one of the reasons it launched with just 30 illustrations: that was the limit of what I could personally afford. I wanted to ensure that even if the project failed, the artists would still get paid.

It's funny -- after we launched I got an email from one of the artists I'd emailed saying "So hey, am I in or not?" It turns out I thought I'd never heard back from them, but they'd actually written back to my email within 10 minutes of my message saying yes and I'd somehow never seen it. I felt like such a jerk. I added them to the Kickstarter page as soon as I could, and yes, I sent out a thousand apologies to them.

CA: You've hinted at a staged performance of this if you raise enough money. Do you have any experience in theatre? How would a choose-your-own-path play work?

RN: I don't, but I have friends who do! I don't want to give too much away, but one element would be to livestream the performance and let people vote for choices online. It might be insane.

CA: You've committed to a sequel at this point -- a sequel of Hamlet?! Plus, a prequel about Yorick. Can you tell us more?

RN: Well it probably won't be a sequel to To Be Or Not To Be, because there's so many different endings to choose from. More likely it'll be another Shakespeare book in the same "choose your own path" format. I haven't settled on a book yet (because it was that $100k goal which was "I will write a sequel" and I did not expect us to reach it), but there's been a few that seem really exciting. I'm looking for something with a few characters that can run through the plot, and if one of them's female, so much the better. But, nothing's set in stone yet!

For Yorick, the idea would be to have a mini adventure set years before Hamlet. Yorick as a character shows up in the play as the dead guy's skull that Hamlet muses about for a bit. He's got literally one line of character description:

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? (Hamlet, V.i)

So all we know is that he's got a fellow of infinite jest, he carried Hamlet on his back a bunch, and they kissed each other on the lips all the time. Those are some great details: there's lots of detail to fill in, but still interesting enough specifics that we feel like we know the guy. Anyway, the prequel (I haven't written it yet) is called Poor Yorick, and you're playing as Yorick, who's broke! To make money he takes a job at the royal court, entertaining Kid Hamlet. I think part of the fun will be flipping the usual adventure-book paradigm: instead of being destined for greatness, you're destined to die. The universe needs you dead. The death endings will be the good ones, and the ending where you survive will cause a universe-altering paradox. That's where I'm at with it.

CA: Out of all the webcomics creators, you and your colleagues around the TopatoCo online store seem to be reasonably successful. Do you feel that way? If so, what do you attribute to your success? How does this Kickstarter compare to the success of Dinosaur Comics and Machine of Death?

RN: Oh, there's tons of people doing awesome things with comics online -- I'm just one dude! I think with most things online, if you treat your audience like friends instead of like Impressions and Clickthrough Percentages and Returns On Investment, then you're off to a great start.

I'm not really sure how to compare this Kickstarter to Dinosaur Comics and Machine of Death; they're all very different beasts. But, the sudden, unexpected enthusiasm is the same with this and Machine of Death, I think. With Machine of Death, we became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon in a single day. That feeling of, "Oh my gosh, is this really happening?" I've got that now.

CA: How many distinct audio books will you have to do now? Who will do the voice work?

RN: For the voice work, no idea! That's all still being worked out. I'm hoping to come up with a clever way to make the audiobook interactive too, but there'll still be straight MP3s for people who want them. If we do every possible path, there will be infinite audiobooks, because you can loop in To Be Or Not To Be. So, to answer your question: infinity. There will be infinity audio books.

CA:Why Hamlet?

RN: A few reasons: I love it, and there's this really clear goal that drives the action from almost the very start: Kill Claudius. Plus, I felt there was a lot I could do with Ophelia, and the fact that Hamlet is insane (maybe) the whole time means working in the crazy choices that people make during a choose-your-own-path book is a bit easier. But, honestly, the format and title came to me first while I was driving -- "To be or not to be! It's structured like a choice, almost like a choose-your-own-ad OH MY GOSH I HAVE TO DO THIS!" -- and then I had a minute or so of all the possibilities exploding in front of my mind's eye. I started writing it as soon as I got home.

The fact that there's a play-within-a-play in Hamlet is also awesome, because it means I got to write an entirely separate choose-your-own-path book within a choose-your-own-path book. You play as Claudius reading this book, trying not to reveal himself as a murderer. It's super fun!

You can learn more about To Be Or Not To Be and its rewards at the official Kickstarter project page.

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Crowd Funding Watch: 'Magpies' Tackles Love and Loss [Video]

Aaron Colter — 2012-11-20T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Video, Opinion, Culture

Kickstarter and IndieGoGo have become a popular way for emerging and even established artists to get their potentially otherwise unpublishable books to readers. That isn't to say, of course, that these books don't deserve to be circulated and enjoyed -- far from it! That's why ComicsAlliance dedicates this special column to titles that are worth funding, and a separate series following-up on successfully executed projects.

This week: Magpies by Sara Lando, a story about love and loss told from two different perspectives. Keep reading to see What Is It, How Much It Costs, What You Get, When You'll Get It, and Why You Should Care.

What Is It: A 160-page, hardcover, full-color book told from the story of two characters; a depressed woman on the main pages, and a jubilant man on the alternate pages. As noted in the introduction of the book, Magpies is heavily inspired by artists like the great Dave McKean (The Sandman, Cages).

How Much It Will Cost: $20,000 to print the book in Italy, rather than China, so as to grant Lando more control over the process. This is likely more expensive than most printing projects, but hey, Italy is in the midst of the European recession, so spread the wealth!

What You Will Get: $40 for a copy of the book, plus a bandana (I dunno, maybe it's European thing?), which is arguably more than what a typical book of similar specifications should cost, but keep in mind the printing cost and the fact that it's being shipped half way across the globe.

When You Will Get It: March 2013, fairly soon for such an ambitious project -- that is, if it's funded in the next two weeks. But the process is expedited by the fact that Magpies has already been completed. In fact it's already available digitally as a PDF for which you can name your own price or, if you like, download for free.

Why You Should Care: Even though IndieGoGo gives creators the option of flexible funding, where they get to keep all funds raised no matter if the goal is met, Landon has chosen for fixed funding, similar to Kickstarter. This way if the project doesn't meet its goal, all monies pledged will be returned automatically, and demonstrates Lando's seriousness about the funding goal.

You can read more about the Magipies project at its official IndieGogo page. In the meantime, check out these gorgeous preview pages:

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Crowd Funding Watch: 'Elysium Online' Explores Social Media in the Afterlife [Video]

Aaron Colter — 2012-11-09T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Video, Opinion

With more and more creators turning to crowd funding options in order to release their work, ComicsAlliance is dedicating a weekly column to highlighting some of the best in the field that deserve your hard-earned money. If you're not convinced that the power of directly approaching readers in order to make a project reality, then you might want to take a look at Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's latest endeavor -- LUST. The project recently raised over $75,000 from just over 1,000 backers.

Assuming you're convinced that this new model of publishing is viable, this week's column explains why Indiegogo project Elysium Online should receive your financial support by running down What It Is, How Much It Will Cost, What You Will Get, When You Will Get It, and Why You Should Care.

What It Is: Created by Grecian artist Ilias Kyriazis, Elysium Online is a 96-page graphic novel set in the year 2021, where people can communicate with dead loved-ones in a digital afterlife through a new type of social network. There are, of course, problems. The digital dead turn out to hate the living, and start to take over all connected machines in a twisted sort of Skynet scenario.

(The idea of a digital afterlife may sound morbid, but we're approaching something similar, with social media already integrated into our mourning process. A dear friend of mine has even proposed what that sort of process may look like in the real world, calling his project CharnelHouse.)

IRL creepiness aside, Elysium Online looks to be a great cross between Daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon and Nonplayer by Nate Simpson, with an extra dash of horror. The book will also be scattered with fake advertisements by Dimitrios Kasdaglis (as seen below), giving the book another level of depth.

How Much It Will Cost: $7,500. A very modest goal, in my opinion. Frankly, I'm not sure how such a small amount will even cover Kyriazis's basic costs. But, all the more reason to help him reach his goal and then some.

What You Will Get: Only $7 for a digital download of the book, $20 for a printed copy, all the way up to $1,000 should your business or brand want to be the official sponsor. Other notable tiers include being drawn into the comic for just $350, plus options for sketches, original pages, and previous collections of the artist's work.

When You Will Get It: Here in lies the snag in an otherwise stellar project: the book won't be available until summer of 2013. Still, 12 pages are already available to view and the creator is a professional, so there's nothing to suggest that he won't finish the title next year.

Why You Should Care: Kyriazis has done work for publishers like IDW and Dynamite, proving his ability to deliver material. Plus, well-known creators like Mike Allred (Madman) and Scott Lobdell (Superman) have thrown their support behind the book. Like many projects that seek crowd-sourced funding, Elysium Online is a little strange, and it's unlikely that a traditional publisher would take the risk of printing a long-form, original story by a relatively unknown artist.

The book, however, is exactly the type of story comic books should be telling today. Forward looking in terms of technology, yet grounded in human emotion and topped-off with large panel actions sequences, Elysium Online is a unique idea from the mind of a talented writer and artist.

For my money, the $25 dollar tier is a steal, as you'll be sent a PDF of the book and a print copy next year, plus a 250-page download of previous material by Kyriazis as soon as the project is funded.

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Crowd Funding Watch: Political Cartoonist Matt Bors' 'Life Begins At Incorporation' [Interview]

Aaron Colter — 2012-10-23T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Interviews, Video, Opinion

With the growing appeal of crowd funded projects through platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, ComicsAlliance has decided to dedicate a weekly column highlighting some of the more promising projects that deserve to be funded.

Having worked on several Kickstarter projects over the last couple of years -- all of which have been successfully funded, and all have delivered final products or are continuing to deliver assets to backers as the final product is completed -- I use this space every week to spotlight a new project that appears to have what it takes to deliver a professional product by giving readers the run down on What It Is, How Much It Will Cost, What You Will Get, When You Will Get It, and Why You Should Care.

In this week's column, War Is Boring artist and political cartoonist Matt Bors talks with ComicsAlliance about his Kickstarter project Life Begins at Incorporation.

What It Is: A 225-page, full-color collection of previously released editorial cartoons and yet-to-be-written essays by political cartoonist Matt Bors.

How Much It Will Cost: $20,000 -- more than what it would cost to simply print previously unreleased material, but Bors notes that he'll be hiring an editor, copywriter, and designer to help with the finished project, in addition to taking some time off to focus on writing the essays contained within.

What You Will Get: Starting at $10 for a PDF all the way to $2,000 if you'd like to have Bors teach a class or speak at your event. Most readers will probably opt for the reasonably priced $25 collection.

When You Will Get It: April 2013, a respectable goal and time frame considering that much of the material has already been created.

Why You Should Care: Political cartoonists are arguably more important in today's sound bite and picture-centric news media than ever before, but are getting laid-off at papers around the country as print circulation folds. Unfortunately, even though there are exceptions like Susie Cagle being hired on full-time at Grist, most hardworking cartoonists are unable to find decent, paying work from online publishers. ComicsAlliance's sister site, The Huffington Post, does run work from Jeff Danziger and Paul Szep, but such circulation is rare.

We reached out to Bors for more insight into his decision to use crowd funding in order to create an anthology of work.

ComicsAlliance: Why did you decided to use a crowd-funding platform over going through a traditional publisher for Life Begins at Incorporation?

Matt Bors: Publishers aren't interested in anthologies as much these days, especially political cartoons, and advances in the comic industry are notoriously low. I thought that with my online readership I could make something happen that would probably exceed the money I could get from a traditional publisher. With that comes more work, of course. I've got to print and ship all these, but I like being responsible for the whole project.

CA: You note that you'll be paying an editor, copywriter, and a designer. Why do you think that's necessary?

MB: I want this to be a professional project. Publishers used to pay for these things for a reason -- so your book doesn't turn out to be a a poorly written piece of s***. I know a lot of writers and journalists, and over the next week or two I'm going to hire one to oversee the writing on this project. Nothing can be half-assed on this. I want the prose section of this book to be as strong as possible, so it's going to be a worthwhile expense for me. You can get into a little bubble with your creative projects, especially something like comics where you work in solitude. It helps to have another set of eyes on your work. I wouldn't think about doing it any other way.

CA: You mention the book will include essays about the topics of your cartoons. Do you often write essays, in addition to your illustrations? And will these be humor essays or more serious discussions about the topics?

MB: I've written at my blog for years; often short, sometimes long posts that expand on the topics I'm covering in my work. The writing is going to be humorous, but get into serious political issues like drone attacks, the Occupy Movement, and vaginas being things that aren't regulated by government. I'm writing about a trip I took to Afghanisant in 2010, which was more enlightening than hilarious, and even a chapter on editorial cartoons themselves, which will be critical of the weird, old traditional cartoons that used to dominate. It'll cover a lot, basically a tour of my life's work and all the issues I care about.

CA: In the introduction text, you say that you've been creating political cartoons since the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003. Was that what inspired you to start creating these cartoons?

MB: Yes. I've always had comics as a career goal, but America went cray cray after 9/11, which was the time I started college and became more politically aware. I started drawing political cartoons for the school newspaper in March 2003, right before the Freedom was unleashed on Baghdad. I saw it in print and that was it, I've drawn political cartoons every week since. I can't believe that happened ten years ago. I'm going to be 30 soon and lose all my street cred.

CA: The expected delivery of Life Begins at Incorporation is May 2013. How confident are you in hitting that target date? And will the book be available in stores next year, or is this an online only collection?

MB: If I hit my goal, I plan to take on little to no freelance work in the coming months in order to fast track this book. That's part of what hiring an editor and production assistant will do, cut down the time. With most of the comics drawn, I only have the writing part to worry about. My hope is to work out a distribution deal with a publisher so it will be available in stores and make the convention debut at Stumptown Comics Festival here in Portland on April 27, 2013.

So, there you have it -- a passionate creator who's taking the time and effort to deliver a polished book of material already available to review. You can read much more about Life Begins at Incorporation at the Kickstarter page. And, hey, if you're not down with this liberal propaganda, you can always wait for the delivery of Frank Miller vs. Occupy Wall Street vs. Zombies.

In other Kickstarter news, if you didn't see the successful funding of Cyber Force, you'll still be able to read the first issue of the series for free, with four more free issues on the way. Plus, Eric Powell has taken to Kickstarter to try and drum-up funds for a longer, more elaborate pitch of an animated film for The Goon. As a lover of the series, I hope the film makes it into production, but as some commenters have pointed out, even if the project is successfully funded and delivers, that doesn't mean a studio will follow through on creating a full-length release.

One final note: there's still some time to contribute to the project I featured last week, Home of the Brave, which deals with the issue of human trafficking. And, although I didn't have time to cover it properly, a book called Downfall looks like it could be promising and is short of its funding goal with time running out.

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Crowd Funding Watch: 'Home Of The Brave' Tackles Human Trafficking

Aaron Colter — 2012-10-16T14:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Video, Opinion

Though it's true that crowd-source funding has been a huge help to independent comics creators, it's not easy to follow through on large projects. Both Kickstarter and IndieGoGo have their benefits and drawbacks -- Kickstarter is more popular but doesn't allow projects to keep any money unless they meet their fundraising goal. And though IndieGoGo is somewhat less familiar to comics fans, it does allow projects to keep any funds already collected -- even when the project is stated to require far more to be completed. In any case, crowd funding is a complex but increasingly crucial form of publishing.

I've worked on several crowd funded Kickstarter projects over the last couple of years, including comic book collections, musical endeavors, and technology ventures. All have been successfully funded, and all have delivered final products or are continuing to deliver assets to backers as the final product is completed.

Starting with this column, I'm hoping to bring more attention to crowd funded projects that are worthy of your support or otherwise notable in some way. Each week, the format will, more or less, follow five straight forward categories: What It Is, How Much It Will Cost, What You Will Get, When You Will Get It, and Why You Should Care.

This week: Home of the Brave, a new graphic novel by Spencer Toyama and Jon Lewis about the slave trade in the 21st century.

What It Is: Home of the Brave takes place in an alternative America where the country is a struggling nation in deep poverty following a complete economic collapse in the 1920s, made worse by a devastating drought and famine from which the nation never recovered. In this world we meet a young girl named Aria Monfort who is sold into slavery. Even though her education didn't start until age 12, her incredible mind is already years ahead of its time. Home of the Brave follows her story and her struggles.

How Much It Will Cost: $12,000 for the printing of a 135-page hardcover book along with other materials, which is a fair price to ask. Printing just 1,000 full-color, hardcover books can easily start to cost upwards of $10,000, if you want a quality product. Given the work and effort the pair have put into the project, they have set a reasonable goal for backers to reach.

What You Will Get: $10 gets backers a digital copy of the book, $20 for the physical edition, all the way up to $4,000 for a six-night stay in Hawaii where the creators live (airfare not included), and a bunch of original art in the tiers in-between.

When You Will Get It: August, 2013. Unfortunately, such a far off target date is surprising as the team seems to have much of the work already completed. Still, better for them to be cautious, I suppose. Given final layouts, printing time and shipping, it may take up to a full year in order for fulfillment.

Why You Should Care: Blending graphic design sensibilities with artwork that resembles a less polished Riley Rossmo, Home of the Brave shows great promise for both creators. The story and layout are both noncommercial, so it's not all that surprising that a traditional publisher would likely pass on this project. The pair clearly have talent and have proven their professionalism with details that suggest they'll follow through with a final product on time.

Things like a quality video, smart tiers for backers, and even setting up fake websites for the fictional ads within the story all contribute to the sense that the creators understand the effort it will take to release a solid book. Plus, they have already released a free, 19-page preview of the book that anyone can download.

Idealistically, Toyama and Spencer believe their project, although fiction, will help raise awareness about the horrible practice of human trafficking, a crime the Department of Justice says is growing faster than any other outside of drug smuggling, and nearly half of the cases involve children.

Home of the Brave looks to be a well-made project by two promising creators that helps call attention to some of the most pressing problems our society faces. So, help Toyama and Lewis reach their goal by backing the book, today.

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Activist Bill Ayers Talks About Teaching Comics [Interview]

Aaron Colter — 2012-04-25T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Indie, Culture

Best known as a co-founding member of the radical organization The Weather Underground, Bill Ayers has spent the last few decades as an education reformer who has committed his life to changing the way public schools teach students. Now a retired professor from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Ayers has written numerous books on how to change the learning process, including To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher, which was adapted into an original graphic novel. To Teach: The Journey, in Comics reads as a story more than an instruction manual, and details the obstacles a young teacher must overcome in order to engage his students. Praised by independent creators like Harvey Pekar and Peter Bagge, the graphic novel will be taught as workshop this weekend at Portland's Stumptown Comics Festival, where Ayers is special guest.

Ayers spoke with ComicsAlliance about adapting his book, the importance of comics in political discourse, and what attendees to the festival should expect from his workshop.
ComicsAlliance: What made you want to turn your original book into To Teach: The Journey, in Comics?

Bill Ayers: I'd read comics all of my life and even used graphics in my college teaching, so I'd like to say the inspiration leapt full-blown from my head, but the truth is a little more wobbly. I was asked by my publisher to do a third edition of a book of essays that I'd written over 15 years before, and the thought of it bored me, so I responded glibly that I would do it if they would let me do it as a comic book. That was meant to end the conversation and finish the matter, but a month later they said OK, and the journey began. I never thought I would be involved in writing a graphic novel, and I'm still a bit surprised and elated by the whole thing.

CA: How did you start working with artist Ryan Alexander-Tanner?

BA: Working with the dazzling Portland artist Ryan Alexander-Tanner was a joy for me as well as a powerful education. When we went looking for a comic artist, my publisher had a lot of more established folks in mind, but I remembered that my younger brother had had a student in high school who handed in a lot of stuff in comic form-quirky, original, irreverent. The kid had gone off to art school, and was living in Portland. We connected, and it was pretty much love at first sight. He moved to Chicago, and lived with us for several months while we worked on the project.

What a wonder! I'm a slow learner and a bad student, but Ryan was patient and nourishing. It took a while for me to really get the fact that we were writing an entirely new book, not an illustrated version of something I had already written, and not a floppy gateway drug into the "real" To Teach. He insisted from the start that the comic would be as nuanced, complex, dense, and profound as any book on teaching ever was. Our writing process included lots of late night pizza and other mind-altering experiences.

This fictionalized account captured the main ideas of the original essays, but now with characters and plot, a beginning and an end, tension and drama and resolution. The novel opens with the story of a young teacher stepping into his first classroom on the first day of school, experiencing the distinct sensation of drowning, and then struggling to swim, unsteadily at first, to a distant but reachable shore. By the end of the book he has become a teacher of some substance and certain purpose.

For me our process involved learning when the drawings can do the work and when the words had to carry the weight. I had to understand that the original could be recast as a story, and I had to learn the power of concision and compression. Ryan really is kind of a genius, not just as an artist, but as a writer and as a teacher as well; he taught me a lot in this process, and together we created a world within a classroom with all its messiness and burgeoning ideas, its academic demands and social convolutions.

Looking at the finished product, a comic book about teaching seems somehow just right to me now-the intimacy of classrooms, the aesthetic and the feel of being an educator, the challenge and the joy, the pain and the promise-all of it tough to describe, and represented here with a distinct immediacy. We try to offer a pathway into the ineffable, relying neither on words nor images, and not mashing pictures onto words, but a third thing altogether with its own opportunities and demands-words and images working together in a dance of representation and meaning.

CA: What are some of your favorite comics?

BA: I began reading comics early, and like a lot of suburban kids growing up in the soft illusion of 1950's suburbia, I was an instinctive anarchist. Mad Magazine was a canonical text that let me know that, while I was surely subversive and I may have been crazy, I was not alone in the world. My love of comics grows and grows: [Robert] Crumb, [Art] Spiegelman, [Marjane] Satrapi, [Joe] Sacco, [Alison] Bechdel, [Chris] Ware, [Lynda] Barry, [Ryan] Alexander-Tanner... . I'm so happy to be alive in the most propulsive and yeasty moment, diving every day into the wide wide universe of comics.

CA: You're a special guest at this year's Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, OR. Can you talk about the two panels you'll be on -- one about using comics as an educational tool and one about comics and politics with syndicated cartoonist Matt Bors and writer Sarah Mirk -- what will attendees be able to learn at these sessions?

BA: Let's wait and see. I'm sure I'll learn a lot. But I do hope that people see that teaching at its best is profoundly intellectual and ethical work, filled with joy and challenge, agony punctuated with moments of ecstasy, and certainly that all the ideas of teaching as clerking are not only reductive and morally repulsive, but they are also aesthetically empty, unappealing and unlovely, and entirely unworthy of our deepest humanistic dreams.

I've been a teacher, a peace activist, a trouble-maker, an artist-in-residence, and a work-in-progress for many decades. As a life-long comics reader and a serious fan of the medium, I'm happy to be experiencing a rebirth of sorts as co-author of a comic book, and honored and privileged to hang out with you all at Stumptown.

CA: Why are comics important to education? Why are they important to politics?

BA: Teachers need to recognize that teaching has an aesthetic- they might be nudged to strive for beauty and something pleasing and lovely in their work-and that the opposite of aesthetic is anesthetic. Wake up! Get moving! Nourish the imaginative and the weird and the queer! Art urges voyages of discovery and surprise. The comics world, on the other hand, might give teaching a chance too-I hope one fine day a zillion artists and marginalized bodies will flock into classrooms to lend a hand.

Of course teachers should use comics across the curriculum, just as they might use film or poetry or painting. I can't imagine teaching the Middle East without Sacco, the holocaust without Spiegelman, gender without Bechdel. The value is simply that graphic novels are part of the wildly diverse, wacky, and rich gumbo of our culture. If you were teaching a history class today on the Holocaust in Europe, you would mobilize memoir (Ann Frank, Elie Weisel) essay (Hannah Arendt, Thodore Adorno), and film (Shoah, The Sorrow and the Pity) to help students get a deep and meaningful, nuanced and complex picture of the entire sweep of the times and events. To leave out Maus would be to banish a fresh and intimate work that adds immeasurably to our overall understanding of the Holocaust.

Similarly Dykes to Watch Out For [by Bechdel] is an essential text if you hope to understand the recent years in America. On and on and on: teachers integrate poetry and literature, art and science, film and painting into everything they teach. Why not comics? I teach a writing class on memoir, and I use Maus, Persepolis, Fun Home, and Epileptic along with Homage to Catalonia and Black Boy. Students respond variously, but I would be irresponsibly narrowing their horizons if I left out the comic books.

CA: What are you working on this year?

BA: I'm working over-time this year on occupying this and occupying that, occupying the future and occupying my imagination, occupying everything in and out of sight.

Revolution is still possible, democracy and socialism, possible, but barbarism is possible as well. I'm trying to live leaning forward, a pessimist of the head but an optimist of the heart. I find the tools everywhere-humor and art, comics and poetry, protest and spectacle, the quiet, patient intervention and the angry and urgent thrust-but the rhythm of activism remains the same: we open our eyes and look unblinkingly at the world as we find it; we are astonished by the beauty and the suffering all around us; we recognize that right next to the world as such is a world that could be or should be; we dive into the wreckage and swim as hard as we can toward a distant and indistinct shore; we doubt that our efforts make enough difference, and so we rethink, recalibrate, look again, and dive in once more. If we never doubt we get lost in self-righteousness and political narcissism-been there. If we only doubt we vanish into cynicism and despair. Awake/Act/Doubt! Repeat for a lifetime.

Oh, and I've got two new books on the way: Palling Around: Talking with the Tea Party, and What If? Releasing the Radical Imagination.

Exciting times!

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Convicted Terrorist Claims Batman and Comics Inspired Him To Act

Aaron Colter — 2012-04-13T16:45:00+00:00

Filed under: News

American citizen, Massachusetts resident, and now convicted terrorist Tarek Mehanna was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O'Toole. In Mehanna's statement to the court during his sentencing, he made several bold declarations about his beliefs, including that he first began to establish the personal values that would later inspire him to support al-Qaeda from reading comics and connecting with characters like Batman.Mehanna was convicted of seven counts in all, three of which related to providing false statements to FBI agents, conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country (specifically against U.S. forces in Iraq), and finally, conspiracy to provide material to support al-Qaeda.

Lawyers for Mehanna's defense pointed out that Mehanna never actually committed any acts of violence, although he did travel to Yemen in 2004 to allegedly find suitable training to do so, but ultimately failed. Still, under 18 U.S.C. 2339a Mehanna was charged in 2009 with lending "material support to terrorists," which can be classified as "any property, tangible or intangible" that might be helpful to persons attempting to harm others or destroy government property.

According to the original complaint [PDF] filed by the U.S. District Attorney, and Mehanna's subsequent statement during his sentencing, Mehanna believes American forces are invaders who have occupied Middle Eastern territory unjustly, and that it's the right of the people to expel foreign soldiers from their land by any means necessary.

But, that's not what Mehanna did. He may have tried, but in the end Mehanna wasn't a very good terrorist, in the same way that 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud probably wouldn't have had the resources to attempt to set off a bomb in Portland, Oregon without assistance from an FBI sting operation, a tactic that law enforcement officers have used several times in recent years to ensnare potential terrorists. The FBI claims Mehanna also conspired to attack an American mall and two government officials (something Mehanna denies), but also noted that the plans were amateur.

Although lying to the FBI carries some serious consequences, it seems Mehanna was mostly prosecuted for translating into English, and then posting online, videos and other documents from al-Qaeda members abroad that encourage violence against American forces.

Still a relatively young man at the age of 29, Mehanna likely read several of the same comics many of us did during the 1990s, and although he mentions several political figures, books, and activists that he believes would approve of his actions, it's worth noting that he specifically mentions comic books as being the birth of his inspiration to conspire against American forces:

"When I was six, I began putting together a massive collection of comic books. Batman implanted a concept in my mind, introduced me to a paradigm as to how the world is set up: that there are oppressors, there are the oppressed, and there are those who step up to defend the oppressed."

While Mehanna didn't specifically mention which Batman comic inspired him the most, there would be a certain perverse irony if it happened to be Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns, considering the creator's controversial anti-Islam views. Tongue-in-cheek comments aside, Mehanna's case is worthy of consideration on the grounds of artistic inspiration and also free speech.

Some pundits, like Salon writer Glenn Greenwald, have called Mehanna's case a violation of First Amendment rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and that Mehanna's views of Islam and colonialism should be protected as long as he isn't physically harming someone else. Certainly Mehanna's rhetoric and choice of reading material could be seen by some to be disgusting and even potentially dangerous, but the principle of free speech often requires people to endure ideas and expressions they find offensive; a similar argument was made by detractors against the case that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund recently fought for a comics fan facing child pornography charges in Canada.

Perhaps some of the charges against Mehanna could be seen as violating free speech, but definitely not all of them. Still, the case does raise questions about how far our society is willing to go in terms of freedom of speech. For example, should it be legal to translate and post online a comic book that shows how to make bombs and then encourages readers to use them? Should it matter who the source material is from or who the intended target is? What if it were a story about characters who performed such actions? Where is the line between fictional inspiration and DIY manual?

Earlier this year, ComicsAlliance facepalmed over a Fox News correspondent who demonized DC Comics and the New 52 relaunch for being damaging to teenagers, so let's all hope Mehanna's comments don't trigger another wave of a million moms, or whomever, to categorize our favorite medium as tiny, two-dimensional terrorist training camps. Once art is released into the world it's open to interpretation of any kind; it can inspire many things, and whether it's dressing-up and making sick kids happy or translating violent calls to arms, it's ultimately the individual who decides how to act upon it.

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Best Webcomics Ever (This Week) 3.25.12

Aaron Colter — 2012-03-25T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Webcomics

Welcome back webcomics readers. As is the case almost every week, I've got to praise Lauren Davis for her coverage of online titles, this time it's for her review of The Abaddon and also for her coverage of Fart Party creator Julia Wertz's rehab letters to her fellow artists at the now dissolved collective Pizza Island, which was comprised of some of the best illustrators working today. If you're a huge nerd of the webcomics medium, be sure to read both of the previous links as they provide some great behind-the-scenes material.

The D.I.Y. spirit in independent comics today should renew the hope of anyone dismayed by the direct market industry, the "Big Two," or some vague notion of petty fanboy fever. There are still a handful of major, traditional comic book titles I enjoy, but seeing so many young creators come together, try new models, sometimes failing and sometimes succeeding, all while doing it on a shoe-string budget, or completely free on the Internet -- it's the realization of a true passion for comics, both online and small press print. There has never been a better time to be a comics reader, and if you look hard enough, you can find an overwhelming amount of terrific material, so much that you probably won't have time to read it all.

To add even more delicious helpings to an already abundant plate, this week's picks are...

San Hannibal

A noir set in a city called San Hannibal, California, the series is about private investigator Ira Avery and his search for award-winning photojournalist Savannah Loy. Things are, of course, not always what they seem, and the progressive plot complexity associated with noir is all there. There are hints of Dean Motter's Mister X in the style, and the contrasting black and neon pink colors of the series really set a muted tone for the title, like being in an underground, after-hours night club, justing waiting for a drunken riot to break out.

Ninjasaur

It's about a dinosaur who is a ninja. There's nothing more I need to tell you. It's about DINOSAUR who is a NINJA, alright?!

Hominids

Artist Jordan Kotzebue posted about his series Hominids in the comment section last week in the hope that it would be mentioned someday on here. Today is that day. If you're a fan of works like The Meek, then you'll love this series. I can't wait to see where it leads. And just an FYI, some of the female characters are topless, not in a sexual way, but in a National Geographic sort of way. So, I dunno, maybe some prudes will consider it NSFW. Also, the site can be a little difficult to navigate, so click here to start the first chapter, which is the only one that is in black and white.

Glorious Bounty

Almost like if Johnny Ryan did a more light-hearted take on The Bulletproof Coffin, but set in outer space, Glorious Bounty has the brillant combination of low-brow art, violence, porn jokes and jerk charcaters you can't help but love.

Alpha Flag

Imagine a sort of psychological thriller with sci-fi undertones that's set in the Alaskan wilderness. Now imagine that it's all in your head because you're a crazy person whose consciousness has been scattered across the desolate landscape in which you're trapped. Or did I just blow your frickin' mind?!

Kind of a short run-down this week, sorry for the brevity. Hope you'll check out my previous recommendations, leave a comment with your own, and share with friends. Thanks for reading. See ya next week.

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Best Webcomics Ever (This Week) 3.17.12

Aaron Colter — 2012-03-18T15:00:00+00:00

Before getting started this week, I want to point out some great articles about webcomics that you may have missed. In case you didn't know, ComicsAlliance's Lauren Davis has been doing some longer-form reviews of online titles, like Questionable Content and its evolution as a science-fiction story, the Diesel Sweeties Kickstarter, and Dylan Meconis' brillant Family Man. They're all really great and go into fine points that the short highlights I do each week.

Keep reading to find out my picks for this week, and feel free to leave a comment at the end telling me why I'm wrong. It'll be fun!

Odessa

Jumping right into the picks this week, I've been fascinated with Odessa. From what I can tell, the story takes place in the late 1940s or early '50s North Carolina in a world where the Nazi party was able to overtake British forces due to an unified America, which is dealing with a new Confederate uprising under the Presidency of Joseph McCarthy. Meanwhile, a faction of Africa Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans have started a separatist movement, believing none the different would-be rulers have their best interests at heart.

Part of what makes this series great is that it immediately starts into the action and story, there's little explanation of the history, and only hints of how the country came to be so fractured. If you're looking for a webcomic to make you laugh, this is not the one.

The title of the series, Odessa, may be a reference to the Ukrainian city, which was formerly under the rule of Communist Russia, and then invaded by Romanian troops during World War II, when 25,000 people were massacred during the siege and almost 200,000 Jewish people were systematically killed over the course of the occupation until the city was liberated by the Red Army, and then remained a part of the U.S.S.R. until the 1991 collapse. Under this assumption, America's Greensboro is like Europe's Odessa, a city constantly rotating between different oppressive regimes.

Gunnerkrigg Court

Like a great mash-up of Nickelodeon style, anime character sensibility, and sort of Harry Potter feel that experiments will modern magic, Gunnerkrigg Court has been praised by readers in the comment section ever since this column got started, and it's nothing short of a failure on my part for not including it sooner.

L.A.W.L.S.

I laughed. Isn't that the point? Herp, derp.

Fanboys

One of the criteria on which I judge a lot of art is whether or not the artist continues to improve, and Fanboys has most certainly gotten better with time. The characters are expressive, and I'm excited to see how they develop.

Rock, Paper, Cynic

Like The Oatmeal without as much hate, this series is another one of those webcomics that makes fun of popular culture and incorporate science into its witty remarks. You know the ones, the kind that you can't get enough of because they're nerdy in all the right ways. Geekalicious!

That's all I got. Hope you'll leave a comment, or share with friends. And if you don't like any of these, you can always check out the dozens of other webcomics I've recommended over the last few weeks.

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Best Webcomics Ever (This Week) 3.11.12

Aaron Colter — 2012-03-11T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Webcomics

After highlighting so many incredible webcomics in this column, I was starting to wonder if I'd still be able to find new material that would surprise and impress me on a regular basis. But thankfully, the Internet is still a vast space of potential creativity, and this week's choices prove that there are still fantastic titles waiting to be found.

Find out which titles made the cut for Best Webcomics Ever (This Week) after the jump.Last week a commenter by the name Paul noted that any "best of" feature that excluded Liz Suburbia was of questionable validity, and after checking out the website, I tend to agree. The series Sacred Heart has a bit of the Hernandez Brothers in style, with teen angst at its core. I'm not sure about the standing of the series, but it would be great to read in a physical book form. I'm looking at you, independent publishers.

Before we get to this week's picks, if you missed Lauren Davis's review of Family Man from earlier this week, it's definitely worth checking out.

And finally, some unfortunate news. Sadly, just as I was writing this column, word of Moebius's death began to spread around the web. Boulet Corp had a nice tribute, and I expect more will follow. The 73-year-old Jean Giraud was an inspiration to thousands around the world. His art didn't revolutionize the industry simply because so few artists reach his extraordinary level of talent; instead, Moebius showed us the incredible potential comics can have when crafted so expertly. He will forever be one of the pillars of the comics community, alongside legends like Winsor McCay and Jack Kirby.

Next Town Over

Erin Mehols's Next Town Over is easily the best webcomics to come out in the last five years. From the story to the pencils to the lavish colors, Next Town Over is flat out jaw-dropping. The series has been updating on a steady basis, although new strips tend to take at least a couple weeks to finish. If you haven't read Next Town Over before, then you may have just found your new favorite webcomic.

Mallville Rules

Mallville Rules is juvenile, but what else would one expect from a webcomic about a high school full of super-powered adolescents? In its defense, Mallville Rules seems to be acutely aware of the teenage humor it creates, and sometimes that's just enough to make an entertaining series. I look forward to the relatively young series growing-up, but hopefully not too much.

Twice Blessed

Twice Blessed is a fantasy comedy that combines relatively worn jokes and a fairly standard cast into something that's magically greater than the sum of its parts. The characters are not all that original, and the story is too often interrupted by one-off updates, but somehow I couldn't stop reading. Well done.

What It Takes / The War of Winds

This is sort of a bonus pick because the artist Karen Howard, a.k.a KEZ, works on both titles and manages to update each on a regular basis. She's a doctoral student at SUNY, and even wrote her undergraduate thesis on webcomics as an art form. Personally, I enjoy the post-apocalyptic What It Takes a little more than the epic fantasy The War of Winds, but the later is probably the better work.

Three Dollar Bill

If you're looking for a webcomic that's like Penny Arcade, but not as good as Penny Arcade, then you'll enjoy Three Dollar Bill. Look, it's not a slam to be less funny than Penny Arcade, it's just something that happens because those guys have been working for years. Three Dollar Bill isn't going to change your perception of webcomics or have you doubled over your keyboard with each update, but it will make you laugh and fit right at home in your weekly reading feed.

Thanks for reading, everyone! See you next week.

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Best Webcomics Ever (This Week) 3.4.12

Aaron Colter — 2012-03-04T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Webcomics

Welcome back to another round-up of Best Webcomics Ever (This Week). If you're playing along at home, please remember that the only way to win is by leaving a comment at the end of this post about your favorite series, as it makes my job easier.

Before we get started, there are some news items to talk about, including a joke about this website's editor. Keep reading to find out if it's funny or not! Plus, come with me as I sink to the depths of the Internet and wallow in the vast wasteland that is our collective filth as a modern society!So, that joke I just mentioned was from The Gutters, a site that takes jabs at the comics industry. I've highlighted the strip several times before because I'm something of a jerk and find their brand of humor to be very amusing. Anyway, the joke is pretty funny, not as funny as Let's Be Friends Again if you're looking for comics meta-humor, but still funny. I mean, ladies, amiright?! They're fifty percent of the world's population. Hilarious!

In other news, the comic magazine NOVI, which I'm sure some people will find to be hipster garbage, is developing a mobile based publication for Apple and Android devices that will experiment with active design. I'm looking forward to what they create. Haters to the left.

It's really not news, but I was trying to find the most offensive webcomic recently, and since Electric Retard [NSFW] isn't updating anymore, I was directed to Chronic Malpractice, which alerted me to the fact that there's a YouTube channel called AshleysHugTime, which reminded me that Bikini Barbershop: Jersey was a thing that exists, and that led to me having to take a break from the world for a little bit before I did something like this.

I realize we're wandering a bit, and into some terrible territory. I just wanted to share my dismay with all of you. I apologize if you actually clicked on any of the links in the above paragraph. Let's just forget any of this every happened.

Lackadaisy

Technically, I'm breaking my own rules for highlighting Lackadaisy this week as it hasn't actually updated in a while. Technically. But, I have an excuse - I forget to mention when it was updating earlier this year. See? It makes perfect sense, and either way it doesn't matter.

Lackadaisy is flat-out one of the best webcomics to ever be created. It's almost as great as Blacksad. (If you don't own a copy of Blacksad, immediately go to your local comic shop after reading this post.) I know I just compared two comics that feature anthropomorphic cats as main characters, but they're both incredible.

Set in the 1920's, Lackadaisy would make an amazing animated feature if only more people wanted to see cartoon animals as violent bootleggers. Speaking of cartoons that will never be, but I really wish would, The Meek hasn't updated in a bit, but it also worth every minute of your precious time. So is Dresden Codak.

Look at that, three for one. Lucky you.

King of the Unknown

A big thanks to reader Marcus for suggesting this series last week in the comments section. King of the Unknown is a bit of Bubba Ho-Tep, with a dash of B.P.R.D., and a sprinkle of Venture Bros., only swapping out David Bowie with Jimi Hendrix. It's drawn very well, a little brash, and is just getting started. Recommended for fans of Bearmageddon and Axe Cop.

Floatillion

Also recommended by a reader last week, Floatillion is a heavy metaphor for the constraints of society, updating on the SBboard - a webcomic portal that also hosts the excellent Spider Baby. Floatillion isn't for everyone, but I'm very impressed with the evolution in style, and eager to see where the story leads. You'll want to start at the beginning. Think Ender's Game meets Art Deco, or something.

SPINE

SPINE is a series that makes me feel downright uncomfortable sometimes. The series is so bleak that it borders on being unbearable. In many ways, this is the highest compliment someone can give about art - the ability to evoke a physical response. SPINE can be desolate, but also entertaining in that Revenge Flick sort of way.

Caffeinated Toothpaste

As far as daily strips go, few are as good as Caffeinated Toothpaste. An update every day means they're not all winners, but when the strip is good, it's great. Also, the creator just got enough donations to print a second volume of his work. Congrats, sir!

Thanks for reading, as always. Be sure to check out my previous recommendations for more great titles. I think this week's count makes at least seventy excellent webcomics that are available to read online for free, and that update on a semi-regular basis. Hope you'll come back next week to do it all over again.

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Best Webcomics Ever (This Week) 2.26.12

Aaron Colter — 2012-02-26T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Webcomics, Opinion

Another week has gone by, which means it's time for another Best Webcomics Ever (This Week) column. If you haven't read one of these round-ups before, then fear not, as the format is pretty simple. Usually I'll blather on about this or that before getting to some minor points some would consider news, and others probably find to be useless filler.

In any case, these first two paragraphs are most certainly useless filler, so instead of continuing with this nonsense, let's get started!As promised, here are some random opinions before kicking out the recommendations:

I thought the guest strip by Rafer Roberts on All New Issues from last week was pretty funny and very well-drawn, even though it does seems like the creator is being a little weepy over not being able to make money from cultural references. The cast of Community drawn as the characters from Firefly in the style of Bill Watterson would be really cool, so maybe Roberts should just do that to make some easy cash. Or sell drugs. I hear that works too.

(Just kidding. Don't sell drugs. They should be free.)

If you didn't know, ComicsAlliance's own Chris Sims has a webcomic called Awesome Hospital, so you should check-it-the-hell-out. It's about a hospital that's awesome, and some other stuff. Also, I know I've highlighted Romantically Apocalyptic before, but it's just so well done I feel like you're probably missing out on a lot in life if you don't read the wonderful series. Already maybe not "a lot," but you're definitely missing something.

Finally, Achewood had a pretty great strip recently about feeling guilty for not buying a local newspaper from a man who struggles with those things we often take for granted: jobs, homes, food, etc. Maybe it's not as hilarious to those who live outside Portland, but the joke is based on a newspaper called Street Roots. The paper is sold for $1, but only costs $0.25 to purchase in bulk, giving those less fortunate a way to make some money by standing outside fancy grocery stores and getting other folks to buy them.

Maybe there are publications like this in other cities. I really don't know. I'm not in the traveling tax-bracket. I feel like I should explain the situation a bit more, but that would probably ruin the joke. Maybe it already has. I'm sorry. We're done now. It's over.

Whomp!

Hilarious in the self-deprecating sense, Whomp! is mostly about the overweight author and his inability to do much of anything right in his life. But, instead of diving into the murky waters of dark comedy, the strip manages to be very charming and features some very unique, expressive art. (No one make a Kevin Smith joke, I swear...)

Lilith Dark

I didn't know what to expect when this series started at the beginning of the year, but with each update, Lilith Dark has proven to be a cute comic for anyone who remembers the joy of a vivid childhood imagination. The series is no where near the level of Calvin and Hobbes, but it's a perfectly good substitute if you're looking for a good read online.

The SuperFogeys

Okay, so the idea behind The SuperFogeys isn't all that original: former superheros who are now old and trying to figured out where the fit in a world now that they're all washed-up. No, it's not like The Watchmen, but it is funny, drawn incredibly well, and full of wit. Honestly, I'm not sure why a publisher hasn't picked up the series and turned it into an ongoing title. Maybe there wouldn't be a market for it in the direct retail stores. Thankfully, we have the Internet.

Multiplex

Like Questionable Content in the way that the cast of characters often talk about their relationships more than anything else, Multiplex is more grounded in real world dialogue and situations than the former series. If you've ever worked in a movie theater, you'll dig this series. And if you're thinking of working in a movie theater, then stop. It sucks. Trust me.

Max Overacts

If Malcolm in the Middle were a webcomic, it would be Max Overacts. I feel like I make a lot of references to television shows when describing webcomics in this column. Hopefully that's not a bad thing. Malcolm in the Middle is one of the most underrated family comedies ever broadcast in my opinion. Bryan #*&%^@! Cranston. For real.

Thanks for reading this week, and be sure to check out my previous recommendations. I'd love to hear your suggestions, so leave a comment below if you've got the time.

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Best Webcomics Ever (This Week) 2.19.12

Aaron Colter — 2012-02-19T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Webcomics

Hey everyone, thanks for coming back to another round-up of Best Webcomics Ever (This Week). It's been a little crazy on the site this last week, but I know some of you aren't really all that concerned with trivial nerd fights or meta-jokes, so . . . let's get on with it, shall we?

And, as always, I really appreciate your comments, suggestions, concerns, etc. as they help me find new material and get better highlighting things you care about reading. Thank you, really.

Alright. Ready? Let's do it.Before jumping into this week's picks, there's a strange story out of Portland, OR that has a webcomic component. If you didn't hear, in our lovely city on Valentine's Day a man was seen getting out of his car at a local grocery store chain, where witnesses saw a young woman naked and tied up in the back of his vehicle. The man said they were just doing some kinky roll-playing, but police decided to follow-up anyway, as they most definitely should have. Because, let's face it, you're not going to take the dude with a naked lady tied up in his car at his word. We don't like in that kind of world.

Long story short - the couple was indeed just having a little fun, but the police booked them on disorderly conduct and took them to jail. Personally, I think they should have just been given a ticket or something, but whatever, waste more of my tax money, why not? It's not like schools desperately need it . . .

Anyway! The point is that this couple is known for doing wacky things all over town and was the source of parody in a webcomic over a year ago, before their latest escapde got them in trouble with the law. Life is strange. And more importantly, I seriously want to party with those people. (Thanks to artist Steve Lieber for the tip!)

Magic Forest

Magic Forest reminds me of the simple, good humor of Hannah Barbara cartoons. If you've ever wanted to read a uncluttered webcomic that is consistently on target with a relatively small cast of characters, I would recommend Magic Forest as soon as I would a peanut and butter and jelly sandwich with a tall glass of cold milk - often and without hesitation.

Chaos Life

Chaos Life is more like a graphic diary than a serialized webcomic story, but the style is so clean, and the slice-of-life jokes so charming that it manages to be a cut above the rest. Also, I lurve it because it haz teh cats - wut.

I feel like there should be a block of text here, not for any substantial reason, but simply because it will make the page look better in the overall layout now that I've added a stupid cat meme image. You just wasted a few seconds of your precious life reading this sentence. Oh well. Moving on . . . .

Draw Brandon Draw

Draw Brandon Draw really isn't a webcomic either, it's more of a Tumblr that often features webcomics that are funny and weird. If you're a funny and/or weird person, then you will probably enjoy/like this website. You might like Handmade by Ai as well, it's pretty sweet.

Rosetta Stone

To be completely honest, I'm not really sure what's happening in this series sometimes. The story is told both in pictures and text, so it's not as easy as most standard webcomics to follow. Plus, almost all of the action takes place in a dream world with absurd characters that pop in and out at almost random times. But, maybe all the confusion is actually a good reason to enjoy the series. The art changes often, but is always unique, which is great. Rosetta Stone probably isn't for everyone, but I'm glad to see a creator experimenting with the medium and have the freedom to make whatever they like.

Norse: Dawn of the Shield Maide [NSFW]

Since we're celebrating erotic comics on the site in February, I thought I'd tip everyne off to a series called Norse: Dawn of the Shield Maiden. The series is super NSFW, so don't say I didn't warn ya. The art is very well done, even though all the females in the series have impossibly large breasts, but hey - it's a pornographic comics, that's kinda its thing. So far there hasn't been any naked ladies kicking serious ass on the battle field, which I really hope eventually happens, but there has been some sex. It's hard to say whether this series will be more sex or more violence, but in any case, I just hope both are done well and in a manner that can appeal to both sexes.

That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, and please leave your suggestions in the comment section below. I hope you'll come back next week, and if you didn't like anything from this week's list, then check out previous recommendations as I've now highlighted over fifty excellent webcomics that you can read for free. Cheers!

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Relive Molly Crabapple's 'Week In Hell' [Exclusive Preview]

Aaron Colter — 2012-02-17T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Previews, IDW, Art

Last year, artist and Dr. Sketchy's founder Molly Crabapple turned 28 years-old. To celebrate, she locked herself in a New York City hotel for an entire week, covering the walls with white butcher paper, drawing on every blank space with black art markers. Crabapple turned to Kickstarter to fund the project, and managed to raise more than $20,000 over her original goal.

Now, IDW Publishing is set to release an Art Book of the unique project, complete with an introduction from Warren Ellis. Keep reading to see ComicsAlliance's exclusive preview of the new book.

The Art of Molly Crabapple: Week In Hell is a full-color 48 page book, and retails for $9.99. Find it on March 24th at your local comic shop.

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Fantagraphics Valentine's Day Giveaway: Win 'Young Romance' and 'Celluloid' [Contest]

Aaron Colter — 2012-02-13T13:00:00+00:00

As part of our Valentine's Day Giveaway, two lucky ComicsAlliance readers can win a pair of romantic titles from well-respected comic book publisher Fantagraphics: Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics and Celluloid. Young Romance is a collection of classic material from Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Real Western Romances and Young Love (which has made a few appearance in our "Love Hurts" romance comics spotlights), and Celluloid is award-winning artist Dave McKean's latest (adult) work about a series of fantastical sexual encounters.

To enter to win both books, simply leave a short note in the comment section about your best, (or worst) Valentine's Day experience ever. (Please keep the stories PG-13!)Extended details are here, but you need to be 18 and over to enter, and two winners will be chosen at random and shipped both hardcover titles from Fantagraphics sometimes soon. One entry per person, and entry for the contest ends at Midnight PST on Tuesday, February 14, 2012.

Best of luck!

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