I just read a couple short online comics (is original content posted online automatically a "webcomic"? Even if it isn't ongoing?) that really blew me away. Pug Davis and Don't cry For Me I'm Already Dead which actually did make me cry.

Both are by Rebecca Sugar, who I know nothing about other then she seems exceptionally talented. I found the digital format a little cumbersome--her art is sized for print and thus not maximized for screen viewing--but I couldn't find hard copies on amazon or quimby's online store. Damn, and I was so ready to give her my money.

Edit: Also, these comics by Corinne Mucha (what a sweet-ass name) are really cute. Her girly style really suits her autobiographical content and sense of humor. I'm working back through her blog entries now and it's worth the time.

Moving on.

Still working on the Darwin comic. Things are proceeding a pace and we're still on track to launch in January. Speaking of which, I need to go buy some domain names...

Number of monthly comics read: 19

Monthlies that actually come out on a monthly basis: 9

Webcomics read: 28

Blogs read: 29

TV shows being followed (current season): 7

Health: fair

Current status: sleepy

Quality of life at work: excellent

Quality of life in general: tragic

So I've been working on a webcomic with my friend Jenn, medieval blogger and all around swell chick. The working title for the moment is "Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell," which may be the actual title since we can't think of anything better. Anyway, I've been doing conceptual sketches, writing story ideas and even drawn a few strips (*gasp*!) so I wanted to share some of my character sketches with y'all.

This is Darwin Carmichael, who as you may have heard is going to hell. Why is he going to hell? I'm not telling you, it's a secret. He likes climbing trees, baking, kittens and complaining. He'd probably look cuter with hair but he can't be bothered.




( More beneath the cut... )

Your feedback is appreciated! Sorry for being vague on the story but I don't want to talk it to death before I've even drawn it.

When I haven't been asserting my authority over freshmen today I've been calling campsites and trying to figure out how to get two people and and all their survival items to the wilderness without a car. So far, it's been a lesson in why one might want to own a vehicle in NYC. Since one of us was a boy scout (not me), hopefully this expedition won't end in total disaster.

Anyway. I found two interesting cool interviews today, one with Chester Brown and kind of double-your-money interview/conversation between Joey Comeau and Ryan North the writers of, respectively, A Softer World and Dinosaur Comics. Chester Brown I enjoy hearing from since he's a strange and interesting kind of guy with a very unique viewpoint and artistic process, and the other one with Comeau and North is kind of silly and inspiring, especially since I'm working on getting into that line of business myself.

A Natural History museum in Basel, Switzerland is having an exhibit of cartoon skeletons. I'm not sure what kind of "science" this is teaching little kids, or what horrible nightmares they're going to have, but I think it's pretty sweet. I like the ones of the Huey, Dewey and Louie the best.

Also, a found another new webcomic, The Everyday. It's by a Britisher (+2 points) and has a nice slice-of-life thing about it that I find very inspiring. That brings my webcomic list up to roughly 25 more-or-less regularly updating comics. Plus about ten that I've bookmarked and either haven't gotten caught up or committed to following regularly. I like to think of these as motivational reading for my own work but in practice it just makes the time pass.

I'm almost done with season 2 of Buffy. After Firefly I decided to take the plunge which has been good for my nerd cred but but bad for my health. I wish I could watch shows in little bit-size pieces instead of marathon sittings. Ah well.

In other news, a bee flew into my mouth today while biking to work. I could feel it buzz against my teeth, and it stung my lip. I spit it out, but it was not a propitious start to the week. You should have seen the bee though. That sucker got schooled.

Why have I started updating again? Hm. I am a mystery to myself.

The internets is a magical place filled with cool stuff, at least today.

Disney/Pixar has announced its lineup for the next four years. I don't really care about anything Disney that isn't Pixar but there will be an *ahem* adaptation of a Phillips K. Dick short story. My hope is that it won't water down Dick's streak of paranoia and misanthropy and will instead renew the fine tradition of creepy children's movies in the vein of Return to Oz, Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. Only with more gadgets.

It goes without saying that I'm super excited for Wall*E.

Craig Thompson just put up his second post of rejected sketches and pages from his graphic novel Blankets. They're super nice. I'd give a layer of skin to have one (skin grows back, limbs don't).

Yesterday was the first installment in an ongoing anthology of webcomics called Next-Door Neighbor. They're getting posted in two-week intervals. The first is written by author Jonathan Ames and drawn by Nick Bertozzi, writer/artist of the graphic novel The Salon, which if you haven't heard of it is worth looking into if only for it's hilarious depictions of Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso. So far, I'm not impressed but I'll check back in in a couple weeks to see the next installment.

Also, apparently Adrian Tomine came out with a new minicomic and I missed it! In true minicomic tradition only a couple hundred were made, but maybe it'll come up on e-bay. I'm going to keep an eye out. Tomine is no longer my favoritest comic artist but I still love his art and have an unofficial collection of his comic promo posters going.

In other bits and pieces:

*Archie gender swapping!
*Lost hilarity!
*Steampunk Penis Pump!

I'm just saying it up front, so you don't have to. But if you were looking for more reasons to love George Michael you can add to them that he's a total Fanboy. Here's a snippet of him geeking out over Scott Pilgrim:

“I love the graphic novels, they’re amazing,” gushed Cera. “The first time I met Edgar, we hung out in Toronto [Cera’s home town and the setting for Pilgrim] with Bryan Lee O’Malley [the series’ creator, also from Toronto], and he showed me pages from the fourth book that hadn’t come out yet. It was awesome!”

Oh Michael Cera, you're so adorable I just want to smush you into a little acronym. Too bad MC doesn't have much of a ring to it.

No further species have hit the dust but scientists have found a was to grow gasoline: webcomi

"The Brazilian Copaifera langsdorfii can be tapped (ala maple syrup) for a natural diesel fuel that requires only simple filtering before being poured into a truck. (This picture is of the tree's cells.) The catch? The diesel only has a shelf-life of about 3 months."

And the trees take 20 years to mature, but what the hey? I think this could be the basis for a new genre of sci-fi... orgo-punk? Where technology and nature merge in unexpected and disturbing ways? I think I see potential.

For those Bjork fans out there, and those of you that love her music videos and find her fairly annoying (like moi) you should check out her latest music video. I'm not really cool enough to be up on music news so thanks Jenn. The music video is kind of Labyrinth/Neverending Story with Tibetan/Chinese influences. As I was reflecting on it over steak chili I thought it might be an allegory for the current conflict in China with the animatronic River God (Demon?) being China and Bjork with her yaks and peasant hat representing Tibet. And maybe the backpack that grows arms and legs and attacks her are the internal forces of conflict within the Free Tibet movement? But most importantly, it has giant puppets.

L-l-lastly I've been going on a web comics binge and made some discoveries. Here are my latest loves:

Lackadaisy: 1920's illegal liquor-running cats!
The Abominable Charles Christopher: A cast of Disney sidekicks meets Miyazaki!
: Motel Art Improvement Service Mischievous redheads! Artsy shenanigans! Graphic sex!

All of these are the kind of comics where you should start at the beginning of the series are read them chronologically because they have plots. Sometime soon I'm going to post a complete list of the webcomics I read and hopefully those of you who do read webcomics will post back the ones that I should be ashamed I'm not reading. Doesn't that sound like fun? Who needs to work anyway. I got all the way to 11am today before I did a single work-related activity. I love my job.

BSG Countdown: Two days to go!