A down, but not defeated Midnight Cartooner here, joining you for yet another update of the only things that matter: webcomic news and video game lovin’. Webcomic Idol is FAR from over, so stay tuned for a detailed analysis of every strip still in-it-to-win-it. But for now, a few notes of a different competitive slant.

• You’ve read PvP: The Webcomic! You’ve read PvP: The Comic Book! You’ve watched PvP: In Blamimation! You’ve eaten PvP: The Breakfast Cereal! You’ve even spied PvP: The Sex Tape! And now, Scott Kurtz is proud to bring you PvP: The Animated Series!

Starting in February of 2007, PvP will be offered as a series of animated episodes via a subscription service ala Ctrl-Alt-Delete. The animation chores will be handled by Blind Ferret Entertainment, a studio headed up by Ryan Sohmer of Least I Could Do fame. Before I step all over the full press release/blog post, I’ll direct you straight to the horse’s mouth for the full scoop.

While it all sounds very impressive, the proof is in the pudding and it’s the words of Penny Arcade’s reluctant mouthpiece, Gabe, that ring the truest for me. I appreciate his desire to pull no punches and call the animation studio on their previous, less-than-stellar efforts. After viewing the quick clip from the first episode, I must say that I come away feeling underwhelmed and extremely skeptical. Kurtz reassures us that the series will be of a much more traditionally animated nature and less Flash-based in it’s presentation, but I don’t see a clear distinction between the two from this, albeit early, snippet. Here’s hoping the right parts start to gel together before the first episode hits the Web so the series will match the great pedigree the strip is known for.

• Goats‘ Jon Rosenberg has reached not one, but TWO milestones in one day! Jon can now forever remember his 33rd birthday as the day Goats reached strip #2000! Check out the fan servicing goodness for yourself and make sure Goats is one of your favorites!

• And speaking of Goats, it has the distinction of being one of five webcomics featured in the latest issue of Wizard as strips lucky enough to fight long and hard in making a living off their online wares. Alongside Penny Arcade, Diesel Sweeties, Dinosaur Comics, and ScaryGoRound, they are a prime example of what can happen when you apply yourself and go for a dream no one else thinks is obtainable. Or something like that.

• Unbeknownst to the webcomics community, two different gaming platforms launched two weekends ago: the Sony Playstation 3, or PS3, and Nintendo’s Wii (pronounced “We”). This secret roll-out of each new gaming experience was first felt by webcomic writers and artists alike in the form of the PS3 onslaught Thursday night, which came and went without nary a whisper. Update cycles continued as planned as Sony loyalists wondered why they bothered to drop 600 bones on a shiny, black doorstop.

A couple of days later, Nintendo dropped their Wii on the unsuspecting public and the online uproar was deafening. And the backlash was immediate. With the system debuting near the close of the weekend, it was feared by many that webcomic creators might latch on to the innovation and affordable price the Wii offered and forgo their creative duties in lieu of losing themselves, possibly forever, to the magic Nintendo was creating.

Sadly, this fear was a valid one.

Across the web, updates were missed, strips were postponed, and hearts were broken. Would webcomics ever recover? Would this be the end of the burgeoning art form? Had Nintendo done what no other comic book fanboy could do? Thankfully, this phenomenon turned out to be a short-lived one, as Wii players pulled themselves away from their twilight princesses and returned to their drawing boards. But the seeds have been planted. The desire is now there. Those webcomic creators lucky enough to have actual, real-life, honest-to-God friends are more susceptible to the Wii’s charms, as the real fun lies in pulling in the uninitiated masses for a quick game of bowling or a round of toss the cow. However, there is a hope for us all.

It’s up to you, the webcomic enthusiasts and creators, to band together! Share your Wii codes with other creators! Go to your Address Book and post your Wii code here for all to see! Help keep the team together and keep outsiders from breaking up our happy family! Don’t let them take away our webcomics!