Quick links to ring out the year

This New York Times article about newspaper comic strips going on the web contains a lot of information of interest to webcomics folks, although it’s mostly about Comics.com and their move from a partial subscription to a totally free model. The article raises a lot of familiar issues such as subscription vs. free models, using ads as a revenue stream, and using the free comics to build a fan base for the paid model (in this case, newspaper syndication rather than print volumes). Uclick and their iPhone applications also get a mention. The article is curiously uncritical about content, though; it would seem that if you’re trying to bring in a younger audience, dropping outmoded strips like Hi and Lois or unfunny comics like Garfield and Marvin might be a good starting point.

Also at the Times: An article about The Original Johnson, a bio-comic about Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion. (Both NYT links are via The Beat.)

Kidjutsu is a new website that aggregates all-ages webcomics in a single site with a nice, simple interface. There are some old favorites there (Inverloch, Elf ‘n’ Troll) as well as a slew of new comics I had never heard of. It’s a nice place to go exploring if you get bored over the holidays. Although all the comics are kid-friendly, they aren’t all juvenile; we just gave Kitty Hawk a nice review here at DS without even thinking of it as a kids’ comic.

Sabrina Fritz has an interview up with Sarah Ellerton (Inverloch, The Phoenix Requiem) at Good Comics for Kids, the other blog I edit.

At Comic Book Resources, Shaun Manning talks to Jamaica Dyer about The Wine Hobo, her new comic at MySpace Dark Horse Presents, as well as her independent webcomic, Weird Fishes. Click for some lovely art!

The revamped Blog@Newsarama is sort of a mixed bag; I have to admit I miss the old gang not only because they were really good writers but also because they covered a broader range of material. But I’ll give Sarah Jaffe credit for trying; she admits she doesn’t know much about webcomics and asks the internet for suggestions. The internet, naturally, responded. A post like this is always a good way to find some new webcomics, so go, check out the comments thread, and maybe pimp your own comic (or your favorite) as well.

Webcomics.com continues to deliver a steady stream of interesting, practical content, including recent tutorials on coloring by Tony Piro, creator of Calamities of Nature, and Ed Ryzowski of Evil, Inc.

Johanna Draper Carlson reviews two print versions of popular webcomics, My Poorly Drawn Life and Templar, Arizona, at Comics Worth Reading, and concludes that both work better as webcomics.

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1 thought on “Quick links to ring out the year

  1. Did anyone catch this paragraph in the New York Times article:

    “The creators of the comic strip ‘Zits,’ which is syndicated by King Features, are working with Jantze Studios in San Anselmo, Calif. , to develop ‘audio comics,’ in which a camera pans over a strip while actors read the text.”

    “Jantze Studios”? That’s Michael Jantze, the guy who used to put out “The Norm”! He’s back!

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