Posted By:
midnightcartooner on April 22, 2008
In terms of dream crushers, my next interviewee is the tops. When it came time to choose a new artist to kick start his strip, Life’s A Bluff, Frank Frisina did what every talent scout worth his salt does these days: he held tryouts. The call went out and was answered by many artists, many of whom are already well known in the webcomics and digital comics communities.
With the field narrowed down to a select few (including yours truly), the site’s new main backer, pro poker player, Phil Laak, got the final say in who would usher in the next era of LaB greatness. Sadly, he chose Ryan Estrada.
But this is no place for sour grapes or spilt milk! That place is called LiveJournal. No, this is where I will probe Frank’s mind on the success of LaB under the watchful, cartoony, bulging eye of Mr. Estrada. He’s gotten himself into a bit of hot water with the Poker Player’s Alliance (PPA) as well, so we’ll start off with whether or not he’ll still be doing LaB and go from there. Enjoy the e-mail conversational goodness, after the break!
Read on…
Posted By:
midnightcartooner on April 7, 2008
Yesterday, my conversation with Sin Titulo creator, Cameron Stewart, turned into a breakdown of the artist’s workshop, including techniques, processes, and inspiration. While this was fascinating to me, it’s not the meat-and-potatoes of the interview I meant to conduct.It was, however, integral to the understanding of ST, and so there’s a bit more of it here.
But in addition, in this second half I finally get Cameron to crack on the intent of the strip, including his drive to do the strip (hint: it’s not as sci-fi/mystically focused as you might think) and the personal investment an artist should put into his, or her work. Again, the dude’s a pro, so I basically just asked a question or two and let him run wild. Containment was not my intent and I think a very interesting explanation of the strip followed as a result.
Delve into the mystery with me, after the break!
Read on…
Posted By:
midnightcartooner on April 6, 2008
Weeks back, the DS Review Crew took on the Transmission X Sunday treat, Sin Titulo. It was universally agreed that this was a mysterious joy to read and that we would all be checking back regularly on this, the Lord’s day. We also unanimously decreed that we had a lot of questions about the strip, questions we wanted answered. Immediately.
So I got on the stick and started chatting with creator Cameron Stewart. Contained in this update is the first half of that conversation, with the second to follow on Monday. Disclaimer: After realizing that this is the Cameron Stewart who has numerous comic book projects under his belt, including some with the biggest names in the business, I kind of lose my footing and just give the rest of the interview away. Luckily, Cameron is a pro and takes up the slack aptly and readily.
Start the takeover after the break!
Read on…
Posted By:
midnightcartooner on March 30, 2008
It’s time to catch up with Chad Diez! The well-known artist of such strips as Today: The Comic and Sophisticated Pig (SP) seems to attract controversy everywhere he goes and his latest webcomic endeavor is no different.
Channeling the best of TMZ, Extra, and even the gold standard, Entertainment Tonight, Chad has decided to tighten his focus on one specific subject, that being the wide world of celebrity news (re: gossip, slander, and defamation)!
But why the change? Why shrink the blast radius of your ire and displeasure? The answers to those quesstions, and more are contained here in this interview, granted live, via AIM! It’s got misdemeanor charges! Super Mario Galaxy! And even Oprah! So get ta’ readin’! The controversy awaits!
Read on…
Posted By:
midnightcartooner on March 9, 2008
If you know anything about webcomics, you know there are projects popping up left and right involving the best and brightest the Web has to offer. And if you know this, then you know the name of Michael Rouse-Deane.
Michael is the master collaborator behind the cancer-research-friendly softcore calendar series, Tastefully Done, as well as the recent Kid’s Book Project, an innovative amalgam of over 50 different artists (including yours truly) that brought to life a very imaginative narrative.
I recently sat down (and by sat down, I mean “e-mailed some questions to”) with Michael to get his afterthoughts on The Kid’s Book Project and to pick his brain about his next labor of love, The Guest Strip Project. (After the jump: Preview images from The Guest Strip Project.)
Read on…
Posted By:
Brigid on March 2, 2008
Claudia Dávila’s Luz: Girl of the Knowing is a cheerful webcomic about an ominus situation: the coming oil shortage. Spurred by the simple fact that world oil production has peaked and will decline from here on in, Dávila decided to use the medium of comics to teach some simple lessons about the coming crisis and ways to cope with it. Luz, the title character, copes with blackouts, thinks about what she may have to do without someday, and learns about gardening by watching her neighbor, Mrs. de Souza.
Despite her gloomy topic, Dávila emphasizes the positive and the practical. In one episode, Luz watches Mrs. de Souza harvest and preserve her tomatoes, and Dávila includes a link to a page explaining how to dry your own food. Blackouts inspire an impromptu barbecue. And when Luz visits the farmer’s market in January, she learns that she can have local food even in the dead of winter. While Luz can get a little earnest at times, as when she gives a presentation on peak oil to her class, her friend Robert, an internet addict with a thing for stuffed bunnies, helps keep it real.
Read on…
Posted By:
Brigid on February 24, 2008
Matthew Reidsma’s High Maintenance Machine is a diary comic that captures a moment from each day of his life. The webcomic has an intimate feel—Reidsma seldom uses more than six panels, and the focus is firmly on a few characters: Reidsma, his wife Wendy, and a handful of their friends. Sometimes the point of the comic is immediate and piercing, and other times it is obscure. Reidsma also collects his work into a monthly mini-comic that includes extras not found online.
Digital Strips: You say on your site that High Maintenance Machine began when you “kind of freaked out” on your 30th birthday. Can you explain a bit more about where it came from and how it fits into the rest of your life?
Matthew Reidsma: Whenever I thought of my long-term goals and aspirations I’d always say, “by the time I’m 30 I’ll do such-and-such.” When I turned 30, I couldn’t say that anymore, and I hadn’t done most of the things I told myself I would do. I wasn’t sure what I had done with those 30 years, so I felt like I needed a way to record the daily rhythm of my life. I tried keeping a written diary, but it didn’t feel right. Since I’d drawn comics about myself since I was a kid, I decided to get on the journal comic bandwagon. I set a goal of drawing a strip every day for a month, and posting them online. That was a year and a half ago.
Read on…
Posted By:
Brigid on February 10, 2008
Josh Way is the creator of Chronicle, which details the tribulations of Chuck Burke, a hotshot big-city newspaper editor who is sent to the sticks to revitalize a small-town paper. Chronicle is gently funny, mining the classic smug city slicker/wily country folk theme for some fresh new laughs. Much of the humor stems from the quirky cast of characters that Way has imagined into being.
I told Josh that I would only ask five questions, but I liked the Comic Book Mode feature on his site so much that I slipped in a sixth question about that. I have seen other sites group old comics on a single page, but Way’s versions was more polished and made reading the archives a snap.
Digital Strips: Updating daily is quite a commitment. How do you find the time to do it?
Josh Way: There are three major factors that allow me to maintain my commitment to a daily comic strip.
Read on…
Posted By:
Brigid on February 3, 2008
Shaenon Garrity shows a breadth of talent that is unusual in today’s segmented comics market: She is a writer, artist, and editor of webcomics, manga, and superhero comics. Her day job is as a freelance manga editor for Viz, but she has also written for Marvel. She is the editor-in-chief of Modern Tales, but print manga readers know her chiefly for her hilarious Overlooked Manga Festival postings on her LJ.
Garrity is also one of the busiest people in the webcomics community; she always seems to have several projects going at once. She writes Smithson, a supernatural comedy set at a small liberal arts college, which has recently gone on hiatus, and Li’l Mell, the adventures of an irascible first-grader. She was both writer and artist for Narbonic, an off-the-wall comedy about a mad scientist, which is complete. And her newest project is Skin Horse, which draws by herself and co-writes with Jeffrey Channing Wells. It would spoil the fun to describe it here; check below for Shaenon’s explanation.
Digital Strips: Smithson has just gone on hiatus for a while, leaving many plot threads dangling. What are your plans for that?
Read on…
Posted By:
Brigid on January 27, 2008
Like Minus and the print manga Yotsuba&!, nemu*nemu blends cuteness and humor into a relaxing and often funny read. Creators Scott Yoshinaga and Audra Furuichi, who are based in Honolulu, draw the strip in a simple, manga-influenced style and often bring in references to Hawaiian and Japanese culture. In addition to running at its own site, nemu*nemu has recently joined the lineup at Sugary Serials. Yoshinaga and Furuichi expect to have the second print volume ready for this year’s Kawaii-Kon.
Digital Strips: Let’s start with the elevator pitch: Describe your comic in 25 words or less.
Audra Furuichi: A web comic featuring the adventures of Nemu and Anpan, two magical stuffed toy pups, and their owners Anise and Kana.
Read on…
