Recently came across this one. Gun Baby by Matt & Gabe White is an alternate-reality war comic, featuring pseudo-WWII fighter jets and mutated fighting dogs. Only 38 pages in, but with very highly detailed art, the tale thus far tells the tale from both sides of the conflict. What that conflict is, however, has yet to really be defined. It has something to do with “The Gears,” whatever those may be, and the necessity to call in another country’s military in order to wipe them out. So far, the story has been told from the grunt and civilian level. Perhaps as the series progresses, we’ll get more of the generals rather than the majors, so to speak.

The art is heavily manga influenced, but not annoyingly so. More Akira than Akira Toriyama. Also, the alternate world setting, with fictitious countries that seem familiar to our own, gives this a Wings of Honneamise feel. Recommended, with the hope that more pages are released with quicker time, because I’d really like to see where this is all headed.

 Its that time of the year again, the time when the votes for this years Web Cartoonist Choice Awards are counted. Whilst a crack team counts votes I decided to look at the nominations and one name came up time and time again. The Phoenix Requiem. So I thought it might be worth a look. The Phoenix Requiem is 100 pages in and every single one is high detailed. Its set in a snow-bound industrial land, mainly in a town called Esk. The land is magical, but at the current time all magic has been sealed away. The story begins with an injured man being rescued by a nurse Anya. She has to deal with this when another soldier arrives with the plague. An unnatural plague that kills and rots him before more help can arrive. The plot line seems to have just about started, and with over 4 volumes of comics to come there is time to enough it.

 The artwork is slightly manga based like Gun Baby, and like Gun Baby the comic is strengthen by the way the artist has taken on some of mangas qualities and removed other parts not necessary for the story. The story seems to have references to Sarah Ellerton’s previous comic Inverloch which has now finished. Also with a bi-weekly release of 2 or 3 pages at a time the wait between pages doesn’t seem so bad and the plot can progress at a fair rate. One to watch as it will probably win at least one award at the WCCA with the amount of nominations it has received.

The above panel is from Norm Scott’s hilarious webcomic Violence Man. Speaking of Norm Scott, he has a site he’s involved with called Webcomnik.

From the about page:

Webcomnik provides news and reviews in the world of webcomics, but make no mistake — it is first and foremost a fansite, dedicated to a continually-growing circle of high-quality webcomics. And when we say ‘dedicated,’ we mean it. The comics we track — there’s a handy list of the current line-up in the left-hand sidebar — are watched very closely; we endeavor to provide notice and commentary on EVERY strip updated, and on every news item relating to these fine examples of the medium.

And we’re expanding. As I write these words, the list of comics tracked stands at eleven, and will be perpetually added-to. Over time, Webcomnik will provide complete coverage of every webcomic of quality known to the public — and quite a few that currently are not.

In short, Webcomnik is dedicated to the promotion, success and expansion of every webcomic we track, and by extension the entire webcomic industry. We appreciate and rely on the support and interest of readers like yourself, and hope you’ll stick around and help the cause.

The only problem I see here is that all the webcomics being tracked (with the exception of Spookingtons) are already hugely successful (Spookingtons is excellent, but it’s really the only “unknown” in the listings) and really don’t need much else in the way of promotion and support. Regardless, I’ll keep an eye out, it’s a kindred spirit to The Scienteers, and I am hoping it widens up significantly to find comics that not everyone has bookmarked already.

Alright, here are a couple notes from Comixtalk. First of all, there is a search for creators for an Otakon panel.

Xerexes mentions that Mangacast will be releasing a number of their manga-titles as e-books. Nice to see more embracing of internet distribution.

One of my goals with this site was to eventually start workshops on creating comics, as well as discussions on their artistic merits.

Now. I am in no way an expert, but I’ve learned a lot about pacing over time, and I always stress that to all my creator friends. Seriously, if you don’t pace your work well, you run the risk of having a lopsided story, or something that feels too rushed. I know from experience, I’ve had a bad habit of restarting comics because I didn’t page my work properly.

Thus, you should check out this article from the official Star Wars website about comparison of the Star Wars: A New Hope manga and the Marvel comics adaptation. I own one of the New Hope volumes, and it is QUITE an inspiration. I am glad this article was written. Be sure to check it out if you’re serious about your work.

On another note, would you guys be interested in some posts that focus on art, writing and other aspects of creating comics? Would you prefer just focusing on existing webcomics? Maybe you’d like to see how outside materials apply to the art form?

Please, share your thoughts with us.

Bryan Lee O’Malley’s livejournal is a fantastic thing to check up on. The guy behind Scott Pilgrim has all sorts of insights to publishing, and it’s fun to read his page commentaries and on the progress of the film adpatation. By Edgar Wright no less! If you’re not following it, you’re a damn fool.

Long story short, if Bryan says something, you gotta at least give it a look, that’s why I’m posting this. Not exactly “webcomic” related, but this is for anyone interested in publishing.

I am opposed to the publisher Tokyopop.

They have this new Manga Pilot program. It’s a thing where you come up with a great idea, you toil over it and create a 24-36 page comic, they put it online with a bunch of other submissions, and “the people” decide who wins. Or, y’know, whatever.

The contract for this fun deal is horrible, draconian, ridiculous. It’s like Satan wrote it. I can’t believe Tokyopop is getting away with this in broad daylight.

Click the angry kitty to continue the read. It’s a lot of good information.