So after many, many, many months of searching for a new blog template, I’ve finally found the one I think is going to compliment the webcomic PERFECTLY. Not that there’s anything webcomicky, per se, about the new design, but what I wanted and frankly needed was a design that was:
- Modern and filled with wundyful CSS3 magic
- A template that could act as the face for KILLING THE GRIZZLY comics, which it will also be, showcasing THE DESERT PEACH WEBCOMIC, A WASTE OF TIME Webcomix, the upcoming ARMAGEDDONQUEST Webcomic, and the western gothic manga sensation HOPELESS, alongside the GILLIAN’S HEART Webcomic. So it’s got to be semi-corporate, able to manage a “company” branding as well as be an obvious home base for GILLIAN’S HEART and my own personal ramblings.
- Something I actually like. Dammit.
Especially considering that third requirement, it was a LOT harder to find a new design that I originally thought it’d be. Still, it’s all good now. The new design template has been found, and it should be unleahsed/unveiled shortly before or directly alongside the webcomic when it hits. And because god forbid you’re not interested, I thought I’d share all the runners up for new blog design:
I truly dug the layout on this one, clean and yet there’s a lot going on, plus that header which seems tailor-made to hold real ART (as in comic art) rather than just an abstract design. This one was the closest runner up, and would have likely been one that I attmepted to customize, but the creator and the webiste where you go to download it seem to have both disappeared rather recently. So…that was one decision made for me. Sigh… If it ever comes back, I highly recommend it. Me likey.
This one I adored because, ideally, I wanted to stick with the “Pink” aethetic of the current blog design. It’s rare for a straight masculine (I have a thick Tom Sellick moustache, that’s MANLY, by damn) male to freely spearhead a bright pink site simply because it suits the fact that the webcomic it eventually will be seen to tie in to is a sort-of pink themed comic (it’s actually in b&w, but *shrug* it’s called GILLIAN’S HEART, whad’you gonna do?). So I wanted to keep my pseudo-individuality and keep the blog pink. But alas, Beauty Magazine refused to release a PSD version of the design so I could actually make it look like it belonged to my comic and not beauty products. Le sigh… I probably could have slaved to create custom fucking everything and made it work, but why do that when OTHER sites give away their PSDs? Hmmm? Yeah, it wasn’t happening, I’m a busy man, etc, etc. So BM was BM’d out (if you take my meaning, which I think you do oh yes, oh yes, a horse is a horse oh yes, of course).
ANDROIDA
This one was the very first I was seriously considering. I ADORE the homepage, with its scrolling java appearance. But alas, aside from the nifty homepage, the rest of the blog wasn’t the most navigable, user freindly, designer friendly, or flexible. In short, beneath the clever veneer, there wasn’t much I could really DO with the damn thing. Still head on over HERE to see a functioning sample version. It’s the bees knees in a lot of ways, no matter that I ultimately ditched it.
And that’s that. Pretty nifty themes, but the WINNER is somehting I’m tremendously happy with. Can’t wait to parade it around! Few more months, then webcomic and new blog deisgn glory shall be mine! (and farewell my pink concubine…sniff…unless I can get real clever with the PSD of the winning template…hmmm…*thinks girlish thoughts…tee hee*….)
All re-posted from the KILLING THE GRIZZLY webcomic THE DESERT PEACH, re-presenting the entire classic comic series by Donna Barr!
The Desert Peach #1, Page 13
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The Desert Peach #1, Page 15
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The Desert Peach #1, Page 17
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The Desert Peach #1, Page 19
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NEXT: Pages 21-25!
A little over a year ago I saw THIS BLOG POST on a little unpublished graphic novel titled FAR ARDEN. Actually, “unpublished” is a bit of a misnomer – the artist had shelled out money for an intensely limited 100-copy print run of the book, to hand out to press and possible industry folks to help garner interest in a possible bigger release. By the time I stumbled upon the GN’s existence, Kevin Cannon had already given so many away for free he was then charging for evey copy – no matter what – so he could break even on the printing costs. Honestly, the book looked SO bloody interested I paid $20 just to nab a review copy (and Kevin was kind enough to sign it and put a custom sketch inside, which is arguably worth $20 in and of itself).
I wrote THIS TWO-PART INTER-REVIEW (a review and interview in one! PART ONE. PART TWO.) to help FAR ARDEN get a little notice. Well, yee-haw, it’s been picked up by TOP SHELF. I feel so proud. As with any decently-done visual entertainment, words fail, so here’s a sneak peak:
In his search for the mythic arctic paradise Far Arden, Army Shanks fights off numerous obstacles such as the half polar bear man in this preview of Far Arden by Kevin Cannon. The book will be released by Top Shelf on May 29.
Oh, and incidentally, you can still read the whole thing for free online HERE.
And THIS little post is an awesome look at the almost-completed final version of the Top Shelf edition.
SCRIBD has been around for a short little while, acting as an online eBook resource center, where people could upload books and allow others to download them. Usually this catered to public domain, out-of-date reference materials, how-to guides, and the like. But now Scribd went and opened up the BETA version of their online storefrotn, so let the fiction buying commence!
It’s not a bad little storefront, although currently when you click on “fiction” as a category, you still wind up getting title selections like “General Surgical Instruments” (and no, that’s NOT just an oddly named fiction book, I checked). That said, the actual fiction is getting pretty stellar results. “General Surgical Implements” has been downloaded only 84 times, whereas the popular fiction is getting average results of 2,000-3,000 downloads per book! That’s a pretty sweet margin of readers to get from just one infant online e-store.
And for those naysayers among you who worry (ad nauseum) about piracy and e-theft, here’s the fully skinny on Scribd’s hefty security meausres, which they’ve taken to address this very issue:
As reported by PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY:
While Scribd has been in the news lately—and has raised fears of digital piracy—Tammy Nam, v-p of content and marketing told PW the company was committed to policing its site for infringement. Nam said Scribd has a state-of-the art Content Management System (CMS) system in which works are checked against a database—if a document matches a document in its database, the upload is blocked. She conceded the company gets a number of takedown notices every week—but noted that those notices are dealt with quickly and that the notices even have a positive aspect, as they help the company beef up its database, and strengthen its anti-piracy efforts. All works sold in the Scribd Store are added to the CMS automatically.
And then there’s Scribd’s percentage take, which is one of the most creator-centric in the biz:
The Scribd Store offers a generous revenue sharing agreement with sellers getting 80% of revenue. Publishers and authors also have complete control over price and packaging—they set the price, or set no price at all, and can dictate what to sell, whether entire documents, chapters, even pages. They can also dictate reading options—for example, allowing for works to be viewed on Scribd only, or enabling PDF downloads, PDF downloads with DRM, or ePub downloads. Sellers can also offer downloads to mobile phones and devices.
And where would any new product be without a mobile version?
In addition to the launch of the Scribd Store, the company said it is planning to launch an iPhone application in the coming months. The store is available immediately and is open to buyers and sellers in the United States, with international launches to follow.
Sylvan Migdal is not a name I’m familiar with, but I stumbled across his killer comic(s) this weekend, and simply must share:
Head on over to SPORK and you’ll find a dropdown menu to navigate to any of Sylvan’s many, many online projects, such as WHERE THE TYPOS OG, RHO, MNEMESIS, and the awesome, awesome ASCENT.
Warning in advance: some of these are NOT for kids! I also want to give everyone a taste of the neat-o ASCENT, though my attempt to post this here only kind-of works. It’s good enough that you’ll see what I’m raving about, though some of the images don’t quite align in my compact little blog column. Take a gander:
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More THE DESERT PEACH #1, this time Pages 8-13 (of 31). Click on the images for larger, readable viewing.
The Desert Peach #1, Page 9
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The Desert Peach #1, Page 11
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The Desert Peach #1, Page 13
Reported from PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY:
Revenue at Quebecor World tumbled 25.8% in the first quarter ended March 31, to $752.1 million, and the printer reported a net loss of $125.9 million compared to a loss of $190 million in the first quarter of 2008. The company attributed the loss to the recession which cut orders in almost all segments. Quebecor said it is continuing to look for ways to lower costs and has recently introduced a new plan to save $100 million that includes a reduction in wages and benefits for all employees.
Despite the weak quarter, Quebecor said its plans to exit from bankruptcy protection remain on track. It repeated that while it has received an unsolicited offer from R.R. Donnelley to acquire most of its assets, Quebecor will move ahead with its reorganization efforts while at the same time reviewing the Donnelley proposal.
Good to see that reduction of wages and benefits for everyone is still considered “reorganization”, and that the alternative is a letter that more or less amounts to the beginnings of an anti-trust problem via the offer from Donnelley. To read the original Donnelley letter sent to Quebecor GO HERE.
Just in case anyone out there really thought Print was going to last for the forseeable future.
As originally posted at THE DESERT PEACH WEBCOMIC.
The Desert Peach #1, Page 6
The Desert Peach #1, Page 7
The Desert Peach #1, Page 8
More to come soon!
Okay, holy jesus christ on a marry chain cross – I had never heard of this comic/site/interactive experience/thing, but now I have, and….wow. That’s all I can say.
NAWLZ - Wow. Interactive Reading Experience like none other.
Scott Mcloud called it: “the quintessential experimental webcomic. Weird, dissonant, and relentlessly inventive.” That pretty much sums it up. I am officially blown away. And I really need to learn more Flash and Javascript. Dammit. Wow. Wow, again.
This is also pretty damn interesting: http://balak01.deviantart.com/art/about-DIGITAL-COMICS-111966969
This, too: http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001905