In my column this month, I waxed philosophical and talked about an idealistic comic industry based on strong stories and diversity throughout the marketplace in the stores and online. It's a beautiful concept and although it warms my heart, it's definitely not the reality at this stage. So beyond the sequential paradise that I've envisioned, let's start down the road that can lead us to that brighter place, shall we?

Love him or leave him, no one has set the comics world on its ear in the last several years like Scott McCloud. His books Understanding Comics, and its sequel Reinventing Comics have challenged many preconceived notions of what comics are and still might be. Like a general marshalling his troops, McCloud has invigorated discussion and debate, and inspired a host of people to take up their pencils, markers and tablets to become part of the push towards whatever it is that Comics may become.

So, what are they becoming?

Andrew Arnold writes a column for TIME Magazine's online version, Time.com, about comix. Time.comix focuses mainly on reviewing print comix – in the past he's written about Andi Watson and Jason Shiga, as well as defending his use of the term comix rather than comics.

Reading Bueno the Bear is like being let in on a really good inside joke -- you can be laughing all the way through, if you’re in the right frame of mind. Created by Pendleton Ward, Bueno the Bear exposes us to a bear and a handful of his friends as they do everything from pounce on bugs to stare at the sky.

I draw a comic strip about mad geniuses. You know, evil-scientist types, with the insane laughter and the bubbling vats of unwholesome chemicals and the tampering in God’s domain. One of the themes I try to get across, and probably don’t most of the time, is the idea that genius isn’t just a matter of brains. Genius, the real rare deal, is all about seeing the world in a way no one’s ever seen it before.

Jason Shiga’s a mad genius. A real one.

When I look for a comic, I'm most often attracted to the things published with girls in mind. When I was younger, it was Archie. I read so many digests and individual comics (which are still in my parents basement in a large box) that I could tell you what era a story came from based on what Betty and Veronica were wearing.

And man, did I love the pin-ups in the Betty and Veronica comics.

Dave Kellett's big break came from Keenspot, where Sheldon, a daily strip about a pre-teen billionaire, his grumpy grandpa and his mischievous talking duck was hosted, to the delight of webcomics readers everywhere. Sheldon now lives on United Media�s web site along with ten other online-only comics. Kellett, a native of Southern California, started drawing in third grade.

Our resident philosopher and all around blue guy brings us a monthly take o­n just about anything.

In his free time he's apt to draw another edition of his award winning comic, Boxjam's Doodle.

Movie Comics is about movies. More specifically, Movie Comics is about the rage you feel when a movie is disappointing or just plain sucks, when an actor turns in a lousy performance, when television is feeding the public particularly awful crap, or when a movie creator sells out his vision (this last is more generally known as "making a sequel").

I read some Transmetropolitan while on the streetcar this morning. It’s a great story about these people who’ve been revived from cryogenic sleep and suddenly realize that society has no place for people from the past -- just as they themselves can’t come to grips with the evolution that has happened around them. When it’s over, you feel the loneliness, confusion and heartache that grip these people. After I finished reading it, I looked at the people on the train and wondered how many of them could relate to that story.