Tired of hearing this yet?

DRAW.

Not having grown up with comics, I still don't see the magic in Wednesdays that some people do.

If popularity were sheep, Adrian Ramos would be counting to infinity.

Count Your Sheep surfaced very recently on the sequential dream scene, only to leap over the hurdles of obscurity and into the greener grass on the popular side. Now part of Keenspot, Ramos' webcomic is winning awards and gaining new readers faster than you can knit one or pearl two.

In the ensuing interview, a non-sheepish David Wright lets Ramos spin a few yarns about CYS's amazing success, its beginnings, and its inspiration. Some Moo-ish wisdom is shared, and perhaps a tear or two shed in the process.

One thing is certain: Ramos' recountings will NOT put you to sleep.

I raise my hand and flap it in the air, quickly, but not too hard. I want to look a little eccentric, but not crazy – just weird enough that I might have something interesting to say.

The Otakon panel moderator takes interest in (or pity on) me. He passes me the microphone. I arch an eyebrow challengingly at the guests – cartoonists from Applegeeks, Little Gamers, Paradox Lost, Mac Hall, and the "other" Avalon – and say...

"Webcomics. 2009. Where are we?"

Rodrigo Pin is one of the newer crop of webtoonists. Having recently snuck on the scene with his Keenspace-hosted comic Alex and Ilia, he wasn't able to keep himself or his work a secret for very long. Now a very prominent voice among the newer toonists, Pin can be found spreading his words on message boards across the, umm, board.

Here's a familiar problem: You write a webcomic that's not getting nearly as many readers as you think it deserves. You're already sending press releases to the newsmagazines, you're posting announcements in the webcomic forums, you've joined web rings, and you've slapped your logo on every product Café Press offers. Still, your readership is modest, at best. You need a more aggressive marketing plan.

One problem: like most of us, your entire marketing budget comes from between the cushions on your couch.

There just aren't any rules for creating comics. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't, and you can figure out principles to guide you in the use of these things, but there's never any rule that always works.

One first glance at Errant Story is not enough. A passing glance, and you'll likely see a fantasy genre comic that is "more of the same": Tolkien-style elves and humans coexisting in a fantasy world where magic supersedes technology, swords are ridiculously big, and guns apparently exist despite a lack of other technological developments.

Kelly J Cooper's Most Excellent Comic-Con Adventures
Part 2: Saturday and Sunday

Saturday, 24 July 2004

Lovers of beautiful black-and-white art and urban fantasy should know of the unique treasure nestled away at FALLEN ANGELS USED BOOKS gorgeous pencil artwork with a sure sense of proportion and the human shape, used to tell a story of a waif with wings and a Used Book Store owner, among many other fascinating characters. FAUB started in June 2003 and has already gathered a large following. John Fortman, the author, gave us a very thorough and revealing interview.