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Harknell

Guest Bloggers Week 3

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on August 23, 2010 - 00:48

Let me repeat my thanks to all of the guest bloggers for posting so many great posts in my absence.  Thanks to last week's bloggers: Alexander Danner, Brian Moore, John Baird and Max Vaehling.  My biggest regret is that I didn't give them all their own week (if you weren't able to check out the last week flip through the archives for a ton of advice on writing, review and links to great comics).  And one more thanks to the week one bloggers: Ben McCormick, and Amanda & Daniel Potter.

For this week we've got a great group of comic creators and instigators.  They'll all be introducing themselves but here's a brief summary:

Steve Troop is the creator of the comedy sci-fi comic Melonpool and the comic CryptoZooey.  He's been making comics for over 10 years now.  He's also made some excellent puppets and they have appeared in several places including a They Might Be Giants video the Kobe and Lebron MVPuppets commercials.

Sam Costello is the prolific writer and creator behind Split Lip the horror webcomic series.

Harknell and Onezumi are a force to be reckoned with!  Onezumi is a webcomic creator and Harknell is a website coding ninja.  Both are very cool folks and longtime supporters of this site as well as their own webcomic community sites.  We're lucky to have a bit of their time as they are gearing up for the first edition of the convention they've created: Intervention which is coming very soon in September.

Comix Talk for Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on June 15, 2010 - 08:31

Intervention Convention in Washington DC

I really cannot believe THE MAN is making me work during the World Cup.  I think in the spirit of the World Cup, I'll just use OLE in every sentence today (sort of like this NSFW new sketch from SMBC Theater).  

I haven't talked about INTERVENTION in a bit -- that's a new convention in the DC area this fall created by Harknell and Onezumi - both ubercool and long-time friends of ComixTalk.  This looks more and more fun as it develops.  They just opened up registration for Artist Alley -- you have until June 18th to get your application into for review.  The pricing (if I'm reading this right) is $50 for an artist alley table and you also need to purchase a con membership for $35. Total cost therefore for Con weekend with a table being $85.00.  As for me, I am going to be doing various things there in an official ComixTalk kind of role and will announce more when I get it sorted out!

Code: A link to a post from Frump a developer of ComicPress Pro for Wordpress comparing it to the Inkblot webcomic package for Wordpress.  I don't link to this to encourage any drama, but comparisons are needed to understand the real differences between these packages.  This post is purely about the number of mySQL queries which can be pretty important for performance issues, particularly with a site with a lot of traffic.  Frumph doesn't seem to have considered some of the cache plug-ins for Wordpress, however, I wonder if that would have any impact on the comparative number of queries per page per package?  

iWebcomics: So this whole Apple playing net-nanny with apps for the iPhone and iPad?  Well there's probably a valid concern over technical performance, Apple certainly has an interest in ensuring a minimum of glitches from its app store.  But content... there's the rub.  Apple CEO Steve Jobs said recently that the iPad offered "...freedom from porn."  Well is this porn?  On the other hand, for all of the fuss over Apple's app censorship, there is a completely uncensored application on the iPad, the browser, and there are a growing number of competitors like Google who will probably pursue a more wide open approach to their app stores.

UPDATE: Brigid Alverson has an interview with the creator of the webcomic Ulysses on Apple's decision yesterday to allow the uncensored form of the comic into the app store (originally Apple had required significant editing of the comic).

Around the Blogs

FROM THE MAILBAG: I got an email from Gabriel Dunston who makes the webcomic The Pit of Despair.  He's got a video on his site explaining how his current financial issues are keeping him from buying art supplies.  Sometimes when I know someone (or have known of them) and they're trying to raise some money I plug it here because I personally feel like it's a good cause -- either the person is in a bit of tight spot or it's going to lead to some great comics.  I can't say that here as I don't know Dunston and this is the first I've heard of him, but he's definitely working hard on his webcomic.  I didn't have time to read the full archives, but here's  the basics: a journal comic about a 20-something guy who just became a father and the art has GREATLY improved in 2010 over 2009.

New Convention: Intervention

Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 25, 2010 - 09:36

Intervention Convention, Sept. 10-12

I'm pretty excited about hearing Onezumi Hartstein's news - she and webcomic web-guy Harknell have organized a new convention called Intervention: Your Online Life, In Person. A Convention with Webcomics, Videos, Music, and You. It looks very cool, very webcomic-friendly but also firmly rooted in online, not comic book. 

Intervention is about bringing together the people you read, watch, listen to, and connect with all in one location to party, educate, and appreciate the opportunities the Internet gives all of us.

The only wrinkle is that it's on the same weekend (September 10-12) as SPX which has become quite a webcomic-friendly forum too.  They are in the same general suburban area though (northish of Washington DC) so maybe a lot of people will do both this year (FLEEN seems to think this is possible) -- I think it would be well worth it for you to try.

The early guest list is starting off well, in addition to Onezumi and Harknell, there'll be an edition of Super Art Fight and these webcomic dudes:

Katsucon wrap-up

Submitted by Brad Guigar on February 17, 2009 - 00:00


My trip to Katsucon last weekend was worth all the stress that I went through to get there.

I must be the only mook who thinks he can rent a car without a major credit card. When I laid my debit card on the counter, I was informed that I would need a major credit card. To make a long story short(er), the amount of jostling that it took for me to finally swing the rental cost me two hours and more than a few grey hairs.

Open Call for Webcomics for Balticon webcomic track

Submitted by harknell on March 17, 2008 - 11:06

Harknell and Onezumi of the webcomic Stupid and Insane Defenders Against Chaos have just been asked by  Balticon to administer their webcomic track for this year's con. Unfortunately the con is coming up quickly (May 23rd-26th), and there is much to do. In particular we need webcomic people! If you have a webcomic and would like to attend Balticon as a guest and be on some panels please contact us at the email address harknell at onezumi dot com.

Epic Webcomic Win Contest at Katsucon 2008

Submitted by harknell on January 21, 2008 - 14:58

Harknell and Onezumi, the webcomic coordinators at Katsucon 2008, are proud to announce the "Epic Webcomic Win" contest for Katsucon 2008. This contest will bestow on one lucky Katsucon attendee free items from over 13 webcomic guests at the con including: DrMcNinja, Evil Inc., Onezumi.com, AppleGeeks, Erfworld, and many others.

To win the contest all you need to do is attend Katsucon and fill out an entry form that will be available at any webcomic guest table. The full details are available on the contest page here.

Webcomic Wire - 1/21/08

Submitted by NightgigTim on January 21, 2008 - 14:17

Drawn from sources watching the Venture Bros. obsessively. . .

A short documentary about Bizaro creator Piraro.
Harknell of Onezumi and AWSOM fame is teaching Wordpress setup and install class at this year’s Katsucon. The panel will be on Saturday, February 16th at 10pm so bring your burning questions then. 
Also at Katsucon the Epic Webcomic Win contest, [...]
foo

Webcomic Wire - 1/21/08

Submitted by NightgigTim on January 21, 2008 - 14:17

Drawn from sources watching the Venture Bros. obsessively. . .

A short documentary about Bizaro creator Piraro.
Harknell of Onezumi and AWSOM fame is teaching Wordpress setup and install class at this year’s Katsucon. The panel will be on Saturday, February 16th at 10pm so bring your burning questions then. 
Also at Katsucon the Epic Webcomic Win contest, [...]
foo

Katsucon!

WHAT: Washington DC's big ol' anime/manga convention: Katsucon.
WHERE: Omni Shoreham Hotel 2500 Calvert St Nw, Washington, DC 20008, US
WHO: some excellent guests including:

Onezumi.com now in charge of comic guest relations at Katsucon 2008

Submitted by harknell on November 29, 2007 - 14:57

I just wanted to drop a notice that Harknell and Onezumi, of the webcomic at www.Onezumi.com have now joined the staff of Katsucon 2008 as the comic guest coordinators. They will be handling all of the webcomic events at the con and making sure that all of the comic guests are able to have a successful con experience.