THE BEAT on uclick deal

MILE HIGH COMICS presents THE BEAT at COMICON.com: Tokyopop and uclick team

Heidi writes up the second deal for Tokyopop in as many days. All this talk about comics on tiny cell screens makes me yearn for comics on tv! comics on walls! comics on blimps!

Music And Comics: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together? | Comixpedia

Music And Comics: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together? | Comixpedia

Tym Godek has the beginnings of a thought on the combination of music and comics (in a webcomix format, I assume).

While we all love the cute little bleeps and glurks our computers make while we explore webpages, I wonder how far a musical comic can go before we really do have to consider it more akin to film or video than a novel or short story. Of course, I read many comics as a kid that came with a record and didn't think of them as some new hybrid art form.

Try as they might no one has come up with a clear-cut, irrefutable definition of what "comics" is. The advent of web technology and the possibility of integrating elements such as animation and sound has blurred the picture even more. What is it that makes a comic a comic, and how does the addition of these other elements affect that? Is there something essential to comics that is lost in the attempt to integrate sound?

"Power Records: The action comes alive as you read!"

Smart Panel Developments

The only thing keeping Marvel from becoming the most boring comics publisher in the world is this little tech gimmick:

The Great Curve: Marvel.com adding blogs?: "Additionally, Marvel will be offering a ton of new Digital Comics that can now be viewed on desktops all over the world. Fans can't get enough of the new comic format and are singing the praises of the never-before-seen Smart Panel comic viewer technology. Keep a lookout for new and improved Digital Comics in the coming months. "

Internet Comics=Boring?

itpblog � Blog Archive � Making Comics Boring, One Click at a Time

So why would I want to download a podcasted comic strip, just to click through it, sequentially, one frame at a time?

T Campbell's history of webcomics

Hiedi MacDonald chats about this new book and refers to its legal problems. A history of webcomics? Already?

MILE HIGH COMICS presents THE BEAT at COMICON.com: T Campbell's history of webcomics

Cartoon Mash-ups

Short article about legal backlash against online mash-ups and parodies of comics, animation:

Journal Gazette | 03/05/2006 | Bloggers, tech savvy spin digital remixes of pop culture

Like disc jockeys pairing the Beatles with Jay-Z or The Strokes with Christina Aguilera, visual mashup artists exploit odd juxtapositions. An old “Superfriends” cartoon is synced with dialogue from the cult slacker movie “Office Space.” Scenes from “The Shining” are cut and overdubbed with feel-good narration to make it look like a trailer for a sappy family movie. And is there anything less likely than Mary Worth reciting the lyrics to “My Humps” over coffee?
“It was just sort of the absurdity of marrying this very serious serial strip with that song, which is so ridiculous,” said creator Sue Trowbridge.
Tools of the craft are software such as Adobe Systems Inc.’s Photoshop and Apple Computer Inc.’s Final Cut Pro instead of paint or clay, but fans say it’s still art.
Joey deVilla, a Toronto-based blogger, calls mashups a form of folk art that follows the age-old creative tradition of borrowing from existing works to create something new.
“It is the digital-media equivalent of collage, except instead of pasting together pieces of other people’s existing work you’re pasting together other people’s films and music, “ Lyall-Wilson said in an e-mail.
Jason Schultz of the Electronic Frontier Foundation contends that there should be legal protection for mashups such as “The Shining.” After all, it’s a non-commercial parody that poses no threat to the movie. (Ironically, the clip can be viewed on iFilm.com, a recent addition to the sprawling Viacom media stable.)
“This is a battle over creativity,” Schultz said. “Do we want a world where the law criminalizes that?”
Legal issues aside, putting the brakes on mashup artists might be a job that not even Superman could handle. They’re just so easy to create and circulate, with scores of sites such as YouTube.com devoted to sharing online video.

More Phone Comics

GoComics has released a press release about a new-ish "comics on your cellphone" service featuring several known comics properties:

Symbian OS mobile smartphone operating system - News, articles, wireless developer tools for Symbian Series 60, UIQ and Symbian mobile device Users and wireless developers of VB, C , Java, WAP, and .NET apps

KOMIKWERKS Changes

In a press release last week, Komikwerks, the digital comics publisher, announced some new hirings and new deals, including print collections of online strips and ebooks. No word on the ebook distribution end of things, though.

According to Komikwerks co-founder Patrick Coyle, the new hires will hopefully spruce up the site:

“Fans have already undoubtedly noticed a change over the last month,” said Coyle. “There have been a number of new columns appearing on a regular basis, we have rants and interviews coming out with a greater frequency, and some of the online strips have moved to daily releases.” Coyle explained that content areas are the major focus for Komikwerks. “We’re not a news and review site. There are so many sties out there that do such a good job with that there isn’t really a need for us to concentrate in that area. So rather we’ve formed partnerships with Comics2film, etc. to let them provide us with quality comics news.

A good thing, too: many of the features and columns, including prominent headliners like Stan Lee's Soapbox, are long out-of-date.

As well, the company seems to be all over the place in terms of comics delivery platforms, without any sort of logic. PSP, ebooks, and webcomics all see, to be vying for attention. No new high-profile creators or series seem on the horizon for the publisher, either.

komikwerks

Advertising Insights

Web Comics and Ads

Frequential became interested in the world of web advertising and comics after reading this exchange at The Comics Reporter about ads on the Dilbert webcomic discussed at webpronews.

In an email to Spurgeon, Todd Allen notes:

"Those Google Ads are on the Dilbert blog, not on the main Dilbert site with the strip. They're using standard, image-based banner ads on that site. Contextual Ads like Google Adwords are the de facto standard for blogs, so the fact Scott Adams is using them on a blog is pretty much a sign that the original columnist had run out of material.

Google Ads are served based on the text on a web page and in the text contained in certain tags in the HTML, so unless you have a lot of copy surrounding your online comic, it is questionable how well Google Ads will be able to function, relative to thier business model."

As well, other sites were honestly discussing their own advertising strategies. Jonah Weiland at ComicBookResources talked about the use of google ads at the CBR forums:

"Yes, today I instituted Google's AdSense program on the CBR Forums. I've been experimenting with them on the main site using only unsold inventory I have and have seen some nice results that have generated a little extra revenue.

After reading through Google's various FAQs I came across a suggestion to add Google AdSense ads to communities like the CBR Forums. The truth of the matter with forums is that generally the reader can train his/her eye to avoid any ads on the page. Thus, forums generate little income for the site owners. The click-thru rates for ads that run on the main CBR web site are much better than for the ads that run in forums. That means forums themselves are generally a money looser.

Now, with the ads placed at the bottom of a thread, there's a greater chance people might click on them, which is the key to success for any ad based Web site. (Remember, clicking the ads you see on your favorite Web sites helps keep that site running) Plus, through Google AdSense, we might be able to make the forums generate some revenue, although it's certainly not going to make us millionaires!

Google AdSense also does contextual based advertising, which means it will at least attempt to deliver ads that will be meaningful to the user. It scans the page it's hosted on and tries to feed you ads based on what you're reading. It doesn't always work perfectly, but it's pretty darn good.

It's an experiment that I'll be keeping a close eye on. I don't think it's too intrusive and doesn't harm the browsing experience. If I don't see reasonable results from the number of impressions we feed, then I'll take it off. If it does well, that will mean good things for all of us (i.e. expansion of the forums, the Web sites, resources we offer, etc.)."

Other tech wizards spend their time developing tools to make online comics searchable through Google:

Comics For Google Sidebar

By Nathan Weinberg
Comic Junkie has created the first third-party Google Sidebar plugin I've seen, one that displays the first panel of new comic strips for you to read.
(via Brad Hill )

The main webcomics syndicate, Keenspot, has a very sophisticated advertising strategy (and a small $25K annual budget) and specific ideas about making internet ads work for their cartoonists:

KEENSPOT ROLLS OUT GOOGLE ADSENSE, PAYS TO TRANSCRIBE EVERY ARCHIVED COMIC
The option to include Keenspot-supplied Google Adsense text advertisements on their site is now available to our creators. We work with creators to implement the text ads using the most effective methods available. Keenspot plans to join the Premium Adsense service, which supplies a variety of Adsense advantages not available to clients receiving less than 20 million pageviews monthly. Keenspot also plans to pay to have the archives of every Keenspot comic transcribed in text form. This will not only allow each comic to be fully searchable, it will also allow Google Adsense to deliver more effective and targeted advertising on every page they appear.

More articles:

*Comixpedia discusses all forms of blog advertising here.

*A primer for using advertising on webcomics sites here.

*The latest news about unauthorized use of brand keywords in Google ads (lawsuit) here.

Anime Exodus

Found on The Beat:

On the music meets comics front, and tying in with the New York Comic-con this weekend, the ultra cool Knitting Factory club in NY presents Anime Exodus, a dj'd party featuring "MARI IIJIMA, J-pop sensation and voice of Lynn Minmay [MACROSS], who will perform an extended set of her original music plus a few favorites from Macross just around midnight"

KF//KF Presents...

Arf Lovers Blog

The second week of Craig Yoe's new blog, serving in part to hype his latest books on comics history (Arf Museum, Modern Arf, etc). A unique blog with a focus on classic comics and newspaper strips. It also has several unique features including Wonderwoman Wednesdays when Yoe posts a photo of someone wearing a WW costume.

Worht checking in, if only to follow the link to Batman's Blog by Johnny Ryan (from Friday February 17, 2006).

Arf Lovers Blog

Warren Ellis gets Blog Tech Advice

Lots of tech-talk in the comments section for people who use obscure programs to create feeds and post pretty pictures.

Warrenellis.com � Interweb Stuff Is Beyond Me Now

Comic books Explain Tech in Namibia

BBC NEWS | Technology | CDs and comics offer digital aid

So in April, they came up with the paper-based Hai TI comic, which means Listen Up in the local language, Oshiwambo.

"It is printed every Tuesday in the local youth newspaper, so it goes across the country. What is in the comic is also all online," said Ms Haotuikulipi.

The colourful gang of characters explain technology and what it can be used for through stories, just like a conventional comic adventure.

When they talk about e-mail or downloading, for example, information panels near the speech bubbles offer an explanation and web addresses for readers to follow.

The characters are based on actual SchoolNet staff members and the comic has been such a hit that they are becoming minor celebrities. And word is spreading.

Cartoon Controversy Update

Protests and Editorial Reactions Continue

The three main Canadian stories relating to the publication of cartoon depictions of the prophet Mohammed in a Danish Newspaper:

1.Large demonstrations in Canadian cities. Following protests in Montreal and Toronto last week, Vancouver and Ottawa are the sites of latest protests.

2.Toronto student newspaper publishes a cartoon of Jesus and Mohammed kissing:
-TheStar.com - U of T paper defends publication of cartoon
-The Strand: Victoria University, Toronto

3.Canadian publications reprint Danish cartoons amid protests:
-Jewish Free Press publishes multiple images
-New Muslim newspaper planned

How has eBay impacted the market?

The Ebay Effect

Thanks to neilalien:

Collectors Society Message Boards: How has eBay impacted the market?

Manga Uploading Case

Manga Blog tracks the arrest of manga cafe owners who neglected to pay royalties, link courtesy Comics Reporter:

The logic is that you’re actually helping the author, because once a book builds a following it is more likely to be licensed, bringing in extra income for everyone. My own two cents would be that you’re unlikely to deprive the author of income because an untranslated manga is unlikely to sell many copies before it is licensed. On the other hand, I have no problem agreeing that once it’s licensed, scanlating is out of bounds:

when you scanlate licensed manga, you deprive manga-ka of their royalties. So do us all a favor: don’t scanlate licensed manga. And when the published version comes out in your country, support the author by purchasing the book. It’s the very least we can do.

MangaBlog � Blog Archive � Three arrested for posting manga on the net

Lynn Johnston on Cartoon Controversy

News Link Source: The Comics Reporter

Syndicated cartoonist Lynn Johnston of Dor Better or Wose fame weighs in on the current world-wide controversy over depictions of the prophet Muhammed in a press release from her syndicate:

"I believe these cartoons have a right to exist. The media does not have the right to use them callously in the name of freedom. Freedom for whom? If one innocent person dies because of this capricious incident, publishers must accept the blame.

On behalf of conscientious humorists and illustrators worldwide, I want to say to the nation of people who have been understandably offended – an apology is due. This is not comedy. If a cartoon or a statement causes such pain, it enters the category of hate literature and should be treated as such."

Universal Press Syndicate: News Release

Cartoonists on iTunes

Over at the Comics Journal board, this little tidbit:

"I was searching through the iTunes music store and happened across the R. Crumb Fresh Air interview.* I had no idea that this audio content was available there. I did a couple more searches. The Master class in cartooning that Chris Ware and Charles Burnes did last year for the New Yorker is there as well. There are a couple of Spiegelman interviews also. If this sort of thing is your cup of tea, head on over."

Cartoonists on iTunes - The Comics Journal Message Board

Shojo Beat

First Annual Shojo Beat Music Awards
by Joseph Holley
For someone whose knowledge of Japanes music extends only as far as Damo Suzuki, Yellow Magic Orchestra, the soundtracks of 1960s monster movies, and garage acts like the 5678s & Guitar Wolf, this is very educational --if only some young person would explain it to me.

"Welcome to our first ever Shojo Beat Music Awards! To bring you the best in J-Music, we scoured the trendiest corners of the Japanese music scene in search of the most inspiring and entertaining musicians. We've nominated more than two dozen of the hottest acts in 2005 in five different categories—Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B, and Rising Star—but only the best of the best come away with our coveted and prestigious Shojo Beat Music Award! While some of our nominees may already be familiar to those of you who are tuned into Japanese music, we hope that everyone will discover something new that's worth a listen. After all, there's more than enough here to fill up your iPod—and no evening gown or tux is required."

Shojo Beat: "First Annual Shojo Beat Music Awards"

T Campbell's Blog: How Can I Help?

To kick things off here, a link to a blog post by T. Campbell, one of the behind-the-scenes people at Clickwheel and a comics creator as well. Campbell has some fairly ambitious plans for electronic comics and wants to see more variety in webcomics. One of the points he doesn't dwell on much here is the implications for more traditional, print cartoonists of a potentially popular comics-viewing platform that bypasses print. And what about the need to bring already-existing print to these new platforms (laptops, PDAs, cellphones, PS2, etc)?

More. I want us to be doing more. I want better advances in the genres we web-folk explore regularly (gaming comics, techie fantasy) and the genres we don't (I'm looking at you, instructional comics). I want there to be a good place to find quality children's comics (I'm years past trusting the newspaper for that). I want people to be able to import comics scripts directly into word balloons. I want an excellent webcomic-- at least one-- that accurately portrays the Muslim experience in America (Applegeeks throws me a bone but only every once in a blue moon). I want cartoonists to understand better how to use digital tools to enhance their art. I want cartoonists to have more power. More. Better. More.

T Campbell's Blog: How Can I Help?