Super Books

(Originally posted June 23, 2011)

“So let me get this straight, you actually won something off the internet?” This was my father’s response when I told him I had won a free comic book from Brock Heasley’s SuperFogeys 2011 Teaser contest. Dad’s pretty cautious about scam contests and internet ne’er-do-wells, but I was able to convince him that this one was legit. I entered the contest, which ran in late March/early April and I was one of two winners who walked off with an autographed copy of SuperFogeys Volume One. (The book actually arrived several weeks ago, but I haven’t had time to give it a decent write-up until now.)

Here's me with my book. I'm making my best Captain Spectacular face.

There’s an obvious question that follows webcartoonists who want to print their work: “Why would anyone pay for a book of comics that they can read them for free on the internet?” I can promise you that Brock rises to meet this marketing challenge. For starters, he’s got the basics covered. SuperFogeys is a nice full-color book full of clear, high resolution art work. But the book is also full of fantastic extras that you can’t find anywhere else. There are concept sketches, new original stories, artist commentary on every page, and even a little flipbook in the page corners. It’s a book that you can feel good about holding in your hands.

But my book is special. Brock took the time to hand-draw a character sketch on the inside cover and he did not slack off on it.

Brock's sketch of the villainous Dr. Rocket with Harvey the Science Rabbit.

It’s a good book and a good example of how webcomics can successfully make the jump from digital to print.

And by the way, don’t let me say that I never win at anything.

-Marj

Spring Cleaning

(Originally posted Mar. 31, 2011)

Right now, I'm trying to tied up any loose ends before I start pushing on the Draconis project again. I've made some nice little changes to the site that I've been thinking about for a while. I've cleaned up the site banner and the links. Plus there's some new comic banners on the Urban Underbrush page and the Draconis Wicked page.

In my efforts to make improvements, I've broken one of the webcartoonist rules. Webcartoonists are often told not to go back and make adjustments to old work. It takes time and energy that should be devoted to new stuff. But there's been something bothersome about my old comics that was pretty easy to correct, the dingy backgrounds. When I switched the comics to color, I wanted to keep the background in shades of gray. This would make the characters look more vibrant by contrast. It might have worked if I was using a different art style, but it turns out that this comic looks better with colorful backgrounds. Plus, when I was working on the Grass Roots Blueprints it occurred to me that if all of the former residents were hippies and artists, then I would have an excuse to color all my walls in bright, uncommon colors. In fact, it would be wrong not to have a weird paint job. I started showing hallways with purple walls around comic #45. recently, I've gone back and "corrected" all of the backgrounds in the comics that came before #45, so the story has a consistent look, which should make it easier on new readers.

Old Version

New Version

I'm probably going to continue making improvements to the backgrounds in the new comics, but I don't plan on going back and changing any of the old work again, unless I ever need to make changes for a print version.

Also...

As you may remember, last week I ran the ad for Brock Heasley/Marc Lapierre's webcomic, The SuperFogeys. Well, it turns out that I won a free autographed comic book from their big give away. So I think I'm just gonna let that poster stay up for another week.

-Marj

Advertisement (Read it Anyway)

(Originally posted Mar. 24, 2011)

Anyone remember last January when I drew a guest comic for Brock Heasley's SuperFogeys? Well, the Fogeys have adopted a new lead artist (the talented Marc Lapierre) and they are adding an extra update to the weekly schedule. The Fogey crew has asked fans and colleagues to spread the word about the new and improved webcomic. So who am I to turn them down? Visit them here.

So enjoy the comics that remind you to never truly grow old...because when you do, you might get stuck in a rest home full of super villains and giant robots. That's a life lesson I can get behind.

-Marj

Super Guest Art (On Another Site)

(Originally posted Jan. 7, 2011)

My guest comic is up and running on The SuperFogeys right now. Be warned, I've been reading SuperFogeys for a few years now and my guest comic is nothing but inside jokes and spoilers.

If you want to read SuperFogeys from the beginning first, click Here.

If you want to go directly to my comic, click Here.

If you really don't want to do either, don't click anything.

Warning: The fogey story starts off with some simple gags, then slowly turns into a more complex tale of suspense and intrigue. Don't get turned off by it's humble beginning.

-Marj