Sorry, got turned away at Expo and wandered off for a while. So digging back into my TCAF bag of tricks I came across a flyer for Otto the Odd and the Dragon King. An intriguing title and very nice looking artwork so off I go. (more…)

One of the most awesome things about webcomics is all it really takes to make one is the decision to make one. Then you set yourself up with a website and start posting. Oh I know this is also seen as one of the worst things about webcomics, but I’m trying to bring you good stuff here. (more…)

I met Diana Nock at TCAF. Sadly, it was late on the second day and I was pretty much spent out. But she offered to take my last cash for a copy of her first collection of The Intrpeid GirlBot and I’m very glad she did. (more…)

I’m not sure Project is the right term for this comic. I think Enterprise Ballad might be more fitting because this seems like something big. Really big. So big that in everything so far presented I can’t even begin to get a handle on just what this project is about. (more…)

Bear Nuts is wrong.

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We’re going back this week. Back in a retro sense, but also a bit of history.

John MacLeod’s Space Kid is a throwback. And a self-aware one at that. If you enjoy 50?s science fiction, Astro Boy or rocket ships and ray guns, then you are gonna love Space Kid. The titular hero is as advertised. A sci-fi hero kid. A pre-teen saving the galaxy from pirate , robots and aliens. It’s one of those kid friendly stories that adults love as well. (more…)

This time we’re going out of this world. While at Wizard World I ran into Stephen Daymond whose work I had noticed before but hadn’t followed up on.Specimen B28 is a little bit 70?s UFO culture, a little bit Tripping the Rift and a bit Douglas Adams, all wrapped up in a package reminiscent of old Nelvana movies. (more…)

So an area I haven’t wandered into is webcomics doing what print comics have all sealed up. Superheroes. It’s a tough area, when you have a whole industry that is focused in on that one genre. You are putting yourself out there up against work that is done by very talented professionals who do this for a living. And anyone doing a superhero webcomic  is quite probably doing it with an eye to making the switchover to ACTUALLY drawing their favourite hero. It’s like an audition piece. With that in mind, let’s take a look at Vengador.

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On Sunday my walkabout took me to the Toronto Wizard World show. A bit barren, but I did stumble across a few new finds. My first was one I was aware of before attending, but pleasantly pleased to find and get a chance to chat with. Boum, or Samantha Leriche-Gionet is a 27-ish freelance filmmaker, animator and illustrator who lives and works in Montreal, Canada. She is also very friendly and seems to have really weird dreams.

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Buffy and or say X-Files might be the best comparison for Spare Keys for Strange Doors. Or maybe Lost Girl if you know it. Toby Hathaway and Marion Sark are professional supernatural problem solvers. (more…)

And now it’s time for a trip down the rabbit hole, over the rainbow and through the wardrobe. At least, if you happen to be named Alice, Dorothy or Peter. In that case, you may be a namesake.

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And now for something demonic.
And pink.
Of course, those might be mutually inclusive.

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In honour of her new book Friends with Boys arriving last week, I thought we should have a look at one of Faith Erin Hicks’ other comic works. A quickly rising star, Faith cut her comic teeth in the webcomic world, starting with her long running Demonology 101 and followed by a series of other stories and now a number of graphic novels. Her new book was even put up online, page by page as a lead up to the books release. (The first 20 pages are still available as a teaser) (more…)

Will they won’t they, the corporate world oh yeah, and something dark. Like monsters and murderous dreams dark.

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Quick read for you this week. We’re going to take a tour of the sculptures ofRichmond Virginia as seen through the eyes of Bizhan Khodabandeh. Wait, I thought this was a webcomic column you say. Well it is, because every Sunday Bizhan takes one of the sculptures in Richmond and lets his mind dream up something fun to do with it, or for it to do.

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Another week, another stroll out in the wilds of webcomics. Time for a walkabout. Okay, it’s gonna get a little weird this time.

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This weeks walkabout was a hat trick of webcomics goodness from one person.

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Don Ahe has created something truly charming. Road Apples Almanac is like a trip to the past. Visually striking chords of Herriman’s Krazy Kat, feeling like something out of a time when comic strips were a selling feature for newspapers, it yet somehow doesn’t feel dated or stodgy. Maybe it’s the surfer lions. Or the candy machine in the pasture. The talking trees are a mystery.

Aldous is a farmer. We’re just starting to learn the extent of his former life, but now he leaves a mostly peaceful life with Shep the dog, (Shark Dog?) and Doc, the rooster who plots to kill him. There’s also a pair of sheep who take great pleasure in poo flinging. The strip varies in length and composition, sometimes a three or four panel strip, other times multitiered. There are some one-off gags, but by and large it’s ambling stories like the aforementioned poo flinging or the current story of Aldous’ early years. And there’s the Switch, the story from 5 years earlier when they were the superheroes Dark Ink and Shark Dog. Yeah.

The humour is light, although at times sarcastic or wry. There’s a certain contemplative or philosophical tone at times, like the more thoughtful of Calvin and Hobbes strips. Don is aware of his influences, making nods to not only Herriman, but also Windsor McCay and perhaps Escher. The strip is primarily black and white, but he intersperses colour now and then.

Don’s art itself is confident. It’s not slick by any means, but it has a rough edge of somebody who doesn’t second guess each mark. And at times, those scratchy little lines, or the watery colours are truly beautiful.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to Don at a small local con last year, and he is much like his strip. Welcoming and neighbourly with a humour that sits lightly and delivered with a deft hand. The strip is called Road Apples, but the journey is pleasant.