BetaPwned Re-launches February 1^st.  New look…New content…New cast members…New task-master.

Drop by to see the hi-jinx of Jeanine and the wacky cast of characters in the BetaPwned family…(I don’t believe I actually said that…Tanya’s going to kill me)  Tell your friends…Tell your family…Tell the world

Go to http://www.BetaPwned.com February 1^st and I promise to re-stabilize the economy, balance the budget and end global warming…if you don’t…….MUWHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Oh yes, kiddies! There's a new webcast on the block, presented by Fes and yours truly, and it's giving out candy!

Okay... there's no candy - but in this episode there is advice! Specifically, advice for any of you that may be thinking about starting your own webcomic. Also - the hillarious Brett Hainley chimes in with some Casual Ramblings, Fes and I interview the very talented Jonathon Dalton, and review both Abstract Gender and Planet Saturday.

The Webcomic Beacon will be coming at you weekly and is proudly hosted by Xepher.net.

At 12 noon, Mountain Time, Squidworks began their 24 hour journey - oh, yes, fellows, the 24 Hour Comic Challenge is upon us.

I'll try to take time out now and again to give you all some idea of how I, and everyone else, are progressing.  After all, half the fun of madness lies in the sharing.  So far, four hours in, I have my panel layout complete as well as the shell of a script, and I've begun drawing the various components of the characters.  I'll be saving the full script writing for around midnight when my writer's brain usually kicks in, and save the backgrounds until right before I drop the elements into the panels.

Looking around the table there are some amazing comics in the works.  Lonnie allen and Tim Winkleman are producing some seriously professional looking works - talented bastards.  On the young new artists front - we have birthday boy Sean joining the fray who's doing an awesome job entirely in ink.

Okay - back to the grindstone!  *waves*

UPDATE - The 12th hour of the challenge is fast approaching and I'm feeling a little hectic.  I've been plagued by computer issues that have cost me at least a couple of hours, not terribly good.  I still have faith that I'll be able to complete all 24 pages.  Speaking of which - I finally realized that I forgot to tell you all the premise I was handed upon entering the challenge today "The King of the Lizards rides a rocket to Mars!"  Oh yes... we have a lizard king space oddesy in the works.  Not necessarily a good one, but an oddesy none-the-less.

Okay... back to work!

UPDATE - Hrm... 10 hours and 45 minutes left.  How do you spell "potential for failure"?

Nah... I still have hope. I'm half way through the first page.  Wait... did that sound as though I should still have hope? It's better than it sounds, really.

UPDATE - It's nearly 5:30 in the morning... I've come to the conclusion that "noble failure" may be my only honorable option.  It's either that or all my characters need to be swallowed by a random snow storm... and that seems an unlikely occurance in space.  I'm still plugging away though.

FINAL UPDATE - I rode out the entire 24 hour challenge, but I have to say the comic isn't finished. I'll be going for the second honorable failure option - I will, in fact, finish the comic as soon as I can move again.  My body certainly failed me and I'm going to be on the mend for at least the next three days.  I'm fairly sure I'm going to be able to get out of bed tomorrow... yeah, pretty sure.  *laughs*

All-in-all, this was a great experience and I'm looking forward to trying again next year.  I think I've learned a few things from the experience and I'll be doing things differently.  Look for the completed comic soon!

t

Yeah... I've been a little flaky lately, and I feel it's only right I let those of you kind enough to stick with me in on what's going on.

Sounds like the beginning of something horribly tragic doesn't it?  *laughs*

No worries.  Life is good.  In fact, life is so good I haven't really had the time or energy to dedicate myself to one thing at a time.  I'm still getting the hang of this convention thing, but I'll get a bit of a rest once October packs it's bags.  October 20-21 marks the annual 24-Hour Comic challenge, and I'll be participating along side my favorite group of creative crazies, the Squidworks gang, at Enchanted Grounds in Highlands Ranch, CO.  The following weekend, October 26-28, is MileHi Con - a smaller, literary convention where I'll be putting my cosplay skills to use for the first time in years as well as (hopefully) auctioning off some original sculpture.

On the comic front, I'll be getting back into story arcs here shortly - integrating some fantasy elements to help glaze some real-life events and bringing in two new characters; one very loosely based on a conglomeration of three people and some neurosis, the other one complete fantasy (at least in the space outside my own head).  Also on the comic front is a new project - a series of print comics I'll be creating with the help of my very talented brother.  It's a fantasy/mystery that's going to take a fair bit of work - the cartoonish style I've developed just won't work for this story, so I'm going to have to spend a fair amount of time learning to draw in another style.  If all goes well, the series will be pulled together as a trade paperback once it's complete.

Lastly - I'm working on making some improvements to the site so if there's anything you feel is missing, now is the time to let me know. 

So.  There's that.  Stick with me, it's getting better.  *smiles*

t

First of all, I would like to thank those of you that showed up at 9am on a Sunday morning to attend our Launching a Webcomic panel.  We appreciated having an audience to yap at.

We mentioned quite a few sites during our presentation, here are the links:

Squidworks - the Denver creator collective that Stan, Al, and I are part of.

Stan Yan's site - Tickle Tape is immediately featured, contains links to other works.

Webcomics Nation - One of the free/pay comic hosting sites that was mentioned.

Comic Genesis - The other free/pay comic hosting site that was mentioned.  Formerly known as Keenspace.

Smack Jeeves and Drunk Duck are two free/pay comic hosting sites that weren't mented, but are still pretty decent.

Comic Space - Like MySpace for comic creators and fans.  You can also host comics here.

Live Journal - A few webcomics publish on Live Journal.  Mostly used for blogging.

The Web Comic List - Not only a place to list your comic, it also hosts and excellent forum.

Hyatt Art - A Community forum for comic creators and fans.

Project Wonderful - Auction based internet ad space.

HTML Kit - HTML based web design software.

W3 Schools - Excellent HTML and CSS tutorials and information.

Please let me know if I've left anything off - otherwise, get creating!

t

Then I changed my mind.

Unfortunately for stressed out reviewers, Achewood doesn't exactly present itself in such a way that you can outline the content in four or five neat paragraphs.  Though there are clear plot lines, there's also this callous and unrelenting disregard for sanity.  In the midst of a storyline regarding Philippe's bid for the presidency, for example, Ray finds a talking shoe with a dysfunctional family and a penchant for stocks.  I mean, damn... the whole storyline was wacky hilarity, but how do you summarize that?  Clearly, there's just no point in trying.

I have one last thing to say for Achewood.  It's fucking addictive.  This review took me 4 hours to write.  4 fucking hours. It's not even a good review.  It's aimless and rambling.  It is, however, well researched.  Yes - you got a crappy review because I spent 4 hours reading through the archives.  Archives I've already read.  Twice.

I love you Achewood... I really, really do.  I cannot, however, finish the review tonight, just can't be done. 

See... I've got this really big thing happening this Friday, at least it's supposed to, but I'm REALLY behind.  I have a lot of work ahead of me, and not a lot of time.  As such, there will be no Wednesday Webcomic Weview tomorrow.  I suck, and I'm sorry.

Achewood, or more likely to be reading this - fans of Achewood, take heart.  Achewood will be reveiwed next Wednesday.  It will be reviewed in the splendor and majesty it deserves.  This review will be clothed in glory, I tell you... glory.

Okay, maybe that's a bit much.  I'll just say this - the review won't appear here on MySpace, and it's readership may be a bit more far reaching.  Again, I apologize.  Next week, I promise.

t

A simple truism identifies this week's webcomic - There's Always Porn. (NSFW) Yes, it's yet another adult oriented comic, so I recommend the kiddos run off and read Mr. Moo's Day Out.  It has pretty colors, aliens, you actually get to turn the pages just like a print comic, and I like it quite a bit.

Written by the prolific and talented, Wiz Rollins, and drawn by the mysterious Bob Sugar, There's Always Porn isn't exactly a newbie effort.  Rollins' credits would take up more space than the review and a perusal of his ComicSpace page is certainly worth the time.  Sugar however, won't pop up on a search beyond this project, though there are certainly rumors that he's a known artist working under an alias.  I'll not be a monger, though, and instead will allow you to draw your own conclusions.  No, that's not a hint for the conspiracy nits.

The comic is fairly new, having started in January this year, but it's off to a good start.  They did manage to time a stint of guest strips to coincide with this review - but the talent they attracted is a good indication of the comic's jovial quality.  It's true, the premise hasn't been new since the 70's, but TAP brings forth scenarios Oscar and Felix would have never explored.

Possibly the first thing that should be mentioned is that the comic itself is not, in fact, porn.  Porn is discussed, porn is depicted, but porn is not created with the comic.  In the comic, yes, but not with it.  Also, while content may occasionally be shocking to some, it's clearly not intended as a shock-a-day gross out.  I'll admit that I may be ill suited to making such judgements, but I've not run across anything in the comic I wasn't previously aware of and okay with.  No, they're angling for laughs not gasps, and they get those laughs by presenting their material in such a casual fashion.  The vernacular isn't annoyingly cloy, nor is it medically cold, it's comfortable - and that's important to maintaining a realistic feel.

The artwork is stylistic and cartoonish, pairing nicely with the writing.  Body postures and angles are accurately portrayed, and with this comic that must be a bit of a challenge from time to time.  Facial expressions are varied and carry emotion well, as does the coloring where mood is sometimes expressed rather subtly in the backgrounds and shading.  I especially enjoy the details in clothing, backgrounds and props.

Certainly for mature audiences, and not exactly safe for work, There's Always Porn is a crowd pleaser.  Favorite line - "I'm pretty sure that would turn my vagina into an almost impossibly dense singularity."