Top Shelf 2.0
Top Shelf sent out an e-mail announcing “Top Shelf 2.0,” a new webcomics site and digital anthology.
From the release:
We’ll update with a new story every weekday! Sometimes a standalone
short story, sometimes a new chapter in an ongoing serial, sometimes a
great story from the Top Shelf Webcomics archive… but always something
different! It’s all free and all on TopShelfComix.com!
What kind of material can you expect? Well, just for starters, there’s:
– The haunting avant-garde imagery of Bart Johnson and Ben Constantine,
– The globe-spanning high-kicking funkadelic fury of Kagan McCloud,
serializing his indie classic Infinite Kung-Fu in preparation for the
collected edition to be published by Top Shelf in 2009,
– A really stunning painted fable by John C. Ralston,
– Jed McGowen working his color wizardry with a beautifully limited palette,
– The freewheelin’ mythic imagination of the inimitable Bernie McGovern,
– A couple young artists whose energy and charm practically shines from
every panel of their cartoony adventures, Chris “Elio” Eliopoulos and
Michael DeForge,
– The monumental TENTH 24-hour comic by the master of the form, David
Chelsea (his new book 24×2 is on sale now from Top Shelf),
– An inky poetic parable from young Slovenian prodigy Domen Finzgar,
– A Japan-flavored short from Belgian brush-master Stedho,
– The brilliant wit and charm of notable webcomickers Jessica McLeod and
Edward J Grug III,
– Plus Aaron Navrady, Jeff Zwirek, Steve Lafler, Lizz Luney, Sean T.
Collins, Matt Wiegle, Matt Rota, Nik Daum, Will Dinski, Willow Dawson,
Emily Block, and many more to be revealed as we keep rolling!
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/comix.php
“Beanworld” returns from Dark Horse Comics
Classic 1980s indy comic “Beanworld” returns in 2009 from Dark Horse. Dark Horse will present Beanworld as a series of affordable graphic novels collecting all existing Beanworld stories, with new material to follow in the same format.
The first new graphic novel will be titled ”Remember Here When You Are There!” Dark Horse also plans a Beanworld webcomic for this fall, with a full color Beanworld comic book to follow this winter.
“Beanworld is about the affinity of life. It’s like ‘A Bugs Life’ meets ‘Mutts,’ as told by Dr. Seuss & Joseph Campbell,” said series creator Larry Marder in a release. “It’s a weird fantasy dimension that operates under its own rules and laws, but also reflects deep truths about our world in doing so. All the characters, whether they are friends or adversaries, understand that ultimately they depend on each other for survival. Beanworld isn’t a place, it’s a process, and I can’t wait to share that process with a new generation of readers!
“When Beanworld was first published, many people said it was ahead of its time,” Marder says. “Looking at today’s world raised on Pixar, Cartoon Network, and manga, I think it’s fair to say that Beanworld’s time has come. I’m looking forward to working closely with the team at Dark Horse to introduce the Beanworld to this comics-literate world!”
Bartlesville artist competes for comics contract
It’s the comics version of “American Idol.” And Bartlesville artist Rudy Guara brings his comic, “Children of Bighand,” to the competition this month.
DC Comics, the second-largest publisher of comic books in America, seeks fresh talent via the Web site www.zuda.com. Monthly since December, Zuda has thrown several Web comics into competition with one another, with the winner receiving a contract.
“Getting paid to be on the Zuda Web site is going to be my first professional gig,” Guara said in a telephone interview. Guara is the writer and artist for “Children of Bighand.”Starting this week, “Children of Bighand” is available to read for free at www.zuda.com. The competition runs through May 30. For Guara to win, he must receive more online votes than the other properties. “Children of Bighand” stars BH, Cutie Pie and Cankles, the hybrid children of a giant, intelligent monster ape and a human mother.
“One of them has an extremely large head, another has gigantic arms, and the third has really huge feet – but when they stack up they make one mega-sized ape with unique fighting abilities,” Guara said. This is Guara’s second attempt at submitting to Zuda — his first attempt was rejected, but that just motivated him to try again.To read Guara’s comic, go to zuda.com. To vote for Guara, register at zuda.com and place a vote for “Children of Bighand.”
