Daily Archives: February 10, 2010

Metapost: a quick word on review requests

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El Santo here.

Thanks for everyone who’s been submitting their webcomics for review. Please keep doing so. Out of the last seven reviews I’ve done, 3 have been requests from the webcomic creator themselves. Two of my scheduled ones, too, are also creator requests. At least one of the requests I received today via e-mail seems interesting enough to put on my shortlist of “potentials.”

I’ve been getting two to three requests a day for several months now, and unfortunately, I won’t be able to get to all of them. At a pace of only doing one or two reviews a week, I hardly have enough time to cover them all.

Despite that, keep sending in your review requests. I’ve encountered and glimpsed many different kinds of interesting webcomics thanks to your submittals. I typically pick the ones that for some reason pique my interest (they make writing reviews much, much easier and more relevant). Please don’t take it the wrong way if your webcomic is not one of the ones picked to be reviewed on this site.

Also, when sending a review request, please use my e-mail (which can be arrived by clicking on the handsome icon on the right sidebar).

Celebrate Heart Health Month with Be The Beat and the Snowflakes webcomic

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Did you know that February, in addition to being several other things (like East Coast Blizzard Month) is Heart Health Month? Well, you do now!

I got an e-mail asking if I could help promote “Be The Beat” on this site. I was happy to oblige.

“Be the Beat” offers many activities to help teens to become prepared in cardiac arrest situations. However, one of the most interesting additions, at least with relation to the media that this site specialized in, are all-new pages of the Snowflakes webcomic. (Incidentally, I can’t link to the strips of “Be The Beat” directly due to the entire “Be The Beat” site being in Flash).

Here’s the official press release:

LOS ANGELES, Feb 10, 2010 — The creators of Snowflakes, a web-based comic strip, are collaborating with the American Heart Association to promote the Be the Beat cardiac arrest awareness campaign to teens and tweens.

James Ashby, Chris Jones and Zach Weiner developed a 20-part series that incorporates a storyline about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and highlights the Be the Beat campaign. The series began Monday, Dec. 14, and will run on Mondays and Fridays until February.

“The opportunity to use our humor and storytelling to promote a great cause was impossible to pass up,” Weiner said.

Be the Beat teaches 12- to 15-year-olds fun ways to learn the basics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). The Be the Beat website features video games, interactive quizzes and 100-beat-per-minute songs to help teach teens and tweens what to do if someone collapses in sudden cardiac arrest.

“Snowflakes has a quirky and fun appeal to reach teens and tweens with Be the Beat’s lifesaving messages.” said Michael Sayre, M.D., chair of the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee. “We hope to encourage more teens to become the next generation of lifesavers.”

According to the American Heart Association, during a cardiac arrest, the heart suddenly stops beating normally and the victim collapses into unconsciousness. Oxygen-rich blood stops circulating. Without quick action, such as immediate CPR, a victim of cardiac arrest can die within four to six minutes. By increasing the number of people who know how to respond properly to sudden cardiac arrest, Be the Beat will help increase the odds of bystander CPR and AED use and give more cardiac arrest victims a better chance at life.

Snowflakes is a family-friendly comic strip about a small orphanage high in the mountains, filled with imaginative, smart, and unusual kids. Three times a week, readers get to find out about the humor, adventure, and intrigue that goes on in the complex world of 8 to 15 year old kids. To find out more about Snowflakes, visit www.snowflakescomic.com

Do some of those names sound familiar? Chris Jones is the accomplished artist behind Grumps and Captain Excelsior, while Zach Wiener is the wickedly humorous fella behind Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and also works with Chris on Captain Excelsior. (Ashby, the main plotter, has had no previous experience with webcomics, but is a screenwriter and playwright.)

Heck of a pedigree, and heck of a good cause.