Back in the days when Matt Wilson was creating the webtoon series, Bonus Stage, he threw in a joke where the characters were getting excited about webcomics getting their own shows. The characters excitedly gab about Queen Of Wands and Penny Arcade.
Well, that day is finally upon us, as Axe Cop got the green light on Fox’s Saturday Night animation block. So, heroes, I bring the question to you: what other webcomic would make for a good animated series?
As an Apple zombie, it is my duty to inform you that the new iPad is out today. Continue to support the ill-treatment of Chinese factory workers by buying one today! The tablet is starting to stretch beyond its niche market as a toy for adults. According to BGR.com:
Global tablet sales into channels exploded in the second quarter of 2011 to surpass netbooks for the first time of the emerging category’s young history. Market research and intelligence firm ABI Research determined that shipments of media tablets ballooned 112.5% in the second quarter to reach 13.6 million units, up from 6.4 million tablets in the first quarter this year.
In the world of webcomics, though, it begs the question: which technological medium do you primarily prefer to read your comics on in the year of 2012?
The big news earlier this month was that Agatha Heterodyne of Girl Genius had finally stepped out of the castle… that castle that she had entered on February 2008. Unless Agatha locks herself back in the castle again, I’d say that this is the end of the arc.
Soooo… what did you think?
Last week, Scott Kurtz made some waves about how he was selling product placement in his comics. Pay a fee, and you get a mention in the illustrious PvP webcomic. (Details on his blog and at Comics Alliance.) Here’s Mr. Kurtz’s take on it:
And I asked myself, why *DO* I keep the strip off limits to advertising? I mention real products all the time. The PvP gang has played Dungeons and Dragons, gone to see every Star Wars film, quote Trek non-stop and choose Coke over Pepsi. I’m already doing it, I’m just not getting paid for it. And if you do it right, like in Mad Men, who would care? You know the dirty secret is that as comic strip creators, we’re really not supposed to mention actual products in our strips. That’s why when you watch reality TV, the producers go out of their way to cover up logos, and place gaffers tape across tee shirts. But we do it all the time and get away with it because as geeks, most of the products we mention are created by companies that “get it” and are excited to be a part of the culture at large. And the big corporations are…well…too big to notice. Or care.
So I started talking about it with my advertising guys. Mike and Jeff are smart cookies and they are very keen when it comes to navigating these unspoken relationships between creator, client and fan. We started to brainstorm and we decided that if we were to try something like this, a lot of things had to line up:
- The product would have to be something I believed in.
- The product had to be something I would comment on in PvP anyway.
- The client would have to be forward thinking, and geek savvy, and be able to poke fun at themselves.
- The client would have to understand that the inclusion of their company into the strip would have to serve the greater story or humor.
So what do you think, Webcomic Overlook readers? Savvy business decision, or selling out? Frankly, I’m not quite sure if Kurtz’s logic hold up here. It would be like the MST3K deciding that they’ve mentioned Smucker’s Jelly in their jokes so much that they deserve a sponsorship. In a way, it curtails the spontenaiety of the humor.
But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?
Alright, San Diego Comic-Con is upon us! On July 22, the Eisner Awards get handed out, including a heated battle for Best Digital Comic. I’ve already processed my predictions through the SugarShock-o-meter, but now I leave it up to you, the Webcomic Overlook readers.
Who walks away with the award this Friday, Friday, Gettin’ down on Friday, Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend…
(Ahem… sorry. Got Rebecca Black stuck in my head for a while.)
