Today, Brian Clevinger (8 Bit Theater & Atomic Robo) posted (via twitter) this, as an addition to his argument:

There are ~3,794,101 sq mi in the United States. There are ~3,000 comic book shops. That’s one shop per ~1,264 sq mi. This ignores that most cities have multiple shops. Which just makes the math worse in non-urban areas.

Digital comics distribution isn’t a replacement for LCBS. It’s an option for people who didn’t really have one before (mail order can be iffy). If you have a great local shop, by all means, SUPPORT THAT BASTARD. Great comic stores are gems and valuable parts of their communities.

Not to mention other places like…the rest of the world. Availability is what will keep the comic industry strong and possibly grow into new areas.

As far as Webcartoonists.com is concerned, the move of comics to a digital format is the natural progression. Especially when large amounts of retailing has already made the move to the web. Anything you want is available online…why shouldn’t your comics be too?

Cash for Cartoonists is written by DJ Coffman and is an intermediate level guide, assuming that most pros will already know these things, to making more money from your artistic abilities. I’ve been meaning to write this review for about a week. Oddly enough, as a wannabe writer, I actually quite dislike words, which I assure you C4C has no shortage of. So it took me a while.

The eBook itself is about 24 pages that covers 15 different sources of potential revenue for you as a freelance cartoonist/illustrator. It also covers topics like prepairing yourself with proper equipment, information, and how to approach potential clients.

The book is targeted at people on my level of experience and knowledge of the cartooning/illustrating industry. So, I can say first hand that I learned a thing or two that honestly got me thinking about why I haven’t been doing some of these things all along.

You can find out more about the eBook here where you can also watch an introduction video from DJ himself here:

Link: http://www.djcoffman.com/cash4cartoonists/

YAFGC, the popular Dungeons and Dragons parody webcomic, is now in its fifth year of daily updates. Starting with a chance encounter between Gren the Goblin and Bob the Beholder, this free-wheeling satire pokes gentle fun at the fantasy and gaming tropes we hold so dear.

Written and drawn by Emmy-award-winning Canadian animator Rich Morris, creator of The Ten Doctors (http://comics.shipsinker.com) and other graphic novels, YAFGC’s cheeky humour is best suited for an over-13 audience.

For more information, please visit Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic at: http://yafgc.net
Retail Distribution: http://www.comicsmonkey.com

Publisher: Seamchecker Enterprises
Format: Trade Paperback Graphic Novel (black and white interiors)
Length: 220 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9866184-0-6
ComicsMonkey Order Code (retail distribution): [2824_45847]
Publication date: July 1, 2010

Website: http://parasitepublishing.com/wordpress

Nature and humans have taken their toll on the planet, the world we know is gone. In a city above the clouds, harbouring the last technologically advanced civilization on the planet, the story begins. Sophia Awakening is an Epic Sci-fi Drama that follows the story of Sophia, a sentient artificial intelligence that has been uploaded into a human body.

The Good:

The artwork is full colour pages in, what feels to be, a mix between a western and lightly manga inspired style. In the earlier books (1-2) the art seemed to have a little trouble staying on character model which lead to a bit of a difficult read it but it has cleaned up a large amount by the end of Volume #1. The flow of the artwork has also been greatly improved in the 4th book.

I’m just going to jump directly to saying that the story really finds its groove in book four. That’s not me saying that the first three aren’t interesting just that they are your typical plot establishing and character introduction books. It’s not until the fourth book where you get a better understanding of the world and the crooked politics that are taking place within it.

The Bad:

My first run in with this comic was through a link on TWCL that directed me to a Drunk Duck page. This page is a mangled wreck and didn’t make it very easy to navigate the pages but luckily the comic is also hosted on a decently polished WordPress/ComicPress site. The only thing that I didn’t like about the site is that it has a splash page before entering that is of little to no use.

If you’re into Sci-fi then it’s definitely worth checking out.

Rating: 7/10

Latest: http://battlegate.com
First Comic: http://tinyurl.com/battlegatestart

Battlegate is an anime that takes place in a medieval fantasy setting with supernatural twists. The story follows the Lt. Marcko Paolo who’s forced to “babysit” a troubled teenager named Hugo. During their adventures, Marcko begins to discover the true nature of Hugo’s dark past and learns the world around him is a lot more corrupt then he thought.

The Good:
Battlegate is beautifully drawn and the panels are very well directed. There is significant improvement in the art over the course of the story. The coloring is also enough to make me jealous. The story is solid and keeps you interested from start to finish, something lacking in most webcomics.

The Bad:
There is only two things that come to mind but nothing that couldn’t easily be fixed. The first is a black and white stint in chapter four that kind of throws you off while reading because you are use to the rich coloring at this point. The second is no navigation arrows below the comic page, so you have to scroll back up to keep reading. Like I said, nothing too bad at all.

Rating: 8.5/10

Go check it out!

I figured I’d put together a short list of reasons why you should take part.

1) There’s nothing like a communal event to get the mind runnin’.

2) As an event its a great excuse to justify time spent on your project on a national level.

3) It’s a great way to get ahead on your buffer or even just for developing the story behind your comic. This gives you more time to work on artwork at later dates or to spend the saved time on other writing projects.

4) For the people who normally create time restraint free, it’s a good time to experiment with a deadline.

5) As a webcartoonist you’ll find a much greater benefit from participating in this event then most novelists will because, honestly, the work you do in the month of November will yield far higher and immediate returns. You are creating product that you will publish yourself and not sending it off to publishers hoping to get published. You’re work will be seen while the majority of projects produced novelists will not.

Just something to think about.