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

Tutorial: Word Balloons in Flash

Hope it helps!

The website has changed a few times over the years and with the latest change a few sections have been lost from sight. Though, they’re still around just a little broken. I’m talking about the old convention reports:

Link: Cad-Comic: Conventions Reports

The most recent date back to 2007 but they’re still relevant and the charm is still there. I also find them to be a good source of inspiration when trying to get charged up for making my own webcomics.

Tutorial: Line Art And Colouring In Flash

Let us know what you think, and be sure to check out the submitters webcomic, thanks!

Also, in other news, I updated the “About” section and changed it to “Mission Statement” which has been filled in.

Wednesdays are officially going to be new “Diamond In The Rough” article days and I’m going to be figuring out what articles should be posted on the other 6 — I’m considering a daily poll for “best of the week” strips for different genres of webcomics as well.

Let me know what you guys would to see on the site either in comments/email/twitter. Thanks!

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

Though, I’m looking to expand and build a resource for people interested in not just creating but promoting and finding new webcomics to read. So, a lot of the site, for example “Diamonds In The Rough” articles, will be all about spotlighting different webcomics and getting attention to where it is deserved.

However, I’m looking for people interested in adding the library that I too will be updating with articles. I wont just be leaching from people willing to donate materials to the cause.

If you are interested in submitting articles, drop me and email (under the contact link) and let me know who you are and what it’s about and I’ll see that its posted. Of course with proper credit and link backs.

Also, to those who are interested in reading and learning — what is it that you would like to see, what are you struggling with in the production of your webcomic or what are you just plain interested in. Comments or emails both work great.

Thanks!

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!

The series is going to include things like pursing original ideas, how to set up a proper/attractive layout for your comic, picking an art style, how to host your comic, etc, etc. The goal is to create a free and easy to access go-to guide about putting together and maintaining a webcomic.

The first article of the series can be found here:
Part One: Getting And Refining An Idea

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.