T Campbell's Blog

First things first. I don't know what this is about, but I know that Maritza Campos does not cry wolf, so keep an eye out for her.

Second: I have TWO articles about comics up this week. For the cartoonist in training who wants to give us some action, here's How to Make Action Move, Part One. And for those who want a really, reeeeeeeeeeeeeally in-depth discussion of early webcomics creators, The Artistic History of Webcomics, Part One.

Also, I see that the Penny Arcaders, especially Gabe, had a less than pleasant encounter with Harlan Ellison. I owe both parties for their kindnesses to me, but this nevertheless seems like a plausible story. Harlan has a THING about points of classical education, he proudly calls himself an elitist, and he's not shy about confrontation. I just hate to see people toward whom I feel friendly setting up hostilities.

My computer memory issues, it seems, are not fully behind me, which is slowing down critical activities. I had to type out some URLs in this post by hand just to be sure I could finish it before my browser started acting up. Dave, my Meanwhile buddy, is helpin' me out here, so this should be good in a day or two.

SPX! SPX was a lot of fun, though every year I treat conventions more and more as a tax write-off than a sales venue. That may change next year once I get some big-ticket items to sell, but Alexander, Bryant and I would have been lucky to make back our investment on the table in pure sales (ignoring the sunk costs of printing and production).

Still, we had some nice conversations, I got to talk a lot with the great Ryan North, Dave and Raina are as cute in person as in comics, Ryan Estrada is surprisingly retiring, and Harvey Pekar is hilarious, pretty much just what you'd expect from the movie. His Ignatz speech began with "Wow, a standing ovation!" and ended with "Okay... That's it."

I was a terrible amnesiac. I mixed up names, forgot faces... failed to recognize Meredith Gran whom I'd met and hired a couple years earlier, mistook John Green for Dave Roman-- I was terrible, and I know it's only gonna get worse in years to come as I accumulate more people whom I only see once or twice a year if that. Sorry about that, folks.

During the Ignatzes (a lively affair, thanks to Keith Knight's liberal use of tequila) I was telling Alexander about a previous year's speech by Frank Miller and described it as a "you-had-to-be-there thing." I think SPX in general is a you-had-to-be-there thing. You'd think it'd be depressing, all these self-confessed "little guys" setting up their lemonade stands and essentially selling to each other or to people who want tables next year, but it's uplifting. The removal of impersonal work (DC, Marvel, Archie, most imports) means that most of the comics you see are embodiments of the people behind the tables. The dealers' rooms are a reflection of a society, not an industry or "industry."

Cool stuff.

Tomorrow or the next day: some more personal reflections. Right now: to work...

Finishing The History had the unexpected side effect of tying up most of my memory, so I had to spend a day freeing that up, and then the juggling act got extra demanding for a while. And I have so much to tell you about...

But let's stick to the top-priority items for now. I have two related items, both of which mean new opportunities for webcartoonists. But the second item isn't quite ready for public dissemination, so let's go with the first.

Item One: In the coming months, Graphic Smash will run a limited number of advertiser-supported free comics. Financially, this is our response to a changing marketplace. Remember when online ad rates were in free fall? Yeah, now they're not. The subscription model has been good to us for the last two years, but the smart money in webcomics right now is diversifying.

Creatively, this is a way toward my goal for GS. I want to be able to call this site, without reservation, "The Best Action Comics on the Web." I can't do that yet. I'm proud of the strips we have, but our subscription model has kept us from the strips I want. No longer.

Joey and I are still figuring out some of how this is going to work, but if you want to submit me your action comic, be it free or subscriber, there is no better time to do it than now. My usual submission rules apply: a summary of your strip, and either three samples or a URL where I can read three samples or more. If I haven't heard of you I'm going to have a limited time to decide, so don't be shy! Put your best foot forward!

Hope to hear from you. Tomorrow or sooner, a belated SPX report.

My apologies to those who I've neglected to be in touch with for the last few days. Long story short: The History of Webcomics. Long story slightly longer: The History of Webcomics turned out to need considerably more last-minute work in the formatting department than I expected. This project has... done things to me. I've gone on four hours of sleep several nights in a row, with only two meals per day, and I'm still recovering from that. But I think... I think it might actually be pretty much comple--

(Don't jinx it.)

I guess when I see Xaviar and Alexander I can get them to look it over. And I guess we'll find out today if I'm still capable of normal human interaction. Maybe I'll see you there.

More info coming soon. Also coming soon: a big change to Graphic Smash. Seriously.

My five-day trip (long post! Beware):

Met up with Daddy at Baltimore-Washington International and went on from there. My father and I have a great relationship-- we share so many common interests and have very similar approaches to life. It's almost like we're the same age sometimes.

Got down to Granddaddy's old house in time to determine the security system wasn't working. Granddaddy passed eleven years ago, but Daddy and his sisters have a lot of fond memories tied up in that place and get back every so often.

In all, we spent a couple of days cleaning up: raking leaves, clearing dead trees and branches, and vacuuming, vacuuming, vacuuming as many dusty, cobwebbed corners of the house as I could find. But Yazoo City was pretty far north and didn't take much damage. (Boy, talk about a town that looks better on its Website than in real life.)

The real disaster zone (well, that we saw) was further south, in Pascagoula. The whole town still smells like a mudpie, garbage is in front of almost every house, and the houses on the coast are almost completely destroyed. I made fun of Bush for talking about rebuilding Trent Lott's place while New Orleans was still drowning, but I have to admit its ruin is impressive. Daddy calls it "the Lott lot." There are a few bricks left, nothing more.

The one-man lawsuit machine Richard "Dickie" Scruggs also got his home demolished, which gives Aunt Mary Bet hope of actually seeing some money from her hurricane insurance. (Short version: insurers are making a fine distinction between "hurricane damage" and "flood damage" even though the hurricane *caused* the flooding. So we don't CALL it flooding any more, we call it "wind-driven water." If anyone can get them to pay up, Scruggs can.)

Mary Bet was in good spirits. The bottom floor of her house except her garage was almost destroyed, but not quite-- the structure remains. "It gives me an excuse to remodel," she says. "I kind of like it more open." Mary Bet lost her husband five years ago but her daughters still live close by and she seemed to draw strength from her family's presence.

I spent another day and a half at Mary Bet's-- vacuuming. "Find a need and fill it," that's me. Actually, it was kind of important. The real challenge these Mississippi homes face, the ones still standing anyway, is mold and mildew. Pascagoula practically invented humidity. So all the corners had to be clear of drywall and dust, as much as possible. Thirsty work without air conditioning-- we must have drunk a gallon of water each day.

Caught up with a lot of cousins and relatives I haven't seen in years-- looked at Mary Bet's new paintings, went out to a bar with Thomas and Larkin, discussed Thomas's ambitions in film, heard about Julian's new ministry, and appraised Rich's comic book collection. (He has a couple of single-digit Lee-Kirby-Ditko issues, so my appraisal was "yeah, valuable.")

Saw Bush's address with Colleen and Daddy. I was prepared to restrain my liberal views, considering where I was, but I was quite surprised to hear Bush sounding like a Clinton Democrat, throwing relief programs left and right. Will it help him politically? I sort of hope it does-- I'm no fan of Bush, but I want to see good behavior rewarded. How else will they learn?

Daddy and I discovered MRE main courses are actually pretty tasty. At least the ones we had were. I recommend the beef teriyaki.

Vegetarians may want to skip this paragraph. Daddy and I discovered a couple of great barbecue joints in and near his native Yazoo City. In one, I declared my intention to "eat the alphabet," trying one dish that represented every letter. I was inspired, y'see, because of the sign in the front saying "QUAIL TODAY." In another, we discovered a barbecue sauce with more of a vintage than some fine wines.

We went to Daddy's old church, Trinity Episcopal, which was holding a meeting about the Windsor Report (big PDF). Northerners might be surprised to see how this Mississippi church responds to the gay minister. On one hand, they are clearly anti-homosexuality without being anti-homosexual (love the sinner, hate the sin). On the other, even in the deep deep South, church attendance is not nearly what it was, and both liberals and conservatives have left because of the issue. This church cannot afford to lose any more members. Daddy's childhood friend Miller is right in the thick of it and bringing a lot of good sense to the process.

I haven't been entirely comfortable with the Episcopal church since my own favorite minister lost his job over the Windsor fracas. But I kind of hope Trinity manages to bounce back. It's a piece of Daddy and so it's a piece of me, and Miller is proof that good people still go there.

Back home now. Much to do. More updates soon.

I'll be out for most of the next five days on "Katrina patrol," helping out friends and relatives who got hit in Mississippi.

When I get back (Tuesday morn), we'll be introducing new strips to Graphic Smash-- including a long-awaited Fans sequel. See you then.

To Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier.

This is a great idea. If you find spam blogs as often as I do, put this on your favorites list.

Link...

In lighter news, David Willis shows everyone how it's done at the Webcomics Telethon. Frankly, he eats my entry's lunch.

I expect this news played a major role in Alias Publishing pulling the plug on Penny and Aggie #4. My sympathies go out to anyone else on the edge of the sales bubble which Diamond is now deflating.

That said, I have been amazed for years at how lax Diamond's sales standards have been, and with these new restrictions in place... I'm still amazed. 500 copies? When I was self-publishing the lower limit was 1000!

I sort of wish Diamond would get out of the business of selling tiny books, because then smaller distributors might actually have a purpose for existing, other than the purpose of... being small and being distributors that aren't Diamond. Keeping Diamond out of anti-monopoly court, I guess.

This is beginning to look like a curse. This is the second time Gisele Lagace and I have braved the direct market with plans for four issues at least, only to be struck down after three.

Yes, you heard it here first: Penny and Aggie #4 ain't gonna happen. It was going to be a fantastic issue: 27 pages, including the full "Uptown Girl" storyline, the short piece with art by Randy Milholland and an absolutely jaw-dropping cover. It would have been my favorite of the four, but there's a danger in saving the best for last. (And of course we found out about this just as Randy started promoting the appearance heavily on his own website. Um, thanks, Randy, and sorry.)

The reasons are strictly business. Despite the explosions in manga for teens and webcomics, the direct market is still a really steep climb for webcomics that aren't "top-tier" and teen comics that aren't Archie. We got some good reviews, made some people really happy, but we just couldn't crack that superhero stranglehold.

This won't affect the webcomic at all. The Milholland sequence will find its way online at some point. For those who wanted to hold Rich Diggle in your hands, though, well, I'm sorry. Gisele and I haven't given up on the idea of print, and there's a new angle we're starting to pursue, but for now-- see you in the funny pixels.

Brief comment from me on weighing stories in superhero comic-book "continuity."

Again, Penny and Aggie reaches across borders. I don't even know what language this is.

Heh!

Meanwhile, the webcomics peer-review site Savage Disassembly is picking apart Search Engine Funnies' fresh corpse. If you draw or write a strip and want to join in the fun, go here... but bear in mind you'll have to take what you dish out when your turn comes. :-)

About 48 hours ago, most of my inboxed e-mail from the months between June and August just completely disappeared. I don't know why or how. Since then, I've been trying to restore the files, but nothing I've tried has worked and it gets less likely I'll succeed with every passing day. This appears to be a one-time-only problem-- or at least an infrequent one-- but I've still got some damage control to do here.

I've saved most of the images I received for The History of Webcomics (and backed them up online) but if you sent me one, I may need a note from you confirming that I have permission to use it. Send those notes to tcampbell@tcampbell.net or just hit "re-send."

I had special sections saved for Graphic Smash applicants, Modern Tales ad reps and SEF artists, so those guys don't need to worry. But if I've missed replying to you recently, you may want to send me a reminder.

Many thanks to one and all.

So I've rounded up a little talent for Search Engine Funnies with my usual method, and I have an artist that I really like who looks like he'll be able to round out the team. He can take two days a week, Jamie'll take two and Thor'll take one, with the occasional guest artist or fill-in, and that puts us up to 5 days a week, no problem.

9:42 AM today, I get this e-mail:

Hey T, I was workin on the strip last night when I gotta phone call about a job opportunity. The job'll mean I can cover my fair share of the rent (which my current job can't claim) but it'll be taking over a large portion of my free time. I was thinking it over last night. If I took on SEF artwork then I'd be rushing it and I feel shitty enough rushing my own comic pages. I'll pass the word around in case maybe someone I know's interested in taking on some comic work.

Good luck with SEF, sorry about all this hassle for nothing in the end.

Hey, it happens. Happens all the time in this field, really, and you have to prepare. I had a few other possibilities in mind, and I'm offering more money up front than when I made my first talent search, so I expect we can get the team up to snuff in another week or t--

11:30 AM, I get this e-mail from Jamie Noguchi:

Argh, the timing couldn't be worse, I know, but I'm terribly over-extended. I thought I could manage my time better, but projects are piling up that require my attention. Unfortunately, well fortunately for me, there is significant monetary gains to be had that outweigh my work with SEF. I gotta go where the moneys are at cause I gotta pay my rent. I have to bow out of SEF.

I have the logo as an Illustrator file which can be resized to whatever dimensions you need. The only other thing I have that you might need is the Google font I believe so if you still need that, I can send it over. I really hate to do this because it puts you in a shitty position. But I've got to streamline a bit so I can focus.

Ouch. I don't take it personally-- Jamie's a friend, and a pro, and I'd do the same thing if I were in his shoes. But this really hurts the strip. He established its look and feel. Most of the strips we did together are just gorgeous. Well, we're going to have to cut back production for a bit. But at least there's still Thor. Loyal, hardworking, funny Thor, who seems to be finding a whole new style these days. Thor, who's been producing strips like a machine despite working insane hours at Kinko's-- insane hours that are about to come to an end, because he's up for a promo--

You can see it coming, can't you?

--a promotion. His big meeting was yesterday, in fact. I really ought to call him up and see how it w--

5:42 PM: I hate to do this, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to quit doing Search Engine Funnies. On Tuesday, I finally got that manager promotion at Kinko's; unfortunately, it entails a drastic change in my work schedule to the point where I can't be reliable for steady work artwise. I figure it's better to stop now than to be late on a constant basis (which I kinda have been for a while now). [If you say so, Thor-- I wouldn't count twice in four months as "constant."] I'm sorry to have to tell you this way, but I've been so busy with my new position that I haven't been able to tell you over the phone properly. The only way that Tales of Marga will be updated is due to the fact that all the art is already done for the next year. If you need the art files that I've done for the past episodes, let me know and I'll mail you a CD with everything on it. Again, I am sorry. I just wish I had enough time to do everything...

...

(crickets)

Is this The End?

Yes-- and no. I have been in talks about a Search Engine Funnies spinoff, which now appears even more likely to happen.

Only now it'll be less the "little brother looking up to Search Engine Funnies' success" and more the "infant rocketed away from the exploding Search Engine Funnies planet." This'll be less of a freewheeling free-association thing-- there'll be regular characters, character-based humor, storylines, accessibility. You won't need to be as caught up in current events on this one, but there'll be extra fun if you are.

I'm sorry that I seem to have set the record for the shortest official 5-day-a-week schedule running. The spinoff strip, we're still figuring out the schedule on.

I will fold the previously announced contest and fan-strip policy into the spinoff.

And the strip rate policy, too. Ten dollars a strip until we're profitable enough to pay more. So hey, if you want to make a little extra cash at the drawing table, this is a good time to be speaking up.

After all, if you work on search engine comics long enough, apparently really good things happen to your career!

Why Google really needed that extra $4 billion.

Google Pizza Program.

Now, make no mistake: this is strategic goofiness. Google is paying attention to those who say it's losing its old geek charm, and this is a decisive move to prove them wrong, as well as to win over the next generation of programmers.

So why can't I stop laughing?

First, a quick note about the long-planned move to Wordpress for this blog. Well, technical difficulties have ensued-- my hosting deal isn't evolved enough for it. I'll get a new host eventually, but I have too much going on to make it a priority right now. Case in point--

We launched Blackhat on Search Engine Funnies first thing yesterday. Blackhat, it turns out, is a 50-part story detailing the seamy side of the people who manipulate your search engine results. No big change in our traffic yet, but I have more arrows in my quiver. Aspiring cartoonists should check this out as it offers them rich opportunities.

Yesterday was all about Meanwhile. You'll hear the sounds of that day in due course. Today: comments on the completion of The History of Webcomics (or at least the writing thereof-- images still to be integrated.)

Afterward, played a close game of Scrabble which Dave bested me in, and watched Taxi Driver, a movie my old roomie had pushed on me often. I miss him every once in a while...

Spent the morning contributing to WebcomicWiki's proposed categories and in fruitful conversation with William Simons of Clickwheel. If you have an interest in WebcomicWiki (webcomics' own private heir apparent to Wikipedia) drop on in and make a contribution of your own.

For the afternoon, time to drop illustrations into The History of Webcomics, and call that one a manuscript!

...will you?

Steve Ballmer scoops us by becoming a living cartoon of himself.

Now acknowledges Pop Star and (about time) Search Engine Funnies.

I'm aware there's a problem with the History of Webcomics link. Sylvan Migdal's on the case.

Yahoo and Google spyware.

Blogger is 60% spam blogs, or "splogs."

France tries to save itself from Google and Yahoo's Anglo-Saxon cultural imperialism, the way they tried to save themselves from our movies and TV shows and Royales with Cheese. Good luck with that.

What today's teens think: Google rules, Yahoo drools and no one else even exists.

Google mapping aids Katrina relief efforts-- hard to make this one funny, but it's kind of important anyway.