Zuda finally announces the line-up and if it’s anything, it’s diverse, with known talents like Corey Lewis, Pop Mhan, Sho Murase and Steve Ellis up against total unknowns. They’re all competing for a briefcase with one million dollars in it, apparently. Anyway, here’s the PR:

In anticipation of the launch of Zudacomics.com, DC Comics announced today the ten entries in the first ever Zudacomics.com competition. These webcomics are diverse in both their subject matter and tone, spanning a wide variety of genres— from horror to western to fantasy. Aspiring creators and comics fans alike will be invited to vote for one of the ten comics to continue as a regular web comic on the site. The competition winners will, in turn, receive contracts to create a year’s worth of their comic for the site.

“If Zuda Comics are to have common traits they’re quality and diversity”, said Ron Perazza, Director, Creative Services. “For this first competition we selected people from different creative fields, both within and outside of traditional comics, based on the strength of their concepts. It was a bit of a creative experiment but the results were fantastic. This is going be a tough competition!”

The first Zudacomics.com competition features the following webcomics:

Title: Alpha Monkey
Writer/Artist: Bobbie Rubio/Howard M. Shum
Summary: In a misguided attempt to save his son from the destruction of Earth by a comet (which then happens to miss the Earth entirely) a scientist rockets his son into another dimension. The child ends up on a parallel world ruled by Monkeys! Given unique powers by the planet’s bananas, the young boy fights off invading monsters as the planet’s new defender, Alpha Monkey!

Title: This American Strife
Writer/Artist: Jason Longo
Summary: A quirky, humorous “Dear Diary” recounting of the artist’s observations on life, This American Strife is a sharp-witted visual stab at editorial blogging.

Title: Battlefield Babysitter
Writer/Artist: Matthew Humphreys
Summary: In a family of superheroes, in a city of superheroes, in a world of superheroes, Katherine Fields is a babysitter. But when a routine night of babysitting turns into a villainous invasion, Katherine finds herself transformed into a super strong heroine. At $8.00 and hour, it’s going to be a long night.

Title: Black Swan
Writer/Artist: Mulele Jarvis
Summary: A young college student, Nina, is embroiled in a 500-year-old vendetta when she encounters a spirit bound to a mystic dagger left on her doorstep. Implicated in murder and on the run from a detective possessed by a rival spirit it’s up to Nina to relive an age-old battle – without dying in the process.

Title: Dead in the Now
Writer/Artist: Corey Lewis
Summary: When Braz – a young, cynical boy – discovers the world’s first authentic zombie he decides to end Earth’s monotonous routine and usher in an age of zombie-infested, chaotic adventure! Gathering supplies and weapons, Braz sets his friends up like modern, urban Lost Boys with himself as their Pan.

Title: The Dead Seas
Writer/Artist: Pop Mhan
Summary: Legions of undead controlled by Necromancer warlords destroy life as we know it, plunging the Earth into a futuristic Dark Age. But it’s adventure and romance on The Dead Seas as a swashbuckling young pirate named Devin teams up with an adventurous crusader name Luna. Armed with the secret of Pandora’s Box, they set out destroy the Necromancers and save the world.

Title: The Enders
Writer/Artist: Tim Smith III
Summary: Aluna didn’t ask to be given godlike power and she certainly didn’t ask for her parents to be killed in the process – but the enigmatic alien known as The Ender works in mysterious ways. Without time to grieve, Aluna is tasked with using her power to save the Earth from imminent destruction. The only question – how?

Title: High Moon
Writer/Artist: David Gallaher/Steve Ellis
Summary: It’s the fading days of the Old West in the late 1890’s when an enigmatic drifter, Matthew Macgregor, ambles into the dusty town of Blest, Texas. The nights are cold in Texas as Werewolves secretly haunt the town, but Macgregor has a supernatural secret of his own. When the sun sets it’ll be a showdown at High Moon.

Title: Leprenomicon
Writer/Artist: Greg DelCurla/Fernando Ruiz
Summary: In old Ireland, when the banshee sings for you it means that your time on this Earth is coming to an end. But American Michael O’Connor refuses to take this news lying down. With the (forced) help of a kidnapped Leprechaun, he intends to solve the mystery of his own death even if it turns the world of faeries, gods, and plain old normal folk upside down.

Title: Raining Cats and Dogs
Writer/Artist: Sho Murase
Summary: A young, snake-haired gorgon named Mika, winds her way through the contemporary, everyday wonderland of dating, work, after-hours adventures and everything in between alongside her friends Apple (a rokurokubi energy-vampire), Feebe (a bake-neko cat girl) and Akiha (a normal human).

Following the site’s launch, the majority of the competitions will feature webcomics submitted to Zuda through the website’s submissions process. As with the inaugural competition, Zudacomics.com’s visitors will vote for the webcomics that they want to see continue on the site.

1 COMMENT

  3. Corey Lewis now trying to get into DC with ANOTHER PROJECT????

    Can’t you just finish all the other projects you’ve got sitting around first???

    Bad enough you decided to blow off commitments to Udon and left Rival School fans in the wind and now you’re essentially doing the same thing to Oni.

  4. Random, unrelated to each other comments:

    Pop Mahn isn’t a total unknown.

    Battlefield Babysitter: A-HA! Kari from The Incredibles gets her own series! (Could’ve resisted, didn’t. Kari is the most badass character in The Incredibles. Think about it.)

    At the risk of having my words used as an endorsement (which they are most certainly not), it sounds like an interesting, poppy, starter team. There’s still that ownership issue and the dreadful Web 2.0 nonsense name, though.

    Now, for a real Zuda who owns their work:
    http://www.clayinthehands.blogspot.com/

  8. An under-appreciated artist?!?! Whoever heard of such a thing! Unknowns, superstars, up & comers, whoever. . .this’ll be fun and very diverse with something for everyone each month. It’s gonna be fun.

  9. Lea, so if Pop is under-appreciated and Zuda is appreciating his talent, then what’s up with the condescending comment? Makes you kind of sound like a snob.