Commentary

This year's Reuben awards weekend -- the traditional yearly gathering of traditional comic strip cartoonists -- saw some special guests from the webcomics world specially invited, like Kate Beaton, Randall Munroe, and Scott Kurtz. Kurtz has written up the weekend in an absolute must read on the changing of the guard from a world where creators live by the structured patronage of big media companies in exchange for exclusivity, to a much more fluid world where entrepreneurship is as important as content and living by your wits is literally the way to the big payoff.

Art schools and apprenticeships find themselves more popular than ever, let's all tip our hats to inspiration artist Rudolph Töpffer's for his creation of boarding school for boys. While anyone can teach themselves and become successful on their own, a lot of the specialty schools allow access to equipment, connections, mentorship of working professionals and opportunities in a condensed amount of time that are priceless.

During C2E2, I discovered some old issues of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld in the quarter bins.  I knew of this series, but had not read any comics of the character.  I have an eight-year-old niece who loves Wonder Woman, and thought she might enjoy another super-powered princess.

Here's a comic from my brothers' collection, the type of comic kids read back in the 1960s and 70s. We didn't care about condition...

It’s Kyle Baker’s birthday today so wish him a happy birthday over on Facebook, visit his blog, leave a comment, and buy tons of...

Cartoonist Michel Fiffe and pundit Tucker Stone have teamed up for Jumpstart That Comics Career! which might be the ultimate in "how to" advice. A sample:

The funny thing about the Internet nerds is — and I say this with love and a certain amount of suspicion and caution — no matter what you do, there's a certain type of Internet dweller that's going to piss and moan about it.

With the Garrity Doctrine igniting uproar all over the intertubes, Webcomic Overlook's El Santo presents a rebuttal of sorts, Ten Things To Know About the Future of Webcomics. While any kind of manga-vs-webcomics fight is silly -- they are parallel and non-competitive -- lists are always fun. He admits a lot of the list is quite off the cuff, but a couple of points strike us as especially pertinent:

Shaenon T. Garrity, as she so often does, sums up all the things we've been talking about with a piece called Ten Things to Know About the Future of Comics. A sample:

It's taken a few days to recover from this year's New York Comic Con, and recovery has been slowed by the vast number of out-of-towners who have stayed on to hang out and make merry with New York friends. It is a real thrill to know your hometown show has become an attraction for colleagues around the world, and it definitely inspires one get gussied up and make everyone feel welcomed and well lubricated with social beverages. The time has given me a bit more perspective and enabled me to read and listen to more experiences from the show, and I have to say that when I pegged it as "a complete success" the other day, I was incorrect. NYCC '10 was a SUCCESS, no question, and from talking to comics exhibitors and New York-loving visitors you might conclude that it was a "complete" success as far as their goals went -- exposing their wares to as many potential customers as possible, and drinking as much free alcohol as possible, respectively. I would not gainsay that these are worthy goals, and their accomplishment is praiseworthy, but there were so many other logistical and conceptual problems with the show that its success is almost baffling.

o “Nothing Dramatically Broken at DC Comics” At Comics Alliance, David Brothers takes the temperature of DC Comics, about half a year into the most...

This brief video of creator Darwyn Cooke, captured at the Fan Expo Canada last weekend, managed to capture all the "grumpy old Eisner winner" complaints of those who would wish comics to return to a more noble time. Coming out swinging against anal rape, Cooke also had some sharp words for Kate Kane's reboot as a beautiful lipstick lesbian. This has understandably gotten some heat, especially from gay comics bloggers, but in a statement at 4th Letter, Cooke explains himself: