Webcomics

Ed Piskor has posted the first chapter of WIZZYWIG up at his site. This riveting fictionalized story of computer hacking and underground culture has been revamped and improved. It's available in both PDF and CBR formats at the link but we've taken the liberty of excerpting the first three pages to give you a taste. Larger versions available in the link.

MK Reed writes to point us to a new website, SAVE APATHEA! which will be serializing her upcoming First Second graphic novel Americus, which is due out in late 2011. It's described as the story of "Neil Barton, a teenager growing up in Oklahoma, and his fight to keep his favorite fantasy series, The Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde, in his public library." Reed (a sometime Beat contributor) writes and Jonathan Hill provides art. The first chapter was previously published in Papercutter #7. News pages will go up Monday-Wednesday-Friday.

Happy anniversary, Shaenon T. Garrity! It was July 31, 2000 that she launched Narbonic, one of the first prominent webcomics by a woman. Since then she's launched several other webcomics, including Skin Horse, won the Lulu of the Year award, worked as an editor and creator in both traditional comics and manga, and become one of the liveliest, most insightful comics commentators on the web. She's a treasure, that's what.

Via PR a story that touches the current comics business on so many levels. In short, Scott Kurtz is taking his print PvP collections of his very popular webcomic PvP and returning to self-publishing via his Toonhound Studios imprint. PVP has been published by Image since 2003, and Image will continue to sell his existing collections. However future print editions of the comic will be sold online. According to the release, Kurtz won't be selling them through Diamond at all, although he'll work directly with retailers who want to carry his books.

Kevin Mutch's story is just getting going, but thing around the orphans Max and Molly are sure getting strange.

About half an hour ago a memo was sent to Zuda creators announcing that the original digital comics line was being shut down. A few of the better known Zuda titles, such as I Rule the Night, Bayou and HIgh Moon will be folded into the newly announced DC Digital program.

Ty Templeton is doing webcomics!

While we've been ranting and complaining and what not it has been an epochal week in digital comics publishing with so much crap going...

Via pr, a new initiative between publisher Dark Horse, electronics giant Toshiba, and newspaper USA Today called DH:HD (Dark Horse: High-Def), but it's not quite clear what it is. It will bring comics to multiple platforms -- desktop, digital and doorstep -- and be like Wednesday Comics (which ran a Superman page in the online USA Today after a print launch) and will be viewable on Toshiba's giant HD TVs. It will also involve Dark Horse top properties. Hm. The program kicked off today with a feature on Janet and Alex Evanovich's new graphic novel, TROUBLEMAKER, which appears to be a digital comic with some kind of Flash interface looming over a profile of the Evanovii. Okay then! PR below:

Via PR, electronic publisher WOWIO has purchased the webcomic site DrunkDuck from Platinum Studios. Just to make it all neat and tidy, Platinum once...

There was a scary time when the URL seemed to have lapsed, but Nick Gurewitch's iconic The Perry Bible Fellowship website is...

Sean Kleefield alerts us to a preview of the Underground & Independent Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels site which appears to do for indies what the now vanished htmlcomics.com did for all comics...but here's the twist....it's...legit?