MadInkBeard | Derik A Badman

Matthey, Pascal. “A la plage.” Grandpapier.org, 2009. 15 p. –. “Greenfield Village.” Grandpapier.org, 2007. 10 p. These are two similar works by the artist Pascal Matthey from the Belgian webcomics site Grandpapier. Over ten four-panel pages “Greenfield Village” does not so much tell a story as create a space. I am tempted to call it [...]

I was one of a bunch of bloggers to participate in this year’s ComixTalk roundtable on webcomics. You can read the whole long thing to find out about our favorite webcomics from the year, thoughts on portable devices, and more.

I realized that I neglected to mention webcomics (with the exception of BodyWorld and Jason Overby’s work) on my best of list or its accompanying reading list. Most of the non-web comics I read are single works. I read very few serials at this point (and those I do read are generally a long way [...]

I’ve been enjoying Jed McGowan’s periodically appearing Bluesy Face. The third chapter was published this week on his website. I’m not sure where the story is going, but I love McGowan’s style which uses sparse line work and blocky colors (bright blue and a grey screen-like tone or two). He also creates a number of [...]

Talking about what I like from comics.

I’m finding the Top Shelf 2.0 reading experience quite frustrating. It’s like there’s a new story/strip every day, but continuations of those strips are almost non-existent. I can’t keep up with 20 comics at once! I have enjoyed Michael DeForge’s Cave Adventure, which is like a cross between Skibber Bee Bye and one of Mat [...]

Nabiel Kanan (read my review of his excellent early work, Exit, soon to be rereleased in a collected edition from Desperado) has started up a webcomic called About Charlotte. There’s only a couple panels up so far, but you can subscribe to his feed to get updates. I’m a big fan of Kanan’s work (I [...]

I’m guest blogging this week at ComixTalk (formerly Comixpedia). I’ll be posting about some of my favorite webcomics, so make sure to check in over the course of the week. That will probably destroy the chances of any other posts here (and I thought I’d get more posting done over vacation). P.S. Still looking for [...]

Joey Manley mentioned my post in reply to Joel Fagin’s post: For what it’s worth: my thinking, on a subjective level, tends more toward Derik Badman’s position — he seems like he should be right — but there’s no denying that, objectively, gag strips tend to do better on the web than others, and there [...]

Sometimes I read someone else’s post about a topic I’m interested in, and I see a different post that could have been. I’m not always sure my criticism of the post is a product of the content or my reading of it (I’ll often get stuck on one thing and not see past it). But [...]

The Best of Dinosaur Comics 2003-2005 A.D.: Your whole family is made of meat by Ryan North. Quack!Media, 2006. $14.99, 250p. If there’s any webcomic that fits into a Oubapo mold, it is Ryan North’s Dinosaur Comics. North decided to do a webcomic, but he couldn’t draw. Instead of following the Trondheim path of learning [...]

Through the Gallery Comics blog, I found this comic by Howie Shia, called The Century of Love. The artwork has an attractive thin line and fluid blacks, the panels are interestingly cropped and composed. The occasional use of color is extremely effective (particularly the blue in the fourth part). The story itself is discontinuous and [...]