Toledo Museum Show

I just heard about this, which just shows how out of the loop I am with my own hometown. The Toledo Museum of Art currently has a free exhibit called Lit Graphic, which runs till January 3rd. The show went up October 3rd and features originals by Robert Crumb, Peter Kuper, Harvey Kurtzman, Will Eisner and others.

'Organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., the traveling exhibition features more than 146 artworks by 24 contemporary graphic novelists and historic practitioners of this ever-evolving art form.'

I am going to check this out and if you're in Ohio or Michigan, it should be worth the drive. The museum is definitely one of the few things Toledo does right.

The New Offering From Crumb

Everybody,
here's a great Vanity Fair interview with comics legend Crumb, speaking about his new feast-for-your-eyes, The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb. I haven't read it yet, but from what has been said, the book is a straight retelling of the first book of the Bible, no funny stuff, albeit with plenty of sex and violence and some comical facial expressions, etc. What inspired Crumb to take on this subject, I'm not entirely sure. Though it does say something about the world we live in that a serious comic presentation of the Bible is striking people as revolutionary. Perhaps that is because no one expects this sort of thing from Crumb, or perhaps it is because satire of anything religious has become the standard of the day. So why Crumb? And why now? The article doesn't illuminate (but check the preview link below and you'll find the answer), but it does shed light on other matters, such as why Crumb chose to portray God in traditional white beard and robes. At any rate, this is a tremendous achievement on the part of the author - what an undertaking! - and I look forward to getting my hands on a copy. Personally, I always thought the book of Revelation was rife with graphic possibilities, but maybe I just like starting at the end of things. No word yet on Crumb versions of Exodus or Leviticus.

Crumb Vanity Fair Interview

Buy The Book:



Check Out A 12-page Preview From The New Yorker Here




PS - If he'd really wanted to stir the pot, he could have drawn God as a woman and Adam and Eve as chimpanzees.

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Cyber-Punks Jump Up And Get Beat Down

Did you know that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month? It is a month that strikes fear into the hearts of Cyber-Terrorists, Hackers, Spammers, Pornographers, Chain Letter Writers, Pop-up Creators, Pop-under Pushers, Malware Meanies, Spyware Spreaders, Spam Bots, Viral Worms, and other assorted Nefarious Ne'er-Do-Wells of the Notorious 'Net.

Won't you please do your part to help the cause? If you run across one of those "I am a foreign magistrate in some country you've never heard of and my family is owed a considerable sum of money but it is unfortunately tied up and if you could just wire me a small amount of your plentiful Yankee dollars . . ." people, please kick him squarely in the crotch.

And now, take it away, Spam Bot . . .



He dances the Robot, the Worm, and the Funky Spam.

ComicPress Vs. Webcomic Inkblot

Last night, as an experiment, I tried switching my website from ComicPress to Webcomic. These are both Wordpress themes for hosting webcomics, in case you don't know. Well, actually, I guess Comicpress is a theme and Webcomic is a plugin, if you want to get technical. The main impetus for my experiment was the fact that Webcomic makes it easy to host multiple comics on your site. While there are ways to do this with ComicPress, it's probably a bit beyond my rudimentary knowledge of CSS, and with Webcomic it's already done for you. So I made the switch, then quickly realized I was in over my head, couldn't get the site to look how I wanted, and changed back. (Basically, I just wanted the site to look like it does now, but with maybe a different homepage with links to multiple comics instead of just sporting Humdrum Heights. A task which I'm sure would be ridiculously simple for even the most fresh-faced of web designers.) Well, changing from ComicPress to Webcomic was incredibly simple, and there is even a video tutorial to show you how to go about doing it. (The only thing you really have to worry about is moving your comics from one folder to another in your webhost and updating your transcripts.) Now, for a simpleton like me, I need a few more tutorial videos - namely, one that talks about customization, setting your background, etc. And more tutorials are on the way, so the likelihood of these being offered in the near future is relatively high, as is the likelihood of me switching back to Webcomic.

So perhaps, a bit down the road, there will be more comics showing on Rebeldog Comics, but for now all the extras will be solely available in the Assetbar Store.

If anybody has any experience with Webcomic, or has an opinion regarding its benefits or deficiencies as compared to ComicPress, drop a comment. I haven't seen too much coverage of Webcomic, though I'm sure it's just a matter of time, so I'd love to hear what people are saying.

UPDATE:
I finally did switch over to Webcomic with Inkblot as the theme. It was just too good not to! I decided I shouldn't let a little coding deter me. So, I waded into the stylesheet and finally got the site looking (mostly) as I wanted. Though, I should mention this, and I don't know if there is an easy workaround, but when I switched to Webcomic, all my links got wiped out. Well, not wiped out exactly. They're still there in Wordpress, they're just not on the Links page where they used to be. I suspect this has to do with the fact that Inkblot doesn't have a custom links template for Page Attributes as some themes do. So, I haven't got that sorted out yet. But otherwise, I will say that I am well pleased with Webcomic and its many features. If Comicpress isn't suiting your needs and you're feeling stuck, you definitely ought to give Webcomic a shot.

UPDATE UPDATE:
I managed to get the links working. I wrote a links.php file and uploaded it to my webhost. Basically I just used the old Comicpress links.php and tweaked it, since Webcomic and Comicpress don't work in the same ways. But, anyway, it took about ten minutes and I actually learned something in the process. So proud of myself!

What Do Achewood, Starslip, PVP, Octopuspie, and Rebeldog Comics Have In Common?

Answer: they all offer premium content via Assetbar. If you haven't checked out the new Rebeldog Store, don't worry, 'cause we're just getting the ball rolling. But there are lots of new features coming, so if you like what you see here, there'll be more of the same old wackiness as well as some stuff in an entirely different vein. It's $2.99 a month, but if you'd like to try it free for thirty days, there are a limited number of coupon available. First come, first served. It's FREE - but if you're the twenty-first caller, you will be left out! If a code is required, the word is ZEPHYR.

And Here's The Link.

How Can I Get More Rebeldog Comics?

Rebeldog Comics is now offering exclusive premium content. That means more comics for you, sweets, plus lots of other extras. All for mere chump change. That's right, just when you thought your Sundae runneth over, we added a few more sprinkles on top. Check the link below to read all about it. Or just visit the link at the bottom right of the sidebar to take the plunge!

How Can I Get More Rebeldog Comics?

Please Participate In The Rebeldog Comics Poll

Hello.
Lots of folks have monetized their webcomics by offering print collections of their strips, and I am tentatively formulating my plan to make a print version of Humdrum Heights and/or some other Rebeldog Comics-related merchandise.* What I initially offer will depend on a number of factors, and I'd like you all to be a part of that decision-making process. Please help me by taking a moment to participate in the poll to the right. You can pick multiple options. I'm leaving the poll open till January, so hopefully at least a few interested people will vote. If you have a suggestion, please leave me a comment. Sorry, there's no "I wouldn't buy S#@! from you" option.

Sincerely,
King AdBeck
Unscrupulous Comic Strip Profiteer

* I have lots of stories to tell, some of which might be better suited to print. Would you like to know how Waldo and Harv met, why Waldo supports Harv, and how they moved from run-down apartment building to cozy duplex? Or might you be interested in some of Humdrum Heights' other equally-eccentric inhabitants, and a series of interwoven tales involving all of them?

UPDATE - Poll fixed. Sorry for that!