Young
Edd Gould always enjoyed drawing comics of himself and his friends. Growing up in the internet age, his
doodles evolved into Flash animations of increasing complexity, and in time Edd and pals
Tom Ridgewell and Matt Hargreaves teamed up to produce an
"Eddsworld" series of online webtoons and
comics.
At first crude and halting, the group's
"eddisodes" progressed from
surreal shorts and
one-shots into full-fledged productions that pushed the boundaries of amateur web animation, with
expressive characters,
full soundtracks, complex effects, and a fast-paced, off-kilter sense of humor:
MovieMakers -
Spares -
WTFuture -
Rock Bottom -
Hammer & Fail (
2).
At its height, the college co-op was producing shorts for
Mitchell & Webb and the
UN Climate Change Conference,
fielding offers from Paramount and Cartoon Network, and racking up
millions of hits on YouTube.
Work slowed, however, when Gould was
diagnosed with leukemia -- a relatively survivable form, though, and Gould carried on
working gamely through his hospital stays. So it came as a shock last week when Matt and Tom
announced that Edd had passed away, prompting an
outpouring of
grief and
gratitude from
all the
fans he'd
entertained and
inspired in his short 23 years.
posted by Rhaomi
on Apr 2, 2012 -
5 comments
More diversity in sci-fi webcomix? Yes please:
Athena Wheatley, or Warp & Weft features a black female scientist from the 19th century time-travelling to 9283. Fun, and looks good: Moebius meets Futurama meets Adventure Time
(and sexy too! occasionaly cartoonishly NSFW)
posted by Tom-B
on Mar 11, 2012 -
4 comments
In this time of corrupt politics, police brutality, media dereliction, and increasingly vicious culture wars, there's perhaps no graphic novel more relevant today than the brilliant and blackly funny
Transmetropolitan.
Created by Warren Ellis back in 1997 and inspired by prescient sci fi novel
Bug Jack Barron, the series covers the work of
gonzo journalist, vulgar misanthrope, and all-around magnificent bastard
Spider Jerusalem in a
sprawling futuristic vision of New York so chaotically advanced that humans splice genes with alien refugees, matter decompilers are as common as microwaves, and a new religion is invented every hour.
As a callous Nixonian thug nicknamed
The Beast prepares for his re-election to the presidency, a primary battle heats up between a virulent racist and a charismatic senator whose
rictus grin masks some disturbing realities. When Jerusalem delves into
the machinations of the race, he breaks into a web of conspiracies that threaten the future of the country -- a problem only he, his
"filthy assistants," and the power of
intrepid journalism can defeat.
More: Read the first issue (or
three) -
browse images from
the new artbook -
Tor's read-along blog (
another) - Jerusalem's
touching report on cryogenic "Revivals" -
dozens of original sketches and
sample pages -
timeline -
quotes
posted by Rhaomi
on Dec 17, 2011 -
55 comments
Stephen Strange was an arrogant doctor, until a car accident damaged his hands, leading him try every cure possible. Eventually he made his way to the East, where the story progressed, and now he's
Doctor Strange, master of magic! His thrilling tale is
set to be the first Marvel superhero movie since
Marvel was purchased by Disney. But there has been much history behind the latest movie, including a period when
Guillermo del Toro was involved and wanted to include Neil Gaiman,
a draft script by Alex Cox (1990, 5.1 mb PDF;
review), and
a draft script by Bob Gale (January 21, 1986, 3.5 mb PDF;
review). Along with these incomplete attempts, there was
the 1978 Dr. Strange TV movie, which you can watch online (
full movie with Portuguese subtitles, or
YT playlist). If you'd like another take, head to 1992 for the direct-to-video movie
Doctor Mordrid. Depending on who you ask,
it's a more or
less entertaining/accurate take (warning: spoilers) on Dr Strange. Modrid is
also online.
posted by filthy light thief
on Aug 9, 2011 -
34 comments
Larry Gonick is a veteran American cartoonist best known for his delightful comic-book guides to science and history, many of which have previews online. Chief among them is his long-running
Cartoon History of the Universe (later
The Cartoon History of the Modern World), a sprawling multi-volume opus documenting everything from the Big Bang to the Bush administration. Published over the course of three decades, it takes a truly global view -- its time-traveling Professor thoroughly explores not only familiar topics like Rome and World War II but the oft-neglected stories of Asia and Africa, blending caricature and myth with careful scholarship (cited by
fun illustrated bibliographies) and tackling even the most obscure events
with intelligence and wit. This savvy satire carried over to Gonick's
Zinn-by-way-of-
Pogo chronicle
The Cartoon History of the United States, along with a bevy of
Cartoon Guides to other topics, including
Genetics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, The Environment, and (yes!)
Sex. Gonick has also maintained a few sideprojects, such as
a webcomic look at Chinese invention,
assorted math comics (
previously), the
Muse magazine mainstay
Kokopelli & Co. (featuring the shenanigans of his
"New Muses"), and
more. See also
these lengthy interview snippets, linked
previously. Want more? Amazon links to the complete oeuvre inside!
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jun 6, 2011 -
29 comments
Free Comic Book Day is a single day - the first Saturday in May each year - when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores. Here's the
store locator.
posted by BlahLaLa
on May 7, 2011 -
36 comments
PORTRAIT-DEX! Cartoonists create Pokémon self-portraits, with all three evolved forms. Featuring, among other fine artists,
Scott Kurtz (PVP),
Box Brown (Everything Dies, Bellen!),
Anthony Clark (Nedroid),
Aaron Diaz (Dresden Codak), and
Steve Wolfhard (Cat Rackham), who also runs the project.
posted by Gator
on Oct 27, 2010 -
13 comments
Caring about something is about taking the pain and the joy. The pain is hard. Taking the pain, facing it, dealing with it are the ways I think we can show we really care. That we know we care. --
Bob, the story of a dog.
posted by Gator
on Sep 18, 2010 -
16 comments
From 1979 to the end of the '80s,
Sam Hurt produced a strange and wonderful little
comic called
Eyebeam. I'm very happy that the
entire archives are up, as well as
later additions. About the drab but sometimes very weird life of the eponymous character, the comic addressed a wide range of topics, including
the decor of Chinese restaurants,
wearing the wrong clothes to work,
beach gidgets,
job security,
male answer syndrome,
not-quite-vegetarianism and
time travel. It managed to be pretty
wise while still being
funny. Just don't take it too
literally.
posted by jiawen
on Jun 18, 2010 -
20 comments
The Hole in the Wall [via mefi projects] is our own
interrobang's surrealistic cat story now being serialized at
Top Shelf Comics as part of their new Webcomics section, and it's definitely something special - pen & ink & watercolor adventures of two cats exploring a mysterious and dangerous underground landscape. More comics like this will be posted there depending on the popularity of this one, so if you love art, great comics, or cats, you
will want to check it out. This was a part of interrobang's
Year in Comics project, so if you fall in love with the Hole in the Wall kittehs (you will!), go have look at his other stuff, as well.
posted by taz
on May 23, 2008 -
30 comments
