I guess we all are going to be thinking about the year we've each had around now, and okay, there's a still a good week or so to go, but since it's come into my head, I might as well mention my favourite memory of 2009:



Dancing with miss_newham and verlaine on Seattle's Broadway, in the torrentially pouring rain, using guide steps which were cast and embedded into the pavement. (And then going for the tastiest Mexican food ever.)

If I can ever achieve even a moment equalling this level of awesomeness, I will be happy for another year at least. And if I ever feel emo then I can think back to this time, this moment in time, and I can feel better.*

*****

( More happy times in photographic form )

I miss the good times. May there be many more good times in 2010.

it was joe infurnari's birthday last week, so i drew a card for him featuring his character, ULTRA-Lad!



if you haven't read THE TRANSMIGRATION OF ULTRA-Lad!, check it out:

http://www.act-i-vate.com/56.comic

The Daily Cross Hatch asked cartoonists to weigh in on the 'best damned comics' of 2009 and the decade.

Here are my best for 2009:

The Life and Times of Savior 28 by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Cavallaro
From the Ashes by Bob Fingerman
A.D. by Josh Neufeld
Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
Scalped by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera

Webcomics:

Zegas by Michel Fiffe
Lilly MacKenzie and the Mines of Charybdis by Simon Fraser
Loviathan by Mike Cavallaro
Underwire by Jennifer Hayden
The Streets of San Diablo by Darryl Cunningham

You can read the other 2009 choices here:
http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2009/12/14/the-best-damned-comics-of-2009-chosen-by-the-artists/

Here are my best for the decade:

All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday
Scalped by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera
The Incredible Hulk by Bruce Jones and various artists
100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso
Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev cum Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark
The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke
100% by Paul Pope
Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra
The Punisher: The End by Garth Ennis and Richard Corben

You can read the other decade choices here:
http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2009/12/21/the-best-damned-comics-of-the-decade-chosen-by-the-artists/

Today marks the holiday return of STREET CODE, my semi-autobio webcomic at Zuda, featuring the 4pp story "Snow Dope."

If you're new to STREET CODE, please take the time to read season one from last year. Otherwise, veterans of STREET CODE can skip to pages 61-64 and read the latest tale.

http://www.zudacomics.com/street_code

Thank you and enjoy!

--Dino

What do the holidays make you think of? What are your new years resolutions? What were your favorite albums/movies/office events of 2009?

-Carrie Smock-Preacle

Sound of lone Cricket.. wait, scratch that. Sound of low buzz of a loose flourescent bulb, the occasional hum of the Pepsi machine. All is quiet for a moment, then we hear the efficient whirring of a newly charged rascal scooter growing closer.

http://www.nycgraphicnovelists.com/2009/12/graphically-speaking-seths-top-books-of.html


The ACT-I-VATE Primer by Haspiel, Bertozzi, Cavallaro, Fraser, etc.

A handsomely produced anthology by a mixture of top creators and newcomers, all showcasing their creations from the webcomix site in new stories. Just flipping through one can’t help but notice the variety of work and styles contained between it’s well designed covers. If you can’t find something that appeals to you in The ACT-I-VATE Primer, you probably don’t like comics.

Excerpt:

Gibbons:
I must say, aesthetically speaking, all I’ve ever done and all I’ve ever wanted to do is comics. Any kind of painting I’ve done, I’ve had to teach myself as I’ve gone along. My creative thoughts always go toward telling stories and I think, for the future, as you mentioned, there are some really interesting ways of doing this online and it also means now that, as an artist, you can get your work out there at very little cost. So, I find that, like you, a really fascinating path to pursue.

Quitely:
I’ve actually been looking at a few webcomics the past year or so. There’s a few I’ve been following on a site called Act-I-Vate, and Transition X. Cameron Stewart, he’s got a great one too, Dan Goldman and Dean Haspiel have done some lovely work recently. Karl Kerschl’s one I actually just discovered a couple of days ago. I know his work through American superhero comics and he’s really good, he does some great action sequences, blah, blah, blah… and then I saw the stuff that he was doing in his own webcomic and it’s just phenomenal. It’s not to take away from what he does professionally ­ up until recently, that’s all I had seen and I had a very high opinion of his work ­ quite apart from what we’re saying about aesthetics, the ease and cheapness with which people can actually put out their own material means that a lot of people are putting out work that’s quite personal ­ whether it’s their own world view or characters that they always draw in their sketchbooks even though they didn’t have an outlet for them before or autobiographical stuff. It’s kind of like the best of what I like about small press and self-publishing. That feeling that you’re actually reading somebody’s diary: You feel a real contact that I don’t usually feel in mainstream comics. So, I think that’s really exciting too.


Read the entire Dave Gibbons/Frank Quitely interview here: http://www.tcj.com/?p=1410&page=1

HEEB Chosen Comix: Graphic Novel Gift Guide - featuring ACT-I-VATE PRIMER

http://www.heebmagazine.com/blog/view/2428


The ACT-I-VATE Primer (IDW)
This 16-story anthology from all-star webcomix collective ACT-I-VATE is less Whitman's sampler than Godiva. Each tale is an expertly crafted confection and every one is entirely different than the other. A great way to taste the variety of genres and styles possible in the comics medium.

The ACT-I-VATE Experience, a documentary directed and produced by Seth Kushner and Carlos Molina, (CulturePopProductions.com) gives a behind-the-scenes look at the premiere webcomics collective.



OR, VIEW THE ACT-I-VATE EXPERIENCE HERE: http://vimeo.com/8204237

“What began as a promo piece for ACT-I-VATE became an informative film about webcomics, web vs. print, and the future of the industry,” says Seth.

The ACT-I-VATE experience features interviews with and art by such comics luminaries as Dean Haspiel, Nick Bertozzi, Mike Cavallaro, Simon Fraser, Tim Hamilton, Leland Purvis, Molly Crabapple, Kevin, Colden, Dan Goldman, Josh Neufeld and many more.

The film has already premiered at the Baltimore Comic-Con, Brooklyn’s King Con, APE in San Francisco, Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago, and online at Newsarama.co

ACT-I-VATE, the premiere webcomix collective, features original, serialized graphic novels and is updated daily. ACT-I-VATE's select artists produce their signature work sans editorial oversight and offer their comix for free to an ever-growing audience of loyal readers. In addition to these high-quality comix, ACT-I-VATE is known for having lifted the veil between creation, creator, and reader by providing a forum for spirited dialogue between audience and auteur. The website confirms one of ACT-I-VATE's core tenets: that the artists and writers of this curated comix community are the optimal providers of intellectual properties and original content. http://www.act-i-vate.com/

THE ACT-I-VATE PRIMER makes the DAILY CROSS HATCH cut for 'The Best Damned Comics of 2009 Chosen by the Artists'

http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2009/12/14/the-best-damned-comics-of-2009-chosen-by-the-artists/

big ups to our peers!

I'm happy to help announce Jen Ferguson's new online store and blog. please read/see below.

Happy holidays!

--Dean



Seasons Greetings!

I hope you are having a great December. I wanted to let you know that you can now buy my art prints through the online store etsy: http://www.artinchaos.etsy.com

In addition, I have a new blog: http://www.jenferguson.wordpress.com in which you can find a very special seasonal advent calendar to buoy your holiday spirits~

I'm renovating the old http://www.artinchaos.com site, so bear with me while I work at that. In the meantime, if you're interested in a studio visit or original work, feel free to email me or call the the studio.

Have a wonderful holiday!
all best, jen ferguson

Jen Ferguson
Dumbo, Brooklyn
718 222 4860
jen@artinchaos.com

THE ACT-I-VATE PRIMER (IDW, $24.99) is the first print edition of the webcomics available on Act-I-Vate.com, an award-winning webcomic collective. Publishing something new every day, Act-I-Vate has assembled some of the best comic creators in the industry. There’s a little of everything in the collection, from the fantasy, sword-and-sorcery dreams of “Sam and Lilah,” to the childlike fable of “Goodnight, Max,” to the incomplete undersea fantasy of “Loviathan,” Act-I-Vate Primer maintains a surprisingly high quality of uncensored creator-owned work and is a perfect window into this fast growing, unbridled community. -- Adam Waterreus

http://www.politics-prose.com/graphic-novels/dec09/page4