Interview: Michael Jasper and Niki Smith on In Maps & Legends

When Zuda, DC’s competitive webcomic imprint, announced it was closing, an almost audible ripple of discontent murmured across the comic-savvy branch of the interwebs.

Since 2007, Zuda had been home to a number of fantastic webcomic titles. It showcased some of the best and brightest comic artists and authors that could be gathered with the right combination of incentives. (ie., DC’s Big Boy clout, a growing social network of comic enthusiasts, and a flash-based viewing platform that, while it wasn’t perfect, still worked as a great ready-made outlet for aspiring webcomickers)

In Maps & Legends

In Maps & Legends, illustrated by Niki Smith and written by Michael Jasper, was one of the more popular Zuda titles of the past year. The winner of the November 2009 Zuda competition, In Maps & Legends tells the story of Kaitlin Grayson, a freelance artist who finds herself obsessed with creating an intricate map of a place she’s never been.

When a bizarre stranger who claims to be from another world seeks to enlist Kait’s help as a true “world artist”, she finds herself on the cusp of an epic, interplanetary adventure.

An adventure that Niki and Michael recently announced they would continue, despite the demise of Zuda as an open webcomic distribution platform. Read More »

Canadian Comics

The Fabler is, among other things, a growing international community of comic book artists, writers, and fans.

The word ‘international’, however,  might seem a little inconsistent with the content we’ve predominantly featured here on The Fabler Blog.

I’ll be the first to admit that in The Fabler Blog’s first year of life, I’ve maintained a strong emphasis on Canadian talent in the profiles and interviews I’ve posted.  This, I believe, is rightly so – with the exception of very few news blogs, such as Sequential and the Joe Shuster Awards Blog, Canadian comickers don’t often receive a load of media coverage.

Read More »

Profiling Eric Kim and The Complete Plays of William Shakespeare

Have you ever felt that Coles Notes versions of classical literature just weren’t quite ‘Coles Notes’ enough?

I mean, sure they managed (using black magic and wizardry) to congest Crime and Punishment down to a palatable 85 pages of overview, and yes, Jane Austen is a lot more sensible when you don’t have to muddle through hours of haughty 19th century prose.

Still, do you ever find yourself thinking that they really could have gotten where they were going a lot faster?

Eric Kim

Enter Ontario-based comic artist Eric Kim, who answered a resounding ‘yes’ to the above question. To prove that any classical narrative could effectively be reduced to two-to-four panels of dialogue, Kim set about putting to shame one of literature’s greatest icons; the Bard himself. Read More »

Interview: Jim Zubkavich talks Skullkickers and UDON’s 10th Anniversary

So a trouble-making Dwarf and a gun-wielding giant of a man walk into a bar, right?

Only…  it isn’t a bar, it’s a fantasy Dungeons & Dragons-style world rife with chaos and all sorts of supernatural baddies. And they don’t ‘walk in’ per se, so much as blitz a trail of destruction as only two battle-hardened mercenaries would know how.

But the punch line is… Ah, forget it. You might as well just read the comic, which is bound to be more entertaining than my misguided attempts at humour anyhow.

Skullkickers

Written and co-created by Jim Zubkavich, the comic is called Skullkickers, and  the first issue is due out on the shelves of comic book retailers everywhere on September 22nd. A brand new series from Image Comics, it promises to be an action-packed romp through a fantasy landscape that’s equal parts sass and bad-assery. Read More »

Profiling Cloudscape Comics

The past couple of weeks, the Fabler Blog featured interviews with Vancouver-based webcomickers Jonathon Dalton (www.jonathondalton.com) and Angela Melick (www.wastedtalent.ca).

In addition to their close proximity to Canada’s Western Coastline, they share something else in common; founding membership in a comic book collective by the name of Cloudscape Comics.

Cloudscape Comics

I was fortunate enough to recently connect with a few individuals involved with the group. My goal was to learn a little about what they do, what they stand for, and how local comic creators can benefit from collaborating through a collective like their own.

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Interview: Angela Melick of Wasted Talent

In 2005, an engineering school student named Angela Melick decided to put a collection of funny little comics she had sketched on looseleaf up onto the internet.

Melick had been drawing comics in one form or another for almost as long as she could remember,  and she felt that pursuing an education in engineering shouldn’t be a reason to suppress her interest in that form of art.

Angela Melick

It was lucky for us that Angela made the decision to find an outlet on the internet – that simple website collecting her quirky, autobiographical sketches on looseleaf became Wasted Talent, a hugely popular and extremely funny weekly webcomic that’s still updating, 5 years later. Read More »

Artist Interview: Jonathon Dalton of A Mad Tea-Party and Lords of Death and Life

Jonathon Dalton is an interesting fellow.

Jonathon Dalton

A substitute teacher by day, Jonathon fills much of the rest of his time churning out wildly imaginative webcomics for his website, jonathondalton.com. The subject matter of these comics varies greatly – you’re just as likely to stumble upon a story rooted in ancient Aztec lore as you are a humorous vignette exploring the secret origins of Chop Suey. Read More »

Profiling Robin Thompson, Vancouver Comic Art teacher and artist on Champions of Hell

Over the course of interviews I’ve done (so far) for the Fabler, there are a couple of questions that I tend to ask as often as I can.  One of those questions is something along the lines of ‘why do you do what you do?’ Of course, I don’t always phrase it the same way. The answers I get are always unique, and usually inspiring.

The other question is: ‘what do you need to become a successful comic artist or author?’ While again the phrasing might change, the answer to this question is almost always the same: you need to truly love making comics.

Robin Thompson

Robin Thompson is a comic illustrator, writer, and instructor currently living in Vancouver, BC. And he loves making comics.

Read More »

DC’s Zuda Comics, Officially closing doors!

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It’s a sad day in comic land folks. Zuda Comics, DC’s answer to closed open submission policies, and American Idol for Indy comics is officially closing. After more than two years of contests, cheers and tears Ron Perazza of Zuda made the announcement on Zuda’s blog. They did announce that they will be moving some of what Zuda had to offer through their new Digital Initiative, on digital distribution networks like Comixology, and Sony’s Playstation Network. Stay tuned to see what DC does next!

Profiling Jason Loo and Arthur Dela Cruz of The 3 Second Rule

The premise of the action-adventure ‘buddy comedy’ is a simple one: take two wildly different personalities that would otherwise not get along, and put them in a situation where the plot forces them to. Hijinks, hilarity, and explosions ensue.

3 Second Rule

The 3 Second Rule, a webcomic by Jason Loo and Arthur Dela Cruz, is not your typical buddy comedy. Read More »