I believe there’s a good percentage of people visiting STC, not only enjoy the comic, but also create comics themselves. I came across a pretty good podcast today. It’s an interview of Tyler Martin done by Scott Kurtz. Without these two guys having done what they’ve done, STC probably wouldn’t be on your computer screens right now. 

Scott Kurtz, of PVPOnline, has one of the most deservingly successful webcomics on the web.  His strip has been around about 2 months after Al Gore invented the internet. If you haven’t followed his work, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Scott is part of Halfpixel, and their podcast (Webcomics Weekly) was what got me into making the serious commitment into doing a comic strip. I blame my passion/artistic direction on them.

If Scott Kurtz and the rest of the Half Pixel crew are the red, yellow, blue, and green lions, then Tyler Martin would have to be the black lion that would form my webcomic’s Voltron.

While Tyler Martin has a very good webcomic ( Wally and Osborne ), he has brought a gift to the online comic creator that I happen to feel is without peer. Comicpress. Comicpress is a customizable theme that when used with Wordpress makes producing sequential art online, much easier. While you don’t need comicpress to produce a successful strip, it sure don’t hurt. Many of the most tech savy guys in the field have made the switch, and I believe more and more will. Scott happens to be a fan of both Comicpress and Tyler Martin, as Tyler did the most recent site redesign for PVP.

Having established my well deserved respect for these two individuals, it should be no surprise how delighted I was to come across this podcast. As I previously stated, Scott conducts an interview with Tyler, talking about his creative process, personal life, and of course Comicpress. If you’re someone creating comics, or you love to read them, there’s some interesting stuff here for you to consume.

-C.

This morning, while driving, I was listening to the Gigcast #163 on the Nano.  For those who don’t know, it’s one of the first webcomic based podcasts out there. I’ve been a fan for a few months and consider it one of my must listen to’s when I know there’s a new show. Well to my complete surprise and delight, they mentioned STC as a show sponsor. I’d put up an ad a week or two back and apparently it was the one that was up when they made the selection.

Well, JT and (Mad) Scott had nice things to say about the comic and me as well. They even pronounced my name correctly. Not the easiest thing to do. Anyway, click on the image below if you’re interested in listening to not only a great podcast, but also if you’ve been wondering for weeks how in the hell you pronounce my name (my mention is at the very tail end of the show. 

So, much love to the Night Gig folks.

Click here to download.

-C.

Welcome to my final installment of my N.E.W.W. wrap up. Thanks for hangin’ in there with me. Much like STC, I’ve noticed this ended up being very detailed and long. So, hopefully (considering my schedule) you’re okay with the way I’ve chosen to do this. 

I saved the best for last. Below are some of the sketches I received from the con. I got the chance to do a few of them, but hated each one I did. Sharpies are not for me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these.

Tim, Chuck, Dawn, Casey

As you probably already know, I spent most of my time with team “Geeky Voltron”. The second night, we decided to do jam pieces and drink beer. Sketchin’ with other comicers and drinkin’ beer together is the closest thing to perfection I can think of. Top right: Tim, top middle: Chuck, bottom left: Dawn, bottom middle: Casey.

Paul Southworth

This one was a cool surprise. Paul is on of my artistic idols and his work on Ugly Hill is amazing. I was really stoked to get some of his stuff.

I’ve got a lot of respect for Joel. He’s got a clever sense of humor and even though he’s somewhat new in the business, has really seemed to have figured out the business of this comic on the net thing. Perhaps this was one of his first ever con sketches? A collectable.

Perhaps the nicest dude in comics? Great actor too. He almost seemed as happy to meet me, as I was to meet him. Either way, meeting/ hangin’ out with Krishna was terrific. I still feel guilty for the terrible sketch I made for him.

Meeting R.K. Milholland was unexpected and awesome. I probably learned the most from talking to him then anyone else. While this was a quick sketch, it’s the one that got a reaction from my daughter.

Meeting Chris was also unexpected. Creating 1 panel comics is not easy. He sure makes it seem that way. He’s also a surprisingly quiet guy. It’s nice to meet a big timer for that’s so modest. …either that or he’s a serial killer.

And now the Show Stopper, the Head Liner, the Main Event!

Scott, Dave, Brad, Kris

When I met him, Scott was still waiting on his t-shirts to come in. Since he was waitin’, I offered give him some of my bristol board to do sketches on. I gave him that and one of my pens. He seemed unsure about taking my offering, so we compromised with a sketch. When asking me about what I wanted him to do, it suddenly occurred to me that maybe the HalfPixel guys could do a jam piece for me. Each guy went in order; Scott, Dave, Brad, and Kris showed up later. I offered each other guy money to do it, and they all turned me down. A lot of it was them maintaining an image, but these 4 were honestly amazing guys. They managed to keep their spirits and energy level high their whole stay. They answered my questions and seemed to really care.

Most of the time, meeting idols of yours don’t match your expectations. Everyone exceeded mine. Not included above; Danielle Corsetto. I ran out of time before getting to get one of her sketches. Purchased her books that she sketched in, however. Thank you to everyone I talked to, hung out with, and didn’t mention. Every minute there, made the drive worth it.

-C.

Hey STCommunity. I thought I’d give you guys something to look at while you wait for my next update. I drew this late July, early August of last year, but I don’t think I ever bothered to post it. If you don’t recognize the faces, it’s the HalfPixel guys. If you’ve read my NEWW wrap-up, then you hopefully will be able to recognize Scott, Kris, Dave, and Brad. I actually got a decent response from at least two of them about it. I wish I’d thought to print four out to bring with me to New England. Oh well, I hope you all enjoy.

A lot of what I wrote in this thing still applies, but might seem a little dated, unless you’re a huge fan of Webcomics Weekly.

Scott, Kris, Dave, Brad

-C.