Girl Genius

[Guest]

You know, Girl Genius is, in fact, one of my favorite sf comics. But I want to note that the Foglios use the by-line "Kaja and Phil Foglio" on the comics and books, significantly with Kaja's name first. She certainly deserves the credit along with Phil. There are three collected volumes available now, ask for them at your local comic book store.

[shadow]

J. Michael Straczinski has been writing a lot of comic books lately, ever since he quit Jeremiah. He's also written several horror novels, which I haven't seen reviewed anywhere. I found out about them by an amazon search.

[Nathan Brazil]

For me, the best comic that JMS has been writing is the almost complete Rising Stars. A story which I believe is also going to be a movie. If you missed it, think The 4400 with Marvel/ DC comic book super powers, a good dollop of relationships, and a heavy, well constructed political slant. All told in retrospect, by the central character.

[shadow]

I'm also a fan of Rising Stars, and also of Suprime Power, and of JMS's earlier, now complete series Midnight Nation.

So, what happens when all the power in Rising Stars is concentrated in one individual?

[Guest]

So, what happens when all the power in Rising Stars is concentrated in one individual?

That, we'll know when the last issue finally arrives. One of the reasons I like JMS writing, is that he has the ability to sidstep the obvious and misdirect.

[UrbanSpaceman]

One of the reasons I like JMS writing, is that he has the ability to sidstep the obvious and misdirect.

JMS is also involved in the current (excellent) Doctor Strange revival and his talent to "misdirect" is already evident - issue #4 delivered a plot twist that came out of nowhere, and as a veteran Strange-watcher I can't even guess how the series will be wrapped up in two issues' time. The storyline of Strange's "conversion experience" is familiar enough in outline, but we're being treated to a totally fresh interpretation of it.

[hegemon]

Girl Genius is no longer available in print, but only as an on-line comic at Phil and Kaja's web site. Check it out.

[admin]

A new Girl Genius collection is due out in March. Meanwhile, you can read Girl Genius for free at www.girlgeniusonline.com

On a recent visit to Phil Foglio's web page, I noticed that you can vote for Girl Genius as your favorite web comic. I followed that link, and it took me to a list of the top web comics (Girl Genius is #7). I took a look at the six web comics higher on the list -- either unfunny humor or elves with boobs. Girl Genius is much better. Vote! Let's try to at least push it up to #6.

Rick Norwood

[jdalton]

On a recent visit to Phil Foglio's web page, I noticed that you can vote for Girl Genius as your favorite web comic. I followed that link, and it took me to a list of the top web comics (Girl Genius is #7).

Aha- you have only begun to discover the depths of the online comic book world! (and by depths I mean that some of them sink pretty low). Here's a short list of sci-fi online comics that are not crap. There is a reason it is short, beyond just my own lazyness to look a bunch more up.

Reman Mythology (Only sci-fi in the sense that it involves travel to another world, but still frikin' amazing).
Airshell (bleak and lonely and a bit like Stanley Kubrick).
Life on Forbez (mostly just trying to be funny, but a lot of work's been put into the history of the various alien species).
Alpha Shade (not my favourite, but plenty of other people seem to like it.)
(*warning! blatant self-promotion!*) My own comics (specifically, A Mad Tea-Party and Maida Kilwa. Click the sig below!)

[admin]

You have excellent taste in comics. The first three have me hooked, even though I generally prefer print comics.

I did notice one thing. Most web comic pages seem to be laid out the way print comic pages are -- as if the artist has not noticed that a computer monitor is wider than it is tall. Maybe every web comic creator hopes to break into print -- but to me it makes more sense to design your comic with your medium in mind, which means a layout more like a Sunday half page comic strip -- a better fit for the screen. Also, it would make sense to have the next page/previous page buttons to the right of the strip rather than below the strip.

I suspect that the next generation of web comics will look less like a print comic that didn't sell.

[admin]

As for Alpha Shade -- very pretty, but starting a comic story with a page of text is a bad idea. Also, it takes a long time to load -- I'm writing this while waiting on page three.

I do notice that, while the pages are the shape of a comic book page, the forward/back commands are to the left, and everything fits on the screen without scrolling.

The artist is using a technique that works well in comic books, telling the story mostly in pictures. That does not work so well in web comics, because of the long loading time between one little bit of action and the next. You absorb what is on a page in ten seconds, then wait thirty seconds for the next page to load. It breaks the flow.

But the art is excellent.

[admin]

Maybe I should say a word or two about what is and is not ok to promote on sfsite/forum. First and foremost, it needs to be sf or fantasy. Second, you can't do a big commercial, just a few words and a link. You followed both those rules, and I hope you get a lot of new readers.

Good luck with your strip. I'll only point out that your site is not easy to navigate, and you seem to have hidden the page turner. This may seem like boring technical stuff, but the boring technical stuff is important, too.

[jdalton]

I did notice one thing. Most web comic pages seem to be laid out the way print comic pages are -- as if the artist has not noticed that a computer monitor is wider than it is tall. Maybe every web comic creator hopes to break into print --

This is often the case. Sometimes it works, too. Airshell is available in print and the author of Reman Mythology has just had another book published. But I agree with you that forward and back buttons are better off on the sides of the comic page.

As for my website, did you get stuck finding the first page of the comic or turning the pages after you were there? (I need to know which bit needs work).

Probably what I should have done is start a new thread for web comics. Oh well.

[admin]

I couldn't find the first page of the comic.

[jdalton]

I've left some text instructions under the bit you're meant to click. Hope that helps.