In advance of the coming movie, Disney Publishing has released a Monsters University Storybook app for iPhone and iPad. It’s fun to play with! You start by taking your picture for a student ID, which you can decorate with cartoon mouths, horns, eyeballs, and more to “monsterify” yourself.

Don’t I make a scary monster?

The “Read” option tells you the story of the movie (I assume), about how Mike Wazowski went to Monsters University to become a Scarer, with lightly animated screens and movie clips. (You can have it read to you or read it yourself.) If you spot the hidden IDs, you unlock other players for the “Play” option, which has five different variants on the same tilt-the-screen game mechanism. Which I failed at miserably.

This is a cute memento with some good replay value, but I recommend getting it for your child (or yourself) after June 21, when the movie comes out. Wouldn’t want to spoil anything, would you?!

Now, to keep things fresh, the strip is bringing on a co-writer, Dylan Meconis (known for her webcomics Family Man and Bite Me). They’re billing it as the “PvP Writers’ Room”, which implies the intent to bring on additional staffers.

Meconis has previously written over two weeks’ worth of the strip in January, when Kurtz was injured, and she’s already been working with Kurtz on the current storyline.

“The problem with deadline-based comic strip writing is that sometimes you’re forced to go with your first idea over the best idea.” said Kurtz. “Being a part of a writing team on other projects I learned that with more than one writer, you can get the best idea and maintain the schedule.”

Brigid Alverson does an excellent job pointing out how wrong Mark Millar is to prevent interested customers from buying his new series digitally.

Certainly, it’s his choice. He owns the copyright (I’m assuming), so he can refuse to license the work if he wants. Just like movie studios used to refuse to allow their stars to appear on TV, way back in the day. And look how well that worked in keeping people from switching their viewing to their living room because it was more convenient for them! Instead of going out to the movies, they made new stars out of those who would appear where they wanted to view entertainment.

I’m also reminded of the days when people actively worked against paperback collections of comics because readers who wanted to buy in bookstores weren’t considered “real” comic customers, and the one true way to buy comics was as periodicals, every week. Now we’re fighting the same battles again, with certain people trying to ignore how customers will either buy the format they prefer or not at all. By trying to force them to print — thereby ignoring the now-significant number of buyers who don’t want physical comics or have no shop nearby — Millar is simply hanging onto the way things used to be, not the way they are now.

@kevin_church Go for it! Everyone I know who does them is just exhausted.

— Cathy Leamy (@metrokitty) May 9, 2013

I can understand why webcomic creators might be tired. Few cartoonists are making good money, since the early days, where someone could get a lot of attention for being one of a few covering a particular topic, are long gone. Running a business with so much competition and so few ways to distinguish yourself is tough, and to really break through and gain an audience takes both years and luck. Even Kickstarter, which is considered a saving grace but is really more of a fad, requires having a substantial following to be successful.

Are we headed for a webcomics contraction? Does that even make sense? Is anyone tracking the entire number of webcomics, and would we notice if there were fewer of them?

Another response to that Twitter conversation says something else that suggests a big change coming:

@kevin_church I’ll keep following yours via your twitter and Facebook updates, but I’m dropping most webcomics when google reader goes.

— Mark Clapham (@markclapham) May 9, 2013

Google Reader disappears July 1, in just another month and a half. Any time a change like that happens, there’s attrition. A number of users will simply go away without finding another tool or replacement. Webcomics may find their regular follower numbers dropping as a result. For those not worried about running a sustainable business, it may not matter, but surviving on ad support is already difficult. Then again, life is change, and we all need to be prepared to cope.

The cast is minimal, with characters named Mom, Dad, and Thatababy. It’s modern in attitude, alternating cute baby behavior (and occasional clueless parent moments)

with random popular culture references.

Every so often, the strip is simply the kid singing a favorite when he’s supposed to be sleeping.

That’s not so much a gag as simply “remember this?” As is this installment, which appears to simply be a reason to show that Trap can either draw the Archies or use a copy machine on the reduction setting.

Still, I look forward to seeing the comic strip on the daily page. It’s more entertaining than many of the old favorites, even if just to see what reference will pop up next.

I’m beginning to realize just how much of what made me the comic fan I am today is no longer familiar — or even recognized — by younger readers and creators. I know, it’s boring to hear someone complain about being old, but Shaenon Garrity’s amazing piece on the history of Modern Tales and others of Joey Manley’s for-pay webcomic collectives took me back to another time, when comic creators were excited about the future and all the options it would bring and all kinds of experiments took place. Founded in 2001, the site went through a lot of changes before finally petering out last year. Garrity’s memories are a terrific time capsule and a great read about another era now passed.

She terms it a “celebration of fornication”, updating every Tuesday. Do I need to say this is for adults and not safe for work? I’m thrilled to subscribe, though, and I can’t wait to see how it continues. She’s already demonstrated that her “models” are going to be varied in look (especially body shape), and she promises guest reviews to cover other perspectives (such as from a guy). What a great idea, and given her previous work, combining shockingly honest self-revelation and an interest in all kinds of bodily functions, I can’t think of anyone better to do it!

Here’s her summary, where she tracks Image Comics’ official statement and some key Tweets (where most news breaks these days). She also followed up with Image publisher Eric Stephenson. Her conclusion:

Sure, comiXology is a near monopoly in the digital space—like Diamond in the physical. And like Diamond, it is mostly a benign monopoly. While this was not a shining hour for them, if they learn from their mistakes and move forward, good will come of all of it.

Unfortunately, this is the second “black eye” for the company recently, as they also fell down on the technical level, causing Marvel’s giveaway promotion to have to be restaged. Also, at least one retail store stopped carrying the title, although I’m not sure why this issue would be the one they considered too pornographic, given the kinds of content that has appeared throughout the series (which is what made people getting upset NOW so confusing).

I’m not sure we’re ever going to know the real causes of the Saga kerfluffle, but if Apple is upset that they were incorrectly cast as the bad guys (and potentially homophobic to boot, given that the explicit images were male-male), that could be a problem for comiXology. A lot of their business rests on being able to serve comics to iPad users, which requires Apple’s cooperation. I’m sure that everyone was operating out of the best intentions, but this is a risk when one person/group is trying to guess at what another might object to. It might even cause more serious damages. Daniel Jalkut points out a legal risk:

These days, any one of us could be on the verge of stating as fact something that is very damaging to a person or company, yet very false. Check your libel.

On the other hand, back in the day, an upset writer wouldn’t have been able to get his concerns out in public so quickly and have them acted upon. I’m sure some comic publishers aren’t particularly fond of that cultural change.

Following up on the aborted Marvel giveaway of free comics last month, comiXology has announced that the ability to choose from over 700 free Marvel #1s is returning, although it requires more advance work this time around.

First, you have to have an account at their site. If you don’t have one, you have to sign up before midnight tonight. Then,

On Thursday, April 11th, we will begin sending out invites with your personalized link to access over 700 FREE Marvel #1 issues, so be on the lookout for your email!… Once you receive your Marvel #1 invite, you will have 48 hours to choose your FREE Marvel #1 issues!

I wouldn’t expect to see the invite immediately, since a graduated response will prevent the overload situation that sunk the last offering.

The moth is so cute but menacing!

The strip doesn’t do a ton of pop culture references, but when it does, they’re funny.

Maybe that’s just me being old-fashioned or nostalgic, but if that’s your interest, their newest digital-first title is perfect: they’ve announced Batman ’66, a comic inspired by the classic TV show.

The stories will be written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Jonathan Case, who drew the likeness-inspired art shown here. Parker’s got a good ear for lighthearted superheroics, too. According to Case, “DC licensed the rights to all the actors from the 60s TV show (!)”. Robot 6 has more art samples. This interview with Parker suggests he’s going to do a good job walking the line between entertaining and too cheesy, as well as plans to introduce Batman characters into that world that never appeared on the show, such as Killer Croc.

This is just part of a bigger licensing plan, with merchandise based on the show also coming available, including costumes and action figures. Still no word on the DVD release, though — that seems much more complicated.

With her webcomic Girls of Monster Paradise, Stephanie Gladden answers the question you never knew you need to ask — what happens to all those girls dragged away from their parties and beaches by the monster in 60s movies? Well, they wind up on the island of Monster Paradise, where they all hang out in the tropics and have fun. It’s as if the inhabitants of Gilligan’s Island were all variations of Mary Ann, and they don’t want to leave.

The first strip introduces the characters and sets up the premise. It launched last October and updates every Friday. The premise is a hoot in itself, but the result is fun cartooning, particularly with the emphasis on surf, sand, and hot rods. Stephanie has a long and accomplished career in animation, so her character designs are terrific and all of her work has a great sense of movement.

Points are no longer available for purchase. “Purchases” with existing point balances can be made through Tuesday, March 26, but since all viewing is online, you will only be able to read the titles before May 30, at which point it all shuts down. An apology was included in the message:

We deeply regret having to terminate our manga retail service in this manner and offer our sincerest apologies to the users, partners, and friends who supported us. As a small token of our appreciation we will be refunding each user’s unused points

If you have a balance of paid-for points, the service will be sending out Amazon gift cards from March 21-25 to reimburse you, rounded up to the nearest dollar. So it appears that you can use the points for additional reading and still get paid back for them, which is a bit of a consolation prize. JManga will also be erasing their social web presences on Twitter and Facebook.

I have no information on how widespread the usage of the service was, but it had its fans for allowing readers to sample series that would otherwise not be legally available. The operators were also very responsive to comments and complaints, dropping prices just two months after opening and making some significant changes after a year of operation.

Unfortunately, this was the second time fans of cancelled Del Rey series have been disappointed. First, Kodansha Comics announced they wouldn’t be rescuing any more titles, although some were available on JManga. Now, that venue is gone as well.

Fan reaction varied. On Twitter, Sean Gaffney summed up one attitude, pointing out problems with sites that depend on cloud access

“So what about the hundreds of dollars worth of manga I bought?”"We’re taking it away and you aren’t getting it ever.”

— Sean Gaffney (@Toukochan) March 14, 2013

while Ed Sizemore was more philosophical about enjoying the work in the moment

I have no regrets with my JManga membership. I paid for chance to read books. Most of what I read was fun, but not something I want to keep.

— Edward Sizemore (@edsizemore) March 14, 2013

Lissa Pattillo has a harsher response. Like many observers, she points out how the lack of ability to download titles (JManga users had to read online while connected to their site) and the lack of support for popular devices (such as tablets) were negative factors. She goes on

JManga was, simply put, offering scanlations to readers with the expectation of being paid for it…. Having read a few of their samplers, the quality of JManga’s work was also not near that which you see on Viz Media or Yen Press‘s websites. While one could argue JManga had fewer resources and experience, it still means nothing in a business where their main rivals are scanlaters pumping out the same quality but faster, cheaper and in heaping more quantities.

She suggests that JManga might have gone better if they were more like Netflix, charging a flat subscription fee for an “all you can read” approach instead of charging per title.

This is yet another example of how services that are selling digital comics are actually just rental sites. If you’re ok with the prices they’re charging for the chance to read for as long as they’re around, that’s fine, so long as you know that going in.

Also, I wonder if the fact that it’s been a year and a half as of February since the service debuted had something to do with this decision. I’m not sure how long the Japanese publishers behind JManga were willing to give this experiment, nor what expectations they had for income or profit, but the round number time period makes me think someone decided to dedicate resources elsewhere. Especially since the Japanese fiscal year tends to end in March, so companies are planning ahead and restarting their budgets.

After Marvel announced a free giveaway of 700 digital first issues this past weekend with an expiration date of Tuesday, the ComiXology site has been pretty much unusable. Their servers were swamped, which defeats the purpose of introducing (hypothetically) new readers to Marvel. But the damage went further than that.

Users can’t log in. Which means they can’t read any issues they’ve already bought from any publisher, let alone downloading these giveaways.

New users can’t register, so you’re losing them when they’re most interested and leaving them with a poor impression.

If a user was logged in, they can’t download anything new. Which means other publishers can’t sell their comics to readers.

Retailers have even said that their ComiXology-run sites have been unaccessible.

That’s what happens when everything’s interconnected on one platform. It wasn’t just Marvel affected, but every comic publisher and reader in the system.

All day, ComiXology has been apologizing to users on Twitter, but the problem wasn’t getting solved. If the load is orders of magnitude higher than expected, that’s not surprising. I’m guessing as soon as they restarted things, another huge wave swamped the machines. It was still nice to see them being responsive and acknowledging user frustration.

Earlier this evening, ComiXology cancelled the giveaway, or as they put it, “we’re pausing the Marvel Comics #1 promotion for the time being.” Now, you sign up to be notified when they’ve restarted the offer. Best part?

When they first put up the apology, you couldn’t get to the sign-up page the CEO message mentioned because that server wasn’t responding. It’s still having intermittent issues. And downloading comics on the app is still hit-or-miss.

Digital comics have a huge potential for outreach. This problem just indicates how much demand there might be. Heck, I had three people at work who don’t even read comics (but do have iPads) mention this offer to me today. However, when it’s all dependent on just one system — especially to read comics you’ve supposedly already bought (but really only rent) — that system becomes a bottleneck.

I feel sorry for the comiXology folks. It’s hard to predict how a system will scale in such a case. I know they were trying their hardest to get things working, and trying again later will hopefully work better for everyone.

Update: Last night on Twitter, we were playing a “how could this have been worse?” game, and my answer was “if the servers went crazy and started charging for the free comics.” Guess what? Someone in the comments at Comics Alliance had just that thing happen, although they reversed the charges. On the bright side, I have today been able to access a couple of the many free comics waiting to download on my iPad.

Like Brigid Alverson, I have qualms. (Do NOT read the comments at that link! Idiot fanboys immediately feel threatened when you bring up how off-putting many superhero comics are to women.) She’s right about the vertical panels being a poor choice for an online comic — I have a portrait monitor and I was still scrolling.

I also agree that I’d rather see a work promoted on what it IS, not what it isn’t. It’s easy to say “those other books are bad because… and I’m not like that”, but instead, be positive about your work. What are your strengths? Without enough content about what you do (instead of what you don’t do), you risk turning off those who feel attacked because they identify too closely with their entertainment.

In this case, the comic features a likable lead character and an intriguing puzzle. I really want to spend more time with Cat, especially since she’s described as “the smartest person in Gloria City”. It’s like the glory days of Oracle, only without the maiming first and with actual attention given to the intelligent redhead. I also love her clothes — I want the outfit shown here.

For now, the comic is continuing at a pace of two new pages every Sunday. I find it best to read an issue at a time, so this might be something I rediscover every few months.

The Line, a webcomic written by Kevin Church and drawn by Paul Salvi about life behind the scenes at a fancy restaurant, had a collection released last year. Now, you can get a digital copy of volume 1 for whatever you care to pay. It downloads as both PDF and CBZ. Check out the strip, then get the PDF for easy catching up!

Giving convention attendees a free comic is a long-held tactic to get more attention for a property and give ticket buyers the feeling that they’re getting something extra for their admission cost. Digital makes it a lot easier to do so. Nothing wrong with that. And if ComiXology gets some more subscribers, that’s good for them.

The quibble I do have is calling it an “exclusive”. Exclusive means something you have that other people don’t, usually (in comics) due to a limited print run. If there’s only 250 copies of something made, that’s all there is, there ain’t no more. When it comes to digital, there is no such limitation, and I think it’s somewhat stupid to try and retrofit that concept to digital works. Usually, the word is used in an attempt to artificially inflate sales or drive demand. Why would we want that harmful behavior translated into the online comic market, where scarcity doesn’t need to exist?

In this case, it’s not even true. The issue can be bought by anyone as of next Wednesday.

Smartly, they’re also open to monetization, but in ways that we might not have yet. The sales on Comixology are covering the production costs, so anything else is a bonus. Bless Waid for not being afraid of the future, but be willing to experiment in ways that are realistic and smart. I learned a lot from this talk.

Blue Delliquanti, whose work I discovered in The Accidental Candidate, has her own webcomic, O Human Star. It’s the story of a dead man whose inventions were responsible for the “robot revolution”, making the creations workable and transforming society. Now he’s been resurrected, in a way, with an archive of his consciousness put into a robot body.

That’s not the most surprising bit. That comes when he meets his old partner and his daughter, another version of him who’s grown up a bit differently. The work is fascinating, both in concept and execution. Amazing work with monochrome coloring, too. I’m reminded of how I felt when I first discovered Finder; it’s got the same feel of human-centered science fiction. There are two full chapters available online, over 110 pages so far, and the third is promised to begin soon. You can also buy the work in print.

You’ll know it’s taking place in another country (Bouden is Belgian) from early on, when the doctor makes a house call. More significantly, the cost of treatment never comes up between the couple. In the US, that would have to be one of the top two worries. (After the universal concern of “when am I going to die?”) Positive: A Graphic Novelette of Life With HIV is well-drawn, in European clean-line style. There’s a lot of conversation — most of the book is people talking to each other in pairs — but the figures at least display emotion and gesture.

My favorite part is the friendship that springs up between Sarah and Ayanda, another patient. My least favorite is how whiny Tim gets about how inconvenienced he’ll be if his girlfriend dies and he’ll have to take care of himself. Many people have such worries, and it’s honest to present them, but this gets back to him not being sympathetic because I don’t know enough about this character as a person. Is this typical of his behavior? Uncharacteristic? It feels flat and unpleasant to me.

This story is available digitally for $3.99 US in either PDF or EPUB format. It’s 49 pages, but given how dense the panels are on the page, it feels like more. (That’s not a slam, but a statement of value. See the sample page.) The tiers also make it easy to read online, as you can scroll through part of the page without missing the big picture, since small panels are used throughout. Note that there are sections with nudity and depictions of sex in this comic, so be careful where you read it if that’s a concern. Showing them in the act does work to keep the reader’s visual interest while the characters discuss safe sex techniques.

I wish this was available in print, because it seems to me that it would be useful as a gift to those who’d like to (or should) know more about the situation or as a reminder to those suffering that there are examples of others going through similar struggles. It’s a lot more difficult to gift a digital file, or for someone given one to avoid ignoring it.