The end of the first Avernyght story has gone up. Next story to start on Labor Day.

PRESS RELEASE

* * * * * FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* * * * *

Contact: Samantha Wikan
email: swikan @ doodlebot.net

SPIDERFOREST COMICS IN CARTOON ART MUSEUM
A Virtual Gallery As Part of Monsters of Webcomics Exhibit

Georgetown, Texas, USA – 11 August 2009: The Comic Art Museum in San Francisco, California, is hosting “The Monsters of Webcomics” exhibit from August 8 through December 6, 2009. Sample strips of SpiderForest comics Rune Master: Tales of a Demon Slayer, The Artiste Manquée, and Life’s a Witch are included in the Virtual Gallery of webcomics. They appear alongside Eisner-nominated webcomics (Wondermark, by David Malki, and The Lady’s Murder, by Eliza Frye) as well as beginner webcomics to show the spectrum of styles and genre available on the web.

“I really believe that comics on the web are the next step for creators and readers,” said Samantha Wikan, creator of Life’s a Witch. “The Monsters of Webcomics exhibit is another sign that webcomics are working their way into the mainstream.”

SpiderForest Webcomic Collective has been a home for fine webcomics since 2004. Spiderforest.com hosts comics and comic-related blogs and accepts applications for new members twice a year.

# # #

For more information or further reading:

email Samantha Wikan: swikan @ doodlebot.net

SpiderForest Webcomic Collective: http://spiderforest.com/

Rune Master: Tales of a Demon Slayer: http://rmtoads.com/

The Artiste Manquée: http://www.the-artiste.net/

Life’s a Witch: http://witchytech.com/lifesawitch

Cartoon Art Museum: http://cartoonart.org/

Complete list of Monsters of Webcomic comics: http://cartoonart.livejournal.com/30634.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 2009 Applications Now Accepted for Entry to SpiderForest Network

June 1, 2009

The SpiderForest webcomic collective is now accepting applications for entry to the private network until June 24^th.  New members are welcomed bi-annually based on an admissions process where current SpiderForest members read, review and vote on each application.

Everyone interested is encouraged to apply, though not everyone is accepted. Application details can be found at spiderforest.net/apply.

Since 2004, SpiderForest has hosted experienced webcomic creators in an environment free of mandatory ads or unoriginal site templates. SpiderForest offers FTP access for the maximum amount of site customization, cross-advertising via the network header, free hosting, a comic creator’s choice of archiving software including the SF original, easy-to-use “ProPanda,” and a diverse array of fellow comics. SpiderForest claims no intellectual or property rights on comics that it hosts.

Current members include the creators of such long-time comics as NAHAST: LANDS OF STRIFE (Alejandro Melchor), REQUIEM (James Roden) and SPECIAL SCHOOL (Andy Mason). New comics welcomed in the previous round of admissions include BETWEEN PLACES (Tiffany M), LIFE’S A WITCH (Samantha Wikan), and SHI LONG PANG (Ben Costa).

Contact:

Ran Jado

webmaster@spiderforest.com

http://spiderforest.com

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As kind of an ongoing art exercise, I’ve been putting together a set of Tarot cards based on characters in my webcomic.  Well, after a bit of a pause in working on them, I thought I’d let everybody know that there are three new ones added to the gallery.

You can find the Ace of Wands, Queen of Swords, Queen of Cups, and a lot more over at http://requiem.spiderforest.com/?page_id=2577

The newest ones are the last three in the gallery.  Enjoy!

On Monday Nov 10th, Nahast: Lands of Strife broke the 1,000 daily visits ceiling by recording 1,023 visitors to the site just one week after celebrating its 6th anniversary. Since the comic started in 2002, attendance has been slow but steady, gaining a small but loyal following that has been steadily growing over the years. In 2008, Nahast made the leap from its humble origins at Comic Genesis and to its current home in the SpiderForest community, followed soon after by its affiliation to Palace in the Sky. I can attribute this growth to a more aggressive advertising campaign, the support of the SpiderForest and Palace in the Sky member comics and a more stable updating schedule, which has previously suffered from several tumbles and delays as life interferes with the eternal quest for the Right Way To Do The Art, particularly as I consider myself more a writer who learned to draw than an artist with a story, and I’m always experimenting new tricks and techniques. The comic’s sister site: Chronicles of the 5th Age, has stalled for the last several months, but is looking at a revival soon, along with the opening of the third member of the overall Nahast project: Heroes and Legends, a site devoted to the role-playing and world-building aspects of the story, which were moved out of the comic’s site proper so they could have their own space and will include maps (finally!), a more detailed history of the world, a gazzeteer of the most important nations and rules for including parts of Nahast’s elements into role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons. Reaching this milestone is encouraging; it means a lot to an author to know that his work is enjoyed by other people, and hopefully, the 2,000 mark will not take another 6 years to reach.

My first experiment with underpainting…a little piece called “Red”

When we first started talking about this event, I decided to take a different slant on this than what I would normally take. Within Requiem, there are a group of Professors who are instrumental to the story, and I decided to give them their time in the sun.

So without further ado I present: Professor Clarence Gage, E.D.G.A.R., Professor Jeremy Haas, Professor Kathleen Adair, and Professor James Thalim.

As I expected, no payment for my book materialized by the end of the deadline I set. I actually didn’t have any hope of it happening; these people have been leading me on for a year and a half, so it’s time to make good on my threat: as soon as I have some time, Kitsunemori will be on sale through my store section, at a lower price than it sells on online stores.

Now… should I go the extra mean step and actually advertise it on PW ads on RPG-related sites?

[EDIT] Well, it’s up now; get it while it’s hot!

A year and a half ago, I wrote half of a RPG book called Kitsunemori for a small company called Dog Soul Publishing, mostly the rules part as it was a d20 (D&D) add-on, plus outlined the second half with the worldbuilding stuff, which I was unable to write due to time constraints. I also did 12 illustrations for the book, one of them the cover image.

So far, I’ve only seen $100, and that only covers 5 illustrations, let’s not mention the royalties, as the book won an honorable mention at last year’s Ennies Awards.

So, as I finished the last sections of Nahast’s new digs here at SF, it ocurred to me that I could sell my PDF author’s copy through my webcomic. Still, my very annoying personal ethics won and I sent an email to the publishers, a husband-and-wife team, telling them of my intentions, and setting a deadline for a reply (on several occasions, weeks or months went by before they replied to my enquiries). This morning I got an answer from the wife half of the company, telling me she’ll have some money for me by the end of next week, deposited in my PayPal account or as a donation in Nahast’s tip jar.

I still plan to sell the book on my own if the pay is not satisfactory. I gave them plenty of leniency after their last (and only) payment, but I kind of need every cent I can scrounge up.

And yes… I’m a bit cranky… Full moons screw up my sleep cycle and this month was a “You Will Toss and Turn for Eternity” day… °_°

I made this for my big bro, who got his hands on a Beretta Storm. Nice! I’m jealous.