They are doing something very cool over at Fleen – they are bringing in a whole new wave of webcomic critics, and those who make the final cut will be chosen by the viewing audience!

Ok, so the reality show aspect mildly disturbs me, but as long as they aren’t making people eat bugs or set themselves on fire, I think I’ll be fine.

In any case, they are posting essays written by the applicants, and will be making heavy use of the reader’s comments on those selfsame essays. Now, there are quite a few of these applicants, and as such, it makes for a very heavy dose of reading to pour through – so the more people that wander over there and give their thoughts, the better off they’ll be.

So go. Check it out. They have some good things happening over there, and more activity in the Dialogue can only be for the best!

On a related note, the 2006 Web Cartoonist’s Choice Awards will be getting rolling in a few more weeks, so keep your eyes on that and start pondering your nominations. Or, for those who may not be able to give nominations, start planning which Web Cartoonist will be easiest to kidnap and steal the identity of in order to assure the right comic gets nominated.

As usual, I seem to be a bit behind the times – apparently Troutman has returned, and brought Basil Flint back with him.

His new update schedule appears to be somewhat haphazard – tossing up bunches of comics at a time whenever they’ve been finished. But thus far it appears to be working well, and I’m eager to see if it holds out – the comic itself seems up to Troutman’s usual level of quality (ie, wickedly good stuff.)

I also noticed that he has introduced the Troutcave!

It is a collection of his former works, and I’m personally quite the fan of them being all gathered together. I know that when I first started reading his comics, and couldn’t track down some of his older works, it made for the occasional frustration in trying to understand background and character history and the like.

While the earlier works aren’t necessarily required reading for the later strips – especially given that the quality has changed quite a bit from one series to another – having them on hand for those that want to check them out is definitely a good thing.

(~Thread title, meanwhile, stolen from Real Life Comics, which has been solidly entertaining of late~)

I just wanted to announce Wes Molebash’s return to webcomics!

Things really weren’t the same on the internet without him, and its a relief to see him return to the fold. Some might feel that his departure was ill-thought out, and his return bespeaks a lack of determination, but I for one am glad to see his comic continue.

You’ll Have That has always been a clever mix of poignant romance and heart-wrenching drama. It is easy to see the poet’s soul that is behind the work, and how such an individual could be beaten down by the ill winds of the internet. It is refreshing to know that such an artist could rise from the ashes of his despair, invigorated by his love of the art, and resume his work after such an absence!

The Official Strategy Guide for World of Warcraft includes a number of WoW specific comics done by the fine lads at Penny Arcade.

I’d read a friend’s copy back when the game came out, before I had actually played it myself, and, as is often the case, the comics were funny as hell.

Quite some time beyond that, I began playing WoW myself and could finally appreciate the comics – but alas, the nearby game stores had a poor selection of literature on the strategical arts, and no book to be found. Aside from that, I was too lazy to order it online, and buying a guide I wouldn’t use solely for the comics seemed a bit silly.

But lo and behold! Blizzard has been placing the various comics on their site for all to see!

So for any of those who like hunting down all the non-PA stuff done by the Penny Arcade guys, here is a good selection that can be appreciated with or without actual knowledge of the game.

I somehow missed the return of Kiaga Swordscat, after his brief hiatus and self-discovery of where he wanted to go with the comic.

I’d been waiting for the return, but it somehow slipped passed my radar, so I figured I would toss this out here for any others looking for the news.

The new strips seem to be good stuff, and the comic is well worth checking out even for those who weren’t already a fan.

Avalon is one of those “old-school” comics on the web – something that was bright and blazing in its youth, with a powerful fan base and many friends throughout the webcomic world – as evidenced by the plethora of guest artist strips scattered throughout its archive.

But things change. And after over two and a half years of rock-solid updates, Avalon… faltered. Josh Phillips came out and created a post to tell his readers the state of the comic – he had a conclusion planned, but he simply found himself with other concerns and other issues preventing him from bringing it out. A handful of jump starts came over the next few years, but he never really got the ball rolling again.

But now Avalon is back. I’ve been surprised by how quiet things have been regarding this – perhaps there has just been other events in the comic world on people’s minds. Yet this return is important to me, and I’m sure many others who wouldn’t have expected it: Avalon is updating again, day after day, and in the creator’s own words, “we’ll finally get to see the conclusion the way it was meant to happen.”

Avalon is and always has been a fantastic comic. While a lot of webcomics start off clearly weak – and due to the years of archives, many can see the long, long strides many artists make along the way – Avalon has been solid from the start. Clean distinct art, good self-contained stories, memorable characters – it’s a comic with a tale to tell, and it does it well.

The comic takes place over several years of high school, and deals with the students who attend. There is a lively cast of characters consisting of not just the students, but often their families as well. The story consistently brings out humor and jokes – but also covers all the drama, silliness, depression, love, hate and other crazy and stupid things that are a part of life – both in high school and beyond.

I’m glad to see that it is back, if only to conclude the series properly – and I want to get the word out to anyone who will listen: Avalon has returned! Come back to remember the good old days if you were there for them… or check it out and discover a great new comic just in time to see it wrap things up.

I’m confident you won’t be disappointed.