A Very Lucky Puppy

Update on the Hugo mess after the cut...

Hugo Update - How to shoot yourself in the foot, puppy style

Lou Antonelli, an author who had two works nominated by both the sad and rabid puppies for the Hugos this year, managed to well and truly screw himself up. It remains to be seen whether or not he is really sorry for his actions, although his apology seems genuine enough. Details after the cut for people bored with the whole Hugo Mess.

More Links!

Just want to mention this again: Archive Binge helps you catch up with webcomics that have huge archives. I'm currently reading a few of the comics on the list. If you have a webcomic, I really suggest you get your strip on this site.

Speaking of webcomics, have you met Gronk yet? Not a huge archive on this one, just start here.

The comic book blogosphere is up in arms about a stupid ad by a Maryland candidate for State Senator. To me, the picture gives the opposite impression of what she's trying to convey. Kids that young advanced enough in reading to understand Superman, X-Men, and Marvel Previews (?!) are probably very well educated.

OH MAN! Rich Johnston reports on legal trouble that SLG is having over their horror comic Winchester, which I enjoyed as noted here. I'm not sure what the problem is, except that it apparently involves trademarks. It's a pity, because I wanted to see more of that book, and this fight not only makes that unlikely, it might take down SLG entirely as a publisher.

For some reason, DeviantArt doesn't think inkers are actual artists. Their terms of service have declared that any artist must have created the work entirely by his or herself. No collaborative projects allowed. So inkers who have been putting up examples of their work are being shut down by the service. Anyone got the full scoop on this? The second link there indicates that they are only opposed to inking without permission, so is it a copyright issue solely?

You may have heard about Google allowing you to make free voice calls to any phone in the US or Canada? Well, I made two yesterday. The first went through fine, the second didn't.

Want to see Hamlet starring David Tennant as Hamlet, Sir Patrick Stewart as Claudius and the Ghost, Oliver Ford Davies as Polonius, Mariah Gale as Ophelia, and Edward Bennet as Laertes? Well, now you can watch it online at PBS.

The magic diet elixir is... water. For some strange reason, if you drink a full glass of water BEFORE a meal, you are likely to eat less. Who would've thought?

Oooh, Metafilter collects some learning resources links in a post with a great first line.

I adore this post by Ursula Vernon. She's saying, HEY, BUILD IT HERE! to the mosque, and for selfish reasons, too!

WOW, that's a deal! Getting frozen yogurt for 38/100ths of a cent per ounce! *sigh* Want to read something scarier? Some of the people in the comments don't understand why the math is wrong. Hint: the unit specifies cents, not dollars.

A comparison: Kindle, iPad, print magnified at 26x and 400x. I put the latest generation Kindle on my wishlist because it looks pretty good despite the flaws.

A new stove to make all other stoves cry, but will it catch on?

Here's a Doctor Who teaser trailer, but after you watch it, be sure to go to this link. If you don't, you will feel like a fool.

Pretty good for a fan effort, yes?

A respected teen author is dis-invited to a teen literary festival. As a result, other authors withdraw from the event. More here, including links to other authors talking about the situation. I originally heard the news from Sherwood Smith.

Basement Cat is heartless.

An extra pug for the in-laws.

And lastly, if you have any handy prayer weasels, please get them ready to spin. Eric and I are going to need all the help we can get in the next few weeks.

A Linkdump

Comic Book Legends Revealed #261: Frank Miller's Wolverine, Odie, and Mort Weisinger on the many marriages of Superman and/or Lois Lane.

I don't usually link to this webcomic, but Comic Critics #118 was too good to pass up.

If I weren't going to be elsewhere during the filming, I'd volunteer for The Morgan Spurlock documentary on San Diego Comic Con.

Kevin Costner may be the hero of the oil spill with some new technology he's developed with his scientist brother that helps to clean oil-polluted water.

What Disney Princesses teach girls.

Inexpensive Home Safety Improvements.

Oops. Towing Company Loses Half Its Accounts After Suing Over Facebook Page. And from the sounds of it, they deserved to lose that business, too.

Zuda Comics

Cory over at Boing Boing made me take another look at Zuda Comics with his review of Bayou. So I thought it might be time to revisit the site and see how they've gotten along since it debuted.

I ignored it when it debuted mostly due to complaints about unfair contracts. I can't find any indication that they've improved the contracts at all, but there seem to be a number of comics being published on the site now so apparently those contracts weren't a concern for many people.

The site itself is a bit annoying. There's a Flash interface instead of nice plain images. However, as much as I dislike Flash, I'll grant that this is about a simple an interface as could be managed for this purpose. The default size of the image isn't too bad, unfortunately some of the lettering in Bayou was unreadable at the default size on my computer screen, and I had to zoom in to read the text, which is annoying at the best of times. There is a fullscreen option, but I usually avoid going fullscreen because I'm pedantic about having access to other programs while browsing. Still, it makes the comic much easier to read, and it's good to have the option. I don't see any indication on the page of when the comic is updated, which is annoying. I got to the last page of Bayou and now have no idea when the comic will next be updated. Most webcomics have either a schedule or note that updates are irregular. Note: After a search of the website, I found a link to a blog that seems to indicate that Bayou updates on Wednesdays, but I don't see any indication of that on the comic page itself, which is unfortunate.

There's a link to "Explore Comics" which takes you to a page with a snapshot of various comics, a list of genre's to explore, and the information that there is nearly 200 comics to choose from. Given some time and a desire to try something new, I might start to explore, but for the moment I'm overwhelmed. There's no "highest rated" or "most hits". Even a "recently viewed", "recently updated" or "random" would be nice. Just something to narrow it down a little.

The link to "Competition" supplies a page of titles trying to get one of those infamous contracts. I'll note right now that my friend Danny Donovan has a comic in the current competition. But until writing this note, I had not registered, so hadn't yet voted for it. I decided to register to vote for Danny's comic, Kogoshii. The process was simple, but requires an e-mail verification. I haven't got my verification e-mail yet, and may not for awhile, so I can't comment on what it's like to be a registered user.

Overall impression of Zuda? It's an ok site, with at least one or two outstanding works so far. There are a great many improvements that could be made, including RSS feeds for individual comics (just to let readers know when they've updated) and more options for display size of the comics. More annoyingly, I can't tell if the 194 listed comics on the site are all ongoing comics, or every single submission. I do see the June 2009 submissions listed in the total list, so I'm assuming that the comics include all submissions. Maybe some indication of which ones were ongoing would be useful.

Without an RSS for updates on individual comics, I don't think I'll be regularly reading this site. I may make an attempt to keep up with Bayou, and I'll certainly follow how Kogoshii does in the competition, but at the moment the site is still too unwieldy for a reader like me.

Linkdumpin'

Comic Book Legends #207: Generic Comic Book, Aussie Phone Numbers, Animated Wonder Woman.

Ok, so it's not much of a review, but it makes its point. The response by the creator, however, is a lesson in how not to respond to criticism.

Jon's report suggests that the new K9 show isn't K9 and Company. Whew.

Animaniacs mining the obscure jokes. I remember seeing this years ago and having absolutely no clue what it was about.

Want. (via Boing Boing)

Considering how utterly miserable the book was, I can tell you I have no intention whatever of seeing The Road in movie form. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good book. But I have enough depression in my life to last.

This will always be my Seattle.

When she was 11 years old, she named Pluto, and now she's passed on.

Cop is offended when panicked girl calls 911 about her father dying in front of her and says a swear word when the call isn't immediately answered. Cop does not send help, instead deciding to chastise the girl for her language, then has her arrested when she goes for help on foot. Audio of the original call is at the link.

Pug Puppy for the In-Laws.

Er, Is it Thursday Now?

The Whiteout movie arrives in September. I'm looking forward to it, but I probably won't be able to afford to see it in theater.

Bob Rozakis' Elseworld DC Universe. Instead of Batman and Superman taking off, Green Lantern and Flash were the top two heroes.

Tom Beland points to a great tribute to Rory Root.

If you are tempted to sign up with Tokyopop, read this first! Seriously, do you really want to sign away all rights to your work just to get published?

I really would like Neil Gaiman to write Doctor Who. Really.

Duff does it again with a really cool Star Trek cake.

I only watched about half of the video, but technogreek shows off amazing street art.

Is it more efficient to leave your car idling? In a word: NO.

Airline safety brochures have gotten very detailed.

Twins separated at birth are accidentally reunited, and all three women involved sue the hospital that mixed them up.

Kenya Ranger Blogger tries to save wildlife.

Linkdump

If you have a pet peeve, you must blog about it.

League of Extraordinary Freelancers Redux.

I, too, am Toshiko.

All the effort put into the diorama... and instead of asking for corrections, new museum director Jeff Hunt destroys it. Scumbag. He owes those students for their time and efforts. Picture of the destruction, on a mailing list about the event.

Revising Islam. Can they pull it off? Will it help?

A Guide To Your Pug.

A Contrast in Customer Support

I had an issue with the Swiss Colony over a delivery. It was ordered in time for Christmas, but didn't come until after. I reported the problem and, instead of apologizing, they blamed it on first the delivery company and then on me ordering late (falsely claiming I'd ordered the product over a week later than I had). All I was expecting was an apology, instead I got excuses and accusations. I was insulted, so I replied... um... a little angrily. To my disgust, THAT got me the apology I originally wanted (along with, to their credit, a refund). I've decided to never do business with them again.

By contrast, I had a very small issue with some Stash Tea. I decided that they ought to know about it, so I wrote a slightly tongue-in-cheek note describing the problem. I got an immediate response (like, within an hour) apologizing profusely, asking for a little more information so they could track the problem, and offering a refund, credit, or extra tea. I replied and explained that I didn't need a refund, but thanks for the quick response. They sent me a $25 gift certificate anyway!

I think I'll probably buy more Chocolate Peppermint Tea, because it's the best after dinner drink I've found yet (no calories, but it tastes like a peppermint pattie!).

And Now For A Word From Tony...

From Tony Isabella's Message Board, please repost if you also think folks ought to be warned about this guy. This is being posted now because the scammer just resurfaced after a time of blessed silence, and has started threatening people again.

For a while there, it looked as if the vile Rick Olney had somehow acquired at least enough sense to stay offline. That was clearly foolish optimism on my part as he has once again surfaced to mock those to whom he owes money; to insult and threaten those victims and the good people who have championed the cause of his victims; and to proclaim conventions and publications that have no basis in reality. So, again, here is my...

WARNING ABOUT RICK OLNEY

A message to all my friends and readers...

If you are approached by an individual named Rick Olney or any representative of the man, if you are approached by Olney or anyone else representing entities known as The Mighty Mini-Con, TightLip Entertainment, ORCA, Mohawk Valley Newsletter, or any commercial entity or enterprise associated with any of the above, including online vendors, I strongly urge you to run in the other direction. You can find some details here:

http://www.unscrewedcomic.com/

You can find many more horrifying details on Olney and his business practices by doing a search on his name and the other names listed above. Really. Go look. It will amaze you.

If you trust me, do not attempt to do business with Olney. In fact, feel free to pass along this warning to any comics professionals, aspiring comics professionals, retailers, exhibitors, media guests, and fans you know.

Olney is not someone you want to do business with.

It has been estimated he owes freelancers anywhere between $40,000 and $100,000. The courts have already ruled against him in several cases where freelancers sued him for non-payment. Though Olney has yet to make good on these court-mandated judgments, auctions run by Unscrewed have raised several thousand dollars to help freelancers who were put into dire straits by Olney’s refusal to pay them for work they had completed.

He is being investigated for charity fraud. Other investigations of a different nature are ongoing at this time.

The list goes on and on.

Although I had hoped not to involve myself in this further, recent Olney actions, such as advertising a convention that seems to have happened only in his own mind, claiming that he is still planning to publish comic books, targeting foreign artists he hopes have not heard of him, and attempting to recruit naive American artists, the greater good demands I and my fellows continue to speak out in this manner.

Check out the UNSCREWED website for the impressive list of creators who have signed a version of this warning. Feel free to re-post this warning, which has been translated into several languages, to any forum you like.

Anything Olney is involved with should always be consider suspect.

Olney continues to troll - trolling as in a pimp hanging out at the old bus station - MySpace and message boards and Yahoo groups looking for fresh meat to exploit, for naive young artists foolish enough to believe that he's going to give them their big break. Before they work for him, they should really talk to the many writers and artists who he hasn't paid for past work. They can find many of "Olney's Orphans" at the Unscrewed website.

This last bit isn't an update, but bears repeating.

Despite threatening to sue me and many others, Olney has yet to institute any legal action against anybody. Indeed, as mentioned above he has been on the receiving end of several lawsuits and has already had several judgments against him...with more certain to follow.

You've been warned.

To repeat, feel free to pass this warning around or post it wherever you like. Oh, sure, I'm setting myself up for another impotent threat from Olney, but that's a chance I'm more than willing to take if I can prevent even one fan or pro from getting involved with this blight on comicdom.

Tony Isabella

Continuing to Get Unscrewed

I thought I'd just mention the auctions for Unscrewed Comics going on right now, since my current auctions are over for the moment (whew).

You can read about Unscrewed Comics here, and learn what caused a bunch of freelancers to come together.

The short story: Rick Olney cheated a whole bunch of people, promising them pay for various work, only he never paid most of them. Being something of a common occurrence in the comic book business (to be paid late), these people didn't realize until they started comparing notes that they'd all been cheated by the same guy. So they decided to prevent other people from being cheated by publicizing the guy's methods and dishonesty, and furthermore, they decided to turn the negative energy into something positive.

Thus the auctions, and soon there will be an anthology of works by various creators who support the cause. The cause being preventing "publishers" from getting away with not paying their workforce.

Lunkdimping, Again

TASTE THE TRUTHINESS!

Bully's Tribute To The Death of Captain America. All of the deaths of Captain America, actually.

Download free, legal Comic Books in .cbz format. Free. And Legal. Including Galaxion, which I want a TPB of when the story gets that big.

I was amused to find a single reply to my post about Unscrewed. I replied to that comment, though my better instincts told me not to. Apparently Rick Olney enjoys seeing himself on Google or something, or there's no way he would've noticed my little blog.

Lea Hernandez is home again. Huzzah!

Rest In Peace, Arnold Drake.

MetaFilter connects Heroes and Watchmen, warning, spoilers for future Heroes episodes in the links.

Marv Wolfman scares me with Passover Plague Toys.

A Spell of Confusion aka "Does a balrog have wings?"

We are controlled by a cat virus!!!

Girls who were suspended for saying "vagina" get to meet the author of "The Vagina Monologues," Eve Ensler.

We're gearing up for Oz at McDonalds.

A story of kindness.

Pi Day is coming! Pi Day is coming!

Politics: Injured troops, unfit for duty, ordered back to Iraq.

Getting Unscrewed

This may not be the biggest news in comic books right now, but it's certainly the most entertaining. Particularly because the good guys appear to be winning. Background on the nasty situation is here, where you will learn the sordid history of Rick Olney and his many deceptions. If you want some serious reading material on the subject, check out this forum thread on Comic Book Resources, but set aside a few hours to read it!

Blog@Newsrama provides a jumping on point, if you haven't been following this from the beginning. And The Beat warns anyone who might be tempted by Olney's claims that he's going to do another convention. In short, don't believe the guy.

And don't start feeling sorry for him, either. By some estimations, this scumbag owes $100,000 to various freelancers and professionals. That's a lot of money, even divided among his many victims. That's why a group of people have decided to turn this negative into a positive, and put together the Unscrewed website, with auctions and an anthology to support the victims of Olney's lies.

What do I have to do with this? Nothing, really. I may have linked to the thread back when Gail first started it, but otherwise I've been following it idly. I've been very disappointed by some of the insult throwing in the thread, but at some point it became clear to me that this is the sort of dirty story that splashes mud on you just being a part of it.

So why am I wading into the muck now? Two reasons. First, this is an old story in comic books, and an utterly unacceptable one. Far too many people get away with scams because freelancers live paycheck to paycheck and cannot pursue legal action to get the justice they deserve. Because of Gail's original post, victims have worked together and now are getting legal judgements against this guy. The more fans who know about this story and understand what is happening, the better. The more professionals willing to talk about scammers like Olney, the better.

And second, the auctions have just started on the website. If you like comics and have money to spare (that last bit is the tricky one, I know), consider looking at the auctions and helping some comic book creators out (I wouldn't complain if someone bought me the True Story Swear to God piece, either). And yes, I want to give the Anthology a bit of press too. I'm looking forward to reading it, myself.