- Zuda Comics
Zuda Comics is
DC Comics ' webcomics division. The creation of this division was announced inpress release onJuly 9 2007 [ [http://www.zudacomics.com/?action=press_release Initial Press Release] ] and the first line-up went live October 30th. [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=134038 First ten Zuda contestants named] ,Newsarama , October 24, 2007]Editorial Board
Sometimes called the 'zudaluminati' [ [http://www.google.com/search?q=zudaluminati Google search for "zudaluminati"] because of their secret selection process of the submissions, the Zuda editorial board consists of:
*Paul Levitz - Publisher
*Richard Bruning - SVP-Creative Director
*Ronald Perraza - Director of Creative Services
*Kwanza Johnson - DC Comics Online Editor
*Nika Denoyelle - DC Comics OnlineAssistant Editor
*Dave McCullough - DC Comics Online Technology Editor
*Monkey Puppet - Zuda Comics MascotTitles
Instant Winners
There are currently four instant winners:
*Bayou byJeremy Love [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=134156 Jeremy Love's "Bayou" Named Aa Zuda's First "Instant Winner"] ,Newsarama , October 25, 2007]
*The Night Owls byPeter Timony andBobby Timony [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=139696 ZUDA COMICS NAMES THE NIGHT OWLS AS NEWEST INSTANT WINNER] ,Newsarama , December 14, 2007]
*Street-Code byDean Haspiel
*The Imaginary Boys byCarlos López Bermúdez Competition Winners
There are currently eight contest winners:
*"High Moon " byDavid Gallaher and Steve Ellis, with lettering byScott O. Brown [ [http://www.comixology.com/podcasts/8/High-Moon-from-Zuda-with-David-Gallaher David Gallaher's "High Moon" Wins Zuda] ,It Came Out on Wednesday , October 25, 2007]
*"Pray for Death " byNicholas Doan andDaniele Serra [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16802 COMMENTARY TRACK: "Pray For Death"] , June 13, 2008]
* "Supertron" by Sheldon Vella
* "Road" by Eddie Sharam
* "The Black Cherry Bombshells " byJohnny Zito ,Tony Trov ,Sacha Borisich &Alex Bruno
*Melody by Ilias Kyriazis
* Dual
* Celadore
* Re-EvolutionNovember 2007 contestant lineup
The first set of contestants was announced on
Newsarama :
*"Alpha Monkey" byBobbie Rubio andHoward M. Shum
*"This American Strife" byJ. Longo
*"Battlefield Babysitter" byMatthew Humphreys
*"Black Swan" byMulele Jarvis
*"Dead in the Now" byCorey Lewis
*"The Dead Seas" byPop Mhan
*"The Enders" byTim Smith III
*High Moon byDavid Gallaher and Steve Ellis
*"Leprenomicon" byGreg DelCurla andFernando Ruiz
*"Raining Cats and Dogs" bySho Murase December 2007 contestant lineup
*"Adventures of Maxy J Millionaire" by
Paul Maybury
*"Araknid Kid" byJosh Alves
*"Avast Ye" byKevin Cygan andDaniel H. Irving
*"Development Hell" by Carlos Ruiz
*"Frankie" byManny Trembley
*"Ponbiki Z" by Alberto Rios
*"Pray for Death" byNicholas Doan andDaniele Serra
*"The Crooked Man" byGabriel Hardman andCorinna Sara Bechko
*"The Mundane Overrated Misadventures of Spudman" byRory McConville
*"Word of Power" byMarc Sylvanus January 2008 contestant lineup
As announced on
Newsarama [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=142265 ZUDA ANNOUNCES JANUARY SLATE OF CONTESTANTS] ]
*"A Spelunker’s Guide to the City" byGary Epting [ [http://storyclouds.com/blog/?p=16 Amalgamated Artists joins the fray at Zuda"] ,Storyclouds , January 7, 2008]
* "Untrue Tales" by Sam Little
* "Urbis Faerie" byRobert Burke Richardson , Martin Morazzo, Carolina Cesare, Robt Snyder
* "Supertron" by Sheldon Vella
* "Agent of Chaos" byL. Jamal Walton (writer/letterer), Mike Imboden (writer) and Steve Musgrave (artist)
* "Pieces of Eden" by Seth Sherwood (writer/colorist) and [http://diegotripodi.deviantart.com/gallery/ Diego Tripodi] (artist)
* "The Legend of the Fool King" by Alexander Kanaris-Sotiriou
* "Demons in the Closet" byJohn Zakour (writer) and Amy Watson (artist)
* "Danetropolis" by David Daneman
* "Absurdity At Its Best" by Victor BonillaFebruary 2008 contestant lineup
As announced on
Newsarama [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=145555 ZUDA ANNOUNCES FEBRUARY SLATE OF CONTESTANTS] ]* "Everyone Laughs at the Crocodile Man" by Steve Steiner
* "Joe Comics" by Chachi & Gabe Hernandez
* "Mountains of Dusk" by Mani Magalhaes
* "The Passenger" by Alexandre Vidal
* "Reno" by Dan Thompson
* "Road" by Eddie Sharam
* "Starfish" by Miguel Angel Sanchez
* "Strangle/Switch" byKevin Colden
* "Teachers" by Gabe Ostley
* "Will Wrestle: For Science" by Jim Dedieu, Geoff Beaulieu, & Alex DonnardMarch 2008 contestant lineup
As announced on
Newsarama [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=148846 ZUDA ANNOUNCES MARCH SLATE OF CONTESTANTS] ]* "Among the Silver Stars" by Chris Wichtendahl & Ariel Iacci
* "The Black Cherry Bombshells" byJohnny Zito ,Tony Trov ,Sacha Borisich &Alex Bruno
* "Day of Prey" by Ramon Cavalcante
* "Laura’s Bazaar" by Axel Medellin
* "The Litterbox Chronicles" by Wes Molebash
* "Little Inventor' by Igor Noronha
* "Rojo Fernandez: Son of Wind" by Gabriel Bautista
* "Sam & Lilah" by Jim Dougan & Hyeondo Park
* "Tiempo" by Mario Espinoza
* "Yuletide" by Tony TobinReception
Although greeted with interest by the webcomics community, there was concern raised over the contracts and copyright situation. Once the initial line-up was announced it became clear that well-known webcomics creators hadn't been included, as Todd Allen at
Comic Book Resources [ [http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=follies&article=2913 Zuda's "established" talent search] ,Comic Book Resources , October 25, 2007] opined "the vast majority of the creators here have already done print comics. Multiple print comics for the most part, and the majority go back a few years. Allen also inferred that, "This does not look like ushering in a new generation." Although he does concede "if you’re a potential reader, it shouldn’t hurt your feelings too much that they’ve lined up some strips with professional pedigree for the first batch."In fact, the first instant winner
Jeremy Love , [ [http://www.gettosake.com/ Gettosake Productions] ] [ [http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/may04/jlove.shtml Jeremy Love - Fiercely Independent] , Sequential Tart, May 2004] who has worked for Dark Horse and Oni, has said his contribution was solicited by DC. Love stated "To be honest I didn’t even know about the contest portion of the site when the fine people at DC let me know they wanted to run Bayou on Zuda. I was approached by an editor months in advance to pitch something to Zuda." [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=134214 Born On The Bayou: Jeremy Love Talks Zuda. Bayou] ,Newsarama , October 24, 2007]Webcomics aficionado, T.Campbell, stated that, "the payouts for Zuda winners are worth taking seriously: $250 per "screen," with a couple of additional bonuses, and a royalty package that-- with apologies to my friends at Tokyopop-- is easily the most generous I've seen from a major publisher." [ [http://www.tcampbell.net/2007/09/922-zuda-zuda-zuda-dammmit-wheres.html] ]
High Moon author,David Gallaher , in an interview withComics Worth Reading [ [http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/12/03/interview-with-david-gallaher/ Interview With David Gallaher » Comics Worth Reading ] ] gave the following advice to future Zuda creators, "with only eight screens to tell your story, you need to be ready to be awesome right out of the gate. So, give it your all and make sure your submission is the best that you can make it. And whether you win or lose, you’ll already be in better shape than you were before you submitted, because you’ve cultivated an audience that you didn’t have before."References
External links
* [http://www.zudacomics.com/ Zuda Comics]
Background Material
* [http://high-moon.blogspot.com/ High Moon Production Blog]
* [http://www.gettosake.com/blog/ Bayou Production Blog]
* [http://twincomics.blogspot.com/ Night Owls & Twin Comics Production Blog]
* [http://www.myspace.com/blackcherrybombshells Black Cherry Bombshells Production Blog/ Myspace Page]
* [http://www.knaveofkrypton.com/interviews.html The Knave of Krypton Interviews the December '07 contestants]Interviews
* [http://comics.ign.com/articles/802/802354p1.html "IGN" Interview: DC's Web Comics Imprint]
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=119800 Interview] withRon Perazza andRichard Bruning ,Newsarama , July 9, 2007
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=120113 interview] withPaul Levitz ,Newsarama , July 9, 2007
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=130286 ZudaComics Posts Contracts - Submissions Are A Go] , interview withPaul Levitz ,Newsarama , September 21, 2007
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=134931 The Opening Team: Talking to the First Wave of Zuda Creators] ,Newsarama , November 1, 2007
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=120411 Comic, webcomic pros respond to Zuda] , July 11, 2007,Newsarama Podcasts
* The Timony Twins, creators of
The Night Owls , in a podcast interview on [http://comicscoasttocoast.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79 Comics Coast to Coast]
*David Gallaher , writer ofHigh Moon , the first competition winner, in a podcast interview on [http://www.comixology.com/podcasts/8/High-Moon-from-Zuda-with-David-Gallaher It Came Out on Wednesday, by ComiXology.com]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.