Despite past animosity on this site, there is sort of a big deal going on at PvP with guest artist Karl Kerschl doing today’s strip. I don’t care what side of the print/webcomics fence you’re on, this strip is amazing.
If this post kicks off any kind of conversation it should be about how mainstream, print comics artist Karl has successfully kicked off a webcomics career with the Abominable Charles Christopher. Remember, we’re here to enlighten, motivate, and encourage. Save the bashing for Twitter or something.
As a p.s. to this article, the Charles Christopher site has experienced so much traffic from the PvP exposure Karl is having to explore new hosting options. So an additional congratulations to Karl for the successful day!
I had no idea what PVP was, but I clicked on the link and damn, that was a great piece! I actually laughed out loud! But then I found myself looking at it for another few minutes, y’know, just looking at it – I used to do that to Watterson’s strips, too. Mr. Kerschl, Alan is right. That was a beautiful strip!
Thanks for the link to his site. Really beautiful stuff by a genuine talent.
The artwork is beautiful, as stated. I thought the writing was pretty weak though. The joke was really not that funny, or even innovative or clever. Also, the second panel is completely out of character for Skull (the troll), who never gets angry, although I suppose that’s to be expected for a guest strip. Still, the art is something to see; that same second panel is masterful.
I thought the joke was on par with standard PvP fare. As for Skull being out of character, I don’t think that he was angry. It read to me like he was annoyed. The final panel doesn’t read as an angry person (or troll) to me.
This strip was incredibly beautiful, but it comes as no surprise to readers of ACC. It’s an awesome week to get two strips from Karl Kerschl.
>>”The final panel doesnâ??t read as an angry person (or troll) to me.”
No, it doesn’t. I was referring to the 2nd panel, in which he is shown as an enraged troll. He never gets that way. I understand it was necessary, but it’s still a bit unsettling.
>>”I thought the joke was on par with standard PvP fare.”
Nah, no farts/Apple references/cursing/boobs.
Guest artists are for slackers.
Guest artists are refreshing. Flame posts are for slackers.
Hey Noah, I just read your blog over at your webcomic page and found it refreshingly ironic.
I find it disappointing when webcartoonists want to be taken with seriousness but every time I check in on one they either have a guest artist or are posting on their blog on how they won’t be doing updates because of other commitments. (or as a third option, post a sketch from a notebook as filler.)
Oh dear. We’ve been caught with our pants down over at Parallax City! Jason Nocera has totally busted us!
Guess what, tiger. Cartooning isn’t our day job. It’s our hobby. If we want to miss a day or two, we can.
But way to try to take Noah down a peg. You’re an awesome person.
@Jason:
Guest comics make up a very small percentage of the number of webcomics done. Kurtz, as a rule, doesn’t generally use them but he’s upset over the recent death of his dog, Kirby, and is taking a break. I fail to see the problem.
On the other end of the scale, Tim Buckley is currently taking apart and putting back together his entire house, by himself, and is still updating as regularly as always. Quick, go check in on him right now and then your previous statement wont’ be true anymore.
As a final point, anecdotal evidence really doesn’t hold too much water.
After about two years of regular updates without guest strips Scott needed a vacation. Just like any other working professional he deserves the opportunity to take a break from work, and like any other working professional he made sure someone would cover for him while he was away. I can respect that.
That said, if you’re not regularly checking out the Abominable Charles Christopher you’re missing out on some pretty artwork and a fine comic to boot. Karl Kerschl makes me feel like a total hack any time I look at his work.
Most webcomics don’t do more than one or two weeks a year as guest comics, and many of us don’t even do that. It’s basically a chance to take a break while doing some cross promotion, and is mostly done in the case of emergencies – birth, death, sickness, etc.
With respect to not turning this into a flame war, I would also like to point out to Mr. Nocera that Mr. Kurtz running guest strips on PvP also offers a unique opportunity for him to provide cross-promotion opportunities and visitors to these guest artists and their work. That can also translate into new readers for those artists. In webcomics, guest strips are an excellent way to spread your work to a new readership.
In the case of PvP, Kurtz does his strip daily and often posts them after streaming the drawing process live for his fans to see. Considering the fact that he handles his entire property on his own, I’d say he does one heck of a job with it. He’s not just posting guest strips because he’s lazy. Kurtz is probably the antithesis of lazy in the comics industry. In fact, the very fact we’re talking about him is evidence of the hard work he put in to get to the top of his field.
I thought it was great to see Karl’s take on Skull.
And as for the expressions on the faces of the two goats, I think there’s no one working today that does more hilarious anthropomorphic animals. It’s also nice to see several cartoonists step in to give Scott a week off.
Strips like this one are why I always enjoy guest weeks. They serve as an occasional tribute/roast, and I find out about many great comics and the artists behind them by their guest strips on other comics.
Newspapers don’t use guest artists.
They just rerun old strips instead.
I got no problem with guest artist or reprinting. It reminds of the old April Fools jokes when cartoonists (in the paper) would draw a different strip or characters.
When done sparingly it’s fun.
>>>Newspapers donâ??t use guest artists.
Ummm…yes they do. Wiley Miller, Hilary Price are two just off the top of my head that regularly have used guest artists
When Wiley was syndicated by Washington Post Writers Group, Rick Stromoski, J.D. Crowe, Judge Cohen and myself were all guest cartoonists for his “Non Sequitur” comic strip.
I would love to see syndicates allow their cartoonists to use guest cartoonists. I really want to draw “Henry” or “Alley Oop.”