Blog-It Llama!

By Papa Llama - July 9, 2010

Zuda Comics, DC Comics’ webcomic line built on the last couple of years’ worth of monthly competitions in which hopeful creators fought it out to see who’d win the vote and get contracts to produce another year’s worht of comics, is gone. Zip! It was there and then it was not. No fanfare, no forewarning, the website is just gone. You can’t even go there to read the old winners and losers.

We’ve interviewed a lot of Zuda competitors over time, so we hated to see Zuda end the competitions a couple of months ago because we really enjoyed those discussions. One creator we spoke with both during and after the month of his competition was Adam Atherton. Adam’s eerie Lily of the Valley happens to be one of the comics which DC will continue in some form. We’re also going to share some thoughts soon from those whose comics got the axe, but first let’s hear from Lily’s creator.

Is this what Zuda does to a man?

Llama: Zuda – what happened?

Atherton: The website portion of Zuda Comics has ended. Most of the titles will continue to be distributed as digital comics online for the web, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and PSP though. I’m not sure how any of those things work yet but I’m going to download the DC Comics reading app soon and check it all out.

I believe they’ll be available for download on both on comiXology.com as well as DC Comics’ official site. I’m excited to check some of the other Zuda comics out this way, but don’t know any of the release dates just yet.

As for WHY it happened, I don’t know all the details behind that so I’ll carefully avoid discussing it!

Llama: How did you find out?

Atherton: I found out about the Zuda website’s closing through an email sent out by DC Comics.

Llama: When did you find out?

Atherton: In the morning before the news went up on the Zuda blog.

Llama: What has the past week been like for you?

Atherton: My routine hasn’t changed any since the changes at Zuda. The only difference is that I can’t check in on my stats on Zuda every 15 minutes throughout the day anymore. haha I really enjoyed being able check in and read feedback and just see where new pages and the story directions were standing with the followers. That regular feedback from readers has been the most valuable thing in the last year of my development as a comic creator.

So this past week with the website portion of Zuda being gone, it’s encouraged me to step up the pace on developing a new webcomic I’ve been thinking about and planning to start for about six months now. Since LILY OF THE VALLEY will be distributed through a new format, I feel like I need to get a second one going that will continue to offer me everything I loved about having a webcomic free online.

Llama: You’re one the lucky ones in that your story gets to continue. Does this change how you have to tell the story?

Atherton: Thanks. I feel lucky as well! It really doesn’t change much with how I will continue the story. I was told by a few people that the comiXology reader that the Zuda comics will be presented on, has a crease down the center, to create the illusion of an opened comic with a standard vertical page on each side. This’ll mean each Zuda comic page, since they’re horizontal, will appear as a two page spread, with a crease down the centre. I don’t know yet if they’ll do something different there to accommodate the Zuda page format. Maybe someone reading this has checked out BAYOU and HIGH MOON already and knows the answer?

Llama: Have you gotten to know other Zuda creators? If so, what are you hearing from them?

Atherton: Yup. I actually know a lot of them now. The creators and staff are all great people and very hard working. I’ve got a lot of respect for everyone I’ve met within Zuda. I know most of them solely online, aside from Caanan Grall. of CELADORE, who I had the chance to meet up with for a little while at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival this year. An amazing festival by the way! My favourite of any comics convention I’ve attended.

Regarding the Zuda changes, I think we all had a similar reaction. I think everyone’s a little saddened to see the site and community as we knew it, come to an end. I think the site meant alot to alot of us. It meant alot to me because it’s where I went from an unrecognizable aspiring creator to someone with a bit of a following and I really don’t think it could have happened without Zuda. I mean, it really was the best venue possible for a starting unknown creator.

There’s not a lot of people willing to shell out cash for a comic by someone they don’t know. Zuda made it so easy to gain exposure, you simply post a link somewhere and anyone can check out everything you’re capable of without taking a gamble on spending cash. But I understand a company’s gotta make a profit somehow in order to continue in the business, so the changes make logical sense to me. Some of the creators I know are developing new plans for their series elsewhere or moving onto new projects and I wish them luck.

Llama: They built quite a Zuda community and discarded it. Any idea what becomes of that? Are Zuda forum regulars forming a secret underground somewhere?

Atherton: Hahaha, it’s possible that could be happening under our noses. If it is, I haven’t caught onto it yet so someone fill me in if you have info.

I actually know a bunch of the Zuda regulars through social networking sites and I think they’re grouping together around Zuda comic fan pages on facebook and the community is still closely knitted on twitter.

You can find LILY OF THE VALLEY on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=71143685849&ref=ts) with a ton of extra material and fan art. And you can also follow my other projects coming up on my own facebook page as well at (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adam-Atherton/131767456853710?ref=mf).

I’ve noticed a lot of Zuda regulars expressing their opinions on the Zuda fan page on facebook as well.

How Lily copes with trouble.

Llama: What are you hearing from the readers?

Atherton: From what I’ve read on Zuda’s fan page on facebook, a lot of different things. The majority of posts there seem to be questions about the decision and how and which series will continue to the new format, Zuda’s been answering one by one.

Llama: This comes right before Comic-Con. Does it change your Comic-Con plans?

Atherton: Well yeah. I was originally planning to spend some time behind the Zuda comics booth, but right now I don’t know if there will be one anymore, so I’m still waiting on that. Without the booth though, I’ll still manage to meet up with all the creators I intend to and hopefully some of the readers I’ve gained and keep in contact with through twitter, etc. (I’m on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AdamAtherton if you’re interested in looking me up there!)

I also have a TON of LILY OF THE VALLEY pins I was going to distribute for free through the booth, and they also have a web address which goes nowhere now. Haha http://www.lilyofthevalleycomic.com . I’ve redirected to to the production blog I’ve been running so it’s not really a loss. And if anyone still wants one I’m willing to mail them at no cost aside from the shipping. You can see what they look like at Deviant Art (http://adamda.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2pyvbc).

Just get in contact with me somewhere and let me know you want one!

Llama: Zuda aside, what’s next for Adam?

Atherton: Up next, I’ll be launching the webcomic I mentioned earlier, with it’s own website, all independently. I’m really excited to get it started. It carries a lot of the same tone and themes over from LILY OF THE VALLEY and take things in an even more chaotic direction. It might be a tad bit darker however. Rather than operating like a story with a beginning, middle, and end, it’ll be broken into smaller stories, some one pagers, and little chapters which all contribute to an overall plotline. I’ll reveal more information about it as it comes together, but I can tell you it’ll be called HIGHSCHOOL SUICIDE and it’s going to take the art of high school isolation to a whole new level! I’m launching this in the fall too so it’ll be right around the corner.

I also have some artwork in an exhibit and coffee table art book called DRAWGASMIC. It’s an exhibit in the states which collects a single art piece from independent artists around the world. They’ll be displayed in an exhibition and sold on their website and available in the collected coffee table book. This all goes down on July 10th. You can see my contributon on the site (http://drawgasmic.com/artistpage.php?a=1356).

Annnd I’ve got a guest strip coming up in the near future for a pretty successful little webcomic I’ve been enjoying for a while. =)

Related posts:
* Interview: Lily of the Valley (Adam Atherton, Zuda Competitor)
* Llama on Lily: Congrats, Adam!
* Adam and Adam: Goldilock Wins September Zuda Competition, Lily of the Valley Reaches October Launch
* Interview: Lily at the Launch Pad (Adam Atherton, Zuda Winner)

Categories: Interviews
Tags: Adam Atherton, blood, comic book, Comic-Con, Comic-Con International, comiXology, competition, content, cops, DC, DC comics, Deviant Art, digital comics, Facebook, Interviews, iP, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, Lily of the Valley, online, online community, PSP, San Diego Comic-Con, San Diego Comic-Con International, SDCC, serial killer, webcomic, Zuda, Zuda Comics