Webcomics make Colin happy

The Webcomics Examiner, which I didn't even know existed (much to my chagrin), has posted their best-of-2005 list here. Though I haven't seen a lot of these, a few (such as Kochalka's American Elf and Dorthy Gambrell's Cat and Girl) have been on my daily read list for a long time while others (Copper, Perry Bible Fellowship I've seen and loved from time to time (Copper was even featured in Flight, and Perry Bible is something Luke got me into over the summer.).

All the others look fantastic, and I've dog-eared the ones I'm really interested in reading. Once I do I'll tell you what I think.

Along those lines, web-animation

I've been watching a lot of flash animation via Newgrounds, and I think I've found some amazing winners.

Bitey is easily my new favorite animated anti-hero whose actions are reminiscent of the old-style cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Donald Duck. Though more chaotic. And mean-spirited (though I can't think of anyone as mean spirited as Daffy). Jeremy Gross introduced me to these, and is (partially) responsible for my being addicted to Newgrounds. The animator, Adam Phillips, has an amazing way with effects—his water in these episodes, by itself, marks real talent—and he should; he's employed by Disney as an effects animator. He worked on this treasure, which I truly love—I saw it with my dad in good ol' Ford Theater in Afton; quite the bonding experience. Anyway, yeah. Great animation, great character design, and fantastic plot-builds. Watch 'em.

Now somebody go buy me this.

Second, Minushi is an action-packed sci-fi epic in installments that will, at its completion, add up to a full-length film. I was highly impressed with this gem of work, mostly because a lot of the installment based flash cartoons really aren't that good, while this one is amazing. The dialogue/voice acting doesn't suck, for one, which is rare with such things. The characters are likeable, most even believable (all but Griffin, as of yet), and I can't complain as to the animation or score. Also, I'm in love with the Giant designs.

Salad Fingers is delightfully terrifying, right down to its sound. The animator, David Firth has some fun stuff, too. A lot of creepy and/or funny animations. Plus, check out Devvo. He's fun. And creepy.

Largehearted Booknotes

Largehearted Boy has been one of the few blogs I read consistently. We get interesting news tid-bits, articles, and even a 'Tomorrow's Shopping Bag' feature on Monday with all the new-releases that the author is interested in. Today, I stumbled across a new portion of the Blog: the Booknotes series. I had read a few of them then promptly forgotten all but the premise—various writers write a little something for Largeheartedboy. Here's one that caught my eye. Bret Easton Ellis lists the songs that he thought of while writing Lunar Park.