miyaa99

Andrew Sullivan had an interesting observation about the passing of Michael Jackson.

Celebrities and glorified geniuses (genii?) often sacrifice normalcy for their accomplishments and fame, and I would bet the mass majority of them do not even realize this sacrifice. It's just considered par for what's necessary to perpetuate their level of fame or accomplishments, and most people does this on a much smaller scale than it is often done in Hollywood, London, New York City, or wherever famous and noted people are recognized whether it be by the "main-stream media" or medias of a smaller scale, like the academic publishing of such magazines as Nature or Science. I am more surprised hearing about the famous people who don't hear about having a flaw or quirk. Jackson had it in spades. This seems to be part of the sacrifice.

A shortened life often is part of the bargain the famous and super-accomplished seem to pay much of the time too. I have to wonder if whether that is something worth accepting in exchange for never having an normal life.

Not that being normal is all peaches and cream either. But that's another topic for another day.

First, let's talk about Anders Love Maria. It's a fabulous post-modern romantic comic that deals with the struggles and trials of an odd couple where they cohabitate and suddenly, well, things happen. It is very bittersweet. But now, it's turning scary, as the author, is seriously threatening to stop the comic altogether if the harassment continues. It's serious enough where she's getting phone calls about the webcomic out of the blue, apparently.

The question is how much of a barrier does an author or a group of authors on a webcomic should have between their work and their fans? Most webcomics have forums, livejournal, twitter or other such quick chat areas where instant feedback and beggings are spewed forth from the readers. And it can sometimes can go out of control. I wonder how much leeway will a webcomic's creator(s) may have on their own website where they know if they limit the direct criticism, they will have other venues to vent. Feedback is a rather fickle thing, and in many cases, the criticism is nothing more than bunch of "best comic ever" or "worst comic ever" variants with little merit, or little criticism that isn't in these extreme cases. I'm not sure what the solution should be.

On a lighter note, Oddly Funny. And I do mean odd.

The question is simple: are there any new webcomics (since January 1, 2007) that you would recommend in reading?