NYCC Part Two: ACT-I-VATE

It's time to talk a little about ACT-I-VATE! For those of you who don't know, Act-i-vate is a webcomic group much like Zuda with the following exceptions, they are not backed by a major comic company like DC, they do not get paid per screen, and they do not hold contests. Despite the lack of major backing, they still get lots of great press and are continually updating every week. The reason is because they love webcomics and it shows. That's why I attended the ACT-I-VATE panel on Friday.

The panel was moderated by Dan Goldman, who is officially a Freind-of-Timony. Dan has a comic on Act-i-vate called KELLY and also has a graphic novel in stores now called SHOOTING WAR. As soon as you're done reading this, you should go buy.

Backtracking a bit, last October, Bobby and I did the 24 Hour comic under the watchful eye of Scott McCloud himself, over at Jim Hanley's Universe in Manhattan. Also in attendence was Josh Adams (a link to his blog can be found to your right) as well as three members of Act-i-vate, Dan Goldman, Ryan Roman and Ulises Farinas. Over the course of the 24 hours, we got to know these fellas, and they were all very cool. Sometime during that grueling ordeal that is the 24 hour comic, Dan Goldman mentioned to us that Zuda would be going live soon, so if we were planning to submit something we should hurry up and get it ready. Without that warning, Bobby might not have had Night Owls ready in time for the Zuda launch party, and we might not have become Instant Winners! So, again, big thanks to Dan Golman at Act-i-vate!

So, back to the panel. They talked a little bit about how Act-i-vate came to be. They introduced the members of Act-i-vate, some of who I had met. Besides Dan, Ryan and Ulises, I had met Paul Maybury at a party the previous Tuesday. It was celebrating the release of his new graphic novel AQUA LEUNG, and benefiting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Also at that party we met Dean Haspiel, Mike Cavallaro, Kevin Colden and Molly Crabapple. So, going into the panel, I now knew about eight Act-i-vate members, but like any collector, I gotta meet 'em all!

Some of you reading this are Zuda fans and no doubt recognize the name Dean Haspiel as the new Instant Winner (Congrats, Dean!) at Zuda. He is also the founder of Act-i-vate, and his Billy Dogma comics there are amazing. He's also been nominated for an Eisner, as has Mike Cavallaro for his comic, PARADE (WITH FIREWORKS).

There has been a bit of Zuda/Act-i-vate crossover, starting with Paul Maybury, who's Zuda entry MAXY J. MILLIONAIRE has moved to Act-i-vate. Then came Kevin Colden, who had a Zuda comic called STRANGLE/SWITCH and does a comic on Act-i-vate called FISHTOWN, and lately, Jim Dougan announced that he is bringing his Zuda entry, SAM & LILAH, over to Act-i-vate! Incidentally, my wife is a big fan of SAM & LILAH, so when it starts updating over there (in May, I think) another fan will find her way to Act-i-vate. And now, Dean Haspiel has a comic on Zuda.

Act-i-vate has been around for over two years, and is doing great. One of the things I like about the guys (and Molly) who I met at Act-i-vate is how supportive they have been of us comic creators at Zuda. I met a lot of cool people this weekend. I met some really famous people. But mostly, I'm glad I met the people who create the webcomics I read, be it on Zuda or Act-i-vate. They are comic creators after my own heart.

You will find a link to Act-i-vate on the right. Be sure to read MOTRO, BACKSTAGE, BILLY DOGMA, LOVIATHAN, KID ZERO, GLAM, FISHTOWN, PARTY BEAR, PERSIMMON CUP or any other comic you find. They are all quality.

Peter