Happy Holidays from Vicky!

The Holidays are upon us! Aaaand if you're anything like me you're probably scratching your head wondering, "what's to be cheerful about? All I'm getting this Xmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/whatever is a thinner wallet and a fatter girth! Bah Humbug!". Well Mr. No-cheer, things are looking up. Why, you say? Well, this. Comic books by John Korvalic are back. Yes, if you haven't heard, he's back in the self-publishing business. But wait, who is this? No, this isn't Richard, I'm Vicky, the ever-so-helpful TWC Admin...

First let's talk about John and the Dork Tower announcement. For those of you who don't know, DORK TOWER is a comic strip running three times a week at DorkTower.com and WIRED.com. Once upon a time, it also ran in Dragon magazine, Scrye magazine, Star Wars Insider, and GAMES magazine. Dork Tower is also from time to time a bimonthly comic book published by Dork Storm Press.

Dork Tower is a comic mostly about four friends, Matt, Igor, Ken, and Carson the Muskrat and their adventures, if you will, in gaming and all things gaming related. They RP obsessively, they play PC and console games, they despair when the latest console on the market sells out before they are able to acquire it, and yes, they also  attend comic and game related conventions! Does this, perhaps, sound at all like you, or anyone you know? Yes, of course it does! That's why this comic is so full of awesome! As I read it I can't help but laugh out loud at all the absurdities that I myself have partaken in now and again, so brilliantly portrayed by John. I find myself nodding and saying, "yep, that is so what that beloved nerd I call my husband would do in that situation!" But then, don't take my word for it. Go read for yourself and maybe, just maybe, you'll find you're not feeling quite so Grinch-like this holiday season after all.

And back to me. Who am I? What do I do? I'm Vicky, a Las Vegas native who has recently, thanks to Richard and TWC, discovered the world of web-comics and the awesomeness contained therein. I'm married to Nick, a .net web developer who has brought out the inner-nerd in me by introducing me to games like Duke Nukem, Diablo II, WoW and Minecraft—and then further by putting me in touch with Richard who, well, I've already told you where my association with Richard has led me. Anyway, am I sorry for it? Not in the least! I admire the artists for what they are able to do, and am passionate about the stories I've begun to frequent. Mostly it's the artistic side of me that these web-based offerings appeals to. I am rather fond of dazzling colors amidst well-placed lines. And the unique and often inventive stories they tell are a nice bonus too! I've found there really is nothing I won't read and can't appreciate when it comes to these comics, but high-fantasy and good art are what truly grabs me.

So what am I doing for TWC? Mostly I read through forum posts, trying to make sure there aren't any problems, especially over at webcomic.net. Now and then I have to fix a link that isn't working, or move a post to a more appropriate location. If something seems broken beyond my ken I get in touch with Richard and he either fixes it, or tells me how to do it myself. When this is done I take care of the banner and avatar admin stuff for the sites. This consists of rating (G, PG, PG13, or R) the ad banners currently displayed and approving or denying the vote avatars. What do you have to do to get me to approve your vote avatar? It's pretty simple. When submitting your avatar make sure it clearly displays the portrayed character's name (not the webcomic title or the name of some other character therein), the name is legible, it meets TWC's size requirements, and that there is an actual webcomic associated with said avatar. It also helps if you use a highly visible character—one I won't have to read through two-hundred or so pages of content to identify please! You never know, I may inadvertently miss that one brief panel in which your would-be avatar appears, speaks one introductory line, then disappears into obscurity never to be seen or mentioned again...ever. Okay, so, once you've done this, it's only a matter of a few days at worst before I look in on avatars and determine if you have indeed submitted a usable avatar, wave my wand (yeah, yeah, move my mouse), and zap! your avatar is approved or denied.

Well that's it, for now! Happy Holidays from everyone at TWC, and, of course, thanks for reading!


Questions, comments? Send me a message over at the contact page. http://topwebcomics.com/contactus.aspx