idely read and admirably thorough in its coverage of the comic industry, Digital Webbing is a potent force for good in the world of graphic storytelling. This hardworking Web magazine piles up the recommended reading for new comic creators, fans and established pros: It has reviews, industry interviews, a weekly column on breaking into comics and a host of other
useful tips and resources.
This site tracks the comics industry diligently, posting all the latest news and developments as soon as they break. Its discussion forums give visitors a place to exchange opinions and info about favorite books and creators. Meanwhile, the Digital Webbing links page is a user-friendly portal to comics publishers big and small, whether they are traditional print houses or web-based experiments.
Digital Webbing is also utterly devoted to helping aspiring comic artists and writers in their quest to break into the field. In addition to the column for new artists, the site offers a Talent Search section—classified ads that enable writers, artists and publishers to find each other. The magazine also has its own comics anthology series—Digital Webbing
Presents—which uses a team-publishing approach to get creative work out where it can be seen and enjoyed by fans.
For comic collectors, enthused readers or anyone working—or wishing to work—in comics, this site is an undisputed must-see.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—December 15, 2003
t has been decades since Stephen King made the transition from widely read author to full-blown American celebrity. His fiction has spawned movies, television series and numerous other adaptations; his life has inspired more than one urban legend. Rumors claim that King hosts an annual campfire story event, or that he lavishly decorates his home for Halloween. For readers curious about the man behind this myth, the official Stephen King site can lay the rumors to rest.
This Web page is a thing of beauty, a sparely drawn testament to the possibilities of Flash. Easy to navigate, pleasant to behold, it is packed with information on Stephen King and his works. Offering the latest news on book releases and personal appearances, the site also has a message board, a bibliography, an extensive FAQ and tidbits about King's various outings as a
film actor.
Naturally, there are also intriguing extras. One is a map of Maine as imagined by King, with the locations of fictional towns like Derry and Castle Rock marked in blue. There is a photo gallery, too, and a links page, as well as a section that allows readers to subscribe to an official King newsletter. The Dark Tower series of novels—whose final installments
will hit bookstores in 2004—has its own section, containing character bios, a glossary for the series, a newsletter and information on artwork featured within the books.
A careful dig through this site will reveal infinite treasures and items of interest—mini-essays on experiences that inspired King's various books, a student poster he posed for while in college, a photo of the author with his first car—entertaining browsing for anyone interested in King himself or the wider mysteries of the writing process.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—December 8, 2003
as there ever been a musical instrument that sparked more devotion than the whimiscal, quixotic, half-daft theremin? Sure, guitars and violins and pianos all have their aficionados, and over the centuries have accumulated plenty of lore and fascination. But for an ugly box you don't even touch to play, and which was invented less than a century ago (in 1919 by the Russian physicist Leon Theremin), the theremin takes top honors for the fanatical allegiance it inspires among its quirky fans and users. To partake of all things thereminic, you must visit Theremin World. Here you will be inundated with a wealth of material on this spooky, ethereal-sounding musical instrument, which by its very nature reeks of science fiction, in the same way as all those illustrations of "yesterday's tomorrows" from 1930s issues of Popular Science.
The range of activities for the visitor to this site is awesome. You can participate in the forum, parsing the schematics of a theremin, prior to attempting to build one yourself. You can get the full backstory on Leon Theremin and his invention, as well as links to a large number of related web pages. There are plenty of audio samples available for download. Hours can be spent examining the catalog of 500-plus bands whose recordings employ the theremin. Shopping opportunities abound: shirts, mugs and bags with the Theremin World logo, CDs and movies, theremin kits and more. But my favorite feature of this site is the photo gallery. Here theremin players send in pix of their customized rigs. Theremins incorporated into flying saucer bodies and "flab-reduction" machines, and reconfigured as occult-looking triangles pierced by laser beams. It's a wavery, wavery, wavery world out there!
— Paul Di Filippo
Back to the top.
