or years, quirky comic-book writer/artist Phil Foglio has been self-publishing his work, which gives him immense creative freedom but makes it hard to maintain a steady output—new issues of his series Buck Godot and Xxxenophile emerged erratically, especially as he and his collaborator/wife Kaja worked on other projects, from illustrating Magic cards to marketing their own collectible card games. In 2001, Phil and Kaja launched the fantastic new series Girl Genius, the sometimes humorous but mostly serious story of a female mad scientist in a politically baroque steampunk world. But the series only reached 13 issues over the course of four years, and the costs of self-publishing a high-quality color glossy were high.
So in February, Phil and Kaja stopped publishing the comic's print edition and took it online. The simple splash page of their new Web site offers two options: Newbies can go to "Girl Genius 101" and start reading the series from the beginning, while experienced readers should head for the "Girl Genius Advanced Class," which takes up where the print comic left off. New full-size comics pages are added every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, advancing both parts of the story, and the old pages are archived and easily accessible through a "previous" button.
Both sides of the site have the same sidebar of links explaining the Girl Genius plot and linking to Phil and Kaja's weblogs, their main site, their newsroom, their store and more. The network of sites is relatively sparse and simple, though, nosing around, Foglio fans can find unpublished or unavailable comics, among many other things. But currently, the big draw is the chance to read Girl Genius free, with frequent updates. The Foglios plan to publish books of all the online strips, but for the moment, this is the best way to follow—or jump into—their tangled and always intriguing fantasy plot.
—Tasha Robinson
Site of the Week—May 16, 2005
s one of the field's most prolific authors—with dozens of novels under her belt and several series on the go at any given time—it is little wonder that Hugo Award-winning author C.J. Cherryh also has one of the largest and most information-rich Web pages of any SF writer on the Internet.
This is no dry and dull encyclopedia; on the contrary, a browse though this site's lengthy table of contents shows it to be far cozier than many author Web pages. All the features a fan could hope for are here—a writer's blog, a list of upcoming appearances, a publications bibliography, a newsletter, a links page—even a helpful guide to the universes in which Cherryh sets her various series. Meanwhile, the other sections of the site give it its intensely personal feel, like the extensive United States travel recommendations, the author's hand-drawn portraits of characters from her novels and a photo gallery.
Cherryh has also distilled a number of panels from various past SF conventions into an informal FAQ that covers an eclectic range of topics. This section of the site has information on getting cats used to car travel, tips on world-building for SF writers, a list of myths about the Roman Empire (and the true historical facts), suggestions on the delicate topic of etiquette at SF cons, grammar rants and a long list of Cherryh's favorite things.
Adventurous Web surfers may want to check out the "Latin the Easy Way" section, wherein Cherryh breaks down the learning of this ancient language into a handful of allegedly simple steps, while new writers may prefer to read the essays and links about the publishing industry and how it works. Offering a vast array of information and whimsy, this site truly offers something for every visitor.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—May 9, 2005
ith 26 Discworld novels under his belt, a British Science Fiction Award and innumerable faithful readers worldwide, Terry Pratchett is deservedly known as one of SF's most influential writers. At Terry Pratchett Books, new readers and devoted fans can find out about his upcoming publications and projects.
At first glance, the site looks beautifully designed but dull, a sort of "just the facts" buffet covering all the basic details: newsletter, message boards, a Pratchett interview, book summaries, cover art and news about author appearances and upcoming releases. Tucked in with all this serious information, though, are flashes of whimsy, like the highly detailed Map of Discworld, a listing of "Pearls of Wisdom" from Thief of Time and the "Discworld on $30 a Day" travel guide, which explains the most important things a new visitor to this world should know up front.
As a tie-in with the release of the novel Going Postal, Terry Pratchett Books also offers visitors a look at a series of stamps from the Ankh Morpork Post Office, along with pictures of the author dressed as a Victorian-era postmaster. The artwork on the stamps is superbly rendered and witty (the 50-pence stamp, for example, offers a salute to the cabbage industry of the Sto Plains). These stamps are also featured on e-cards that fans can send to anyone on the Web.
Finally, this Web page has an in-depth list of links, all related to Pratchett and his writing, which allows the insatiably curious fan to surf elsewhere easily and learn even more about the Discworld creator and his other works.
—A.M. Dellamonica
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