I missed this over the recent holiday weekend, but Jay Eales and Selina Lock announced that Factor Fiction were officially launched as webcomics last Saturday. As anyone who has visited the site before will know there was already quite a bit of archive material available to read, but this new move marks a serious push into making accessible webcomic versions of their material, although I’m pleased to hear that print issues of the Girly Comic and Violent! will still be available, with more plans in hand for a collected edition of the Girly Comic, new work from Lee Kennedy and later on collections of some of the strips which will feature on the site, so looks like small press comics fans will be getting the best of both worlds. From Jay and Selina:
“Both webcomics will debut new strips, threaded alongside our ongoing project to put the entire Factor Fiction strip archive online. Going online will enable us to continue our mission to bring new and established comic creators to a wider audience. For those who have never picked up a copy of Violent!, you’ll be able to read serials such as The Flatworm, Spare Parts, MageWorks and Knuckles from the beginning. Plus we’re featuring a brand new four panel strip series: The Silent Service by Jay Eales and Paul McCaffrey.
(Jay Eales Paul McCaffrey’s Silent Service)
Small press and Girly Comic fans will be aware that all sixteen print issues of The Girly Comic include work by autobiographical comic goddess Lee Kennedy, and we are very proud to be compiling an online archive of her work as part of The Girly Comic website. Those who are unfamiliar with her work should check it out now. We’re also excited to announce that over the coming months we’ll be making all the Oddcases strips by Alistair Pulling & Bevis Musson available on The Girly Comic site. This will not only be the stories published in the comics, but also the early uncollected Oddcases strips, and hopefully some new ones. To celebrate the launch, a brand new full colour comic strip Sisters of the Head will start on The Girly Comic site on Saturday. It has been penned by Doctor Who novelist Daniel O’Mahony, and illustrated by small press supremo Terry “Sleaze Castle” Wiley.”
(Clumping over the Common 1, (c) Lee Kennedy)
I think this is all pretty exciting and I’m really pleased to see such a great move from some of our best British small press creators. Its also pretty interesting from a reader’s point of view – we know that getting your independent work noticed by readers is a struggle in and of itself; creating and printing your own work is a challenge, getting it seen is another. And even if you are noticed if readers are unfamiliar with your work its harder to persuade them to part with some money to buy an issue. But here we are with a diverse selection of creators, strips, themes and styles which readers can explore free – a quite excellent place to introduce new readers to the innovation, style and imagination we know can be found in the Brit small press scene. If you’re already reading Brit small press titles then you are going to enjoy the new and archive material on here while if you’re new then here’s a great risk-free starting point for you. And remember, if you enjoy what you read also visit their store and try buying some of the print titles.
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