NEW COMIC: "Desiderata" by Max Leibman

Max Leibman · Post by **Max Leibman** » Mon Oct 08, 2001 8:52 am

I have created a comic, entitled Desiderata, which will be posted daily at <a href="http://www.geocities.com/comicmetaphysi ... ta.html</a>. The basic premise is as nebulous as Zwol's, but it can be best summed up as the story of one man's quest to identify and chase down the Most Desired Thing in his life; also, every Monday's strip will feature conversations between myself and people I know about the comic itself.

Of course, any and all feedback, whether positive, negative, or otherwise, is greatly appreciated, whether it is posted here, or sent via <a href="mailto:comicmetaphysic@yahoo.com">e-mail</a>.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes a moment to look at it.

Peace out,

Max Leibman
<a href="mailto:comicmetaphysic@yahoo.com">comicmetaphysic@yahoo.com</a>

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/comicmetaphysi ... iderata</a> - Comic and associated strangeness posted daily by yours truly.

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Mon Oct 08, 2001 11:06 am

Off to a good start, Max! I also compliment you on your excellent site layout.

Max Leibman · Post by **Max Leibman** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 8:38 am

Day two is posted, now with BIGGER LETTERS, in order to make it EASIER TO READ. A couple friends with high-res, low-dimension monitors complained about the lettering in Day 1.

In an epic struggle between usability and art, I decided to obliterate larger sections of the artwork in order to make the aforementioned BIGGER LETTERS. I'm just curious -- does anyone else find them to be an improvement? Would you prefer the small text from Day 1? Some other size?

I am struggling to find the Best of All Possible Worlds, as Pangloss put it, and I would appreciate anybody else's view on this (or anything else relating to the comic).

_________________
Peace out,

Max Leibman
<a href="mailto:comicmetaphysic@yahoo.com">comicmetaphysic@yahoo.com</a>

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/comicmetaphysi ... iderata</a> - Comic and associated strangeness posted daily by yours truly.

[ This Message was edited by: Max Leibman on 2001-10-09 08:38 ]

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 12:54 pm

Lettering looks fine today at the larger size. Seems better for the comic, I think. Others may disagree, but I think it's an improvement.

As to covering art with words, I think there was another discussion thread about this, but I'm in the practice of mapping out the dialoge before drawing any pictures. This may work better for me because at present I'm hand-lettering.

lylebclarke · Post by **lylebclarke** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 6:31 pm

Hi Max,

I also find the larger lettering in your second strip an improvement over the smaller in the first.

(The rain going past the panels, instead of just past the windows also tickles my fancy (as would an ambient looping rain animation)

Lyle

Max Leibman · Post by **Max Leibman** » Tue Oct 09, 2001 7:48 pm

Thanks. No looping animations so far (baby steps, and all that), but I will be playing around with the rain layer for the rest of the week...

-Max

rcar · Post by **rcar** » Wed Oct 10, 2001 1:54 pm

yes the lettering is much better on the newer strips. Easier to read, and it looks better with the comic.

Nice job by the way.

Randy

Max Leibman · Post by **Max Leibman** » Thu Oct 11, 2001 8:54 am

Thread bump. Moo hoo ha ha.

Well, okay, I'll write something, too. Anyhow, I just wanted to say thanks to everybody who's taken a moment to check out the comic, and those who've dropped me note here, elsewhere or by e-mail. My enthusiasm for the comic, and web comics generally, is only increasing every day. I only wish I had started this thing sooner (then again, had I started sooner, I would have been using an earlier, less advanced idea, and who knows what kind of crap would have been churned out).

damonk13 · Post by **damonk13** » Fri Oct 12, 2001 5:18 pm

yay for the current crap!

i mean, you already KNOW my thoughts on your comic so far, max, and i'm glad to hear that this is getting you even MORE interested in webcomics -- it sounds like you've become an addict like the rest of us!

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Mon Oct 15, 2001 5:21 pm

The thread's worth another bump, but I've actually got a questioning that I've been wondering about:

How are you handling your updates? Are you manually editing the page every day? I'm guessing this is the case and that Geocities doesn't allow scripting on their site (other than whatever approved pre-installed scripts they've got). I'm curious because such a large part of my site design was planned around the idea that it would be scripted for a minimum of work.

Also, how do you feel after having the first week under your belt?

And lastly, I like the new smaller comic size today. Even with a sufficiently large monitor, I don't often run my browser maximized and H-scrolling is less convenient than V-scrolling.

Max Leibman · Post by **Max Leibman** » Tue Oct 16, 2001 12:41 pm

Replies to the above:

damonk: No, I was already an addict. But before, at least, I could convince myself I had it under control. "No sweat," I would say, "I can quit anytime." Now I know better.

Hi, my name is Max, and I'm a webcomicaholic.

Greg: Yup, manual updates, all hand-coded. I don't like working with WYSIWYG web-layout programs, and I had experimented with CGI and such (mostly picking through <a href="http://www.keenspot.com/downloads/">AutoKeen Lite</a>) before realizing that Geocities won't run it.

However, current plans have the site going pro around the first of the year, complete with domain name and everything, so we'll see...

Also, how does it feel to have week one down? Amazingly gratifying. Terrifying, too...everybody's been too postive so far. But my excitement for the strip is bigger than it was before I began, which is a rare thing in my projects.

_________________
Peace out,

Max Leibman
<a href="mailto:comicmetaphysic@yahoo.com">comicmetaphysic@yahoo.com</a>

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/comicmetaphysi ... iderata</a> - Comic and associated strangeness posted daily.

[ This Message was edited by: Max Leibman on 2001-10-16 12:42 ]

rcar · Post by **rcar** » Tue Oct 16, 2001 2:12 pm

I like the idea of breaking from the comic story to the artist and his friend. Sort of like the movie "the princess bride". I have book marked your site.

Randy

Max Leibman · Post by **Max Leibman** » Tue Oct 16, 2001 3:09 pm

I LOVE that movie! Cary Elwes rocks.

Oddly enough, I wasn't thinking about that when I came up with the idea of working the "Me" strips into the regular 5-day rotation -- my original plan was for just four strips a week (Mon-Thurs), but then I decided to do some strips about myself creating the comic similar to what Greg did with the first ten Saturday comics for Zwol. When I realized I would be able to keep up with a full five days a week, I combined the two, filling out the extra day by putting a strip of me at the beginning.

_________________
Peace out,

Max Leibman
<a href="mailto:comicmetaphysic@yahoo.com">comicmetaphysic@yahoo.com</a>

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/comicmetaphysi ... iderata</a> - Comic and associated strangeness posted daily.

[ This Message was edited by: Max Leibman on 2001-10-16 15:11 ]