Canadian webcomic creator Ryan North’s Dinosaur Comics is another one of those projects that defies the norm in the comics world and succeeds despite all of the very good reasons why it shouldn’t. I mean, come on, folks: A series in which the art never changes, and readers just get day after day of a pair of dinosaurs chatting about heady subject matter in mid-stomp? Back in the day, no one would’ve predicted a comic like that would be around five days, let alone five years.

But that’s exactly what it’s done — Dinosaur Comics has not only survived, but thrived, in its five-year existence. It’s done so well, in fact, that North has been able to develop a complex history for his small cast of characters while also having his creation named among the Web’s best comics in one award after another over the last few years. Not content to simply make comics on the ‘Net, North has also lent his considerable programming skills to Project Wonderful, a robust online ad-serving system that allows users to bid on placement of their ads on participating websites. Much like Dinosaur Comics, Project Wonderful is a new approach to a long-established system that has left countless others slapping their foreheads and wondering why they didn’t think of something similar.

I had the opportunity to chat with North recently about Dinosaur Comics, Project Wonderful and a variety of other topics, including his recent experiments with online photo-sharing site Flickr and the multitude of other projects he manages to juggle on a regular basis. 

COMICMIX: Before we even get started, what were you up to when you sat down to answer these questions, Ryan?

RYAN NORTH: I’m disgusting, man. Sunday morning, I haven’t showered yet and I’m covered in stink lines. I’m wearing the clothes I wore yesterday. I’ve just eaten a burger with bacon built into it, and I have crumbs on my chest. I am the sexiest man, Rick. Tell your readers. (more…)

So… how was San Diego Comic-Con?

I’ve been asked that a lot in the last 48 hours, so here’s my best attempt at wrangling the bucking, spitting beast that was this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. It’s a long one, so consider yourself warned.

First off, it’s worth pointing out that I didn’t arrive until late Thursday night after a series of travel problems that included (but were not limited to): canceled flights, one missed connection, a sprained ankle (not mine), an hour spent standing in place during a "security breach" situation in the main Charlotte airport, and a pair of storms that seemed quite capable of ripping the roof off a house or sending various farm animals across the road in an airborne state.

Once I was actually in San Diego, however, there was a slightly more manageable form of chaos to deal with. Here were some of my thoughts on the whole affair, as well as some of the highlights from my chats with publishers, creators and various other groups around the show: (more…)