Since I started writing for Multiversity, perhaps my favorite running article I came up with was Zuda Weekly. This column would find me talking with various Zuda creators, recent winners, and reviewing all of their monthly competitors. Not only was it a lot of fun, but it was also exciting to see the fresh voices that Zuda was bringing in on a monthly basis. While not all of them were brilliant (but many were), you could always see the inkling of talent.
Within the eight frames you could often recognize the caterpillar that would eventually becomes butterflies like Celadore or The Night Owls or Bayou. Those three titles, and many others like High Moon could stand up against the best in the industry, and it was thanks to the tireless work of people like Ron Perazza and his very helpful staff that they became as well regarded as they did. Hell, if it weren’t for Ron I never would have read Zuda Comics period.
A couple months ago, Zuda controversially announced that they were ending competitions going forward. Much theorizing went on as to why they went away, but perhaps we have our answer now: Zuda itself has went away.
Effective today, ZudaComics.com is going away and these titles will now be placed on DC’s ComiXology app as well as the Sony Playstation Network. The first issue (twenty pages – whether or not that is twenty frames is uncertain) will be free, with each subsequent one costing $.99. It looks like not every title will be launching on SPN or DC’s app (or at least immediately), but for all intents and purposes this is the end of Zuda.
Ron Perazza himself posted a very heartfelt column about “The Future of Zuda” at the Zuda Blog today. It read as someone toeing the company line but assuredly disappointed by how everything went down (although I could be off-base on that one). It kind of makes me want Jeremy Love’s Bayou to end up winning the Best Web Comic Eisner this year, just to kind of stick it to DC in a “you messed up a good formula” sort of way. You can find the entirety of that post after the jump.
I think I can speak for all of us at MC in saying that we’re sad to see Zuda go, but here is hoping that Perazza’s suggestion that Jim Lee and Dan Didio expanding the Zuda submissions idea into a larger and more comprehensive world ends up being a good one.
I’ll leave you with Warren Ellis’ tweet about this action, as he speaks for all of us:
Damn sorry to read of Zuda Comics’ changes today. Best of luck to all Zuda creators, respect to Ron Perazza @zudacomics
Last week DC Comics took a much anticipated second step into the world of digital publishing with the simultaneous launch of the official DC Comics iPhone/iPad App (powered by comiXology) and participation in Sony’s Playstation Network. I say second step because, as most Zuda fans know, we made our first step back in 2007 when DC Comics tasked us with a project that would evolve into ZUDA COMICS. Part webcomics collective, part community, part competition, all experimental; Zuda was an unique and ambitiously creative project, albeit an occasionally clunky one.
Recently we ended our competition format and put submissions on hold. And now, effective today, www.zudacomics.com will be shut down.
Why?
The submissions question is simple: It is the new DC Co-Publishers’ plan to expand submissions beyond just Zuda Comics and the Online group into a larger, more comprehensive system that covers all of DC Comics’ wide variety of needs, skills and interests. Jim and Dan are very excited about bringing in and developing new talent so look for more information about that from them as plans develop.
As for the site, from here on out, Zuda Comics will be folded into DC Comics’ exciting, new Digital Publishing initiative. Expect more Zuda series to be released through the DC Comics and comiXology Apps, the Sony PSP and on both the comiXology website and, eventually, the main DC Comics website as well. You’ll be able to read all of your digital editions and manage your entire library in one place, whether DCU, Vertigo, WildStorm or Zuda. The goal there is convergence of technology and convergence of editorial.
In these past two and a half years, I’m very proud to say that Zuda series and creators have had some outstanding critical successes. Ilias Kyriazis’ MELODY was nominated for a Friends of Lulu Award for Best Female Character, Andy Belanger got the nod for the Shuster Award for Webcomics, SUPERTRON, HIGH MOON, THE NIGHT OWLS and THE BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS were nominated for a combined total of seven Harvey Awards, including the win for best Online Comic by HIGH MOON, and BAYOU took home a record-breaking number of Glyph Awards, recognition by the American Library Association and is currently up for coveted Eisner Award for Best Webcomic! Clearly the experiment was yielding fantastic creative achievements and now, new fans coming to DC through our apps and through the Sony Playstation Network will get a chance to read what the rest of us have known about since Zuda’s launch.
I think if there’s one thing that the Zuda Comics community shares is the belief that nothing lasts forever — submissions get rejected, competitors don’t win, stories end. We try stuff, hopefully we learn stuff, we change stuff and still the experiment continues. Zudacomics.com may have come to an end today but the award-winning series will live on and without a doubt, the discussion and lessons learned these past two and a half years will continue to inform, shape and fuel the development of DC’s future digital plans and initiatives.
