The Zuda Contracts.

[Clm]

Yikes - as a Flash developer (notice I didn't say "animator"), I can only assume that this kind of Flash-bashing indicates a pretty severe level of ignorance about the Flash platform.

And - like a previous poster said, the bashing was quite valid in 2000.

I think anyone who's followed the evolution of the Flash platform and Actionscript itself knows that Flash is much, much more than an animation tool. There are some incredible internet applications out there built on Flash (and Flex).

Is is NOT a "fancy tool to make a shortcut in making visually appealing sites without having to do any coding". That statement is not even remotely true. Actionscript 3 is completely object-oriented and ECMAScript compliant - just like javascript. And in fact, shares more similarities w/ Java than it does Javascript.

Another uneducated quote: "flash isn't very compatible with web technologies that are expanding these days such as xml and web 2.0.". Huh? Not compatible w/ XML? I can't even start to address that comment. If he means that Flash has long since moved on from XML to Web services, SOAP and RPC to manage external data, then he's right. I'm sure that's what he meant.

I've taken a look at Zuda using Firebug to see what kind of data it's sending/receiving, and I can say that it looks like everything is completely dynamic regarding the viewer. The viewer itself is only about 80 KB, and then it begins loading the first image (which average around 900KB - probably why it appears to be "slow"). Once that image is being shown, it starts to preload the other images of the comic.

It also seems to remember the last page you were on. Go to page 6 of one of the comics, then click on a link on the page somewhere. If you hit the "back" button on your browser, it takes you right back to page 6. The inability to deep link is another misconception about Flash. It's easily doable...as long as you know what you're doing.

Sorry to sound defensive - I DO realize that there are a LOT of bad Flash "applications" out there. But I would suggest that those are not created by actual developers, but by the same people who use it to make flaming logos and whatnot.

In the hands of a capable developer, Flash can do great things for the internet, all in a stable, cross-browser, cross-platform environment.

Now - to hop down off my soapbox...

[Cope]

it begins loading the first image (which average around 900KB

Ye gods.

I personally don't have much against Flash in principle, I just think it tends to be inappropriate and even ostentatious for displaying webcomics. I mean, I don't consider a rather nice zoom function a reasonable payoff for a near-megabyte download per page.

[Clm]

I mean, I don't consider a rather nice zoom function a reasonable payoff for a near-megabyte download per page.

It would seem that DC has maybe misjudged what the traditional "webcomic" user values. I get the impression they really wanted to showcase the art of the comic, which is probably why the images shown are humongous (2750x2063 or something like that).

Maybe people who read webcomics simply have no interest in zooming in to see individual brush strokes.

[LibertyCabbage]

Even the most brain-dead webcomickers know that huge file sizes are one of the easiest ways to scare away readers. This level of incompetence doesn't reflect well upon DC's credibility.

[Bustertheclown]

Why would it annoy you? Because they got to it first, or something?

He kind of said very clearly that he didn't like their implementation of it because it's too complicated and show-off-y.

No, he kind of didn't.

In the end its cool, but I'm kind of annoyed because I am working on a flash viewer for my comic. I intended to use it to keep the chapters of my manga in one single page. Because my comic is black and white, and the interface is simple, the flash acutely comes out to be only about double the size of a standard jpeg page of Hegemonia.

[Guardsman]

Hugs to everybody!

[McDuffies]

Why would it annoy you? Because they got to it first, or something?

He kind of said very clearly that he didn't like their implementation of it because it's too complicated and show-off-y.

No, he kind of didn't.

In the end its cool, but I'm kind of annoyed because I am working on a flash viewer for my comic. I intended to use it to keep the chapters of my manga in one single page. Because my comic is black and white, and the interface is simple, the flash acutely comes out to be only about double the size of a standard jpeg page of Hegemonia.

In counter argument, the Zuda flash viewer is highly complicated, flashy indeed. Personally I would tone it down, but then again they got some flash guy to do all the work, so why not complicated?
In the end its cool, but I'm kind of annoyed because I am working on a flash viewer for my comic.

Got it?

[Bustertheclown]

He kind of said very clearly that he didn't like their implementation of it because it's too complicated and show-off-y.

No, he kind of didn't.

In the end its cool, but I'm kind of annoyed because I am working on a flash viewer for my comic. I intended to use it to keep the chapters of my manga in one single page. Because my comic is black and white, and the interface is simple, the flash acutely comes out to be only about double the size of a standard jpeg page of Hegemonia.

In counter argument, the Zuda flash viewer is highly complicated, flashy indeed. Personally I would tone it down, but then again they got some flash guy to do all the work, so why not complicated?
In the end its cool, but I'm kind of annoyed because I am working on a flash viewer for my comic.

Got it?

I'm too weary to argue the purposes of proper syntax with you right now, McD, especially since doing so would just mean needlessly dissecting Guardsman's posts, which is something I'm sure he doesn't need in his life. You wanna win the English Language? Fine. I concede. I'll send the certificate of achievement to you forthwith.

[Thavius]

What is Zuda comics really about? Like Dark Horse Presents on MySpace - it really comes down to promotional activity for the companies.

However, if it does bolster the prospects of Web Comics and the future of talent and the industry as a whole, these should be supported.

Look at the activity Tokyo Pop generated with their own format.

Hopefully, the comic industry as a whole will embrace all the different forms of comic media and we can get out of the corner some have placed us in.

[Guardsman]

needlessly dissecting Guardsman's posts

Please don't do that, trust me, you'll just end up talking your selves in circles. Hell I don't even know how to spell correctly, stupid crappy Vancouver school system!

But yeah, to the person who was asking what Zuda is about, well its about 'what makes the world go round' and that...its money.

250 US per page, and you give DC the rights to the creative property for a few years. Theres a bunch of 'legealieze' mixed into it, so I wont go on to much about that. I'm now lawyer.

In closing 'Hugs to everybody' which means, don't stress your selves over Guardsman, hes here to guard not to...what...man?

Yeah, I should get some sleep.

[Noise Monkey]

Just because there hasn't been a place where it's actually appropriate to say so...Guardsman, I can totally read your banner now. Good job!

[McDuffies]

I'm too weary to argue the purposes of proper syntax with you right now, McD, especially since doing so would just mean needlessly dissecting Guardsman's posts, which is something I'm sure he doesn't need in his life. You wanna win the English Language? Fine. I concede. I'll send the certificate of achievement to you forthwith.

This has nothing with syntax, it has with the length you'll go to defend your desired employer. There is a perfectly intuitive and obvious way to read that post, and you choose to read it in a very strange way only because it's paragraphs are made a little awkwardly?
As humans, we're perfectly capable of grasping the meaning of entire post, not only of one paragraph at a time. We're also capable of understanding the meaning of words that aren't always phrased with the most proper syntax. If I could understand that post correctly, you could have too.
Being called on that, you retreat to using sarcasm. Sarcasm on internet, how unheard of.

[RentAThug]

While I would love to get paid for webcomics, Zuda's contract isn't for me. Like most people I'm none-too-pleased with the complete loss of parts of the rights that matter (copyright only protects what you've already done, so DC having the trademarks means that they control the future of the property).

I'm also not particularly impressed with the first set of contest entries. The first entries were basically Zuda going out to people they knew and soliciting a comic from them because they hadn't opened submissions to the public yet. While there's nothing wrong with that I think it shows in the comics, most of which feel pretty generic.

[Shishio]

Well, despite what they say, Zuda doesn't want anything original or groundbreaking, they want flashy, derivative comics that seem original, and that will have mass appeal.