Meredith Gran

Back in 2012, Benign Kingdom was launched by Becky Dresidadt, Frank Gibson and Evah Dahm as a series of creator-owned, high-quality art books featuring webcomics creators. It's a great idea that made for a fantastic showcase of independent talent, but unfortunately, we haven't seen any new offerings from the Kingdom since 2013. After putting out a series of books featuring creators like KC Green, Anthony Clark and Emily Carroll, it seemed like the project might have run its course. But Benign Kingdom recently returned with a Kickstarter campaign meant to fund a whole new set, with 32-page art books from Meredith Gran, Dustin Harbin, and co-founders Dreisdadt and Dahm.

The weekend is here, so take a look back and just what’s been going on over the past seven days. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

Available for free right now is Pressure/Sensitivity, the very cleverly titled inaugural anthology project produced by Wacom. The book is a natural step for Wacom to make, as makers of the tablet technology used by an increasing number of comic book artists to create their work. Because Pressure/Sensitivity: An Awesome Comics Anthology is edited by former ComicsAlliance editor Caleb Goellner (currently Wacom's Social Marketing Specialist), it comes as no surprise that the book is populated by contributors well known to CA readers for their distinctive styles and technical prowess: Ben Sears, Giannis Milonogiannis, Ming Doyle, Meredith Gran & Mike Holmes, and Ulises Farinas & Ryan Hill.

If you've ever wanted a thoroughly authentic glimpse at modern university life which sometimes also features extended sections of foxy boxing, then ComicsAlliance has some very good news ahead for you: Boom Box have announced that they'll be bringing a new story from John Allison's Giant Days to print in March of next year. Following a group of girls - and their doting hangers-on - during Fresher's Week at uni and beyond, the series features all the familiar perils of life away from home; flu, food thefts, tutus, Enya; all the familiar perils. With the move to Boom Box, however, the series is going off in a new direction from the original webcomic. Allison will write, but artist Lissa Treiman will be coming in to pencil all six issues - that's her cover for issue #1 you can see up top.

Those of you who keep track of the ComicsAlliance staff for shipping purposes may have been wondering what former editor Caleb Goellner has been up to since he left the site earlier this year. As it happens, he's been over at Wacom, and while working on tablets used for digital art is still pretty close to comics -- indeed, many comics artists use the technology to create their comics -- the company is nudging even closer with the announcement of the first-ever Wacom comics anthology. Built around the theme of "Pressure/Sensitivity" (geddit?), the anthology will feature the talents of cover artist and ComicsAlliance favorite Ulises Farinas with stories by the equally esteemed Meredith Gran, Ming Doyle, Giannis Milanogiannis and more. Even better, the 32-page anthology will be free to download when it's released in January.

Where some conventions skew more toward pop culture than comic books, this past weekend's Emerald City Comicon 2013 stocked Seattle with hundreds of prominent creators from every corner of the medium. ComicsAlliance was on hand to catch the faces behind the funnybooks as they met fans, signed comics and worked on commissions...

We didn't realize when we set out to list our favorite comic books of 2012 that it had been such a fun year to be a fan of the medium that we all love so much. The last twelve months offered readers a wide variety of work ranging from the most crowd-pleasing superhero epics to the most idiosyncratic of indies; the return of much missed mangaka and the emergence of exciting new talent; a new crowd-

It's always bittersweet when a beloved mini-series wraps up, and Boom! Studios' Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens #6 is no exception. Fortunately for fans, the final issue in the mini only amps up the radness with a concluding tale by series writer and artist Meredith Gran and this issue's backup story by Rich Tommaso...

Love is a many-splendored thing and all that jazz, but relationships? You gotta work at 'em if you want that love to stick around! Why, even Jake the dog and his main squeeze Princess Rainicorn aren't immune from a little trouble in paradise...

Peppermint Butler fans, take note: You do not want to cross Princess Bubblegum's trusted servant by forging concert tickets. Though it may seem harmless to pick up tickets to see the Land of Ooo's most popular rock band from a seedy stranger in a dark alley, it's wise to seek official admission according to the backup story in Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens #4, which arrives on Oc