This seems like it could be really good. I like the artwork, and I'm a sucker for steampunk. The only thing that annoys me is the part where it's weekly, and seems to move sort of slowly, so I'm afraid it'll lose me.

What's an 'Ellis-ism'? is it sexy?

I hope I keep up with this. The first six pages were nice...

If Warren Ellis did a comic book of his food shopping lists, I'd read that too. I was pulled into the story by the very first panel of "Freakangels." I can't wait to see more!

Absolutely beautiful stuff. Hopefully the slow roll will be manageable -- just gotta stay focused long enough to hit it each week. Damn this short attention sp... hey let's go ride our bikes!

What I see so far is
Waterworld (flooded) + East Enders (london soap drama) + Mad Max (Gyrocopter) + Eon Flux -ish art = I reserve judgment for later.

It says the world ended ... apparently it didn't because there are still enough people and planet left to provide a story.

I'll give this a while but I'm "meh" on it from the first 6 pages.

@Dillenger69: I agree. It seems very meh so far. It takes place after the world ended? That doesn't make any sense at all.

But I'm a sucker, so I'll keep up with it a while yet.

Very nice artwork indeed... other than the CG, that is. Good thing the stylish designs saved the day.

I've seen slower stories, though.

Behold:
[en.wikipedia.org] YKK
12 years worth of comic where NOTHING HAPPENS, and I loved it.

Is Warren Ellis boldly going where no professional comic book writer has gone before? Welcome to the world of irate fans who really get pissed when you forget to update and demand maor lik naow!11 :D

Regardless, I'm totally reading this. Warren Ellis has not let me down so far....*knock of wood*

Very nice indeed, I shall be checking this out.

This is fantastic. How often should the chaps post their elegant master pieces? Hurrying artistic genius might not be in our interest, I fear.

This is great. Does anyone know where I can find others like this, or a list of some of the best webcomics of the interweb? I haven't really been into this stuff before, and I'd like some good ones to add to my RSS feed.

Is there any reason why hip and trendy characters need to start their story waking up in someone elses bed whom they don't recall fucking the night before?

I mean, it seems a bit trite... a bit like saying "yeah, look, I fuck random strangers and then I get angsty and torn about it...".

So it lost me right there on the second page, I'm afraid. There's pretension, and then there's PRETENSION. It's probably post-... something.

(fuck, I know I shouldn't be all anal and critical about it, it is steampunk after all, but this is my gut initial reaction...)

@urukhaifive: Depending on the severity of the event that happened those years ago, many people could consider it the "end" of the world. Looks like this one has a "Outside Context"-level event.

I don't even know what steampunk is. Pipes and crap? And how could it have been the "End" of the World. Perhaps "The end of the world as we knew it" would have been more accurate. The End is the End. This comic has some nice looking pictures. I'm going to get my ass in gear and produce the one I have on in my head.

It's Ellis, after all. He just lets that id sprawl out like a stranger walking into your house, sitting on your couch and telling you stories inspired by cthulhu madness and absinthe dreams. I'll give it a shot.

You had me at "Warren Ellis".
Nuff sezed.

Yeah, what Plague sed!

@Jordan.W.S.: [www.dicebox.net] - Dicebox is one of the best sf webcomics I'm aware of. It's a very slow moving, weekly longterm project (so far seven and a half chapters in the last six or so years), but if you're willing to be patient, it's great.

Then there's [www.faitherinhicks.com] - Ice - set in a neo-Victorian London in a new ice age. Also slow moving, and updates irregularly, but still interesting.

And, of course, there's [www.lightspeedpress.com] - Finder, a print comic turned webcomic, one of the most fascinating examples of worldbuilding in comics I've come across. Warren Ellis is a fan, and has collaborated with the author, Carla Speed McNeil, on Frank Ironwine.

[www.gunnerkrigg.com] - Gunnerkrigg Court is, maybe, what Harry Potter would have been if it had been written by China Miéville. Recommended by Neil Gaiman, if you like your webcomics recommended by 'pro' authors. ;-)

[www.templaraz.com] - Templar, Arizona is not really fantasy or sf, but *is* set in a universe that does not seem to be quite our own - a universe where people eat 'Viking-flavored' cereals for breakfast and fastfood means roasted cavvy on a stick. (Spider Jerusalem would love it.)

[riceboy.jho-tan.com] - Rice Boy is Lord of the Rings on LSD, and that doesn't even really *begin* to describe it. Do check this out, because you need to see it to 'get' the awesomeness.

If you like any of these, check them on [piperka.net] - piperka will show you what else the people who read a certain comic read. It's a good place to discover new stuff, and a good way of keeping track of the comics you read, too. (I read about 80 nowadays. *g*)

@RabidWombat: I like Warren Ellis a lot, but I think that weekly, monthly, any kind of periodic format isn't really the best way to read him. The stuff that I've enjoyed the most has always been monthly comics collected as a trade.

So, I concur. Don't be surprised if this moves waaaay slowly.

Wow, WARREN ELLIS is warning us not to expect the plot to move quickly? How unlike every other single thing written by WARREN ELLIS! Thank you for the warning, WARREN ELLIS!

@moncapitaine: No.

Puke. Can we please have some authors/artists etc. who don't have anything to do with increasingly putrid BoingBoing nexus. Warren Ellis is a hack, Transmetropolitan = Hunter Thompson in the 22nd century, this = V + Midnight's Children. Why? How about a feature on Michael Swanwick, George Saunders or Ted Chiang, just for a change?

"I'm figuring that, in a free model, enough people will just come along for the ride..."
Not very familiar with webcomics, is he?

@El_Bandito: I wondered this, too.

But it still isn't enough to turn me off of a steampunk webcomic. :P

Right. The last panel on pg. 5. Yeah. That's what I do. Before getting into my car in the morning I often talk out loud with no one there, saying, "Boy, I hope I have enough gas to get to work. Sure as hell don't want to stall out on the 405."

Baaad writing. Nifty art, though.

@urukhaifive: I have no problemo with people who like the dude, I'm just tired of all the tedious cross-promotion. IO9, if you want my pageviews please explore the genre a little more. And shitcan the BoingBoing shit, por favor

This is great!! - not like my favorite victorian steampunk settings by Ian R. MacLeod but still great.
Will definetely be a regular reader

El rapeo, what is it about Boing Boing that you find most problematic? I have issues with some of the topics, but that should be expected on a flash blog(a Flog?), where some of the topics might not be as wonderful as they could be. It's subjective at that point. Boing Boing will look at your reccomendation for a site if you want to send it to them.

Biggest problem is self-promotion, their constant, obvious reference to their friends' side projects. This is more of a problem with Cory and Xeni's posts. I'm also sick of Steampunk and EFF and I think their politics have become cloyingly leftist of late, but that may be more of a tone thing.

El Rapeo, I think Boing Boing has its mindset-culture. It's true that birds of a feather flock together, at least to some extent. I'm a writer and I've come to realize that a large part of the current business model is about self-promotion. I can see how it might seem too obvious at times, but I also think that networking is important.

@Jeff-Minor: Sure, but compare the BoingBoing of today with that of 2004 when the cross-promotion was more of a background hum. I think the Suicide Girls ads marked the end.