![January 2008 Competitors](https://web.archive.org/web/20080415144916im_/http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/wp-content/2008/01/January_2008_competitors.jpg)
A bevy of new Zuda contestants are up for the month of January—the entrants seem to have taken a move towards the surreal comedy end of the spectrum and look more polished. And we’re happy to report that many of the Flash problems which so annoyed us last month seem to have been smoothed out for the most part. BTW, last month’s winner was PRAY FOR DEATH; our fave THE CROOKED MAN was #2, but certainly that team will go on to do more stuff…we hope. Anyway, here’s the PR — we’ve added links to the creators where we could find any.
DC Comics announced today the ten entries in the first www.Zudacomics.com contest of the new year. The selected comics are diverse in both their subject matter and tone, spanning a wide variety of genres— from comedy to thrillers, to fantasy and science fiction. Each is the unique vision of an aspiring comics creator.
Fans and fellow creators are invited to vote for one of the ten comics to continue as a regular web comic on the site. Previous winners of the www.Zudacomics.com contest have been Pray for Death by Nicholas Doan and Daniele Serra and High Moon by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis.
The new Zudacomics.com contest features the following webcomics:
Title: A Spelunker’s Guide to the City
Writer/Artist: Gary Epting
Summary: Macbeth, MacHeath, Mabuse, Moriarty, Fu Manchu and Dr. Moreau, all these evil M’s have had their turn. It’s a new day in Null City and it belongs to Odile Moiré. In some stories he is the driving force, in others a bit player. Sometimes he is only referenced; an ominous warning, tagged on a wall. No one can put a face to the name, but the dread is real and overpowering. In Null City, surrealism is a way of life.
Title: Absurdity At Its Best
Writer/Artist: Victor Bonilla
Summary: Whether it is the secret history of the pickle kings of yore, or the maniacal ranting of a communist chair, Absurdity At Its Best aims to inject a little absurdity into your daily life.
Title: Danetropolis
Writer/Artist: David Daneman
Summary: In the world of Danetropolis, David Daneman is king, jester, the cop on the street, and that guy talking to David Daneman on the train because the other guy is David Daneman too.
Title: Demons in the Closet
Writer/Artist: John Zakour
Summary: Demons in the Closet is the story of Sky, who discovers his little sister’s closet is a nexus to another dimension filled with “demons.” The demons insist they are “just here to help,” but of course, they are demons…
Title: The Legend of the Fool King
Writer/Artist: Alexander Kanaris-Sotiriou
Summary: Follow the twisting path of fate as destiny forges a lowly jester into a world’s heroic savior in an epoch-shattering fantasy romp
Title: Pieces of Eden
Writer/Artist: Seth Sherwood
Summary: A serial killer has been stalking women and his latest victim, Eden, has somehow survived. In surviving, Eden absorbed little pieces of each the other victims’ personalities. With this quiet menagerie of voices in her mind, Eden sets out for revenge.
Title: Supertron
Writer/Artist: Sheldon Vella
Summary: Somewhere in the future, robots rule the land. In this harsh mechanical wasteland lives Supertron, a robot of unprecedented power and wit. His only equal is Spinbot; a maniacal bot of style and speed. This is their story…
Title: Thomas: Agent of Chaos
Writer/Artist: Larry Jamal Walton
Summary: Midway through the journey of life, most decide that their life will be greatly improved by a “bundle of joy”. Thomas was one such bundle of joy. Like all kids, Thomas is an Agent of Chaos. His only goal is to be unpredictable, cause mischief, and insert as much uncertainty as possible into the lives of those around him. Couples are always told that life will never be the same after having kids. Agents of Chaos are the prime reason for that statement.
Title: Untrue Tales
Writer/Artist: Sam Little
Summary: These are the untrue tales of Gabriel Stein; his life, his loves, his string of failures. Each story in the series will be a self-contained tale connected to the life of Gabe, the occasionally charming loser.
Title: Urbis Faerie
Writer/Artist: Robert Richardson
Summary: A young woman’s life is complicated when her evil parents demand she leave a town where everyone is descended from fantasy creatures and come back to live with them… all on the same night her would-be boyfriend discovers he is really a werewolf.
As with the inaugural contest, www.Zudacomics.com’s visitors will vote for the webcomics that they want to see continue on the site. The competition winners will, in turn, receive commissions to create a year’s worth of their web comics for the site, and will have their work published in print formats as well.