Here's a shot of cartoonists with work on (or about to be on) the Web who were at the Saturday night party at the Cartoon Art Museum. (Three of whom had to be pasted in later, cause they wandered away while we were doing it!).

This is probably the last time we'll be able to organize such a group-shot. Online comics in 2003 are becoming so common that simply being online in some form is on the verge of becoming the rule rather than the exception. Soon, taking a picture of cartoonists on the Web will seem as superfluous as taking a picture of cartoonists who use panel borders or word balloons.

For those of us who remember comics in the mid-90s when it was a struggle to convince anyone that webcomics were even comics at all -- much less a vital new creative opportunity -- the current scene can seem like a thing of wonder. For everyone else, it's just becoming business as usual, which is healthy.

Now maybe we can all get on to the next stages of this revolution: Telling better stories, making a living, and ultimately reconnecting with the printed comics industry to make certain that the rise of online comics doesn't negatively affect the health of print publishers and comics stores and in the coming years.

Standing, left to right: Leonard Cachola, Gene Yang, Chris Baldwin, Rachel Hartman, Jenn Manley Lee, Erika Moen, Donna Barr, Shaenon Garrity, Tom Hart, Layla Marie Lawlor, Chuck Whelon, Jen Wang, Jason Shiga, Lea Hernandez, Carla Speed McNeil, Justine Shaw, Patrick Farley.

The rest...

Apart from the above shot of Derek arriving with his humble shoebox on Saturday morning, my other photos seem to have mysteriously vanished. I'll see if I can figure out where they've gone and post what I can soon.

No, wait! Found them!