From Web to Print: Dark Horse’s Applegeeks
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week March 10, 2009 Sign up now!
By Ada Price -- Publishers Weekly, 3/9/2009 3:13:00 PM
Following a string of successful webcomics-to-print collections, Dark Horse is publishing the popular online comic Applegeeks, a tech and geek oriented book about four college friends and their adventures with the everyday and the absurd, in the spring. Created by Mohammad F. Haque, a.k.a Hawk, and Ananth Panagariya, Applegeeks attracts an average of 40,000 unique visitors a day and over 2.5 million page views a month, according to the book’s editor, Samantha Robertson.
The first volume, Applegeeks: The Freshman Year, collects the first two years of comics and will go on-sale May 27. Dark Horses initial print run is 10, 000 copies. Dark Horse acquired the rights to publish Applegeeks in 2007. “We’ve actually been chatting to the Applegeeks creators for sometime,” Robertson said, noting that “things got rolling” during Kumoricon, a Portland, Oregon anime and manga convention back in 2007.
Haque and Panagariyastarted Applegeeks as college students at the University of Maryland; the first Applegeeks’comic was posted online February 10,2003. Haque and Panagaraiya managed to balance day jobs, school and the comics and they continue to juggle work and creating Applegeeks. Haque, the artist, works full time at a design studio in Washington D.C., and the strip’s writer Panagariya is working on a novel. The two are still able to upload new comics three times a week. “Applegeeks is definitely a labor of love for these guys,” Robertson said.
Robertson described Applegeeks as a lighthearted comedy about four college friends trying to fit as much fun as they can around busy school and work schedules. The story is rife with insider tech jokes and lots of quips extolling Apple and belittling Windows as well as gaming and comics’ related topics woven into the story. The four main characters—Hawk, an outgoing Apple-obsessed inventor, Jayce, a more reserved writer, Jayce’s childhood friend, Alice, and Gina, Alice’s friend and roommate—are constantly embroiled in all kinds of hijinks from money and relationship problems to robot girlfriends and scheming talking squirrels. “What’s really wonderful about Applegeeks is that no matter what sort of situation this foursome find themselves in, they remain completely relatable,” said Robertson.
The strip also doesn’t shy away from serious issues such as religion, racism, and sexism, Robertson explained, “... in ways that are not only humorous but also thought-provoking.” Robertson pointed to Hawk, a Muslim, who must survive the temptations of doughnuts during Ramadan, and worries about receiving suspicious looks on buses, without realizing he’s just got gum stuck on the back of his pants.
Applegeeks joins a successful lineup of webcomics transformed into books by Dark Horse. It’s a long list that includes Chris Onstad’s Achewood, Nicholas Gurewitch’s Perry Bible Fellowship, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik’s Penny Arcade, Fred Gallagher’s Megatokyo, Gina Biggs’s Red String, Scott Meyer’s Basic Instructions, Mitch Clem’s Nothing Nice to Say, and David Malki’s Wondermark. “We’ve had to go back to press numerous times to meet the impressive demand for our webcomics collections,” said Robertson.
Despite the growing popularity of online comics, Robertson said, “we’ve found that our print collections have met with a really warm and enthusiastic reception. Fans want to enjoy their favorite strips in collected book form.” The books also offer added value, “behind the scenes bonus content,” Robert explained, pointing to Dark Horse print-only extras like creator commentary and sketches.
“Applegeeks has developed a very solid fan base since its first comic launched in 2003, and boasts an incredibly diverse audience,” Robertson continued. “The fact that Applegeeks exists online is a big contributing factor to how it has managed to reach such a varied crowd,” Robertson said, emphasizing that many webcomics readers “wouldn’t ever step into a comic shop, or head to the comics section of their local bookstore.”
