Achewood

I think Achewood (www.achewood.com) is a great example of people using new media and mediums to spread good work in the digital age, and the power the internet has over pop culture. Achewood was recently listed as the #1 graphic novel of 2007 by time magazine. I think that an almost entirely black and white webcomic about a collection of stuffed animals, robots, and cats being tauted as the greatest graphic novel written in an entire year shows in itself the pop culture capital it has accrued. A viable self-sustaining entity, it is a rarity in the webcomic market in that Chris Onstad, who writes Achewood, doesn't need to work. Also a rarity in the webcomic world is the lack of the gag-a-day style in lieu of larger, character driven stories over many months or even years. And perhaps the most peculiar is Onstad's use of in-character blogs, cookbooks, merchandise, etc.- taking other pop culture objects and using them to further instill his object into popular culture. All in all, it is a very unique piece of literature.