John Kovalic's Dork Tower comic strip is now appearing every week in Interactive Week--Ziff-Davis's popular magazine covering all things relating to the Internet--which has a readership of close to 600,000.  Now in its fifth year, Dork Tower also appears in Dragon Magazine and Scrye as well as on the GameSpy.com website.  Exposure to the mainstream audience of Interactive Week should provide retailers with an opportunity to snag some new customers with Dork Tower comics and trades.

 

Though he is cutting back on some of his side projects to concentrate on the weekly strip, Kovalic will continue to publish the Dork Tower comic on a bimonthly basis.  The first Dork Tower trade paperback collection, Dork Covenant, remains in print while the second collection, Dork Shadows, is due out this summer.  If all goes according to plan, Kovalic will put out a third Dork Tower trade in the fall.  Needless to say these trades provide the most likely means to attract mainstream customers.  For gamers there will be no fewer than three Dork Tower games (two card games and a board game) out this year. Stay tuned for details.

 

In the comics he creates for Interactive Week, Kovalic intends to be a 'subtle advocate' for the world of gaming, and to attempt to breakdown some of the stereotypical notions about gamers.  Look for posters in the background of the strips for Interactive Week boosting some favorite RPGs, but also look for more common cultural threads (television, the Internet, even politics) to bind the comic to its new readership.  Dork Tower's appearance in Interactive Week is great break for Kovalic, and one that can help, in a modest way at least, the specialty gaming and comic markets that have nurtured his talent.