Most of my contact with the Myspace Dark Horse Presents anthology of online comics have been with its Whedonverse entries (including Joss's Sugarshock, the Captain Hammer and Moist comics, and an episode of Buffy courtesy of Jane Espenson). But the March issue is nicely webcomicky with three of the four comics culled from Internets. First, we have "The Catch!" an extended entry from David Malki's Wondermark, wherein we learn that even the most marvelous free offers come with a catch. Then, in "The Garage Sale," characters from Chris Onstad's Achewood sell off their crap and deal with garage sale regulars. And last, but certainly not least, Kate Beaton, known far and wide for her hilarious historical comics, treats us to how things could have gone down with Darwin in "Origin of Man."

Dark Horse has, as far as large publishers go, long been on the forefront of webcomics promotion, having already published volumes of Wondermark and Achewood, as well as AppleGeeks, Penny Arcade, and The Perry Bible Fellowship, plus a volume of Sinfest on the way. I can't help but wonder whether they really intend Myspace Dark Horse presents to be the next step in media distribution and are latching onto web darlings like Beaton to promote their service among the webcomics crowd, or whether they're using it to test drive authors with an unusual voice for eventual print volumes.

[Myspace Dark Horse Presents #20]