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Monthly Archives: November 2016

The Scathing Jabs of Social Justice

Posted on November 24, 2016 by Kara Pemberton Posted in Webcomic .

“Social Justice” are two words that are a hallmark of our generation. It has always existed in some form or another; often it was referred to as “civil rights” or “human rights”, but in its current incarnation it’s known as Social Justice. Social Justice generally means everyone’s rights to economic, political and social opportunity. However, it also has the unfortunate connotation of the “Social Justice Warrior” or SJW, which is a condescending way of referring to people who take social justice to the extreme.

Source: Sailor Swayze

However, no matter how much some people look down on it or dismiss it – social justice is seeping into all parts of our digital world. Including webcomics.

Social Justice is one of the many contentious issues on the web, with those fighting for issues of civil rights, and those arguing that modern “social justice” is millenials (our generation) being too sensitive about things. And the internet provides a platform for both of these viewpoints in equal standing. There is a large community of support for people of all identities; LGTBQ, POC, immigrant, differently abled, anyone who has experienced discrimination in any way. And there are some wonderful webcomics and comic producers coming from these communities. Strong Female Protagonist handles a number of rights issues, but from the perspective of superheros (much like some people think the X-Men acts as a metaphor for gay rights). And other webcomics have started as a more typical comic but transitioned into social justice, simultaneously evolving their characters.

But these comics still have their critics, some getting quite angry at the webcomic creator wanting to change their own webcomic. Once again there is the example of Sinfest, a comic that has dramatically changed since its inception.

Source: Sinfest

The dialogue between comics supporting Social Justice and those making of “Social Justice Warriors” is constant and often inflammatory. Both sides tend to be dismissive of the other, and echo the way most YouTube comments devolve into insults without being productive. This is a problem throughout the Internet, as tone and other social cues are non-existent in a digital forum. And unlike in the time of Newspaper comics, webcomics can have a sort of dialogue with each other, and have contrasting viewpoints in a public space and in response to each other.

Source: Shortpacked

No matter what your opinion on Social Justice is, it’s being explored in a way heretofore un-imagined through the digital format.

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The Patience behind Popularity

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Kara Pemberton Posted in Webcomic .

How do you become a well-known webcomic artist? What is the quick trip to success?

 

Short answer: There is none. If you want to make a webcomic to become famous you’re in the wrong profession. The main way have a famous webcomic is to be doing it a really long time or get lucky. But beyond that, the best way to become popular is to be good, and there are a few tricks that the pros use:

Write to a Niche Audience; or really write to an audience you relate to. Penny Arcade, and Ctrl+Alt+Delete are some of the most popular video game comics out there. And Piled Higher and Deeper is a well-known comic about graduate students and the struggles they face. These webcomic artists write to a topic they know, and do it well. People in similar situations can relate to the experiences of the characters and therefore enjoy reading it.

Make your characters compelling; There are a billion video game comics out there, what makes comics like Ctrl+Alt+Delete stand out is the storylines of the characters woven in with video game commentary. Other stories create fantastical situations and then insert very human characters into it; such as PvP, and Questionable Content. Questionable Content in particular focuses on the conflicts and emotions people deal with through sad and complicated situations; focusing on topics such as alcoholism, suicide, depression, OCD, and a number of other things. We don’t always like the characters, but we can always empathize with them and what they’re going through.

 

Have something unusual: Even in the most true-to-life comics, there’s usually at least one character or aspect that is fantasy-like. Girls with Slingshots has Pedro, a talking cactus. Something Positive has Choo-Choo Bear, a seemingly liquid cat. And Dumbing of Age has Amazi-Girl, a student who acts as a superheroine but definitely shouldn’t physically be able to do what she does.

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Age-Accessible Art

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Kara Pemberton Posted in Webcomic .

NSFW: Not Safe For Work

 

This is both a warning to those in the workplace that what they’re reading is not for polite company and a warning to young people that the content is not for them.

It’s also an invention almost exclusively created for the Web. When things were in print parents wouldn’t have to worry as much about their children finding and being able to access a porn magazine, certainly not a whole store’s worth. But now, with few restrictions placed on Internet browsing and what websites can be accessed, there is an inherent danger of kids finding things they’re not supposed to. So when it comes to webcomics, how do you screen something like that?

Well in many ways, you can’t. At least not the PG-13 things. Many webcomics will self-identify the age group they’re appealing to, but that information isn’t always readily available on the site – usually it’s only shown through a hosting site that lists webcomics. And some of the R-rated websites will have no screening process either.

However, as a common courtesy rule of thumb, most webcomics rated R, especially ones that are pornographic in nature, will have a screening page.

Source: Slipshine

It may not technically block people from accessing the site, but it let’s them know what they’re getting into. These sites will usually warn “NSFW” or “17+”, and if a parent knows how to screen Web access these will be words that alert any screening system.

No one can protect their children from everything on the Web, but those who produce content for the Web should help them try.

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The Intriguing Choices of Interactive Comics

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Kara Pemberton Posted in Webcomic .

You’re 7 years old. Your mom has gotten you one of those super cool “choose-your-own-adventure” books. You flip back and forth through the pages, going through every possible scenario and timeline, and you can’t help but wish there was an easier way to do it.

So yes, now we have games – but what if we wanted something more open-ended? What if we wanted something almost like a conversation, a story developing through suggestions and development from multiple people.

One of the most well-known webcomics on the internet is Homestuck, a webcomic by Andrew Hussie on the host website of MSPaint Adventures, about a group of teenagers playing a simulation computer game that causes catastrophic real-world events. It is a massively complex comic now, but it started as a choose-your-own-adventure style comic, very similar to the text-based game of Zork. Zork was an interactive fiction computer game, best known for the quote “it is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.” It’s never fully explained what a grue is, but it nonetheless compels you to act in a certain way (light a match, nobody wants to get eaten!) Interactive Fiction comics act in much the same way, by providing set options or refusing certain commands. The author is still the ultimate controller of the story. However, this doesn’t prevent readers from having fun with the author or the author poking fun back, as with the continual joke of Andrew Hussie not drawing his characters with arms.

Source: Jailbreak

Source: Jailbreak

arms-examplejailbreak2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Problem Sleuth

Source: Problem Sleuth

arms-exampleproblemsleuth2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Homestuck

Source: Homestuck

arms-examplehomestuck2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This interaction between audience and author is even closer for interactive fiction than it is for the normal webcomic. While every author is likely to receive audience story suggestions, few follow them – or even respond. In a traditional story writing format, it’d be rude to throw your suggestions at someone and expect them to take it. It’s like writing to J.K. Rowling and saying “yes I know you’ve already finished the story and that’s great, but I really wanted Draco and Harry to be in a gay relationship, can you change your existing canon to accommodate my fanfiction?” (yes I know Dumbledore is now gay). But with interactive fiction this response is practically invited. It’s like having a planning meeting for a TV show, where you may be the director/writer but you’re listening to others suggestions and responses and accepting the ones you like.

While there are interactive comics hosted on their own page like MSPaintAdventures, most are located on Tumblr or other forums. These are much easier for hosting, because of the forums’ quick response time and audience input, and the function of Tumblr’s question box for audience suggestions. Tumblr in particular has an entire community of ask blogs, usually based on existing franchises but with OCs (Original Characters) or unusual takes on existing characters ‘running’ the blog and answering questions. This puts whole new meaning to fans having control or influence over the storyline, because these fans have created their own canon and their own interactive universe.

 

Why isn’t interactive fiction more of a thing?

Want to play zork?

 

 

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Tags: homestuck, interactive, webcomic .

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