Greendruid
Apr 5th 2010, 09:00 PM
I didn't know where to put this thread exactly so I stuck it in entertainment since that is basically where I slot this stuff into my own life.
I love some very specific webcomics and webseries. There is a huge genre of internet-based comic strips that have come of age now, many of the originals are into their 10th years in some cases. A few are even older.
I find them fascinating for my own specific past and personal tastes. These are the ones I frequently visit in no particular order of importance:
Penny Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com/)
Ctrl+Alt+Del (http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/)
Least I Could Do (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/)
Looking for Group (http://www.lfgcomic.com/)
Red vs. Blue (http://www.redvsblue.com/home.php)
The Guild (http://www.watchtheguild.com/)
Penny Arcade can be the most intelligent of the group at times. It can also feature the most juvenile stuff. CAD is a bit more mild and zany. Both are focussed on gamers in many ways and Penny Arcade takes the interpretation of that to include old school D&D et al. LICD and LFG are both put together by Canadian artists Ryan Sohmer and Lar deSouza. LICD has a complete sex-fiend, jackass as its main character but there is something redeeming about him ... somehow. LICD is pure gaming adventure and was originally inspired I think by World of Warcraft but has inevitably drifted back towards Tolkien-inspired D&D. RvB is a classic machinima webseries using the Halo video game series with the premise that the soldiers are unaware that they aren't real - funny shit. It has vacillated from goofy to serious quite successfully in a run of six seasons now. That same group (Roosterteeth) has produced several other webseries and now a weekly comic which are all available from their site. The Guild is a very recent webseries about an actual team of gamers on World of Warcraft (although they never mention that) who all live in the same city and their various hi-jinx.
I continue to read/watch these as entertainment because they recall a time in my life when I had time to invest in gaming. I swear I am still dedicated to D&D Michael! It's a long process! Anyway, this thread is about discussing your favourite webcomics or webseries and what you love about them. Or am I the only closet webcomic reader here?
The interesting thing about all of these is that they are both free and successful businesses. Advertising powers every one of these and some seem to be gainfully employing their creators. There are probably 1,000 for every one of these that are not. What's the difference? What's the appeal? Why are they successful and yet they cost the "user" nothing whereas TV is not? This whole industry is built on the radio model instead of the TV model and I want to know how this works!
I love some very specific webcomics and webseries. There is a huge genre of internet-based comic strips that have come of age now, many of the originals are into their 10th years in some cases. A few are even older.
I find them fascinating for my own specific past and personal tastes. These are the ones I frequently visit in no particular order of importance:
Penny Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com/)
Ctrl+Alt+Del (http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/)
Least I Could Do (http://www.leasticoulddo.com/)
Looking for Group (http://www.lfgcomic.com/)
Red vs. Blue (http://www.redvsblue.com/home.php)
The Guild (http://www.watchtheguild.com/)
Penny Arcade can be the most intelligent of the group at times. It can also feature the most juvenile stuff. CAD is a bit more mild and zany. Both are focussed on gamers in many ways and Penny Arcade takes the interpretation of that to include old school D&D et al. LICD and LFG are both put together by Canadian artists Ryan Sohmer and Lar deSouza. LICD has a complete sex-fiend, jackass as its main character but there is something redeeming about him ... somehow. LICD is pure gaming adventure and was originally inspired I think by World of Warcraft but has inevitably drifted back towards Tolkien-inspired D&D. RvB is a classic machinima webseries using the Halo video game series with the premise that the soldiers are unaware that they aren't real - funny shit. It has vacillated from goofy to serious quite successfully in a run of six seasons now. That same group (Roosterteeth) has produced several other webseries and now a weekly comic which are all available from their site. The Guild is a very recent webseries about an actual team of gamers on World of Warcraft (although they never mention that) who all live in the same city and their various hi-jinx.
I continue to read/watch these as entertainment because they recall a time in my life when I had time to invest in gaming. I swear I am still dedicated to D&D Michael! It's a long process! Anyway, this thread is about discussing your favourite webcomics or webseries and what you love about them. Or am I the only closet webcomic reader here?
The interesting thing about all of these is that they are both free and successful businesses. Advertising powers every one of these and some seem to be gainfully employing their creators. There are probably 1,000 for every one of these that are not. What's the difference? What's the appeal? Why are they successful and yet they cost the "user" nothing whereas TV is not? This whole industry is built on the radio model instead of the TV model and I want to know how this works!