Wednesday, 19 January 2011 04:10 pm
Bygone Webcomics
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deckardcanineEarlier I listed my favorite webcomics that were (and are) still running. Now I’ll reminisce on those that have either reached an official conclusion or gone on a long, indefinite hiatus—i.e., all the ones I ever miss. The order is again alphabetical so I don’t have to compare them all.
2P Start! I actually discovered it by accident when I Googled “Goomba” and “Roomba” and got this as the first hit. Not sure how to say it stood out from other video game-based comics, tho, aside from a wholly vertical panel sequence of variable length (once 42 panels). Tim Harding and Ray Hargreaves sometimes portrayed their gaming, cartooning selves within the comic; other times they just poked fun at a game, always tastefully. I suspect that webcomics made by collaborating friends are less likely to last.
Cheshire Crossing. A decent memory of a few children’s classic fantasies is all you needed to see how insanely sensible (and amusing) the adventures of Wendy, Alice, Dorothy, and Ms. Poppins were. Apparently Andy Weir has had more written but not found the time or a replacement artist to draw it. If it ever resumes, it will probably continue the pattern of releasing a whole issue at once, which some readers, like my mom, prefer to shorter and quicker installments.
Fellowship of Heroes. I’d gotten used to waiting four months for an update, but now it’s been eight. Ralph “RHJunior” Hayes has stated no reason for updating his other six comics, including two more big colorized ones, far more often. I can only assume a lack of inspiration, even tho he’s shown previews of several Fellowship members and examined only one in detail. What a shame, because it has such potential: a semi-realistic superhero saga that serves partly to deconstruct the genre and partly to take a more appreciable approach to it. As usual for the cartoonist, there are lessons to be learned that might serve me in RL if I don’t take exception to them. The main hero wearing his faith on his sleeve (or rather his chest) means a definite love-it-or-hate-it affair, but I’ve been reserving judgment. So far he hasn’t used his powers to fight anybody.
Freefall Klifs. You might not count this as a webcomic per se. See, webcomic fans have co-opted the slang word “filk” for the act of changing the dialog or other aspects of a strip’s appearance. Ragnar “Won-Tolla” Fyri took hundreds of Mark Stanley’s “Freefall” strips and flipped them backwards before filking, hence the coinage “klif.” Together, the klifs had only a vague sense of continuity, with the characters renamed punnily. I didn’t mind, and neither did Mark; the results were hysterical. Having officially discontinued his regular updates, Ragnar will allow anyone else to take up the mantle, but no one has. I suppose I could, but I’m not as funny.
Little Dee. You may recall me talking about this in a list of my loves beginning with L. I recently learned that Chris Baldwin is rerunning the comic in high resolution. Nice, but not as nice as new episodes. Then again, the premise of a preverbal girl staying with woodland critters until they can get in touch with her parents wasn’t made to last forever, especially for a source of humor. Thankfully, even Dee rarely thought of her family, so they had pretty good times together, tho Vachel the mean vulture seldom admitted it.
Mandy. I expect you’re reading this post, Octan, a.k.a. Steve Puckett. It’s been seven months; I hope I haven’t seen the last of that cute medium-sized dog with the unhealthy crush on her oblivious master. No, readers, unlike “Family Guy,” this is basically family-friendly.
Ozy and Millie. For years, my second favorite webcomic; for a few months, my very favorite. Even its gawky first years could draw me in with an almost unequaled level of artistic cuteness, tho it takes more than that to make a high ranking in my book. What kept me around were the elements of intellect (a bit beyond the norm for elementary schoolers) and quirkiness. My mom fell in love with it as well, and she’s read only a handful of webcomics on a regular basis. Alas, the once-similar personalities of me and cartoonist D.C. Simpson grew in different directions, resulting in diminishing returns for me by the last year of updates, 2008. She plans to return to the O&M characters someday, but her interim cartooning is not my thing.
Tails from the Mynarski Forest. You might say it’s not really gone, since the reruns have new commentary, but I grew tired of reading them. What’s worse, Richard T. Matheson’s projected six-month hiatus is now at sixteen months with no new notice. And he had the nerve to cut off when things were getting interesting. Ah well, I still have fond memories of the outrageous, sometimes gross, generally cute antics of woodland critters on the edge of Canadian civilization. I’ve cited it as a partial influence on my own “Downscale,” specifically in the tenuous cross-gender friendship of two natural enemies.
The Class Menagerie. One thing I don’t expect from any comic set in college, based on my experience with college newspapers, is consistency. But Vince Suzukawa managed six days a week for four years with almost always good results. The main characters, while exaggerated, were mostly fleshed out and put to good use in both long arcs and one-day gags. I didn’t mind the rarity with which their species mattered to the writing. I only wish I’d caught the comic on its first run instead of archive-adjusting reruns.
The Legend of Anne Bunny. The first of many Kathy Garrison comics to gain my attention. I needed a second archive binge to really get into it (the Oz-like advent of color helped), but now I was more prepared to indulge in an adventure saga with intermittent humor. Where else could I find a real-life pirate tale retold with space-age anthros? I hope that Kathy someday finds the time and incentive to resume, but her farmwork means just enough time for her more popular current projects: “Carry On” and some episodes of “Cross-Time Café.”
2P Start! I actually discovered it by accident when I Googled “Goomba” and “Roomba” and got this as the first hit. Not sure how to say it stood out from other video game-based comics, tho, aside from a wholly vertical panel sequence of variable length (once 42 panels). Tim Harding and Ray Hargreaves sometimes portrayed their gaming, cartooning selves within the comic; other times they just poked fun at a game, always tastefully. I suspect that webcomics made by collaborating friends are less likely to last.
Cheshire Crossing. A decent memory of a few children’s classic fantasies is all you needed to see how insanely sensible (and amusing) the adventures of Wendy, Alice, Dorothy, and Ms. Poppins were. Apparently Andy Weir has had more written but not found the time or a replacement artist to draw it. If it ever resumes, it will probably continue the pattern of releasing a whole issue at once, which some readers, like my mom, prefer to shorter and quicker installments.
Fellowship of Heroes. I’d gotten used to waiting four months for an update, but now it’s been eight. Ralph “RHJunior” Hayes has stated no reason for updating his other six comics, including two more big colorized ones, far more often. I can only assume a lack of inspiration, even tho he’s shown previews of several Fellowship members and examined only one in detail. What a shame, because it has such potential: a semi-realistic superhero saga that serves partly to deconstruct the genre and partly to take a more appreciable approach to it. As usual for the cartoonist, there are lessons to be learned that might serve me in RL if I don’t take exception to them. The main hero wearing his faith on his sleeve (or rather his chest) means a definite love-it-or-hate-it affair, but I’ve been reserving judgment. So far he hasn’t used his powers to fight anybody.
Freefall Klifs. You might not count this as a webcomic per se. See, webcomic fans have co-opted the slang word “filk” for the act of changing the dialog or other aspects of a strip’s appearance. Ragnar “Won-Tolla” Fyri took hundreds of Mark Stanley’s “Freefall” strips and flipped them backwards before filking, hence the coinage “klif.” Together, the klifs had only a vague sense of continuity, with the characters renamed punnily. I didn’t mind, and neither did Mark; the results were hysterical. Having officially discontinued his regular updates, Ragnar will allow anyone else to take up the mantle, but no one has. I suppose I could, but I’m not as funny.
Little Dee. You may recall me talking about this in a list of my loves beginning with L. I recently learned that Chris Baldwin is rerunning the comic in high resolution. Nice, but not as nice as new episodes. Then again, the premise of a preverbal girl staying with woodland critters until they can get in touch with her parents wasn’t made to last forever, especially for a source of humor. Thankfully, even Dee rarely thought of her family, so they had pretty good times together, tho Vachel the mean vulture seldom admitted it.
Mandy. I expect you’re reading this post, Octan, a.k.a. Steve Puckett. It’s been seven months; I hope I haven’t seen the last of that cute medium-sized dog with the unhealthy crush on her oblivious master. No, readers, unlike “Family Guy,” this is basically family-friendly.
Ozy and Millie. For years, my second favorite webcomic; for a few months, my very favorite. Even its gawky first years could draw me in with an almost unequaled level of artistic cuteness, tho it takes more than that to make a high ranking in my book. What kept me around were the elements of intellect (a bit beyond the norm for elementary schoolers) and quirkiness. My mom fell in love with it as well, and she’s read only a handful of webcomics on a regular basis. Alas, the once-similar personalities of me and cartoonist D.C. Simpson grew in different directions, resulting in diminishing returns for me by the last year of updates, 2008. She plans to return to the O&M characters someday, but her interim cartooning is not my thing.
Tails from the Mynarski Forest. You might say it’s not really gone, since the reruns have new commentary, but I grew tired of reading them. What’s worse, Richard T. Matheson’s projected six-month hiatus is now at sixteen months with no new notice. And he had the nerve to cut off when things were getting interesting. Ah well, I still have fond memories of the outrageous, sometimes gross, generally cute antics of woodland critters on the edge of Canadian civilization. I’ve cited it as a partial influence on my own “Downscale,” specifically in the tenuous cross-gender friendship of two natural enemies.
The Class Menagerie. One thing I don’t expect from any comic set in college, based on my experience with college newspapers, is consistency. But Vince Suzukawa managed six days a week for four years with almost always good results. The main characters, while exaggerated, were mostly fleshed out and put to good use in both long arcs and one-day gags. I didn’t mind the rarity with which their species mattered to the writing. I only wish I’d caught the comic on its first run instead of archive-adjusting reruns.
The Legend of Anne Bunny. The first of many Kathy Garrison comics to gain my attention. I needed a second archive binge to really get into it (the Oz-like advent of color helped), but now I was more prepared to indulge in an adventure saga with intermittent humor. Where else could I find a real-life pirate tale retold with space-age anthros? I hope that Kathy someday finds the time and incentive to resume, but her farmwork means just enough time for her more popular current projects: “Carry On” and some episodes of “Cross-Time Café.”