I like to imagine this is what a child's view of me might be. Which explains why they tend to view me with fear and trepidation.
And a more normal picture.
I’m going to talk about webcomics today. Webcomics are almost an addiction for me. I say “almost” because they haven’t gotten to the point where I forget to buy groceries or go to work while reading them, but I’m somewhat obsessed. I read roughly 180 webcomics at this point, which isn’t counting the 30 or so that have ended since I began reading them, or that I discovered after they had already ended. That’s a shitload of webcomics, y’all. XD
I have two basic criteria for comics. On one hand, I really like a good story and good writing. On the other, I really like good art. In general, it’s a sliding scale. If your comic has mediocre art and a mediocre story, I might read it but it won’t interest me that much. On the other hand, if your comic has a really awesome story and not that great art, I might be willing to read it (Mansion of E is a good example of that). If it has amazing art but the story is kind of crap, well, the art has to be REALLY amazing for me to read it. XD And I have webcomics all along the scale on my reading list. Of course, there are those rare webcomics where the story and art are both great, but they’re not really normal. And there are definitely comics I stopped reading after a little while, almost always because my sense of humor and the artist/writer’s aren’t compatible (no, really, I don’t find jokes about “fat chicks” funny, you can puzzle out why). That’s why you won’t find one of the most famous webcomics (Sluggy Freelance) on my reading list. I read the entire archives and read it as it updated for perhaps a year and a half, and by the end of that time I was basically bored. The gimmicks were cute the first couple times, I guess, but they got old after a while. *Shrug* A lot of people like that webcomic, and more power to them. I’m just fine without it.
I can’t really quantify why I like webcomics so much. Maybe because they’re free, and awesome and creative. The marriage of words and images is an old idea, but something that can be reinvented in so many genres and formats. Maybe because there are so many out there, and I love discovering a new one, reading through the archives and adding it to my list. They’re sort of like potato chips or m&ms for me, I can’t have just one. XD They’re also one of my favorite parts of the day. Either at the beginning or the end of the day, generally, I sit and I click through as many as I can (there are various update schedules, so I’m never reading all 180 in one day), and smile or laugh or frown or raise an eyebrow at the various things I see. Whether it’s hilarious social commentary or a comic about anthropomorphic dragons and tigers, it’s generally fun and worth the ten seconds it takes me to click through and read.
The only problem is that I tend to start idolizing people a bit. Ask me about the time I freaked the hell out of Jennie Breeden at a tiny convention at my older brothers’ college. Actually, don’t, because I’m an ass and don’t like to remember it. She did make a character up to represent me, though, which was kind of cool (it was back in 2005, have fun trying to figure out who I was, it was only one comic). I get really, really over-excited. It’s one thing to see a 5’4” girl get all excited at a con and hop up and down like a six year old, and entirely another when you’re 6′ tall, 370 lbs and hopping up and down actually makes the building shake. Let’s just say that I would probably be intimidated too.
And last year, when I met one of my favorite bloggers, I could hardly speak (it didn’t help that I sort of had to stay at his house, which he and his wife were very nice about, even though I had only given them a little warning). He’s a really nice guy and I really liked him (and his wife, who is equally awesome), but everyone there was so cool I felt unworthy to be hanging out with them. Inferiority complex, much? XD I mostly didn’t speak because I was terrified of making a bad impression, especially on such nice, awesome people.
So yeah, if you’re a webcomic artist and I read your comic, and we ever meet, I will probably act very much like a silly fangirl. I can’t help it. I get all squiggly around people who I think are awesome. If it makes you feel any better, after I’ve freaked you the fuck out I’ll go home and spend two weeks obsessing over what an awful impression I made, because my anxiety is like that. 9.9
I’ve also wanted to write a webcomic for a good long time now, but have yet to find an artist who seems really interested. An artist friend and I have been kicking around some ideas for one for the past month and a half, but I dunno what’s gonna happen with that. And I can’t afford to pay someone, so. *Shrug* Perhaps it is not meant to be.
MirrorMe 