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January 01, 2007
Pottymouthed webcomics
The more I read webcomics, the more I find myself drawn to comics that have, shall we say, a less proper storytelling bent.
I blame Penny Arcade for this. Penny Arcade has been funny (and quite prophetic) for its entire run, potty-mouth or no potty-mouth. However, the potty-mouth will, from time to time, set up a real conversation that veers towards the hilariously bizarre very quickly. And, sometimes, the profanity is absolutely essential to the joke.
And I've already blogged about the quality of Something Positive's storyline, both here and elsewhere. Simply put, Something Positive is one of the most important webcomics I read right now. There's a GREAT deal of theological depth to the thing, however much that depth is mired in the misanthropy. It tells a story that a comic that's sanitized and prepared "for the kids" simply cannot tell. The characters grow up, change, the stupid things they did years ago come back to haunt them, often in unexpected ways...and I don't want my kids reading the thing until they're of age.
And I've found myself reading Sinfest more and more lately as well. If the comic is called Sinfest, then obviously it doesn't belong in a clean comics trawl, and there are so many ways in which that comic is so wrong. But, when God and Satan are two of the key characters in your comic, then you can explore the theology of good and evil in really intriguing ways.
I'm trying to work out why I am so drawn to so many of these stories. There's no question, in many cases, their use of profanity and sexuality is excessive and off-putting. Then again, that's the case in the broader media as well. I think I appreciate having the full backstory at my disposal and the ability to work out my own reactions to the characters' lives. The ludicrous sit-com situations are one thing; the deeply developed characters in a well drawn webcomic are something else entirely.
(None of these things, of course, explain why I like still laugh uproariously at the on-again, off-again in-joke goodness that is Indietits.)
The primary reason for this post is to kickstart the Webcomics heading in the blogroll. The listing I'm placing below the jump will be linked in the blogroll as "Warning attached", not only to place another block for the kids (because, let's be totally honest, there's a great deal on the internet the kids are going to find whether we want them to or not) but to make sure all parties know what they're getting into when they read these comics. The warning goes something like this:
I read these comics because I enjoy the storylines, the characterization, or the broad message. I do NOT read these comics because I condone the language used or the lifestyles portrayed.
But I'm not going to pretend that this language doesn't get used either, nor am I going to pretend that these lifestyles don't get lived. Misanthropes exist. One-night stands happen. People cohabit. Traditional morals, in so many corners of society circa 2007, have been obliterated, and there are plenty of people of my generation and younger who are confused and trying to figure out how to clean up the mess. A lot of what's in here reflects that confusion.
And quite often, the responses to the confusion are downright funny.
When you read something offensive in these comics - or anywhere else in the popular media or literature, for that matter - talk about it. And this goes about a hundred times if you're a minor. One of the things we screw up most often, as parents, is that we don't get involved with what our kids are watching on television or listening to on the radio or finding on the web. Please, if you're our kids, don't hesitate to help us out.
In order of how long I've read the comic in question, this is what I read:
(I'm also going to pay attention to the "director's cut" of the recently-completed Narbonic, because it has been recommended so highly by so many people. We'll see how this goes.)
Posted by Chuck at January 1, 2007 08:53 PM
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