[attach id=381126 size="medium"]Vincent Sant Fournier, the main character in A Space Boy Dream.[/attach]
Last week it was all about what many view as an alternative to reading, namely audio-books and storytelling.
This week is all about a possible alternative to TV series – at least, that is the way I view webcomics, a form of TV series that is not on TV (and that you don’t need to wait a week for, in some cases).
There was a time when work pressures and traffic were considerably better, when I would make it a point to start the day by catching up on my favourite web series over coffee, before starting the day.
But that was back in the good old days when it only took me 15 minutes to get to the office and when I could afford to use up 30 minutes on frivolous stuff.
These days I still kick off the day by using up a good 30 minutes online while having my first coffee. But rather than web comics, I tend to use them to catch up on news websites and on social media.
But that’s by the by, and I still get to enjoy some of them, of course, even though the list has had to become considerably shorter and even though I usually catch up on them at one go, usually at the end of the week.
It is rather incredible how things have changed since I first discovered the word of webcomics (rather late in the day, I must say). The first time I realised that I might be on to something, here, was when I was persuaded to give Questionable Content a try.
I admit I was sceptical – I’m very happy to read graphic novels and comics in their print format, but somehow the idea of a web thing did not appeal to me, at first.
This was back in the days when I didn’t view internet as essential as a lung.
Still, I always like to try everything once, so I did. And I went back. And back. Until Questionable Content pretty much became my first port of call every morning.
The storyline tends towards the hipster side of things – much of the action happens at an alternative sort of coffee shop, indie band names are often dropped in, there’s a lot of awkwardness happening and so on and so forth.
What amazes me is that one person is responsible for it the whole way through
The artwork when I first started following it was on the primitive side and the characters somewhat one-dimensional.
Today, the art is as good as that on any printed comic, while the characters have fleshed out considerably, turning from black and white to several shades of grey (not the 50 Shades kind, I’m happy to add).
What amazes me is that one person is responsible for it the whole way through.
He draws, creates plot lines, introduces new characters and updates five times a week. And it’s all available for free. This is what amazes me about the web.
It’s the same for a lot of other comics, with what is usually one person (two at best) churning out some really good stuff. Amidst the diamonds, you will also find the crap – that is the nature of things. But it’s very easy to sift through it.
Some of my favourites: Cyanide & Happiness (not for the faint-hearted, as the humour tends to get really dark), Girl Genius (especially for those who enjoy subcultures like steampunk thrown in with their romance and adventure), Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (can also be very dark), XKCD (the jokes are very techy and I am lucky to get half of them, but when I do it makes me feel clever, which is why I persevere) and – of course – our very own homegrown A Space Boy Dream, showing the hipster side of things in a much less charitable manner than Questionable Content.
Should anyone have new suggestions to fill up the time that I don’t have, I will be most happy to hear them.
ramona.depares@timesofmalta.com