Webcomics

I'm a big fan of webcomics, which is pretty well backed by the fact that I read... ten? That are updated no less than twice a week each. And most of those have been going for years. I don't know what it is about webcomics, but I just love them. They're small, bite sized pieces of media that I can consume quickly and frequently, and the longer I stick with them, the deeper into the story I get, and the more cohesive and complete the story gets. Characters grow over time, and I get to watch them every step of the way. Sometimes they just make me laugh, sometimes they make me feel, and sometimes I'm not sure what the hell is going on. Every once in a while I don't want to hear the crap that the author is trying to spew. Kind of like how most people would probably feel reading this crap.

I have a massive amount of respect for those who make webcomics. It doesn't matter if it's a single dude, or a writer and an artist. To be able to so consistently make content, and to be able to constantly tell a story, or to make their readers laugh. I would love nothing more than to have that kind of talent and drive - of which I have neither. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be writing this well after I should have gone to bed.

The only problem with webcomics - and any other media of similar stature, though I can't think of any off the top of my head - is that by stretching out the content like that, it's easy to forget everything that's come before. You can recognize older characters on a gut level, because you've seen their face so many times in the past, but you forget why they were important, or specific events that they were involved in. But they don't. They remember them like they were yesterday because in their universe, it very well may have only been the day before, even though as a reader it could be weeks, or months, or years.

But that also kind of works for me. I've gone back and reread the entirety of every webcomic that I read at least once, taking in years worth of comics over the period of a few days. It's a lot to take in, but it's a really cool experience. To re-experience stories you've already seen, and to know what comes of them and what their consequences are. To revisit events that you may have completely forgotten about, and suddenly become aware of why other things happened that you were confused about because of just how long it had been. And if you're me, by the time you get back to the current day, you've forgotten many of those events again, and could go back right then and there and learn new things all over again. Not to mention by the time you get to the end, there are some comics that came out in the meantime and that you've never seen before.

I just really dig them. I think it would be awesome to get to be a part of that, though I imagine most of my writing is a bit too action packed to really fit with a limited number of still frames. But a man can dream.