People – most of them webcartoonists – keep asking me the same question over and over. In fact, it was asked to me again during the Keenspot panel at Comic Con 2003, and I started babbling about something else, if I recall correctly.

The question is, of course, why the CRFH forum is so popular.

A Farewell to Paws

Okay, I was going to get into this big thing about the point of this column, and politely explain that how it's just great that all webcomics creators are supportive and friendly and sloppy kisses all around but that the medium's ability to self-criticize is completely eroded by everyone's reluctance to piss anyone else off...but screw it.
But that would take an awful long time, so here's the deal:

Webcomics can, on occasion, be a good read.

Most of the time, though, reading webcomics is like being locked in a coffin with a rabid, amphetamine-crazed monkey in possession of (a) a taser and (b) the total and unerring knowledge that your groin is responsible for every ill that has ever befallen any member of the monkey nation. Ever.

I've been watching a lot of westerns lately, and my favorite so far in terms of "watching over and over again until I know the lines by heart" is easily Tombstone, with Kurt Russel sporting a fantastic moustache. After watching a movie, particularly one with a self-congratulatory "making of" feature, I like to search around for old reviews to see what other people thought of it. Consistently, what I came across for this particular movie was one particular complaint – the romance was distracting, not well done historically or otherwise, and just plain bad. This rocked me back in my seat. I LOVE the romance! Sure, it's just a little side part and distracts from the main story, but isn't romance itself just a side part of our lives and a distraction from the mundane?

On his web log site, triggercut.diary-x.com, the work of journal comic designer Neil B. may seem sparse in quantity. The quality of such minutiae, however, has established him as a truthful and thoughtful writer among fans and critics. Born and raised in Pennsylvania by Indian-American parents who emigrated to the States before he was born, his web log could be considered a chronicle of events in the life of a young gay man, as he is such, but more to the point, says Neil, is to extract the “universal in the specific” and appeal to a general audience, both gay and straight. Here he makes a strong case for such in this interview with the Comixpedia:

If the popularity of Boy Meets Boy teaches us anything, it's that webcomics need more hot, shirtless young men making out with each other.

Who needs to drink like a fish when you can draw like one? Tim Fish's little webcomic corner of our universe certainly goes to great lengths to bring a whole new meaning to the term "Bottom's Up!"

Young Bottoms In Love, a short story webcomic anthology site that updates weekly, focuses wholly on gay love, relationships, and of course, implied or "tastefully"-depicted soft-core snuggling.

Speaking Up

I'm going to change pace a bit and dole out some advice for would-be writers or critics of comics at large. Take note and feel free to disagree with me...

Here's a little exercise: Take your favorite comic and read the dialogue out loud.

Now laugh.

A Tale As Old As Time...

So I wake up this morning, and my webcomic is still asleep. No problem, I think. Let it get a little sleep. It's been working hard, what's the harm of a few extra hours of shut-eye for my hard-working little darling? So I crawl out and go for my morning run (which, by the way, I only go on because I have repetitive stress injury from drawing and typing – but, you know, these are the compromises you make in a good relationship).

When I get back, it's still sacked out, so I throw together some breakfast, figuring it's probably my turn, anyway. I'm pulling the last piece of toast out of the toaster when, sure enough, my webcomic straggles in.

So how was your last New Year's Day celebration? Got drunk? Maybe went out and danced with people in the streets? Found out you're the reincarnation of the Chinese Zodiac's Rat God, and that thanks to it being the Year of the Rat, suddenly everyone wants your power?

No? Then you don't know what you're missing.

I should go ahead and warn you right now. This month's "Why Do Online Comics?" focuses heavily on the print side of comics. This may seem a tad odd to you, but since doing online comics has led me to a lot of this line of thought, and since ultimately I think the best world is one where online comics and print comics build off and feed off each other in a strong symbiotic relationship, I feel presenting the information in this column is not only merited, but important.