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N1njaSquirrel

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Homestuck is frustrating, because when it's good, it's probably my favorite comic on the internet, but the good more than balanced out by the crazy nonsense. In theory I'm ok with all the new characters that get added, since characters interacting with each other is by far the author's greatest strength. The problem is, so many of the characters are basically single jokes that wear out their welcome immediately and then never leave. The thing that is most frustrating to me, though, is that the stakes only ever go up and the plot only ever get more complicated. If you ever thing you are starting to get a sense of what the fuck is going on, he adds a new layer of confusing bullshit. 

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It's atrociously beautiful. So good and so sad.

 

The only thing that disappoints me about this page is that it doesn't come at the end of a volume and I really feel like it should.

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If you ever thing you are starting to get a sense of what the fuck is going on, he adds a new layer of confusing bullshit. 

 

I found it frustrating for nearly the same thing. I was absolutely enamored with it all the way up through act 5 part 1, where the multimedia aspect was still refreshing and exciting, but Hussie seemed to switch gears at some point to way more needlessly complicated and less compelling shit.

 

I don't mean to say that "these ppl ruined my fav comic!!!" but in my head I want to think that Hussie simply started optimizing his comic to serve the part of his audience that was far more receptive to the daunting lore, complicated plot and god/troll/sprite whatever outfit designs. The goofy humor is still there but the charming aimlessness of it is gone, and there's less reason to care about these dumb kids when theres a billion of them and you're led to believe that they all just have some key role in the big ass plot.

 

Obviously this is hyperbole, but Homestuck feels like the pyramid scheme of webcomics, where all these really talented amateur musicians/artists/programmers/etc. keep getting pulled into contributing to this one guy's master plan that will never ever pay off.

 

For what it's worth, some contributors seem to profit from the relationship through the homestuck store. I do think that the fan-contributed stuff is often used excellently within the comic. 

 

EDIT: on that note, the only reason I care about this is because there were parts of early homestuck that i really liked! and its all gone now! aghhhhh

 

EDIT2: ALSO, Hussie recently wrapped up this whole time travel arc about retconning the past like YEAR of updates? It's hilarious and baffling to me that he incorporates this array of story devices such as dream bubbles, time travel, doomed timelines and parallel universes just so he can undermine the worth of these characters. what is there to care about when literally every character death has been nullified with some weird story loophole? 

 

What a disappointing way to take that comic. imma stop ranting.

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In other news, I'm not sure I have much of a full opinion on new Homestuck (or if anyone here even followed it), but it has reminded me how much more time, patience and energy I had for this stuff 4 years ago. Jeez.

 

I was a big Homestuck fan all the way up until the gigapause. I have not read anything since he started again.

 

I have a very high tolerance for complicated lore bullshit, and the second "half" of Homestuck (actually much much more than half) is the purest form of this kind of over-engineered plot wankery. It's taken to such an extent that it would feel like parody, except that it's far more ridiculous than anything it could possibly be a parody of. It's in its own league.

 

I cannot defend Homestuck to anyone who doesn't like it, it's almost uniquely undefendable. But I will defend the "dumb" audience who loves this shit, I am one of them. Homestuck is a theater of narrative indulgence, and there's nothing else like it. There is no substitution.

 

...that said, I have not read anything since he started again. I'm afraid to. Part of why Homestuck worked (for me) was its momentum. That momentum has been lost, and I know it'll take some effort on my part to feel the momentum again.

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Scary Go Round is really good at times. I am slowly making my way through the archives.

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I love Scary Go Round so much.

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One of my favorite webcomics, A Softer World, is coming to a close. Joey Comeau & Emily Horne have been hugely influential in shaping my tastes during my teens and early 20's and I'm sad to see it go, but all good things must come to an end.

 

They've successfully kickstarted a printing of the final volume. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1383288262/the-anatomy-of-melancholy-the-best-of-a-softer-wor

Mostly I just love how charming their kickstarter videos are.

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Wow, A Softer World is probably the one thing that most got me interested in webcomics.  I even tried my hand at making similar style comics for awhile (never to publish, more because I was fascinated by how much they could convey in such little space).  I fell off reading it years ago though.  This makes me want to dig back through the archives for awhile. 

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A lot of great recommendations that I already follow here. Leaving a few:

 

Kill Six Billion Demons: http://killsixbilliondemons.com/

Kate Beaton's main comics page, Hark! A Vagrant: http://harkavagrant.com/

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella: http://nonadventures.com/

Scenes from a Multiverse: http://amultiverse.com/

 

Link to the other Internet comics thread: https://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/topic/7199-internet-comics/

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