An angst-fueled rant about webcomics

A lot has been going on with me lately, not the least of which is the constant worry about finances that has pretty much fucked up my opinions about everything else. RPGs? Pointless. School? Boring. Family? Well, they're okay when they're not being annoying. But of course, the worst of it is reacting in irritation to Sean. We had another one of our non-fights last night--they're fights, but in the end we both start to realize that we're arguing the exact same position. And so we took some time to recover from that and reaffirm some of our goals, and it was really refreshing to just let the emotions out. The worry is still there, but some of the pent-up frustration has been released, and that's good, at least. It is important, however, to keep that historical background in mind as I move on to my next topic, which is slackass webcomics.

I went to MegaTokyo today, only to see a DPD. Okay. This I don't get. The dude loses his job and promptly writes a dissertation about how now he has all the time in the world to devote to the strip, and so he won't ever miss another one...and what does he do but be late with the first strip after that, and not even have one for the next deadline? Mr. Gallagher seriously has some time management issues. Oh, certainly, he's not on par with Mr. Fire, but I find the constant promise-breaking extremely annoying. If these people want to make a living doing their comics, they need to get off their asses and actually provide the product. I'm not paying you for your (debatably) pretty site design, or your extremely long-winded rants about your life, and I might not buy your graphic novel, especially if I don't think there will be any decent content in it. I am willing to subscribe to webcomics I love, and that's why I pay for Keenspot PREMIUM and Sluggy, but I am getting tired of webcomics whose authors/artists continually bitch and moan about how they want to make money but can't, and post these whines in lieu of a strip. People who aren't trying to make a living at it can miss an update. That's fine. But people who claim that they want to do this for a vocation need to RTFM. The last time I checked, people don't just go outside and throw cash into the air and then walk back into their houses. We usually like to get something in exchange. Maybe it would be easier for people to understand if I explained that it works like the barter system. You give something, you get something. Is that clear enough for you?

Grah. At least I'm not alone in my frustrations.

On a side note, because of the DPD I decided to go read the MT archives, and I was intrigued to discover that the beginning of the comic is radically different, and far funnier, than the comic is now. Largo also actually seems to be a person instead of two-dimensional comic relief. It really underscores the fact that the comic is now "online manga" and it's all about Piro and his Love Hina-esque relationships.

I still don't like Mr. Gallagher's art.