Zero Punctuation: Webcomics

[Doug]

This is how I see this thread:

I'm so totally pro-SKUB.
Oh, and the existentialist flamechild who didn't get what I was saying don't worry, once you're out of diapers the reading comprehension and social relevance will sting like a bee-atch.

Hmmmm, skub! (does skub actually mean anything? I just thought it was amusing )

 

[ShawnD]

I click the comment section and see everyone talking about CAD. I go and check CAD. Wow, the baby dying thing Yahtzee spoke of was a real comic? What the hell?

As usual, thank you Yahztee for bringing this to my attention. Great video.

 

[LackingSaint]

This review was great, and really was a true explanation as to what most comics are. And to be honest, I think CAD had it coming. If it was funny, or even well-drawn, i'd have cared about the bashing, but ya know.

 

[Yahtzee Croshaw]

I have no interaction with webcomics atall, i dont even know what this CAD thing you guys are mentioning is, but alot of the stuff Yahtzee says did hit home, i've seen them before, right here on The Escapist in video form, most of the things said to be lame or dumb in this video have actually been done in past Zero Punctuations...

 

[RaiDK]

ctrl+alt+del's forums are conveniently down for maintenance.

r o f l .

 

[BobisOnlyBob]

I own CAD books 1 and 2. I quite enjoyed CAD, a good few years ago. Then, the melodramatic storylines kicked in like hell (Lucas' psycho girlfriend, Lilah's miscarriage, Ethan locked in a box...) and the whole thing started sucking hard. I still occasionally read the latest few, and it hasn't improved in a while. Only costs me a little time to read it, but overall it's stopped being entertaining. That and I've known for a long time that Tim Buckley, as an individual, is extremely unlikeable.

Regarding Yahtzee's "review" - this is what Yahtzee does to games, he's just doing it to webcomics instead for a week. He's right on every count, as he is every week, but I'm still reading some utter crap and some awesome stuff.

In summary: CAD has gone downhill badly, Yahtzee is right on every count, but that doesn't mean I follow his opinion blindly (example: he's right about SSBB being a particle-effect shitstorm, and the initial gameplay without unlocked characters being "ehhhh", but I'm playing it like mad, because like he said, I already knew I was going to like it, and I was right!)

Reading between the lines, this has generated a lot of noise (17 pages and counting), but there's very little "flaming" as some people seem to think. There's some "CAD isn't that bad" and "CAD is terrible and so is everyone that reads it", but very little direct flaming. Congrats to The Escapist forums for keeping the place moderately civil.

 

[magic8BALL]

CAD seems to be getting a bashing, but nobody picked up on his open mocking of Cyanide & Happiness? I think the boys at explosm were mentioned but a few times in comparison to Tim Burkley in this seemingly endless sea of comic hating vs comic loving. Not that I hate either comic (I enjoy both), just everyone is focusing on the CAD issue (and using, re-using and murdering a play on words that should be aborted*) but not leaping to the defence, or persecution, of a stick figure cartoon. Perhaps it is even the Order of the Stick Yahtzee is having a go at, Rick tends to use a lot of dialog, which sometimes fills a whole page, but you need to for a comic set in a role playing world.






*A similar play on words that is of equally poor taste, but highlights my point well.

 

[John Freeman.]

To start off,,

I have watched every single episode of Zero Punctuation with no thought of Registering to give comments or anything else.

But this week really had me LOL'ing so here I've registered.

I dont have anything againts CAD, that's just because I have never read one before, and never intend to do so.




It's always is a good change when Yahtzee decides to do a 'special event' video than the regular Game reviews
e.g. Mailbag showdown and Console Rundown. Wouldn't you agree?

Ps. Keep up the good work and I hope you'll retire from doing this when your old. ;]

 

[MJ12 Commando]

Best ZP is a long time.

I think Yahtzee should seriously consider evolving ZP beyond just video games but internet phenomena overall. So far whenever he takes a break for reviewing just game(console rundown, mailbag showdown and this) is comes out top notch. I realize he does that on his website but since ZP is more popular than fullyramblomatic he should give it a try.

Now onward to comics. I for one enjoy Penny Arcade and XKCD and read them regularly. I used to browse CAD but either got fed up with or grew out of its type of humor several years ago. And judgeing from what i hear about the site now I made the right choice.

 

[CrazySlyHawk]

The only webcomic I have read was (God help me)8bit Theater, which became loaded down with endless dialogue a few hundred strips in.

Painful to watch, but inevitable.

Excellent video Yahtzee! You highlighted the recurring stock characters in many webcomics quite nicely

 

[Pebsy]

Best ZP is a long time.

I think Yahtzee should seriously consider evolving ZP beyond just video games but internet phenomena overall. So far whenever he takes a break for reviewing just game(console rundown, mailbag showdown and this) is comes out top notch. I realize he does that on his website but since ZP is more popular than fullyramblomatic he should give it a try.

Now onward to comics. I for one enjoy Penny Arcade and XKCD and read them regularly. I used to browse CAD but either got fed up with or grew out of its type of humor several years ago. And judgeing from what i hear about the site now I made the right choice.

If he starts doing that to much then we'll lose interest, Yahtzee already has a pretty good idea as to when he should take a break from game reviews and do something else, because so far we f****** love him. Keep up the good work man!

 

[Wargamer]

Okay, in the interest of fairness I went and read through a shitload of Penny Arcade comics.


Anyone who slags of CAD without Slagging Penny Arcade is now a douchébag of the highest order.


Seriously, what the hell? How can you POSSIBLY like one and not the other to such a polarised extent? I like CAD, but PA doesn't do anything for me. I don't hate it, I don't even dislike it, I just wouldn't actively read it. Why? Because it feels very much like CAD, except it is annoying in small ways that spoil it too much for me to like it.

 

[rebochan]

I still find this elitism attitude hilarious. "You like this? Then you're stupid!"

Welcome to the Internet!

 

[Xhumed]

Honestly, I don't care enough to get worked up over this. I've read CAD, i don't hate it or love it. Its neither the best or the worst webcomic out there. Seeing as i know nothing about Tim Buckley as a person, I can't comment on that either. I find Penny Arcade and PVP funnier
(i don't consider artwork to be all that relevant, its the humour that counts), but my current favourite web comics aren't gaming related: i.e. Dr McNinja, Red meat, White Ninja Comics.
I do however feel people a bit unfair in criticising Buckley. If you don't like someone, any action they take will have a negative spin for you. Some might call the miscarriage storyline brave or challenging (im not saying it is, this is a hypothetical), but if you've already decided you don't like the comic or the artist, it wouldn't matter if he was giving out free sweeties and money, you'd still criticise them regardless. Thats the nature of a subjective opinion, people find it easier to maintain it than to change it.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

I kind of got into CAD maybe a month ago. There where times when it was actually funny, and moments when it most deffintly wasn't, but I stuck with them anyway (mostly because I had nothing better to do at the time)

Then the miscarriage comic came along. "Oooookkkkkay" I thought at first. "Its out there, but we'll see". About 2 comics later I gave up on it. Why? Because a joke was tossed into the mix and just thought "no, wait, this is too wierd, this guy is a sick bastard." It wasn't funny or sad, just odd.

By the way, great one Yahtzee, I love it when you step away from game reviews every now and then, they're always awesome.

 

[in_95]

I liked this. A rather obscure topic, no doubt, but still 100% true.

I miss John Solomon's blog on bad webcomics. It was hilarious.

I thought, though, that Yatzee hardy exerted himself by making CAD as his target. Taking shots at CAD is like craming a dead fish in a cup and throwing a grenade in it. You know you're going to hit- the hilarity's in the fallout.

 

[a big stupid idiot]

I smell another mailbag showdown on the way.

 

[Wulfenlord]

I smell fire and brimstone, as the 2-3 remaining fans of CAD start an internet-worldwar of epic proportions, and only the best 4 webcomics will survive

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I think it's going to be interesting to see how much Benny Barcade and Btrl Balt Belete's view hits have gone up since this Wednesday....