Zero Punctuation: Webcomics

[dwhee]

Pretty good, but go back to reviews immediately please. I am now fully aware of your hatred for CAD after reading an interview about it, reading an article that expounded upon the interview, and then watching a video that rehashed the article. Sorry, but it's getting obsessive to the point where I think you enjoy hating it, and that's unhealthy even for a video game critic.

I now WON'T read that particular webcomic that was not part of my existence until you brought it to my attention, Yahtzee. Thanks for giving me something new to hate in addition to myself and the devs of age of conan.

It's not hypocritical, like you acknowledged at the end, because I've laughed at every single one of your reviews (even this one). It's just unnecessary. And to be fair, this is the only "webcomic drama" that I have ever seen or heard of. I thought that funny comics were what kept the "webcomic community" (lol wut) together.

Also, I wonder if Yahtzee has ever watched ANY of the Escapist's other material. I begrudgingly read some of CAD due to Yahtzee's criticism, and it varies from moderately funny to terrible. But watching one of the videos that appears after Zero Punctuation is just fucking torturous. And I'm led to believe that this is their "recommendation", like Amazon.

"Customers who enjoy Yahtzee Croshaw might also enjoy this piece of shit!" NINJAS PIRATES HALO JACK THOMPSON LOL RANDOM

For examples of how "LOL RANDOM" humor actually can be funny (or for that matter, random, unlike the zillionth reference to ninjas and pirates in the same sentence), see Brad Neely's webcomic:
http://www.creasedcomics.com/archive.php?page=1

 

[krashdummy]

This is the best review Yahtzee has ever done.

Edit: Actually, I think he, apart from verbally abusing CAD, might be talking partially about his own webcomic, Yahtzee Tkaes on teh rwlrod, I'm not sure.

 

[moomintrollop]

Welcome back, Yahtzee. You have been missed.

This is a return to form, complete with knowing hypocrisy, bile, scorn and all the other food groups. Clearly shooting fish in a barrel with Haze and Monosodium Glutomate 4 wasn't generating enough ire. Thoroughly gruntled that you're back to your old ranty, bad-tempered hilarious self.

Bloody brilliant. That is all.

 

[Daniel Pharos]

For examples of how "LOL RANDOM" humor actually can be funny (or for that matter, random, unlike the zillionth reference to ninjas and pirates in the same sentence), see Brad Neely's webcomic:
http://www.creasedcomics.com/archive.php?page=1

Sorry I don't get it. I looked at 10 of those trying to find a trace of funny. But that's just my taste. Zero Punctuation, though, is just exactly my kind of humour. I am totally addicted.

 

[clockworship]

I reckon that was one of the funniest yet, though maybe it's because I've just started reading webcomics again.

 

[Lord Krunk]

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail181.html

 

[El Mexicutioner]

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail181.html

Heheheh, thats exactly what I thought when I first saw his latest video.

 

[Jenesis]

A good ZP and a nice break from games. I stopped reading CAD a while back, before the dramalicious storyline, because I feared that T.B. had such a high opinion of himself as an "artist" that he would forgo the entertainment angle in favour of indulging his own fantasies of writing a novel in graphic form.

After a quick read through of his two-page explanation of why he wrote this recent storyline, I can see my fear was justified.

 

[Imperial Avenger]

Anyone else pick up the vgcats reference about being a prick at conventions? That one was great

VGCats? I thought he was still referencing Tim Buckley.

I myself stopped reading video game related webcomics about a year ago, as they all got rather 'meh', I find that Yahtzee's criticisms were spot on!

The webcomics I still read are: Order of the Stick, Dr. McNinja, Questionable Content, Perry Bible Fellowship, Lucid TV, Gone With The Blastwave & Treading Ground. All genius in my opinion.

 

[Imperial Avenger]

A good ZP and a nice break from games. I stopped reading CAD a while back, before the dramalicious storyline, because I feared that T.B. had such a high opinion of himself as an "artist" that he would forgo the entertainment angle in favour of indulging his own fantasies of writing a novel in graphic form.

After a quick read through of his two-page explanation of why he wrote this recent storyline, I can see my fear was justified.

I totally agree.

 

[Korolev]

Yahtzee, Yahtzee - if you REALLY hated CAD, you should have just ignored him. Now, many other people are going to go to his site, and see why you hate him - you've probably given him more fans.

I've read CAD. It's not the best. It's not that funny. Yet I read it from time to time (as does Yahtzee, evidently). It doesn't cost me anything to read, and occasionally, it has a good joke or two. I wouldn't pay money to read it, of course, but he's not asking for money to read it.

I've read worse than CAD. I've read better, but I've read much, much worse. CAD has gotten better with time, still by far the best, but it's not putrid or vile. I've never had any problems with the "huge" amounts of dialogue either.

Buckley is trying to flesh out the characters of CAD. His comic probably didn't start out as a drama, but he wants to make it one. He wants to take it beyond what it currently is, and he needs Drama to do that. Maybe it's not a smart move, sure, but it's a least something new-ish or at least different from the vast majority of webcomics out there (at least, gaming web-comics).

I read quite a few web-comics - most are hit-and-miss. If people REALLY hated CAD, then why bang on about it? You're just driving people to Tim Buckley's website.

I don't hate CAD. I don't love it either. I read it, mainly because I want to see how it ends. Like the Harry Potter series (which I lost all interest in after I turned 12), I don't necessarily read it because I love it, but because I just want to see where it goes.

I've never met Buckley. I sometimes read his news posts. I can't say whether or not he acts like a jerk or a reasonable guy. I can say this about him - his comic doesn't descend into crass gay-jokes like many other web-comics out there. His comic has... changed, and some like that and some don't.

If you hate it THAT much, stop reading it. Nothing hurts a comic artist more than to be ignored. If you like it, continue reading it. Remember, everyone has a different idea of what humor is. Some like "Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy", some don't. Some like "Australia's/UK's/America's/ funniest home videos", some don't. Some people like "jackass" and deserve to be buried alive.

Don't like? Leave him alone. Simple.

 

[Korolev]

I meant - "it's still by far from the best"

 

[kittenbot]

I still read CAD, though maybe once every 1-2 weeks, the tragic thing is that some of CAD is genuinely funny, then lots of it is not, first thing I said to someone who was reading CAD after the miscarriage plotline started was "CAD was funny till Buckley started trying to make it serious, it's just not professional enough to be serious" It is also distasteful, though that's something I don't mind, I can imagine many people would feel their toes have been stepped on.

CAD is quickly becoming the laughing stock of popular webcomics, (second only to Megatokyo, which has ALWAYS been a joke, mainly because the author is a fat paedo,) many other web comic authors have Mocked CAD and it was interesting to see Yahtzee do it too.

As an aside, Penny Arcade always has and always will be funny as hell, would like to know how yahtzee feels about it rather than just using it as a point of reference.

 

[Imperial Avenger]

CAD is quickly becoming the laughing stock of popular webcomics, (second only to Megatokyo, which has ALWAYS been a joke, mainly because the author is a fat paedo,) many other web comic authors have Mocked CAD and it was interesting to see Yahtzee do it too.

If you believe the rumours, Tim Buckley is a paedo, too.

 

[Digikid]

Simply put. To those who do NOT like CAD....screw you as you have no sense of good humor whatsoever and should be make into a paste.

Same to PA lovers. PA is not funny in the LEAST.

 

[ColossusReaver]

meh....Yahtzee's ok......he mainly just does the same thing in every single video wherein he goes on a fast paced personal vendetta against whatever he seems to not like at the moment. (wait.......just like every idiotic waste of space that fill up forums with their emotional fits over extremely trivial subjects that no one worth their stones would actually care about that much) Problem is that the stuff he does is about 25% actual content and the other 75% is just filler of him trying to be funny, and only sometimes being succesful at it. It's a style of comedy that he's kind of made old and stale, like a sitcom that had a couple good moments but is just trying to run on steam now and is being largely unsuccesful.....but I guess some people like it as evidenced by the majority of posters here. Monty Python made the style and they still own it.

Speaking on the subject of CAD (which I just found out about a couple days ago and read through in it's entirety) though, I've found that the only problem I have with it is that while all other webcomics about video games are extremely fantastical CAD seems to have a problem with choosing between whether it's extremely fictional or if it's realistic (mis-carriage storyline was one of the more "bring this back to reality" story arcs) It's very hard to tell how it happened in terms of the writing process but I think it might have also been a necessary move from following the story up until that point. Speaking of the mis-carriage though, I find it more distasteful that most of you on this forum joke and laugh about something as serious as a mis-carriage. I did not find any hint of it being a funny situation in CAD and it was treated as if it was possibly a real event in someone's life (we don't know) but you are mostly all making light of it and acting like you know why it was in there and what it was inspired by, Yahtzee himself is the worst in that he's the one at the top of you who thinks he knows everything he needs to about Tim Buckley and forms his opinions based on what little he knows, which, I would surmise, is mainly rumour anyway.

It is good that Tim at least has the ability to branch out with other additions to the comic (Chef Brian, Players, video game parodies) once in a while and this reinvents the comic which is something that most webcomics seem to be devoid of any ability for.

On a side-note......the thing Yahtzee said about most web-comic writers being fat and nerdy and all that got me wondering, while it's most likely at least a little hypocritical of Yahtzee himself to be saying anyway, I checked around and Tim definitely isn't like one of the guys from Penny Arcade (nothing against them though). Check his art website: www.absath.com there are a couple pictures of him and he looks like a pretty average guy and looks slightly like Ethan from CAD anyway, which enforces the possibility of the comic not being entirely fictional. It's funny that Yahtzee pointed out that the webcomic writers usually put themselves in but then doesn't seem to realize what he's saying when he assumes that it's a fictional representation of them and everything that happens in the comic is fictional as well.

Yahtzee, I respect that you have your own opinions but opinions need to be a personal view of a subject based on the facts available, not a matter as trivial as taste, because you don't have all the facts I give you a C+ for this video you great poof.

Stick to the reviews, they can actually get an honest laugh out once in a while.

 

[Mr. Smiles]

Simply put. To those who do NOT like CAD....screw you as you have no sense of good humor whatsoever and should be make into a paste.

Same to PA lovers. PA is not funny in the LEAST.

Paste which Buckley shall use to add hair and other features to his overused default character template, thus creating all his horribly identical cut 'n paste characters.

Also I have to assume your post is being sarcastic as no one over the age of about 12 could possibly be that stupid.

 

[Plowking]

Speaking on the subject of CAD (which I just found out about a couple days ago and read through in it's entirety) though, I've found that the only problem I have with it is that while all other webcomics about video games are extremely fantastical CAD seems to have a problem with choosing between whether it's extremely fictional or if it's realistic (mis-carriage storyline was one of the more "bring this back to reality" story arcs) It's very hard to tell how it happened in terms of the writing process but I think it might have also been a necessary move from following the story up until that point. Speaking of the mis-carriage though, I find it more distasteful that most of you on this forum joke and laugh about something as serious as a mis-carriage. I did not find any hint of it being a funny situation in CAD and it was treated as if it was possibly a real event in someone's life (we don't know) but you are mostly all making light of it and acting like you know why it was in there and what it was inspired by, Yahtzee himself is the worst in that he's the one at the top of you who thinks he knows everything he needs to about Tim Buckley and forms his opinions based on what little he knows, which, I would surmise, is mainly rumour anyway.

It is good that Tim at least has the ability to branch out with other additions to the comic (Chef Brian, Players, video game parodies) once in a while and this reinvents the comic which is something that most webcomics seem to be devoid of any ability for.

On a side-note......the thing Yahtzee said about most web-comic writers being fat and nerdy and all that got me wondering, while it's most likely at least a little hypocritical of Yahtzee himself to be saying anyway, I checked around and Tim definitely isn't like one of the guys from Penny Arcade (nothing against them though). Check his art website: www.absath.com there are a couple pictures of him and he looks like a pretty average guy and looks slightly like Ethan from CAD anyway, which enforces the possibility of the comic not being entirely fictional. It's funny that Yahtzee pointed out that the webcomic writers usually put themselves in but then doesn't seem to realize what he's saying when he assumes that it's a fictional representation of them and everything that happens in the comic is fictional as well.

Yahtzee, I respect that you have your own opinions but opinions need to be a personal view of a subject based on the facts available, not a matter as trivial as taste, because you don't have all the facts I give you a C+ for this video you great poof.

Stick to the reviews, they can actually get an honest laugh out once in a while.

The point is simply that if TB wanted to 'branch' out into the realm of serious drama he should have had the foresight to create another stupid comic and inject over-serious issues into that instead. For those who like and read CAD, in a similar way you don't sit down every week to watch your favourite comedy series on TV to suddenly see the characters go through a series life-changing event and have that carried on for 6 or 7 episodes with no comedy whatsoever. (the already complete lack of 'comedy' in CAD notwithstanding, of course).

Instead TB has the arrogance to just charge headlong in and say up yours to his readers in a nice way that has them shuffling along in agreement - because they've been part of the 'CAD CLUB' so long most don't have enough of self respect or identity to pull away from something that has spat in their faces.

I also love the fact that the CAD forums have been taken offline for 'maintenence'.

 

[ColossusReaver]

Well, I'll let it slide that you have an obvious bias against CAD, but there's nothing wrong with either branching out or getting serious in a comic, just about every newspaper comic has gotten serious a few times when something is important. It's not up to us to judge the rights of a writer, or comic artist. He has his reasons for it and I find nothing wrong with it if he doesn't disclose that reason. He may just be testing boundaries for readers and for the comic, or for himself.
And btw, sitcoms do it too, and for long periods some times, they'll throw in the odd joke but they still have serious situations that are dramatic and compelling because it keeps people watching, it's simple television psychology, someone can relate to a subject or feel pathos for a character and will then be more drawn to watch it