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< Piro >

"history and perception"

Thursday - March 2, 2006

There has been some flap recently over a soon to be released book on the History of Webcomics, in particular some serious issues that Scott Kurtz over at PVP has about the book. I don't want to go into my reaction to the book itself, since I really don't consider myself a part of the history of webcomics other than the fact that Megatokyo has been relatively successful and is a webcomic, but i did feel i wanted to say something regarding Scott's comments.

Megatokyo in its current form is not really a good example of a webcomic. It's really more of a page by page release of an ongoing story which reads best in print form. This is because my ultimate goal is not to be a webcomic artist, but a manga artist. Megatokyo works fine, but in the wider world of webcomics there have been far greater innovators than me. To me, the web is just a great distribution method for new material.

In the book i am listed as one of seven people who were major influences on the development of webcomics. Scott points out that there are many people not included who should be, one of them being Rodney (Largo). I agree with him. As i've mentioned many times, it was Rodney who was the big champion of Webcomics in the beginning -- he introduced me to them, he convinced me to work on one with him. Yes, i have continued to do Meagtokyo on my own for many years now, but Rodney deserves credit for being a big part of what made Megatokyo a good webcomic in the first place.

Since our split, Megatokyo and I have grown in many ways, but it's 'webcomic' nature hasn't changed much. In fact, much of what i've done goes contrary to what one could argue makes a good webcomic -- the pages do not stand on their own any where near as much as they used to, the story is almost too complex for this kind of medium, etc. Rodney's vision of Megatokyo was far more 'webcomic' than my own. As Megatokyo became solely my own vision, it lost many of the things that one could argue make a good webcomic. ("where's t3h funny?" for example :P)

I don't want to be involved in any discussions about the future of webcomics because i'm far more interested in the future of Original English Language manga and feel that is where any innovation and growth i am doing is. But i did want to come out and make sure that Rodney gets the credit he deserves for his contribution to the history of webcomics.

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< Dom >

"Nerves and Neuroses"

Friday - February 24, 2006

[Dom] - 10:45:00 - [link here]

It's funny. I've had two full months to prepare my post-Jeopardy! rant, and what do I have to show for it? Three days of hiding from the world.

You see, I can't stand to see myself on video or hear myself recorded (which, lemme tell you, makes transcribing interviews interesting, I have to keep notes of what questions I asked and fast-forward through my own voice). Which, if you've ever seen me in public, doesn't make sense. I mean, I run around with no regard for things like "dignity" and "tact", I sing stupid songs at the top of my lungs and shout profanities just to shout, yet I'm ashamed of myself afterward?

But the thing is, that's not it at all. I could care less that I'm running around with no pants on, or brain farting out the name of an Italian sauce for a French sauces category. But what I sound like to myself and what I sound like when on camera is just so _different_ that I have to leave the room. It's like watching an alien on video, but the alien is me.

So, yes, I've spent a lot of time hiding from myself this past week, and I'll probably keep doing it. Which means that my rant on the actual Jeopardy! experience will come when the aversion fades, which I figure will be around Wednesday.