List of video game webcomics

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Two cartoon characters sit on a couch playing a console game
Ethan and Lucas from Ctrl+Alt+Del playing video games on their couch.
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by with reliable sources.

Many webcomics have been influenced by video games and video game culture.

Background[]

Webcomics frequently poke fun at video game logic, the video game industry, and stereotypical behavior of gamers. The earliest video game webcomic was Polymer City Chronicles, which started in 1995. However, 1998's PvP is seen as the origin of the genre, influencing various webcomics following it.[1] Low-quality video game webcomics were particularly common in the mid-2000s, often featuring author stand-ins with poor dialogue and unrealistic relationships.[2] A common trope in video game webcomics is to have the main characters sit on a couch, talking about the game they are playing.

It is common for webcomics to exclusively use in-game art and speech bubbles, such as in sprite comics. The term gamics has been proposed by Nathan Ciprick in 2004 to refer to webcomics that consist entirely of video game graphics. Despite the fact that video game graphics are generally copyrighted, owners of the intellectual properties used have traditionally been tolerant.[3]

Webcomics set in a video game world[]

Title Creator Run Video game world Sources
8-Bit Theater Brian Clevinger 2001–2010 Various Nintendo Entertainment System games, including Final Fantasy, Metroid and River City Ransom. [1][4][5]
Awkward Zombie Katie Tiedrich 2006– Various, most notably Super Smash Bros. [4][5]
Bob and George David Anez 2000–2007 Mega Man [4]
Brawl in the Family Matthew Taranto 2008–2014 Super Smash Bros. [4]
Captain SNES JayDee 2001-2021 Various, most notably Captain N: The Game Master
Concerned Christopher C. Livingston 2005–2006 Half Life 2 [3]
Dueling Analogs Steve Napierski 2005–2018 Various [5][6]
Hiimdaisy Gigi D.G. Various, including Metal Gear Solid, Persona 4, and Ace Attorney. [4]
Prequel Kazerad 2011– The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Super Effective Scott Ramsoomair 2008–2018 Pokémon [4]
The Adventures of Hercule Cubbage Mark "Mythos" Raven 2012– Half-Life 2 [7]
Half-Life: A Place in the West Ross Joseph Gardner and Michael Pelletier 2016– Half-Life 2 [8]

Webcomics about video games[]

Title Creator Run Style Sources
Ctrl+Alt+Del Tim Buckley 2002– "Gamer on a couch" comic [1][5]
Clueless Hero Luis Lee and Ana Gaby Perez 2015– Gag comic following the adventures of a clueless hero in a video game world.
Fanboys Online Scott DeWitt 2006–2015 Follows the lives of three gamers living together.
GU Comics Woody Hearn 2000– [5]
Little Gamers Christian Fundin 2000– "Gamer on a couch" comic [1][5]
Magical Game Time Zac Gorman Examines the positive aspects of gaming [9]
megaGAMERZ 3133t Jonathan Rosenberg 2005– Spin-off strip of Goats; parodies the low quality of many video game webcomics. [1]
Megatokyo Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston 2000– Follows the adventures of a manga and video game fan in Tokyo, Japan. [10]
Penny Arcade Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik 1998– "Gamer on a couch" comic [1][5]
Polymer City Chronicles Chris Morrison 1995–2007 [1]
PvP Scott Kurtz 1998– Follows a fictional video game magazine company and its employees. [1][5]
the GaMERCaT Samantha Whitten 2011– Follows the life of a cat who plays games.
VG Cats Scott Ramsoomair 2001– "Gamer on a couch" comic in which the characters frequently take on the role of their player character. [1][4][5]
Wooden Plank Studios Abel Hagen 2013– Video game inspired comics, most notably 'Young Adult Red', 'Everyone is Home', and 'Avengers Preparing for Infinity War' series.
Epic Gamer Comic Keeby10 2018- A parody of gaming comics like Ctrl+Alt+Del that follows 3 gamers as they live their lives along with some one-off comics making jokes about specific video games.

Webcomics inspired by video games[]

Title Creator Run Inspiration Sources
Cucumber Quest Gigi D.G. 2011– Adventure webcomic influenced by Kirby and Paper Mario. [4][11]
JumpHero Marlene Santos 2021- Set in a world with video game logic. Many plots and characters parody existing video games.
MS Paint Adventures Andrew Hussie 2007– Webcomics on MSPaintAdventures are inspired by interactive fiction and role-playing video games, having started out as a "mock adventure game". The latest webcomic, Homestuck, follows a group of four kids playing a reality-changing video game. [12][13]

Other[]

ShiftyLook moved on to cartoons in 2012, with animated web series based on Bravoman and Mappy.[14]

ShiftyLook, a former subsidiary of Namco Bandai, focused on reviving various Namco video game franchises between 2011 and 2014. The company originally did this through English language webcomics.[15] ShiftyLook has released webcomics based on Dig Dug,[16] Dragon Spirit, Klonoa, and various other video games.[14]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Maragos, Nick (2005-11-07). "Will Strip for Games". 1UP. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  2. ^ Hathaway, Jay (2017-06-29). "Terrible mid-2000 gaming comics are being revived on Twitter". The Daily Dot.
  3. ^ a b Sapieha, Chad (2006-04-04). "Games + Comics = Gamics". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2006-06-15.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Smith, Kyle. "Top 10 Comics Inspired by Video Games". Explosion.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Good, Owen (2009-07-19). "Sunday Comics". Kotaku.
  6. ^ Aziz, Hamza (2007-01-19). "Friday Comic Intermission: Dueling Analogs". Destructoid.
  7. ^ Plunkett, Luke (2013-04-02). "New Half-Life 2 Comic Tells The Story Of The Hero Of Humanity. The Other Hero". Kotaku.
  8. ^ Denzer, TJ (2021-01-14). "Fan-made Half-Life: A Place in the West comic series gets remake of first two chapters". Shacknews.
  9. ^ Cruz, Larry (2014-05-09). "'Magical Game Time': Video games are good". Comic Book Resources.
  10. ^ Hodgman, John (July 18, 2004). "Chronicle Comics; No More Wascally Wabbits". The New York Times. Retrieved April 11, 2006.
  11. ^ Davis, Lauren (2016-06-10). "First Second Is Publishing the Hilarious and Stunning Webcomic Epic Cucumber Quest". io9.
  12. ^ Weiler, Lance (January 25, 2009). "How Problem Sleuth Turns a Comic Into a Game". Culture Hacker. WorkBook Project. Archived from the original on November 30, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  13. ^ Lauren Rae Orsini (August 2, 2012). "Inside the strange, brave new world of Homestuck". The Daily Dot. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  14. ^ a b Johnston, Rich (2012-07-14). "ShiftyLook Moves Into Cartoons – Bravoman, Jim Zub, Scott Kurtz And More". Bleeding Cool.
  15. ^ Gera, Emily (2014-03-10). "Namco High studio ShiftyLook is shutting its doors". Polygon.
  16. ^ Goellner, Caleb (2012-05-09). "Shiftylook Celebrating 30 Years of 'Dig Dug' With Anniversary Webcomic Collaboration". Comics Alliance. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.
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