Nick Costanzo
Dec 2, 2005, 10:35 am
<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/TangledPanels.jpg" hspace=10 align=left border=0 alt="Tangled Panels Logo">By Nick Costanzo, ncostanz@vt.edu
The Death of Riley
When I was asked to write about the culture of webcomics, I first thought back to the days when I began reading these things. See, there was a review for PvP (http://www.pvponline.com) on a site that, for various reasons, I can’t mention here. It was free and nifty, but I didn’t really get into it all that much. However, they had a cool-looking link to what would become my first webcomics obsession: Aaron Sacharo and Dan Jaaren’s Life of Riley (http://www.clanbob.net). That comic was somehow able to mix gaming nerds, vampires, succubae, goddesses, and even weird pseudo-biblical themes in a way that was not only entertaining, but also at times quite funny. If only the creators could be bothered to actually finish the damn thing, I’m sure that it would go down as one of the greats.
And yet, even as it remains trapped for now in creative limbo, Life of Riley still manages to illustrate the greatest strength of the webcomic genre. The creators are free to tell whatever story they wish, without the confines of deadlines, editors, or the whims of a publisher. Of course, at the same time, it illustrates the webcomic's greatest weakness... namely, the lack of deadlines, editors, or professional publishers. After all, here we have a story that’s truly unique. And by unique, I mean random.
Life of Riley follows (followed?) the story of a dim-witted, yet artistic young man named Dan, the likable Aaron, the brilliant Mentat, and a vampire named Gore. Along the way, Dan becomes a conduit of cosmic artist-tech super powers, Aaron and Mentat lead an army of nerds against an all-powerful demon invasion, Gore slaughters legions of undead while trying to blow off his half-succubus ex-girlfriend, and sometimes they watch anime and make fun of the subtitles. Trust me... it really did work, even if things had become downright surreal by the end.
However, at what is arguably one of the most intense and exciting points of the story to date... the comic just stopped. Sure, there was a brief moment of revival for like, a month or so, but for the most part Life of Riley came to a complete stop on the eve of what should have been the climactic battle of the entire series. If this were a “real” comic, we’d probably say it’s been cancelled. The reasons, though, would be entirely different from those we’d expect from a major comic book publication. It wasn’t dropped due to lack of sales, it wasn’t butchered by editorial interference, and if anyone ever wrote to complain about content, they were likely ignored or told to go to hell. No, the reason for Life of Riley’s untimely demise was quite simple... real life got in the way. Behind-the-scenes drama, some of it good, and much of it quite tragic, took precedence within the creators’ lives, delaying the production of the strips. Server problems also contributed to the delays, but, personally, I got the impression that Dan and Aaron may have gotten tired of the whole thing. The final few strips, while not particularly bad, held a sense of ennui that couldn’t be ignored even as the action was supposed to be building up. Perhaps the creators of the strip simply got bored, and decided to work on something new. Something without an audience.
So what do we take away from this story? Do we condemn the creators of the strip for abandoning their work? And what does that say about webcomics in general? Do we dismiss them as nothing more than a hobby to be abandoned the moment they become a burden?
Pfft. Hell no. See, the thing that makes Life of Riley and so many other webcomics great is the way in which they capture unbridled creative expression, and make it free for anyone to see. And, indeed, the downside to this is that the creators are free to quit whenever they wish. But they are just as free to start back up again, and won’t have to jump through any editorial hoops to do so. It’s all a trade-off, one that would be dangerous except for one, brilliant, wonderful truth to which (most) webcomics adhere: They are free. Yeah, I may be a little irritated that LoR is dead in the water at the moment, but only because I want to see what happens next. It has nothing to do, however, with me being pissed that I just wasted $40 or so on individual issues leading up to this pause.
Even webcomic titles that have lead to successful businesses, such as Penny-Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com) and Mega Tokyo (http://www.megatokyo.com), remain free for everyone to read, and have reached a level of quality at this point to rival mainstream comics. And possibly BECAUSE they are free, it gives the creators even more free reign to produce the kind of material that they want. No one can claim that the creators “owe” them anything, and therefore they feel no need to cave into the sometimes self-destructive fanboy demands. However, with the proliferation and ease of creation associated with today’s online message boards, this manner of tension rarely arises anyway. The creators are able to communicate directly with their fans, allowing for a level of intimacy that is difficult, if not impossible for many of the major comic book company names. As a result, the end product of most webcomics is a work that not only satisfies the artistic desires of its creators, but also pleases the fans, many of whom feel they have contributed to the work of the creators, at least on a subliminal level. In the case of LoR’s “Bobs” (http://www.clanbob.net/lifeofriley.php?view=2002-02-11) storyline, they contributed to the story directly. Posters on the LoR message boards were invited to join in on the comic’s most dramatic storyline at the time. Each and every member of Mentat’s “army” (numbering in the dozens) represented an actual member of the LoR forums, with the most prominent “Bobs” given major character roles throughout the course of the story. As a result, Life of Riley retains a large and devoted fanbase, many of whom still regularly post in its forums, waiting for the comic to return.
And finally, I must say that while Life of Riley does embody many of the greatest strengths and weaknesses of the webcomic genre, it does differ in one very important respect. By far, most of the “good” webcomics out there don’t die, and in fact have been going strong for years. They are, in this columnist’s humble opinion, the single best source of new talent and indie comics today, and the best way for new writers and artists to get their feet wet with creating their own works of comic art. And, they’re free. There’s no reason not to check them out, and with the sheer volume of material available to read, there will no doubt be something out there that will soon become an online obsession for you and all of your friends.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Nick Costanzo promises that his appreciation for webcomics arises solely from his appreciation of fine art and story. Any further use of them to kill time at work, procrastinate in school, and decorate his desktop is purely coincidental.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.
The Death of Riley
When I was asked to write about the culture of webcomics, I first thought back to the days when I began reading these things. See, there was a review for PvP (http://www.pvponline.com) on a site that, for various reasons, I can’t mention here. It was free and nifty, but I didn’t really get into it all that much. However, they had a cool-looking link to what would become my first webcomics obsession: Aaron Sacharo and Dan Jaaren’s Life of Riley (http://www.clanbob.net). That comic was somehow able to mix gaming nerds, vampires, succubae, goddesses, and even weird pseudo-biblical themes in a way that was not only entertaining, but also at times quite funny. If only the creators could be bothered to actually finish the damn thing, I’m sure that it would go down as one of the greats.
And yet, even as it remains trapped for now in creative limbo, Life of Riley still manages to illustrate the greatest strength of the webcomic genre. The creators are free to tell whatever story they wish, without the confines of deadlines, editors, or the whims of a publisher. Of course, at the same time, it illustrates the webcomic's greatest weakness... namely, the lack of deadlines, editors, or professional publishers. After all, here we have a story that’s truly unique. And by unique, I mean random.
Life of Riley follows (followed?) the story of a dim-witted, yet artistic young man named Dan, the likable Aaron, the brilliant Mentat, and a vampire named Gore. Along the way, Dan becomes a conduit of cosmic artist-tech super powers, Aaron and Mentat lead an army of nerds against an all-powerful demon invasion, Gore slaughters legions of undead while trying to blow off his half-succubus ex-girlfriend, and sometimes they watch anime and make fun of the subtitles. Trust me... it really did work, even if things had become downright surreal by the end.
However, at what is arguably one of the most intense and exciting points of the story to date... the comic just stopped. Sure, there was a brief moment of revival for like, a month or so, but for the most part Life of Riley came to a complete stop on the eve of what should have been the climactic battle of the entire series. If this were a “real” comic, we’d probably say it’s been cancelled. The reasons, though, would be entirely different from those we’d expect from a major comic book publication. It wasn’t dropped due to lack of sales, it wasn’t butchered by editorial interference, and if anyone ever wrote to complain about content, they were likely ignored or told to go to hell. No, the reason for Life of Riley’s untimely demise was quite simple... real life got in the way. Behind-the-scenes drama, some of it good, and much of it quite tragic, took precedence within the creators’ lives, delaying the production of the strips. Server problems also contributed to the delays, but, personally, I got the impression that Dan and Aaron may have gotten tired of the whole thing. The final few strips, while not particularly bad, held a sense of ennui that couldn’t be ignored even as the action was supposed to be building up. Perhaps the creators of the strip simply got bored, and decided to work on something new. Something without an audience.
So what do we take away from this story? Do we condemn the creators of the strip for abandoning their work? And what does that say about webcomics in general? Do we dismiss them as nothing more than a hobby to be abandoned the moment they become a burden?
Pfft. Hell no. See, the thing that makes Life of Riley and so many other webcomics great is the way in which they capture unbridled creative expression, and make it free for anyone to see. And, indeed, the downside to this is that the creators are free to quit whenever they wish. But they are just as free to start back up again, and won’t have to jump through any editorial hoops to do so. It’s all a trade-off, one that would be dangerous except for one, brilliant, wonderful truth to which (most) webcomics adhere: They are free. Yeah, I may be a little irritated that LoR is dead in the water at the moment, but only because I want to see what happens next. It has nothing to do, however, with me being pissed that I just wasted $40 or so on individual issues leading up to this pause.
Even webcomic titles that have lead to successful businesses, such as Penny-Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com) and Mega Tokyo (http://www.megatokyo.com), remain free for everyone to read, and have reached a level of quality at this point to rival mainstream comics. And possibly BECAUSE they are free, it gives the creators even more free reign to produce the kind of material that they want. No one can claim that the creators “owe” them anything, and therefore they feel no need to cave into the sometimes self-destructive fanboy demands. However, with the proliferation and ease of creation associated with today’s online message boards, this manner of tension rarely arises anyway. The creators are able to communicate directly with their fans, allowing for a level of intimacy that is difficult, if not impossible for many of the major comic book company names. As a result, the end product of most webcomics is a work that not only satisfies the artistic desires of its creators, but also pleases the fans, many of whom feel they have contributed to the work of the creators, at least on a subliminal level. In the case of LoR’s “Bobs” (http://www.clanbob.net/lifeofriley.php?view=2002-02-11) storyline, they contributed to the story directly. Posters on the LoR message boards were invited to join in on the comic’s most dramatic storyline at the time. Each and every member of Mentat’s “army” (numbering in the dozens) represented an actual member of the LoR forums, with the most prominent “Bobs” given major character roles throughout the course of the story. As a result, Life of Riley retains a large and devoted fanbase, many of whom still regularly post in its forums, waiting for the comic to return.
And finally, I must say that while Life of Riley does embody many of the greatest strengths and weaknesses of the webcomic genre, it does differ in one very important respect. By far, most of the “good” webcomics out there don’t die, and in fact have been going strong for years. They are, in this columnist’s humble opinion, the single best source of new talent and indie comics today, and the best way for new writers and artists to get their feet wet with creating their own works of comic art. And, they’re free. There’s no reason not to check them out, and with the sheer volume of material available to read, there will no doubt be something out there that will soon become an online obsession for you and all of your friends.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
Nick Costanzo promises that his appreciation for webcomics arises solely from his appreciation of fine art and story. Any further use of them to kill time at work, procrastinate in school, and decorate his desktop is purely coincidental.
<center><hr width=75%></center>
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and are not reflective of Comixfan or its other staff in general.