Your hateblog sucks and you suck or something

[lurkerwithout]

So while skimming my blog roll, I noticed that a friend had a link to Your Webcomic is bad. I'd read them before a few times, then it went on hiatus, then it came back with comments disabled, then it paused again and came back saying it would have commentary again then didn't. But anyway, there is a relatively recent "review" of webcomic Dresden Codak. And by review I mean he (or possibly they, as it used to be four reviewers. But since I could never tell their "styles" apart I have no idea if thats still true.) attacks Dresden Codak's creator for 1. saying he's going to make the comic his business and then not making his weekly update schedule and 2. its only popular because us nerds want to fuck the main character now. Not like back in the day, when it was still cool. And only sometimes about Kimiko "Thunderbolt" Ross. See if you have a webcomic and its somewhat popular and it has an attractive female lead, then it follows that its only us nerd-manboys and our lonely lusts that drive that popularity. Women obviously don't read Dresden Codak. Unless they're lesbians I guess. Or bi. But probably still lonely...

Yep. Its not because of the comics' artistic style or imaginative storys or odd and clever humor. Nope. Its all about wanting to tap that fictional ass...

Anyway normally I'd just roll my eyes and ignore the guys blog (or their blog as the case may still be). But I'm tired and cranky so I'll bitch about it for a bit. Now, I really don't mind the Angry Review style that much. Hell, I've got a friend who still has some vague hope of making a career out of it. But Solomon (I went and checked again and I think thats the main guy. And at least one other person has written for the site in the last couple months. So I guess its still a them) and his cohorts just seem to come off as bullying. They act like they want to help "improve" the comic they tear down. But really all I get is another group of yelling people on the internet, looking to build themselves up by tearing down others...

For example, a while back they "reviewed" my friend indigoskynet's webcomic, Kismetropolis. And I'll be honest, I love Indigo, but I've never been able to get into her comic. I'll read it for awhile, get confused as to the storylines and give up. And then she'll post about it and I'll go back and try to read some more and get lost and give up and so forth. I've seen better art also, but I do think that Indigo puts a lot of energy and life into her characters. And Solomon (or whichever of them wrote the post) just tore it apart. Not offering any real advice. Just pointing out everything they found that sucked about it. Which is actual more effort than they seem to go to now. But still, it was mean-spirited. And its the kind of "humor" that I don't get...

Its why I don't read The Boys or All-Star Batman & Robin or well, Your Webcomic Is Bad...

I think I had a point in all this but I've lost it. Urgh. Need sleep...

Comments

[lost-angelwings.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I think he's trying too hard to rip ppl apart. Sometimes I think they're spot on, esp with stuff like Shredded Moose. That is by far my favourite review. But it's by Lilith, and I tend to like her reviews. xD

I personally enjoy the site b/c it's so over the top. xD But I understand that many ppl do not.

Personally I LIKE Kismetropolis xD I didn't agree at all with his review, but I honestly can't take the site seriously. It's like 'Stuff White Ppl Like' to me, or SomethingAwful. I dunno why. I can't take it seriously or be angry about it. xD I can't explain it. Maybe cuz I have fun criticizing and pointing out plot holes in stuff that I dislike in my own reviews too xD Like my Green Arrow Year One reviews xD

I'm sry if this makes me a bad person :( And I'm sry Indigo :( I feel bad for liking them now b/c of how unfair they were to you :\ (I luff your comic, I do :) )

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That's kind of you to say.

I personally can't take YWIB seriously either, because I find people who can't get to their point without needing to rip somebody up or tear somebody down are people not worth knowing most of the time anyway.

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

Sorry.

Guess I'll do one one of those "in case you're lost" pages sometime soon.

[furikku.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I'd call it "bullying," since it's being posted on a blog, rather than by email or on a particular creator's site.

It's a rant, and I'm not sure why webcomics should be immune to that.

As for the DC thing, from what I've read, he pretty much made it a business and then immediately afterward buggered off for a longish vacation, so that really doesn't sound like great business sense to me. :/

[lurkerwithout.livejournal.com]

They just a certain feeling of..meanness to them. The echo gallery of fans they had when comments were enabled were worse from the couple times I checked. It also doesn't help that aside from when Lillith adds a female prounoun or something I can't tell any of the four original members apart except by checking the author line...

[furikku.livejournal.com]

I can understand that much. (Comments are enabled again, but you have to check the entry to read them.)

Pretty much, though, it's just a form of entertainment, questionable though it may be. The harshness is apparently born from the culture of webcomicry where people are overly nice, so criticism never happens. There are probably places where genuine constructive criticism happens, but YWCIBAYSFB is pretty much just venting.

It doesn't pretend to be anything else, so I'd say in this case it's pretty genuinely a case of "If you don't like it, don't read it." (Which could be turned against the contributors there, but then where would I get my dose of well-written rancor?)

[lurkerwithout.livejournal.com]

Actually there are several places with webcomics criticism. Websnark springs to mind right off the bat...

[furikku.livejournal.com]

Is websnark devoted purely to comics? (I'm not really into the webcomics industry in general, so I only know what I've read from here and there.)

[lurkerwithout.livejournal.com]

Eric mostly writes about webcomics. And City of Heroes (and the new Champions Online). And..well really whatever he catches his eye. But primarily webcomics...

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

A comment on the readership of DC.