OMG topical content! The world of WoW webcomics (such as it is) was shattered last week when it learned of the returnof one it's founders back to the scene. That's right, Flintlocke of Flintlocke's Guide to Azeroth is back with a new set of adventures. Say hello to Flintlocke Vs. The Horde (also the inspiration for the title of today's comic...if you didnt get that little joke).
As much as I do love Flintlocke, I must admit I'm a little torn about his return. Not the comic's themselves. The new ones have been pretty good so far. No, more about having another dumb-dwarf based WoW comic in the arena. Now granted, I've always drawn comparisons between Disgraph and Flintlocke since I started working on this comic. I won't lie, they are kinda similar, a fact I pointed back in episode 19 when I refer to Disgraph as a lame Flintlocke. Err, I mean the internet refers to Disgraph as a lame Flintlocke....yeah thats...better? My own thoughts aside, many of the comments I read about WoW webcomics seem to lament the loss of Flintlocke. I have to admit that hurts a bit, because I do try to be funny and make a name, but I just brush it off as they are stupid internet types.
So onto this comic. Disgraph's thoughts in the first and second panel very much mirror my own. I like to imagine I'm in competition with some of the other names out there like Dark Legacy and Flintlocke, but I think I'm still just a blip on the radar at this point. And after saying that....
I just want to make clear that by mentioning Flintlocke and using his image in my comic, I'm not trying to piggy back on Flintlocke's success, hoping some of that popularity might rub off on me. No, the reason I mention Flintlocke is two fold. The first is that I think Flintlocke's success provides me with an excellent contrast to Disgraph's...not success. This comic played out very differently from how I first imagined, but I'm very happy with it. I think the high school popularity contest thing is a fitting metaphor for the way things are. The second reason I mention Flintlocke is because I'm happy he's back. As limited as my reader base may be at this point, I like to think I can help spread the word a bit. I'm always happy to have another good webcomic to read, especially one the caliber of Flintlocke and I'm happy Dave "Fargo" Kosak is back. Whenever I parody another comic in my own, it will always be as an act of respect. As much as I would like to be a "popular" webcomic, i would rather be a funny and honorable one.
Well, thats it for now. Stay tuned this week, cause I might throw up another Flintlocke related short comic by the weekend, just to get it all out my system.
7 comments:
After only 28 comics, I'd say to be a blip on their radar is quite an honour anyway :P. I've read all of them and constantly enjoy them, so please keep them coming!
btw...looove your work. Also love Flintlocke. will i continue reading both? Hell yeah! Please keep em coming!
Keep blippin' away!
For what it's worth, I don't read Flinty because wonderful old gamespy is too lazy to provide an RSS feed. What do they think, I'm gonna visit their site every day to look for updates? BAH!
I'm sorry but this does seem as if you're trying to use Flintlocke's popularity to drive fans to your own comic. Not only that, but do you have personal written permission from Fargo to use his character in your comic? If not, then be prepared for the consequences as it reeks of utter Plagiarism. Don't get me wrong. I do like your comic but it should stand on its own two creative feet without riding on the coattails of Fargo's webcomic.
The whole "Using Flintlocke to Boost my Image" is definitely something that came to mind as soon as I started writing the script. I try to be very thorough in check scripts for that type of thing. But really, it is a more of a parody and a tribute than anything else. Just like whenever a "smaller" webcomic does a parody of Penny Arcade using images of Gabe and Tycho, or Chain Saw Suit by Kris Straub parodies other comics, like this one of xkcd: http://www.chainsawsuit.com/20080509.shtml. Or for example, Fanboys using Homestar Runner in this one http://fanboys-online.com/index.php?comic=115#60. I wouldn't call them plagiarism, but parody. In all honesty, its parody comics like those, the kinda "self aware" comics that were really more of the motivation behind using Flintlocke. I'm amused by the webcomic community, and would rather be active in it and acknowledge it rather than hide in my own web hole.
Of course, its all up to you interpretation. I'll leave it up to the internet community to decide if its a parody of if I'm just and internet hack with no credibility or originality :) I'll live with either.
Yo!
People emailed me about Flinty's cameo in your comic and I had to swing by to check it out. Mad props for making sure he's using his 'silenced' hammer. :)
And don't sweat the cameo, I always see the creative works surrounding Blizzard's games as kind of a community of shared enthusiasm. It's all good.
As for updating once a week, I find that it's hard to build an audience with infrequent updates. It's a real credit to Penny-Arcade that they succeeded with 3-times-a-week updates -- in my experience, people only build habits if they can do something every day.
And I envy that you can just throw strips up on Blogger instead of trying to shoehorn a comic into a content management system meant for non-serial articles. Someday I hope to get an RSS feed up... someday....
Keep up the comic!
-Fargo
Sir your comics are great!
Keep up the good work!
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