Gamer comics have had a history of limited content and inspiration - I don’t mean this in general, but rather that patterns emerge in the genre. When a new big game hits the market, it is a sure thing that virtually every gamer comic on the web will do a strip based on that game. Within hours of Halo 3’s release, roughly 10,000 Halo strips were uploaded to the web, all sharing roughly four to five different jokes. For some reason, they really grabbed on to 300 as well. Don’t you all remember how much you haaaaated day after day after day of, “THIS IS SPARTA”? Gamer comics suffer tremendous redundancy - it is simply the nature of the beast.

Which brings us to my request; Super Smash Bros. Brawl is only a day away from release, and since this game is basically the most anticipated thing since the second coming of Christ, it’s a safe bet that every gamer comic on the net will do a Brawl strip. My request is simple: DON’T do a Brawl strip. Be different. Be daring. Be bold enough to not follow the mob. Smash Bros. strips have been done to death already, and they’ve likely been done better by people who know how to handle the material. Too many bad Brawl comics are out there already. Case in point.

So be different, gamer comickers. You’ve got so much competition already, does it even make sense to keep doing the same thing as everyone else? Of course not. Unless you do Penny Arcade or Awkward Zombie, then you don’t have a prayer on release day. Well, unless everyone else gets too hooked on the game to actually make a comic that day. Sorry, but it’s the truth.

If you liked that, try...

1. A New Comic Review and some Webcomic Idol Stuff
2. Lynn Johnston wants a do-over: For Better or Worse retold
3. Webcomics Idol - A Bomb Shelter Comics Contest
4. It Ain’t a Webcomic, but that Funky Winkerbean…
5. An Analysis of Comic Strip Humor - The Need for a New Funny

3 Comments »

1. 
   Shawn M.
   March 8, 2008 at 8:28 pm

   You can count on me, Sean. Yeah, I was guilty of doing a Halo 3 comic, but I’ve been steering InnerGeek away from video games and focusing more on comic book and general geek fare. There’s too many gaming comics out there already.

   Besides, I don’t even like Smash Brothers.

   [Reply]
2. 
   Migo
   March 9, 2008 at 1:31 pm

   I felt dirty every time I did a game comic. Not because it’s a bad subject, I just don’t do it justice. Now, if you want stuffed animals eviscerating each other, I’m your man, just not for game jokes.

   [Reply]
3. 
   Shawn M.
   March 10, 2008 at 8:02 pm

   Even the print comics are in on it, as Foxtrot made a joke.

   http://kotaku.com/366028/foxtrot-jumps-on-ssbb-band-wagon

   [Reply]

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