623 Friction.

by

And there we have it.  End part two.  Reggie gets one last really good shot in…  that he will most likely pay for in spades later.

After all this time we finally get to see the store.  Literature teachers would probably even go so far as to call the store one of the characters.  I had trouble deciding on the scale of the place.  Architecture certainly isn’t my strong point.  In the end I just based it loosely on the store a lot of these story ideas came from.  I was going to have a friend help me design the logo, but then I decided that the point of the Megatainment logo was to express just how bad a logo can be for a poorly managed organization.  I chose the two worst typefaces, for this task, that Windows has to offer.  Like all buildings with lighted signs the lights have burnt out humorously.

Monday we start a new section of the comic.  On average the stories told will be shorter, although with 300 being the average length shorter won’t be a challenge.  Having made a few now they don’t feel nearly as different as I expected them to.  The only difference is that the goal post isn’t hundreds of pages away.  Now that I’m more comfortable with just making up scenery on the fly I feel like I can go pretty much wherever I like.

A lot of comic listing pages have Between Failures listed as a “workplace” comic.  Which is fine in so far as comic listing sites rarely express what a comic is accurately.  The choices aren’t particularly well defined in general.  I think situational comedy is a better descriptor, but I’ve never seen it listed as an option.  Why that is I can’t say.  You’d think it’d be a pretty obvious choice since some of the most popular comics on the net are sitcoms.  Although, in some sense, virtually all comics are sitcoms.

Starslip is one set in a science fiction world. PVP evolved into one.   Shortpacked!, Octopus Pie,  and Questionable Content also spring to mind.  Strangely, the last 3, save for Pie, break character quite a bit, whereas I don’t recall Starslip ever having and aside, or guest strip, in its entire run.  I could be wrong though.  I haven’t been able to read it throughly for almost a year now.  Those are just examples from my favorites list.  (chosen because most in my favorites are largely unknown and unpopular…)  I’m sure you get my point anyway.

You could hardly choose 5 more disparate comics, but they are, at heart, all sitcoms.   I think that should start being a category option.

50 Comments

Haha, wide load. I’m sure his head will be on a pike within a couple strips :/. As a fairly new reader, and with no real “about the comic/ about me” page in sight, i was wondering what your update schedule was? it said monday in the description of this comic, but is that a regular occurence, or is more of a vgcats/oots ‘whenever i damn well please” sort of style?

I seriously hope she beats the sh*t out of him.

Considering his purpose so far seems to be Butt Monkey crossed with Asshole Victim, that wouldn’t surprise me — although a Thomas-inspired revenge is also possible.

wait it’s a stand alone store? I always pictured it as part of a mega-mall, one day we’d meet some employees from the store next door, ah well

With him getting insulted all day by Carol about his ineptitude, it really was only a matter of time before he could crack a good insult delivery himself.

Almost every single line he’s said so far was bad.
This one? Excellent.

Love Reggie’s grin in the fourth frame: do I sense character development? Seems like he’s absorbed some wit out of the air of that place, cos its oozing from the pores of everyone else.

Bleh. Maybe I’m slow, but I don’t get the joke.

I’ve never understood why your avatar is Reggie when he is supposed to be the douchebag no one can get along with

To make a statement. Yeah, Reg is a dick. Despite that, i was secretly hoping he’d get some sort of final shot.
That pizza’s been delivered.
I noticed that and figured, ” Hey, the guys has to have a spotlight of some sort.”

With Reg in the mix, we have all the “Essentials”. (otherwise known as the common fiction personality designations.) These are consistent themes for characters I’ve noticed over the years reading books and manga, and splashing some anime in there too.

Reggie is the Asshat, a somewhat essential character. UNLESS there are no other dirtbags hanging around or trying to kill the “heroes”, this Type will have to do.

Ed is the Loyal Lovable, solving problems for himself and looking like a badass in the process, intentionally or otherwise. Honesty is generally present. Intelligence varies for this Type, but i have found many characters like this that have no brains.

Brooksie is the Quirk Fest( questionable sexuality is not a need, but definitely makes for interesting character interactions). Wild and weird, these guys are often sources of unexpected advice. They are also often Lovable Headcases. Y’know, the ones who make you say” You’re nuts” and keep them around anyway. She’s adorkable to an extreme measure. She stays, as long as she’s lively. When this Type gets depressed, EVERYONE feels it.

Thomas is obviously the Heroic Leader, one who JUSTLY wields the respect he’s been gifted with. Good decisions are a plus. Many pluses.

Carol is the Boobs.
Duh.
While being beautiful is a requirement for this, intelligence is not. Madame Graves is blessed with both. Boobs can be outgoing with their emotions, or reserved. Both can be played out well, if done right.

Nina is the Sunshine. Radiant beauty and Radiant Smiles are often associated with these. Also, swift to leap to the *GLOMP* stage of friendships.

John is the Master of Aloof. Not exactly open about what he wants, but you can rest assured he wants something. Generally, this Type is smooth like butter, but can be surprised when they receive LEGIT results. Girls are a game, and he plays them like a piano. He isn’t a dick about it though(some are, and some aren’t).

Mike is the Outranked Official Leader. HE is the one in charge, but looks to subordinates for help on a regular basis. He’s generally lacks self-confidence( with a type like this, the faith in oneself can differ from each character) and seems lost and helpless with out anybody to. . . hold his hand, essentially. He’s even got the Boobs training him . . . smooth play, bro.

Jess is the Sexy Sibling. This Type can either float around the cast or show up randomly, only to disappear soon after. This one is often superior over their other sibling(s) and is about as varied as the colors of jelly beans. Each one is unique, from he art style presented to the interactions this Type has with those close to them.

I have YET to see a Goth, Stonelike Stoic, Lustyf or a Completely Competent Type show up here. Time will tell, however dubious that goal may be.

I think that your description of sitcom webcomics contains an explanation of why it is not generally used. It is a perfectly accurate description of a webcomic, but it tells you virtually nothing about it. As you said, five random examples that fit into that category are almost completely different other than that. Things like “workplace comic” obviously don’t tell you enough about it, but it gives some idea of, for example, what situations might come up and what kinds of sources of humor there might be. These types of generalizations aren’t universally accurate, and don’t tell you enough to decide whether or not to read something, they can help you decide whether or not to try it.

For those of you who couldn’t bother to read that, saying it’s a sitcom webcomic is a more accurate description than a workplace webcomic, but it tells you so little that it’s useless.

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