Garfield, Spiderman, Doonsbury
– they’re all popular, long-lived cartoons, but they’re so …
static. In a world where even cereal comes with an interactive
DVD-ROM of games, the traditional comic strip has evolved. The
online community offers hundreds of different choices ranging from
kid-friendly funnies like HomestarRunner.c
om (voted 2003’s best Internet cartoon site by
CreativeLoafing.com) to adult-language shorts like Neurotically
Yours, which is available at I-am-bored.com.
Garfield, Spiderman, Doonsbury – they’re all popular, long-lived cartoons, but they’re so … static. In a world where even cereal comes with an interactive DVD-ROM of games, the traditional comic strip has evolved. The online community offers hundreds of different choices ranging from kid-friendly funnies like HomestarRunner.com (voted 2003’s best Internet cartoon site by CreativeLoafing.com) to adult-language shorts like Neurotically Yours, which is available at I-am-bored.com.
Somewhere in the middle lies the latest pop site, MakingFiends.com. Creator Amy Winfrey, a former “South Park” animator, decided to branch out with her own ideas just over a year ago. The University of California, Los Angeles graduate uses simple Flash and Dreamweaver to design, animate and post the series she writes and composes herself.
Main characters Vendetta (a moss-colored villainess with a Bulgarian accent) and Charlotte (the ever optimistic protagonist of the series) spar in what has expanded to two seasons’ worth of episodes. The 29-year-old’s production is a labor of love, a simple comedic style that seems to make the stress of working life disappear in its average two-minute duration.
Like Homestar Runner, the Web’s leading cartoon, Making Fiends draws on mildly satirical depictions of society, though Homestar is a bit more on the bright side. The series features a cast of colorful, wildly drawn characters including protagonist Homestar, a boy-like patriot with a helicopter hat and a speech impediment; heroine Marzipan, a bell-shaped creature with no arms; and the villain Strong Bad, a diminutive masked boxer whose gloves are as big as he is.
The series evolved from a self-published children’s book originally put out in 1996. In 2001, Atlanta-based brothers Matt and Mike Chapman decided to put up an accompanying Web site, and the idea exploded. They now get millions of hits from all over the world each day.
With customers on every habitable continent, the next step for both Web sites has been to enter the world of merchandising. Winfrey offers T-shirts ($15) and art prints ($25) while the Chapman brothers have expanded their stock to match their larger base of support. Figurines, static clings, messenger bags, CDs, hats, dolls and sweatshirts are all available for a price. For now, internet cartoons are obscure enough that recognizing someone else’s Strong Sad t-shirt will make you feel like an initiated member of someone else’s private club … well, at least until your kids discover that you’ve been watching their cartoons.
