A History of Weekly Webcomic Wrapup
Maybe it was about having time to sift through archives. Maybe Thanksgiving brings about a lot of reflection. Maybe it's because this writer is celebrating his birthday today and wanted to be self-indulgent with his ongoing feature. For whatever reason, this edition of the Weekly Webcomic Wrapup can serve as a means of chronicling the series' rise ... to monotony!
But first, the poll. You know the drill: here are our picks for the week's best webcomic, be sure to vote for your favorite!
The Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is a weekly (obviously) feature that began in October 2005. Inspired by an overwhelming response to a post about a VG Cats comic strip (26 Sept 05), on October 5 we (and by "we" I mean me) asked the readers to name their favorite game-related webcomics.
The first webcomic roundup, then titled "Webcomic Roundup," was published on October 8. For the following weeks a time-span subtitle was added (e.g. "Webcomic Roundup: October 8 - 15, 2005"). After the break, take a gander at an extensive timeline of events.
The change to a poll (from the original listing of highlighted webcomics), at the behest of then-editor Vladimir Cole (26 Nov 2005; the first "Readers pick best webcomic")
The use of a image collage banner (4 Dec 2005)
The change to its current name, "Weekly Webcomic Wrapup" - also note this is the first special edition, "Festivus," although we wouldn't return to that format for a long time. (24 Dec 2005)
We stop writing the name with each entry (31 Dec 2005). Readers still cheat by reading the URL and picking their favorite webcomic series (as opposed to individual entry). The actual text adjacent to the voting button would change for awhile, from the first text line to a sound effect contained within to the present use of, simply, the webcomic's actual title (or one devised by us should a title be absent).
For artsy-fartsy reasons (and to differentiate itself from the colored "Today in Joystiq" banners), we switch to black-and-white images (7 January 06)
Joystiq commenter Bob suggests a new title for a Dueling Analogs strip, now called "So Dark the Contra of Man" (5 May 2006). Artist Steve Napierski likes it so much he changes the official name of his own comic.
We get lazy, which conveniently coincides with webcomics referencing Joystiq. We drop the banner collages and our Photoshop usage drops 30% (15 July 2006).
Readers pick best webcomic finally gets a subtitle (12 Sept 2006)
Feeling envious by Ludwig Kietzmann's clever "Japanese Hardware Sales: ____ edition" posts, the webcomic wrapup starts doing its own "-edition" subtitles (14 October 2006).
Lowly bloggers succumbs writer's block, commits career suicide by using a lolcat meme (10 Nov 2007)
Notable "Special Edition" webcomic wrapups:
To make up for the one week we missed doing the webcomic wrapup (blame Tokyo Game Show 2006), we did a webcomic duo for each entry (30 Sept 06)
Game-centric webcomic wrapups: Dead Rising, Civilization IV, BioShock
Incidentally special, commenter Neebs uses the phrase "new and exciting" and discovers how the new reply system can spam your email. Inadvertent niche memes are new and exciting! (14 Aug 2007)
Other related articles:
An interview with Concerned creator Chis Livingston following the end of the webcomic series. (2 Nov 2006)
Profiles of Dueling Analogs' Steve Napierski, Extra Life's Scott Johnson.
Fueled by arguments ongoing since the inception of the webcomic wrapup and inspired by a conversation we had with the co-creator Gabe, we open the floor for readers to debate whether or not Penny Arcade should be excluded from the webcomic wraup. The end result: they're still included, and the whining has evolved into "PA sucks now, anyways." (6 Dec 2006)
