Minimum Tempo

Before every TVs were in every household, before computers were available for personal use and before game systems were common in households, what did people do for fun? Sure, you had the radio, you had books, you could play outside in the open air, or you could be mischievous since no one really cared if you were doing anything suspicious.

But what would traditional rebellious teenagers and young adults do? Surely they wouldn’t want to spend time with their family watching the TV or listening to the radio together? They wouldn’t have the attention span to read the (soon-to-be) classics written back then, nor would they want to play outside with all the little ones. That left only running around and wreaking havoc amongst small animals, playing with knives and fire and shooting bottles with their daddy’s shotgun! A life of mischief would eventually lead to a life of crime and prison. However, considering most of your parents or grandparents have never been in jail for torturing things other than little animals or assault with a deadly weapon, there must have been something else people our age did for fun.

That brings us to a bright light in the future of American popular culture: the rise of comic books and superheroes! While comics had been around in the newspapers since the late 1800s, standalone comic books came about in the 1930s with the very first super hero, Superman! The 1930-50s is known as the Golden Age, which birthed the classic super hero archetype we enjoy today. But since I didn’t mean this to be a history lesson in American comic culture, on with my point.

Comic books have inspired action movies and graphic novels (essentially collected comic books published in trade-paperbacks). They’ve also inspired countless little artists in trying their own hand at creating a universe where their main character is the classic good guy with split personality disorder! However, the time of the printed comic book has slowed to sauntering walk. What new medium have these little artists and their universes moved to? Why, the grand ol’ Internet! In recent years the Internet has quickly taken over and even assisted traditional media’s influence. Instead of aspiring comic artists sending their proposals to numerous newspapers and publishing comics, they’re taking control and catering directly to audiences through websites!

Introducing… the rise of the web comic!!!

While there are tons of webcomics available for your enjoyment, I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorites, that completely encompasses the beautiful art of the retro 50s-esque American underground comix era!

Here’s the trailer:

You ready? Check out the web comic hosted on DrunkDuck.com. And if you’re a true comic book lover, ask your local comic store to order your copy of the first issue of I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space!!!, in stores this April!

More webcomics I recommend:

Flipside
Khaos Komix
Boobs Ahoy!
Penny Arcade
YU+ME:Dream
Grim Tales

This post is tagged American Culture, Comic Books, lesbian, outer, pirates, web comics

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