Top Five Webcomics of the Sunweaver/Angels Community

 

So what does a Second Life resident do when not going about Second Life, or perhaps do when taking a short break from clubbing or exploring or listening to a science discussion? One activity some do is browse Internet comics, either check up the latest on a favorite strip or browse one they just came across. Among them is Nydia Tungsten, whom decided to see which were the favorites of the others in her community in Second Life, the Sunweavers/Angels. So what were the results?

Read Nydia's story in Extra.

Sci-Fi Expo and the Stan Lee Memorial

The Sci-Fi Expo is in town. Located in the Solaris Station sim, this is an event for science-fiction and fantasy fans inworld. One can enjoy the exhibits, do some shopping, find out more about some roleplay groups looking to expand their numbers, and more. The event raises funds for the Relay for Life in Second Life.

While science fiction is usually pretty fun, not all is well at the Expo. Stan Lee, the artistic genius whom help redefine superheroes, passed away on Monday November 12. Unlike the characters of other hero comics at the time which were often as two-dimensional as the paper their stories were printed on, Stan Lee's characters had more personality and had problems their readers could relate to. Spider-Man for instance could whomp the bad guys, but dealt with acne and girl trouble. Eventually, other studios would follow his lead and make their superhuman characters a little more human.

At the Expo, a memorial to Stan Lee was set up. A fitting tribute to an artist whom entertained many in their childhoods, as well as their adulthoods.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Solaris%20Station/93/103/35

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at the Relay for Life. Seems two superhero roleplaying groups did a little mix and match with two different comic universes. And the way Batmain and Robin were paired with one of Spiderman's villains, it looks like the normally perceptive Caped Crusader is about to get a nasty surprise.

By Bixyl Shuftan

"Thanks Again To Everyone" "Sabrina Online" Internet Comic Ends After Twenty Years

For many of us, comics are a favorite part of the newspaper. So when the Internet and World Wide Web was coming of age in the 1990s, some artists began drawing and publishing comic strips on a regular basis. Most would last only a few years before the cartoonist either ran out of ideas or real life made it too difficult to keep up his/her schedule. But others would keep going. Among one of these first online comics to gain a following was "Sabrina Online" by Eric Schwartz. Starting off with a girl connecting to the Internet, the strip went through a number of plots and tales of Sabrina and her friends.

On September 15, twenty years to the month after the comics first went up, Schwartz uploaded the last of the strips, Sabrina marrying her boyfriend, followed by a message.

'Sabrina Online' first appeared on the web on September 15, 1996. It seemed fitting to bring the strip to a close twenty years to the day later, ending with a bang (of sorts) rather than keeping the strip plodding along month to month indefinitely without any focus or goal. I want to thank all of Sabrina's readers and fans out there, whether you've been there from the start or discovered the strip more recently. You all are the power that helped me keep the comic rolling as long as it has. While all good things must end, Sabrina, R.C., Zig Zag, Amy, and everyone else are not gone. It's only the regular monthly strip that is completed, but new stories and works from the Sabrina-verse will pop up from time to time. Just drop by for news and info, whether on this site, Furaffinity, or elsewhere. Thanks again to everyone. I can only hope you enjoyed the two-decade ride anywhere near as much as I did.

Over the years, the strip has gotten Schwartz a number of fans, inspiring a great deal of fanart and some fanfiction, and been translated into several languages. Some fans led by Cindy "Zig Zag" Babii, built in Second Life a "Double Z Studios," also called "ZZ Studios," named after the place where the title character of the comic ended up with a job as the webmaster. The place is still around today at Sheridan (64, 145, 2500).

 The comic itself can be found at sabrina-online.com. Be aware that the strip rates a PG-13 as while there's almost no profanity and no real nudity, it does touch on adult topics. That the strip got a bit edgy without going past a certain boundary (much), was likely part of it's appeal, along with the quality of the art and characters.

It should be noted Schwartz stated while this is the conclusion of "Sabrina Online," he will be doing more tales later on of the characters "from time to time." So fans should be hearing more about the Amiga and Transformer loving skunkgirl soon.

Bixyl Shuftan

Examples of April Foolery Across the Internet

If you're reading this, chances are by now you've seen the April Fool's article from us, our yearly tradition. But we're far from being the only ones pulling an April Fool.

World of Warships announced a new "Jacuzzi Mode" for four toy "Tier Zero" ships, the "Bottlesheep," the "Bathyscrap," the "Pokeyboat," and the "Das Boot." Taking place in a bathtub, matches could be either two teams in PvP or one in PvE against bots, pooting toy cannons against one another in sounds that compared to the rest of the game are rather cutsie. While players couldn't earn experience points or credits, there were missions to be done for rewards. (Click here for a video).

War Thunder continues to get comments over it's putting "My Little Pony" fighters in the game for April 1 a few years ago. This year, they've brought pirate ships into the game. There's only one kind of ship of for play, and aiming the cannons can be tricky as the ocean waves are rolling. But it is possible to fire at one enemy on one side, then switch to the other immediety and give another a broadside. For all the laughs about "Yo-ho-ho!" and "15 Men on a Dead Man's Chest," it's believed this is an open test to see how the game and the players handle ocean action. So this April Foolery has some seriousness behind it. (Click here for a video).

And then there are webcomics. Many engage in April Fools pranks such as the artists of two doing a one-shot joke comic for one another's strip. "General Protection Fault" by Jeff Darlington did something different this year, an ode to old time text-based computer adventure games.

April Fool's Day pranks have a long tradition here at GPF. For 2016, I had the idea of replacing the front page with an old style computer screen, like and old DOS oe UNIX prompt, or, even better, something related to old home computers like the Commodore 64 or TRS-80 Color Computer. I wanted it to be able to play a game of some sort, something that would hearken back to the simple games I played as a kid.

The comic itself started in 1998, and after almost two decades has gone through a number of plots with characters going through a lot of changes. One can also find April Foolery in other comics, but Darlington's 1980's throwback is almost certainly the most unique.

That's all for now with the foolery. Happy April Fool's.

Bixyl Shuftan