A Pessimistic Sense of Inadequacy

I'm tempted to say that anyone familiar with younger webcomics is familiar with today's artist - Fesworks, and his webcomic A Pessimistic Sense of Inadequacy. A solid year old this month, P.S.I. has not only been a consistently well written comic, it has also served as a springboard for some very enjoyable crossover efforts; and it's those efforts that so often have Fesworks in the spotlight.

The artwork fluctuates between penciled black and white to simpler black outlined block colors, and while the change ups may be a bit unusual each style has it's positive attributes - the thinner line work of the penciled style offer more detail, while the block colored strips offer more definition and a more eye catching appeal. In recent months a few animated strips have appeared as well, each one enhancing the writing by moving the plot forward without ruining the pacing. Aside from advancing the plot, the animated panels are a nice surprise for readers; especially as they're so nicely done.

The writing has had it's own evolutions, growing from something akin to a slice-of-life comic to more fantasy based plot lines. Of course, slice-of-life may have been a stretch to begin with as one of the two main characters is a large talking rat. Yes, this is an antrho comic - but a very well thought out anthro comic. The characters do notice their differences, and the subject of food has been nicely dealt with. Also tucked aside as a non-issue is the comics frequent tendency to break the fourth wall - Fes and Ernst are described as "webcomic aware". They understand that they are characters collaborating with their creator, and they also understand not all characters are similarly aware. This has created some interesting scenarios in the current crossover plot line - one I'm certainly curious to see concluded.

I think it's important to note that working your way through the P.S.I. archive will not only introduce you to Fesworks' well written and entertaining characters, it will also introduce you to a number of other webcomics. What's impressive about this is that the writing is so easily able to support this influx of new characters and situations. The plot moves along at a decent pace, and what little knowledge of other comic characters is needed to keep up is effortlessly provided along the way. The archive may not be terribly pretty, but it's nicely sectioned and functional so I'm not going to complain. The website itself is easy to navigate and contains a number of can't miss features including an audio webcomic review titled 2 Cents in 60 Seconds.

Congratulations Fes - here's to another year.

World's Worst Webcomic

There's one glaring problem with The World's Worst Webcomic - it isn't. Okay, the artwork is as amateur as possible without losing all cohesive and recognizable qualities, but the writing... the writing is fucking hilarious.

In all honesty, the comic is a bit like an auto accident. You want to look away, but something compels you to turn your head and gawk, even knowing there's a possibility you may see something horrible... and deep inside knowing you may want to see something horrible. The World's Worst Webcomic is horrible. The plot lines are very basic, though not as basic as the artwork, and occasionally amble about like a drunken zombie. Sometimes the plot stumbles, falls face first, and lies there a while before finally getting to it's feet and starting off in a new direction. Other times it never gets up, and while you're staring at it's lifeless corpse a new plot ambles in from the distance, groaning.

Strange thing is... that doesn't matter. I still read it, and I still laugh.

One thing I absolutely adore is the archive system. There's the typical list of comics, a respectable 200 as of today, arranged by date and title - but some are also listed by plot, and that's where the genius comes in. The comics are typically done in strip format, and when you choose to go through the archive by plot you're given all of the comics in that plot line on a single page, saving you the trouble of clicking "next" every 40 seconds as you finish each comic. There's also the Airlock Series, which simply has to be viewed as a whole because the whole damn thing is animated weirdness. Don't get too excited though - you really should go through the archive one comic at a time because there are single shots in there that range from social commentary to complete idiocy.

Oddly enough, it's entirely possible that the best way to judge the comic's humor as a new comer is to skip reading the archive until you've read the rest of the site. Check out the FAQ first, then wander over to the About section. If you're mildly amused, head over the archives and read through a few. Think of it like being inoculated before heading into a pandemic zone.

The World's Worst Webcomic updates five days a week, though should you require notification, it's worth noting that The World's Worst RSS Feed is 13,003% larger than the competition. Yeah... there's just nothing else I can say about this... I need a brain wash.