Comic Stereotypes... just how true are they?

[Kuari]

With the recent DMFA comic I recently heard that it's supposedly a comic stereotype to have a gay character...  however out of the 23 webcomics I read, only 4 (counting DMFA) have a major character who is gay.

Does this actually happen more often then I've been able to see, or is this like the catgirl stereotype anime has when there aren't really all that many catgirl animes out there.  I'm also curious to discuss other supposed webcomic stereotypes.  Just seems like a fun topic to discuss...

[Zedd]

Okays this question has been asked before you shown my friend...But let you know..Lay off thinking so much at once okays?

[Kuari]

Okays this question has been asked before you shown my friend...But let you know..Lay off thinking so much at once okays?

Just a bad habit of mine to think too much...  and I searched for the question, but it didn't appear in results, so telling me that the question has been asked without providing a link doesn't exactly help

[techmaster-glitch]

Oh man, you and I are in the same boat. I overthink a great many things as well when I shouldn't, yet also act without thinking when I shouldn't...

it's a curse...

[Jigsaw Forte]

What I think is the case is not that popular comics necessarily have gay characters, but that many webcomic startups will have these as opposed to actual character development, or that such revelations suddenly come out of the blue.

Then again, "Two guys bitching about video games in their webcomic" is also a stereotype. Go figure.

[GabrielsThoughts]

With the recent DMFA comic I recently heard that it's supposedly a comic stereotype to have a gay character...  however out of the 23 webcomics I read, only 4 (counting DMFA) have a major character who is gay.

Does this actually happen more often then I've been able to see, or is this like the catgirl stereotype anime has when there aren't really all that many catgirl animes out there.  I'm also curious to discuss other supposed webcomic stereotypes.  Just seems like a fun topic to discuss...

I believe you are mistaken, the true stereotype is to have one character that lives outside the norm's of a given society so furry, goth, gay, or alien's all fill the same role in comics...

Although, I find an unusual number of  comics that seem to be linked by Tangent fit into 3 catagories, and TG, Nerdy and furry comics could also be considered gay, (as in the phrase "this is so gay" or the classic sense of the term "happy") . So if it's based exclusively on reviews then yes the gay comics are everywhere.

Also I suspect you've been reading  the "What makes a comic great?" Storyline of DMFA, and it appears as if Amber is going back and expanding upon the ideas presented therein. which makes the job of figuring out what will happen next in DMFA much easier.

[Kuari]

I believe you are mistaken, the true stereotype is to have one character that lives outside the norm's of a given society so furry, goth, gay, or alien's all fill the same role in comics...

...thing is about that is that there aren't many stories that don't have some kind of unusual character, even outside webcomics...  sure there are a few, mostly the drama shows and such though.

[GabrielsThoughts]

that would explain Joey and Ross.

[Amber Williams]

A stereotype in comics is only as stereotypical as the artist lets them be.

The thing most people seem to not get when it comes to "What Makes a comic Great" isn't so much that certain events happen but that they were all being done simply for the potential of ratings boost.  A character getting married, or a character dying, or all the things pointed out in that arc can actually be done in a comic and be done well and entertainingly.  It's only when they are done haphazardly that it becomes apparent that the author did them only to try to get interest flowing...not because they felt the story really warrented it.

Another reason "teh gay" character might be considered a stereotype is because they tend to follow a particular subset of personality.  They are 'the gay character' first and foremost, with other personality traits put into the backburner.

It also doesnt help that in a few cases, the gay character was put in because the author has a thing for gays/lesbians and its acting on a bit of wish fulfillment.  Which was also the joke of "What makes a comic Great" in that it was stuff being done simply because of the author's personal interests and not because it fit in canon in any shape or form.

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

Good points. But I disagree.

(Yeah right, like I'm going to disagree with the artist  )

Although I honestly did think that people got that about the point behind the arc *shrug*

[Amber Williams]

I always hope people do, but I guess every now and then someone is going to see something completely different.  Which is ok and to be expected...cause a story where everyone gets the same thing is going to be boring.

Really, I always feel the importance was intent over content.  You can have two similar situations happening in a comic that from a very neutral glance are the exact same scenario. But one might be done because the author felt it was needed to draw attention and spice things up, while the other might be done because it was a logical chain of events.  And odds are, it's going to be obvious.

[Alondro]

Nope, it's all following the stereotype!  Every furry comic has a gay character!  And if they don't yet, they will!

Now all this comic needs is a fox in slave gear and it'll be entrenched in furversion forever!  

http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_475.php
http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_476.php

Oops, too late!  

[Kenji]

Hey. Don't be dissin the loincloth.
...
...
Even if Azlan -is- the one wearing it.

[Zedd]

Hell loincloths or kilts...Its all good

[Valynth]

Loincloths have their drawbacks.  Namely, when I wore one, it was compared to Strong Sad dancing interpretively.  So trust me, unless the zombie is breaking through the defenses, keep all loincloths away from me.

[Zedd]

Strong Sad was wearing Leotard not a loincloth

[Kuari]

I WOULD like to note that this conversation had nothing to do with that "what makes a webcomic great" arc.  Just to make that clear, it was more the Jy being gay thing people mentioned it and it got me thinking...

But yeah, the whole rating boost thing makes sense as Amber says, but I still don't see a mass quantity of comics with that...  maybe I'm just good at picking out the more unique ones...

[Saist]

Hey. Don't be dissin the loincloth.
...
...
Even if Azlan -is- the one wearing it.

* je.saist puts a loin-cloth on and prances around

[Amber Williams]

I WOULD like to note that this conversation had nothing to do with that "what makes a webcomic great" arc.  Just to make that clear, it was more the Jy being gay thing people mentioned it and it got me thinking...

You're really going to have to learn quickly that just because you set a topic, that it isn't always going to follow down that route 100%.

As for the gay thing, I'll post a bit later when Im less groggy and less cranky.

[Zedd]

I WOULD like to note that this conversation had nothing to do with that "what makes a webcomic great" arc.  Just to make that clear, it was more the Jy being gay thing people mentioned it and it got me thinking...

You're really going to have to learn quickly that just because you set a topic, that it isn't always going to follow down that route 100%.

As for the gay thing, I'll post a bit later when Im less groggy and less cranky.

*gives Amber a pillow*

[Valynth]

Strong Sad was wearing Leotard not a loincloth

I said it was compared to his dancing (which if you watched the episode was what Strong Bad was complaining about).

[Kuari]

I WOULD like to note that this conversation had nothing to do with that "what makes a webcomic great" arc.  Just to make that clear, it was more the Jy being gay thing people mentioned it and it got me thinking...

You're really going to have to learn quickly that just because you set a topic, that it isn't always going to follow down that route 100%.

As for the gay thing, I'll post a bit later when Im less groggy and less cranky.

Oh I understand that.  Just a couple of people seemed to think that arc had something to do wit this topic coming up.  Just wanted to clarify....  and in the great words of Girl Genius...

*throws a Calming Pie at Amber*

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

As for the gay thing, I'll post a bit later when Im less groggy and less cranky.

"Why stop now, just when I'm hating it?" ;-]