I have little to say but Monica Ray's Phuzzy Comics are awesome and if you aren't reading it already, you sure should.

Oh, and you might be wondering about the lizard and the snail. I understand.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Now, I had no idea what you expected of this story arc but here's what: I'm not a good writer when it comes to dates. Especially those who are meant to be funny. You probably noticed that during the Double Date Arc. Which is why we skip all the way to after the action happens.

Yes, sometimes I do shamelessly tell instead of showing. Actually, not so shamelessly. *hangs head down*

Oh, and yes. Recurrent character. Not only pairing with Theo for funny dating misadventures.

Also, big stuff coming around January. Wait, and see... :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Yes, that's Duncan. Yes, he's staying. Even though he can't stay the same size for most panels, he's staying, dammit!

...yes, that is the worst thing he did in this comic. What did you think I was talking about?

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

For this year's Halloween Extravaganza... we have a theme: Horror Movie Monsters! Which was an idea that was just being thrown around and somehow Mim as Billy(the Saw puppet) cemented it as definitive. Also, BOSS does the introduction for some reason. I love this guy, and somehow I think he's better used sparsely.

Spot the costumes and have fun in Halloween if you have Halloween there where you live! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Egads... it's been a while, hm?

I should have written a Mole Rant about the reason I've been out of comission for so long but, eh, we're here anyway so...

I've been working abroad for one month and sort of lost touch with Webcomics United altogether. Then jet lag, and then me getting used to a new computer(though still drawing on the old one, cause I'm more used to the tools; it happens).

And... well, this is a funny thing for while that arc doesn't get all ready to be posted. Yea, I know I've beend doing this for a while now, but it is coming along. Only... slowly.

Also, I had some fun drawing Flora in this comic. Wish I had any idea of what to do for a background, thoguh. :|

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Yes, it's Valentine's Day... in Brazil. Don't ask, I don't either. But it is and, hey, I had an idea for a comic for this occasion and had to have something happening while I work on our next arc, so... there it is! Our many featured couples, some of which are composed of one person only, either because the other person is dead, or doesn't matter, or doesn't really exist.

But hey, it's the feeling that counts. So... Happy Valentine's Day!

In Brazil!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Oh, man, Brawl in the Family! What an amazing comic! It's easily one of the best gaming comics ever made and I'm so glad that Matthew is back on action. When I saw that he was getting back on his feet I thought I should show my appreciation in a way that would also benefit me by being an update for Webcomics United!

That... was a month ago. :|

Well, better late than never! Matthew, never stop being awesome! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So I had this idea in April 1st and hoped to get it done by April 2nd but we all know that would never happen, right? So, instead of an Easter comic, you get a post-April's Fool comic. Expect an Easter feature by, I don't know, June or something.

Also, this is not canon, I do plan on having Mim properly introduced to Jello, Flora and the people(well, Theo knows her already, so there's that), so... why did I even bother, you wonder?

...Good question.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Well, dang, they're up to shenanigans again. I'll be sorting this out soon, I hope.

I'll let you guys know about any news. If you spot anything weird, try hovering about it, it might come unscrewed. You never know...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I'm... not sure about this comic. I feel it wasn't my best and yet it's not that bad and, all in all, it's been a while. I can't just keep that Valentine's comic up forever, can I? No, sir.

So, new comic with all the respect due to Oliver and Powree(and Lisa Miller), the staff of Sandra And Woo!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So I had a comic in production for... a month or more, and then I just throw it aside and do this. Today. Like, in the last few hours.

It's not even Valentine's Day in Brazil, but whatever. I liked this idea and it was apropos and... well, gotta keep the site running! :D

Hope to have more comics soon. I'm organizing a bunch of side projects... but I never quite forget what I'm set to do. :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Change of plans, guys! I decided to do some comics here because I know the way things are going, the next arc won't be ready in at most a month as I had planned. So, between one comic and another, I'll put some more one-shots here.

I mean, I had this idea and I just couldn't wait! And yes, there's more coming soon.

Um... soonish.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I wanted to leave this year with one last comic, namely the opening to our next comic arc. I'm starting to think this won't happen.

So, with this yet unpublished panel I bid farewell for some time. I have a good lot of thing going on and I'm juggling all of them with Webcomics United. The next arc will come, as I promised all at once in regular intervals to keep you guys hooked up(and give me more time for more comics, I hope).

And... sorry for the inconvenience and the silence. Here's hoping I'm not losing readers, but this is probably just magical thinking. Of course I'm losing readers! D:

...Also, INB4 I'm betting I'll just contradict myself by actually doing the last comic of the year anyway. In some sense, this is actually what I'm hoping will happen. :P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Against most odds, I did keep Zip female for a little longer. Also, there's the transformation back to male. Also, man-crushes! I must say, Webcomics United sure is going through a... rather interesting stage. Ahem.

Yea, things are sort of coming to a halt. My production rhythm has been severely sloping downward. I blame, partially, Minecraft. But also a lot of things including my incompetence in keeping up productivity without constant pressure of deadlines.

What feels worse is that I don't feel this comic is a lot better than what I'd do two times a week without stop. Then again, we've only been doing this for two months. Next comes another arc, and now we'll see how well this goes.

So... thanks for coming and bear with me. The comics are coming. They're just... more relaxed.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Okay, let me put this very clearly: Jello is sitting his head on Flora's lap. It's just that he doesn't have a body and she has a minuscule lap area, so it looks... erm... nevermind.

Also, WU is not becoming a TG comic. I'm not even sure if I'll keep Zip a girl for a while or just move on for the next topic.

After all, it's all for the lulz! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Following our probably only regular tradition, first we had webcomic cosplay, then actual Halloween costumes galore! Now I present you... the complete random theme Webcomics United Halloween!

For this edition of our Halloween feature(that, coincidentally, did take place on a Monday) I asked my fellow deviants for suggestions and I'd pick the best. I didn't receive much... but I actually to get some gems out of there, yes! :D

Zip: as Chelsea from Mortality Girls, seen before here in WU as well.

Mim: as classic 50s cartoon character Betty Boop. She can't sing, but I'm sure she can do a nice shuffle!

Theo: as Sloth, from Full Metal Alchemist. The burly guy one, not the sexy lady one.

Jessica: as Soldier from Team Fortress 2. BTW, if you're a TF2 player, try and find me on Steam(username "guedesav")!

Flora & Jello: Flora dressed as the eponymous Sailor Moon(she was called "Sailor Moon", right?) and Jello as her... wand-thing. I might have mixed some different models of the sailor fuku uniform, but I think I mostly got it right!

Bangs: as Jade from the excellent Homestuck. If you're planning to read this, I suggest you take one weekend or two to get up to date on the comic!

Ribbon: as Quistis Trepe from Final Fantasy VIII, the very first actual Final Fantasy game I ever played.

Ohm: as Ciaphas Cain, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM, from the Warhammer 40K universe. Yea, the all caps sure fit him well.

Credit for suggestions go to:
- our good ol' friend James Westbrook;
- Seb, with lots and lots of nice ideas;
- Dawnriku, for the FF idea;
- Piers1, for the insistent and non-stopping Homestuck pimping. :P

The comics will resume with more non-Halloween related antics soo. See y'all!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Junji Ito, master of the horror manga, is one of my favorite manga authors ever.

So in what was going to be our Halloween comic, I did this little funny idea I had. Jello was supposed to make a scary face too, but I was running out of space. Eh.

And... frankly, I don't like my horror inks. Could be alot better... though I do like the eyes. :)

"Like" as in "I can still see them when I close my eyes". D:

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

For those of you image-impaired for some reason... are you still reading pages in lynx?! I mean: it says "Screw this!" That is all.

So, a late night Moley Rant for you guys, because I am unable to sleep before midnight. Really, I have no idea, last time I tried I just lied there awake until I decided reading comics was a better use of my time until sleep finally came. But I digress...

If you haven't noticed yet, Webcomics United is now on a "updated whenever the heck" mode. Now, if you didn't knew that yet... are you even reading my commentary? I swear sometimes I feel like I'm speaking to a wall! Anyway... as the illustration here shows, the reason for that is simple: time is running short, and I don't want to hiatus anymore. Hiatus is usually just frustrating and, while gives me time to breathe, usually has me accomplishing next to nothing. So, better not to officially stop the comics and instead just keep then coming at a slower pace.

But! Here's a treat for you too: the arcs now will run at a quicker pace! That's because, instead of making the new comics as the deadline comes, I'll just make them all at once and release them at small intervals instead! So, instead of two comics a week, the arc will run at at least 3 comics a week, maybe even 5.

Ain't that superb?! :D

...Fine. Be like that. Anyway, I just had to make that official. The comics keep on coming and in the mean time... I don't know. I'd love to say I'll write more features, but I never do that. I never... do that.

And that's terrible. :|

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Well, Theo deserves some of his own time on screen too. I like the big guy, but he usually sides badly with the rest of the cast. He's way too big, that's what I mean.

Anyway. Kevin & Kell is a nice daily webcomic you might want to take a look at. It was mentioned here in the comic before, and is also present in the links page(gotta add some more there any time, btw), but this is its first "feature". The other character is Corrie, by the way. I had to look her name up, K&K just has oh so many characters...

Anyway, hope Mr. Holbrook appreciates the gesture of admiration and doesn't mind my shabby mimicry of his fluid newspaper-y style. And... new comics keep on coming! I'll start a new arc any time soon... I hope. And it'll be awesome.

So... woot, I guess.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Oh, look who's back! It's Mim!

I like to know that people actually like Mim. That she was introduced with the sole purpose of being Zip's pair always left me wondering if people wouldn't reject her on the grounds of shallowness. That she gets vocally acclaimed is something that makes me rather happy to know that I'm doing something right! :)

And, besides, sometimes I can do comics like this: just this cute couple talking and sharing a good moment.

Also, tomorrow I'm gonna visit my girlfriend. Yay! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Well, we're done with this whole story, I swear. Except of course with the matter of what they did with all that money, but I assure you Flora split it even with Jello. It's the least she could do, I suppose. Or something.

Aaaaanyway... As I said before, just to remind you guys: WU now is going to update whenever I prefer. Mostly that means "when I get things done", and in the case of mini-arcs, it'll be "when I get them all done at once". Will this make comics better? Will I be engulfed by sloth so great it'll make Theo look like a bug in comparison? Who knows! I surely don't!

Oh, and I so need to stop doing comics like this, or else I'll start attracting foot fetishist spammers. Not that I care what fetish they have, it's the spam part that bugs me. ¬¬

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is almost the end of this arc, guys. There's just a loose thread I need to tie up, yes?

Also, let's take this time then to make an announcement: starting October Webcomics United is going into full "whenever it damn pleases me" schedule. This means comics get posted more or less when they're made. I'll leave more details about that for a Moley Rant later.

So, if you still aren't following the Webcomics United RSS feed, you should start now, unless you want to just come here every day. I wouldn't mind the visits at all. :P

I just hope this works out, instead of me just becoming a lazy ass that can get nothing done at all because there's no actualy deadline... :|

...okay, positive thoughts, folks! Positive! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I promised you no hanky-panky, and no hanky-panky was presented. Unless your religion demonizes feet. In this case I am very very sorry, I swear I'll create some sort of filter to remove all those dirty, naughty feet from my strips!

Aaaaanyway, the dialogue is cliche and the double entendres can be seen from the moon. That's why I decided to put on some work on backgrounds. It's not impressionism, but it's close! ...Fine, but at least it's something.

And move on we go, as this arc is near its end. And do not worry, you'll not have to endure more of Flora-Ohm. In fact, I hope never again.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

It has been a while since I've written anything in this here section of the site, so let's just... I dunno. Here's what I did today: I programmed a workaround so I can upload images from a mobile browser into here. More specificlly, from an iPad.

As you may or may not know already, I got myself an iPad, with a few uses in mind. Mostly surfing the web lying on my bed and gaming. Also, drawing. I figured drawing on a tablet where I can actually see where my pen is touching would be awesome. In practice... It has it's pros and cons. It's still neat, though.

But due to Apple's design decisions, actually uploading an image done in the iPad to the Internet is a long way, especially in a site like mine, which is "app-less". Safari literally blocks the file input fields in forms. Was I condemned to the torture of drawing, exporting, copying the exported file into a computer and finally uploading? Thanks to Picup, no.

The possibility of sketching a quick toon and uploading it right away might prove itself an incentive for more of the rants to pop up in the future. If not, it was worth the experience of overcoming this perk.

Now, I just gotta get used to this damn keyboard...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

A brief interlude before getting back to Flora, Ohm and whatever naughty hanky-panky they must be up to. Oh, Ohm, you bastard, tainting pure leaf-green girls with your shaded charms and colored money!

And rest assured, guardians of the morality, that no explicit scenes of "the naughties" will take place in this comic. Also, no "woman on shoe" action either. You'll have to look at other sites for such things. I'm sure there's a site for that.

So sure I'm afraid to look up. Have a nice day! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Ohm is a character I need to develop more. I'm not exactly sure whether he's evil because he's a bureaucrat, or he's a bureaucrat because he's evil, or he just happens to be evil and a bureaucrat. But you get the gist of it, no? Exactly: he's a bit of an asshole all around.

Anyway, what proposal is driving our green-skinned muse to sweaty panic? Will she accept? Will Jello get to know of such indecency? Well, I sure do know that, but you'll have to wait until our next comic! Sure feels good to be an author...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

A funny interlude before we get to the Flora sub thread of this arc. Mostly because the idea I had reserved for her needed more sense put into it. Also, too many new human characters always get me stumped.

So, this funny idea popped in my head and you have it. Hope it's worth your chuckles!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

The giants part will be left for later. I just wish you understood what the point is here. I'd love to believe you already figured how this relates to past strips, but I know better than to trust my diminute fanbase to remember all the details of my fuzzy storyline. I've been learnign with , you see!

So I'll leave the reveal for later. For now, this thread is also over and the next one will involve Flora, a quite pretty executive and a big misunderstanding! Stay tuned! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I was going to mock my readers' probable lack of memory/interest to remember who's who in my relatively big cast of characters composed by a lot of figures that don't appear on screen for months at a time by dissecating this strip in detail...

...but then I realized it'd make me sound like a dick, so I won't do that.

I'll just point out, yes, this pointless story does have a point. and a punchline, too.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

You might think I actually plan out these things. I mean, really, a complete series of stickmen comics? That's like every cartoonists dream! Well, yea, being honest... it just came to me. And as it turns out, Topps story will be a nice breather for me, which I'll need to get other projects done in the mean time.

And, yea, I know... stick people, right? But I'll try to make this... vivid, at least. Also, we finally meet Steve. Remember Steve?

...Zip's uncle? Mentioned 100 strips ago as the reason why John hates fillers?

...Yea, I thought so.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Hey, it' Theo! And Bangs! And Topps! You probably only remember one of these people anyway!

So, we start our second thread here, as Topps will enlighted us on a bit of fake webcomic history. Namely, the period known as "The Great Stickman Depression", which means we'll cross paths with two other stick figures known to us. One of them only by name, but... yea. It's gonna be cool.

Also, first mention of something I've been meaning to introduce into the mythos of WU, the fact that the PAs have this tendency to swoon over executives(and yes, it happens to the male ones, too; Ribbon's been fending them off with a stick). In case you're wondering if the syndicate is corrupt enough to turn its back to this blatant display of sexual harassment in the workplace... well duh. You should know it already.

Anywho, thanks for showing by, leave your kind messages if you will and do come back later for more! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

We'll get back on this later on. We have other characters doing interesting things in this party, too, you know!

Also, I need a break from Jessica. Yep, she's fun to draw, fun to write and overall funny as a character... but all the time I was uneasy about her huge pigtail locks being aligned and consistently shaded.

On the other hand, going all over the place with her face and body expressions was nice as heck. Gotta do that more times!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Now, you might ask, with reason, if one can be that oblivious to so many social conventions.

But, really, we've been playing the "Zip is socially awkward and just don't care" trope for so long, why stop now?

Anyway, I love Jessica in this comic. In general, I think my expressiveness has been improving, and her poses are just... adorable and sexy. Adoraxy.

Also, her eyes. They were bound to appear, eh? :P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Fun fact: most of the time I spent doing the last comic was spent thinking what I could write in that space that could be considered "still good ol' Zip". I had this general idea of him getting them all into a job, but didn't know what to do with it.

Then this idea came and I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to finally join two parts of the cast, the fillers and the bureaucrats. I'm not sure how much direct interaction there'll be between them, but I'm sure it'll be fun.

So let's get this done! :D

Also, I loved to draw the cast in formal wear. Hope I don't get tired of it too quick... :|

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Feels nice to be back, oh yes...

I'd love to tell you there's been a lot of work done during what I believe was my longest hiatus... but I'd be a dirty liar, so I won't.

Anyway, the whole book thing is going on, a few comics were done, and I'm doing a few other extra stuff that might be nice, too... but all in all, this is all I have to present: a new story arc, fresh from my head.

And that sure feeling that Zip will never stop being Zip. Amen.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I suppose thi is a time as good as any to get you guys into some news. Starting with the main news: Webcomics United is coming back in August. I'm still defining the date, but ideally it'll have its first update at August 2nd. No promises, though, except this: we'll be back in August! And then later I'll make some other decisions about it.

Now, as for what has been keeping me not updating all this time... first, there's my full-time job. Tough, but might be tougher. I think I'm getting the hang of the time I have available. There are a few more things though...

One is a new project site I'm working on, a reviewing blog. The other thing will probably be of way more interest to you: a Webcomics United book!

Okay, not book as in "print and sold in stores or sent by mail" book. More like a digital PDF collection of comics. With more stuff in-between. I wish I had everything defined and right, but the few things I'm sure of is that it'll have all the comics from #1 to #100, it'll contain an "After Arc" essay for each of the arcs I've done(not only those I remember, like in this main site :P) and also will be available at Radiohead-style pricing. You know: pay as much as you want, even if you want to pay absolutely nothing. But if you ask me, I'd chadrge 99 cents for it. ;)

So, plans for the future: they're coming around. As for future storylines, we have two major plot hook hanging around, a few missing parents to throw our spotlight at, and Zip's newfounded relationship, as well as all those others that failed.

And, of course, crossovers and parodies galore. This is still a comedy comic, folks!

So, that's it! Thanks all you guys who didn't leave forever, I'm doing what I can to not let you down! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Okay, here's the "big news": I'm out for a while again. It's neither the first, nor the second, maybe not even the third time(I lost my count) that I do that, but I still feel like I should warn you guys when that happens. Oh well.

The reason this time is that I just got myself a job and it's taking a lot of my time and energy now. All the jobs I had were actually internships, which mean they were part-time and, over time, I might even be able to not get out of home at all to work(as long as the work got done, it was fine). Now we're talking the real deal, 8-to-5 office work. It's cool, I like it, but it does take a lot of energy. And time. So all in all I have, what, 4 hours of real free time(not counting time spent commuting and slacking off when I can) which I might use for drawing comics in weekdays.

And that's why I'm taking a break.

...no, not much that I'm tired beyond measure. But I need to get used to taking that little time I have to making comics, get to know how many comics I can get done in how much time... maybe even consider a change in schedule. But for that I need a break, or else I'll start rushing in comics when I'm really tired and night and none of us will be happy with the result!

So, comic 150 was the last one I did before I started working, and it was mostly luck than planning, and it was ery fortunate too. Not only makes for a round number, I think our 150-milestone does make for a nice feature for the new readers who arrive by the main page(albeit a little spoiler-y). It'll stay there as our title page for a while.

And I'll be back someday. Probably by July. Meanwhile, I'll be writing the After Arcs, maybe the Between the Panels, and doing new comics. And Westbrook's prize, which I call "September's Revenge", a deviantART-exclusive series. ;)

So don't be strangers. I'll try to keep this site still active as much as I can. And I'd really appreciate if my readers don't abandon me.

But eh, life will be life. Have a nice day!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

It's been 150 comics, people! Unbelievable! I suppose if I didn't take so many breaks we'd be reaching 200 soon enough, too... well, what can I do?

So, this is a poster-ish piece featuring our characters 15 years ago in a situation mostly out of canon, because as we all know pretty much none of them really knew each other at that time, right?

Well, as I said "mostly" out of canon... there are some pieces of canon info I've scattered around because I thought they'd be interesting. Like how Flora is portrayed before becoming a phytomorph (and thus green) and Ribbon is leaning on the wall(get it?).

Since it's already pretty late and I'm very tired, I'm not going to write a whole cheat sheet for this picture. Besides, with the exception of 4 more obscure characters, you'll be able to guess them all. :)

So, hope you like this special feature, and keep your eyes peeled to the Moley Rants, there'll be an important announcement there soon!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I said I'd get back to that, right?

So, the next "arc" after "Big Four" was 24 Panels About 10 Women. Now, I call this an "arc" with quotes because this was more a big comic parted in pieces than a multi-part story. Then again, they were multiple strips...

Anyway, what was that, right? Well, obviously it's a parody of 88 Lines About 44 Women, a song commonly attributed to They Might Be Giants, but actually performed by... I always forget. Whoever they were, this comic was built following the same style, except in comic form, which gave me pictures to tell the story of Zip's previous affairs even better. But does that matter? In a sense, yes. You might a good number of the panels have speech on them, and that technically breaks the rhythm of the quasi-poem. And that's pretty much all about this.

Now, why I did this? Well, I suppose besides me thinking ex-girlfriends can be quite the source of humor, it was yet another move to make Zip different from me. If one day I ever get to write "Between Panels", my series of individual rants about each of my characters, you'll know that Zip's design is based on my own depiction of myself as a teenager. I did not mean to make him a self-insert, though(that's what I have the Author Avatar for), which is why whenever possible I try to make him unlike me. So, making Zip quite the casanova while I in reality am quite a nerdy guy who somehow has a girlfriend(and with quite a short list of relationships in the past) just adds another layer to that intention.

But as I started writing Zip's exes' into the collection, some of them were quite charming. Few were actually planned beforehand(Missy, Nora and Angela), and most of them are actually worthy of making a come-back later on the strip for comedic purposes. I think Black Raven and Noodles are the biggest candidates for so, and Lara will surely come back for a future storyline explaining the circumstances of their break-up. No, it's not a sad story. Well, not that sad.

It was funny, it was short, it was amusing to make. That was 24 Panels About 10 Women. Thank you ver much, have a nice day!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And here we have the idea that sprouted this series of comics. Oh, boy!

Well, I hope you liked it, it sounded really funny in my head... also, I managed to keep the walls of text to a minimum... believe it, I NEEDED that thir panel!

So,it's end-May, by June I'll be working on a new full-time job, which means lots of less time for comics. Which means either a drop in overall quality or a drop in the updating schedule. Or a drop in everything, but I hope we don't reach that point! Fortunately, the first strip in June coincided with my 150th strip, which will be, as were #50 and #100, a special all-characters feature. The theme will be a surprise, though.

Finally, I'll try to get the "End of Arcs" done soon before I have a pile of mini-arcs to write about.

And, as of usual, support our site voting for us. We have a new voting incentive in The Webcomics List and Comic Hovel, be sure to check it out! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, we're back to Ribbon and her investigations. This time she has a lead that actually has to do with the other main plot(or rather, lack of it; it was a main plot for a time, though)

And, as of usual, the WU bureaucracy makes it only harder. Then again, I don't think blackmailing is a valid investigation tool, Ribbon!

Oh, and Puchok is back. Not exactly a surprise, considering my record of bringing minor characters back.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

In an attempt to gain some time, I am publishing this here comic which was part of an art trade with Mr. Vorhias, who have been previously featured in my responses to his guest strips.

The official explanation for this is that Theo is taking part in career day with his father, which some of you might remembers, was referred to in here.

All in all, this is hardly canon and serves as funny filler. Friday, we'll have some sweet Puchok fun for two weeks. Do not miss!

PS.: Oops, it suddenly slipped my mind that this strip should go out only tomorrow. Oh well, consider this an early gift of sorts. :P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, from now on Zip has a girlfriend. My future plans for them don't go much further, so whether they stay together, get married, have children or whatnot is speculation, even on my part. They're together now, and that's enough.

Now, for our next mini-arc, we'll either have a comeback from Westbrook's September, or something funny with Puchok and the other bureaucrats. I'm still deciding. If you have any preference, do leave a comment.

Also, if you noticed something different in a few recent strips, that's because I forgot to make Mim thick-lined. Yea, I know, really dumb. I corrected that, and I hope that sort of thing never happens again. XP

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So... things will take a slight turn to the mushy as I explore the blooming of Mim and Zip's relationship. But don't you worry, faithful readers, because the funny is always sure to come, even in homeopathic doses. ;D

Also, I seem to be drawing Zip in full profile more often as of late. I wonder why...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And now you know what happened last night. Well, not all of it, but at least Zip's side. We'll get to Theo later.

Anyway, Mim will be coming back, but without Rashell. If there is one character I'm sure I'll never be bringing back as a main character(unlike Ribbon, Bangs and Jessica) is Rashell. Mostly because I know she was created in a damn hurry just for this mini-arc.

Oh, and sorry for the facepalm in panel 5. I know, I know, but at least I resisted the temptation of putting a laugh track on it too. :P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, Zip's night out finishes the only way a night out of a wingman must: getting back home and finding out your roommate's girlfriend sleeping on your bed. I suppose there's a reason why Zip's mattress was just conveniently lying around when he came to live with a guy who doesn't even has limbs for most of the time.

Hm? What's that? Why, of course we'll know what happened with Theo, Rashell and Mim. But I like the flashback approach. And I'm refining the details of the rest of the night, so I'm stalling with this comic, which I like.

So, have your fun, vote on my comics, and go in peace! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, Zip and Mim are getting to know each other, if you know what I mean. And if you don't... maybe you should read the comic before reading this?

Anyway, more changes besides Zip apparently getting a "significant other". First, I remind you that we have changed from Mondays and Fridays to Tuesdays and Fridays. But if you read this comic via RSS, you probably barely noticed. :P

Second, I'm going back to publishing these comics in link aggregating sites. Now that Flattr doesn't demand me to pay to publish my stuff, we're going back to business! And my Proj. Wonderful banner is risking deletion, so I gotta do something. Anyway, if you have an account in Digg, delicious, Reddit and other sites like those and like these comics, please do give it a nod. Also, vote on it for The Webcomics List and ComicHovel(links below). There's incentive in it for ya. ;)

...granted, mostly if you're male. But I'm thinking on something to solve that. Just help Webcomics United get around, please. :D

Thanks a bunch and keep on coming, your presence is a pleasure!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I have a good lot of things to say here, so let me try not to get lost.

First things first: I just remembered Mim is thick-lined, so I corrected the last comic to reflect that. I have no idea if anyone noticed that but... yea, I did.

Now, this week is going to be busy. Thursday is both two national holidays at once(in Brazil) and also my grandfather's birthday, and that all couple with Easter coming will make this a very family-oriented week, and I'm not even sure I'll get internet connection from Thursday till next Sunday. So I decided to take a break with the comics.

Also, this comic here almost got caught in the hiatus, but I decided to get it done, despite some nasty cold I've got. Nothing serious(hence why I decided to make it anyway) but pretty annoying. No big deal, just in case you're wondering why it's a bit late... And there's something else I needed to say...

Oh yes: when I say "a bit late" I mean this was submitted almost 9AM(GTM-3) instead of midnight. About it being Tuesday, well, I'm doing a schedule change. So, from now on, Webcomics United updates Tue/Fri instead of Mon/Fri. Not a huge deal, but worth an announcement.

And heck, I like this last panel. It's completely pointless and not exactly wonderfully rendered, but heck, it's fun!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, change of subject! Zip and Theo in a nightclub flirting with ladies! Looks like the tagline for a bad fanfic, but who the heck would write Webcomics United fanfic? No, it's actually part of the plot, and at least one of these characters will become a new addition to our main cast! :D

Also, the backgrounds will all be flashy like that, get used to it. Nightclubs are like that, right? :P

Also, because my hosting service decided to finally move my site to a better server I had to upload this twice. Oh well...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Woo, the last commentary was huge, hm? Okay, I'll try to hold myself this time. :P

Who is this person? Her design is based on A. Cryst, but not exactly her. I just had no idea how to design my creative consultant(or is it? I don't think I even have one of those!), so I borrowed her looks. And she approved. So it's fine.

And I think the point here is obvious: contrived and forced drama is no good.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I'm between arcs and someone suggested Theo has spent a long time not appearing in the comic, which is true. One day I'll implement some sort of tag system so people will be able to find comics by character and theme, but for now I believe it's been last year when we saw Theo the last time(in the dinner arc).

The final result... eh. This had to be done in a bit of a rush, as will be this next comic, and for good reasons. I don't mind much, I won't say this is my Worst Comic Ever, I know everyone has some slumps of subparness, but this joke(which is more a collection of punchlines than one joke)... could be better. For one, I had no idea how to work the bottom row without either alienating you less familiar with the webcomics involved or outright putting little captions, which I think is pretty much explaining the joke. So that's what this author commentary is here for, mainly.

Thusly, the list of comics referenced in this strip:

- Kevin & Kell, feature in my Links page and one very successful webcomic. Amazing how Holbrook manages to keep a very classy act in the web, where apparently it's "get edgy or bust". That said, sometimes there's this slightly off-putting thing that Holbrook over-explains his own jokes. It's not a huge deal, I still like K&K a lot, but I guess it's worth a bit of a jab. All in good sport, really.

- Zoology, by Nathan Birch, a comic about animals in a zoo. One day I just happened across it and I liked it, but I don't think it's all that extraordinary. It's pretty good, my favorite character is definitely Angsty, the octopus, and... well, all in all that's all. No really big deal, though it's a bit weird that the sunday comics get published only in Gamespy. I suppose they can pay their actors half-wage for that. :P

- Ozy & Millie is wonderful. D. C. Simpson's work is like Calvin and Hobbes, minus the Calvin. It's cute but not overly sweet, it's very clever but sometimes outright silly, it has lovable characters... and it has ended a tad abruptly years ago. Sad, because this was the second webcomic I ever read, and it was really, really good. If you're coming across it just now, start reading the archives from the start, you won't regret.

And... yea. I'd like to let it clear, in case it wasn't, that I really like the comics featured here. I have nothing(or almost nothing, hm?) against them, I just need to poke fun at something and, in the rush of needing a comic for Friday I couldn't find obscure furry comics with really big flaws and so turned to what I already knew. No bad feelings, I hope.

And the first row. I really liked doing the first row of this comic. I guess it shows I've been playing Team Fortress 2 lately, eh? :P It was a quick idea I had for a setup, just a situation to open the conversation and, out of the blue, it was lots of fun to imagine and draw.

This comic was pretty weird, indeed...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Sometimes it almost seems like the WU bureaucracy exists solely to keep people from looking at it too close. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they have a fallen god/delusional circle as their head...

Anyway, I'm not entirely happy with how this comic looks. I think it's fine that it gets the point of up to where Ribbon's investigations have managed to reach, that is, a complete stump as it seems the most crucial documents have just "gone missing". Maybe the company pet ate them. :P

Anyway, next strips turn to more silliness, some character development, a new recurrent character and, maybe, one of our oldest untold stories ever: Uncle Steve!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, I actually did something for April's Fool this year. It was an idea that occurred to me in the last minute(well, some hours into the day, actually) and was simple enough to be implemented in a couple of minutes I had available. Namely, I inverted all my comics.

And now that April's Fool is over... oh, what? You're wondering how I did that? Okay, it was pretty simple, considering what I had done. Since the beginning of the site I have been worried about people peeking into my strip buffer, so I took the extra measure of creating a method to stop any attempts at that. So, whenever you'd load a Webcomics United strip, what my server actually does is run a script that checks if the time is right, i.e., if the strip's publishing date isn't higher than today. If it's not, the image is loaded allright. If it is, then it loads another image that... I haven't drawn yet, but it basically doesn't load any future strips. No spoilers, right? ;)

So, all I did was modify that script with a few more lines so that, in April 1st, it'd load the images upside down. Very easy to do in PHP, really. And then a bit of scripting to make it so that you can read the strip normally with your mouse over it.

It was just a harmless prank, really. Because, hey, it's all about the fun! Sad thing, though, is that my site apparently has gone offline in the middle of the day. Must be some kind of karma, I guess...

Well, it's all over and... I'm actually thinking of new ideas to try next year.

...well, the gremlins must be fed, right? :P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Oh, look at that, it seems I once again forgot to prepare something for the April's Fool day! Must be because I'm usually too busy looking at what other sites made to make this day funnier.

Also, I suck at April's Fool. I'm a very bad liar, can't think of original pranks to save my life and tend to trust people on a principle.

So, this will probably be another completely uneventful April's Fool in Webcomics United... or will it?

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

End of arc, oh, yay. This reminds I forgot to make the "after arc" for the Mortality Girls crossover. Well, now I have two to do, isn't procrastination great? =D

...No, it isn't. =|

Anyway, now Zip is ready for more challenging jobs, Puchok does her own foreshadowing and I have no idea what's coming next. Stay tuned for... whatever comes! =D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is the end of the course, but not the end of the arc. A few surprises await us.

Just by the by, the lady's name is Ms. Puchok. A bit hard to figure, but given my early pattern to naming WU employees, will probably not be hard to get it.

Okay, HUGE correction here: I simply forgot to color Ms. Puchok's suit. What happened is that I didn't plan her to be colored from start, so I always almost forget it. Except this time I did. XP Also, I forgot the buttons in the penultimate panel. All done, I'll try to make less stupid blunders in the future.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

A common mistake, indeed. When working with time/space abstractions, it always pays to be aware of your surroundings and the short-term past. After all, they're pretty much the same thing.

So, this course is pretty much like those Art classes in elementary school where, instead of learning concepts and history of art, you just grabbed paint, crayons, paper and whatnot and starter creating. And by creating, I mean making a mess.

Good times...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

The course goes on, and I suppose you are understanding the principles of Panel Dynamics as well as Zip. That is, to say, barely.

I do like it, though, it's a neat effect and enables me to cut panel numbers. Somehow this seems to be making comic drawing quicker.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

As in the real world, webcomic actors need to be up to date to land the best jobs. Basic acting skills and morphing only get you up to a point, as the comics get more and more meta-fictional and artistically aware.

Thus, WU offers extension courses for those who want to learn new amazing techniques and expand their horizons in the webcomic business.

And yes, they usually happen in blank white rooms. I seriously had no idea what sort of background could fill this scene, so screw it!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Why indeed, people hire prop fillers? There are several reasons, but they are so specific that, in the general case, an imitation rock made out of styrofoam is as good as the real deal. Thus, we have a local economic crisis in Webcomic World.

Meanwhile, Zip is still being pursued. He's so terrified the restyling was undone. Egads!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And this is the end of our official Mortality Girls/Webcomics United crossover. More on this will be published on our next "Moley Rants".

Now, will Zip get any pay from this? Actually, yes. That's one of the perks of being in the WU syndicate: you get a minimum payment even if whatever you were hired to do didn't get to be aired. It's like they pay you for your time. Granted, you might get ranked down on the public "who to hire" list, but that's nothing an "All's Game" filler can't recover with a few more good jobs down the line.

And you'll probably not even care about all this extra info, so I'll just shut up and start working on the next strip ASAP.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Few strips can really afford outside locations to have their strips in. Those who can't get a good place(or a good time, the sun only sets once a day, after all) have to make it work with painted sceneries or using layers, but that last one is a pretty trickier.

...Let's just say it's a tad too late and I'm really not doing a good job of making this comics beforehand, so my comments don't really get very inspired. =/

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

The cast grows now with the addition of Chelsea, Meaghan's BFF(or so I believe), and more confusion is a-brewing. Will this scene even get done? Will Zip finally remember his line?

Don't miss our next installment of the Webcomics United/Mortality Girls crossover!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And we're off to a good start, it seems. Yay, Zip... I guess.

...okay, some more words on the workings of the webcomic business.

How do fillers so bad get work and how does Zip have an "impressive" resume(as mentioned in the Kevin Bolk strip)? Simply putting, fillers aren't usually hired for fully acting. When it comes to fillers, their usual tasks are either being a) background; or b) one-shot characters with little to no involvement on the plot or anything else. So it's usually more important to have someone who can be easily adapted to your styling and reshaping needs than someone who can really act. In the latter case, webcomics usually go through the trouble of hiring an actual actor.

I hope this was educational, at least.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Now Zip is restyled. Hooray! I like how his eyes are all buggy when conformed to the Westbrook "whole eyes" policy. :P

And again I won't dwell much on the whole Westbrook universe, but this is what happened frequently to Tyler when he was introduced. And still happens, I guess. It's what you get for being the only male with lots of young single females.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This one made especially for Abby and Roxanne.

The song, in case you didn't recognize, is El Tango de Roxanne from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Because the Police version wasn't theatrical enough. :P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Oh, damn, I forgot to upload today's comic! Oh noes! Welp, here it is now, no panic!

Also, this is a time as good as any to say that, unfortunately, there's a lot of characterization that goes with Westbrook's characters, and I don't have the time and/or the space to dwell further on them. So it's completely understandable if you don't get a lot of this. And I suppose this is a good time to apologize in advance. :|

Otherwise, this meeting of Zip and Roxanne is quite funny on itself. And it's bound to get even better. :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

WE'RE BACK, YEAH!

And we're back with another crossover which, I hope, won't push me back like the last change of format did(during the run of the Furdissey arc). The crossoveree... crossovered... crossed-over... partner this time is "Mortality Girls/Multiplex of Death", a series by James Westbrook that was also reviews in this very site!

So buckle up and prepare for a comeback full of Zippiness and... those other things you love to see here! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Yep, we really are. I just wanted to leave this very clear here. I'm doing what I can to make decent buffer, because we're already opening with a crossover arc, and those things always mess up my drawing rhythm. XP

But all in all, it's good to be back. Don't go away yet, it's only a few days more before more Zip Stiff extravaganza!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And with our two last former girlfriends, we finis this series. And off I go in vacation from Webcomics United. This time, no guest strips, no gimmicks, no nothing. I might post some Moley Rants(especially that new feature I mentioned I never really got to work on though I really wanted to...), update the comic transcripts or tweak with the site a little, but no new comics until, maybe, February.

I'll definitely miss doing comics this way but, then again, this'll probably give me enough time to rebuild my buffer, too. After all, it's not like I'm forbidden to draw comics. I probably just won't post them. ;D

Okay, enough. Bye, bye, hope you guys will be here when the fun restarts!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And here we have part 3. Unexpectedly, now I have more characters I'd like to bring back in future storylines, if only because what should be a disposable character seems like a very likable one in another light.

Who? Remember, me and cliffhangers? Yes, exactly.

I also don't speak Japanese, so probably that phrase makes little to no sense when translated. If it really does, I'll be surprised!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is pretty much the reason why I even decided to make this series. What exactly, you ask? Why, foreshadowing! You know I love that sort of thing right?

...what exactly I'm foreshadowing? Oh, that'll be a surprise for the next year. Yes, I'm also a sucker for cliffhangers. =D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

For a while I've been planning this series, called "24 Panels about 10 Women"(a parody of 88 Lines About 44 Women). Not only because dwelling into Zip's past love life will be fun, but also as foreshadowing to later storylines featuring Zip's ex-girlfriend(s).

So, we start now and end in two weeks. And then maybe I'll take some vacation. I'll see that...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

It's been a while since I referenced other comics, no?

Well, this one is for Kevin Bolk's I'm My Own Mascot, which is all sorts of funny and I simply adore.

And this is what you should read if you just don't get the joke. I'll wait...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

With the Big Four Meeting out of the way... well, yes, the arc is over. And I'm equally bugged by that.

The plans I had for this arc were a bit different from what it turned out to be. There was less endless boring meeting and more coffee break where the characters would interact. There was, in short, more character development. But...

Of all the characters introduced in that arc, I guess only... none of them will be further explored. It's sad, but true: Webcomics United already has a regular cast that's big enough and, seeing the main subject here is webcomics, not newspaper comics or traditional comic or mangas, it makes little to no sense to develop these characters so that development will be thrown out of the window. In short, the reward is null, so why waste the effort.

It wasn't a useless arc, though. I just think it was more boring than I had planned. I loved introducing the characters, I had some laughs of my own while making the comics... and the "Blank Slate" superplot is finally going on, so this was a very productive arc for me. But I can't ignore it was a lot of dialogue over characters talking in a white background, or, in short, talking heads(with the exception of the last strips, which are more richly illustrated).

I don't regret it, but it wasn't my best. In fact, I think my best arc to this time is either the "Dinner at the Stiffs" or the Movie Theater arc. The first had all the non-bureaucrat characters together, at last; the latter finally introduced Flora and had some cool backgrounds.

I might be wrong, but Big Four might be my worst arc to this point. Which is not to say it outright sucks, but I guess I could do much better...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I'm having some freaky problems to access my site, for some reason it seems the host server is rejecting my connections... thus, I'm actually updating the comic by proxy.

...this is pretty freaky. But anyway: back to the funny times! The first one was born from a comment in deviantART, the rest are mine. Hope you all enjoy!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I like this comic, doing these silly illustrations for a process with so many ethical implications was definitely a load of fun!

And guess what? There's more!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, it starts to unveil... the final answer to deep questions such as "how the heck do a game sprite and a stickman five times as big as her have a kid?"

But this you'll only know for sure in the next strip. With illustrations!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

"Character engineering" is, in short, the advanced technique of creating characters, much like genetic engineering creates new living beings. Only this is fictional, so it can be so advanced it's not even funny!

Don't worry. It'll all be explained. Very soon.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Yes, it'll finally start. And you worry not, I won't submit you to every trifle topic of this meeting. I have a plot to advance, for crying out loud!

Also, the Ohm-Ribbon dynamics seem to invert. I guess it's some sort of paradigm shift, eh? :P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

The idea here(that I'll flesh out later, I hope) is that in the Manga Islands, all those crazy plots are real and the characters are more than actors. In that sense, Mangas are pretty much more like documentaries than movies.

Yeah, crazy. Anyway, I like this comic. I love the expressions, Ribbon is working with her new style very well, and Ohm's smile is always lovely.

So, a little bit of meta-talk? Do you prefer when I talk about the story of the comics, or the making of the comics? Content, or technique? Also, I'll try to answer your comments quickly. =P My bad.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

A quick interlude, because it's Halloween! And I don't even live in a country with Halloween! Go figure!

Anyway... not much thought on who is what, just assigned them as I thought. I particularly love Ella-Bride-of-Frankenstein, but all in all, they're all cool for me.

Happeh (belated) Halloween! =D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I had ideas for the Manga guys, but none of them looked good enough. So I'm buying time with some Ribbon frustration. :P Hey, at least I'm honest.

Also, another bit of exposition: Inner Ring is the region inside the Fourth Wall, which comprises, of course, all the four sequential art regions as well as the Big Four Meeting Grounds. That's all I think you'd want to know.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Usually I try not to blabber much down here, but this time I think I ought to give you some background info, since I'll probably not be able to do it in 6-panel strips so well.

Firstly, the Big Four represent each of the Sequential Art Regions, from the Funnies to the Manga, passing through Webcomics and Comix("usual" comics). From these four, the Funnies Farms are the smallest(though dense) region, and the Comix Megalopolis the biggest, englobing many different regions.

The two characters sent by the Comix Corporation are Paragon, from the Indie Ghetto; and Little "Lil'" Spiral, from the Old City. So, in meta terms, the Ghetto is where independent comic characters live, and the Old City is where old-timers(from the 40s and 50s) still dwell. And, for different reaons, they're both borderline clinically insane.

The subjects of the parodies here made are, of course, left for the reader to indentify. ;)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Sometimes I come up with another idea very quickly so I won't waste a good one by rushing it. This is one of those ideas.

I just hope the idea I'm saving for Friday is as good as I think. =/

On the other hand, I love foreshadowing and meta-jokes. So, there: it was worth it. :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And here we meet the first team of representatives, these from the Funnies Farms, from where newspaper comic characters come from. It's a mostly rural region, in contrast with the Webcomic World and the Comix Megalopolis, and considered the birthplace of almost all the other regions(it's disputable whether the Manga Isles have any link with the Farms or not).

Anyway, Eustace and Laura Lockhart are a real couple, and as any couple of the funnies, they hate each other to death. Because apparently marriage is always venomous in old-time comedy. Go figure.

Stay tuned for more stereotypical husband/wife follies and more sequential art characters!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I don't like running 'round the issue, so let's get this on the table: I won't do Webcomickery anymore. It looked like a great idea at the time, it still does, but I'm quite underqualified to do so. The result, though, wasn't a series of educated commentaries on webcomic meta, but rather one post not very well constructed(to be frank, I had practically the same thing to say about every damn updating schedule model), and a few months lost concentrating on that instead of more productive things like Webcomics Underrated, our first pin-up poster or even this series I'm going to propose now.

Worry not, though, this one will surely work better. I'm proposing here the beginning of Behind the Characters(working title... poor, I know), a series of commentaries on my own characters. My hope, of course, is that it'll practically write itself. I could be wrong, but it's worth a try.

So, what's to say about the characters I've created that would pick your interest? Well, there's their origins, inspirations and intentions I had when doing their initial designs, for one. What they've accomplished, what I like on them, what I don't like(and whether I plan to change it or not), and what I've got in store for them in the future(maintaining healthy spoiler leves, of course). And, when we run out of main characters, I'll just leap to secondary chracters. Optimally, I could make one of these features to characters like Mr. Topps, Bangs, Matisse or even THE BOSS(in all caps, he demands!). Let's say the sky is the limit, though I'm not really keen on expanding too much on real one-note characters. But, believe it or not, there's lots of potential in my "props", so to speak.

So, that's it. I plan to start with Zip, and make these a little more developed than the usual blog post on this site(i.e., with more links and maybe pictures... though I'm not sure how pictures work in this site's blog space).

That'll be all for now. I'm not going to start right on this feature, though, because there is at least one Webcomics Underrated I wish to work on before anything else. Stay tuned and have a nice day! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I almost couldn't get this done. But I managed to. My girlfriend was of utmost help, since she was the one who got the cable I forgot to get my tablet working. =D

Anyway, here starts the Big Four arc. Some myteries will be revealed, and forgettable characters will be introduced. I'll try to make them as little forgettable as possible, but no promises made!

Have a nice day, fellas! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

That's it, guys! We did it! 100 strips! Not counting guest strips, but counting the responses. Anyway, it's a lot of strips! More than one year.

And here we are, going towards more. 100 more? 1000 more? Who knows? I'm going to keep on forward until I stop having fun. Or when I feel the story needs to end.

Without further ado... have a nice day, y'all! =D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

...I didn't have a concrete idea of what the 100th strip would be about, so I just had to come up with a generic enough 99th strip to fill the void, since I didn't want a one-note joke right here. I just didn't felt it was right. Neither I had any ideas for another "8 Facts".

Thus, infomercial. I like the last panel enough to not regret.

See you friday!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

1- She was born as a baby.

Well, I had to end this with a double subversion! Yes, Ribbon was just a cute baby. But that's not all, as you'll see more ahead. But for now, that will be enough.

2- She had defacing surgery recently.

While this hadn't surfaced yet in the strip, it was already shown in my deviantART gallery! Anyway, she is now sporting this cartoonish look instead of the faux-manga look she had before. For some reason, I think this new style is more dynamic and less sexy than previously, even though it's not without its own appeal, as we'll see ahead...

But, anyway, it's clear she had this done as a statement to her wanting to be treated well for her merits and features, and not her pretty body.

3- She was Employee of the Month for 11 non-consecutive months!

After all, Ribbon is an excellent employee. It's not an easy task to get promote from booth worker to infomercial hostess to VP of Human Resources in so little time! Still, that was totally unfair. Robots don't need to sleep, and that one in particular was on steroids. Shame!

4- She was Miss Teen Webcomic in 1998.

She was a hot young woman, and that's an understatement. Surely she doesn't look as good now much after her teen years and also "decheesecaked", but I guess that's close enough.

Also, she isn't very keen on the whole "beauty pageant" nowadays. But you can't run from your past.

5- She was Miss Fanservice 2008.

Fanservice Day is optional for every other webcomic character, but mandatory for WU Syndicate employees, to incentive participation.

Ribbon was less than happy to know that she was elected the sexiest Fanservice of 2008. Not much for the objectification and lustful desire projected onto her, but the fact that her photo was advertised in WU billboards for months...

6- She was also Miss Halloween in 2008!

Halloween, as well, is a webcomic event that's made mandatory for Syndicate employees, and Ribbon found out that the participation in Miss Halloweed was just as mandatory as well.

If she knew, she'd probably come dressed as someone less obviously fanservicey. Oh, well.

7- She's a Fourth Waller.

Now here's the big deal. "Fourth Waller" is an intriguing concept. It means someone who came from Beyond the Fourth Wall. Speaking from inside Webcomic World, it mean, of course, our own real world. The knowledge of how to pass through the Fourth Wall(a territory on itself, usually where Narrators lie) is valuable and shady, and only those who really want and know where to look for it get access to. Jennifer Ribbon was one of those people.

But it should be noted there's a change that occurs when the person leaves the Fourth Wall in any direction, but as the character goes farther from realism, the passing is tougher. Which means, in a way, Ribbon sort of sealed her fate as a Webcomicker from now on. Well, that's what she wanted anyway!

8- Her biggest dream... to be the goddamn CEO of this syndicate!

She aims for the top! Also, she wants to get this goddamn business fixed! No more gratuituous fanservice and dick jokes everywhere! It's time to show some respect, damn it! Also, it needs more barechested hunky men! Equality, bitches!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

1- He was born from an egg.

Because we already played along, subverted, reverted and now subverting again the "X was born as" submeme. Anyway, he really was born from an egg, for reasons explicated in the next fact and also alluded in several places(though most of them must be deviantART commentaries). And it's more common than it seems, at least among the Beast and Furry crowd.

2- His mother is a Beast.

Inter-species relationships are not uncommon, but nonetheless not very well-seen(John and Ella's relationship, for one, is quite uncanny in the eyes of most). But with time the line between Furry and Beast became so blurred it was completely possible for an almost Human to have children with a Beast. The result is, of course, Ohm. Which proves at least one half of the rumors is true.

And, yes, that is blood. Some habits are hard to kill. No pun intended.

3- He went to Law School.

Half lawyer joke, half backstory. That feisty man in the picture to the left is Ohm's great-uncle, judge Henrich Ohm. How the law background or the big pointy nose background will affect Ohm's character, though? I have no idea. Frankly, I was aiming more at the lawyer joke.

4- His shading is artificial.

If you look closely, this one is in the cast page as well. Just as characters might take surgeries to change their styles, and the temporary changing of features is commonplace among all the webcomic producing paraphernalia, some minor touches can also be conveyed with easy-to-use cosmetic means, in the same vein as hair dye. Though, of course, much more complex. We're talking about dynamic shading that adjusts itself to light positioning here, you don't get that just by painting some areas in your face gray!

5- He's an expert ventriloquist.

Which is why he can speak showing his teeth so proheminently. He can even pronounce his Ps and Bs with his mouth fully open. That man is a professional!

...Seriously, I noticed this while I was doing this comic. I just couldn't take advantage!

6- He's a steampunk enthusiast

Classy fellow, into technology... sure, the steampunk fits him. Especially the dark glasses(and the scarf doesn't look any less dapper, by the way!)

...I ran out of ideas. Also, I might use this in the future. Steampunk tech does look cool, and Ohm is one cool cat himself, thus...

7- His first night was at his senior prom.

She was quite the charming girl, he was a half-beast scrawny kid. It was just normal that she wouldn't be that friendly towards him at first, but as she got to know him better, they ended up together, at least for one night.

And the least we speak of it, the better.

8- His biggest dream... TO TAKE OVER THE WEBCOMIC WORLD!

Yes, because... wait, what?

...At least he aims high, right?

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

1- She was born... just like that

I'll start this saying... sprites are different from the rest of the characterkinds that populate the Webcomic World. Their origin is different(sprites are generated from game data, rather than), their aging is different(in fact, they don't age at all) and their limited resolution and constant ratio resizing is usually seen as unsettling.

2- She did work as a maid to pay for Acting School.

Just because you were a maid in a game doesn't mean you'll be starring in a webcomic about that game, and Ella had to show her work! Unfortunately, Acting School ain't paying itself, and getting a job when your wardrobe is composed only of French maid outfits isn't easy. Couple that with the way French maids are seen through the internets and... it was an awkward job. But she survived. And even managed to clean a couple of houses!

3- She once dated a PC

Player Characters... while NPCs sit around saying the same lines over and over, PCs are obsessed with missions, quests, sidequests and, of course, slaying monsters! When would there be time for Ella in that routine?

4- Her feet size is 2

It... just popped in my head. I never understood foot sizes, anyway. Are they, inches?

5- She was an active member of PeTS

Again, sprites just work different from usual characters, with dynamic designs and usual aging and art evolving, so it happens that they get the short end of the stick. In fact, sprites are just above stick people and cut-paste models in the workplace hierarchy. Those who can't get some training to enhance their form-changing licenses to adapt into other styles usually are forced to find other means of sustenance, and unfortunately many jobs require more than two frames of movement to be performed.

6- Her webcomic was the #1 Sprite Comic for two entire weeks!

"Finished Story Unabridged" was one of the first sprite comics to use the sprites of the "Finished Story" franchise, and also the longest running sprite comic with an actual ending. No one knows what the author has been working with after finishing his work, and since this comic is obviously fictional, I'm sure it doesn't matter besides reinforcing the fact that Ella Maid was a starlet of the webcomic show-business.

7- She was centerpiece for the "PixelGals" magazine five times.

We've seen she was voted "Sexiest 80s Game Character", and we're sure Theo owns every one of those issues as well. She was hot. She is hot, actually, seeing that sprites don't age. Soon enough she's going to inaugurate the concept of a "GILF".

8- Her biggest dream... she's living it already!

Life as a star, especially a hot secondary character ascended to fanservice provider, is hard and takes its toll on someone. So for long Ella dreamed of leaving it all behind and taking a "normal" path of life. She didn't expect children so soon, and surely once in a while a persistent fan finds out where she lives or what is her phone number, but in general this is the peace and quiet she's longed for.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

1- He was born as a line.

They develop fast, though. And if you're thinking this is the stupidest thing you ever heard, I'd like you to think of how would a 2-dimensional head pass through a one-dimensional woman.

I rest my case.

2- He was the 5th son in a family of 8

Old times, big families. John is the one in the center with the lushy black hair. To the left of him, that is Steve. The rest of his brothers and sisters don't matter enough for the time being, so I'll just leave them nameless.

3- He started balding at age 16

Sad, but incredibly common among stick figures. Those who can keep full grown hair at age 40 are rare. And, oddly enough, the demand for bald stick figures cause some of these lucky dudes to shave their heads so they can get a job. Sometimes even stick women do that as well, so they can pose as males. It's a crazy business, people!

4- He wears clothes. Line-thin clothes...

And now you know, and knowing is half of the battle! Also, better explanation as to why some other stick figures appear clothed: there are stickmen-made clothes, people! Ain't that awesome?

As to why Theo appeared naked that time when he should be wearing John's clothes, it's simple: Theo is too wide for John's clothes! and That's final!

5- He let his beard grow in the 80s

This fact led me into a very interesting question: why do people get bald only on the top of the head? I never heard of anyone who's got baldness on his beard! Anyway, this was a fact too amusing to let pass without a mention!

6- He worked as a model

John had many works, interestingly enough none in the webcomics enterprise. Not that he didn't want to, but it was hard times for stickmen, as we all know...

7- He once tried to be a narrator

Despite what he says, being a narrator is still tough business as it was back then. Unfortunately, though, most narrator jobs are delegated to Fourth Wallers, which are people whose origins will be discussed further down line. For now, you just try and figure what the heck that means.

Also, he didn't get the job because his typeface was too thin.

8- His biggest dream... to create his own webcomic!

We know that already. It's in his character, he wanted so hard to make his own webcomic, but when time came he had to suck it up and get back to his better paying job. And now he feels it's too late for him. After all, he'll never catch up with all these pop cuture references and darned video toys or whatever they're called!

But he still has that dream. Hold onto it, old man!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

1- He was born as a cute little sloth.

Some anthros get more anthro as they grow, especially those who are half-beast. In some cases, half-human anthros may grow into humans with time. Furry physiology is weird, yes.

2- His first kiss was with a sprite girl.

Which might explain why he developed a taste for pixelated women. Or it might be all a coincidence. But the most important part is: he had a first kiss. That's sweet.

3- His father is in exile.

The 1985, Webcomics United and the government of Webcomic World instituted the Monster Exemption Act, which confined all creatures bigger than 30ft tall or wide, sentient or otherwise, to exile at the Outer Webcomic Wilds. Theo's father... well, there's a reason why Theo is always referred to as "Anthro Giant Sloth". How he was conceived is a matter for future plotlines, though. For now, I'll just assure you no mothers were hurt in the process.

4- He has an underbite.

Seriously, if you never noticed, that white strip over his lower lip that appears when he's with his mouth open are his teeth. Is it of any relevance to the plot, you wonder?

...No. Not really. But counts as a fact!

5- He can speak Japanese.

As I guess some hardcore gamers do, since many a good game isn't released for the West, which means at least some brave souls must take on themselves to create translations for other less obstinate gamers who would enjoy such games. I, myself, must thank the teams that brought MOTHER and MOTHER 3 for English audiences! Those are sweet games with sweet fan translations!

Oh, and Japanese are weird. Those games are pretty fun but, in all honesty, they're weird as heck!

6 - He lived in Comix Megalopolis for an year as an interchange student.

Interchange exists beyond the Fourth Wall as well, and it happened near that time when he participated in Math Olympics. He was quite the prodigy kid.

Of course, he'd rather go to Manga Islands, but it's all fine. He knew some neat people and learned some neat stuff, like making sound effects! Awesomes!

7- He's still a virgin.

Women were never his forte, and while he had some sweet relationships, none were much beyond the joining hands and kissing stage. But he loved them with all his heart... that's what counts, guys!

8- His biggest dream... to create his own gaming webcomic!

Yep. We're all hoping he'll eventually grow out of this dream. Or maybe he could make the first webcomics with a cast of furries with a human wacky sidekick. That could be cool.

Wait, who am I kidding, it'd be just as bad. But I gotta give him credit for the Scott Pilgrim pose, it makes it sound really awesome!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

1- She wasn't planted, she was born. A human.

Breaking the "unusual birth characteristics" chain I've been doing for my 1st facts, we know Flora is a trained phytomorph, and thus was born a human. Despite her conspicuously plant-related name, she isn't a dryad or anything.

2- She never cut her hair until she was 18.

Why? Good question. Traditional reasons for such behavior include religious motives – be it penance or just part of one's belief that the hair shall not be cut because... I have no idea –, an irrational fear of hairstylists/scissors or other cultural reasons. But in Flora's case, it was a bet. She won by a few years, by the way.

3- Her natural hair color was red.

Yes, she dyes her hair (or, to be a bit technical here, she "re-hues" it). The phytomorph training turned her skin green, but the hair just kept its color.

Oh, and to why I'm leaving her hair green for the other illustrations where she should still have her natural color... it's just easier to recognize the character that way.

4- She can actually perform photosynthesis!

I think I mentioned this in a comic comment or maybe in the "Director's Cut". The green on her skin is actually chlorophyll, which means she actually can photosynthesize. It's a very difficult process to get the hang of, so don't try that at home, kids!

And many thanks to Bisected8 for pointing out you don't make photosynthesis. I think "perform" is a much better verb to convey the idea here.

5- She had a garden of carnivorous plants at 8.

I had some carnivorous plants when I was younger, too. Turns out they're pretty boring... but the Venus fly-trap was pretty cool, it gave some flowers and all...

Oh, yes, Flora. Yep, she had all sorts of plants, including fictional ones. Which brings us this protip: when you plant Piranha Plants, make sure they're not the kind that leaps and blows fire!

6- She never saw her father since she was very little.

This was done because: a) I needed a fact to fill the quota; b) Johnny Cash is awesome; c) I felt Flora needed some personal backstory. It's not exactly tragic, and in hindsight I realized she's not the only character to have a missing father(the next one on the list has too, but for different reasons). Still, it might be explored further down the line in a soul-searching storyline... of maybe just used as setup for a joke. I admit I haven't planned that far.

At least she didn't shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die.

7- She sleeps in her underwear.

The region of Webcomic World where the WU is situated is tropical, which means most of the year is hot, or at least it never gets cold enough to snow. And nobody likes to wake up all wet and cold from sweating all night under blankets and pajamas.

And don't complain about the bait and switch, you had Flora in a bikini up there!

8- Her biggest dream... To grow old in the country with a couple of kids.

What can I say? She's a simple girl at heart... sure, she has ambitions and still works for her living, but if you ask her where she wants to be, say, thirty-five years from now, she just wants to chill out at the countryside, sitting on her balcony, watching the plants grow, hearing the birds sing and enjoying her time. And of course, Jello is included in those plans...

And kids. Because she wants to leave her genes in the gene pool. Why not?

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

1- He was born red

This was referenced at least a few times in this comic and the cast page: he was born red, but is prematurely "bluing", which is like how people's hair gets white when they grow old, except blobs get blue. Why? I have no idea. Maybe they regress to watery tones...

2- He can scale his mass and size up to factor 20

Metamorphs have a limit of how much mass they can "magically" create or destroy to achieve different sizes, and that amount can be enhanced with practice. In case of Jello, he can grow approximately 20 times in size... unfortunately, he isn't that big to begin with so...

3- He can grow limbs if needed

As demonstrated in the "Dinner at Stiffs" arc, and also a few times before(but I'm not sure anyone ever noticed that.) Thing is, growing parts of body requires some extra energy(it's a bit like tensing your muscles), so he just slides around when he doesn't really needs limbs.

Besides, being carried around by Flora beats walking by miles, man!

4- Part of his family is from the Manga Islands

The Manga Islands are a region beyond the Fourth Wall just like Webcomic World, and in rare cases some families migrate(though it's more common for immigrants to come from the Comix Megalopolis or Funnies Farms). But what really matters here is that I made a joke with anime eyes. Otakus, rejoice!

5- He still haven't got the hang of changing his face

Faces are tricky, they have this huge muscular density and very subtle movements to emulate.

About the Ditto... if you weren't a fan of Pokemon when the first season came out, you might not get this one. It sort of just came to me after I made the second fact's illustration.

6- He works in a daycare when he can't find work as a filler

Sometimes webcomics just don't need props and fillers, but they still need money, so they need to get some jobs somewhere else. In Jello's case, that surely beats chemical testing or parade float.

7- He is overweight.

He is just a little denser than the usual ball of goo, no big deal.

But, frankly, I couldn't miss the opportunity to use that excuse with someone who doesn't even have bones(but, incidentally, he has teeth. Freaky, huh?)

8- His biggest dream... To be able to live with a humanoid body 24/7!

Yes, he loves sliding around and being carried by his girlfriend, but sometimes you just need a big body of your own for activities such as driving, playing sport or dating(not many women appreciate the versatility of an amorphous metamorph!) But keeping a shape requires some huge amounts of training and energy. Keep reaching for that dream, Jello!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Yes! With the proximity of the 100th comic, instead of starting another plot-relevant arc that will be inevitably or cut short by said 100th strip, we'll have... a series of character memes! Yay!

So here's all you wanted to know about Webcomics United characters, but never had the courage to ask(or never really wanted to know; it works, too)! Starting with Mr. Generic Main Character himself, Zip Stiff!

1- He was born without fingers or toes

He was born looking much closer to his sprite inheritage, and is getting more and more definite as hw grows. Maybe one day he'll have ten fingers and toes on each limb, and maybe even a nose!

2- He is a rare case of "mostly invisible nose"

Noseless characters are tricky, especially on profile. Either they look flat, or they have those horrid "snoutfaces", or you just assume they have a nose the whole time, you just can't see it from front. That's Zip, blame his mom(who also has a case of mostly invisible nose, except in her case it's a matter of resolution, rather than position).

3- He has full control over the growth of his hair and nails

That's something that's even mentioned on his cast page. More generally, he has control over most of his non-vital body functions, which also include the growth of nails. So much he just keeps them from growing most of the time. Seriously, why do those damn things grow?

4- His middle name is "Maid"

From his mother, Ella Maid. That's as embarrassing as embarrassing middle names go, and it goes without saying the last thing you'd want is the whole school to know you have a stereotipically girly profession as yours.

He took it impressively well, by the way.

5- His chilhood hero is Kid Radd

Kid Radd was the main inspiration for this comic(the concept of Webcomics United, at least), so it was bound to be mentioned one time or another. The fact that it's one of the few webcomics I know that actually ended(the other being Bob and George; RPG World, sadly, stopped just before its climax).

And it's awesome. Seriously, go read. It's awesome!

6- He dropped off college

It was mentioned one time or another that Zip went to college, but he's also a little too young to have graduated before getting his job on webcomics. So I say he just dropped off somewhen to get the job of his father's dreams. It isn't a very fulfilling career plan, if you ask what I think, but he just wasn't much happy doing... whatever major he had. I still didn't put enough thought on this matter.

7- He had 10 girlfriends

And they'll all be explored in a series of comics entitled "20 panels about 10 women"(actually 24 panels, counting 4 panels of intro and conclusion). And a future arc, involving one of Zip's exes.

And no, Jessica doesn't count. She was pretty clear she didn't want to be his girlfriend, and he was fine with that.

8- His (current) biggest dream... To become the Ultimate Filler!

What to say, he really gets carried over really fast! But he is very close to that. But I'll say no more, or the plot might be hurt!

Stay tuned for more inane facts about characters you barely even know!

"Somewhat" late I noticed I had the title as "9 Facts about Zip". While that could have been written off as a reference to the recurrent "Director's Cut" joke, it was just a goof. Hey, at least I'm honest!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Wrapping up this arc, because it's taking long enough. Looking back on my early decisions, a bi-weekly schedule makes short periods feel like terribly tiresome long stretches...

And what's that? Is it a cliffhanger? Hell, yes, it is! And while I'm sure the effect of a cliffhanger on a readership of maybe 20 people is nigh insignificant, I'll still keep you from this revelation for a few months as we approach the 100th strip with a couple of meta-comics and then we finally go back to the corporates and their Big Four meeting.

Have fun!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is one of my favorite strips. At least, my favorite Ella/John strip. I think this here is their best moment together, not as a bitter married-for-too-long couple, but as a couple that's married for 20-something years for a reason, damnit!

Besides, John is coming out of this arc very nicely. I'm definitely liking it.

And to think I decided to do this strip out of time constraints... guess good things come from the most unexpected places, eh? =P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I don't know, I think this storyline had much more to offer by the time I came up with it. It's getting over soon, though. I have some new characters and a plot to unveil, and I can barely wait.

Oh, and while I forgot our anniversary(it was in August 2nd!), the 100th issue will be something special. Promise! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I guess it goes without saying that, before inviting your friends for a dinner with your family, it's advisable to be strictly sure that none of them have a flaming crush on one of your parents.

...Well, it was either this or a paragraph explaining how I simply forgot to upload this before midnight, so you better enjoy it!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I won't enter in details, there has been a lot in this weekend that kept this comic from being ready by Monday. So our schedule slip got a little longer. But we're back.

I heard from someone once that an artist shouldn't apologize, the good reader can just wait and live without the comics, but, heck, I can't help it. Readers are the ones who consume what I produce, if I wanted to do this for myself only I'd never publish it, right? So, I apologize.

And we go on. There's still a bit of plot to go on this arc...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, I haven't mentioned here but... I lost the pen of my tablet. But I got it back! And since it was... yesterday when I got it back, I decided to not post this one as if it were posted on Friday, and instead skipped one update.

Because, frankly, I'm pretty damn busy these days. But we'll get back to our usual acticity in a pinch.

Thanks for the comprehension, that is, not giving up on this comic altogether. :P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I had more to say on how I needed this strip to create some suspense for the facts that will follow, and because of that it ended up without a punchline per se, but I have a few notices instead.

First, this comic is uploaded late because of freaky technical issues, in which, for some reason, the uploading script just... didn't upload.

Second, since I forgot my tablet pen at my parents' home this weekend, next strip might be hindered as well. Which is a pity, because the only thin that would really need the tablet to be drawn are the speech bubbles... maybe I can find a way around it!

I hope all goes well and apologize for the trouble.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

We haven't been having many comments lately... so, whatever. The misunderstanding was cleared and the night goes on.

Also, I'm gonna take that Flattr thing, it's not like it's going anywhere, anyway.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This comic here was done earlier, which means, finally, I'm getting my rhythm back. On the other hand, I'm still getting a buffer filled(I have barely one strip of buffer now), but I'm thinking I might have more time for a while to work on that.

Which is good, considering I can't stretch this arc forever and will eventually start to get back to other even more important plots. But we'll get there...

Eventually. Until there, have a nice day!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

As I said, this is a little late. I'm thinking it doesn't matter much, since it isn't even a whole day late but... let's just say I recognize that.

Anyway, comic misunderstanding on the way! And this is not even the start of the night...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Sorry for the lateness, got busy this weekend. Also, had to do some corrections on the strip before uploading.

Also, this week I'll be out at my girlfriend's house, and I'm not sure I can get internet there, so Friday's comic might be late. On the bright side, I'll have plenty of time to do tons of comics. Yay!

See y'all!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

The guys arrive, and a minor inconvenience is perceived. Also, I'm gonna leave you hanging onto that cliff on what the heck will be John and Jello's reaction to each other.

See ya soon!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Yep. But it's all over(almost).

Next strip is a "real thing". Promise.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

It pretty much speask for itself. Final term, if I get through this I'm graduate! Hooray!

Meanwhile, more filler. Please stay tuned, and thanks for coming back. =)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I ain't gonna lie to you, guys, times are tough, but I'll get over that soon. Meanwhile, I hope you guys can stand a little bit more of these inane updates.

Though I'm afraid part of my public might like some parts of this pic...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Yes, time isn't getting any longer. I'm doing what I can to keep this running.

Besides, I couldn't resist making a sort of sequel for the last... picture.

Anyway, have a nice day.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Sorry, I think I said(or if I hadn't, I should) that this was being a foul week for me, so I didn't have the time to come up with a decent strip in time. But since I didn't want to greet me occasional visitors with the same strip for a whole week, I decided to do something.

Call it a splash screen if you want.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

No, don't worry, I'm not having a breakdown. This here is just an idea that suffered a few transformations...

Also, a little late on the submitting so... here it goes!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Cerebus, The Aardvark. Cerebus Syndrome. There, that's all you need to know to get the joke here.

And I'm not sure if this is a double punchline or an extended punchline but... yea, it's not that obvious here. Hope you enjoy it, I'm pretty satistfied with my job this time.

I gotta go. Lots of things to do. Including the next comic. I need some time. And I know I'll have it...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And this is it for the romantic miniplot. Friday we start again with the random shenanigans and maybe some sketches of a main plot. I don't really have plans, college's being a bitch.

Also, one of these days I really must come up with a map for Jello's house. I'm not eve sure if the kitchen is really in that direction Zip went...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, with the upcoming Links section still not totally ready(I have, what... 6 buttons out of 13 done), I'm still going to start it with one idea I had: a Paid Ads section.

And before you start throwing the tomatoes, here's the deal: it's my best bet to join both mine and your interests, dear reader. Believe me.

The matter is: I do want to get some money out of this deal. Or at least try. And, since I don't see any profit coming from any sort of publishing contract, print sales of membership(in fact, I don't see any point in offering a membership for a webcomic site), paid ads are my best bet.

On the other hand, like most web user I know ads are annoying. They get in the way, which is the reason I took the banners from the top of the page and moved it down. At the very least, anyone can read the comics without even acknowledging those ads. It's a poor business decision, but I want to put the readers in first place.

So the paid ads section is a section dedicated to those kinds of links. They are links to other sites, which I'm recommending because I'm being paid for. While it is as odd/stupid as it sounds, it's at least honest.

So, yes, they will be there, and with extra space I can afford to have lots of banners and ad space. I'll still focus on the comic sites I actively recommend, so worry not. I still care.

And no, my shirt isn't an advertising space for sale. Yet.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Ah, lovely... this one is special, as if the giant middle panel didn't give that away. Tomorrow is June 12th, and I told you already what that means! Anyway, monday is the day after, and then... who knows! That's what I love in this "job", the surprise! =D

...Anyway, hope you like it, this wasn't easy. I know it isn't anything near perfect, but it wasn't easy, I almost let some deails escape, and always judging myself and improving and checking if their sizes were right(mostly I suck at proportions)... anyway: enjoy.

And I'm very tired. I need another break.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

The romantic climate grows and grows, and it seems we're going somewhere. And then, just for fun, I do a subversion. Yay!

The next edition of Webcomics United will be very special, and I do hope having it done, completely, by wednesday. Either way, it only goes up on Friday anyway. :D

See you there, have an awesome week!

PS.: I'm really trying to write the next Webcomickery, but time isn't exactly something that grows in trees, you know...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I know, I know... it's borderline toilet humor – it's bathroom humor, actually –, but I made it classy to balance.

Also, I'll try to spend my holidays(yep, it's holiday down here in Brazil, or almost) trying to start a buffer once again. Wish me luck.

Finally, if you're in the mood to provide some feedback(dang, I do miss some few comments around here...), what do you think about Zip and Jessica as a couple? I don't have a strong opinion yet, so you might even be defining the future of this comic! Ain't that groovy?! What are you waiting for?! =D

...Anyway, have a nice weekend, you guys and gals!

Minor corrections, as suggested by A. C.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I'm almost late, so no big comments. Hope you liked Jessica, cause she's staying for a while. Also, I think it's cool to see someone from the offices out here on the casual world. Pretty neat.

That's all for now. Doing some college works, studying for exams and working on those link buttons. See ya!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Starting the next mini-arc, I think double dates are a great source of both humor AND heartwarming material. And taking in consideration June 12th is only two weeks away, I have at least 4 installments to resolve this matter.

And I'll spend a nice and calm weekend by my girlfriend's place. See ya!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I like these office episodes of WU. Well, I like everything on WU, but especially the office episodes, and I'm not sure why. I don't even like offices! Still, it's always an opportunity to create new characters on the spot, and they usually come out well.

The Boss was supposed to be something completely different, but as I scrapped two other ideas before this, he ended up as the big boss. Fitting, even...

And just like Ribbon and Bangs, Jessica will be a regular part of the cast from now on. You just wait...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Before anything, the site has been down for unknown reasons. The hosting support has been contacted, but it took a lot of time for it to be back. Then it went down again, so I'm now with a new hosting service. It was a very unpleasant weekend, hope you guys didn't give up on me!

I'm planning to do things, and writing them down so I don't forget.

So, my Links page has been empty for way too long. But I also don't enjoy the list of links thing. I want it to be a useful page. And also to look pretty. That's why I'm going to make my own buttons for each comic, containing my rendition of its characters, settings, themes or anything else I like on it. And it'll be a table with lots of useful information... which I'll think about later. First, the link buttons.

For now, I'm just going to reassure every comic in my links list are comics I actually read and follow on my RSS reader(if it has a feed, to boot); and that I really recommend for you to read. If you like the theme, of course. Anyway, there's more to buttons than that...

Second.... my site needs some liveliness, don't it? Yep, that's why I'm going to implement an easy javascript code to make my buttons change when you hover your mouse pointer over them. Be it a two-cel anmation or just adding some color, you'll have something to chuckle at. Yay.

And finally...

I'm putting up some social bookmarking buttons there. Let me be clear here, while I don't really trhink anyone will use them, but I'm going to let it around there. Because if the time comes when you guys ever use those buttons there, I'm sure I'll have an incredibly pleasant surprise. :)

Meanwhile, I expect you guys to just spread the comics around Reddit and alikes, and vote on my comic on various comic ranks. But just to be as unintrusive as possible, I'll put those buttons way down after my "Director's Cut" speciall commentary. Not a very profitable decision, but I'm not really doing this for profit. I love profit, but if it ever comes it'll be a consequence, and not exactly my objective.

Are we clear? Good. Have a nice day and expect a new Webcomickery by the end of the week!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

There isn't much to be said here, except that, while Flora wasn't actually green as a tot, there actually is a reason to why Jello is red. Theo was included almost at the last minute while I was drawing the lines, and finally I decided to include yet another member on our cast of bureaucrats. And, just for the sake of diversity, a stickman. (Note to self: check if tarrasques are considered "fur people")

Next week I really want to start another series, though I'm not sure on what plot. I'll think of something tomorrow and we'll go along, as we always do, right? =D

Have a nice weekend!

Stock photo of a forest from stock-feele on deviantART.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, for the last few days some of you must have noticed... how could I put it... a strange lack of this whole site. Yes, I had some serious problems with my hosting service.

It was all good, and then Sunday the site had access problems. But I had other more important stuff to deal with, so I decided to start dealing with it by Monday, if the problem persisted.

Well, it did, and so I wrote several emails during the last days, trying to get at least a report on the situation from the tech support. To no avail. In the dark, I waited until the site was back, but it had lost two weeks of updates. No problem, though. I could recover that through my RSS reader. The biggest problem was the unstability of the site. And, of course, the lack of information.

By now the site is working well and I manged to re-upload all the comics I have submitted prior to the crash, plus the newest one. I'll also make a habit off backing up the database and files for my two sites weekly. And maybe I'll change the hosting system. But just maybe, the service was pretty good prior to now.

I'm tired and in a bad mood. But I'll get to doing more strips, and some other things. Plus, "Webcomickery", or so I hope.

Of course, it'll depend of a series of factors... but I'm optimist, and I have some blog posts to repost. Have a nice day, and I'll try to have mine. =)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And, after a good portion of nuisance from the site, this last payback comes with a slight delay. I hope this is the last I have to deal with my hosting service, but seeing they haven't said a word about what happened, I'm not sure.

But anyway, following from the first payback to Mr. Vorhias, this is what it amounted to. An audit with your typical WU auditor. They're not kidding, guys!

And that's it. My next strip is on the way, and who knows what will follow it. But I do want to get a lot of strips done in advance and get some work on some site features. Of course, it doesn't depend entirely on me...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Westbrook's Stormy... ah, what a delightuful character. I mean, because she's so likable and a nice person. No, honest!

But I just had to use his comic, expand the inspirating concept a little beyond the absurd and have fun with it.

Also, does the presence of sexuality in this comic bother you? I'm pretty to changing this site's ranking to PG if needed, but I try to keep it down. But I'm only human, and sexy humor is just natural! :D

Anyway, next one is the last comic and next... is a surprise. Even for me! What will I come up with next? I have no idea! Have a groovy day, y'all!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I'm not gonna lie to you guys: this was pretty rushed! I had the idea in time, but this weekend was a rush, so I had little time to actually work. But next comics will be done pretty earlier(I hope). At the very least, I have the ideas sketched in my head. :P

So, this is payment for squazzy, creator of Sound On. Which is a comic I still can't figure out, but I can't leave my debts unpaid, can I? Not at all.

So this is it. Have a nice day, people, and I hope you had good times with your mothers in Mother's Day! :D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I've got a lot of stuff to deal with, so my ability to come up with witty and insightful author comments is running pretty short. Let's just say this is a payback for Crappy's guest strip and move over.

Seriously, things are pretty bad. Wish me luck!

PS.: Tomorrow's my birthday. Yay for me.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

For the next few weeks I'll be paying back the guest strips I got during that hiatus of last December/January, in the order they were sent. So, starting all, Mr. Vorhias, with a shout out to his inumerous antics with this Dreamer girl.

Clever, funny, and with potential for follow-up. With that, we move onto our next. See ya Friday!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

First time I do anything with a real comic, not counting shout outs, parodies and that Crappy Comics movie teaser.

Count Your Sheep, by Adrian Ramos, is a very sweet and whimsical comic, and I tried to parody its most classic joke, which is presented in its first strip ever. What's bothering me is this weird sensation that I might be doing something wrong, something so against the principle of the original comic that it should be thrown into the deepest pits of hell and never brought to surface again.

Of course, I'm also overly dramatic when trying to win the affection of people I somewhy admire. So I just hope you all enjoy. =)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I'm not sure, but I think I mentioned I'd do a male fanservice sooner or later after that fanservice day announcement. Thus, here it is, with a small prelude to present an illusion of plot, as well as introducing a new character, Miss Bangs, Ohm's PA.

Any of my fans that'd like to comment if Ohm is good and sexy, or if any improvements should be made on regards to my rendering of sexy male anatomy, feel free, I always appreciate the feedback.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Sorry guys, got held back again. I'm hoping I'll get Monday strip done this weekend, else it'll also be something I needed to do up to now, like this. Else, my female and generally man-loving fans will have a pleasant surprise(I hope).

Cheers!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So I decided to start writing about webcomics. Technical stuff such as style, theme and updating schedules, stuff that goes behind the scenes, webcomics as leisure and as a job and all that. Anything that comes to my moley mind. But I guess that demands an introduction of sorts.

Mostly, these observations are not meant as serious and set in stone. I'm not a professional webcomic artist/writer, and I do not intend to become a serious reference for all things webcomic-related

In fact, most of these texts are based on observation of other people's work. Some of it, based on my own work with comics, published or otherwise(and there's a lot of otherwise, guys!), and a little bit more on the works of Scott McCloud. Well, at least Understanding Comics, I'm still going to buy Making and Reinventing. Still, I'm not authority, I am not an oracle, and I'm not Scott McCloud, though you can bloody bet I wish I was!

Anyway, this is just a series of fun articles written for fun and a little bit of experience mingling. You know, I tell what I think, you tell me what you think... these sorts of things. And I hope it's a fun and maybe even instructive experience for all.

And, with that... next article is about updating schedules, including an explanation about why I've chosen mine to be this chaotic looking distribution of two days across the week. Have a nice day, y'all!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Gaming comics, a niche cursed by the ever-growing wave of newcomers looking for the usual dream of instant sucess without any effort. It's not hard being a gaming comic these days, people...

Anyway, this is not directed to anyone in particular, just... something I thought would give my readers a chuckle. So, in doubt, I invested some time in that ultra-raging version of Jello.

Have fun, you guys! I know this week I probably won't... =P

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Today is my father's birthday, and this is a comic featuring the main character's parents. Coincidence?! Almost. I had plans of making a John & Ella comic for some time now, to stop dealing only with Zip and Jello, and it came in a perfect timing.

So, here's a bit of a flashback.

And just as a completely unrelated fun fact, Zip's name would be "Nil" if he was a girl. I was going to put that in the comic, but it didn't fit.

That's all, guys. Have a swell weekend!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, here the arc ends, and on a stealthy joke. I'm not sure if I hope you really got the joke or not... but look at the pretty background on the first panel! =D

Anyway, next strip is Ella & John, and then some fun with Theo. And then back to webcomic jobs!

And, meanwhile, please vote on our poll(down there, under the "Top Webcomics" button) for our first fanservice poster!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, after the movie we have an over-excited Zip and couple that's a bit conformed to having their night alone ruined by that same over-excited young man. Where are the people who were in the same room? Well, they are somewhere else so I don't have to draw them in the background, that's where!

But, look, I did some funny movie posters for you to gaze at isntead of a lifeless background in that stretched first panel. It surely makes me feel less guilty!

Next comic, we end this mini-arc and go into funny one-timers and all that. It's gonna be cool, I promise!

Have a nice day!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Well, guys... that's it! 50 editions, yo! And that's not even counting Moley Rants, Webcomics underrated and other extra stuff! And that's all thanks to my weird perseverance and, of course, the support of all my fans... all 5 of them! Naw, just kidding, thanks a bunch, people!

Now, this... is what it is. A lineup of our main characters, which is also the source of the portraits on the new Cast page. Yes, I finally updated that thing!

So, that's it. Next strip, we get back to our usual antics, more exactly after that awesome movie Jello, Zip and Flora were watching.

See you, and thanks a lot!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

My bad. I simply forgot to plan ahead, I just forgot April's 1st was coming up and had nothing prepared. My bad.

If I had any ideas? Well, I'd mess with the layout, mostly. Maybe change it into something that resembles more a generically bad webcomic, don't know. Maybe I'll make "lazy versions" of every strip up to the next year's April's 1st... dunno. But next time I'll plan myself out.

Also, notice under the strip, under the strip comments, something new? Yep, that's my cartoony face there, and if you hover your mouse pointer about, you'll find something that was missing... that's right, now we have this "Director's Cut" extra comments on the strip, substituting our "alt-text", which was discarded. Cool, heh?

Finally, we reached 50 strips! Awesome! Thanks for the support, keep coming and all that. Also, I really love the feedback, so leave a comment once in a while, will ya?

That's all. Thanks a bunch, and Mole out!

PS.: No author avatars were harmed on the making of this special feature... I hope.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, as I said, LOLGarfield wouldn't do, instead I thought on making it a bit of fanart. Then I took Crappy's stuff and worked it into a movie preview joke

Turns out it works even better as a teaser. No one knows what the heck was that about, but it surely grabs your attention. And it also looks pretty awesome.

Anyway, the makings of any sort of "Full Lenght Comic" out of Crappy Comics is entirely up to Mr. Crappy. On my side, I made those shapes in Inkscape instead of MS Paint, and heck they look much better!

So, next comic... surprise. It's #50, so I'm in the mood for something completely different. Stay tuned!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And now you know I love poking fun at stylistic flaws. Pro-tip: if your artistic choices render your characters undifferentiable from each other, don't blame the readers for not noticing those two identical stick figures are different people.

All in all, it was fun and easy. Next preview was going to be a Garfield parody, but I found out actually mimicking Jim Davis' style woudn't be worth it. I'll think of something else.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Movie preview jokes: the format is easy to produce and it's pretty decent(or so it seems). So, I'll keep it as filler so I can at least try to get some sort of buffer.

So, first preview: I'm not jabbing at anyone in particular, just a general commentary. One that's pretty obvious, so it pretty much writes itself. Yay.

Next week: more previews. It's gonna be a fun week...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I know what you're thinking, and yes, she's green as a side-effect of having that ability.

Now, to the usual "pointing out the references" moment! Abstruse Goose-inspired floating heads up there, a "crappy" triangle waaaay back there on the last panels, and that giraffe gal that acted on Furdissey is back. Oh, and that little mole there, too, it's mine. :D

In all, this was a very satisfying comic. Coming next: movie preview antics!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, look at this comic! With detailed backgrounds and all that! Well, okay, the backgrounds ain't THAT detailed, but it's an improvement, I reckon.

In case you didn't get it right out, background characters are inspired by Abstruse Goose and its floating heads. Also, that concession worker is Kori, from Westbrook's Multiplex of Death.

I had fun with those posters. You might not even be able to read them behind the characters, but I like them anyway.

Next comic: more funny conversation with Jello's girlfriend, this time inside a theater room. You can't miss!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, we start another story starring our awesome main characters. There's something behind this, but the backstory is easily deductible. What will happen, though... well, there are some surprises along the way.

And, yes, all movies in Webcomic World are parodies. Copyright bites!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Back to our usual plotstuffs, I'd just like to make one teaser for you dearl fans of WU. It's this: next time we'll see her, Ms. Ribbon will have undergone sever makeover. Yep, I decided to change her style from the manga-ish she is now to... somethig more fluid and proper. Wait and see.

So, to what matters: Sandra & Woo! Who, incidentally, are looking for guest art, but I'm pretty sure I'm not able to provide. Not now. Not this time. Still, it's a sweet comic that carries a cute "Calvin-n-Hobbes-esque" tone, with some dashes of this and that all around. Also, Larisa is, somehow, a very lovely juvenile psychopath. Gotta love that.

And that's it. Next strip, start of a new mini-arc, and a new character to be introduce. Hope you'll enjoy it. Really do, because keeping up with the schedule is proving to be quite a challenge this semester. But I never give up before I'm bled to death.

So... have a nice day!

PS.: You might want to check the Furdissey arc for clarification...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I swear I wanted to do a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy joke, but it just didn't fit.

Also, this is the first comic to feature a transcript in its "alt" field. Hope it'll be useful!

PS.: I also have overlooked the International Women's Day. I'm a mess...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Here I go again, using my story to explain you guys a little bit more of how the fictional hiring system of WU works. As a bonus, a background with a very NON-STEALTH reference. Come on, I know you got it!

...If you didn't, I don't know what to think...

PS Starting next strip: transcripts!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Firstly: yes, I know, that's actually the title. I know, I programmed the site, I know it's the title that pops up when you keep the mouse over the picture for long enough, and alt is the text that appears when/while the browser can't display an image. It's just the way it's referred to in a number of places, including TV Tropes. Also, it sounds better.

Now, to what matters: I'm gonna get those out. But, to understand why, a brief story of alt-texting on the webcomics community...

...Okay, I'm not sure where it started. I first saw it on xkcd, once in Girly, and it's also a staple of Dinosaur Comics – so much they have 3 alternate jokes – and I liked it, so I thought my comic could have it too. Then I thought better and saw there was no reason for it to stay.

The Alt-Text works as some sort of background info and extra joke, and coming up with something good requires a bit of extra writing work. But, mostly, since this is not a comic that appeal specifically to people who would be looking for an alt text, it just looks gratuitous and nothing more.

But I like easter eggs and I have at least a few alts which I like, and I don't want to lose them. Also, it was referred at least in one comic comment, so I guess I should just put it somewhere else. The question remains... where?

I have no idea. I could make an invisible div with some little javascript somewhere(easy as pie, in fact, and I think that's what's done in Saturday Morning Breakfast Comic), but it hardly matters for now. Also, I think it'll be better if it's a surprise, eh?

Finally, what's going on alt and title now? Well, the title will feature... the title of the comic. The alt, on the other hand, will have the comics transcription. Yes, I think this means you'll be able to search the comics by its dialogue, even on Google. At least, I hope so. Either way, it'll be an improvement, semantically speaking...

That's all. I just wanted you guys who know that there's alt text material to be warned. Don't worry, be happy, and have a nice summer/winter!

PS.: I put my comic on the Top Webcomic ranking. Feel free to vote whenever you want, there'll be either a fancy text or a button somewhere on the comics page. No incentives for now... but they'll come up eventually!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Hi, we're back! Yes, I actually made it all the way back from vacation lethargy, yay!

And, yes, this still is Webcomics United. Don't recognize Ms. Ribbon? Really? Hm... okay.

Well, this is just some foreshadow for maybe a bigger plot. If I'll ever develop on it further, we'll se on the future.

For now, just take your guesses!

Have a lovely day, everyone!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Hello, and welcome back to Webcomics Underrated, our serial but infrequent segment of webcomic criticism. Today, we turn our eyes to what I call a challenge: a comic from someone with whom I have a nice relation, but that cannot pass unscathed. From Mr. Crappy-Comic-Artist, the unnamed strips I call Crappy Comics!

Story

Crappy Comics isn't the most story-driven comic, instead taking the humorous route of the gag-a-day strips. There are two recurring characters: Square, a red dimwitted rectangle who should be legally unable to operate heavy machinery; and Triangle, a blue scalene triangle who is socially functional, and still manages to have his funny moments. They live together, for no better reason than that's what comic characters usually do when they are a comedic duo, and sometimes receive the visit of a sociopathic green circle named Circle. Much hilarity ensues, of course.

Anyway, the comics have little continuity, with each comic being, usually, a self-contained episode, with but a few strings of strips that follow each other chronologically. As a matter of fact, Circle was introduced a bit into the strip's timeline, but that's it.

On characters... well, they are what they are. Square is wacky, Triangle is straight, but flawed, and Cricle is completely out of the psycho scale. Once in a while some throwaway characters are introduced, such as a doctor and Triangle's niece and her friends, but nothing significative. Let's get back to the writing later.

Art

Oh, the art. Let me put it this way: if you're interested in giving this strip a chance, you'll just have to get over the fact this strip is mostly a rectangle and a triangle over white background. Just stating the truth in the matter, bluntly. Now, to the little details...

So, the art is, apparently, made in MS Paint, and composed, usually, of colored shapes and speech bubbles which are not bubbles at all. Most of it is Triangle and Square on white background, which qualifies this as the infamous "talking heads" style of comic-ing. Nonetheless, Mr. Crappy has the good habit of putting some background objects when the situation calls, such as computers, portraits, lamps, and maybe even a building. Nothing awe inspiring, though. It's MS Paint we're talking about...

And, talking about poor artistic tools, the comic is settled on a lot of copy-pasting, including some live-action faces now and then. Mostly, though, it's just obvious that the main characters are the same image duplicated over most of the panels. If you think about it, it isn't that bad considering his tools, but I'll get to that later.

The art is still expressive, not all it could be, but enough. On the "Picks" section there's one I think was especially well done. I know what you're thinking, but, no, I won't let him off the hook just because he's my buddy, or sort of. But the art will be further tackled later. Let's get to the good parts...

Ups...

Crappy can tell a joke, that's clear. It's not always gut-busting, but there was no strip in which I didn't know what was going on. Also, he's been resisting greatly the usual author's

His characters are also well worked, though Triangle is surely the least distinctive, him being the "Straight Man" and all that. Circle, on the other hand... him being psychopathic and over-the-top would make him an instant hate for me, but he's spaced out nicely, so every time he appears the mood is settled on his favor. Heck, the first strip I ever read had a Circle timing that was impecable. Square, last but not least, is the usual dumb best friend, and while he's well-round, I'm not much a fan of the stereotype.

And, as a minor point, the vertical strip layout. Few comics follow that layout, most of them being horizontal strips or full pages. The vertical layout is ideal for a webcomic, seeing that the image is loaded from top to bottom. It might not be intentional, but it's very cool nonetheless.

...and Downs

The art. Heck, this is gonna be a long one...

So, okay, you want your comic to be minimalist. Fine, you can have your shapes, it doesn't mean they should be static, though. Comics must be dynamic, which is a bit of a contradictory statement, seeing that comics are a collection of static pictures that tell a story, but I digress. Copy-paste is a dynamism killer. I bashed copy-paste once and I maintain my position: it's a "sometimes tool", which can easily turn into a very bad one.

Rather, not using the sacred ctrl-c-ctrl-v might make the strip better. Sure, Triangle and Square should look alike from panel to panel, but the camera can walk and turn and zoom around the characters. They could tweak their shapes a little to express emotion. Heck, a horizon line could add lots to the expressivity of the comics! Roughly, the tip is: you can have your crappy comics, but try making them less crappy.

Which brings us to a simple principle: the strenght of resides in the communion of art and writing. If the art is bad, or the writing is bad, or both, the comic as a whole suffers, no buts. This means that, when you limit your writing or your art to an extent, the other part will have to make up for the lack of quality.

Besides: improvement. I'm a defendant of constant improvement. Experiment with the art and style of writing, adopt what's good, reject what is not, treat your readers' feedback with care. That's all as true for traditional comic artists as it is to people who decide to draw their comics as stick figures, heads, shapes or even the same art every single day.

Reviewer's Picks

Lunchbox of Doom - First Crappy Comic I ever read, which means I was spoiled on Circle's existance; but, still, I like the timing and the punchline here.
ROCKIN' - An example of a Crappy Comic well done. The art is simplistic, but expressive.
Hell Sweet Hell - Backgrounds. They do make a difference!

Further Random Topics

It seems with each review I'm getting better at nitpicking. I mean no harm, though, there's a reason why my reviews always have an "Ups" and a "Downs" secion. I rely on them to highlight what I think it's done right, and what I think needs improvement.

As said before, Crappy Comics is an example of webcomic which limits its art. It's in the same line as stick figure and sprite comics, in the sense that the expressivity of the art is limited by its inherent subpar quality. What all these comic styles, and some more, have in common is that: their art can easily fail to convey any message, if you don't know how to make it do so. But they are still able to deliver the message, if you can manage them well.

And, with that, I declare Crappy has its value and still a lot of space to grow. Of course, growing is a choice that should be taken by the artist. I merely give a hint and push here and there, eh?

So, this finishes yet another episode of Webcomics Underrated. Hope you liked it, and I'll be on look for more comics to review for our next feature.

PS.: If you didn't get the thumbnail joke... it's okay. It is quite obscure, after all.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I talked about this a long time ago on my blog, but I figure you guys who visit this site haven't read my blog, since it's written in Portuguese... anyway, it's about a little thing about myself. Namely, vacation makes me horribly lethargic.

As a rule, when vacatin time comes I am initially hyped by the promise of free time to work on my pet projects – such as this webcomic and a few game programming related affairs, not to mention some books and other stuff –, but after a while the promise of free time turns against myself and I find myself doing exactly the opposite: nothing. Or, rather, lots of things, most of them not productive at all.

Still, the fact I am rising from my lethargic condition to write this extra feature is proof that I am back to work. I'm working on a new buffer, on some art requests and other things as well(including two features of this same site). So, dear fans – if you actually exist and are not a figment of my hyperactive imagination –, stick around, for there might be more soon. Quite soon.

But, for now, let me get back into my burrow. Have a nice day!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And... again, Mr. Vorhias is in the house, since, frankly, I've ran out of guest strips. So, unless anyone else send me something or I get my laptop back, we'll be on some hiatus for the next few weeks.

Anyway, it's Theo! Also, it refers to that other guest strip, you might remember. Anyway, it always get my laughs.

Have a nice day and wish me luck, buddies. I think I'll need some...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, next on the list... the fabulous, the awesome, the fantastic... Westbrook!

So, James Westbrook, author of Mortality Girls, which was reviewed on this very site in Webcomics Underrated. For those not into the whole stuff, "Markita" is one of the spin-off characters of his latest storyline, and this is some sort of "Baby Spinoff" version, except, this being Westbrook's stuff, she's quite the little devil in child's body...

...Yeah, I won't lie, I was expecting something related to WU, but it's good enough. I'm not picky, and I like the guy, so it's here. Enjoy, and till next week!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, this is our next guest, Mr. CTHULHU from Sound On.

I... read the comics, but I'm not very sure I could make out what's going on. Probably because the first comics seem to be hidden somewhere. Worth a try, though.

Also, a guest strip without Zip. That's very cool.

Till next time, when we might or not have a repeating guest here. Let's see...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Our next guest here is – I am not making this up – Crappy Comic Artist. Which, as his username tells, makes crappy comics. They're actually pretty good, though his art is, indeed, crappy. It happens.

Nonetheless, he made this strip and I quite like it, so I'm thankful. Take a look at his gallery and have fun with his strips, if you may.

All in all, have a nice week, and I'll see you next Friday.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

First one, from Mr. Vorhias, buddy from deviantART. Take a check there, he's got plenty of cool and funny stuff on the stash.

And he also suggested this idea for me once, and instead of waiting for me to do it, he just got the job done. Awesome, eh?

That's it, and next week here comes another strip, from another artist. Cheers and all that!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Just in case you're wondering, the "expect occurrence" are actually two:

1. Vacation. I knew I'd be travelling away by the 18th, and probably only come back months after, when classes are on again. So, my bad entirely.

2. My laptop's monitor is failing yet again, and since I'm still on warranty, I can send it to tech support for free, and that's what I'll do. But since this is tech support, it might be there for a few months, so it'll be hard to be drawing during my vacation, as I was planning before...

So, that's it. The site will update weekly, due to the lack of strips done to me. It happens.

All in all, nice holidays for you, and I hope you'll still be around when I'm back again.

Cheers, Mole out!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Quite frankly, I don't endorse the use of the copy-paste. Actually "technique" is being used with a fairly wide meaning here. There are few things you can actually do with copy-paste without looking like a hack and, believe me, basing your comic entirely in it, is not it.

Doing humore over it, though, I guess that's pretty clean.

And get your torches ready, tomorrow we'll have a nice effigy to burn! =D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And so it all ends well, everyone had fun and Theo continues to amaze us with his ever growing nerditiy. Yay.

...What? No, of course I couldn't write the whole adventure, we're on a deadline here! In fact, I must beg once again: guest strips! I need them desperately! Sure, I've tried, but it seems you don't get guest strips from many people if you aren't a hot shot million-visits-per-day webcomic these days...

Well, no more mourning over it. If I get enough strips, well. If not, please do not forget this site will be active again by February. Maybe March. We'll see.

All in all, have a nice day, and we'll be back by Monday, you know...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

In case you're wondering, I miss playing RPG, it's been months now since I last met some friends to roll dice and make stupid (but hilarious) decisions in crucial moments of the plot. Not to mention the critical failures! Ah, good times...

Anyway, we won't see much of this game, because soon will come the time when I'll be unable to continue the strips. Also, because this is not a gaming strip, so I wonder why I even started this little arc. I guess I just like exploring all sorts of things.

But enough. This comic is almost late and it must be submitted. Have a nice day, fellows!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Surely, I hope you know who we're talking about right? I mean... look at that face, doesn't it remind you of someone? Anyone?

Ah, well, you'll have to wait till I bring this up in the future then.

Also, I won't lie: I'm posting this merely 20 minutes before it goes online. This was a rough week, people!

Thanks for coming by. And pass along the word: Webcomics United needs guest strips!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Westbrook mentioned this house doesn't even seem to have a basement, which is good, because it doesn't, and I'm trying to avoid as many consistency problems as possible.

In unrelated news, I'm out of commentary. I just need to post this before I go out for the weekend without internet and unable to post this by Monday.

Oh, yes: guest strips, anyone?

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Is this the start of a mini-arc? Why, yes, why not?

This was a comic that took some time doing, but I think it was worth it. The 8-bit battlefield is acceptable(though maybe not the message box), and I'm quite proud of that telephone.

And, yes, I'm still on the looking for guest strips. Anyone would like to appear here? Knows someone who would? If you'd kindly help, I'd be thankful.

And that's it. Have a nice day.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

There are good comics and bad comics. There are also those that are so good they are awesome, and, on the opposite end of the spectrum, those who are so bad they're horrible. And then there are those who defy any definition of goodness.

Shredded Moose manages to be a webcomic for which I seen no favorable review. It's hosted on a well designed site, with passable art, but its writing is hideous. It's not only bad, but so cringeworthy it makes you wonder if it's not a deliberated attempt at trolling the whole world at once. And, just in case you're wondering, no, it doesn't excuse itself from being what it is.

But, fortunately, the comic has achieve self-awareness and shut itself down for the time being. That, or the artist got fed up with the writer and walked away. Either way, it's in hiatus and now you'll be unable to "appreciate" this unbelievable pile of offensiveness, but that doesn't meanyou'll just have to trust my words alone on that.

And so I thought I could exploit such badness in my comic. Hey, this is a webcomic about webcomics, including those who appear to have just crawled from the deepest abyss of Hell!

And now, go in peace.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And Fanservice Day comes up, that date I made up just so I could make a joke about how totally unsexy all my characters are. Brilliant, eh?

Just out of curiosity, which one of them amuses you more? I'm pretty divided between Zip's total lack of sexiness(and nipples) and Ella's "pixels as big as cats" sort of pin up pose, complete with red pantyhose. Theo is something else, too; since eveything with fur on might be sexy to the right person, I had to work a bit to make him even less appealing.

On the other hand, you might delight yoursleves with that cut shot of an actual sexy woman on the third panel. Again, no men, because I did not want to make this comic even less appealing. I'm owing you one more, my probably-non-existing female fans!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This would come up, someday. I, of course, am compelled to treat the subject as humorously as posible. All in all, breaking the fourth wall is a risky move, and I'm not interested in taking it.. yet.

But, to other more pressing matters: GUEST STRIPS. You comic artist or friend of a comic artist, it's your chance to have your work published somewhere else and get another link to your stuff. Take part on this wholesome event of artistic interchange and help me save one or two months of inactivity! =D

Seriously, though, I'm needing guest strips to fill December and January, and I'm not picky. At all. If you wish to have your stuff here, let's talk and make it a deal.

And that's pretty much that for now. Friday, you know, is Fanservice Day! ;D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I'm dead serious: next Friday is Fanservice Day here at WU. I won't blabber anymore, though, 'cause I'd like to see what your minds will come up with in the mean time. You, whoever is reading this. I know there's at least some 5 people...

Anywho, you just brace yourselves with Miss Ribbon's lovely lady lumps. And for all you female readers(anyone?), the reason there's no hunk in this announcement is simple: I can't draw handsome men to save my life. I could try, but that'd be left for another time, when I'm not trying to convey any sort of actual sex appeal.

Okay, I'll stop.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Look it's him again, Black Hat Man! Then again, it's not, which means, yes, it's not him, again.

Seriously, I miss Black Hat Man in xkcd. In fact, I miss characters in xkcd. I have this opinion that Mr. Munroe should try to develop some characters intead of just throwing random stick figures whose personalities are not well defined in each installment of the webcomic.

But enough, I think this was a joke waiting to be made, and I couldn't wait for a lot of time after Halloween so it'd look less like me milking a lame joke again and again. Seriously, this will be the last of xkcd in the strip for a while.

Also, the buffer is coming along pretty well. In the very least, I'll have two weeks of comics ahead, if I can come up with strips every Monday during classes. Yes, that's what I've been doing. Anywhat, putting them together is surely taking some time, and my usual refusing to take the easy way doesn't help either.

But I'll survive some way or another. Have a nice day out there.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

For some reason I like this strip. It's probably that last panel, with the differently shaped screaming bubble and juxtaposing dialogue. Also, Zip's not permanently smiling. That sure looks good.

Starting now, I'm planning on having a solid buffer of 3 strips or more. It'll probably shrink again when the next arc starts, but I'll make my best. You'll know if I succeed!

And thanks for coming. Have a nice day!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Back to the plot(or lack of), Zip did manage to make some pretty bucks. I really liked drawing that illustration on the box of that impressive "Marvell" HDTV set. I'm also very glad it was diminutive enough not to be so obvious I'm not very good at realistic coloring.

There isn't any much to say, so I'd like to thank all you people who's been commenting, it does feel awesome to know there's people coming here. Keep showing up, please! =D

Also, it's "Day of the Dead" down here. No, I'm not in Mexico, I'm far to the south, and around here things are pretty much sober. All in all, it's a day off. I'm really in need of some of those, oof... XP

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is Halloween... one day too early!

Yes, I admit, there's no joke here, only references. I tried to come up with something, but nothing came... oh, well...

Anyway, down below is the "cheat sheet". I'm trying to make this text as long as possible so you won't be able to see it without scrolling, just in case you're trying to figure out who's who.

Anyway... here they are:

• Theo as Tycho, from Penny Arcade;
• Zip as Riff, from Sluggy Freelance;
• Jello as Kirby, from Nintendo Super Squad;
• John as Black Hat Man, from xkcd;
• Ella as White Mage, from 8-bit Theater;
• Miss Ribbon as Otra, from Girly;
• Smiley Sticks as... any Cyanide and Happiness Character, I suppose;

Have a Happy Halloween! =D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, I decided to use this area to talk about my experiences in this strip. Since this is, mainly, a meta-work, it puts me across many genres and styles, and this might prove interesting material. For our first take on this viewpoint, let's see what Furdissey has added to me as personal experience.

Before anything said or done, I have nothing against furries. I actually fail to understand the memetic hate spread around the Internet towards people who admit to enjoy anthropomorphic animals in a way or another. Any further comment here is about the artistic experience of working with anthropormhic characters, and just that. Of course, after such disclaimer, you must be guessing my experience didn't smell exactly like roses...

Not that it was outright bad, I enjoy anthropomorphic critters. I have three mole personas and also once made a short-lived furry strip, which forunately never left the pencil sketches of my notebook – more due to the shoddy writing than actual art. But if you ever saw my mole alter-egos and any other stuff you'll see my level of anthro is more on the beast side of the scale.

Furdissey, on the other hand, was far more to the human side, a parody of sortso of oh-so-many other furry comics around the big 'Net. It gave me the opportunity to try something different for a while, but it still felt a bit disappointing. I'm not sure what it is, but I think it has to do with the over-humanization of the characters. In short, if the animal traits are being toned so much down, why not making them human anyway? I know it's a personaly quarry of mine, but I still prefer animal characters with most animality as possible, be it in shape or behavior. Watership Down still is one of my favourite books ever, after all.

And it's not just a "one-time affair" either. Back in time, when I first listened to "Rocky Racoon" I imagined the whole story in anthros, with a whole cast of critters. Of them, only Rocky himself made into the Internet. I think this sort of style is something akin to "catgirls", and that annoys me for a bit...

But then that's just me. I'm sure people who chose that level of anthro have their reasons. Me, I had a special pleasure in drawing Theo and Red Warrior. Red, because she was already designed and had that fierce look to it(and more animalish legs). And Theo, because, being a sloth, making him seem human was just that easy without having him lose his animal traits much, which is also why he's got assimilated by the main cast. But for the rest, I'll probably avoid that sort of style in the future.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, yes, our special Halloween Comic is coming up. Time to speculate on the characters' costumes, people! ...there is, if there is any people out there.

And thanks for you... two, who left comments. I like comments, it makes me feel as if what I'm doing is actually been seen, and that feels good. Very good.

So, I'll se you again by Friday. Have a nice week.

UPDATE: And just in case you really want to know... this is what a Slash-Fic is. Worry not, it's just a definition page, not the actual thing. It's perfectly safe for work.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, all's well that end's well, I suppose. I had a bit of guilt about letting Zip get away after such glaring display of lack of common sense, but at least he didn't had it easy. Anyway, I'm happy I won't be drawing bigger pages in a while. That sure helps keeping my life on toll...

And, talking about my life, today I'll be making a partial project presentation at college. If there's anyone out there, I hope you're wishing me good luck! =D

And stay tuned, cause we will, indeed, have a Halloween strip. You just wait there... ;)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is the last we'll see of Furdissey. At least, if I don't get the crazy idea of revisit the comic in a while. Which I think I won't, but nobody knows. Either way, I hope you've been missing the good ol' format, because it's coming back! =D

...Anyway, I hope it'll help me to grab more time before yet another webcomic-in-a-webcomic. In fact, I think I'll let you vote on this: next arc I'll put Zip either into a gaming comic or a TG comic. Which one? You have the opportunity to convince me! Leave your kind words down there and I'll consider.

And have a nice day. Or night.

UPDATE: Well, damn, it took me long enough... I mean to mention this earlier, but I kept postponing to the next strip, but this is the last, so...

The Red Warrior is a creation of "A. C." There, credit where credit is due.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And so, it is "Improv Time"!... with probably dire consequences that will be unveiled on the next installment only. For now, appreciate my horrid grasp of action sequences. Damn...

Either way, you came all the way here, take some time to leave a word down there! Also, you notice which time of the year this is? Yes, the All Hallows Eve is close. If you're alsking yourself if we'll have a commemoratie strip, the answer is "hell, yes!"

Till there, and have a damn nice day.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Comment boxes. Saw'em? Huh?

See, I want to hear what you, dear reader and/or stumbler, has to say about this comic. While most of my work is posted beforehand on dA, I'm guessing part of my (future) fanbase has not an account there and doesn't plan to, so I need some other means for feedback. Namely comment boxes.

Now, hear attentively: if there's one thing I learned from comment boxes, is that they attract spammers. That's why I took care on moderating this dear thing. So if you're hurrying to the nearest comment box to say your mind, great chances are you'll be barred by my mindless, cold and automated moderation system. Because there's few things I hate more than spammers. Damn spammers...

But fear not, if I ever spot the true comment of a true fan, or even just any person, I'll let it go and it'll not repeat again. Unless you abuse the system trying to put scripts or too many links in your comment. Nonetheless, I'll try to make real comments pass through quickly, so there's no need to be aggressive towards my poor program.

That being said, I hope this doesn't turn out bad, or I may be forced to take it down. But that's just in the worst case. Keep it cool, and it'll be kept up.

Have a nice day, and please do not forget to comment!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I admit, this was very rushed. It helped a lot that I had the outline for Zip's train of thought already in my head, and this one was not very artistically demanding. That second panel, on the other hand... yes, it was lazy. I just got pissed off at that bull person, so I gave up and moved on.

On a high note, though, this means I managed to not let my schedule slip. Now, if you don't mind, there's a lot of stuff to be done. Including Friday's strip. Have a nice week!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So... this was made in a hurry, not much for a lack of time, but for an excess of stuff to be done. Also, the day before yesterday I had no power at all.

That crowd on the first panel was such a pain I don't ever want to do another crowd scene in a while. The fourth panel is my favourite, though.

And that's it. Monday's strip will probably either come very late during the day or only Tuesday. Monday is a holiday, so there are great chances I'll have no internet connection, and my comic buffer has ran dry, so I haven't got the next one ready yet.

Have a nice weekend!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I think the punchline cut off the dialogue here, but I didn't have much to say else, and I wouldn't be able to go on with the plot if I didn't have that last panel.

Also, the fact that my buffer is dry and I refuse to let my schedule slip before the 50th strip or holidays, whichever comes first, will probably ensue in crappy strips.

At the very least, I'm admitting. I'd feel worse if I didn't push myself to keep on trying, sorry there. Let's hope for the best!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I don't know how many guessed "raccoon", but most people would assume I'd chose something else. Like a mole, but that'd be too obvious for me. ;)

Anyway, next strip we'll have more characters coming. That is, if I manage to finish it by Monday. Wish me luck!

(Man, I really should have built a bigger buffer, damn it...)

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Hello, and welcome to our second issue of "Webcomics Underrated"! Why does that means we actually have a series? Well, I do guess so! Doesn't that make me of myself, eh? :DAnyway, my first plea for suggestions was a success and thus I've managed to find a new comic to read and review. For my luck, it's short and quick to read,since it is just on its 3rd issue. A story of heroes, villains and, of course, civilians. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Chillin Civilians

Story

Anyway, the cast is joined by Ila and her older sister Isis, in whose house Didj come to live(renting a room) and also Snipe, who's a Robot Ninja. No, this is not a spoiler. It'd be a spoiler if I told you that – HAH! Gotcha! XD

So, I must say, there isn't much "plot" in CC for now. We have several plot hooks, but nothing much, which either means there isn't much or there's a lot to expect for in the future, since we have a practically blank slate for a storyline or more. The characters have little potential for what I could see of them, but then i could be incredibly wrong. See, that's the problem with reviewing new stuff, there's so little you have to analyze.

But, from what I can see, CC has a lot to offer. If it'll exceed or rather fail to match this potential, it's a matter for the future.

Art

Of the art, though, there's a lot to be said. First things first, it's quite incredible that the style evolution is so much visible through the comic's timeline.

The art starts as fairly good pencil, then gets firmer and firmer, though it suffers a bit in the mean time. As I noted the author already, during the second issue of the comic the background lines are thicker than the characters', which makes them strangely fade into the BG. Also, since the BG is traced(the author told me), the lines are not only thicker, but harder, which makes it a bit uncomfortable. But it's getting better, thankfully.

But to good things: the character drawing is awesome. The style looks vaguely familiar, though I'm not sure exactly from where... still, there's at least one comproved instance of awesome design at hand, and, given unto Caesar, that's pretty much where the art stands on: the characters. They are expressive, lean and distinctive. A pity in earlier instances you can hardly differentiate the sketch lines from the actual ones, but, again, it's much much better now, and I hope it improves much in the future.

On a little note, the comic had a free format in the earliest pages, but now is strictly published in a definite 2-page format. Beats me, it looks good nonetheless.

Ups...

CC has potential. It's new and has a premise that works. It's like a cross between Cloverfield and Watchmen, only with real superpowers, less bitter and deep Moorean writing and no shaky camera(thankfully). Anyway, it's something that works, and Didj is taking it to a good way. Of course, with him going out from action for a while due to military duty will stall the things "a little bit", but I'm willing to see what's coming next.

Also, the art works for the genre, there's something on the not quite occidental and not quite oriental either style that just fits onto the premise like a glove, action-packed scenes included.

...and Downs

Oddly, all my nitpicks are on the art department. As I noted up there, the story is quite juvenile for any plot complaints to be done, so I'll leave it at that. But the art got some shifts here and there, and there's a bit to nitpick on.

For instance, the issue of coloring, or the lack of it. The issue is: the backgrounds are shaded, but characters are completely black-and-white. Both things are not a problem on themselves, but the dissonance is a bit unsettling and annoying.

Also, again on the background tracing: first, it looks artificial. Second, the lines are thicker and not smooth. Tracing background can be a handy tool if you – like me – can do proper backgrounds without a lot of time working on it, but I suggest using a vector software(Corel, Flash, Inkscape, et cetera) for that, so your lines won't look so blatant.

And, finally, speech bubbles. I have no qualms against overlapping bubbles or bubbles that get over the characters or scene(heck, I do it often), but when your bubbles are trespassing the panel lines, that's a bad sign for sure. Especially so because there's usually a stylistic reason to do so: to indicate the speech is beyond the time/space of the scene on that panel. When you just do it randomly, it loses the lovely impression it gives when done rightfully.

Reviewer's Picks

The Robot-Ninja's Hand - This is a prime example of good character design. I'm still amazed.

Engorge - Another awesome character, and also the last page done to this date.

Enter the Bishounen - I like the background effect, even though this early page suffers from the indistinctive sketch lines I mentioned earlier. I still had my chuckles with that. :D

Random Further Comments

I have this bad feeling maybe I nitpicked much in this review. It's my second review and I'm already getting the "mean reviewer flu"...

Now, most of the comments made refer to older comics. This is a relatively new comic, and it has space for growth, and I'm quite happy that the author seems to be working towards that. That's very good, indeed, when an author is seeking for improvement instead of settling with whatever crap he has at hand...

So, CC is fairly good, really. I'm pretty sure that you will like it, or at least not hate it. It's likeably like that, I guess. I'm also happy to know there's a lot of comics around dA, I was a bit afraid I'd run out of them in a few runs. =P

And I don't have much more to say. Once again, I recognize my work as a critic may not be a really "pro" one, but I'm trying. Now I guess I need to improve on the thumbnail pics...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I swear I tried to come up with a cool machine, but a glass tube was the best I could do. I admit, my buffer is dangerously low, so I'm in some sort of "creative budget" here. Besides, I'm not really the person to come up with a decent machine, so... it's for the greater good.

So, which animal will Zip be turned into? Made your bets already? Next strip we'll all know...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

And so, Zip's off to work. His first job is in this – as appropriately addressed before – furry comic. It also features a different layout, and is produced colorless for my convenience.

Some people say they prefer this panel layout(without the 6 identical panels fixed format), but unfortunately it's not appropriate for the main strip. Mostly because it's not meant to be a bigger epic, just a series of gag strips with a wee bit of continuity, so the strip format is much better.

Besides, planning these variable panels sure kill me.

So, stay around to witness a miracle... the miracle of Furrification!

Also, make your bets on what kind of animal Zip will be. ;D

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This is the second instance of my series of little exposition comics on how the world of Webcomic Character Syndication works. This time, a few pointer on how Fillers are classified, how comic staff people may know if they're suitable or not for working with them, and why Jello mentioned, on our last chapter, that humans usually don't work in furry comics.

And, this time, a special thanks for my personal critic... I don't really know her name, but she goes as Gryphon's Shadow. Thank you, Gryphon's, for fixing the awkward texting on the second panel. =D

...And yes, next strip thing start getting relaly different. Furdissey, here we come!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Hello, and welcome to Moley Rants. My name's Bruno Guedes, sometimes called "Professional Mole", sometimes "Pro-Mole" for shorts, or "Professionally Apt Parascalops brewerii" for long... yes, I'm sorry, I won't do that again. Nonetheless, that little guy up there's my avatar, who will, hopefully, humor and guide you through my rants with some lovely antics and funny cartoons... So, what's this all about?

I have a blog out there, but it's turned to other public completely. On top of all, it's on another completely different language. Still, this one has yet another different crowd altogether. This is for people who visit this comic here. Thus, it's to deal with this site's future and webcomic stuff that are not full-fledged reviews. Also, they're not here to comment on my own strips, for that's why there are those little texts below each comic.

And so, this being the first edition of Moley Rants, here's something for you to chew on: I don't know what I'm doing.

By that, I mean I have almost no theoretical knowledge on writing. My art skills are mostly based on observation and experimenting. And my comedy is intuitive and may be based on flawed examples. I'm not a critic, I'm not a professional. I do this for fun and attention, and maybe for the prospect of earning some money with advertising... but mostly fun and attention.

My motto on this strip, though, is "always improve", or at least try to.IMHO, I managed that at least for now, as the first strips will show you. My dialogue palcement was worse, my choice of making "ephemeral panel lines" was horrible, and I'm finally getting the hang of speech and bubbles and camera angles. Maybe even sceneries. Who knows?

So help me out here: keep reading, do not flee, have hope on me. Call on me when I screw up, I'll promise to hear you attentively and try to improve, if you're not just outright bashing and messing with me, that is... But while I'm the artist/writer here, my public is sure important for the development of this comic.

Thanks for sticking by, and hope to see to next time. Have a nice day and some bunch of good luck.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This strip is a landmark. Here is where Zip's work actually starts being done. I.e., next strip will be in a different style and different place. In other words, for a few weeks we'll stop publishing Webcomics United and jump to Furdissey. Which, by the way, is a fictional webcomic. I'm not crossovering yet, sadly.

This will be a challenge, especially since my buffer is running over. Also, college is pressing. But I'll keep on trying.

Also, you may have not noticed, but there's some extras posted now. It's my first webcomic review. Read it, and I hope you enjoy it.

Peace and luck, and till the next comic!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

You must know Sluggy. If you don't, go there, and I dare you to read it's whole archives. ;D

Meanwhile, Zip once again shows us there's aways a silver lining behind every cloud. And, by now, it's just obvious Jello is the straight man in this "two wacky guys" relationship. Boy, can it really get more wacky than that?

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

First of all, I hope you like the new panel borders, now with some actual space between panels. I think it looks much better, and only a few more pixels wide. No problem on my book.

Now, this one was just a bit of exposition on my part. It's always safe to expose how you ideas are going in your head, in case your readers still didn't get them, or they just aren't clear enough. See, that's how filling works, for starters. So I hope things are a bit more clear now...

BTW, coloring stuff makes the process of strip-making a bit harder. It's still worth it, though.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Hello, and welcome to our very first episode of "Webcomics: Underrated". Here I'll comment on DeviantART-hosted webcomics, most of which do not receive all the attention they deserve. Some of them do, though, but they are still good – or bad – enough to deserve a mention anyway. Nonetheless, let's get it started!

So, for my first try on the wondrous world of web reviews, I've been reading an amusing series filled of the joy of friendship, teamwork, witty remarks and blood. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Mortality Girls

Story

Mortality Girls starts with a pretty straight-forward storyline entitled "Meaghan Kills", in which, as you might have guessed, Meaghan kills people. It all happens in a movie theater, until the sheer number of corpses cause the wave of crime to be easily spotted, but it all solves itself at the end and no one gets hurt... except the ones that were stabbed and hammered to death, of course.

A few stories later, Meaghan and her two friendly partners in crime Tanya and Anisa, together with fellow ushers of the new movie theater they are employed after the old one was closed and nicknamed "The Multiplex of Death", see themselves once again involved in more murders and deaths and even a superplot of mystical powers that need them to do their job, whichever it is. As the story goes, more characters enter the story and some join the strange "sisterhood of killers". Meanwhile, in an alternate universe, September, a girl a bit too clever for her age, copes with some problems of the good old times, including a demonic child and Halloween mischief. All in good humour, of course. :)

I like the premise, it's simple and even outstanding. Having killers as protagonists might not be original – yes, I am looking at all of you, comic book anti-heroes! –, but when they're just normal people pushed beyond the edge or obeying voiced from beyond, things get a bit more interesting. In fact, considering that last part, I'm expecting some twist, like them all being hallucinating in psychosis... yeah, I guess that'd be very cool! :D

So, the story starts pretty light-hearted – or, I'd rather say, as light-hearted as a story about a serial killer can be –, and a few chapters later gives a turn to seriousness and plans of cosmical creatures from beyond. Yes, this is a warning, if you cannot take the Path of Cerebus, maybe you won't like this. The story still has to cross the line of seriousness, and the occasional random fits of humor, regular or dark, are still keeping it from jumping that damned shark.

Art

Westbrook's art is efficient, i.e., simple yet effective. It's incredible how simply traced faces can convey expressions in such a sure way that the characters in Mortality Girls do. That, and Westbrook's capacity of drawing backgrounds and establishing shots are some of the comics most impressive treats.

But maybe his biggest fault is character depiction. Many characters – especially the main roster – look too much alike each other without cosmetic aids – hair style, clothes, make-up, distinctive accessories –, which is, of course, a consequence of such simplistic style of drawing. I understand it's just hard to put more details in such a limited style, and changing the style would just change the whole feeling of the comic.

And, just to end this on a fairly neutral tone, his digital enhancing skills are getting better. They really are, but that's something best seen than explained. Nice work there, Westbrook.

Ups...

The comic is fair original, from what I can gather. A growing squad of girls destined to kill for the greater good, combined with all sorts of mystical beings that help them and... okay, this does sound like the premise for one too many webcomics, but here's what: the story is not boring, and, throwing aside the... I won't mention, since it'd be heavy spoiling, but let's just say that, weirdness apart, the story actually sounds real. Or, to use the technical term, it has enough verisimilitude.

But, specially, Westbrook's humor is... something better seen. It's sometimes plain funny, sometimes sexy, many times carrying amusing and slightly obscure references, and, as you'd expect from the premise, dark humor in many nuances.

...and Downs

First, the mythological mash-up. This sort of thing always end up looking a bit forced into the storyline, and while it's still managing to maintain itself consistent and not intruding, it's already borderlining the Deus Ex Machina. It's not that bad, but it can become, and there are few things sadder than a webcomic degenerated into a metaphorical myth salad with the main characters simply walking around, merely guided by the plot. Render unto Caesar, the last storyline is something completely different and devoid of such mannerisms altogether, what fills me with some hope. It seems closer to the "old stories", and that is good.

And exposition. Pages full of nothing but dialogue with no reason other than to expose. Looking back, it wasn't much frequent, but, just to point, "Disobedience" features a whole epilogue of exposition on the events of the story. Sure, it's from the point of view of another character, but pure exposition still. When possible, exposition should always be incorporated into storytelling, rather than detached from it, and Westbrook had succeeded before. Good sign, it means it's just a minor nuisance after all...

Reviewer's Picks

- Aubrey - she's imaginary, evil and, as odd as it sounds, cute. Among many supporting characters, the imaginary girlfriend of a character I don't even remember if he had a name or not got stuck in my mind, so much she is featured on the title image for this review. Go figure.

- The Bitch-Mary argument - I don't know, it's so random, so out of nowhere, so completely off-topic it just stands up. Also, I learned something... completely useless, but still interesting.

- Token Guy - Quite a funny piece of lampshade hanging... and also RAEP! :lol:

Further Random Comments

This is the first installment on this (hopefully) series of reviews. All being said, I'm not a professional reviewer and I'm not all that versed in storytelling and art theory. Maybe one of my biggest flaws as a reviewer(and judge) is that I recognize the subjectivity inherent to the human discourse. What that means? Well, let's give a pause here before starting on this.

Simply putting, reviews are not the gospel. Mine, then, shouldn't even be considered "official". I might say I'm just a honest reader doing a good service for all those people who come around to a name such as "Mortality Girls" and start wondering "eh, should I read this? What's it about? What's good in it?" My answer is laid, judge for yourself. If you like it, you're welcome. If not... patience.

But I'm also aware of my job as a critic, that is not just to bash or praise, but to try and help improve. As an avid webcomic(and standard comics, too) reader – and now a writer, too –, I'll try my best. But since my words are not laid in stone, to follow my humble advice is your choice only. That is, if I made myself clear enough when needed.

All in all, I might have nitpicked on stuff that doesn't matter, or not nitpicked on stuff that deserve. Practice makes perfection, and everyone starts from somewhere, so please bear with me...

And, here: take this grain of salt. This review will go much better with it.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, since we could not have a protagonist leaving with his parents, we instead move him to a friend's house, where they can take part in many shenanigans together!

...disregard, of course, that he knows this friend for less than one day... But, hey, he wouldn't be Zip Stiff if he wasn't optimistic enough to move in with someone he knows for less than 24 hours, eh?

Also, finally John and Ella have degenarated into a stereotypical TV sitcom couple. Eh, that happens...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

I guess that's when Ella M. Stiff stops being just "The Main Character's Mom" and starts being her own character. Which is good, somehow I like this little srpite. She has some "snap" to her, but I can't tell exactly what...

And I'm very sorry if this economically based speech sounds strange for anyone with a decent knowledge of economy. I'm not an actual economist, I just try to pretend I am to put some background on my strips.

...Then again, I think that hardly matters when we're talking about fictional economy of a fictional universe.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Don't worry, one day you'll know Uncle Steve's story. By now, let's just focus on the fact that matters: it's long, boring and John Stiff likes to repeat it. A lot.

I don't have anything else important to say about this strip, so I'll say something unrelated: one month of strips, yay! Also, did you notice we now have panel borders? I really like it better that way, and it'll also change a bit more in a few strips. I won't spoil the surprise, though...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

See? I told you Jello would be back.

Anyway, now I'm dwelling into webcomic character genetics. You see, Sprite + Stickman = Hand-drawn Chibi. Seems simple, eh? Now try crossing a Furry and a Stickman. Man, things sure get messy... And we're still in the half-half territory, when we start dealing with quarters, then it gets messy...

Also, you might want apoligies for either a lame punchline or dialogue after the punchline. Either way, I just couldn't leave Jello silent there. My bad.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

Not much to say about the strip's plot itself. I think I managed to make it as short as it need to be(in a 6-panel strip, of course) and still introduce yet a new character(and one I really like, for reasons not completely known to me) on the same strip. And that last sentence... well, you know where this goes, eh?

A few more comments, here: first, if you think the erratic panel lining is irritating, rejoice, for nexts strip will come with a new style of solid panel lines, and I guess that's much better. So much better that I'm upgrading it a few strips later, to have actual panel borders. Hooray for that.

And I'll let more discussion for the next strip. Something to do with the schedule and stuff.

BTW, I was really going to put "Do the Proud Dance" in Zip's bubble in the penultimate panel, but I felt that woul be much better as an "alt-text joke". I guess you only noticed there's an extra text when you hover your mouse pointer over the strip now I told you, eh? XD

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

These are the sort of stuff Fillers have to deal with: changes on layout, adaptation to different styles, some changes don't go away as quick as they should... but there's also the upsides, of course, as "That's What She Said Guy" shortly shows us: a good Filler might become part of a webcomic's cast, and it's always good to have a stable income, rather than the very unpredictable and unstable one the Filler career provides...

And I guess you weren't even listening were you? No, it's okay. I know, the comic is much better than my inane speeches... *sigh*

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So we start having an actual cast now. This little guy is named Jello and is a Metamorph, meaning he can assume many forms, as show in the fifth panel there.

Other than that, I just love Stiff's laid-back attitude. I think if I can keep him from becoming a total moron instead of a lovable fool, I'll be breaking a record in the Webcomicsphere. Wish me luck.

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

See, this is the gimmick of the webcomic, as a whole: Stiff gets work on various webstrips, of different styles and genres, and I'll build humour and plot from that. I guess it's simple, yet effective, enough.

And yes, I'm still hoping people will actually read this at the time it's published. But I guess I'm just too optimistic, too...-_-

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

So, yeah, that's what Webcomics United do: they put webcomic characters where they fit better. And if you know what kind of comic this is, you know exactly what's coming. Otherwise... well, you'll have to wait for the nextr strip in Friday! Hah!

...that, or look for the next strip on deviantART. Yes, it's there, I made a lot of strips on advance. Look at your own risk...

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)

This being the first strip, I guess it's a good time to welcome you, my reader, and thank you for starting your trip along my short(or not so, depending on the time you find out about me) archive of strips. I hope you are amused

Also, feel free to browse around the site, the FAQ and Cast pages are good places to start knowing this strip better. If you wish to comment about the strip, the Contact page will provide you with information you'll need to do so. Or you can visit it in deviantArt, which have a comment engine, which this site (currently) doesn't.

All in all, have a nice day and enjoy this strip. I hope it manages to give you some good lot of fun!

This is a strip from the Webcomics United site, written, drawn and maintained by Bruno Guedes(bruno_guedesav@yahoo.com.br)