| 1 | %% |
| 2 | %% |
| 3 | %% STAFF NOTICE |
| 4 | %% |
| 5 | %% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1463170966093486300 |
| 6 | %% |
| 7 | %% Per the above thread, please do not add an image to this page. Thank you. |
| 8 | %% |
| 9 | %% |
| 10 | |
| 11 | As there's more freedom with {{Webcomics}} than some other mediums, it was only a matter of time before [[DarthWiki/DethroningMomentOfSuck a slip-up]] happened. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Keep in mind: |
| 14 | * Sign your entries |
| 15 | * One moment per work to a troper, if multiple entries are signed to the same troper the more recent one will be cut. |
| 16 | * Moments only, no "just everything he said," or "This entire comic," entries. |
| 17 | * No contesting entries. This is subjective, the entry is their opinion. |
| 18 | * No natter. As above, anything contesting an entry will be cut, and anything that's just contributing more can be made its own entry. |
| 19 | * Explain ''why'' it's a DarthWiki/DethroningMomentOfSuck. |
| 20 | * No ALLCAPS, no '''bold''', and no ''italics'' unless it's the title of a work. We are not yelling the [=DMoSs=] out loud. |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Series that have so many that they have to have their own Articles: |
| 24 | [[index]] |
| 25 | * ''DethroningMoment/CtrlAltDel'' |
| 26 | * ''DethroningMoment/{{Homestuck}}'' |
| 27 | * ''DethroningMoment/LeastICouldDo'' |
| 28 | * ''DethroningMoment/SabrinaOnline'' |
| 29 | * ''DethroningMoment/{{Shortpacked}}'' |
| 30 | * ''DethroningMoment/{{Sinfest}}'' |
| 31 | * ''DethroningMoment/{{VGCats}}'' |
| 32 | [[/index]] |
| 33 | ---- |
| 34 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | %%Examples have been cut due to not being signed. If your example was cut feel free to add it back in as long as it complies with the above rules. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder:Cyanide & Happiness]] |
| 39 | * Tropers/{{Lumberwood}}: [[http://explosm.net/comics/2233/ Look, I get that this comic can get pretty damn toxic, but jeez!]] There's a line to draw between "funny" and "cruel". Or perhaps I should say "awfully hilarious" and "hilariously awful". |
| 40 | * eneuman96: [[http://explosm.net/comics/3786/ This]] ''Webcomic/CyanideAndHappiness'' comic. While I do think the "selfie stick" is a fairly obnoxious idea, the comic still comes off as way too mean-spirited, even by the standards of its usual humor. |
| 41 | * Tropers/CaptainTedium: For the most part, I found ''Cyanide & Happiness'' to be a mixed bag, with some jokes being quite clever and others being appalling and shameful attempts at shock value that were far more disturbing and offensive than they needed to be. The comic that made me swear off this series for good, however, was ''really'' deplorable. It has a woman giving birth to a baby and being informed that her child was born with two faces. The mother wonders how they'll be able to tell which face to remove, and we see that only one of the baby's faces is crying, with the other face clearly non-functioning. The last panel shows a stitch where the baby's crying face used to be, making it clear that the mother [[SkewedPriorities prioritized her child's crying being stopped over her child living a normal life]] and has doomed her baby to die of suffocation and starvation. I always found jokes about killing babies to be in rather poor taste, but this one was especially unforgivable. |
| 42 | ---- |
| 43 | [[/folder]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | [[folder:Dragon Ball Multiverse]] |
| 46 | * Tropers/Overlord347: The webcomic [[http://www.dragonball-multiverse.com/en/accueil.html Dragon Ball Multiverse]], in my opinion, had a major dethroning moment during the Universe 16 Bra vs. Universe 8 King Cold match. Bra has accepted a handicap in that she can't go Super Saiyan against King Cold because she wants a challenge. Cold then powers up to two augmentation forms, and they fight. For a while, it's up in the air who has the advantage until Cold lands a huge blow on Bra and then pummels her to the point that she's barely conscious. It's when he throws four energy discs at her to finish her off that the moment happens: suddenly, out of nowhere, Bra reveals that she has a hidden supply of Senzu Beans in her glove, eats them, and restores herself to full health while avoiding the attack. Now, let's count the ways why this is a dethroning moment. |
| 47 | ** It was a complete AssPull. At no point was it even hinted that Bra ever had those beans, so her suddenly showing that she had them was a complete upset. Moreover, if she was oh-so confident that she could beat Cold with "just her pinky finger" without transforming, why would she even bother to have them? |
| 48 | *** Apparently, according to the author, she always has Senzu Beans on hand. As with the case above, this was never once foreshadowed or even implied, and just comes across as a half-assed attempt to justify why she had them in the first place. |
| 49 | ** The author tries to handwave it as "she did it off panel" and "eating beans isn't that hard to do." Okay, first of all, when did she get the opportunity to eat them? Cold was busy tenderizing her right up until she managed to slip away and collapse; am I to believe that she somehow, while being pummeled constantly by fists bigger than her torso, managed to pull a bean out of her glove and put it in her mouth before escaping Cold's barrage of punches? Second, she's fighting at 1,000 times normal gravity! How could she honestly manage to eat those beans in her wrecked state with that kind of force holding her down? And when I say "wrecked" I'm not exaggerating; Cold's first punch had her spitting up blood, and when she got away from him, she was a battered, blood-soaked mess that could only stand for a split second before collapsing. She was so weak that her energy could only be sensed with great concentration. I get that she's super strong and all, but I simply cannot believe that she could even move a finger, much less get a bean into her mouth under all that force in her state. |
| 50 | ** It makes Bra a massive hypocrite. She claims that people who use magic or technology to fight are nothing more than cowards, and she was among those who said that the spell that defeated Vegetto (her father) by transporting him to a dimension where time moves faster and resulted in a count out was cheating. But apparently, she's perfectly fine using an instant-healing magic item when she's at risk of losing. In fact, she even seems proud of herself for using them. And don't even get me started on the putty-clone afterimages she uses to shackle Cold when she recovers. If that's not magic, then it's so close that it makes no difference. |
| 51 | ** It was a wasted opportunity for character development. Bra has spent almost the whole comic strutting about as an insufferable SmugSuper, telling everyone that they're just trash compared to her; you could count the number of people she acts respectfully towards on one hand and still have fingers left over. The match was a classic setup for her to be brought down by her hubris and realize that she's not perfect, not to mention she's got the fate of a universe on her shoulders (she earlier promised to give her wish to one of her opponents whose world was going to be destroyed by a weapon that got out of control) and she just carelessly risked it's entire existence for no reason other than to make things more interesting. Moreover, a loss to Cold would have stung even more since she could have easily beaten him if she hadn't agreed to the handicap he proposed. Instead, she suffers no consequences and learns nothing from being beaten half to death. |
| 52 | ** In spite of nearly dying at Cold's hand after she underestimated him, she doesn't act concerned in the least. In fact, she only becomes more smug and arrogant after her recovery, saying that she could have won any time she wanted and is only now going to get serious. How in the world can she honestly say that with a straight face when she was literally seconds away from being sliced into deli meat and only survived because of those Senzu Beans? |
| 53 | ** You know the whole fight beforehand? Yeah, that's now been rendered entirely pointless, along with Cold's new forms. Cold had her on the ropes up until this point, and then right at the most critical moment of the fight, "Aha, I've recovered thanks to my DeusExMachina! Now the fight is in my favor! Oh, and by the way, you were never a threat in the first place; I was just playing around." After all that buildup portraying Cold as a legitimate threat, he gets the rug yanked out from under him so that Bra can emerge victorious and unscathed. The entire chapter feels like it was nothing more than an opportunity to show off Bra, complete with NewPowersAsThePlotDemands (which are just as much an AssPull as the beans). If it was meant to portray Bra as some sort of GuileHero who didn't need power to beat her opponents, then it failed because she just comes off as an overconfident {{Jerkass}} who got in over her head by making a stupid bet, nearly got killed because of it, and resorted to underhanded methods to win while boasting that she was in control the whole time. |
| 54 | * Tropers/TheDogSage: For me, the aftermath of the Majin Rebellion is this for me. Particularly, the fact that Son Bra is an EasilyForgiven KarmaHoudini after joining Babidi and murdering the heroes who weren't shuffled off into the "too powerful for Son Bra to fight" limbo. She is let off the hook for her actions due to being "mind controlled" by Babidi, despite the fact that she broke free. But not from the remorse of killing people, including her half-brother, the U16 Gohan. As in, the person who was a kind, loving figure to her who tried his best to help her control the darker parts of her personality. No, she broke free because U18 Bra Briefs called her "passive". And everyone immediately forgives her... Except for Vegito, who has immediately been deemed a horrible monster for trying to live up to his promise to put an end to his daughter should she continue to prove herself a threat. Which he did after she murdered her half-brother Goten and destroyed a solar system after causing its sun to go supernova. Then U4 Buu magically fixes everything good as new, and the author basically states everything during the Majin Rebellion was filler. Except for the fact that Son Bra can now control her SS 2 form. |
| 55 | ** Tropers/CodaFett: My issue with the Majin Rebellion is that that should be a ''major'' turning point in the story but it just isn't. My immediate thought when I read that arc was "Oh so the tournament's over now it's just a war between universes" which I thought was where we were going all along. But no, Vegito and the others come back, Buu pulls the most egregious DeusExMachina I've ever seen and undoes all the damage, all the dead are wished back. Literally it's like nothing that just happened even matters. Aside from that, if I had to pick any one thing to gripe about, it's U16 Bra's HeelRealization moment because I just don't freaking buy it. I am one of very few people that genuinely likes her as a character and I thought Bra going evil was the best possible thing for her to do since it's been well established that she's an arrogant, bloodthirsty blowhard, more in line with Saiyan-Namek saga Vegeta instead of his post-character development self or even a modicum of Goku's humble attitude. She spends 4 chapters beating her friends and family to death and then gets a talking too from her other self, and that's it? Sorry I just don't buy it. Bra remaining a bad guy would've made infinitely more sense even if it would mess with the tournament "storyline" if you can even call it that. |
| 56 | ---- |
| 57 | [[/folder]] |
| 58 | |
| 59 | [[folder:Other]] |
| 60 | * Tropers/SomeNewGuy: For me, ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'''s moment was the ending of the Paradise arc. I can handle {{Wangst}}, but when that Wangst causes CharacterDerailment, that's when I get mad. |
| 61 | * Tropers/{{Fairfield}}: I have long found the work of web artist Creator/{{Bleedman}} horrifically overrated, a collection of well-illustrated but grotesquely-written fanfiction with little to no regard to the actual nature of its subject. By far, the most painful moment was in his malignable opus, ''Webcomic/PowerpuffGirlsDoujinshi'', in which [[spoiler: Dexter and Mandark's feuding leads to Deedee being killed.]] |
| 62 | * Tropers/{{Fuerzabo}}: ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo''. The moment Seraphim, Piro's conscience, appeared. Many former fans of the comic feel that, from that moment on, all the fun in the comic disappeared -- as the previous free, uninhibited ambiance was replaced by a moralistic, oppressive mood of constant preachiness and stale political correction. Seraphim basically destroyed Piro's credibility as a character, turning him into a mere vessel for the author's (very conservative) messages, and in doing so, he completely ruined the comic. |
| 63 | * Tropers/{{Wretchkin}}: ''Webcomic/GrimTalesFromDownBelow'' gives us [[http://grim.snafu-comics.com/index.php?comic_id=30 this monstrosity,]] which doubles as a MoralEventHorizon, in which [[spoiler:Mandy caused 9/11, the ensuing wars, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2004 tsunami in order to get Grim back in his game.]] Yes, it wasn't meant to be offensive (it's not presented as a joke), but some things just hit too close to home. |
| 64 | ** Tropers/{{fluffything}}: While I originally found GTFDB to be little more than GuiltyPleasure, albeit one with poor writing and artwork that would make even [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall 90's Kid cringe]] at how Liefeldian it is, there is one aspect of the more recent comics that just made me go "screw this" and stop reading the comic once and for all. That, of course, is the utter and blatant [[CharacterDerailment character rape]] of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' EnsembleDarkHorse villain Dark Danny. In DP? [[FanNickname Dan]] is a MagnificentBastard villain who is hell-bent on causing as much mayhem and destruction as possible and loves nothing more than to both physically and emotionally destroy others for his own amusement. The Dan featured in this webcomic? A sleazy, perverted JerkAss. I'm sorry... what? That's not Dan. That's not even close to the sociopathic DP villain fans of the cartoon love (or love to hate). Please, Bleedman, give us the real Dan. A sociopathic lunatic who loves death and destruction. Not this pseudo-[[Film/{{Beetlejuice}} Betelgeuse]] you've unleashed unto your lil' story. |
| 65 | ** Fersh Ferd: The chapters "New Look"/"Billy"; Mandy letting Grim go? It's possible. Billy not noticing Grim is gone? Yes, Billy is practically retarded, but it has been stated several times in the show how he sees Grim as his best friend and the very idea basically defies Billy's character. |
| 66 | * @/{{Jonn}}: ''Webcomic/PvP'''s Scott Kurtz is known for sticking his oar in. He wades into any wank, even tangentially related to comics or webcomics, expressing his opinions in about the most dickish manner possible. He then has [[http://bit.ly/g60So2 a news post that's a touching story about being reunited with his wife after six months apart]] and how the things he missed about their marriage are things like failing to move a bed together and laughing about it. He ends with a somewhat cloying "God bless [x]" list, which is odd because I didn't know he was a Christian. It's a little saccharine, but I can live with that. The last line of the paragraph is, "And more than anything else, God bless those couples who must justify their companionship to a society that isn’t prepared to realize that a person doesn’t get choose their gender any more than they get to choose who they fall in love with." I can understand that he has strong feelings about LGBT rights, but this completely derails the tone of the post by making it suddenly about a controversial issue. All he had to say was, "And God bless love, in all its forms," and let readers get the hint.[[note]]Also, the way the post is phrased could be supporting any sort of alternative sexuality. Including bestiality and pedophilia. My version isn't much better in that regard, admittedly.[[/note]] He seems to have specifically phrased it in, yes, just about the most dickish manner possible. The most galling part is that the guy can't even talk about himself without being wanky. |
| 67 | ** @/{{Rothul}}: As for in-comic moments, the teasing of Max Powers' sexuality. Not the fact that Max came out of the closet. That's fine, and showing him in a relationship contributed to the deepening of the character. It's the fact that Kurtz tried to make it into such a friggin' cliffhanger when it was obvious what was going to happen: after all, he had everything to gain by diversifying the cast and everything to lose by chickening out. When it got to the point when Max was having a vague conversation with his sister Sophie about "[[GenderBlenderName Chris]]" in comics that had no real humor, I started to realize that maybe Brent and Jade's wedding was the natural ending point for the strip. |
| 68 | ** Tropers/{{DrGonzo}}: To add to the above, the recent story arc of Max giving Brent a big lecture on gay oppression in response to Brent giving Max some friendly teasing about Max's new boyfriend. While gay bashing IS still a thing that needs to be addressed, the whole thing was just preachy and about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Not helped at all by the corresponding blog post by Kurtz about him realizing he's "running out of wiggle room in denying other people's truth" (whatever THAT means). The arc and the blog put together makes the whole thing feel like Kurtz caught some heat and is just trying to assuage his own guilt. |
| 69 | * Tropers/{{Gahars}}: I've always been a fan of ''Webcomic/PennyArcade''. However, the lowest point, I think, was Lookouts. Pretty much, if you aren't a parent, you aren't going to like it, but you have to wait for almost two weeks worth of strips for it to be over with. I've always loved Gabe and Tycho's habit of experimenting artistically, but now, it feels like it's alienating a lot of old fans more than anything else. |
| 70 | ** Kellor: Speaking of experimenting: "Paint the Line". It was this weeks-long series of comics that were supposed to be in the style of an 80s movie, depicting a ping-pong tournament that would decide the fate of the world (or something). It was an unfunny, tedious mess. |
| 71 | * ''Tropers/StevieWillShowYou'': Creator/JayNaylor's old comic, ''Webcomic/BetterDays''. Now, you might think the chapter where Fisk joins a group of American terrorists without any hesitation or resistance would be the comic's dethroning moment, but no, that honor is saved for a far worse chapter - "Persia". Fisk discovers that his cousin Persia is out in California and, having gotten strung out on drugs, now works as a hooker/porn star for a bunch of mobsters (she had gone out to Cali to be a model/actress). When Fisk finds out where they're holding Persia from one of the mobster's paid-off lackeys, he sets out to save her single-handedly. How does he do this? Fisk first kills two "mobsters" by shooting them - while using a third one as a body shield. After he gets upstairs, he tosses a guy who'd just been with Persia out the window - although he could have been just paying to have sex with Persia, being completely unconnected to the mobsters. But it doesn't matter to Fisk, apparently. When he gets back downstairs with Persia, he damn-near-literally {{AssPull}}s a grenade, then uses it to blow up part of the house, killing (at least) two other "mobsters" in the process. The very next strip after this? Fisk is then shown calling a hospital while he watches Persia eat, then he's shown driving her back to Virginia from California. Fisk suffers no consequences for his actions - no mention is ever made of law enforcement investigating the scene, no other members of the "mob" try to retaliate, and even his own employers (the American terrorists, remember?) seem to just look the other way. Other chapters could be forgiven for being bad since Naylor has never really been a great writer, but this one just went way too far - and it, combined with the American terrorists chapters, really did a lot to create the {{Hatedom}} that's been building up since then. |
| 72 | ** Tropers/{{Belfagor}}: I really don't like Creator/JayNaylor to start with, yet I think the biggest Dethroning Moment Of Suck ever found in his production is (NSFW and NightmareFuel for some) [[http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/8936/ohnaylor2av8.jpg this]]. All right, Naylor, you wanted it. I understand you don't like Communists, bisexuals, or democrats, I've got it and I'm not starting to whine because of this. But calling someone who simply doesn't share your ideas "bed-wetting" and "deer-f***ing" instead of trying to give your ideas any trace of validity is never, I repeat, never the way to get your point across. And to top it all off, you did this while making your pompous, ludicrously arrogant GodModeSue JerkAss soapbox protagonist act in full-mode sociopathic behavior. You say you don't mind being called an extremist. Good. It means I have no remorse in acting in KnightTemplar mode toward you, then. Your webcomics are the scum of the net. They make me want to put Fisk Black to sleep by repeatedly hitting his brains out with a baseball bat. You're right, you have nothing in common with the biggest part of the world. Just remember that the biggest part of the world already knows this and is probably relieved, if not proud, of it. |
| 73 | * Tropers/StevieWillShowYou: Creator/JayNaylor's current comic, ''Webcomic/OriginalLife''. Naylor had promised before it began that it would be his attempt to "just keep it fun" and do a LighterAndSofter strip. All that pretty much went out the window in [[http://www.jaynaylor.com/originallife/archives/2009/08/020.html Strip #20.]] Elizabeth (sporting one of the single creepiest facial expressions ever in any Naylor comic) is pleading with Fisk to let her kids visit her parents in Florida, despite his objecting to it. Why does he object? Because her mother might take the kids to Temple. See, before Elizabeth married Fisk, she was Jewish - but when she married Fisk, she "converted" to being an atheist and failed to tell her parents about it. That "keeping it fun" promise? It got tossed out the same window from "Persia". Since then, the strip has veered back and forth between ripping off sitcoms and soapboxing Naylor's Objectivist beliefs and ideas, with a pop culture reference or two tossed in for good measure. |
| 74 | ** [[@/SGManForever SG_Man_Forever]]: The chapter where Fisk asks if UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar was "worth it." After a [[WallOfText wall of]] blithering logical fallacies, the person Fisk is talking to concludes three things: (1) A country having a system of government another country doesn't like (Communism) is a legitimate reason to attempt to destroy that country. (2) The war was a moral victory for America, and (3) that yes, the war was "worth it." Reality check. Vietnam was probably the single most horrifically pointless war in American history, thousands of Americans lost their lives in the name of a fight that had nothing to do with them, and it was one of the single most brutally fought wars in American history. There's a reason so many men came back with PTSD. They were being put into (in many cases, drafted into) a position where they were forced to fight {{child soldiers}}, lived in constant fear of ambushes or booby traps, and constant fear that someone in the platoon would lose their mind and murder someone else in it. As you can tell, people being ignorant about Vietnam is something of a BerserkButton with me, as my uncle served in it, and I have seen the effects of PTSD firsthand, and it is heartbreaking. Never mind that the war was started on extremely shaky evidence. As a result of this evidence, almost sixty thousand men lost their lives, and hundreds of thousands were injured. Mr. Naylor, I want you to tell the families of those sixty thousand men that the deaths of their brothers, uncles, fathers, and sons were worth fighting against the "scourge" of communism. Tell me that my uncle's sanity was "worth it." Tell me that him living in madness for 37 years was "worth it." Tell me the thousands of shattered families that it was "worth it." |
| 75 | ** @/DontKillBugs: I have been known for being an extraordinarily patient man. I read all of ''Better Days'' and a good chunk of ''Original Life'' before I even knew a Naylor-hatedom existed. I still hold the theory that Fisk joined a completely legal black ops group, and every single person on earth misinterpreted it. I still do not believe that Naylor and his webcomics are nearly as bad as the people on [[ImageBoards Godammit Freehaven]] insist, and continue to state that said people are the worst trolls I have ever had the misfortune to meet. But when Naylor started a story arc about the [[https://jaynaylor.com/originallife/archives/2011/07/218.html sexual awakening]] of Tommy and Lucy's son Leo at the ripe old age of twelve, I threw up my hands and jumped ship. My respect for Naylor, which had been whithering slowly over the duration of the [[StrawCharacter uber-strawman]] Justice Defender arc, including its utter lack of an ending, finally croaked it and died. Congrats, Freehaven trolls, you finally won. |
| 76 | *** @/{{Ndro}}: Tommy's little tirade about "ass-men," including a depiction of what appears to be anal rape (seriously), while he's attributing every advancement in society to ass-men, all while saying Ass a lot, is meant to be comedic. If anything, it was more cringe-worthy. LighterAndSofter indeed. |
| 77 | * Tropers/{{Steinman76}}: It's been months now since Penny stood up to a modern-day moneychanger in the temple in ''Webcomic/GoblinHollow'' and months since Lily slapped her down for it. I've tried to get past it, chalk it up to ValuesDissonance, but I just can't. Lily took the side of a bully and con man against her own sister just because that bullying con man was a preacher. That's unspeakable. The forum at RH Junior's that day turned it into a discussion about parenting and discipline, but in my mind, the entire conversation missed the point. It's not about discipline, it's about betrayal. Lily betrayed her own flesh and blood because her community approved the bully. That's vile. It's also, I should note, siding with the proud and the powerful against the weak, which is pretty much the polar opposite of what Jesus preached, which makes Lily a hypocrite as well as a traitor. As far as I'm concerned, Lily is the villain of the strip now, and every positive thing that happens to her is an injustice. I also need to talk about the strips that showed up later the same day, seemingly in response to the firestorm. Many have identified these strips as an AuthorsSavingThrow. I'd argue that they're nothing of the sort. An AuthorsSavingThrow would have involved a groveling apology from Lily, possibly in public, a rescinded grounding, and a proper comeuppance for H. Lee Roller. Instead, we get Penny's FreudianExcuse. Those strips were supposed to regain sympathy for Penny after she crossed the MoralEventHorizon by making a scene in Church! |
| 78 | * Tropers/SynjoDeonecros: Anyone who tries to defend Ian Flynn's work on the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics obviously doesn't know about his webcomic, Other M (not to be confused with the Metroid game of the same name). The entire thing is retched from start to finish, but if you really want to pinpoint the nadir of all things wrong with his writing, "Knuckles as Hitler" must be it. No, I'm not joking; the moment we are introduced to his CanonDefilement of Knuckles, we see him 1. Express the purity and superiority of the echidna race with as much vehemence as the Nazis and Hudlin combined; 2. voice his desire to bring Holocaust-esque genocide to anyone not Echidnan; and 3. abuse his version of the Chaotix (which includes Tails) before mentioning he doesn't care one bit about their safety and will likely kill them after they've outlived their usefulness. What's worse is that he's the source of all of the problems in the series, and his hatred infects virtually everyone it touches, turning his Mobius into a CrapsackWorld. One has to wonder whether or not Archie even read this series and noticed the sheer level of bigotry and hate Ian put into this comic - and especially into this character - before they hired him as Sonic's head writer. |
| 79 | * {{@/Lizuka}}: While the Sheldon - which as the name for a major villain is an AtrociousAlias all its own - arc of ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'' was rather weak in general, it came to a head when Ash did a complete 180 during the climax in terms of character. Throughout the entire storyline, Ash had (quite rightfully) complained that solely due to being the best, others were forcing him to fight their battles, until during the climactic race itself - which was a CurbStompBattle painted with a gloss of DeusAngstMachina - he suddenly mid-page decided that he loved helping people and Sheldon needed to lose with absolutely no foreshadowing. That butchered Ash's characterization in the face of two books worth of building to that race; a short storyline in the next book kept with it for a while, but it was at least thankfully dropped afterward. |
| 80 | ** @/ThatFlyingRodent: And now, we have James trying to get Ash's attention after a lengthy disappearance. Faking a relationship with Cassiel is fine, if a bit juvenile, and he was always a bit self-absorbed, but we had no reason to truly dislike him... until he started making the rudest, most vulgar statements as if that was supposed to get Ash interested. He borders on sexual harassment to top off, making one chance encounter all about him. I got the idea we were supposed to sympathize with this character before that he was a genuinely good friend who just happened to have other ideas... but now, he just comes across as any other Jerkass, only pursuing Ash for his own pleasure. |
| 81 | ** @/ProgenyExMachina: The minor arc that involved Emily forcibly kissing the AlphaBitch (as well as some ass-groping) in an attempt to humiliate her. What she did wasn't the problem for me; it was how it was treated. Ash's reaction was fine since he's a teenager and doesn't tend to think too hard about consequences. But Emily's mother brought up the point I'd been waiting for: what she did was sexual harassment. This humbles Emily for a brief moment...until she lashes back with this (paraphrased) outburst: "But she was being a bitch! Haven't you ever wanted to do something like that?" Does she get a sterner lecture? Nope. Her mom immediately calms down, admitting that she would have liked to do the same to the girls who bullied her when she was younger. Then they bond or whatever. Even worse, nothing else ever comes of it except for one panel of overheard gossip in the halls. The comic is generally not this terrible about serious issues. It's like the creator just completely dropped the ball on that one. (And it's an issue I personally care a lot about due to my significant agraphobia, so I was more offended than I might have been if it were something else.) |
| 82 | * @/AdamC: From ''WebComic/MenageA3'', the dethroning moment for me is certainly the baffling decision to have Zii get revenge on an internet troll by having sex with his mom. To elaborate: Zii is being teased online by an internet troll and decides to get revenge. She gets his address from Gary and, in spite of Gary's attempts to stop her, bonks the kid's Mom all night long. The next morning when he gets up, Zii gleefully teases him about it and rubs it in his face while his mother cheerfully informs him that due to Zii's super-magic-love-making, she and his father are getting a divorce. The comic tries to save this from making Zii look like a total sociopath by having it awkwardly shoved in that his father was apparently sleeping with his secretary, claiming that Zii was ultimately doing the woman a favor by nailing her for extremely petty and selfish reasons and made her life better, but this almost makes it even worse. Zii had long since been getting complaints from the fandom about being a KarmaHoudini and not receiving any punishment for her "antics," but breaking up a kid's family for being mean to her on the internet and trying to make it seem like it was a good thing just took it too far. The entire thing left a bad taste in people's mouths, and Zii has yet to be punished for it. It totally ruined her character for me, and while others claim she's just a LovableSexManiac, I can't get past this. |
| 83 | * {{@/bobdrantz}}: For me, it's [[http://www.vgcats.com/super/?strip_id=51 this strip from Super Effective]]. Oh, dear Arceus, where do I start? First of all, the whole "Pokemon VS Digimon" war is old. Very old. Nobody really cares anymore compared to way back when the two shows were first duking it out for viewer attention. Second, Pokemon and Digimon only have a handful of similarities to one another (IE: Both are about monsters who befriend humans and fight one another). Apart from those similarities, they're nothing alike. |
| 84 | * SpringRights: Episode 21 of ''Webcomic/MarauderShields'' really makes it obvious that Koobismo really doesn't give a shit about lore accuracy. It attempts to justify the titular character's existence by saying that the geth converted Nihlus into a Marauder, but the space magic of an exploding Prothean beacon freed him from Reaper control. Not only is the handwave completely stupid and nothing in the games even comes close to hinting at this, but it also ignores that Marauders were created at the beginning of the Reaper invasion through the Reapers' experimentations—so the geth created a type of husk that hadn't been created yet. The same episode bastardizes a sidequest from the first game where you have Nirali Bhatia's body returned to her husband, claiming that the body returned is a fake—despite ''Mass Effect 2'' mentioning that Alliance's recruiting quotas suffer due to being unable to find a way to counter geth technology should you not let them keep Bhatia's body. If there's any doubts that "lore accuracy" really means {{Retcon}}ing canon without any consideration as to how the retcons would logically have an impact in the later games, episode 21 easily dismisses them. |
| 85 | * {{@/Albertosaurus}}: Sure, ''Webcomic/BetterDays'' had its iffy moments. [[StrawCharacter Strawman characters.]] Unsubtly shoved in political viewpoints. Wallbangers like "Father's Footsteps" and "Persia". ''Puppy Love''. And yet, I kept reading. I liked the characters and Creator/JayNaylor's willingness to tackle themes like [[BrotherSisterIncest incest]] and child abuse. So when the sequel ''Webcomic/OriginalLife'' came around, I hopped on board. And it was okay. But then the [[http://www.jaynaylor.com/originallife/archives/2011/01/168.html muffin storyline]] (link {{NSFW}}) started, concerning kids dressing up as superheroes and fighting over whether some kid has the right not to share his muffins for free or not. How are we to interpret this storyline? The inherent ridiculousness of the concept would suggest that it is supposed to be [[PlayedForLaughs comedic]], but the many earnest conversations bordering on {{Author Filibuster}}s about economy and justice suggest that it is to be taken [[PlayedForDrama seriously]]. I am well aware that comedic stories can have a serious message and that serious stories can have comedic moments, but this is a bizarre mishmash of the two that does not work at all. Worst of all, the Black siblings, who the comic is supposed to be all about, almost completely [[DemotedToExtra disappear from sight.]] This comic proves that Naylor has finally gone off the deep end. |
| 86 | * {{@/TooMuchCowbell}}: Therkla from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' had her dethroning moment shortly before [[spoiler: her death in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0593.html strip #593]]]]. She came across as a SatelliteLoveInterest when she was introduced, fawning over Elan for apparently no reason other than finding him handsome. For most of her stint in the comic, her characterization consisted solely of being in love with Elan, and whenever he wasn't onscreen, she would spend her time thinking about him or convincing someone else not to kill him. Despite this, she had begun showing some HiddenDepths: wanting to protect all those she cared about regardless of CharacterAlignment (most notably Elan and Kubota). This went along with her being half-human/half-orc, and the deconstruction of the concepts of "good" and "evil" as presented by tabletop roleplaying games had been a major theme of the comic. So here was a perfect chance for her to rise above her perceived status as a SatelliteLoveInterest, and she immediately threw it all away when [[spoiler: she decided she would rather die (and stay dead in a world where DeathIsCheap) than live in a world where Elan was in love with someone else. A SatelliteLoveInterest to the end.]] (Note that this is a dethroning moment for this character, not the comic.) |
| 87 | ** {{@/Geoduck}}: Another character moment from ''[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Order]]'': Durkon gets [[spoiler: turned into a vampire.]] OK, this should be interesting, seeing how [[spoiler: the ultra-upright Lawful Good cleric deals with being turned into an unfettered bloodsucking fiend, what happens when he returns home from his exile and... what? He's actually an Evil Imposter doing Evil things because Evil(tm)?]] Phooey. |
| 88 | ** {{@/MinisterOfSinister}}: The last so many strips of Blood Runs In The Family. While I'm generally a fan of Burlew's work, I've been limiting my emotional investment in his comics ever since [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0914.html #914]]. Tarquin, probably the character I liked the most in the comic (in a LoveToHate kind of way, naturally), suddenly became almost unrecognisable. I would call what happened CharacterDerailment, [[SincerityMode but that's not what happened]] -- in the words of the Giant himself, it was BreakTheHaughty crossed with {{Flanderization}} and the absence of a CloudcuckoolandersMinder. But it still hurt, as one of the most original and entertaining villains in the comic became something of a StrawLoser whose downfall was supposed to play up various characters as heroic or awesome for the ways they opposed him. Characters that, I have no problem saying, [[EightDeadlyWords I do not care about at all]], especially with the full extent of the Order's IdiotHero tendencies coming out in this book and the next, currently unfinished and unnamed book. Overall, I felt like my heart had been broken, and I don't know if I can ever truly love the comic again, no matter how good it gets in the future. |
| 89 | ** Tropers/{{baeraad555}}: The airship mutiny arc. It starts out fine - the airship crew is a bunch of selfish crooks who have gotten dragged along on a heroic save-the-world quest, in which they are commanded not by their long-time leader who could draw on years of acquired respect but by his hastily appointed replacement (Bandana) who is a great deal younger and less experienced than many of them. During a tense situation, one of them (Andy) snaps and leads a mutiny against Bandana. Ill-advised but understandable from a character perspective, like the motivation of a great many previous antagonists. Great. The problem is, Burlew apparently can't stand the idea of anyone opposing his new [[FlawlessToken Strong Female Gay Character Of Colour]] (which he seems to have created as part of [[CreatorBreakdown his new-found progressive zeal]]) for semi-sympathetic reasons, so Andy is quickly turned into a neurotic strawman who only has a problem with Bandana's orders because she used to babysit for her. Again, this flies in the face of one of the themes that has always made the strip most compelling, that of [[MoralityKitchenSink everyone having reasons that seem good to them and that they can argue compellingly for]] even if the audience isn't supposed to agree with them. Combined with the Tarquin plot mentioned above (which Burlew has explicitly stated has [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything the subtext]] of Tarquin being a stand-in for the sort of person who supposedly thinks that a white man should always be the main character), this to me means that Burlew has thrown away his integrity as a storyteller in favour of getting on his soapbox. |
| 90 | *** SW1008: I have to agree with the above. While I still love [=OOTS=], I find ''Utterly Dwarfed'' to be one of the weaker instalments, and the frost giant arc is one of the big reasons why. Not only is there the above-mentioned airship mutiny with any potential for a compelling arc thrown away in favour of CharacterShilling for Bandana, but the battle, in general, goes on way too long, contributes nothing of note to the plot, and seems to have been written in to increase the size of the print copy, isn't funny and throws in a ham-fisted joke about women in the workplace that isn't clever or funny and, like the rest of the arc, adds nothing. Admittedly there were similar battles that did not directly contribute to the plot in earlier books like the ogre fight in ''No Cure for the Paladin Blues'', but none of them had the above-mentioned issues, most served a purpose other than CharacterShilling and {{Filler}} and none had the disadvantage of being part of a book that already goes on for way, way longer than necessary. |
| 91 | * {{@/TheSupineLupine}}: [[http://www.brinkcomic.com Brinkerhoff]] originally began as a catharsis for the author after a nasty break-up, and I can appreciate that there's black humour to be mined regarding unsuccessful relationships, but one storyline goes too far with it. The eponymous protagonist (and apparent AuthorAvatar) fulfills a fantasy of having sex with a stripper, but the sex is unsatisfying, and he ends up berating her for being a bad lay and "ruining [his] fantasy". This is apparently played straight; she doesn't call him out for using her like that, and he doesn't appear to [[KarmaHoudini suffer any negative consequence for it, however tangential]]; presumably, we're supposed to side with him and hate her for wasting his time and ruining his poor little fantasy. I'm not sure what's worse: the implication that someone who patronizes strippers is somehow morally superior to them and has a right to demand anything besides services rendered for payment received, or that if you have a sexual fantasy that doesn't live up to reality, it's the other person's fault and you're right to berate your partner for it, even if they didn't know they were being used like that. |
| 92 | * {{@/Blunderbuss}}: Penny and Aggie's new sudden lesbian relationship in ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie''. For a good chunk of the series, these two girls hated each other with a burning passion because they both believed the other was a huge bitch and they were two totally different people. They managed to come to enough of an understanding to become friends, but out of goddamn nowhere, they suddenly find a sexual/romantic attraction between them, and now they're Lesbian Lovers Forever. Sure, there had been tiny teases of sexual attraction, but only through moments of HoYay that horrified them; otherwise, Penny seemed entirely attracted to boys (her biggest fling being with a macho Bad Boy), and Aggie somewhat questioning but also spent a whole arc practically worshipping a hot guy. But after their own arcs struggling with sexual attraction and who they like, they both suddenly decide they're hot for one another and go straight to heavy making out in a closet. Not only is it really boring, lacking the drama and teenage confusion of their earlier flings, but the comic still shows they're very much opposite people with almost no middle ground, with Aggie confusing Penny with her interests and Penny being insensitive to Aggie's feelings. And yet the comic and most of the cast act like this is the best and most natural thing ever. Christ, Aggie's shallow crush on Marshall had more depth and realism than the so-called 'OTP' of the series. |
| 93 | * {{@/Animeking1108}}: I hate to sound like a fanboy, but the epilogue of ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' makes this because it was basically an excuse for the author to go on a [[AuthorFilibuster rant]] [[TakeThat against most of]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII the]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII 3D]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Final Fantasy]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI games]]. Now, I wouldn't have a problem with this if it weren't for this way-too-harsh StealthInsult toward fans of modern Final Fantasy games: |
| 94 | --> '''[[TheDitz Fighter]]:''' Everything else seems like a big waste of time. |
| 95 | --> '''Black Mage:''' ''I'' could have told you that. |
| 96 | * Tropers/DominusTemporis: [[http://www.vgcats.com/super/?strip_id=53 This]] Super Effective comic. It's bad enough that it's making a joke about Steve Jobs' death less than a week after the fact. It's worse that it's just a poor rehash of [[http://www.vgcats.com/super/?strip_id=26 this]] comic. The real clincher is the blog post where Scott mentions he scrapped a Spiral Knights comic that took actual work and research, and just put this out instead. Offensive and doubly lazy! You can't even try to be this bad. |
| 97 | * Tropers/NTroper: Nearly every reader of ''Webcomic/VampireCheerleaders'' agrees that [[MoralEventHorizon Lori turning Leonard into a thrall]] counts as one, especially seeing how Heather did nothing so far to stick up for Leonard. The author [[WordOfGod stated that he has a long-term plan regarding this]], but it still changed the fans' opinion of Lori and Heather by extension. |
| 98 | * {{@/Fofa}}: I normally love ''Webcomic/AwkwardZombie'', but [[https://www.awkwardzombie.com/comic/strike-one this is one strip]] I just can't defend. I never played any of the Professor Layton games, and even I know that Layton would never slap Luke in a million years, but besides this, it plays child abuse for laughs. It hasn't stopped me from reading the strip altogether, but it almost did. |
| 99 | * {{Lhipenwhe}}: The 'orc-rape' storyline in ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan''. One of Dominic's friends rapes a girl who'd just been traumatized by seeing her parents killed in front of her. The 'reason' he needs to do it (orphans are put to death, he marries the girl, and the orc tribes check for 'proof' that marriage is consummated) struck many as both inane, forced, and convoluted from a writing standpoint. The fact that Dominic's friend is treated as doing the right thing for raping her, and having the orc girl call him his husband, disgusted many others. And this was during an arc where there was [[MoodWhiplash a magical rock concert to save a town]]. |
| 100 | ** Cthulette: The ending of the Snowsong arc. The first 99% of the story has nothing to do with Dominic whatsoever, instead focusing on his brother Gregory trying to save the hometown from a girl with powerful magic and nearly sacrifices himself to do so. But at the very end of the story, Dominic pops up just to explain that everything that had happened up until then was all his doing and that he was manipulating his brother from the start. Why was this necessary? Why couldn't Gregory just have his own day in the spotlight, why does it always have to be about Dom and Dom alone? |
| 101 | * {{dargor17}} Speaking of David Willis, I dropped Roomies around [[http://www.bringbackroomies.com/comic/no-going-back/ Joyce's reaction to seeing porn]]. Ok, the gag (exploited earlier in the strip) is that she's so innocent she's disgusted by porn, but here Willis took the gag way too seriously and had her go in a coma and then decide to mindwipe herself rather than living with the memory... of seeing consensual sex performed by adults who are not married, and the problem is that they aren't married. It's just too stupid. It would have made sense if she had been raped for real, which would have been possible considering the huge CerebusSyndrome the strip was developing, but this is just too exaggerated. |
| 102 | * {{Tropers/EarthClown}}: ''Webcomic/CriticalMiss'' hit an all-time low by making this story arc called Chapter 2. Basically, it starts off promising, where Erin gets into a fight with Molly, and after almost hurting her seriously, she runs off to a bar and is harassed by videogame character hallucinations and meets a guy she starts to like. After that, the story dies, the jokes are lame, and the entire plot progresses so slowly to the point of massive Arc Fatigue. And after SIX months of writing that goes absolutely nowhere, a fight that is never shown, and stupid jump cuts to incoherent places, the ending is revealed to make absolutely no sense and has such a stupid shocking swerve it seems that Grey Carter was inspired by M. Night Shyamalan. Then again, what do I expect from a webcomic about video games? |
| 103 | * Kellor: ''Instant Classic'' had a lot of problems, but if I had to pick one moment, it was a particular strip which was nothing but a WallOfText written in a blurry, scrunched-up font. A ton of readers complained in the forums about not being able to read it, so one person said he'd write a transcript. Not a big deal, right? Suddenly, the comic's creator, Brian Carroll, stepped in and demanded that no one transcribe the comic, saying that reading the words outside their context would "ruin the experience" of the comic. What the hell? People who don't have Superman's vision don't deserve to know what's going on in the comic? Are we supposed to believe that reading a block of text inside a comic panel is some transcendent experience while reading the same text in a forum is a crime against art? There were plenty of indications among his comics and news posts that Brian was a pretentious twat, but this was the first time he crossed the line into being a full-blown, head-up-his-ass, self-important nutjob. |
| 104 | * [=InTheGallbladder=]: I was, for a brief stretch of time, a fan of ''Webcomic/TheOatmeal''. I was there during the campaign to shame [[FrivolousLawsuit Charles Carreon]] and the "Let's Build A Goddamn Tesla Museum" drive. But I gave up after reading [[http://theoatmeal.com/comics/making_things "Some Thoughts And Musings About Making Things For The Web."]] The insightful, moving discussion Mat Inman gives about the pros and cons of his job, as well as what it means to him, devolves all of a sudden into an AuthorTract against anyone who's ever spoken the least bit critically of the comic. |
| 105 | * Tropers/HawkOfCoul: The premise of ''Webcomic/TheWotch'' spinoff, ''Webcomic/{{Cheer}}''. Especially the point where [[spoiler: one of the GenderBender cheerleaders remembers everything and decides not to let the other 'girls' know the truth about themselves because [[AssPull they aren't jerks anymore]]. Apart from the gigantic offensive implications this has (that apparently the only way to stop a man from being a jerk is [[InsaneTrollLogic turning him into a woman]]), you can do whatever you want with yourself, you sexist freak, but doing it for the others as well?]] It's not your decision to make! |
| 106 | * Tropers/SuperSaiyaMan: ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' is one of my favorite webcomics, but the recent arc has really fucking rubbed me the wrong way. [[spoiler: After all the shit and development from Kin and Minmax, the author Thunt not only goes to break them up, but Minmax, in a desperate attempt to have Kin listen to him, grabs her collar to shatter everything.]] It's now just being dark and dumb for the sake of being dark and dumb! |
| 107 | * {{@/Sorantheman}}: Andrew Dobson, also known as Tom Preston or [[NeverLiveItDown Catty]][[OldShame N]], the creator of ''Webcomic/SoYoureACartoonist'', has received a massive amount of hatred throughout the internet for many reasons, ranging from his mediocre art, his poor attitude towards criticism, his lack of comedy or his lack of research. And since the comic is all about him, it reflects many of the problems that people have against him. It was hard for me to pick what I considered to be the absolute worst moment in the comic, but I eventually settled with [[http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/200H/i/2011/010/5/7/so_youre_a_cartoonist___jokes_by_tompreston-d36vj26.jpg this strip]] (sorry for the small size) because it sums up so much of the comic and Andrew himself. Representing anyone Andrew dislikes or disagrees with as unattractive jerks, refusing to listen to any form of critique, unfunny jokes, and lazy art, considering his artistic capabilities and background in art school. |
| 108 | ** Tropers/{{KahunaLagoona}}: I had some going back and forth with this, but the one I ultimately chose was [[http://tompreston.deviantart.com/art/Internet-Prefaces-317417199 Internet Prefaces]], the infamous Aurora Shooting Comic made directly a week after the incident dismissing the whole thing because Tom was tired of the constant news coverage. It really cemented to me that Tom had a really had a LackOfEmpathy when it came to the deaths of other people. |
| 109 | * [=InTheGallbladder=]: The thing that ultimately cost me my interest in Webcomic/SandraAndWoo would have to be the way they handled Cloud hitting puberty during the 2012 beach arc. It starts with him thinking of Sandra and [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2012/07/12/0393-the-curse-of-12-year-old-boys/ visibly popping a boner]] (worksafe, thank god, but still tacky as hell), much to his own embarrassment. Sandra, Larisa, and even Ye Thuza spend the next three strips making him as miserable as humanly possible, culminating in a ham-handed punchline in which Cloud [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2012/07/23/0396-cloud-has-problems/ contemplates suicide]]. The misery only ends when [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2012/07/26/0397-silence-is-silver/ Larisa turns on Sandra.]] This demonstrated two things, none of which were good--one, that they were willing to completely sacrifice the characters' likeabilities to invoke RuleOfFunny, and two, that they'd managed to take the comic's biggest draw (to me, at least) -- that is, the characters aging in ostensible real-time -- and suck all the joy out of it. After a while, I just didn't feel compelled to check the webcomic out anymore, and this is what I'd say is to blame. |
| 110 | * SamMax: Let it be known that I loved the ''{{VideoGame/Klonoa}}'' webcomic. It was a good continuation of the games, and I feel that it only would have gotten better had it continued. Sadly, the "finale," such as it was, sets up what looks like it's going to be a big battle...[[CutShort and it ends right there]]. With a "[[BlatantLies To Be Continued!]]" line, to boot. Say what you will about the ending of the ''VideoGame/WonderMomo'' comic, but at least that one got to finish its last arc, [[CosmicDeadline rushed as it was]]. ''Klonoa'' didn't even get that, and that's what makes me upset. I shall hold on to hope that it might be continued in a book collection, should one be made, but as things stand, it ended too quickly. |
| 111 | * Tropers/{{Geoduck}}: As popular and well-done as ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is, it has always had problems with dragging out its plot. This reached a new low during the England plot arc, with all the various protagonists grabbing the IdiotBall numerous times in quick succession, allowing [[spoiler:the Lucrezia-copy inside Agatha]] to freely and repeatedly run amok. As it went on and on, more and more fans were saying, "enough, just get it over with already!" |
| 112 | * Tropers/BlueGuy: While ''Webcomic/SquareRootOfMinusGarfield'' has a tendency to suffer from SturgeonsLaw, it usually has enough good edits to keep me interested. However, [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=2395 "Nostalgiafield"]] reached a new low. The entire comic is little more than an AuthorTract about [[NewMediaAreEvil why new technology sucks]] and [[NostalgiaFilter "the good old days with no DVDs, vinyl and cassette, and quality programming."]] By definition, he seems preoccupied with the past ([=VHSes=] and all the other old formats he references all died out because of [[TechnologyMarchesOn innovation]], and denying that seems outright delusional) to [[Franchise/HomestarRunner Strong Bad]] levels (and with him, it was obviously PlayedForLaughs). Besides, there are many "quality programs" today, which only makes the fallacious argument even more blatant. To add insult to injury, the editing is terrible (the second and third panels are obviously copy-pasted, and the image is compressed pretty badly). Now, this tends to be a recurring problem with the comic, but here the ridiculously illogical subject matter made the whole affair cringeworthy. (The cherry on top is TheRant, where the author mentions his "strange thing with Garfield crying", [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial then immediately denies that it's a fetish.]] It just makes the author seem even more pathetic.) |
| 113 | ** Tropers/{{Kablammin45}}: As a regular reader and semi-regular submitter of comics to the website, I have to agree wholeheartedly. There's nothing wrong with expressing a nostalgic fondness for the technology you grew up with (I myself still own a lot of VHS tapes and regularly watch them), but when you discredit everything that came out afterwards just because it ''isn't'' what you grew up like this author, it makes you come off as a whiny crybaby. Beyond that, the comic itself doesn't even fit with the usual surreal, absurd, and somewhat nerdy tone of the webcomic as a whole, so it baffles me why the moderators even approved of this one in the first place. |
| 114 | ** [=Ryanruff13=]: As much as I do still appreciate some aspects of ''Square Root of Minus Garfield'', the webcomic hasn't personally appealed to me [[JumpingTheShark as much as it had early on in its run]], with [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=503 "Garfield Plus Jim Davis' Ego"]] serving as an example of one of the reasons why I believe so. The only joke of the comic is editing it so that ''Garfield'' creator Jim Davis brags about himself by taking Garfield's bragging in the original strip and giving it to him, for no reason other than to perpetuate the perception that "Jim Davis is egotistical lel". While {{Take That}}s can be humorous, and while I do believe that there are numerous critiques that one could make about the ''Garfield'' comics, I still feel that ''Square Root of Minus Garfield'' had shifted towards an overreliance on mockery of its source material early on. There's only so much that one can [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstruct]] something before it all just feels overly cynical, if not arrogant. |
| 115 | * Tropers/{{Freezer}} The arc in ''Webcomic/QuentynQuinnSpaceRanger'', where an assassination attempt segues into a MyGreatestFailure flashback (Quentyn gives advanced replicator tech to a pre-FTL society, one of the local powers uses said tech to commit an atrocity, the rest of the world nukes said powers into oblivion in retaliation)... Which devolves into an {{anvilicious}} potshot at Muslims: the world powers that performed the ColonyDrop were described as "moon-worshiping savages" in barely disguised Iraqi garb and shown in front of an even-less altered Star and Crescent banner. But they were space bugs. [[SarcasmMode So it's okay.]] Which was then followed up by a clumsy attempt to justify Quentyn's actions as the lesser of several evils: Quentyn's fomenting civil war was the scenario determined to have the smallest amount of destruction. [[SarcasmMode So it's okay]]. |
| 116 | * Tropers/{{Baeraad555}}: ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'' had been getting more heavyhanded for a while, but it finally went off the rails when Becky's father [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope suddenly went]] from being an over-religious homophobe to being a [[AxeCrazy psychotic fanatic]] who [[http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/01-to-those-whod-ground-me/deceptress/ kidnapped Becky at gunpoint.]] And then, just in case the reader had any doubt that fundamentalists are inherently evil, Joyce's mother took his side. Let me repeat that: a mother sided with the lunatic who aimed a gun at her child just because it was a Christian lunatic. It's one thing to call fundamentalist beliefs wrong to the point of being harmful. But it's another to deny fundamentalists, as a group, even the most basic of positive human emotions. And it's especially disappointing because earlier in the comic, fundamentalists really were portrayed as being wrong, but also being human, capable of friendship and compassion and parental love even if their faith often made those things more complicated. |
| 117 | * Tropers/CaptainTedium: ''Webcomic/MurryPurryFreshAndFurry'' was one of the worst webcomics I have ever read, particularly because of many scenes being needlessly disgusting for the sake of shock value and the author at times coming off as being overbearingly pretentious with the [[TakeThat petty jabs]] he made toward other webcomics, even going so far as to call fans of ''Webcomic/{{Xkcd}}'', "functionally retarded". However, the absolute worst part of this comic for me would be the arc that [[BizarroEpisode ignored the series' main story to focus on]] a crossover between ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'' and ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', especially when Danny Williams from the former was depicted as an extremely unflattering and stereotypical brony caricature by being fat, stubbly, and obsessed with making Fluttershy his wife. It was at that point that I finally gave up on giving this webcomic a chance. Fuck this shit! |
| 118 | * SCPIhpkmn: Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt has become borderline unreadable to me since Anthony Carver's return. Since he was introduced in Chapter 51, he has done nothing but acts like a cold, cruel, passive-aggressive shitheel to his daughter Antimony, literally the only family he has left in the world. Why? Because his daughter reminds him of his wife. I'm not going to cover the batshit psychological implications that have for him because this isn't about that. This is about the fact that Tom Siddel has the absolute gall to put him through a redemption arc and not make him work for his redemption! Instead, Antimony has to suffer for his sins: her self-confidence is crushed, she can barely control her fire powers, and the comic seems determined on reminding us every chapter that she is the world's biggest fuck-up, while her father gets to continue having his old friends, and even makes nice with Kat, Antimony's best friend, which, somehow, doesn't drive Annie to have a complete meltdown and [[PlayingWithFire melting down half the Court]]. The vaguely human-shaped piece of shit is shaping up to be the biggest KarmaHoudini in all of the webcomics. What's tragic is that Tom's a better writer than this, but it's becoming clearer and clearer that the story is more focused on being a TraumaCongaLine [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot as opposed to telling a good narrative]]. |
| 119 | ** Lemia: The above was my DMOS too, and the point I stopped reading the webcomic regularly. I initially was fine with Anthony Carver's return because I thought it signaled that Tom was finally starting to bring the comic to its conclusion with a tighter focus on unresolved plot threads. I was also fine with Anthony acting completely awful towards Annie in his introduction because I thought he would be called out on it and either have to work HARD to make up for his neglect/abuse, or Annie would get help from others to break free from him. It was when it became clear that Anthony was going to be painted with the "Oh no, he's not ''really'' a bad guy; you just need to get to know him better!" brush instead of actually having to learn how to be a better father or getting some comeuppance for his actions even though he treated Annie so horribly that ''she literally split her soul in half'' to be able to function around him that my trust in Siddel broke. Add to that how the plot conveniently forgets that he's around whenever it wants to focus on other plotlines in spite of how his return ''should'' have had a major impact on how free Annie was to go on adventures now, and I stopped reading. |
| 120 | * Tropers/CaptainTedium: I always found the Webcomic/{{Dolan}} series to be disgusting and horrific trash from the get-go, but just when I thought that the comics couldn't get any more depraved, I stumbled upon a strip where Dolan hears Mickey express his happiness at being a father soon and the psychopathic mallard responds by [[MoralEventHorizon using a toilet plunger to abort Minnie's babies against her will, subsequently deciding to rape her in order to impregnate her with his own children]]. The very idea of Donald Duck doing something so vile to his best friend is beyond reprehensible, and it infuriates me that the comic would ever have Dolan stoop to such a low. |
| 121 | * Tropers/MathsAngelicVersion: While ''Webcomic/VeganArtbook'' is... [[Horrible/{{Webcomics}} not exactly a masterpiece]] anyway, the absolute worst it has to offer is [[http://archive.is/ISSXK this comic]]. It opens by portraying a blatantly strawmanned farmer who brags about, e.g., killing animals for money before claiming that he treats his animals like family. There's no attempt to show that many farmers do go out of their way to ensure that their animals live good lives. Even if you believe raising animals for food is wrong, at least give them credit for that. The worst part is the ending: Sterk, the "[[DesignatedHero hero,]]" reacts to the farmer's claims by brutally murdering his family before his eyes just to prove a point. While this isn't the only comic that glorifies abuse of "carnists," this one is particularly bad because Sterk's actions are excessively cruel, even by his standards. At least he usually sticks to [[DisproportionateRetribution punishing]] those who are actually "guilty" in his eyes instead of going for horrifying RevengeByProxy. He's also a massive hypocrite on top of being a murderer: killing animals for food is wrong, but killing innocent humans to prove a point is okay? |
| 122 | * Tropers/FrankiLew: I've always had issues with Webcomic/{{Zoophobia}} and the writing of its creator, Viv. Since it seems like the comic is going to be rebooted, I feel the need to mention my [=DMoS=], which started with Zill and Kayla's chapter. Up until that point, the comic had no main character but a single character you, the audience, follow around and meet the rest of the cast with: Cameron. She's a human thrust into a strange world and has to learn how the magic therein works. It's through her that we get to know the academy faculty, and it's a dynamic that's written pretty well, as shown by the scene where they interrogate the vampires; Cameron is present during a confrontation between characters who have a past she knows as much about as the readers do. Once Zill and Kayla's anniversary plot is introduced, Cameron is nowhere to be found, and it's now about these characters we were kinda introduced to through her but don't know that much about. Viv has this way of assuming that if you've followed her art for long enough, you must know who the characters are. Zill and Kayla are important OCs of hers, but in the context of the story, I don't know much about them, and it feels weird for the webcomic to abandon Cameron to focus on these two. The comic does this again when we follow Damien and later, Addison. We haven't been properly introduced to these characters. The reason this irks me so is that it's so easy for Cameron to be written into these characters' subplots. We see later on that she becomes a guidance counselor, where Jack tells his and Zill's story, so she's present for their moment of establishment/development. Have her become a guidance counselor earlier in the story, have characters tell her their problems while illustrating it, or heck, after they have their session with Cameron, have it be that Cameron gets roped into the drama because she's the guidance counselor. Instead of just focusing on Damien, make Damien's nannies the ones to drag Cameron around to find him. Instead of focusing on Addison out of the blue, have him be a character who walks Cameron to work so she/we get to meet the characters he talks to on the way there. In a comic such as this, we need a character to keep us grounded with their perspective, no matter how passive. Zoophobia as it is now/was has lots of problems character-wise, and the narrative flow of whose perspective we're seeing this through is a big problem. |
| 123 | * Tropers/VanillaLime: I always love some {{VideoGame/Super Smash Bros}} comics and fanart showing the characters interacting with each other, but I really dislike the ''Webcomic/EveryoneIsHome'' webcomics by Wooden Plank Studios. Not only are the jokes in it unfunny and stale (Yoshi commits tax fraud, Waluigi being depressed and suicidal, assist trophies are treated like trash), but I despise the way it uses {{Creator/Masahiro Sakurai}} himself. It’s bad enough that this is portraying a real living person rather than a fictional character, but these comics make him look like a prick. Out of all the comics, my dethroning moment goes to [[https://woodenplankstudios.com/comics/super-smash-bias/ Super Smash Bias,]] where “Sakurai” claims to love all the fighters equally while having them live in a cramped apartment. Well, all except for VideoGame/{{Kirby}}, who gets a gigantic castle all to himself because he's the "best character." Seriously? I get that it’s a joke, and Sakurai can be a little biased toward Kirby characters, but that feels mean-spirited and not the kind of thing someone like him would do. The only thing these webcomics have going for them is some background stuff that’s occasionally humorous, but other than that, it’s a soulless pile of garbage that can never hold a candle to the likes of ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' and ''Webcomic/AwkwardZombie''. |
| 124 | * Tropers/CabbitGirlEmi: Not long before the pandemic, I've been catching up on ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl''. I was curious about how things went down from "[[DramaBomb December]]" onwards, and it took me a while to accept the ever-changing relationships. However, the entire Paulo/Daisy/Abbey situation that lasted from "Take Heart" to "Unspoken Rule" is still ugly. This all started because [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Paulo]] wouldn't stop teasing Abbey after playing a part in getting him back together with [[NiceGirl Daisy]]. Unfortunately, [[BullyHunter Abbey]] takes it as well as one would expect as he goes on to accuse Paulo of trying to steal her from him and even [[spoiler:chokes him at a convention bathroom stall over a huge misunderstanding]]. Long story short, this reaches its boiling point in "Love Again." When [[spoiler:Lucy returns after attempting suicide due to Mike breaking her heart and doesn't pay attention to Paulo, he snaps by tugging on Mike's scarf, hurts Daisy's feelings, and ousts Abbey for choking him. Said ousting leads to Abbey breaking things off with Daisy, which seems like kicking her while she's down]]. It is PoorCommunicationKills at its logical extreme, which sucks because I actually like Abbey despite his descent from rationality. At least all three characters have moved on from this trainwreck. |
| 125 | ** Tropers/EnigmaLobo: Personally, Paulo guilt-tripping Abbey into continuing his relationship with Daisy after their initially peaceful break-up while weaponizing Abbey's ''dead mother'' to his face was the lowest point in the webcomic for me. Paulo's treatment towards Abbey is plain bullying, not playful teasing, and with Daisy downplaying her friend's behaviour, it makes the [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic two come across as very manipulative and toxic]] towards Abbey, who is still in the process of therapy over his mother's death and is struggling with anger issues over bullying in general. Abbey's attacking Paulo is also meant to be shown as him having crossed the line, but it comes off more as a [[LaserGuidedKarma bully getting what he deserves]]. Daisy continuing to defend Paulo, and showing that she cared more about him than Abbey over the assault, makes her look worse when it was Daisy that had ''asked'' Paulo to help her get back with Abbey against his wishes. |
| 126 | * IzzyUneasy: I hate and loathe ''Hiimdaisy'', but the worst it has to offer is the strip where Makoto Yuki expresses glee about social links; then Nozomu shows up and says that he thought of Makoto when he passed gas. Stupid and unfunny. Thank all gods that Daisy herself is ashamed of her comics. |
| 127 | * DCorp123: The recent years of ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'' have been pretty weak, but the "My Life As A Teenage Squirrel" arc was where it really lost me. After not one but two overlong arcs, we get this arc that lasted the entire second half of 2019; all focused around an entirely new character who seemed to come out of pretty much nowhere. We barely got to see any of the already established cast who we know and love, instead following the same whiny human-turned-squirrel for six months. I wouldn't have even complained as much if it wasn't for the sheer length of this arc. It moves insanely slow and made me lose pretty much all interest in the comic at this point. |
| 128 | * Krystalis: {{Webcomic/MSF High}} was never my all-time favorite comic, but back before I knew I was queer, I used to read it and EGS. At some point, the author posted a [[https://www.deviantart.com/msfhwraith/journal/Rise-of-the-Pseudophiles-656104642 blog on their DeviantArt positing themself as Truscum;]] their words, not mine, and started grouping people in the larger GSRM groups with pedophiles, even when the larger GSRM discourages associations and has enough trouble with that already, and started fighting with people in the comments about how they were wrong if they disagreed. [[https://www.deviantart.com/msfhwraith/journal/Why-I-m-not-part-of-the-trans-community-594802522 Previously, they also made a post about why they weren't part of the larger trans community,]] using scathing language to describe the larger queer population, comparing most to being a one-armed man who's delusional in thinking in he has two arms, to the detriment of his treatment. That amount of hatred has driven me away from it permanently. At least I still have EGS. Come to find out, MSFWraith is also part of subreddits like Kotaku in Action. Let that speak for itself. |
| 129 | * Levitator: I really used to like Webcomic/DepressionComix. I've had my own issues with mental health, and many of the early strips were extremely identifiable for me. As time went on, the creator Clay started to create increasingly {{Anvilicious}} left-leaning political comics, often ones I didn't really agree with. But I was willing to roll with it, as not everything has to be for me. I didn't quit reading because the comics were ultimately about how racism, sexism, or whatever issue he was addressing might impact people's depression. This could be a valuable tool for empathy-building. But as time went on, there started to be more and more MissionCreep turning it into a political cartoon catered to hardcore progressives. At last, we got this [[https://www.depressioncomix.com/posts/484/ garbage comic]] attempting to address the horrifying discovery of 215 murdered First Nations children found buried in Canada. This could be a worthy issue to address. Perhaps showing how a depressed First Nations character reacts to this reminder of his people's sad history could be a powerful comic. Instead, we get a picture of the buried skulls with a bizarrely menacing IceCreamKoan about children and the future. With this strip, Clay has decided to make his comic a political pulpit instead of a universal mental health aid, and I'm deeply disappointed. |
| 130 | * Tropers/{{Retloclive}}: I pretty much gave up on taking ''Webcomic/UnOrdinary'' seriously the moment it became clear that nothing was going to come from the private conversation that Remi had with John in chapters 150 and 151. These were the chapters where everything was brought to light for Remi, thanks to what John told her. Of how her best friend, Arlo, destroyed everything that her dead brother, Rei, stood for by removing the everyone-is-equal hierarchy that Rei tried to establish at Wellston High and replacing it with an awful might-makes-right one. Or how John informs her of how her friends, Arlo, Blyke, and Isen, went about treating John horribly. So what does she do with this new information? Nothing. [[LeftHanging Absolutely nothing]]. No confronting her friends over their horrible actions. Not even a moment where she simply thinks it over. Nothing. The story just continues on as if the stuff Remi learned about her friends never happened. Remi just goes on continuing to hang out with her friends as if there's nothing worth talking about. There's an obvious bias going on throughout the story where John's the only one that suffers while everyone else pretty much gets off scot-free for their actions, and this is easily one of the most blatant examples where Remi just glosses over the actions of her friends. Remi's an awful character. |
| 131 | * Tropers/Storygirl000: ''Webcomic/RedHoodOutlaws'' interested me at first with its premise -- the titular Outlaws had to take over for the Justice League for a month, and per Batman's rules if they screwed up (e.g. by breaking ThouShaltNotKill in a major way) then they'd be cut off from the League's resources and exiled. Watching them struggle with the dilemma of trying to live up to the League's ideals while also keeping their own identities kept me interested...all up until episode 29, which revealed that Batman never actually gave them a chance. He put them all in a simulation without even telling them, all while the Justice League arrested the criminals they supposedly dealt with (when the Outlaws managed to find ways to deal with them that didn't involve automatically arresting them); then, even though they lasted longer than the deal specified, he still cut them off. Not only did it mean that every past storyline was AllForNothing, but it made Batman come off as an unsympathetic dick in the process. All of it was enough to make me swear off the series, and I saw plenty of other commenters protest the plot twist as well. |
| 132 | * H0pel1v3s0n: ''Webcomic/{{Redemptionronpa}}'' is my first Fancanronpa, and I absolutely love it. There’s just one problem, though… the ending. It’s just… way too happy. I like cases of EarnYourHappyEnding, and I’m not against the participants being brought back to life, but… no. You can’t just take a dark series like Danganronpa, and give it an unambiguously happy ending. You just… can’t. There’s so much emotional recovery that it feels like Redemptionronpa just completely skipped over. I guess I’d like the ending more if it didn’t try to wrap everything in a neat little bow. |
| 133 | * [=DevNameless=]: I don't intend to dive too deep into ''[=StoneToss=]'' due to the fact it is such a controversial webcomic that it's almost impossible to talk about without getting heavily into political ideology (I don't mind occasionally getting political, I just don't feel like I want to get into it when posting this), but I can say I'm definitely not the target audience and I hope I never will be. However, I think [[https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/StoneToss#/media/File:Trans_Work_Stonetoss_comic.png this strip in particular]] is the pinnacle of awfulness for the series. While I'm very much appalled by the transphobia, and I'd be more than happy to use that alone for an example of why I hate it, I'm actually going to consider that an extra bonus of awful and focus on something else when it comes to this... mainly, there seems to be no punchline other than "Ha-ha, Trans person kills themself", which I simply can't find being funny. I don't see any particular efforts to try and cross the line twice or do anything other than show a trans person about to kill themself, and I can't see how that would be funny even to the transphobic. Black comedy, to me, should have a little more effort than just "look at this Strawman about to die". |
| 134 | * @/{{Clione67}}: So many things I like to loathe about ''Webcomic/ThePrincesssJewels'', but one moment stuck with me in particular. One chapter has the main characters disguising as street dancers as a part of Princess Ariana's mission to get her last jewel. Then, they were intercepted by a noble who also had doing the same thing as her, collecting attractive women instead of men to become his RoyalHarem. During their confrontation, you expect her to have sudden moment of realization that her actions was horrible, right? No! She called him out for his actions even though she's doing the exact same thing! [[DoubleStandard Because, if the man collects women, treating them like objects, and taking them away from their lives is wrong, but if a woman doing the same thing with men, she's definitely correct, and no one can call her out]]. |
| 135 | * {{chelonianmobile}}: ''Webcomic/ForestHill'' was doing pretty okay IMO with its storyline about investigating a pedophile ring... until it started portraying graphic child nudity onscreen, including a seven-year-old visibly masturbating and several strips in a row showing thse entire family hanging out naked. That was completely unnecessary and, in context, ends up coming off as hypocritical - the storyline is about how much being molested and used for pornography damaged these kids, but it's okay to have the audience potentially leering at them? |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext DethroningMoment / Webcomics
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
