Line #21 GrowingTheBeard/WebComics


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14	* ''Webcomic/OneOverZero'' had no point save getting a girlfriend when it started, nor did Tailsteak have any art experience, and it shows. The reason there was NoFourthWall was that Tailsteak never bothered to put one in, and found he couldn't do much in the way of jokes with one. Then he started taking ''real'' advantage of its absence, using it for creative character interactions. Then said characters started spiralling out of control in ''just'' the right ways.
15	* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' started out kind of shaky and awkward, as none of the characters really settled into their grooves. [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/05/28/episode-035-there-can-be-only-one-plus-three/ This is the earliest comic where the writing started picking up, with more original character-based humour.]] The art improves ''massively'' over the Garland arc.
16	** By the time the party gets to Elfland and the comic began to play up [[ScrewYouElves Elven sociopathy,]] it started to really find [[SadistShow its tone of humour.]]
17	* ''Webcomic/{{Achewood}}'' began life as a hit-and-miss gag strip about a house full of "alive stuffed animals," but with [[http://achewood.com/index.php?date=03122002 The Party arc]] it began to develop into a complex, layered, plot-and-character-driven slacker epic.
18	* Though it took off quickly, the first few storylines of ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' were rather different than the current blend of awesome and funny it is today. Chris Hastings himself advises new readers not to start with the first, Donald [=McBonald=]-centric story. The next two stories, while well-done and humorous, were essentially setting up the character and parodying the "pirates vs. ninjas" theme. The comic really hit its CoolVersusAwesome-plus-funny stride in the 4th story arc. Specifically on [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/3p13 this page]].
19	* ''Webcomic/BlackAdventures'' really got its act together in the third chapter when the story became more tied in with the games and the writing got more consistent.
20	* The beginning of ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' is all but a mess. Random filler strips, jokes that don't quite take off, and the occasional hint that, at some point, there would be a drawn webcomic with Bob and George. Once the last part was completely eliminated and the "Just Another Day" arc started, it finally got into its true plot and humour.
21	* ''Webcomic/BoxerHockey'' started off with sub-par to decent art, had a cast of generally cliche characters[[note]]A dumb character, who shared a nickname with the author, the jerk, TheBigGuy, the OnlySaneMan, and their coach.[[/note]], and sometimes relied on BlackComedy and gay jokes. During the strip's four-year life, Creator/TysonHesse, the author, attended college. Over the years, it resulted in the cast having heavy [[CharacterDevelopment development]], well thought-out jokes, and absolutely '''beautiful''' art. Tyson Hesse is now considered a professional artist, and is doing freelance jobs for [[VideoGame/SkullGirls Reverge Labs]] and Creator/DarkHorseComics.
22	* ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' stars various Nintendo characters in wacky situations, such as [[VideoGame/{{Kirby}} King Dedede]] in a parody of ''Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas''. It started out as one-trick pony sketches on Website/GameFAQs about Kirby eating things.
23	* ''Webcomic/{{Bug Martini}}'' started off as a slightly funny gag-a-day webcomic. Then [[http://www.bugmartini.com/comics/2010-preview-pt-2/ Part 2 of the 2010 previews]] set up the style of [[RapidFireComedy a joke on each panel,]] marking the point when it became truly hilarious.
24	* ''Webcomic/{{Collar 6}}'' had this twice over.
25	** The first time was when the characters sat down and discussed their relationship, as well as the later half of the spank-off, setting them on the path to developing into fuller characters.
26	** The second time was the events on the pony ranch, finally finding a balance of character interaction, bondage play, and exposition that the previous arc was criticised for lacking.
27	* The first 73 strips of ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' were a heavily disjointed affair with arcs that pretty much involved whatever the author felt like spoofing at the moment. The comic then went on a break for a year and returned with [[ArtEvolution improved art quality]], more distinctions in the characters' personalities, improved world-building, and a start of what at least somewhat resembled an actual plot.
28	** Another case of this trope happened around strip 676. at which point many of the earlier goofier elements of the comic was [[CerebusSyndrome phased out]] and the plot started taking itself more seriously.
29	* ''Webcomic/DeadOfSummer'' grew its beard around the halfway point of Book 1, as they focused less on the LudicrousGibs and more on CharacterDevelopment. The ArtEvolution happened around that time too, resulting in more detailed, clearer drawings. The beard was fully grown by the time Book 2 rolled around; things soon became ''very'' character-driven. [[spoiler: And then Music/TheProtomen show up.]]
30	* ''Webcomic/TheDragonDoctors'': The strip began as a one-shot for a group of TF [[strike:fetishists]] [[IReadItForTheArticles fans]], and the apparent hasty writing of the first half of the first chapter reflects this. As the author begins fleshing out the world, the comic gets much more interesting.
31	* ''Webcomic/GoGetARoomie'' begins as a lighthearted gag-strip with some cheap humour centering around a polyamorous protagonist. The series then gains a {{Deuteragonist}} as a direct personality counter and the series takes off from there.
32	* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' started to grow the beard with the ''Sister'' arc and finished at the end of ''Grace's Birthday Party''. During this time, ''El Goonish Shive'' found the mix of character drama, SF/fantasy, and humour that would define later arcs. By the end of ''Grace's Birthday Party'', the artwork had been tremendously improved as well.
33	* This happens in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. The start of the story deliberately had a slow pace, involving a boy trying to handle his InventoryManagementPuzzle. And then suddenly there's reality-altering video games. And then there's meteors. [[MindScrew And then things get weird]]. The definite beginning of the comic's "beard" is the end of Act 3, when "[S]: Enter" displays just how incredible the flash format could be.
34	* ''Webcomic/ALoonaticsTale'' began in 2007 as a comic the artist/co-writer drew in her spare time at school, with poor art and writing and awkward layouts that culminated in a style switch (including dropping colour from the pages) halfway through the third storyline. Then the comic went on a several-month hiatus during which the artist entered a few Original Character Tournaments, started attending art college, and generally worked on improving her craft. Now the comic is back in full colour, and both writing and art have greatly improved in quality.
35	* ''Webcomic/{{Megatokyo}}'' starts off as a fairly standard four-panel comic with two video game guys getting into hi-jinks. It takes about fifty strips before it gets into the ridiculous multi-person romance and off-the-wall zombie-robot-Godzilla adventures at the same time.
36	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' grew a beard over the course of the [[StoryArc second arc]], which saw it move away from its origins as a series of gags about D&D rules and add character development and a more complex plot, as well as improved art. Improvements continued through the third story arc, and it's been fantastic ever since then.
37	** The trope is also [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0647.html lampshaded]]: upon his reunion with Haley, Elan demonstrates unusual (for him) wisdom regarding outer appearances, and Haley mentions that she half-expected him to "grow a beard". And he has, figuratively speaking.
38	* ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'', about 80 or so pages in. The characters look less wonky and the story starts to seriously move.
39	* The exact moment ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' started being funny can be narrowed down somewhat definitively to [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/06/19/ "Claw Shrimp."]] It's definitely the oldest strip you'll hear ''referenced.''
40	* While writing the first few comics of ''Webcomic/PrincessPi'', Peter Paltridge seemed conflicted between his desire to give Princess Pi genuinely threatening villains, and his desire to make her adventures as random as possible. This resulted in comics that went too straightforward to allow randomness, and some where the randomness overpowered the conflict. He claimed to have eventually found a "groove" with "[[http://www.platypuscomix.net/princesspi/index.php?issue=8&pageType=index&seriesID=12 Princess Pi vs. The Alpha Bitch]]". Indeed, the story does an entertaining job of creating random threats without losing sight of the main conflict.
41	* Although ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'' was pretty funny when it started out, the gradual ArtShift, combined with the accumulation of parody SolveTheSoupCans puzzles (each [[SerialEscalation more impenetrably complex than the last]]), strange characters, downright [[GuideDangIt bizarre game mechanics]], [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]], {{Chekhovs Gun}}s and [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments]] eventually elevated the series to [[{{Troperiffic}} absurd levels of]] ''[[{{Troperiffic}} awesomeness]]'' by the time the [[FinalBoss Final Boss Battle]] rolled around.
42	* ''Webcomic/MSPaintMasterPieces'' began pretty much as a standard Mega Man sprite comic. Around the attack of Wily, it began to take itself seriously and became a full-blown story.
43	* The [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=500 500th strip]] of ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' is universally recognized as a turning point, when the strip began focusing less on one-off gags and introduced some real character development and plot arcs. The art was also steadily improving throughout the series.
44	* ''Webcomic/RomanticallyApocalyptic'' starts out as being absolutely hilarious and [[SugarWiki/AwesomeArt the artwork is absolutely amazing.]] However, the comic gets even better during the second and third arcs, where it becomes genuinely dramatic while also being hilarious, the plots get even more creative, the characters are given more depth, and the artwork getting even better.
45	* Some fans would state that ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'' grew the beard when [[spoiler: Rhea and Buwaro escape from the Ring of the Slightly Damned and meet Kieri]]. This is not only when the storyline really picks up, but when [[ArtEvolution the improvement of the artwork]] starts becoming more noticeable.
46	* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', While funny from the get-go, was plagued by its mediocre artwork and short story arcs which did little to advance the overall plot. Then came book three, which introduced Ceeta, established General Xinchub as a popular recurring villain, saw a significant improvement in the artwork and character depth, and far longer and more developed story arcs.
47	* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' grew a beard with the Vampires arc, [[CerebusSyndrome the first truly serious one in the series]], and while it still maintained the humour that was popular with fans, it also showed that it was able to sustain drama and tension.
48	* ''Webcomic/TheStoryOfAnima'' starts with a nifty ActionPrologue with lots of dynamic fight scenes, [[http://tapastic.com/episode/55425 "The Executioner" arc]] marks a major improvement in art quality, more focused storytelling and an action sequence that tops anything that came before it.
49	* ''Webcomic/TwistedKaijuTheater'' started as a small-time comic strip with endless toilet humour. It ended up becoming one of the longest-running webcomics ever and dealing with many dark, mature themes while never losing its comedic value.
50	* ''Webcomic/TwoEvilScientists'' started as a fairly decent Sonic and Mega Man crossover comic, with the first few arcs showing the heroes of the Sonic and Mega Man series battling the titular scientist's robots. The story took a unique turn following the Metal Devil arc, and the quality's been going up since then with no sign of stopping.
51	* When ''Webcomic/TheWayOfTheMetagamer'' started, it was a shameless ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' ripoff, with one-dimensional characters and lacking originality or humour. The creator realized this and put in a scheduled SeriesHiatus while he improved his skills. After the hiatus, the plot (yes, there was one in the beginning) picked up, the readers get some idea of what is going on, there is an [[MundaneMadeAwesome epic]] showdown between [[HeroicComedicSociopath Jane]] and CaptainObvious, and the series steadily became more Troperiffic, to the point where JustForFun/TropeTan herself appears and then the story goes OffTheRails. However, after the time travel arc, the series has [[InvertedTrope shaved its beard off]], as the story came to a screeching halt.
52	* The Hyeongshin arc in ''Webcomic/WeakHero'' is where the webtoon really starts to come into its own. The artstyle and characterisations are solidified, [[SixthRanger Rowan]] is introduced and Teddy undergoes a well-received HeelFaceTurn, the [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil Yeongdeungpo Union]] are expanded upon, and Gray starts undergoing his character development and becomes more than just a cold-hearted BullyHunter.
53	* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' started out as a merely okay collection of sketches and comics the author made when he was bored. Then, with [[http://xkcd.com/70/ comic #70]] it finally grew into the intelligent gag strip we all know and love.
54	* ''Webcomic/{{Zap}}'' starts out as a classic SpaceOpera Amnesiac protagonist origin story and slowly becomes an epic tale of mind-control backstabbing and various alien factions.
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Context GrowingTheBeard / WebComics