Characters / Com Media

The Prints

A media category defined by their reliance on ink, paper, and printing presses.

• Outdated Outfit: Played with for most of them, who dress in clothes that wouldn't look too out of place in the early 20th Century.
  • Literature typically wears a sweater vest and dress shirt, something that looks vaguely academic without looking out of style.
  • Journalism's outfit is meant to evoke a Depression-era newsboy crossed with a journalist.
  • Magazine's is based on a 1990s GAP model.
  • Averted mostly with Mail and Comics. Mail is dressed like a modern mail carrier (albeit wearing pants and a tie) while Comics wears a T-shirt and jeans—a look that never went out of style to begin with.
• Old Media Playing Catch-Up: They've been rivals to media newer than themselves since forever
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Mail, Lit, and Journ have this sibling dynamic.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: They all have shades of this. Except Journalism, of course.

Print Literature—Sean Macmillan

Represents books, both fiction and nonfiction. Oldest of the prints and the patriarch of the print family. He wears a sweater vest and long sleeve shirt, evocative of an intellectual writer.

• Immortal Immaturity: He still manages to act like a goof despite his great age.

• Mr. Imagination: He likes to imagine and can materialize weapons and climate conditions with ease

• Older Than He Looks: Looks like a 40-something that looks young for his age

• Parents as People: He and Comics do not get along often. He has his moments, though.

• Time Abyss: He has no stated age and is implied to be very old.
• Waistcoat of Style: Wears a sweater vest.

Print Journalism—Jimmy Pulitzer

Print Literature's brother. Represents newspapers. He dresses as a cross between depression-era newsboy and 40s journalist.

• Grammar Nazi: Can't stand grammar errors

• Old Shame: In-universe. He as the Yellow Kid, a power-tripping sleazebag who spread gossip and Blatant Lies for money.

Cartoons and Comics—Clark Macmillian

Literature's son from Visual Art. Represents comics as a storytelling medium, including He and dad don't get along often. Closer to his uncle and his half-brother, Animation. Wears a heavy overcoat over a gray shirt with a word balloon in it.

• Basement-Dweller: He lives in his family's basement.

• Emo Teen: Emo Young Adult, representing his Darker and Edgier phase in the 1990s, which didn't end well.
• Flying Brick: He has superpowers which he uses for stupid everyday things such as:
  • Eye Beams to warm the coffee
  • Flight to walk in midair.

• Heroic Build: But of course. For a skinny dude, he's quite buff.
  • Formerly Fit: He lost much of his musculature in the interim between the 1990s and the late 2000s.

• Fun T-Shirt: His T-shirts usually have a logo in them; the one he wears the most has a word balloon on it.

• The Unfavorite: An illegitimate child barely acknowledged by his distant father.

• Weaksauce Weakness: Deathmate is his kryptonite.

Mail—Cody Williams

Represents the postal system. The only female among the print siblings, in between Journalism and Literature. Dressed as a mail carrier.

• Bifauxnen: She looks very androgynous but is actually a woman.
• The Determinator
• Gender-Blender Name
• All Girls Like Ponies: She loves horses and used to rely on them for transportation.

Magazine Publication—Daniel Henry Pulitzer

Represents magazines and the magazine publishing industry.

• Adoptive Peer Parent: Youngest of his siblings and takes on a semi-parental role to Comics.
• Annoying Younger Sibling
• Cool Uncle: He and Comics are very close.
• The Dandy

Writing—Elizabeth P. MacMillan, Esq.

Matriarch of the prints and mother of the siblings. Represented as a Grand Dame in Victorian clothing.

• Boring, but Practical: Prefers substance to style.

Printmaking and Sigilography—John Pulitzer

Patriarch of the prints and the oldest member of the family. The father of the siblings.

• Miniature Senior Citizens: Shorter than his children and grandson

The Audio Visuals

Characterized by their adherence to the simultaneous use of audio and visual equipment, usually for broadcast or home consumption.

Television—Walter Logie Farnsworth

The de facto leader of the media, representing the television industry and live-action TV shows. He wears a suit and a lapel mic. Video's older brother.

• Butt-Monkey: He's essentially a huge Take That! to television networks in general. But not all the time.

• Executive Meddling: In-universe. Often ends up being controlled by this, but he does this for his survival and it isn't always bad.

• Sharp-Dressed Man: Almost always depicted wearing a suit.

• Violent Glaswegian: He's from Scotland, as television was invented there.

Video—Mary Sue Farnsworth-Phillips

TV's sister and confidante. Representing video technology. Dressed like a production manager.

• All There in the Manual: She and Radio share a spiteful rivalry.

• Nonindicative Name: She isn't a Mary Sue Classic.

Recording Industry—Vince Raymond Phillips

A tall man representing the recording industry and recording technologies. Dressed like a music industry producer or a wealthy rapper.

• The Big Guy / The Brute: Depending on whether he's the protagonist or antagonist of the strip, specifically when Internet is involved.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Happily Married: To Video
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Radio
• Jive Turkey
• Knight Templar: Because Digital Piracy Is Evil
• Papa Wolf: To Music Video
• Record Producer: Made to look like one, being in part an affectionate parody of the music industry.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With TV, his brother in law.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy / Happily Adopted: He and his adoptive father have been split with the whole mainstream thing.

Music Video

Daughter of the Recording Industry and Video representing music videos as a distinct medium. A teenage girl dressed in party clothes.

• Bratty Teenage Daughter
• Dating What Daddy Hates: She has a thing for Internet.

Cable—Lyndon Turner

Representing coaxial cable distribution and, for much of his history, cable television.

• Hidden Depths: Although he has a blue collar appearance, he has a strong preference for "fancy things."
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Inspired very loosely by a certain blue-collar themed comedian.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: He's been reduced to being Television's doddering yes-man.
• Scaling the Summit: Formerly a mountaineer, based on how coaxial cable stations are usually found on mountains.
• Sitcom Archnemesis: To Satellite communications
• Those Two Guys: With Satellite.

The Digitals

Representing computer-based media, this groups marker is the almost universal presence of Nerd Glasses.

• Sibling Seniority Squabble: Averted. Internet is canonically older per history (if history were to be adhered to strictly, by about 20 years). Cue MST3K Mantra.

Internet—Rossum Frederick Bell

Represents the modern Internet and the culture therein. Looks like a regular (if nerdy) teenager. Son of Computer Tech and Telecommunication, and the older of a pair of identical twins.

• Big Brother Instinct: Very protective of his little sister Podcast/Mobile
• Bratty Half-Pint: A teenager, as opposed to the other media who are between 20 and 40.
• Cute Kitten: He has one as a pet

• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The "foolish" one.

• Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Not as all-knowing or as smart as he leads others to believe.

• New Media Are Evil: He gets accused of this often; while not unjustified, he sometimes feels it goes too far.
• Non-Human Sidekick: The aforementioned cat

Intranet—Robert Licklider Bell

Represents Internet-like localized internal networks. Dressed similarly to his identical twin brother Internet.

• Can't Stand Them, Can't Live Without Them: His relationship with Internet in a nutshell.

• Sibling Yin-Yang: A reclusive, level-headed, but kind of limited in knowledge as opposed to his brother who is extroverted, mouthy, and ludicrously knowledgeable.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The "responsible" one.
• Hikikomori: Not very outdoorsy.
• Twin Telepathy: Representing the interplay between intranets in real life and the Internet.

Computer Technology—Timothy Babbage Bell

Representing all of computer-based media sans networks and mobile devices. Dressed like a nerdy IT dude. Father of the digital siblings and married to Telecommunications.

• Geek Physique: He's lanky and very short.
• Parents as People: Keeps Internet, who gives him all sorts of viruses, within arm's distance through a wall of fire.

ARPANET—Taylor Bell

Internet's older sister, based on the Internet's predecessor. Dressed in an American military uniform.

• Only Sane Woman: The only one of her siblings that isn't a basket case.

Podcast and Mobile—Miley Bell

Represents mobile technology and media accessible through portable devices (cellular phones, iPods, and associated ilk).

• Characterization Marches On: Originally, she was made to represent "sound broadcasts sent over the Internet file that can be listened to over a device, usually an iPod."

• Shaped Like Itself: Her dress has an iPod clickwheel on it.
• Strong Family Resemblance: She's just as mouthy as Internet, who happens to be her favorite brother.

Video Gaming—Kirby Park

A relative to the Audiovisuals and the Digitals. Wears a stylized South Korean competitive Starcraft team jacket.

• Gratuitous Foreign Language: 1337sp33k and on occassion, Korean.
• I Lied: His first joke.
• Hikikomori: Up until the advent of Pokémon GO, not very fond of the outdoors.

Satellite Communication—Sergei Alexandrov/Alexander Goddard

Representing satellite communication infrastructure.

• I Have Many Names: Has two aliases, representing both Russian and American satellite technology.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: He's been reduced to being Television's doddering yes-man.

The Films

Characterized by their erstwhile dependence on semitransparent celluloid film with chemical emulsions to show still or perceivably moving images.

• Different as Night and Day: Cinema and Photography.

Cinema—Friedrich "Fritz" Stevens

Represents movies. Dressed like a De Mille-esque director. A bit of a fop. May be related to television.

• Companion Cube: A bullhorn/megaphone that he carries around, plus a haunted Yandere Oscar.

Animation—Charlie Stevens

Representing the modern animation industry that traces its origin to the silent era. A wacky, animesque man dressed casually, wearing a backpack. Art's son from Cinema and Comics' half-brother.

• Four-Fingered Hands: Everyone else has five.

• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A Nice Guy, but way into Black Comedy.

Photography—Renee Daguerre

Represents photography as a technology and artform. Dressed as a stereotypical photographer. Journalism's on-again, off-again love interest.

The Telegraphs

Represents technologies dedicated to transferring verbal and written information without the use of physical transportation. Nominally would include Internet.

Radio—Giacomo Marconi

Represents radio technology as a whole and radio broadcasting in particular. Dressed a a disk jockey.

Telegraphy—Samuel Bell

Represents the sum total of telegraphic technology up to wire. Originally a sailor, now a distinguished old gentleman in an anachronistic Victorian suit.

• Generation Xerox: The younger version of himself is basically a Victorian version of his grandson Internet.
• Impoverished Patrician: He lives off odd jobs.
• I Was Quite a Looker: The only depictions he has thus far depict him before the 20th Century.
• The Patriarch: Has two children (Radio and Telecommunications) and is the de facto head of the Telegraphs.
• Really 700 Years Old: He is the only one among the antiquated media to actually have aged.

Telecommunications—Samantha Bell

Represents telephone and fax communication. Parent to Internet and his siblings and daughter of Telegraphy. Dressed like a telephone operator.

• Happily Married: To Computer Tech. They have four kids.
• My Beloved Smother: She has some degree of control over Internet's financial earnings and tends to dictate a lot of her policy's to her son's chagrin. That she does little to actually control his behavior is probably for the best.

The Spatials

Represents lofty concepts of human creativity as manifested in the body of works and their creators as distinct from the other media.

Visual Art—Marcela Picasso

Represents paintings, sculptures, and mosaics. Is the love interest of Theatre, Cinema, and Literature. Dressed in a long-flowing skirt and a blouse with a sweater vest.

• Parents as People: She is very well aware of her own ineptitude and left her children in the their respective fathers' care.

Music—Wolfgang J. Armstrong

Represents music as a means of communication Dresses like a "scruffy musician" stereotype. Art's brother and the parental figure of the Recording Industry.

• Antagonistic Offspring: Played with; His relationship with his ward has been cool at times, although they mutually are fond of each other and look to one another as family.

• Jaded Washout: Tends to grumble and complain about being past his prime. He has been doing this for millennia.

The Performing Arts

Representing live performances, they are characterized by their intensive use of human labor and mechanical tricks to convey narratives before an audience

Theatre—Dionysus Marlowe

Represents theatrical productions including conventional plays, musicals, and operas. Dressed like a stereotypical theatre geek complete with scarf and skull.

• Dogged Nice Guy: Regardless on how "nice" he could actually be, he always gets friendzoned by Art.
• Friendly Enemy: He's like this toward both his romantic rivals, Literature in particular.

• Single-Target Sexuality: He and Cinema appear to be attracted only to Art.
• Unknown Rival: He absolutely loathes Television, for a number of reasons, including gross miscalculation of the intricacies of his profession and abilities.

Puppetry and Puppet Theater—Henson Hearne

Representing puppet theater and puppet and animatronic use media in general. Dressed casually much like a professional puppeteer for TV and Cinema.

• Cluster F-Bomb: When he's given half the chance, he's quite a potty mouth.

• Friend to All Children: Seems to prefer working with children more than all the other media.

The Motives/"Curtain Crew"

A group of brothers that represent communications formats that manipulate public perception. They have curtain hairstyles.

Propaganda—Santiago del Pilar

Represents communications meant to sway people toward political or ideological dogma. Dressed as a hipster wearing the symbols of conflicting ideologies. Carries a yoyo.

• Butt-Monkey: A lot of the other media have a strong dislike for him.
• Doppelgänger: An identical stranger to Print Journalism, albeit without the pesky moral code that goes with him.

Advertising—William Adams Locke

Represents advertisements and billboards. Main motive is to sell. Dresses like an ad executive.

• I Was Quite a Looker: He used to be a gladiator; he let himself go.

Public Relations—Devon Bernays

Represents press meetings and other communication events meant to improve the image of a person or company.

Tabletop Games

Tabletop Games—Caissa Chaturanga

Represents board, RPG, and card games. Likes to cosplay.

• A God Am I: Has control of every aspect of the environment whenever a game is being played. And savors every moment.
• Chess Motifs: Likes to use them.
• Killer Game Master
• Lady of War: Very aggressive and competitive.
• Older Than They Look: She looks young but is almost as old as Literature.
• Rules Lawyer
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Video Games.

Cartography and Graphic Design

Graphic Design—Benjamin Sullivan

Represents both charts and infographics as a medium and the discipline of design as opposed to art. Art's oldest son and an older brother to Comics and Animation.

• Eccentric Artist: Less so like his mother, but it's still there.

• Hipster: Evokes the appearance of an art school grad
• Named After Someone Famous: American patriot and publisher Benjamin Franklin and architect Louis Sullivan, who coined the phrase "form follows function."
• The Perfectionist: Focused on creating aesthetically harmonious things

Cartography—Gerard Robinson Sullivan

Represents Maps. Art's first ex-boyfriend and Graphic Design's father.

• The Navigator: But of course, assuming the place has already been mapped.
  • Directionless Driver: What he is in unfamiliar locales.
• Hipster: In the modern day, he resembles an outdoorsy guy on Instagram who spends way too much time bragging about where he travels.
• Scaling the Summit: Evoked. He looks like a mountaineer or hiker.