http://www.cvrpg.com/page/archive/dswc
A sprite-based videogame-centric webcomic. It is the side-project of the Mike "Darkmoon" Finkelstein, whose main project is the Castlevania RPG.
The main comic ran for 500 strips (including the main plot and occasional filler strips), at which point Darkmoon decided to finally end it. However, occasional new comics still surface — as of 2 Nov 2010 there are a total of 523, including four extra mini-arcs.
The comic centers around characters from the Castlevania franchise, portrayed in a misadventuring, Idiot Hero / Anti-Hero light, with lots of humor generally centered around the two main characters—Richter Belmont from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) and Cornell from Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, who are supposed to be heroes, being really lazy, getting drunk, and engaging in all sorts of crazy shenanigans. Has so far also starred Simon Belmont, Soma Cruz, Dracula, Alucard, and many others, including crossovers from many other series.
Darkmoon is currently working on a spinoff called "DSWC: Villains", which is meant to run concurrently with original comic (i.e. comic #85 of DSWC: Villains takes place at the same time as comic #85 of original DSWC).
This comic contains examples of:
- Art Shift, from 16-bit (and higher) graphics to 8-bit graphics, for Flash Back and Old Shame purposes.
- Continuity Reboot: Used upon Richter's request by God (i.e. the author). No, there is no such thing as a fourth wall in this comic, no sir.
- Canon Discontinuity: Upon said reboot.
- Dedication: One of the strips is dedicated to the memory of the events of 9/11/2001.
- Evil Counterpart: Richter-clone. Brought when Richter was very drunk one night.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Issue #1 is titled "How to Create a Webcomic", and the comic quite literally evolves from there. Issue #500 is, appropriately, titled "How to End a Webcomic".
- Filler: The Grudgematch strips, among others.
- Idiot Hero: Richter. Oops, he forgot to kill Dracula.
- Improbable Weapon User: Cornell, whose beer (especially the stuff that he got from a local monastery) serves as his weapons. And Richter, due to his ability to item crash everything (except keys), does this to Cornell's beer cans.
- Lampshading: Just about everything. Including the comic itself having no fourth wall.
- Massively Multiplayer Crossover: Characters from Ghosts 'n Goblins and Gunstar Heroes and Castlevania and Batman Forever, in environments from Castlevania and Metroid and Mortal Kombat and Mario Party, and more.
- No Fourth Wall: Plainly lampshaded by all the characters. In fact, this is even taken advantage of by two characters.
- Non Sequitur: Every so often. Used for humor, just like everything else.
- Old Shame: Invoked by Alucard and his 8-bit afro.
- Shout-Out: to various movies and videogames, including Baseketball and The Matrix.
- Take That!: The comic is used to throw potshots at fanboys, at series director Koji Igarashi, at the characters' habits themselves, ...
- Unexplained Recovery: Used and discussed
- Villains Out Shopping: Death whistles while he works, and gets his robes cleaned at Gussy's on fifth. Also, his personal tastes have gotten him a rather comfortably-furnished apartment.
- World of Pun: Starting in the very first strip.
