The first thing Eitán did, he drew himself.
0 0 0 This Comic Appears First Alphabetically is about as self-referential as that link. It follows the story of Eitán Margalit, the cartoonist, as he writes and draws the story you're following.
He starts off by drawing some main characters, and, after a false start, they manage to play off each other for about two pages. Eitán did not think the whole "author-as-character" concept so carefully.
It can be found here.
(Note: It now shares a website with another comic. The latest update, regardless of which comic it's from, is on the home page)
This comic provides examples of the following tropes:
- A Dog Named "Dog": Bat and Bean.
- Alt Text: The Alt Text is apparently a separate character. It feels bad about not having arms.
- And Some Other Stuff: The last step of "How to Travel into Comics" is blurred.
- Art Initiates Life: Obviously.
- Author Avatar
- Author Powers: Eitan has them.
- Call-Back: "Oh, no! A giant!"
- The Ditz: Bean.Bean: I like being buried up to my waist in dirt!
- Droste Image: Here.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Ninja.
- Face Palm: Eitan pulls one off here.
- Insane Troll Logic: Here, Eitán believes that being a "good artist" means drawing things the way they actually look. If he sends his drawings back in time to become what he draws in the first place, then the drawing, by definition, looks like the thing, and his Stylistic Suck is suddenly a masterpiece.
- Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja: Eitán's motivation here.
- Lampshade Hanging: "How long has that been there?"
- Medium Awareness: Eitán obviously knows they're in a comic. Bat and Bean still have no idea.
- And now they do.
- And now
- Meta Fiction
- Mind Screw: The entire plot, pretty much.
- No Fourth Wall
- Recursive Reality: The entire universe is a comic drawn in a sketchbook that exists (or is at least represented) in that universe. Then the Ninja creates a second sketchbook and going into that... while taking the first sketchbook with him. The result is a multi-layered resembling two onions eating each other.
- Reset Button: This is Eitan's answer to what to do if the characters see him.
- Rewriting Reality
- Stable Time Loop: On this page, Bean tells a joke, and Eitán hears it and writes it down. Which caused it to happen in the first place.
- Pretty much the entire comic. Page 27 explains how he sees what happens in one panel, and then draws it in a previous panel, causing him to see it happen for the first time.
- Pretty much the entire comic. Page 27
- Stylistic Suck: It's not that bad, but it's apparently supposed to be untalented scribbling.
- The Treachery of Images: Eitán doesn't look like himself. He looks like a drawing of himself.
