Sequential Tart: A Comics Industry Web Zine

Roomies #3

by Trisha Sebastian

Reviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk.

Publisher
Keenspot
http://www.itswalky.com

Credits
Creators: David Willis

Grade: 7

I asked for recommendations for webcomics once and a friend pointed me in the direction of Roomies! "It's hilarious!" he said. I took a look and for some strange reason, the antics of Joe, Joyce, Danny and their friends just didn't grab me. I didn't even flinch or blink an eye when he explained how the comic got transformed into It's Walky! It just didn't interest me.

Now Keenspot Entertainment (the folks behind the Keenspot.com and Keenspace.com comics) has decided to start producing paper versions of the webcomics housed on their server; Roomies is one of the first comics to undergo this procedure. I can understand the reasoning behind this because even web comics artists need to put food on the table. This book is printed on somewhat high quality paper is in black and white, with a new "in continuity" story backed up by the "Director's Commentary" version of the strips which culminate in Danny's ex-girlfriend's return. As a bonus, there's also a five-page series of strips from Real Life, created by Greg Dean (who also created l33t: Comics for Gamers).

Even with established comics like Sluggy Freelance there's an unfinished quality to the earlier strips that becomes instantly noticeable when you compare it to the current output. By including the new story first, then delving into the archives, it sets up all sorts of expectations for the strip which are not completely fulfilled by the previous work. Still, I think I have more of an appreciation for Roomies in this format because I can actually see what's going through Willis' head as he wrote these storylines.

Real Life reminds me of a kinder, gentler Penny Arcade, which may be both a good and a bad thing. The two strips have the same static four panel layout and even the style of art seems similar. However, I feel more empathy for the characters in Real Life. Dean's characters are closer to the people that I know and thus I can identify with the strip more.

I'm not sure if this experiment is going to be beneficial to the Keenspot Entertainment folks, but I applaud their efforts in continuing to make webcomics accessible to everyone.

Written: May 9, 2002
Published: June 1, 2002

Tart: Trisha Sebastian
Comic: Roomies #3
Series: Roomies
June 2002: All | Comic