I know we like snarking on Rage Comics here, but Comics Alliance posted a fantastic one chronicling an 86 year old as he reflects on life, his experiences during war, his divorce, and his estranged children. It’s surprisingly touching, and the crude meme-based illustrations actually do a lot to add to the slap dash confessional feel. It’s almost like reading an essay as written by Kurt Vonnegut.
I came away with a good feeling after the first time I read this comic, leading me to believe that Rage Comics had enabled somebody to create something good, but then I had a few days to think about it. Now that I look back on it, I see it as a wonderful story that is cheapened by 4chan memes. I mean, wouldn’t it be nice to see this same inspiring story paired with art that was made to match it? It might have even been more effective as text only.
Or does somebody else see the stock meme faces as part of the charm to the story?
I can definitely see where you’re coming from, but I think I’ll side with your original reaction. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t get much out of the 4chan clip art, but on the other hand, if it helped inspire 1925gamer to share the story, which he otherwise might not have, then I think that it’s a net win. The fact that someone chose to do something this serious within the Rage Comics format probably gave this the novelty to even get our attention in the first place. I do agree that if the story had original art to accompany it, then it would be a stronger artistic statement, but 1925gamer simply might not have done the comic without the 4chan clip art, and even if he had we might not have ever heard of it (and I really doubt that if he had posted it as pure prose on a blog somewhere it would not have gotten the attention).
On a related note, I wonder how the Reddit/Rage Comics community would respond if someone posted a comic which used all original art. Would they disapprove? Would they use some of the new art as clip art in future Rage Comics? What if it followed their format in neither writing nor art?
Wonderfully done comic. I love how as his honesty increased throughout the strip the clarity in the narrative became concrete. Much to learn from these sort of works.