Sprite comic
Encyclopedia
Sprite comics are webcomic
s that use computer sprite
s, often taken from video games, for significant portions of their artwork. There are also animated sprite comics (called sprite cartoons) where each "strip" is a separate mini-movie, animated using technologies such as Flash.
The comic Neglected Mario Characters is generally considered the first sprite comic to appear on the web. It began as a spin-off
feature from the Super Mario
fansite Super Mario Headquarters.
The first sprite comic to gain widespread popularity was Bob and George
, which played a substantial role in the sudden popularity of sprite comics. It is often mistakenly identified as the first sprite comic. The strip utilizes sprites from the Mega Man
series of games, with most of the characters being taken directly from the games. Due to the popularity of the comic, many of its features have been frequently emulated by other sprite comics, and thus are often labeled as cliché
. Such features include having extremely stupid characters, a character representing the author, and making fun of the strip itself.
Sprite comics frequently use characters from well-known games such as Sonic, Super Mario Bros.
, Final Fantasy
, Mortal Kombat
, Metroid
, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon
, Mega Man, and Dragon Ball
. Some sprite comics use sprites from several different games. In addition to or instead of video game sprites, some comics use original sprites created specifically for the comic.
Sprite comics have become very popular in large part due to the ease of creating a sprite comic, since minimal artistic skill is required. Sprites can easily be ripped from game ROMs
using an emulator, or by using sprites from websites that collect sprites for public use. Comics can then be created using a simple image editor. Video game sprites are often designed to be animated, and thus often provide a wide variety of character poses, as well as being easily editable due to their simple design. Sprite comics also give the author the opportunity to parody the game from which the sprites are derived using the game's actual characters.
However this coupled with the low bar for aesthetics set by early and successful comics, many fans of this medium created their own spin offs. While some evolved beyond the framework that had been set by their predecessors (Example: MSPaint Masterpieces) a lot of comics were unsuccessful due to the stagnation of the gimmick.
A lot of the problems sprite comics have are shared with other amateur webcomics, but are exacerbated by the added problem of sprites requiring extra care to look good, due to their precise nature. Such problems, such as JPG artifacts, speech bubble placement and a lack of palette forethought can ruin a sprite comic far easier than a hand drawn webcomic. However, it is also true that there are a lot of source images dumped from video games that people use without editing which can also be grating due to the audience already being familiar with the sprites in question. It also damages suspension of belief when all the characters look the same bar a recolour.
There are also potential legal issues involved in using graphics from games which would be protected under copyright. However, the proprietary companies rarely, if ever, pursue legal actions against amateur cartoonists that use sprites taken from their games. Webcomic hosting services may have varying policies concerning sprite comics taken from existing games.
However some original sprite comics exist and make little if any use of copyrighted material.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
s that use computer sprite
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
s, often taken from video games, for significant portions of their artwork. There are also animated sprite comics (called sprite cartoons) where each "strip" is a separate mini-movie, animated using technologies such as Flash.
The comic Neglected Mario Characters is generally considered the first sprite comic to appear on the web. It began as a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
feature from the Super Mario
Super Mario
Super Mario may refer to:*Mario , a video game series by Nintendo- Video games :*Mario, the star character of Nintendo's Mario series...
fansite Super Mario Headquarters.
The first sprite comic to gain widespread popularity was Bob and George
Bob and George
Bob and George was a sprite-based webcomic which parodied the fictional universe of Mega Man. It is written by David Anez, a physics instructor who lives in the American Midwest. The comic first appeared on April 1, 2000 and ran until July 28, 2007...
, which played a substantial role in the sudden popularity of sprite comics. It is often mistakenly identified as the first sprite comic. The strip utilizes sprites from the Mega Man
Mega Man (series)
Mega Man is a video game franchise from Capcom, starring the eponymous character Mega Man, or one of his many counterparts. The series is well-known and comprises well over fifty releases, easily making it Capcom's most prolific franchise. As of December 31, 2010, the series has sold approximately...
series of games, with most of the characters being taken directly from the games. Due to the popularity of the comic, many of its features have been frequently emulated by other sprite comics, and thus are often labeled as cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
. Such features include having extremely stupid characters, a character representing the author, and making fun of the strip itself.
Sprite comics frequently use characters from well-known games such as Sonic, Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
, Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
, Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
, Metroid
Metroid series
is a series of science fiction action-adventure video games by Nintendo. It chronicles the missions of bounty hunter Samus Aran who protects the galaxy from the depredations of the Space Pirates and their attempts to harness the power of the eponymous Metroids. It is noted for having one of the...
, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
, Mega Man, and Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
. Some sprite comics use sprites from several different games. In addition to or instead of video game sprites, some comics use original sprites created specifically for the comic.
Sprite comics have become very popular in large part due to the ease of creating a sprite comic, since minimal artistic skill is required. Sprites can easily be ripped from game ROMs
ROM image
A ROM image, or ROM file, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board...
using an emulator, or by using sprites from websites that collect sprites for public use. Comics can then be created using a simple image editor. Video game sprites are often designed to be animated, and thus often provide a wide variety of character poses, as well as being easily editable due to their simple design. Sprite comics also give the author the opportunity to parody the game from which the sprites are derived using the game's actual characters.
Quality Problems & Criticisms
Sprite comics enjoy popularity as an alternative comic style, because of the relative ease of creating a simple sprite comic.However this coupled with the low bar for aesthetics set by early and successful comics, many fans of this medium created their own spin offs. While some evolved beyond the framework that had been set by their predecessors (Example: MSPaint Masterpieces) a lot of comics were unsuccessful due to the stagnation of the gimmick.
A lot of the problems sprite comics have are shared with other amateur webcomics, but are exacerbated by the added problem of sprites requiring extra care to look good, due to their precise nature. Such problems, such as JPG artifacts, speech bubble placement and a lack of palette forethought can ruin a sprite comic far easier than a hand drawn webcomic. However, it is also true that there are a lot of source images dumped from video games that people use without editing which can also be grating due to the audience already being familiar with the sprites in question. It also damages suspension of belief when all the characters look the same bar a recolour.
There are also potential legal issues involved in using graphics from games which would be protected under copyright. However, the proprietary companies rarely, if ever, pursue legal actions against amateur cartoonists that use sprites taken from their games. Webcomic hosting services may have varying policies concerning sprite comics taken from existing games.
However some original sprite comics exist and make little if any use of copyrighted material.
Examples of popular existing sprite comics
- Neglected Mario Characters
- Bob and GeorgeBob and GeorgeBob and George was a sprite-based webcomic which parodied the fictional universe of Mega Man. It is written by David Anez, a physics instructor who lives in the American Midwest. The comic first appeared on April 1, 2000 and ran until July 28, 2007...
- 8-Bit Theater8-Bit Theater8-Bit Theater is a completed sprite comic created by Brian Clevinger, and published in 1,225 episodes from March 2, 2001 to June 1, 2010. One of the most popular web comics, it won the Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards for best fantasy comic in 2002...
- Diesel SweetiesDiesel SweetiesDiesel Sweeties is a webcomic and former newspaper comic strip written by Richard Stevens III . The comic began in 2000, originally hosted at robotstories.com...
(pixel art) - Stand up Gaming
- Sonic Wrecks
External links
- Now you too can be a comics whiz (Wired Magazine) Article on the history of sprite comics