Shaking hands with Sisyphus

[Woody]

When I began producing GU comics they were exclusively about EverQuest. As the game began to lose its grip on me, I moved onto other games. This was met by complaints and the bleeding off of some readers. When I didn't have time to play games because I was busy trying to hold down a job and keep the site up, people complained because the comics were about news and not gaming. When I returned to playing games and left the news behind they complained about that too.

Recently I moved away from gaming news again to play World of warcraft. Since I do comics about the games I play this had an immediate impact on the site's content. Now that there have been quite a few WoW-based comics people have begun complaining about that as well.

Over the years it seems no matter how far I push the boulder it never gets fully up the hill. And it's annoying. The one thing I've always been clear about is that I do comics to amuse myself. Since I'm the ONLY constant in the GU Comics equation, I have to. So, if other people read them and are amused, cool.

Every comic is not going to be for every person. It's virtually impossible for anyone to accomplish that. It's even harder for me to do it because I am NOT a writer. Remember, this comic started as a hobby, me occassionally illustrating humorous conversations I had with my guild mates in EQ. So, I've never claimed to be a writer.

That leaves me with one piece of commentary to bring this entry a close. And it's very simple. If you read the comics and don't like them, don't read them. Someone else will take your place. And if they don't... eventually I'll get to stop feeling obligated to update and go find a real job where I only have to draw.

[Breandan]

Most of us with a certain prerequisite amount of maturity recognize that an artist's creation comes from the artist, not the viewers, and is shaped by the muse of that particular creator. One can either appreciate the art or not, but the end result is immutably the creation of its artist, and this has to be recognized and respected.

Some people, however, feel that they are somehow "entitled" to things, and arrogantly believe that the artist works for them. They believe that they are owed art that suits their desires, that the artist and his/her art somehow belong to them, and thus the art comes from them instead. After all, the artist is making the art for them, thus they are the muse. And oh holy CRAP do they go apes**t when the artist does something they don't like.

Despite how idiotic this sounds to a rational and mature person, there are honestly people out there who believe this. A good example I can give is the people who sent (and are still sending) R.A. Salvatore death threats after he killed off Chewbaca in one of the Star Wars novels. So, part of the problem is people like this.

The other part are the purveyors and practitioners of rampant asshattery who plague the internet. Anonymity, an audience, and their own insecurities and issues that they are overcompensating for combine to make them into someone who wears their own ass for a hat (http://ciarraide.org/images/smilies/new_headupass.gif). These people are like rats (though I hereby apologize to rodents everywhere for the sullying of their name) in that they are everywhere, seeming to reproduce unchecked on the net. They do not feel entitled to art of their chosing, they simply feel the need to be monkey rectums to compensate for the reality of their own miserable existence.

In summation, the problem with people griping about artists changing their medium- whether it be Woody changing the topics he discusses, Hawk changing his art style to a more serious one, or Metalica suddenly deciding to do country music- is a mixed bag of nuts and rectums, and should generally be ignored.

That's just my opinion, anyway, I could be wrong.

[Nanaki]

I always lived by a saying...

"You can never please everybody"

[necromancer90]

Some people, however, feel that they are somehow "entitled" to things, and arrogantly believe that the artist works for them.


I fill the same way. A artist creates something for the audience to enjoy not criticize. There are artists who draw mostly for people to criticize them but i doubt Woody would draw for that reason =P at least for his Gucomics....

But If I don't like a comic or it confuses me (which yes a couple have...I have mostly me to blame for it though) I will simply not reply to it.

For those who hate WOW or other of these comics or even think his comics are getting worst please don't complain till you try to draw a comics everyday. Good enough a general group of people will enjoy and come back for more. After you try that for a couple years your realizes Woodys been doing a awesome job.

I'm not pointing fingers to everyone except for me. Iv made my fair share of mistakes in posting. There might seem theres a lot of useless rules and don't think woody should delete posts and don't like when he says he needs no advice for something in his comic posts. Just believe me its better this way!

Good job Woody for the comics and sorry for the mistakes I will end up making on the forum in future posts! =P

[Woody]

Well criticism goes hand in hand with art. And I don't mind criticism when it's done correctly. But, too many people fail to learn when criticism is appropriate and what constitutes doing it correctly. They toss their opinion out there and assume it's criticism. It's not. It's an opinion. Criticism needs to be constructive to be truly valid. It needs to be informed and educated.

Non-constructive criticism isn't really my issue with GU right now though. The problem, it seems to me, is that GU has been around long enough that some readers have begun to feel like it is theirs. Because of this, they feel their opinion on the direction of the strip is somehow more valid than it actually is.

[Claidi]

My personal opinion is I love reading GU comics even if I have no idea what it's about because you always give a short explanation about why you drew it. I've been lurking here for about 4 years now, and just recently went through and read every comic from start to finish(again). My favorites are the EQ and WoW ones (and that's only because I've only played them, not including a short time on EQ2). But I even the games I have never played I can see the humor in them even if I have do some research on them. The gaming news ones I like because I never go to gaming news site so I kind of use GU as news filter. One of my favorites is the minesweeper one http://www.gucomics.com/comic/?cdate=20060803 and I even enjoy the zapper comics. GU comics has always felt like a peek into Woody's brain rather than the place to read WoW or EQ comics. I enjoy the style of art and the humor in each comic. So, I personally hope that you stay amused enough to keep doing this for a few decades.

[Tenshia Okada]

Thanks for Blogging.

[Freiyr]

I think a lot of the problem is, there are a few who are the very vocal minority in all aspects of society now a days. They still have the mentality that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, think of those whiney uber-guilds back in EQ that seemed to actually influence the direction the dev's went in (at least to me, they seemed to influence it, with the raid focused direction it went in).

I am sure there are many who read the comics everyday, yet never post. I was one of those for a really long time. Why? Because we appreciate your art and your humor. I know for myself, there have been comics that I did not understand. But what I love about the write ups are the links where I can learn about what influenced the comic, and almost always am able to get the joke afterwards. As well, there are a few games I have tried after reading a comic about it, just to see what was being referenced (DAoC being the one that comes to mind first).

Woody, you do this comic first and foremost to amuse yourself, but I must thank you for sharing them with the rest if us,

[Kilikir]

I've only recently started posting. I think I registered when I saw a post about EQ that I wanted to respond to recently. I played EQ for years, and I always love going back and reading the comics you did about EQ. I like all your comics really. Occasionally one leaves me scratching my head, but usually gets cleared up in the post.

I myself am what some consider "artist", though I don't think of it that way. I prefer Craftsman, since I am in school for Metalworking. Not long ago a teacher I didn't like saw one of my pieces and said he didn't like it. Frankly I didn't give a dead rat about what he had to say, he was always too subjective anyways. I only pay attention to constructive comments. Non-constructive comments like "I think it's bad" usually get a response like "brilliant! I am enlightened!" and then I walk away. Frankly, just ignore these people.

As far as the newer WoW comics go, I personally didn't enjoy the game and stopped at level 45. However, my girlfriend loves it and is level 70 etc, so often times she explains it. I still find the comics amusing, however, since on some level I can relate to them. Ok, I've started rambling. Long story short, Keep up the good work, because it is good, and funny.

[deathjack]

I am on of those read every day but never (almost never) post. I don't care what the comics are about or which games they contain, I read them because i LIKE them. They are relevant, not overly fantastical and based on something that I can relate to or understand. No, they aren't always funny but i'm not here for hysterics.
This has been my homepage for several years now, I loved the site changes, and recently the 8am update was perfect for me. This is pretty much the only place I come for all my gaming news. I even click on the banners :D


DJ

[Hezzie]

Its absolutely impossible to please every last person. The thing that makes your comics great, at least in my view, is the fact that you write and draw about something wich truly interests and fasinates you.

If you were to try to appeal to everyone, then you would lose the thing wich i honestly believe is what makes people come back for more. The views and idea's on the digital entertainment industry, from a down to earth man who actually uses the medium himself.

Post edited.

[Ktok]

It’s the same [kind of] situation I run into as a guild leader (of four years) and that anyone at the helm of any sort of organization will always run into… that being, people almost never get vocal about approval. It’s usually not until something ticks them off that they speak up, and thus, 99% of the feedback you see is negative.

Now, it is entirely likely that 90% of the people here are completely happy with everything about GU, but the 10% of the people that aren’t are the only ones you’re hearing because, well, humanity is not conditioned to write random letters of praise. We *should*, but generally we aren’t moved to action when content.

I’ve been reading the site every day for years and I think you’re doing a fine job.

[Tainda]

As another LONG time reader and more recent poster, I agree with what everyone here has said.

Them complaining about the content of your comics is the same as people complaining about content of a game. They expect the world to cater to them and if the powers that be don't cater to them, they revolt.

These are the people that need to learn the world does NOT revolve around them. I enjoy your comics no matter what the topic and if I don't, I just wait until the next day and it will be something I DO know about/enjoy.

Ignore them, it's the best way to make them go back under the rocks they came from :D

[Cygnus]

...a real job? real jobs suck though... lets just enjoy the comics regardless of the subject matter!

(i say this after pulling a 10 hour overnight shift, so my incomprehensible ramblings are not my fault... blame target!)

Assumptions (as to how Woody would respond to certain things) removed

[Chiv]

Long time lurker first time poster.

I just felt like I needed to.. wel here in holland they have a saying: "Een hart onder de riem geven", roughly translated it means giving support to somebody, but it looses a lot in the translation.

I've been lurking on GU for almost 2 years now and you introduced me to my faverate web comic: OOTS.
I enjoy almost all of your comics, and have ruined at least 2 laptops with coffee spraying other my laptop from laughing.
I love your sense of humor and yes, there are comics that i don't (like/understand/whatever) but it's your comic, so all i can do is thank you for sharing it with all us lurkers.

I study history and all i can tell you is that there have and probably shall always be whiners that complain about anything.
We have a saying in class: "Man invented speech to appease his need to compain".

I realy hope the complaining will not affect the fun you have in GU.

[necromancer90]

I believe drawing 1 comic everyday good enough that people will come back is one of the hardest jobs out there.
It takes a lot of talent to do what Woody has been doing for a very long time.
I would live about 1 week before I would run out of comic ideas. I think most people would run out of ideas between a month and a week. Now run that by how long Woody has been doing this (around 7 years) and thats hard!

[kintrik]

next time you get "suggestions" from these readers on how you should draw "their" comics.

make a comic about it, i would. I would even go so far as putting their contact information in the comic, and if they had a user on your boards, ban em.

They don't pay you. So you don't have to put up with their crap.

PS grats on baby, father of 2 here.

[Woody]

I hope it doesn't sound ungreatful, but I do not write these blog entries to elicit displays of agreement and support. The point of these blog posts are to give you folks a peek into the inner workings of GU. I've been doing GU essentially the same way for 7 years now. It's highly unlikely that a few people pissing and moaning about content are going to change that. I've always been of the belief that if they do not like me, the comics, or the forums, they're pretty damn stupid to subject themselves to me, the comics or the forums.

And lending validity to their commentary by drawing attention to them via a comic isn't really the best idea.


I apologize if that sounded overly grumpy. But, I honestly tolerate people complaining about content better than I tolerate unsolicited advice. Nothing personal.

[Khatib]

That leaves me with one piece of commentary to bring this entry a close. And it's very simple. If you read the comics and don't like them, don't read them. Someone else will take your place. And if they don't... eventually I'll get to stop feeling obligated to update and go find a real job where I only have to draw.

So in summary: "RAWR!"


Lol. Yeah, I'm sure a dozen other people already backed you up, but I will too. People have way too big of a sense of entitlement these days. Everything has become so instant-gratification that they feel even other people should be that way and that if you don't do exactly what they want you to do, they should be able to "push a button" and get exactly what they want and have that instant gratification again.

I actually like your news stuff... it was part of the reason I started reading this comic daily. And I was just thinking about PA the other day... how they jump game to game and try seemingly everything on the market, and how I could see being involved in playing games as a career could be awesome... but that I just wouldn't be a fan of playing a little of everything like they do. I like to pick my favorite games and just play the hell out of them, rather than a little of everything. So I get how you pick a game, and lock into it, and do comics about it. Makes sense. It's probably what I would do if I had a webcomic.

In the end though, it's your stuff. Do it how you want it, screw everyone else. Just ignore the whiners.

[Azura]

I'm a long time reader (Since I was playing DAoC) and a rare spawn poster. I've got an acronym that describes those 'entitled' people - WRAM. World Revolves Around Me. I have encountered many of them, in both my long years of MMORPG guild leadership, and my job as a substitute teacher. It's amazing how unpleasant WRAM people can get when any little detail of what they encounter doesn't meet their expectations.

I think they should all take month-long wilderness camping vacations - no electricity of any kind, including gadgets like cell phones, ipods, and portable game gadgets. They would have no showers, and the only roof over their head would be the nylon of their tent. Then MAYBE they would understand what a privilege regular internet access from their home is, and 'not sweat the small stuff', such as the content of a webcomic.

[Shayd]

Everyone here knows your Resolve Woody, hell if nothing else 7 years proves that. I think these posts weren't meant for a mass agreement, but a showing of support. Support should be unsolicited, unexpected and offered freely. No one is forcing you to accept, but just letting you know its there.

Seems like your readership just wanted to let you know, that for every 1 non-constructive complaint, there is at least 10 quiet approvals. We all know you are going to do what you damn well please Woody, anyone who has read this comic for any length of time knows that. So while my unsolicited advice will remain unspoken, just speaking up to tip my hat and thank you for 7 years of unsolicted laughter.

And thanks for allowing us a peek at the inner workings.

-One among many silent GU fans

[Jraik22]

Well said Shayd. I don't know if anybody could have stated it more clearly. Keep up the great work Woody. I know this is one reader who stops by to check and see if the comic is updated daily (yes even on the weekends sometimes).

[Pinoy]

Just had to make an account after reading that, im not gonna go offering advice or whatever, but i cant believe people actually complain about comics being different (or in this case the same) than they usually are

I read most days, and if i ever see a comic which i dont really get, or find that funny (which doesn't really happen often) I just shrug and come back the next day, the fact that people compain cause they dont like how the comic is going is insane, cause for every 1 reader who doesnt like a comic loads more think it rocks

[Perpull]

I realize that this is very late to the reply, but I would like to say that I have been trolling this site for ages. It's one of the few things that I do every day and I have enjoyed every comic I've seen so there are people out there that enjoy it all.

As I said to my wife I feel like I have been taking advantage because nearly every day you have provided us with humor and really in the end a better quality of life, and aside from some donations you have done it for free all these years.

Like they said above and you have said many times, I'm not here to offer advice, but I would like to offer support because I really am thankful for what you have done all this time.

Plus your insight has giving me lots of stuff to read about over the years and you have done a great job of giving us a great place to start the day. (Especially since your comics update first thing in the morning now which I LOVE)

Thanks for everything you do, and for sticking it out so long in the face of adversity. I really can't think of one criticism that I've had since I started reading your site. I wish I could do more to help you guys out.

[Aku]

I love your wandering subjects. It mirrors how I experence gaming.

[Shiqra]

While I really miss the comics about EQ, since those I could relate to, I still read. I liked the gaming news ones - they kept me informed. Comics about other games gave me a peek into what they were like. While I am not too excited about the WoW comics, there's still humor in them that even I can get, and through them (and subsequent write-ups/discussions) I've learned that WoW and I will never be a happy couple *grin*. But I still read the comics. GUcomics is the first site I visit in the morning upon arriving to school, and will be until Woody stops making em. I still can read the archives when I need an EQ comic fix.

So in closing, thanks for sharing your comics with us, Woody.

[Glasken]

I just had to make an account after I read this blog entry. I wake up every morning and check GU Comics for a quick laugh before I head off to University. I think you do a great job of explaining the comic when it's based off of a game I don't play. I can not understand people who would be so dense to e-mail you and complain that they don't like the comic, doesn't it take more energy to send and e-mail than to just go "Oh, guess I don't get this one today" and click on the little red x in the upper right hand corner of the window?
I can't even remember why I first came to GU Comics two years ago, but I keep coming back everyday, sure some of the comics are funnier than other, but they always at least leave a smile on my face.

P.S. I never played DAoC, but Toast is one of my favorite reoccurring character!

[Enuk]

Keep at it Woody. Your comics always add a little something to my day. That's why I keep coming back.

[Mousal]

While I may not always understand your comics (I'm not very good at keeping up with the news, gaming or otherwise), I really do enjoy them. You site has always been a nice little escape from the insanity they call work.

I'm just jealous that I haven't been able to turn my hobby into a means of supporting myself.

Whatever you do, stay happy!

A mouse by any other name still squeaks