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As Alex writes on the "Oh No" shop website, 'Webcomic Name' began as largely a gag comic, with the series launching properly in the summer of 2016. "It exploded almost instantly, and I feel massively grateful for all the people who want to join me on my quest to make the same joke over and over again."
"Webcomic Name is partly a parody of the extremely self-aware negative culture that has been popular on the internet for a while," Alex told Bored Panda in a previous interview. At first, their funny drawings were highly conceptual and meta, playing with the format of the panel comic, and their simplistic presentation made them both engaging and hilarious.
The artist went on to explain that the series also collectively tackles a social issue — gender perception. "Rather than being either a male or a female or neither, I like to think of the blob as everything at once: 'genderful' rather than genderless," Alex said. "The blob is the most relatable character possible."
Even though the artist has been drawing and illustrating since the age of 10, they didn't start creating funny comics full-time until after university. "Since graduating, these 'oh no' comics have always been my main focus because I haven't wanted to do any other job," though Alex added they’ve had "a few side-jobs to pay rent."
They provided a few details about the journey of the extremely successful webcomic series on their website: "I studied English Literature at University of Bristol, and after reading the greatest works of literature in the English language, I went on to work in the lowest medium of all: webcomics."
"I began my first webcomic — Dorris McComics. This was an experimental series where I tried to see what I could do with short-form comics, often breaking the form and trying out different styles of punchlines," they stated.
Alex went back to the beginning of their comic work and the ideas and inspirations that led them to where they are now during an evening of creative talks called Nicer Tuesdays. "When I finished uni, I wanted to be a writer, so I decided to make webcomics because not many people make them, but a lot of people read them." They explained that in the beginning, they cared a lot about being clever.
"Basically, when I was making Dorris McComics, I was trying to make something really good, the best I could make." But as time went on, Alex decided to make a few tweaks to their ideas and "lower everyone's expectations of me by making the worst comic that I can make. And if it says anything more, then it’s a bonus." And that’s how the 'Webcomic Name' series was born.
The series started as a crystalized idea, a self-coined "bad webcomic — look how awful this drawing is — where the punchline is always the same". Using an intentionally naive and cheerfully colorful style, the series simultaneously pokes fun at familiar situations and, in itself, gently mocks relatable comics. The goal was to have a catchphrase, look the same, be recognizable straight away, and be small. "It’s the same joke every time, so you already know the joke, and it’s already got a punchline ready-made."
Another element Alex considered was the 7-second rule. Apparently, that’s how long it takes for the citizens of the internet sphere to make a first impression. "On a feed, you need to get something in 7 seconds, otherwise you don’t care," Alex noted. Although according to some research, a tenth of a second is all it takes for people to form a judgment.
"The issue with ['Webcomic Name'] is that it started as a parody of relatable webcomics, and it’s gone on for a long time now. Which I find funny," the artist said. "My plan was to make a popular webcomic 'cause I knew what I was doing after doing Dorris McComics, I knew what I was doing with Webcomic Name."
"At this point, I don’t know if I’m a parody or not. I am the thing, the monster I was trying to destroy. But I like to think that some of my audience like relatable comics just for their own sake. And then some people will go 'ah, but you’ve all been tricked because he’s parodying that, so you liking it is funny, and I can like it but feel like I’m above you'. And I get to do both those things. I get to be both a silly relatable webcomic and pretend I’m better than that," Alex concluded.
