The Master List of Webcomic Cliches

[Axonite]

Let's see...

The guy who can create any form of sci-fi technology (lasers, teleporters, etc). Sort of. (V3 is a sci-fi comic...)
Universities. A character went to shuttle pilot school for a week or two.
Talking pets None.
Megaman and Final Fantasy sprites. None.
Fourth wall (lack of). Nope. (Except for one or two bonus comics, maybe)
Manga. Nope.
Lesbianism Nope.
The big dumb guy who means well Nope.
The nerd that by all rights should not have a date but woman literally fall over Nope.
An evil villain that acts like a buffoon Not really.
Celebrity cameos None.
Big-breasted ladies with loose morals. Nope. (I guess this would be the closest thing to that, and it's a bonus strip)
And anything "goth". Nope.
Naked furrys instead of a good story. None.
"At least it can't get any worse" followed by something worse (yes, I got peevee on that) It's happened once or twice.
Wacky college roommates. Nope.
Smart and reasonable but very bad tempered female character. Nope.
Gaming references. Nope.
Amorous robots. They don't seem very amorous.
Parodies of superheroes. Nope.
Parallel dimensions and a multiverse taken as a matter of fact, even as a "given". Yes... several visits from an alternate universe version of one of the characters.
Fanboy references to Trek, Star Wars, or Buffy. Nope.
Self-depreciating humor about how bad your art is. No.
Young girl/boy DESTINED to be a princess/prince that saves the world and gets a gooey romance with some hot person Nope.
The token fanservice character Nope.
ELVES!! BLOODY ELVES!! None.
Seems like Jesus pops up quite a bit. Doesn't seem like it.
ROOM MATES I guess so, but it's rarely mentioned.
Computer game players who become heroes or otherwise extremely important to the fate of the <insert here> Nope.

[McDuffies]

It's my current wallpaper now too. (I needed a new one anyway)

[Sortelli]

There's elves in your comic?!?

Sadly, there's even more of the little buggers in there than ever. And they've taken on postive roles.

I need to start laying out elf paper or something.

[RPin]

Hey, don't you guys want to use the newest A&I wallpaper instead?[/shameless plug]

[Toxic]

I think every superhero needs an archnemesis. The cliche is they're also friends.

[JPSloan]

There's elves in your comic?!?

Sadly, there's even more of the little buggers in there than ever. And they've taken on postive roles.

I need to start laying out elf paper or something.

You know, I tried that once, but those damn moonblades will cut through anything.

Nah, just spray some Dwarven musk around the place a little, that'll drive 'em off!

[Jim North]

Shy characters who rarely, if ever, speak, but gradually come out of their shell more and more as the story goes along: yes but it's not a cliche either

I've seen several movies, comic books, books, and the like with characters like this, actually. Generally in the form of a small child that won't speak to the main characters until they gain his or her trust. Think Newt from Aliens.

And there's also characters that aren't really shy . . . more like they just don't like talking. Usually this is the rough and gruff character that only speaks when they feel there's something worth saying, or when they become more comfortable with the group. An example in this case is Kimahri in Final Fantasy X.

[Soap Soaperson]

An example in this case is Kimahri in Final Fantasy X.

That would be the main reason I couldn't stand his character. That, and his limit break sucked.

[Zhan_Dvega]

Muhhh, let's get this over with then

The guy who can create any form of sci-fi technology: nope
Universities: nope
Talking pets: nope
Megaman and Final Fantasy sprites: HELL no
Fourth wall (lack of): kinda.. one or two aside comments, but nothing more. No directly talking to the readers.
Manga: HELL yes
Lesbianism: Just one, and that's just for laughs really ;3
The big dumb guy who means well: nope
The nerd that by all rights should not have a date but woman literally fall over: nope
An evil villain that acts like a buffoon: no villians even
Celebrity cameos: Does Betty Boop count?
Big-breasted ladies with loose morals: Kinda >.>
And anything "goth": HELL no
Naked furrys instead of a good story: Must they be mutually exclusive? (also no)
"At least it can't get any worse" followed by something worse: Hahaha, no
Wacky college roommates: nope
Smart and reasonable but very bad tempered female character: DAMN! Yes...
Gaming references (RPG/Computer): nope
Amorous robots: nope
Parodies of superheroes: 'course not
Parallel dimensions and a multiverse taken as a matter of fact, even as a "given": nope
Fanboy references to Trek, Star Wars, or Buffy: HELL no
Self-depreciating humor about how bad your art is: My art is awesome.
Young girl/boy DESTINED to be a princess/prince...: no
The token fanservice character: no
ELVES!! BLOODY ELVES!! : HELL no
Seems like Jesus pops up quite a bit: not here!
Computer game players... : Apple ][ all the way... eventually... probably...
Dark and Mysterious Past: Err... kinda?
Amnesia: no
Psycho Character: Well...
Highly intelligent sarcastic character surrounded by idiots: a bit, but he's not all that sarcastic... and they're not ALL idiots, either... just most...
Characters who wear sunglasses all the time, so you never see their eyes: nope
Dullard idiot characters who yell stuff like "MONKEYS!" and "PIE!" for no reason: HELL no
Ultra-violent female characters: .... kinda >.>
Shy characters who rarely, if ever, speak, but gradually come out of their shell more and more as the story goes along: a bit?
Super-hot babe that the main male characters...: not ALL the main male characters... ... um... whatever's supposed to go after the "...". Unless it's "boink."
Archnemesis: nope
Dwarves being the first to die (fantasy in general actualy): HELL no
The unsufferable glass-wearing Know-It-All: no
The dark, stubble-chinned, sexy, brooding stranger: no
Trench-coat and fedora wearing detective: No but I should... they're AWESOME
Cat girls: ...Not yet... kinda...
Random violence in place of sophisticated humor: Nah

Oh, and...

I just thought of another one:

In a manga/anime-styled webcomic (written in English), the characters' speech sometimes RANDOMLY includes Japanese phrases, and sometimes even Japanese symbols for sound effects. Dang otakus.

... I love you.

[:Razi Oak:]

I just thought of another one:

In a manga/anime-styled webcomic (written in English), the characters' speech sometimes RANDOMLY includes Japanese phrases, and sometimes even Japanese symbols for sound effects. Dang otakus.

This wouldn't apply if the character in question were Japanese though, would it.

[Sortelli]

Nah, just spray some Dwarven musk around the place a little, that'll drive 'em off!

Eeeewww! Do you know how dwarves make musk?

[Anvil]

Hmm... instead of listing those I don't, the ones I do have, and a few others:

I HAVe:

Roommates? Sort of. They all live in the same cave system....
University? Sort of, again. I should probably mentoin that in the comic sometime
Fourth Wall? well, it sounded funnier on the television.
Naked Furries: I dont think the dragons classify
Freaky female: Moonie is nuts, not infuriated.
Gaming : Yes, in the filler strip, and a few maybe. How can you ahve dragons and knights and not make a tiny reference to DnD?
Buffoon Villain: Lance aint a buffoon I think. He's more like Silverbolt from BW. Dramatic and such.


Other things Cliche:

Cute Kid character (guilty)
Char based on RL person (guilty)
Char based on author (Kind of guilty - has my nickname but isn't me)

[RPin]

I just thought of another one:

In a manga/anime-styled webcomic (written in English), the characters' speech sometimes RANDOMLY includes Japanese phrases, and sometimes even Japanese symbols for sound effects. Dang otakus.

This wouldn't apply if the character in question were Japanese though, would it.

I just hate when you put random japanese sentences in a message. But not any more than people that try to translate the title of their comics to japanese without knowing anything and get it all wrong.

It's like the japanese can take the suckiness of your comic away.

[JPSloan]

Nah, just spray some Dwarven musk around the place a little, that'll drive 'em off!

Eeeewww! Do you know how dwarves make musk?

Not 100% sure, but I'll bet lubricant is involved.

[McDuffies]

Hey, don't you guys want to use the newest A&I wallpaper instead?[/shameless plug]

Replaces. That one was too detailed for my busy desktop anyway.

[Soap Soaperson]

I just thought of another one:

In a manga/anime-styled webcomic (written in English), the characters' speech sometimes RANDOMLY includes Japanese phrases, and sometimes even Japanese symbols for sound effects. Dang otakus.

This wouldn't apply if the character in question were Japanese though, would it.

I just hate when you put random japanese sentences in a message. But not any more than people that try to translate the title of their comics to japanese without knowing anything and get it all wrong.

It's like the japanese can take the suckiness of your comic away.

And Razi Oak, if the character in question was Japanese, then the writer better damn well KNOW Japanese.

In my comic there are two Japanese characters, and believe it or not, them speaking it has just a smidge of significance to the plot (though not for a long time). When that time comes, I'm either going to consult my Japanese friend and place genuine speech in there, or I'm just going to do the <bracket tranlation> deal. I haven't decided, but I'm not going to intermix random Japanese phrases, especially just to be cute.

In Megatokyo, he'd occasionally put the words he knew into dialouge - they'd <be talking in their bracketed Japanese>, and suddenly you'd read "Gomen!" It made the whole thing seem so much more fanboy-ish.

...Or not. I feel bad, using MT for yet another example of things I wish people wouldn't do, because I use it almost all the time. Poor, abused, 1337 MT. Heh.

[Redwing]

Heh. Haven't got many comic pages up, but I can still do this...because...because I can! :p

The guy who can create any form of sci-fi technology (lasers, teleporters, etc). Nope.

- Universities.
AVE: No...not yet, at least. ^^;;
Keeper: Well, yes, but it's an alien university. Or it will be, when it's introduced.

Talking pets (where "pet" means "anything about the size of a rabbit, give or take")
AVE: Does a shapeshifter count?
Keeper: Nope.

Megaman and Final Fantasy sprites Nope.

Fourth wall (lack of) Definitely not.

Manga Not quite, although stylistic inspirations are there.

Lesbianism
AVE: Yes (but is sexuality really a cliche?)
Keeper: Possibly, eventually (but no plans on that.)

The big dumb guy who means well No.

The nerd that by all rights should not have a date but woman literally fall over No.

An evil villain that acts like a buffoon No.

Celebrity cameos

AVE: No.
Keeper: Pretty much an impossibility, given that it takes place in the far future.

Big-breasted ladies with loose morals. Nope.

And anything "goth". Nope.

Naked furrys instead of a good story. Snerk. Nope.

"At least it can't get any worse" followed by something worse No! *pet peeve as well*

Wacky college roommates.
AVE: Nope.
Keeper: Er...yes. Sort of. Alien "college", though! :p

Smart and reasonable but very bad tempered female character.
AVE: Nope.
Keeper: Take away "reasonable", and yes.

Gaming references Nope.

Amorous robots No.

Parodies of superheroes Nope.

Parallel dimensions and a multiverse taken as a matter of fact, even as a "given".
AVE: No, although other (not alternate or parallel) dimensions figure in, in a huge way. Definitely not taken for granted, though.
Keeper: No, although they exist.

Fanboy references to Trek, Star Wars, or Buffy. No.

Self-depreciating humor about how bad your art is. So tempting, but no.

Young girl/boy DESTINED to be a princess/prince that saves the world and gets a gooey romance with some hot person Hee hee hee. Nope.

The token fanservice character Ew. No.

ELVES!! BLOODY ELVES!!
AVE: Yes. *hides*
Keeper: Nope.

Seems like Jesus pops up quite a bit. He does?

ROOM MATES
AVE: Nope.
Keeper: Gah...yes...*hides*

Computer game players who become heroes or otherwise extremely important to the fate of the <insert here>
AVE: Eh? No, although the fate thing will be there (if not the hero part), and the characters might play video games sometime or other, I guess...
Keeper: Nope.

Dark and Mysterious Past Both guilty, but we do it in new and interesting ways. I swear!

Amnesia
AVE: Yes. Well...sort of. Induced amnesia.
Keeper: Yes, in conjunction with the Dark and Mysterious Past. We are bad. Very very bad. ^^;;

Psycho Character No, but won't rule it out.

Highly intelligent sarcastic character surrounded by idiots
AVE: Hee hee hee! Yes and no. The sarcastic character thinks he's highly intelligent and surrounded by idiots. I lurbe him.
Keeper: Nope.

Characters who wear sunglasses all the time, so you never see their eyes Nope. I love eyes. I have a thing for eyes.

Dullard idiot characters who yell stuff like "MONKEYS!" and "PIE!" for no reason Noo...

Ultra-violent female characters Yes for both. ^^;;

Shy characters who rarely, if ever, speak, but gradually come out of their shell more and more as the story goes along Nope.

Super-hot babe that the main male characters... o.o no!!

Archnemesis Nope.

Dwarves being the first to die (fantasy in general actualy) Hee. Nope.

The unsufferable glass-wearing Know-It-All Nope.

The dark, stubble-chinned, sexy, brooding stranger No, although a couple of those trappings fit...^^;;

Trench-coat and fedora wearing detective Nope.

Cat girls Good idea! Uh...I mean...no...

Random violence in place of sophisticated humor Noooooo.

All that answered, and only 3-4 comics online for both AVE and Keeper. I feel rather silly. ^^;;

[Ly]

Oh, I might as well.... I know I'm clich

[Tim]

Somebody ought to just condense all this down into a "Webcomic Cliche Purity Test".

[RPin]

Yeah, people, stop using this thread as a cliche-check for your comics. I don't think anybody goes throught that long list, and it wasn't the purpose of this thread afterall.