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Internet cartoons represent the best non-porn content on web

By: Bruce Morrison

Issue date: 11/21/03 Section: timeout
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With the creation of the Internet, a new forum has become available for unknown artists to make their voices known. Internet blogs, website editorials and flash cartoons have sprung up across the World Wide Web. With the invention of flash, any artist on an average computer can create TV quality cartoons. These files, thanks to the flash technology, are small in size and can be downloaded and viewed by virtually anyone on the Internet.

One of the first flash cartoons on the Internet to receive fame and public view was "Joe Cartoon" at www.joecartoon.com. Run by Joe, the Web site has featured cartoons that may not be suitable to everyone (often there are depictions of animal cruelty) but the cartoons are comical; almost "Simpsons" in nature. The origins of Joe Cartoon run deep. According to Joe, creator of the Web site, cartoon Joe's origins run like this: "Tibetan yeti, and a most beautiful Peruvian princess found each other in a wooded glen, and having decided (after several 5ths of Jack Daniels) that each was what the other desired more than all other things."

Featuring mistreated gerbils, a ruthless Spanish fly and Joe Mamma, the cartoons are rude, crude and express the college/MTV Internet users quite accurately. The cartoons all feature viewer interaction, requiring a user to click to further the story. This gives web surfers the ability to replay a favorite moment, or to jump ahead to the usually cruel ending. Not for the faint of heart, or those easily offended by just about all the naughty words in the book, Joe Cartoon is a great webpage for off color humor, and animated cruelty to animals (but don't worry they don't really die, it's a cartoon).

Taking a complete opposite position from Joe Cartoon is the young and highly popular Homestarrunner.com. Founded by two brothers, Mike and Craig Chapman, during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the idea began as a children's book. Featuring the characters of Homestar, Strongbad, the Cheat and Pom-Pom, the book was less than a success, but the brothers, rather than giving up, turned to the internet to publish stories. It wasn't long after that when they realized they had something much more than a children's book on their hand, and created very funny and creative cartoons.

The website still didn't take off until the webpage's villain (if you can call him that) Strongbad began to answer fan emails. His style of making fun of any and all spelling errors and grammatical mistakes made him a huge hit, and before long so many people were logging on every Monday to see a new Strongbad e-mail, that the server frequently crashed.

Visit www.homestarrunner.com and poke around, looking at all the different cartoons and features. The cartoons are all rated "G", but don't be confused, they are wildly funny, they just manage to do it without anything vulgar or obscene, making them popular with both mainstream college students and Christian colleges alike. An Easter egg accompanies each cartoon, which can range from a screensaver to just extra cartoon moments. The creators use their knowledge of pop culture to create hilarious escapades between the characters in Anytown, U.S.A. They recently released a CD containing extended and higher quality versions of the songs used on the website.

If you're looking for a more traditional cartoon on the Internet, you should try www.collegeuniv.com, a series that any college student will find hits home. The cartoon is about two freshmen who attend College University (the only university to enroll humans and primates). The series can be easily compared to the late "Family Guy," which once aired on Fox. The characters range from Parks and Mike (the two students the series focuses on), to Optimus Prime (of the Transformers persuasion), Dark Ninja and Puffy and Mace (the proclaimed two most talented musicians in the world). The animation is a bit rougher than most cartoons, but the humor is TV quality. The episodes cover all aspects of college life such as buying books, beer, studying, beer, campus counselors, beer and brew dogs (beer). The episodes come out a bit slow in comparison to other cartoons, but with more viewers, the creators can make enough money to work full time on the cartoon.

The last cartoon on this list is actually a Web site that contains many different cartoons. www.i-mockery.com is home to many flash creations that often have a common theme, the old 8-bit Nintendo games. Their site encompasses much more than just flash cartoon, but they are home to some of the most creative flash games. Now these games can be played by just about anyone, you can rarely lose, and it's really just humorous.

The games include "Kill the dog from Duckhunt" and "Kill the old man from Zelda," both of which fulfill mankind's deepest needs. But the crown jewel of i-mockery.com is "Domo-Kun's Angry Smashfest," staring Domo-Kun, a Japanese pop icon; it is up to you to stop the Power Puff Girls from world domination after they used Dr. Wiley's machines to make you kill Little Mac. The game includes just about every videogame character from the glory days of the Nintendo and Sega systems. The humor found on i-mockery.com is easily rated "M" for mature, and can be insensitive to some viewers. But thanks to the Internet, their views and opinions are protected in a vast virtual world of free speech. You may love some of the cartoons featured here, and may hate them, but many are on the edge of creativity, and prove that a successful series can be created out of virtually nothing.


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