11–20 of 26 posts
Love to see retro ANSI art. I was in both the large ANSI artist groups, ACiD and iCE back in the day. These ANSI blocks were a next level step in online graphics, from ASCII art. This was the predecessor to Adobe Flash.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The real question is what is an "online comic" or "webcomic" - especially as almost by definition a webcomic can't predate the web; though an online one could.
There's an extended quote from Eerie at the end of this story where he addresses this (in the context of where/if ANSI comics fit into the history of webcomics).
The first scanner was made in 1957, using that to scan a Peanuts comic would be some form of "digital comic image" but not a webcomic as we consider it.
I do also thing there's something the kids would call a "meme" that these might be closer to; a comic does NOT have to have a narrative or overarching story (though they often seem to devolve to that) - if the only Far Side comic to exist was Cow Tools it'd still clearly be a comic.
ANSI art web archive https://16colo.rs/
Also on instagram https://www.instagram.com/sixteen_colors/?hl=en
Some OGs are still producing really high quality, innovative art even today.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's an extended quote from Eerie at the end of this story where he addresses this (in the context of where/if ANSI comics fit into the history of webcomics).
Yeah he brings up the points I would (which is that "online image" is not the precursor of webcomics, but print and other "indie" comics are). The first scanner was made in 1957, using that to scan a Peanuts comic would be some form of "digital comic image" but not a webcomic as we consider it. I do also thing there's something the kids would call a "meme" that these might be closer to; a comic does NOT have to have…
Will Eisner and Scott McCloud say that what distinguishes comics from cartoons and other forms is that they are sequential. McCloud's definition specifically exclude single-panels like "The Far Side" or "The Family Circus". In his view they are cartoons, not comics.
However, other people have pushed back on this particular limitation of his definition.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah he brings up the points I would (which is that "online image" is not the precursor of webcomics, but print and other "indie" comics are). The first scanner was made in 1957, using that to scan a Peanuts comic would be some form of "digital comic image" but not a webcomic as we consider it. I do also thing there's something the kids would call a "meme" that these might be closer to; a comic does NOT have to have…
Ah, now this is something that Part 2 of this series gets into -- how do you define a "comic"? ( https://breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12/28/ansi-art-and-webco... ) Will Eisner and Scott McCloud say that what distinguishes comics from cartoons and other forms is that they are sequential. McCloud's definition specifically exclude single-panels like "The Far Side" or "The Family Circus". In his view they are cartoons, no…
But then you have newspaper comics - some of which are things like Prince Valiant which are just comic books over time, and then there are the "one joke per day" comics which sometimes have multiple panels, sometimes not.
As with many things, trying to tie it down often reveals that it's not really possible - various "string of one-off" comics (even including The Far Side), political cartoons, etc end up having "recurring characters" that end up with a mythos.
For most people, "digital Far Side" would be a webcomic, because it's something that would live on the comics page in the newspaper.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ah, now this is something that Part 2 of this series gets into -- how do you define a "comic"? ( https://breakintochat.com/blog/2025/12/28/ansi-art-and-webco... ) Will Eisner and Scott McCloud say that what distinguishes comics from cartoons and other forms is that they are sequential. McCloud's definition specifically exclude single-panels like "The Far Side" or "The Family Circus". In his view they are cartoons, no…
I think there's definitely multiple streams here; the "comic book comic" which is clearly different from single-panic comics/cartoons. But then you have newspaper comics - some of which are things like Prince Valiant which are just comic books over time, and then there are the "one joke per day" comics which sometimes have multiple panels, sometimes not. As with many things, trying to tie it down often reveals that i…
Having lived in the dial-up BBS era on DOS computers I can say the ANSI artists of the day were truly talented. It's amazing what they came up with using only small color pallet and what few characters were available. Also programs like "The Draw" were amazing tools.
Long live blocks. ANSI art web archive https://16colo.rs/ Also on instagram https://www.instagram.com/sixteen_colors/?hl=en Some OGs are still producing really high quality, innovative art even today.