It's so easy to over-extend one's creative self at times...

Pff. I've never seen or heard of Modern Humor Authority before today, and I was a happier man for it. Kristofer, this is good work but you've wasted your creativity lampooning this little Sewing Circle of Hell. They haven't posted new content there in 7 weeks (and that was a review of a 3-year-old Bjork video? WTF?). Their last webcomics-related content is from last year. But they can raise their ugly head out of their second unannounced hiatus just to say "Ha-ha! Webcomics Review is Dead!" Claaaaasseeeee...

God this site pisses me off, though.

It's so full of baldfaced hypocrisy it almost has to be a joke. Start with the name. Can anyone find any actual humor? Show me the "authority" among those anemic staff bios (hey did you draw on the menu board when you were a waiter at T.G.I.Friday's, too?). Then there's the dish-it-out-but-can't-take-it lack of forums or public feedback.

But the worst is the supposed blasting of webcomics critics as "elitist" in the context of "we hate everything, and we're the authority."

I mean here was Webcomics Review, showing genuine editorial talent for everything from setting the tone and subject matter to recruiting a variety of well-informed critical voices with something to say. Webcomics Review, in its brief lifespan, actually did elevate the discussion. These hacks can only take a shot at its corpse.

And here too is Comixpedia, updating with more new content in any given 3 weeks than these useless skin-sacs have put out in their entire history. Comixpedia staff are out there researching, soaking up details from the community, seeking out news and trends and ideas, and they offer it in the context of "this is YOUR place to discuss what's important." The editorial tone here is mercifully light and genuinely egalitarian.

Not only is that the opposite of Modern Humor Authority, it's the opposite of what they say about Comixpedia. The levels of hypocrisy are almost too deep to ponder.

I'm trying to figure out what service this site is supposed to perform for webcomics. At best, it's maybe a waste recepticle. If these people all collect in one unknown hole, then they aren't out in real communities spraying their scent.

And now *I've* wasted my time.

Xerexes, any way you cut it, that parting shot was nasty and pointless. Throughout it's existance, the only thing the Examiner ever did to draw people's ire was to simply exist and treat webcomics like they were worth your time to read.

What sort of social retards are some webcomics creators that they cant stand the idea of anyone giving respect to what they do?

Pathetic.

Well, as I said in my original rant...I had never heard of the place before today. As "Search Comixpedia" produces about 5000 results for "modern humor authority" I can't find the article you are referring to.

Are you trying to say these are fake people, getting off on making fake comments, to make people like me go off on rants? I'd find it very difficult to believe that this much material was produced for that lame of a joke.

I think it's more likely that CLAIMING that the worthless shit on this site is meant to be a Kaufmanesque attempt to draw spurious fire is just one more cowardly backpedal by these losers. There's no sign of intelligent satire here, no sign of competence of any kind, just amateurish bile.

But let's assume it's BRILLIANT. Let's say it's TOTAL satire and it totally GOT me. It's still valid to ask: what does this site do for webcomics? Joke or no joke...it's self-indulgent crap either way.

I think you extend them a thousand times more credit than they deserve, and a million times more than they give you, Xerexes.

I think you're giving it way too much credit by calling it a Kaufmanesque parody. I also think considering Kaufman anything more than a total retard is also giving too much credit, but that's neither here nor there.

Look at the language used. There was no ironic intent. And if there was, he missed it by a mile. It was a pure and simple slam.

Well, she is missing an ovary. I think she's just really bitter.

I mean, look at that site! Is there an ounce of diligent criticism in it? The fact that they call themselves an "authority" about anything is a sheer farce. You could hand them ANY topic and they'd blow the review of it.

Other critics would have a lot to learn by avoiding being like these guys. It's as though anyone could claim that they're professional critics and set up a website!

Kristofer Straub www.starslip.com

I'd say Xerexes is right. Modern Humor Authority isn't "real", nor is it even populated by real people. Lance Sharps their editor-in-chief is a character from Straub's webcomic Checkerboard Nightmare introduced in the storyline beginning on March 27, 2002 of the Checkerboard Nightmare archives. If you look on the bios section for MHA you'll see Lance Sharp has supposedly written two books (both of which sound like parodies of Scott McCloud titles) which you will be able to find mention of nowhere else on the internet. I'd always atrributed the whole mess to Straub himself who seems to have a mind that doubles back on itself. I realize this may not abate your ire at the contents of the site but that ire should be probably pointed at Straub. Of course, for all I know you are Straub pretending anger about Straub's fake website in the comments for Straub's webcomic about his fake website. It wouldn't surprise me, given internet anonymity... the very phenomenon used to pull the MHA gag.

Well, as I said, if it's a joke and it drew me in, then it drew me in. But...

1) IF it's a joke, it's a shaggy dog story. That's a hell of a lot of work for the payoff.

2) If the nastiness here is simulated, it's too good a simulation not to be saying a lot about the psyche(s) that created it. If someone's going to claim that the point of this site is to mock hateful, misinformed criticism by generating a lot of it, then I can only quote Nietzsche at them...

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

Now now. I needed to pony up the cash for a domain name first....

Eric, you're too nice to be dragged into this sordid mess.