In The Days Of Razor And Rayg...
Entry posted by lavaside rahi
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Recently I did an interview for The Three Virtues podcast, where I was asked some questions about the history of the forum. Realizing I am one of the oldest people in the Comics Forum today, and wanting to fulfill my narcissistic desires (hey, it is a blog), I decided to write a bit about general trends in the Comics Forum - subjects that are too general to fit into any specific topic on the forum itself. I don't know if there will be anymore blog posts along these lines - I think I'll wait and see what the reaction to this is.
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When I started getting popular, the comic community on BZPower (which had yet to become a separate forum yet) was pretty segregated; a surprising fact if you consider the comics forum of today. From my perspective, it seemed to be divided into two central camps: the Razors and the Raygs (not to downplay the significant number of Chibi and RZ users, but back then many of the elements that defined them were the same that defined Raygs, so the groups were often intertwined - for simplicity's sake, I will refer to that community here as the "Raygs").
The two central figures in this story were Dark709, the undisputed king of the Razors, and The Editorialist, who the Raygs frequently looked to. These were the superpowers who (to my knowledge) never interacted, but their followers could be seen fighting the occasional proxy battle - a Cold War of Comics. Though the superpowers themselves never spoke ill of each other - I once interviewed both of them when they were at the height of their popularity; here was their response when I asked each about the other:
"He is very good at Sprite Comics. His humor is much more low key and not as crazy as mine, but he has very good comics, and the witty humor is great." -Dark709
"Dark709 and I started out about the same, Razor sprites and humor based on insanity and obsessions. Recently I changed sprites and have been changing my characters to not JUST be obsessed creatures. Dark709 and I, I think, take care of all kinds of humor of BZP. He takes care of insanity...I take care of the rest." -The Editorialist
The differences between the two sides went well beyond the sprites they used. The fact that these two central figures inspired such devotion and loyalty meant that a fair amount of people copied off of one or the other, so the elements that separated Dark and T-E wound up separating Razors and Raygs as a whole. The basic difference was that Razors relied heavily on slapstick comedy, while Raygs were more likely to use more social commentary and situation comedy. That's not to say that Razors never made intellectual jokes and that Raygs never did slapstick (far from it - Raygs were still very likely to be seen using slapstick), but the initial battlelines were drawn. From there, a number of smaller elements could be incorporated into each side: food obsession jokes became the standard of Razors, biting social critique could be seen in Rayg series. When Dark started making his movie, those who followed him starting making their own. Raygs didn't need movies to tell epic tales - there were already a number of serious comic series in the forum that used the far less comical looking Rayg sprites.
Dokuma's views of Razor sprites weren't particularly sympathetic...
I was firmly in the Razor camp (in some regards I never left it), so trends that defined the Raygs managed to pass without me noticing. There was some overlap between the two groups, but the divide was there. There was even some open hostility between the two groups - I recall Raygs talking about how stupid Razor comics were, with childish jokes and tired gags like food obsession (which, I'm sorry to admit, was a stereotype that was often well-earned). While I don't remember any Razors speaking openly about Raygs, I myself thought of many Raygs as aloof (particularly given comments like the one above). They also seemed to be a rowdier bunch, far more willing to poke at the system and make jokes at Pohukai's expense, something I don't remember many Razors daring to attempt.
My evidence for the "edgier" humor of Rayg series - by Nuparurocks and Dokuma of Project Klinkerpoop
...And the zaniness that was your typical Razor series - by Toa Jetice.
When I did those interviews with Dark709 and The Editorialist, Dark had already made the Chimoru Kit, which was rapidly gaining popularity among the Razors, though there were still some who had yet to convert. Those interviews marked the last time I would actively pay attention to what was going on in the Forum for a long time; I started focusing solely on my own comics and a few old favorites. It wasn't until I finished my own comic series that I resurfaced - now that I didn't have to worry about making comics, I could take the time to enjoy what other people were doing.
When I came back, I found that all the old battlelines seemed to have fallen apart. There were no more Razors left, and few people were still using the Rayg kit. Chimoru and the RZMIK had become the de-facto norm (although this new-fangled Xanistkit was gaining ground), and while many Razors converted to Chimoru and many in the RZMIK group had been close to the Raygs, the generational shift meant that the divisions were gone. Most importantly, the elements that defined the two sides had blended; Chimoru users were no less likely to use serious comedy or slapstick than their RZMIK fellows. RZMIK users who had used more edgy humor could be seen using Chimoru (Nuparurocks is the best example of this).
Individual talent is and has always been the most important factor in the Comics Forum, but when I started out the kit you used said a lot not only about you, but who your fans were. It's surprising to see the situation today, where the kit you use plays a far smaller role than it did back then. At some point while I wasn't paying attention to the forum, these two sides intersected and all these elements became more intertwined. The battlelines are gone, and I'm still trying to figure out how we got to where we are today.
(As a disclaimer, let me point out that mine is just one perspective - one from a deliberately Razor point-of-view. If you are familiar with this subject, let me know your thoughts on this matter! I would particularly appreciate any knowledgeable viewpoint which contradicts anything I've said here - my recollections are as flawed as anyone else's and should not be taken as the sole truth on the matter.)
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