So this last weekend I dropped a video on my YouTube channel (thedantebasco) dedicated to, and all about the world of Homestuck! First off, the support and love from the community has been amazing and I would like to personally thank you all for the digging the video. Secondly, for the rest of the world that are not Homestucks (that's what we we call ourselves in this fandom), I got a bunch of messages of, what the heck was that?!
Well, a brief overview of what it is can be summed up like this (an excerpt from my tumblr rufiozuko):
It's something I've never seen before. It's like a book or a comic, only it's not a book or a comic... it's something new. It's like an entirely new way of telling a story. I'm reading this story on the internet, learning what's going on through pictures of these characters and their "IM" conversations... There is no other time in history that a story like this could be told and in this way, except for now... That's kind of amazing.
The art work, at first, I didn't know if I was into it... but it grew on me... and then some pictures just blew me away.
Furthermore, you can read it yourself at mspaintadventures.com, its a web comic created by Andrew Hussie and it's a story about friends, kids really, essentially trying to save the world, but in a very non-sensical, non-linear way, with these alien trolls and different dimensions and to be quite honest, it's pretty confusing, as I'm sure this explanation is right now. Nonetheless, read it for yourself. It's art and pop culture mashed up with the drama of all these crazy characters and sub characters in an adventure of a lifetime... or several lifetimes... I know, confusing again.
I got wrapped up into it all a year a so back because fans urged me to read it and how I said, it has pop culture nuggets spread throughout the story, they told me I happen to pop up in there as my iconic teenage character, Rufio. As I was somewhat new in the whole online world of social media and engagement, I always took the approach of, if enough people tell me to check something out, I do and try to decide for myself. And that being said, I jumped into the world and so far it's been quite a journey. I read literally thousands of pages and still am not caught up, as the author Andrew Hussie does updates periodically, sometimes I feel like this is a never ending story, though rumors in the Homestuck world say he's going to wrap up the whole thing soon. Matter a fact, I totally forgot that I even made a cameo in the story, but the night I read it is quite hilarious and can be followed as I live blogged my reading of it on my tumblr. (I actually live blog most of the time when I'm reading Homestuck)
Now, the story and the web comic is actually just half the story. As I began doing comic conventions about a year or so ago, I started seeing a bunch of Homestuck fans around the world, and how can I tell they're Homestucks? Well, they're dressed up as the characters of course! It's called cosplay, like costume and play... I guess. Now, it's not just for Homestuck, but anyone who's a fan of any franchise or comic book character or superhero or cartoon. It a sense, it feels like it's been around forever, like we all dress up for Halloween, yet it a lot of ways it's this new art form, like wardrobe and design and pop culture, a live living figure of fictional characters with unique personal twists sometimes, depending on the artist creating them. Although, most of the cosplayers I've met, aren't always thinking of the artistic endeavors of their cosplay, they're just having fun.
I love the web comic, but also through my travels, I just fell in love with the scene, the Homestucks themselves. It's cool to see kids and all kinds of people, into something and find a common ground, this web comic and find this unique way to communicate and hang out and get inspired and be massively creative. And the fact that it's so unknown to the world at large, makes it this cool subculture, not unlike punk rockers in the early days, or even hip hop kids in my generation. The fact that you know something other people don't know about and even though it might be looked down upon by other as something nerdy or geeky, that actually makes it cooler. I write this for the Homestucks, but not just for the Homestucks, in which I am proud call myself one. But I write this blog to all the subcultures who found their friends and the people like them in these super niche worlds.
You never know where you're going to find yourself and you might be surprised, when you get there to find a bunch of people there just like you...
So here's my "Geekin' Out" video... a love letter of sorts to the Homestucks... and to everyone out there who totally a fan of some amazing story or film or anime or character... represent your frandom y'all!