8-Bit Theater is funny even if you don't know the original Final Fantasy storyline. The megomaniacal Black Mage, dumb as a very dumb thing Fighter, sneaky, pickpocketing Thief and cute, D&D Second Edition carrying White Mage all coming together to form the Light Warriors of legend. So far the comic has had a grand sense of humour while sticking more or less to the games plot and it only gets better. This really is a funny and original Online Comic.

This webcomic, located at
http://www.nuklearpower.com/comic/
is hilarious.....if you've ever played a Final Fantasy game, or if you roleplay.

It follows the (mis)adventures of the characters of the original Final Fantasy game. Characters which, up until now, haven't had any really good character studies done of them.

Characters:

  • Fighter - He likes swords! A Lot! And err...he's Strong! Yeah. Every bad stereotype you've ever encountered of a rpg fighter dwells within his chest of plate mail. (Two words, okay? Sword Chucks)
  • Black Mage - He's evil, smells like garlic, frequents strip clubs, beats up old men, and vaporizes small children at the earliest opportunity. What else did you expect? The guy who consorts with the forces of darkness to like kitties and play well with children?
  • Thief - This is one crafty guy. You know that sneaky hafling you had in the party that one time? Thief could sneak up on him and pants the guy, snag his coin purse, and make off with his pony before the hafling was done rolling his Listen check.
  • Red Mage - Are you familiar with the term "Rules Lawyer"? Well, I don't know if you're familiar with the inconsistencies of being a character in a world defined by rules who also knows how to tweak those rules...but if you're not, Red Mage will fill in the blanks for you. What a Twinkie.

  • White Mage - This vivacious lady of the light arts was going to be included in the band of four....until it was pointed out that Red Mage is a bigger Twink. So, it appears for the moment she is off on a quest of her own, guarded by..
  • Black Belt - White Mage's current bodyguard. He may not last for very long, as it appears that Black Mage is under the impression that BB and WM are sleeping together. I wonder how well Kung Fu works on Fireballs?

  • Garland - If you've played the original Final Fantasy, you remember this guy. Boy was he tough. Chaos' emmisarry is one bad...umm..wait...actually, he's kind of dumb. And pathetic. And spends time plotting the downfall of forest imps. Good thing he kidnapped...
  • The Princess of Corneria - She a cutie. (For an 8 bit sprite, anyway.) Turns out she has something of a bad side, as she's decided to take this whole "Conquest of the World" plot on herself, since Garland isn't up to the task. Fear for the Light Warriors. Fear for them.
8 bit is updated every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

At one thousand two hundred and twenty five strips 8-bit theater ended in 2010 giving it a ten year run. In this time it provided us with fun, puns, artfully broken logic, ultra super fine print, a really long ending arc, and what may be the longest brick joke in history. Seriously, Clevinger set it up in the seventh strip and delivered in 1221. And looking back on it now I can honestly say it was funny. I'm not sure if it's the funniest thing I ever read but I can say it made me laugh harder than anything else.

I haven't the words to properly praise this comic. That's not even because it was super amazing, though it was pretty good. Rather it defies easy description. Most of the story felt like an unending series of tangents meant to draw the warriors of light off course with occasional pushes from their mentor/penultimate enemy to get them back on track. Digression ad nauseam for any one else, yet Fighter, Black Mage, Thief, and Red Mage made it work. I think a large part of their appeal is that they rarely fought the insanity around them but rather tried to capitalize on it. This barely ever worked but it kept the plot moving.

Clevinger has moved on to bigger and better things but his first work will always hold a special place in the hearts of his fans.

RUST IS FOR THE WEAK

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