Sprite comics are web comics that use video game sprites and backgrounds for their artwork. Sprites are pixelated renditions of video game characters that are taken from ROMs, through computer emulators. There are animated sprite comics as well, where each 'strip' is a separate mini-movie, some utilizing Flash for enhanced effects, for example Secret of Mana Theater.

The first known sprite comic was "Neglected Mario Characters," (http://www.smbhq.com/nc) which began as a spin off feature from "Super Mario Headquarters" a Mario fansite.

Bob and George is often mistakenly recognized as the first "true" sprite comic. Originally planned to be a regular online comic, the creator started off with Megaman sprites as filler. When he finally got around to the real comics, he found the MegaMan sprite comics were more popular, and he reverted back.

Most sprite comics fall into three categories, those using Mega Man series sprites (such as Bob and George) and those using Final Fantasy series sprites (such as 8-Bit Theater), and also those using Sonic sprites (such as That's My Sonic). The main reason for this is the wide variety of poses the sprites from these games have, and the ease with which they can be edited into new sprites. Another such way to categorise them would be to place them in the categories of "serious" and "humorous". "Bob and George" and "Silver Koopa and Friends" are examples of humorous sprite comics, while "Warriors of the Net" is an example of a serious sprite comic.

There are, however, many sprite comics that use a combination of several spriting techniques and styles. Comics like How to Make a Sprite Comic in Eight Easy Bits use a combination of original and ripped sprites while comics like Shagy Comics use ripped sprites from several different games.

One form of webcomic similar to sprite comics are Pixel Art Comics. The major difference is that in pixel art comics the sprites used are wholly or mostly created for the comic, rather than being pulled from video games. Two good examples are "A Modest Destiny" and "Kid Radd".

Examples of Existing Sprite Comics

• Bob and George
• 8-Bit Theater
• Kid Radd (retired)
• How to Make a Sprite Comic in Eight Easy Bits
• Shagy Comics
• That's My Sonic (retired)
• That's My Sonic 2 (retired)
• Garden Chase Drive
• Get Blue Spheres

External Links

• Now you too can be a comics whiz, Wired Magazine (http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,63691,00.html?tw=wn_2culthead)