The Roomies is a Furry Web Comic created by Andrew Dickman of Starfield Creations, also known as The Cartoonist from Animated Anarchy.
Originally starting in 2007, the story centers around Andy Katt, an Unlucky Everydude from Willow Pine who doesn't know exactly what he wants to do with his life. After moving to Crystal Vine (still unsure of his life) he bumps into Mary Ann Tigres and Swain "Swirly" Jenkins, two girls who just so happen to be in need of another roommate.
The webcomic ground to a halt in 2016. In 2017 the authour promised to continue the story as a visual novel and published a demo video
. The rabbit from the video together with a gamer skunkette (not Swirly, but quite similar) ended up starring in their own webcomic Downlovable Content (also on indefinite hiatus since 2021). As of 2022 the domain had been taken over by cybersquatters, but archives are available at Wayback Machine, Tapas and Webtoon
Andrew Dickman's DeviantArt page has been archived after a conflict, but some of The Roomies art remains at his FurAffinity page (NSFW for registered users).
Not to be confused with half a dozen other Roomies webcomics (often furry too).
The Roomies provides examples of:
- All There in the Manual: How the main characters met can be seen in the "Other" section of the website.
- Art Evolution: Look at the older comics, and look at the ones on the main page. You'll notice the great leap in quality.
- Boob-Based Gag: Cherrie is disarmingly busty and there is a running gag of characters, most often Andy, just narrowly avoiding running into them.
- Bully Hunter: Brutus Kowalski, one of Andy's high school friends, acts like this whenever bullying takes place within his earshot. He actually first met Andy when a bunch of senior students were about to teach him about his place in the school food chain. Considering Brutus himself at first glance looks like a high-profile jock, his behaviour can surprise those that don't know him.
- The Cameo: Phelous has one in the 15th page.
- Does Not Like Men: Cherrie always automatically assumes the worst of men, giving Andy a hard time for a while. If a man can prove himself though she will warm up to them, as shown when she sees how diligent Andy is and how good he is to his friends.
- In-Series Nickname: "Swirly" for Swain.
- Interspecies Romance: Andy, a cat, was once in a relationship with a giraffe named Miranda. Mary Ann the tigress eventually wants to have one of these also with Andy.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Swirly is more abrasive and mischievous than her friends, but is super protective of them.
- Missed Him by That Much: Andy, who went out of touch with Miranda sometime between their high school years and the beginning of the story, missed her twice by a blink of the eye: first, she walks by his car in a mall parking lot when he's sitting inside of it lost in thought, then she walks past a photo store he's in when his back is facing the window displays.
- Naive Every Girl: Mary Ann. Her main arc is finding out the world is harsher than she originally thought, while still preserving her optimistic views on life.
- NiceGuy/NiceGirl: Both Andy and Mary Ann are awkward yet kindly and sensitive.
- Noodle Incident: How Andy was able to get into Cherrie's room and get a picture of her sleeping in her undergarments, while drunk.
- Rescue Romance: This is how Andy first met Miranda and what was foundation for their future relationship. One day when playing in the schoolyard, young Andy witnessed two bullies pestering her and decided to intervene. While his action quickly turned against him due to their physical superiority, he created enough of a distraction for Miranda to suckerpunch both of their oppressors and take cover far, far away. Andy's bravery instantly warmed Miranda up to him and they became nearly inseparable for most of their childhoods.
- Shout-Out: Inferno III is one to Diablo III. Thankfully, this isn't a research goof. The video game references flow from there... "Pocket Creatures" is Pokémon, "Louie's Haunted House 2" is Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, "Marty-O-Party" and "Marty-O-Cars" are clear references to spinoffs of the Super Mario Bros. franchise, "Murder Combo X" is Mortal Kombat X, and "Shred and Survive" is Dead or Alive.
- You can see Mary Ann wearing a Hobbes t-shirt.
- Unlucky Everydude: Andy hits a lot of problems throughout the comic as he tries to make money and keep his home. Mary Ann eventually joins him and becomes a gender-inverted example of this trope as she pursues her career dreams.
- World of Buxom: Almost every grown woman in the comic has a big bust, with some being especially huge in the case of Cherrie and some of Swirly’s friends.
