Webcomic / Comic Shorts

"We do what we can, because we're bored."

— The Comic Shorts Slogan

Comic Shorts is a webcomic, originally hosted on Freewebs before switching to ComicFury for its more efficient layout.

The story takes place in the universe of Comicshortsia, an Alternate Universe comprised of things that have been somehow displaced from other universes. These things can range from missing socks or writing utensils to living creatures and sentient lifeforms to entire planets and even more than one star system. Because the infinite different universes within the Multi Verse are at varying stages of technological and cultural development, Schizo Tech abounds and culture clashes happen quite frequently in Comicshortsia.

The comics follow the adventures of Zanshlou, Leko, and Label Buddy, who are a ninja, robot, and idiot respectively. Other characters include a 1920s gangster named The New Yorker, a thief named Tailii, a hot space marine chick named Sammy, an evil superintelligent clone of Label Buddy, a Shadowy Figure, an evil demon/ninja named Villain, and many more.

Currently, two series are available on the site, separated by Comic Fury's chapter system, with the original series moved to a separate site due to its length.

• The Original Comic Shorts Series (OS) by John Hood.

Essentially, a massive collection of random (mis)adventures, inside jokes, total nonsense, and violence against Label Buddy. There are several multi-part episodes, with the later ones attempting to have a somewhat more serious story. This was abandoned after a long delay between episodes, and ended with an admission from the author that he lost track of what was even going on.

• Comic Shorts Reproduction(CSR) also by John Hood.

A remake/reboot/reworking of the original series featuring improved artwork, the removal of certain superfluous characters, and more of the same old jokes it was "known for." There may or may not be plans to reduce the amount of physical injuries inflicted on Label Buddy.

• Comic Shorts: Spriteoverse (SV) by Nathan Spencer.

A currently ongoing Sprite Comic about the Comic Shorts characters going on an adventure IN SPACE. It is noticeably more story-focused than the Original Series.

Note: Due to the occasional shuffling around of filler comics in the archive, links to specific episodes may not be accurate for very long. Please refer to episodes by number, without directly linking to them. Original Series episodes may be linked to, as no changes will be made to the archive.

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All series provide examples of:

• Absurdly Sharp Blade:
  • Zanshlou and Tailii's swords.
  • Subverted with Leko's Laser Blade. It was the intended effect when he made it, but due to design flaws it is really only a little more effective than a regular sword. He mostly keeps it because it looks cooler.
• Abandoned Info Page: The original site had one. Upon switching to Comic Fury, it has become considerably less abandoned, though progress with it has been slow.
• Action Girls: Sammy, Tailii and Ace.
• Amusing Injuries: Label Buddy, naturally. As part of his Butt-Monkey status.
• Animesque: Most of the hand-drawn comics have slight traces of it, but OS episode 24 is deliberately drawn in an exaggerated style.
  • OS Episode 73 is drawn in the normal style, but in right-to-left format.
• All There in the Manual: The authors have set up a Wiki to keep track of backstory details as they develop it. Because of this, a lot of said details have yet to appear in the comic itself, and some may be removed entirely.
• Art Evolution: Both series. Compare OS episodes 5 and 95, and SV episodes 2 and 29.
• Author Avatar: Zanshlou and Leko.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: The actual authors show up in comics from time to time, in addition to the aforementioned avatars.
  • They were main characters in SV before being extremely subtly Put on a Bus in Episode 26 to cut back on the character count.
  • The first page of CSR features the demolition of a wall with a large "4th" on it.
• Butt-Monkey: Label Buddy.
• Dope Slap: Tailii attempts one on Leko, forgetting that his head is plated with inch-thick titanium.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Ninety-nine percent of Label Buddy’s deaths are the result of one of the other characters (most often Dragon Master) being even the slightest bit annoyed with him.
  • In OS Episode 25, he is brutally hospitalized for eating a pineapple to which Dragon Master had laid claim. He is later thrown in jail for it, while still in a full body cast.
  • A short-lived character named Gex was “banished” from the series because his real-life counterpart belittled the entertainment value of role-playing games like Kingdom Hearts. Appropriately, he is judged by Mickey Mouse and sent to Hell to be tortured by Sephiroth for all eternity.
• Embarrassing Tattoo: Tailii is implied to have one.
• Hand Wave: The entire backstory of the universe is basically one big Hand Wave. Anything weird that happens, any strange characters or technologies that show up can be explained by Comicshortsia being in an extremely unstable part of the Multi Verse.
• Mad Scientist Laboratory / Elaborate Underground Base: Leko's lab.
• MegaCorp: Lysander Edison Laboratories and Nexus Innovators.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Leko's eyes have been known to turn red when he is sufficiently angry.
• Schizo Tech: Justified, since all the inhabitants of the CS universe are from different universes, which were at various time periods and stages of technological development.
• Shout-Out: More than a person with a life could attempt to point out.
• The Smart Guy: Leko and Dark Buddy.
• They Would Cut You Up: Leko's blueprints and other associated research data were lost when the Lysander Edison facility was accidentally teleported into Comicshortsia, and the only way they can make up for lost time is to reverse engineer the only existing prototype. Fortunately, Comicshortsia has Sentient Mechanical Protection laws that prohibit Ridiculously Human Robots from being reclaimed as property against their will.
• Too Dumb to Live: Label Buddy. Literally. In fact, his stupidity is such that neither Heaven nor Hell want to put up with him, so they simply return him to the world of the living whenever he is killed. Label Buddy is actually too dumb to die.
• Unsound Effect: Most often used as a Shout-Out to Teen Girl Squad. SHOUT OUT'D!
• Word of God: The wiki is meant to be this. It is explicitly stated to have the final say on any contradictions or plot holes.
  "All information we put on here is officially as canon as it gets, and overrides any previously existing plot points, character details and events."

Original Series

• Art Shift: In Issue 6, Dragon Master imagines what life would be like as a video game character. He becomes a video game sprite in his thought bubbles.
  • This plot is repeated in Issue 10, with Label Buddy and Leko showing up in sprite form as well.
  • The sprite characters show up again in Issue 16.
• Born Lucky: Dragon Master passes a test with an A+. A test that he forgot to study for, and the rest of the class all failed. How?
  DM:Guessed on every answer.
  Teacher: How the hell!?
  DM: Exactly.
• Early-Installment Weirdness
• Journal Comic: Though not necessarily accurately depicting them, many episodes are based on or inspired by actual events.
• Multi-Part Episode: Issue 18: The Lost Thing-a-Mabob Part 1.
• Powered Armor: Sammy's main character trait.
• Running Gag: Label Buddy being punished for the hole in the paper in issues 6, 7, 8, and 9.
• Sadist Teacher: The Evil Teacher in Issue 41. She throws Label Buddy out the 4th story window for no reason.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Leko says this word-for-word about Tailii when DM suggest that she is. In this case, though, it's 100% true. Leko being a robot and whatnot.

Spriteoverse

• AI Is A Crap Shoot: The ship's main computer turns evil and becomes the main villain for the first story arc.
• The Assimilator: MC/Lavos absorbs Sammy to gain her AI permissions, and thus complete control of the ship.
• Attack Its Weak Point: Tailii disables LE-37 in Episode 37 by getting in a slice at his unarmored ankle.
• Buffy Speak: Zan combines it with Sword Beam and Calling Your Attacks when he uses his "NINJA ENERGY SLASHY THING!"
• Call-Back: LE-37 was introduced in Episode 6 and referred to as a gray Spartan, after which Leko accused the author of the comic of being too lazy to create new sprites. In Episode 53, soldiers from the DDF board the ship and are revealed to be recolored LE-37 sprites, prompting an additional accusation of laziness.
• Calling Your Attacks: Tailii has a tendency to do this.
• Combat Pragmatist: Inverted by 37 during his fight with Zan in Episode 49. He simply defends himself and stalls for time because his victory depends on the ship they're on reaching its destination. Unfortunately for him, Zan decides play the trope pretty much straight.
• Cyber Cyclops: The ship's Main Computer.
• Electric Torture: LE-37's interrogation of Label Buddy under the Main Computer's orders in Episode 32.
• Exposition Diagram: Leko uses one in Episode 30 to explain several possible ways to deal with the situation. He cuts off Tailii's attempt to ask where the board came from.
• Face–Heel Turn: LE-37.
• Fusion Dance: After a massive glitch, The Main Computer ends up fusing with Lavos.
• Grand Theft Me: The virus infecting the Main Computer jumps into Leko's body after being defeated.
• Have You Tried Rebooting?: Sammy tries to restore the Main Computer. It works, but she didn't set it back far enough, so the computer goes back from being stupid and evil to just plain evil (and actually dangerous) again.
• Hostage Situation: Attempted by LE-37 with Label Buddy. It doesn't go well.
• Incredibly Obvious Bomb: Subverted, as the device Tailii and The New Yorker are searching for is technically not a bomb (just a machine that has the unfortunate side effect of making stars blow up), and it is pointed out that they don't have a clue what it looks like.
• Let's Split Up, Gang!: The characters split into several groups to simultaneously attempt various methods of thwarting the Main Computer's plan.
• Mistaken for Badass: In SV Episode 29 The Main Computer erroneously believes Label Buddy to be a stealth master.
• One-Product Planet: The entire planet Repairia is one big junk yard inhabited by robots who fix things for visitors.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Main Computer in SV is represented by a gigantic eye that is green when it is operating properly, but turns red during critical malfunctions.
• Star Killing: The ship was apparently involved in a failed plot to accomplish this long before it was acquired by the characters.
• Sprite Comic
• Talk to the Fist: 37 is shot right in the middle of his rant about The New Yorker's apparently inferior weaponry in SV Episode 37.
• The Alleged Car: The ship Leko and RL Leko buy in for $20.00. Even after extensive repairs, it is prone to inconvenient breakdowns.
• Thrown Out the Airlock: Leko has this done to his body, rather than risk letting the virus back into the ship's computer.

Reproduction

• Face Palm: Leko's reaction to the Wheel of Misfortune result.
• Gender Bender: Label Buddy's fate chosen by the Wheel of Misfortune. Fortunately, Zan spins again before certain...other tropes come into play.
• Rule of Funny: The wheel summons a horde of Cuccos to attack Label Buddy instead of turning him into a chicken (as it normally would). Why?
  Zanshlou: This is WAY more hilarious.
• Self-Deprecation: Zan's intro for the first issue consists of explaining his reasoning for the reboot with a crumpled diagram showing what was wrong with the original series.

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