Break Into Chat
Josh Renaud’s blog about BBS history, retro computing and technology reminiscences.
-
The mystery of the Solar Realms Elite title screen
In my recent series ANSI art and webcomics, I debunked a false assertion that began in a history book and propagated across the web. Now it’s time to solve the mystery of an old ANSI art screen that I helped propagate across the web 20 years ago. Allow me to explain — but first, let’s…
-
The many ANSI title screens of Barren Realms Elite (BRE)
If you’ve played Barren Realms Elite at any time in the past quarter-century, you probably have seen this spiffy ANSI title screen: That’s because — like most classic BBS door games — BRE became more or less “frozen in amber” in the late 1990s after BRE’s creator, Mehul Patel, sold the rights to the game…
-
Don Lokke and “Mack the Mouse”: ANSI art and webcomics, Part 5
This is the final part of a multi-part series. In an alternate universe somewhere, nobody has heard of “webcomics.” Instead, there are thousands of “telecomics.” Thirty years ago, Don Lokke Jr. hoped to make that universe a reality. In 1992, he coined the term “telecomics” to describe his new digital comic strips, drawn primarily in…
-
The business of BBSing: ANSI art and webcomics, Part 4
This is the fourth part of a multi-part series. Once upon a time, drawing comics in daily newspapers could be lucrative. In the 1950s, Al Capp, the creator of “Li’l Abner,” was pulling in $500,000 a year — about $6 million today. He was a genuine celebrity, making guest appearances on talk shows and even…
-
Eerie and “Inspector Dangerfuck”: ANSI art and webcomics, Part 3
This is the third part of a multi-part series. “I’ve always been kind of restless,” says Eerie, the ANSI artist who created the character “Inspector Dangerfuck” in 1994. Today, Eerie is a musician and author, with a deep knowledge of cartoons and comics. But back then, he was a teenager in Quebec trying to make…
-
BBSes and the artscene: ANSI art and webcomics, Part 2
This is the second part of a multi-part series. Both Eerie and Don Lokke emerged from opposite ends of the ANSI art spectrum. But … what is “ANSI art”? Before we can profile the two main subjects of this series or explore their work, it’ll be important to understand the BBSing subculture of the early…
Archives
Categories