Welcome back to Webcomic Week at 42 Webs

Today we look at a comic, and company, that has made a business out of the web comic and their most successful comic – Least I Could Do.

LICD, written by Ryan Sohmer and drawn by numerous artists – the latest being Lar deSouza, is the story of Rayne Summers and his wacky adventures.  Rayne is described by Wikipedia as:

He is a shallow, childish, and sexually driven 24-year-old (now 27) with an underdeveloped emotional intelligence as well as a severe superiority complex. He is prone to elaborate schemes and pranks, often involving his closest friends, and has a boundless energy level enhanced by his passion for Red Bull and Cadbury cream eggs.

I hate it when Wikipedia is right.

Now this type of character is nothing new to webcomics, the wacky main character is a staple for the genre, or media in general.  Rayne is the internet’s version of Ferris Bueller, Joey Tribbiani or Barney Stintson.

His adventures use the same motive as many other in the web industry, commenting on the most recent big thing or movie and/or dealing with whatever obsession the writer is currently going through,

But if you look deep, past the webcomic trope and past the generic material that coats the surface of this comic, you find the real gem of the strip and the real passion behind it.

The comic, which run seven days a week without fail, has some of the most consistent writing on the net.  The creation staff knows their characters and have evolved them, both artistically and through the writing, across the eight years of its run.  The original stories are deep and normally involve complex emotional situations that evoke a strong emotional response from the reader.

The comic, owned under the Blind Ferret Label, has spun two additional comic projects.  The first is a WOW-esq fantasy comic called Looking for Group and the third is a critique on the comic world in the comic called The Gutters.

Awards

• Wizbang!’s Weblog Awards:
• 2006: Won for Best Comic Strip
• Cartoonist’s Choice Awards:
• 2007: Nominated for Outstanding Comedic Comic
• Schuster Awards:
• 2008: Won for Outstanding Canadian Webcomics Creator/Creative Team for Least I Could Do and Looking for Group
• 2009: Nominated for Outstanding Webcomic
• Harvey Awards:
• 2009: Nominated for Best Cartoonist
• 2009: Nominated for Best Online Comics Work
• 2009: Nominated for Humor in Comics