Day 1: In which ground rules are set

Good news, everyone! First day in the life of a new blog, and its pristine words smell of promise and hope. Lets just hope it lives to see those promises fulfilled.
Because, see, I have this, what shall I call it?... condition that prevents me from maintaining enthusiasm for something I'm doing for more than just a few minutes. Shameful, really, I know. But still, I'm trying to improve, if only to stop embarrassing myself falling asleep at parties. Most awkward, of that I can assure you. This blog is part of the healing process. Here's hoping that it will be more successful than previous attempts to address said issue.

An attempt at failure

Let me be honest with you: this is the third blog I've started, in hopes of condensing the few remnants of reason and sanity I still hold on to. Sadly, former experiments have ended in tragedy or oblivion, mostly because, yes, you guessed it, I lost interest.
However, this time things seem to be looking up. "But, Dalian, what's so different this time?", you ask, suspicious, and for good reason. Well, for starters, I have been able to keep continued interest in the theme I plan to discuss on this blog for some years now. Secondly, it is a somewhat young and still evolving enterprise, so it should provide just enough drama, controversy and discussion, with just a hint of bitter odds and ends, to keep me hooked and wanting more.
I'm talking, of course, about webcomics.
Let that sink in for a minute. It's cool, I'm not going anywhere. Back already? Good, good, take a seat, don't be shy. Say, what do you think? I know, I know "Wow, webcomics, how innovative... It's not like there's already at least fifty hojillion blogs dealing with that issue. We always could use another webcomics blog" Now, let me clarify: I'm no Eric Burns, which, as far as I can tell, is the real authority in the field of webcomics discourse (and why has discourse always sounded so damn pompous to me?). I don't have any involvement with the industry, save for the fact that I've been a reader for a good four of five years now. I'm just the average self-righteous ass who thinks their opinions should be heard. Mostly because they are his.
So, why am I doing this? Right now, mostly on a whim. Out of desire. Partly, to build the discipline to write for a blog consistently (I'm aiming for a post every weekday, but no promises), and partly to spend the free time summer has generously provided me with . And, yeah, mainly because I consider my thoughts on this issue merit committing to scripture.

How to play

• First and foremost, this isn't a comics review site. My trawl is far too limited and narrow to allow that. I'll only talk about comics I read, and it is safe to assume that the comics I read are comics I like. So, I won't be providing you with guidelines about what you should and shouldn't read. Rule of thumb here, anything mentioned on the blog is worth at least a look.
• Does this mean I won't be mentioning any aspects I consider could use improvement? Hell no. The fact that I like these comics doesn't mean that I like all of them, all the time. Of course, there's comics I like more than others, but often my favourites shift depending on many variables, so nothing should be considered set in stone. Expect some vitriolic comments, and even the odd ruthless beating here and there, just for the hell of it. Don't say I didn't warn you.
• Now, the update schedule. We tread slick territory here, people: I aim for Monday through Friday, but it is possible that I don't post for a couple weeks and then, in a furious swipe of blogging vengeance, do three posts a day for a week. These ocurrences, however, should be scarce and preceded by a warning.
• Style. I'll try to avoid profanity, not because I specially dislike it, but because I want to keep my writings centered on the qualities of the comic, not the way I write about them, and swears always stand out. Still, I won't be avoiding it altogether. I also have quite a peculiar style, but I think you'll come to enjoy it.
  
• Order. This is a difficult issue, and it's included here more as wishful thinking than factual truth. Originally, I thought I'd write in inverse alphabetical order (starting with xkcd and ending with 21 dead monkeys), but then a lot of the more obscure comics I read would be reviewed the first, thus with much more inexperience and ingenuity. I don't want to put you off reading certain comics just because of my sloppy writing, so I'll first review the big ones, the real heavyweights (Penny Arcade, PvP, Ctrl-Alt-Del, you know, the works), and then I'll start with the inverse alphabetical order. Because I'm weird like that.
• When I look over my list of bookmarks, it dawns on me that most comics I read are pretty mainstream, but that won't deter me from posting about them. In fact, I'll start posting about the most popular ones, as a sort of test run for my style and flow (see above). I need my blogging hand to get used to the rhythm.

And that's about all you need to know for now. Tomorrow: Innocence lost: On Penny Arcade