Sev Wide Web
Encyclopedia
The Sev Wide Web is an Australia
n cartoon site by John Cook, who is known to fans simply as "JC". It features parodies
of science fiction
television program
s and film
s, as well as more conventional cartoon concepts. His webcomic
s are unconventional in that Cook draws and writes all but the punchline
s. Many comic ideas also come from fans of this site. He then hosts competition
s where readers send in their own punchlines, and then vote for winners on IRC (or, more recently, web-based voting, when there were too few people in IRC to vote). There are new strips every week.
In the past, Cook allowed punchlines to be submitted directly from anyone on the Internet, but recently, he has changed the way the site works. Now, only people with accounts can submit punchlines. However, since account creation is free, this is not much of a hurdle to leap for most people. Creating an account also prevents someone from posing as another person by simply typing the same name in the box.
Like many parody sites, the humor derives from fans' love for the franchise and often punchlines reflect more the contrasting intentions and obligations of writers and network executives, rather than the series itself. Fans of the site are termed Sevilians http://sevilians.sev.com.au/.
Sev comics are also printed in the Adelaide Sunday Mail, Fiji Times & Herald
, The Cairns Post
, S-press http://www.spress.com.au/, and AZ
Weekly http://www.azweeklymagazine.com/. They have been formerly printed in the Dalby
Herald http://www.dalbyherald.com.au/, Gympie
Times http://www.gympietimes.com.au/, Weipa
Bulletin http://www.weipa.biz/section/41.html, and Milton
-Ulladulla
Express. http://forum.sev.com.au/thread.php?ThreadId=522
Due to server loads and bandwidth issues, a subscription service was enacted on April 1, 2005. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=2140 (When it was enacted, it was thought to be an April Fool's Day joke by some.) To view most of the cartoons on the site, users must register and pay a fee. The memberships cost A$
15.00 (around 9 Euro
or USD
11) per 12 months.
Memberships are also available as a bonus when merchandise is bought from the Sev Shop http://www.sev.com.au/sevshop/.
Cartoons from the past month are free for viewing. There is also an "On This Day" page, where cartoons that were done in past years on the current day are shown for free.
The subscription service also provides access to thousands of user comments on cartoons, and four exclusive subscriber cartoon storylines.
On April 6, 2006, Cook added another perk to subscribing. Cook will now draw caricature
s of new subscribers or of members updating their subscriptions. These caricatures can be used as avatars
on the site. Cook will also send you the original drawings, if you request them. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=2853
On October 20, 2006, Cook added a Sev Wiki
http://wiki.sev.com.au/ to the site. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=3231
On February 17, 2010, Cook made the decision to virtually shut down the Sev site for good, aside from the occasional A Time to Laugh cartoon. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=4416 This decision was not unexpected, since the site had been floundering for the previous year and a half, with updates being late and missed. Cook originally was caught up working on Cricket Blog, a cricket
website, but his interests turned towards Skeptical Science, a site about information on global warming
. This site was said to "take over [his] life so dramatically" that all other projects, including Sev, Cricket Blog, and a site dedicated to web programming, are now "sorely neglected." The decision was preceded by fans complaining on the Discussion Board about Cook's "hobby" taking over, and it rose to the level of "personal attacks" on Cook. Cook denies any of the accusations in these attacks. Cook apologizes to all who enjoyed his cartoons over the years that they won't be getting any more. Cook's critics are disappointed in his decision, as shown by the following quote:
The everyday comics were discontinued as separate cartoons in 2003, but are currently being mixed together in the MiscSevlaneous Contest http://contests.sev.com.au/index.php?contestid=5.
As the majority of Sevilians do not come from cricket-playing countries, Wicket 2 Wicket is not widely popular. Cook says he began the Sev cartoons for his own enjoyment, and will continue to do Wicket 2 Wicket because he enjoys it.
Cook made some decisions in The Pits cartoon that were considered controversial by many Sevilians. The decisions in question were having Madeline become pregnant http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=p404 and killing off
the major character of Lance http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=p419. Both have been pointed to by Sevilians as a point where the comic is jumping the shark
and have caused a boycott
on voting in the Pits competition. However, with the resurrection of the Lance character http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=p434, opinions may or may not change.
Old original comics Cook created are published in "The Vault," http://cartoons.sev.com.au/The-Vault/. These are often old, uncolored comics from before the Sev Wide Web was formed.
For a short time, Cook also published a superhero contest where he added a new parody superhero each week.
Cook also started another movie called Dognabit, which involved dogs breaking into a museum to steal a valuable collar. It was to be similar in production to Pus in Boots, but production on it has stalled due to lack of money, coordination, and interest.
After some time, all three forums were moved over to a new server, hosted by Johan Draaisma, long-time Sevilian. This worked out well for several years, primarily because, if the Sev site went down, Sevilians could still communicate with each other. The SB also gained several features to distinguish it from the other two boards, most notably the Colored Names. Colored Names provided a bit of color to the board and were originally given out only to special people or in infrequent contests.
However, slowly, the membership SB began to migrate away from that of the DB and IB. There was considerable overlap in who posted in all three places, but there were also many people on the SB that had never been to the Sev site itself, didn't go to it frequently, or had stopped going due to certain decisions made on certain issues. Some considerable deliberation was made into what defined a "Sevilian." Was someone who went to SB frequently, but never went to the Sev site still a Sevilian? Was the SB actually still a part of Sev as a whole? The issue was never completely resolved.
On July 28, 2005, JC decided to move the DB and IB back over to the Sev site itself. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=2344 This furthered the gap between the SB and the other forums. This was also criticised by several Sevilians, because they viewed the new format of the forums as inferior to the previous version. Most Sevilians have since adjusted to the new format, though, even if they do not like it.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cartoon site by John Cook, who is known to fans simply as "JC". It features parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, as well as more conventional cartoon concepts. His webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
s are unconventional in that Cook draws and writes all but the punchline
Punch line
A punch line is the final part of a joke, comedy sketch, or profound statement, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny or to provoke laughter or thought from listeners...
s. Many comic ideas also come from fans of this site. He then hosts competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
s where readers send in their own punchlines, and then vote for winners on IRC (or, more recently, web-based voting, when there were too few people in IRC to vote). There are new strips every week.
In the past, Cook allowed punchlines to be submitted directly from anyone on the Internet, but recently, he has changed the way the site works. Now, only people with accounts can submit punchlines. However, since account creation is free, this is not much of a hurdle to leap for most people. Creating an account also prevents someone from posing as another person by simply typing the same name in the box.
Like many parody sites, the humor derives from fans' love for the franchise and often punchlines reflect more the contrasting intentions and obligations of writers and network executives, rather than the series itself. Fans of the site are termed Sevilians http://sevilians.sev.com.au/.
Sev comics are also printed in the Adelaide Sunday Mail, Fiji Times & Herald
Fiji Times
The Fiji Times is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating....
, The Cairns Post
The Cairns Post
The Cairns Post is a major News Corporation newspaper in Far North Queensland that exclusively serves the Cairns area. It has daily coverage on local, state, national and world news, plus a wide range of sections and liftouts covering health, beauty, cars and lifestyle.It is the oldest business in...
, S-press http://www.spress.com.au/, and AZ
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
Weekly http://www.azweeklymagazine.com/. They have been formerly printed in the Dalby
Dalby, Queensland
Dalby is a town in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, and is located approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane, at the junction of the Warrego, Moonie and Bunya Highways. Dalby is the administrative centre of the Western Downs Region and the centre of Australia's richest...
Herald http://www.dalbyherald.com.au/, Gympie
Gympie
Gympie may refer to:* Gympie, a city in Queensland, Australia** Gympie Airport** Electoral district of Gympie** Gympie Region, its local government authority* Gympie Gympie , a stinging plant...
Times http://www.gympietimes.com.au/, Weipa
Weipa, Queensland
Weipa is the largest town on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Weipa had a population of 2,830; the largest community on Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast...
Bulletin http://www.weipa.biz/section/41.html, and Milton
Milton, New South Wales
Milton is a town in the City of Shoalhaven on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia, not far from Ulladulla. It was founded in the middle of the 19th century...
-Ulladulla
Ulladulla, New South Wales
Ulladulla is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven local government area. It is on the Princes Highway, about half way between the larger towns of Batemans Bay to the south and Nowra to the north and approximately 179 km south of Sydney...
Express. http://forum.sev.com.au/thread.php?ThreadId=522
Due to server loads and bandwidth issues, a subscription service was enacted on April 1, 2005. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=2140 (When it was enacted, it was thought to be an April Fool's Day joke by some.) To view most of the cartoons on the site, users must register and pay a fee. The memberships cost A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
15.00 (around 9 Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
or USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
11) per 12 months.
Memberships are also available as a bonus when merchandise is bought from the Sev Shop http://www.sev.com.au/sevshop/.
Cartoons from the past month are free for viewing. There is also an "On This Day" page, where cartoons that were done in past years on the current day are shown for free.
The subscription service also provides access to thousands of user comments on cartoons, and four exclusive subscriber cartoon storylines.
On April 6, 2006, Cook added another perk to subscribing. Cook will now draw caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s of new subscribers or of members updating their subscriptions. These caricatures can be used as avatars
Avatar (virtual reality)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
on the site. Cook will also send you the original drawings, if you request them. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=2853
On October 20, 2006, Cook added a Sev Wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
http://wiki.sev.com.au/ to the site. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=3231
On February 17, 2010, Cook made the decision to virtually shut down the Sev site for good, aside from the occasional A Time to Laugh cartoon. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=4416 This decision was not unexpected, since the site had been floundering for the previous year and a half, with updates being late and missed. Cook originally was caught up working on Cricket Blog, a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
website, but his interests turned towards Skeptical Science, a site about information on global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. This site was said to "take over [his] life so dramatically" that all other projects, including Sev, Cricket Blog, and a site dedicated to web programming, are now "sorely neglected." The decision was preceded by fans complaining on the Discussion Board about Cook's "hobby" taking over, and it rose to the level of "personal attacks" on Cook. Cook denies any of the accusations in these attacks. Cook apologizes to all who enjoyed his cartoons over the years that they won't be getting any more. Cook's critics are disappointed in his decision, as shown by the following quote:
Comics
There are five major groups of comics on Sev Wide Web: Sev Space comics, The Pits, Twist, Terrible Twos, and Others.Sev Space
Sev Space http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sev-Space/ is the science fiction parody section of the site. Some of the more notable cartoons in this section are:- Sev Trek http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sev-Space/Sev-Trek/- A parody of Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
and one of the original cartoons on the site. Every cartoon series from Jurassic TrekStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
to EnterforaprizeStar Trek: EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
. - Sev WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sev-Space/Sev-Wars/ - Fraud of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sev-Space/Fraud-of-the-Rings/ - Sevylon 5Babylon 5Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sev-Space/Sevylon-5/ - Bluffy http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sev-Space/Bluffy/
- Hairy PlopperHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sev-Space/Hairy-Plopper/ - The Sev FilesThe X-FilesThe X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sev-Space/Sev-Files/ - Sunday comics, which are drawn in the larger format common to Sunday newspapers
Everyday comics
Sev Wide Web hosts four everyday comics:- The Pits http://cartoons.sev.com.au/The-Pits/, originally a story about three male collegeCollegeA college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
students who share a dorm roomDormitoryA dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
, it has moved into a house when Herman got married to Madeline. They include:- Herman, the computer nerdNerdNerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
. (He is Cook's own alter egoAlter egoAn alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
). - Lance, the studly ladies' man.
- Wayne, the lazy slobSlobSlob may refer to:* SLOB is a memory allocation mechanism in Linux Kernel that suffers from internal fragmentation.* "Slob", 2002 song by Weezer from their album, Maladroit* SLOB, Ian Anderson album, The Secret Language of Birds...
with a "who cares?" attitude and poor hygiene. - Madeline (a.k.a. Burger Girl), originally a small character, turned into Herman's neat-freak wife.
- Herman, the computer nerd
- Twist http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Twist/, a humorous cartoon with no inherent theme or setting. Similar to Gary LarsonGary LarsonGary Larson is the creator of The Far Side, a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to newspapers for 15 years. The series ended with Larson's retirement on January 1, 1995. His 23 books of collected cartoons have combined sales of more than 45 million...
's The Far SideThe Far SideThe Far Side is a popular single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from January 1, 1980, to January 1, 1995. Its surrealistic humor is often based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, an anthropomorphic view of the world,...
. - Terrible Twos http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Terrible-Twos/, a comic about Cook's infantInfantA newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
daughter, Gaby. - Wicket 2 Wicket http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Wicket-2-Wicket/, an occasional cartoon about cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Cricket-cartoons/
The everyday comics were discontinued as separate cartoons in 2003, but are currently being mixed together in the MiscSevlaneous Contest http://contests.sev.com.au/index.php?contestid=5.
As the majority of Sevilians do not come from cricket-playing countries, Wicket 2 Wicket is not widely popular. Cook says he began the Sev cartoons for his own enjoyment, and will continue to do Wicket 2 Wicket because he enjoys it.
Cook made some decisions in The Pits cartoon that were considered controversial by many Sevilians. The decisions in question were having Madeline become pregnant http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=p404 and killing off
Comic book death
In the comic book fan community, the apparent death and subsequent return of a long-running character is often called a comic book death. While death is a serious subject, a comic book death is generally not taken seriously and is rarely permanent or meaningful...
the major character of Lance http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=p419. Both have been pointed to by Sevilians as a point where the comic is jumping the shark
Jumping the shark
Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery....
and have caused a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
on voting in the Pits competition. However, with the resurrection of the Lance character http://cartoons.sev.com.au/archivepage.php?cartoonid=p434, opinions may or may not change.
Other Comics
There was also the Sevloid Chronicles http://cartoons.sev.com.au/Sevloid-Chronicles/ which was a Science Fiction storyline of John Cook's invention.Old original comics Cook created are published in "The Vault," http://cartoons.sev.com.au/The-Vault/. These are often old, uncolored comics from before the Sev Wide Web was formed.
For a short time, Cook also published a superhero contest where he added a new parody superhero each week.
Videos
The Sev Wide Web has spawned a motion picture with 3D cartoon graphics. It is called Sev Trek: Pus in Boots, and it is available at the Sev Shop. It is a truly international effort and unique in that it was coordinated all through the Internet. The contributors lived in many different countries and never met with each other in person to do the movie.Cook also started another movie called Dognabit, which involved dogs breaking into a museum to steal a valuable collar. It was to be similar in production to Pus in Boots, but production on it has stalled due to lack of money, coordination, and interest.
Forums
When first opened, the Discussion Board (DB) was hosted on the Sev site itself. It was created as a place for Sevilians to talk to JC and each other about the comics, the shows behind the comics, the site, and other things. The Ideas Board (IB) was created as a place for ideas to be submitted to JC. When non-site-related content between Sevilians began to overrun the DB, a new forum was created, called the Sevilian Board (SB). It was stated that posts relating to the Sev site itself were to go on the DB, ideas on the IB, and anything else on the SB.After some time, all three forums were moved over to a new server, hosted by Johan Draaisma, long-time Sevilian. This worked out well for several years, primarily because, if the Sev site went down, Sevilians could still communicate with each other. The SB also gained several features to distinguish it from the other two boards, most notably the Colored Names. Colored Names provided a bit of color to the board and were originally given out only to special people or in infrequent contests.
However, slowly, the membership SB began to migrate away from that of the DB and IB. There was considerable overlap in who posted in all three places, but there were also many people on the SB that had never been to the Sev site itself, didn't go to it frequently, or had stopped going due to certain decisions made on certain issues. Some considerable deliberation was made into what defined a "Sevilian." Was someone who went to SB frequently, but never went to the Sev site still a Sevilian? Was the SB actually still a part of Sev as a whole? The issue was never completely resolved.
On July 28, 2005, JC decided to move the DB and IB back over to the Sev site itself. http://www.sev.com.au/news.php?articleid=2344 This furthered the gap between the SB and the other forums. This was also criticised by several Sevilians, because they viewed the new format of the forums as inferior to the previous version. Most Sevilians have since adjusted to the new format, though, even if they do not like it.
External links
- Sev Wide Web
- German Sevspace For the German translations