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:''This article is about Goats, the webcomic. For other uses, see Goat (disambiguation) . Goats is a Webcomic written and illustrated by Jonathan Rosenberg. It has been in existence since April 1 , 1997 . On April 03, 2006, after nine years drawing the strip, Rosenberg became a full-time cartoonist making his living drawing Goats. Goats follows the (loose) plot of Rosenberg's cartoon alter ego, along with his friend/drinking buddy Phillip, and a huge group of characters including animals, celebrities, space aliens and evil villains. Most of the strips are separated into story arcs, which have ''very'' widely varied, though still coherent, plots. Except for the time that the world was destroyed, all of the strips fit into one continuous timeline. The strip originally took place entirely in Manhattan , and mostly within either the main characters's apartment or their favorite bar (the Peculier, a genuine Bar in Manhattan, NY). After several years, however, the strip has expanded significantly; recent strip settings include Xibalba (the Mayan underworld), the psyche of the lovable Fish, and the infinite monkey dimension. CHARACTERS The current Goats.com site features seven separate pages of small character bios. Some noteable characters: ''Jon'': Technically the level-headed one, Jon is possessed of a wry sense of humor and seemingly limitless patience. In the beginning, many of the strips relied on mocking his pathetic life, but eventually he got the girl and became a respectable character. He always wears a thin black tie and drinks IPAs . You could sort of call him the main character, but the strip has effortlessly managed to ignore him for weeks (months?) at a time. ''Phillip'': Jon's drinking buddy, a programmer, very fond of Hefeweizen , and Swedish . Phillip views the world through the bottom of a glass that is permanently full of beer, and seems to be completely incapable of pursuing a logical train of thought, or even a coherent one. Nevertheless, this approach seems to pay off, as Phillip is a multi-millionaire, having invented "Sporkle" brand pork and apple drink, and the colour Blern. Has also successfully Overclocked a lemon. Also enjoys the life of a petty supervillain in the guise of the Chaos Pope. A member of the International League of Pedants. Known as "The Programmer" in many prophesies, he is to save the universe from ending on December 12 , 2012 . ''Toothgnip'': the Goat of the title, although actually something of a minor player of late. Was one of Thor 's chariot-pulling goats, and his name was created during a drunken conversation about Norse mythology. Until recently, he possessed the Panties of Potency, which gave him the power to pick up women in bars. He currently appears to have some other powers, granted by the Demon Fire of Xibalba, but they are still unclear. ''Diablo'': Originally, a satanic Chicken , introduced long ago to spice up the comic. Generally causes outrageous violence and mischief, but is still cute. Has been decapitated and dismembered a number of times (and, on one occasion, actually buried). Longtime poker buddies with a man who he calls Satan , but is actually named Stan , but makes convincingly good Hummus dip. ''Fish'': Once just a simple Goldfish who lived in a mug of beer, fish has evolved somewhat during the series, and has now become a hyperintelligent immortal cyborg assassin USB device. ''Neil and Bob'': Two immature, irresponsible, violent, lovable aliens. They have a spaceship which is powered by an engine which converts kittens into pop-tarts, and are the focus of the brilliant "Dungeons and Hamsters" strips. ''. His twin obsessions of vegetables and Fascism resulted in the creation of a sentient pea plant army which he directed towards Germany in an attempt to form the Fourth Reich. This nefarious scheme was foiled by the combined efforts of Diablo and his mentor Shazam Twix, a shotgun toting, hard drinking Ten Pin Bowler . Mendel's inclusion in the strip has been mentioned as an effort to make some use of Rosenberg's degree in Biology . BUSINESS MODEL Goats has thrived mostly on revenue from advertising and merchandise, especially T-shirts . As a "pioneer" of sorts in the web-comics industry, Rosenberg once experimented with Micropayments , and produced strong evidence that no business model involving them as a primary source of income could be feasible. Previously, "Premium" and "Super-Premium" services could be purchased which allowed access to extra content (including another Rosenberg comic, "Patent Pending", and a collection of bonus strips) for one year. These services have been discontinued indefinitely, although all the content is still on the site for previous customers. Those who would very much like to catch up on that content now seem to be out of luck. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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