COMIC QUESTIONS Consumer Gods? Yes, consumer gods. Actually it’s more of a consumer god and a very long and confusing story. One bored night I’m talking about a local mall that had almost completely closed, the only department store left and almost all the stores had jumped ship too. The entire downstairs of the mall with a large fountain had been left derelict and we joked that an all consuming god was responsible eating everything it came in contact with. *cough* somehow one of our friends cd player became the consumer god, something about how when you turned off the lights it quite clearly had a face. Why is the comic named Consumer Gods? Not a clue. In the original version the consumer god was one of the characters but he was quickly dropped. It seems all webcomics have that home appliance bent on destroying humanity and well, it was really lame. Can I download the original comic? Not anymore! What is the comic about? The original comic was about Dave’s life. It was a twisted version of my everyday life that was needlessly complicated and tried very hard to be epic and failed. The new comic is about a group of urban explorers in the fictional Sterling City. What happened to the plot? As of issue 96 the continuous plot has been dropped. Can I be in the comic? You’re not the first to ask. And let me say this… if you appear in the comic it is a very rare thing indeed, the characters are not real and any similarities to real people are pure coincidence. In the first comic many real explorers appeared and I do have plans for certain explorers to make an appearance in this version, but bugging me about this won’t get you in the comic any faster. However I have done sketches for people who just want to a cartoon version of them selves... When does the comic update? Tuesday's and Friday's (though sometimes it just doesn't happen). There's an RSS Feed if you want as well. I am also the artist for Digital Purgatory which updates on Monday's. What happened to Digital Purgatory? Ask Nix, because I'm not really sure. URBAN EXPLORATION So what’s urban exploration? Urban exploration is the examination of anything off limits or ignored areas of our society - drains, abandoned buildings, utility tunnels, construction sites, any place that says: authorized personnel only. Urban exploration mostly stems from human curiosity some view it as a hobby where they go places they’re not supposed to go or as some kind of extreme sport. Who would do this kind of thing? Hmm… I would apparently. For the most part all my friends have either done it along side me before or are interested in the subject. Even my parents are interested in the hobby and ask me questions and address some concerns they have with my adventures. Another few thousand people across the internet also seem to do this, do a Google search on “urban exploration” and just see how many different websites show up. So what do you do exactly while in these off-limits areas? Every explorer seems to have their own unique approach to the hobby. Many take photos, either for their own collection or for art to be showcased in a gallery later. Others wander and take in their surroundings, some feel some ethereal connection to the buildings they trespass inside, and lastly some people just like the thrill of being somewhere they’re not supposed to be and try to push how far they can get before getting caught; anything for a laugh. Explorers do what ever feels right. Is urban exploration illegal? Yes, trespassing mostly. Most Urban explorers have ethics which prevent them from vandalizing, stealing, breaking or leaving any sign that they were in the buildings. The zine infiltration put it well by stating usufruct; the right to use and enjoy the profits and advantages of something belonging to another as long as the property is not damaged or altered in any way. This is where the whole “Take only photos, leave only footprints” thing came from. Usufruct does not prevent the fact that we are trespassing, we know we are trespassing and many explorers have been fined/arrested for it. On occasion explorers are charged for other illegal activities like: breaking and entering, burglary, attempted burglary, possession of burglary tools and even being arrested as terrorists. Have you ever been arrested for exploring? No. Should I explore? Not everyone is cut out for this hobby, but if you're willing to grab a flashlight and take some self-responsibility than go right ahead. I guarantee you’ll see your city from a different point of view, every decaying building you see will no longer be just some shit stain across the road but rather a mountain that must be climbed. I am not promoting the idea of you trashing, breaking into, vandalizing or setting an abandoned building on fire. Urban exploration is a mind-expanding hobby that encourages us to explore and learn about your surroundings. You get to avoid all the lines and see something beautiful with out an admission fee or a tour guide. Any other information I should know? The internet has a plethora of information regarding urban exploration, listed below is a list of useful reading material on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_exploration http://www.infiltration.org/ethics-warning.html http://www.infiltration.org/observations-abandoned.html http://www.infiltration.org/observations-drains.html http://www.infiltration.org/observations-hotels.html http://www.infiltration.org/observations-transit.html http://www.infiltration.org/observations-utility.html http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthreads.asp?fid=1&catid=120 http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthreads.asp?fid=1&catid=122 WEBSITE CONCERNS Are you ever going to print the comic? If there is a demmand I might. I've only ever had one or two people request this so obviously I don't see any reason. If you are interested in a print of any of the comics just email me and we'll work something out. Will there be a Consumer Gods forum? Maybe, I see no use in a forum board at this time – the comments box on the site seems to handle most of the comments from people reading the comic, if I see a need or demand for a forum board I’ll be sure to set one up. I also post regularily on UER and the Digital-Purgatory forums under the username Boffo. What's up with the different dates on the exploration logs? The date on the explorations page is when it was made publicly viewable and the date on the logs themselves is when the exploration occured. Why date things at all? It occurred to me when writing the logs that a lot of the information I'm providing would quickly become outdated, to prevent confusion for the readers I decided to date the stories at the bottom of the page. I then noticed that the order of the stories didn't make any sense, there were explorations from 2007 that were placed ahead of 2009, so I added the log's upload date to make sense of it all. How can I contact you? Questions, comments, complaints, or do you happen to live in the greater Toronto area and want to explore? Then send me a message: boffothegreat@gmail.com BACK