''VG Cats'' (short for ''Video Game Cats''"All About the Site"
''VG Cats''"Internet provides new way to get daily dose of funnies" '' The Rocket'
page 2
) is a

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...

written and drawn by Canadian

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Scott Ramsoomair. Published on its own website, it featured the adventures of a pair of

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

cats, who often played the roles of

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

s in popular video games that are parodied in the strip. Strips were usually presented in a large format and in full color. The author generally set Mondays as days for updating the comic; however, the update schedule had a reputation of being incredibly sporadic; he frequently mocked his tardiness in updating in various strips due to personal reasons, drawing nude drawings on Patreon and frequent convention appearances. As of March 2018, the site had approximately 380 comics listed in its main archives. Based on this archive alone, ''VG Cats'' averaged 25 comics a year while it was at its peak. During 2017-2018 that average has gone down to 5 comics a year. Ramsoomair updated the comic on May 22, 2020, adding a completely different website. Later changes included comic #381, which was planned to be released in February 2020, and the removal of ads, because he felt internet advertising had become "information peddling", stating that he " oesn'tthink I'm okay with what they are anymore". The comic is now very irregularly updated, with only 4 comics being posted since 2018, the most recent update being comic #384 on February 22, 2021. The ''VG Cats'' website also hosted ''Adventure Log'', a ''

Final Fantasy XI also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Squaresoft and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installment of the ''Final Fantasy ...

'' webcomic written and drawn by Ramsoomair, and ''Super Effective'',"''Super Effective''"
''VG Cats'' a webcomic parody of the

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

game series. ''Adventure Log'' has not been updated since 2008 and "Super Effective" has not been updated since 2014. The comic series often includes video game-based humor and satire targeting the video game industry."Geeks' favourite Web comics"
''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

''.

History

Ramsoomair said that he began the strip due to boredom at work; he created comics during his lunch breaks."NYCC 2008 VG Cats Interview"
''

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...

''. The first ''VG Cats'' strip was released on September 1, 2001. (His answer on the FAQ page said it was bad timing, probably in reference to the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

that happened that same month)FAQ
''VG Cats Prior to taking the VGCats.com domain, the comic was hosted at www.vgcats.cjb.net."''#01 Bad Bushrooms''"
''VG Cats'' For a period, ''VG Cats'' was affiliated with BuzzComix. During April 1 (

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

), Ramsoomair replaces the regular home page with fake pages, like a "Krug" page in 2003 or a Myspace profile for Solid Snake in 2007. In 2006, Ramsoomair made a strip depicting creatures from

Maxis Maxis is an American video game developer and a Division (business), division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts, EA in 1997. Maxi ...

' videogame

Spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

, and Maxis created a version of the strip replacing all the drawn characters with in-game versions, and sent him custom figurines of the creatures. In February 2022, Ramsoomair announced the end of the webcomic in a post on Patreon.

Development

Ramsoomair said that ''VGCats'' was "basically ... along the lines of

Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

." The comic originally focused on 2 gamers; Ramsoomair said by 2006 that within the preceding one to two years he began focusing upon parodies of video games instead of the two gamer format.

Characters

''VG Cats'' was not a plot driven comic, though there were several characters that were staples of the comic. Ramsoomair said that all of his characters "relate" to him "at some point.""Gonzo Gaming: An Interview with Scott Ramsoomair of ''VG Cats''"
. ''ComixTalk''.

Joystiq ''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 as part of the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs, now owned by AOL. It was AOL's primary video game blog, with sister blogs dealing with MMORPG gaming in general and the popular MMORPG ''W ...

has defined them as "adorable characters who feel most at home with violence, language, and sexual innuendo". Recurring characters in ''VG Cats'' include:

Aeris

Aeris was blue-eyed female cat with pink fur. She had a hot temper and lashed out at Leo frequently. Aeris was introduced on September 4, 2001 in Strip 2, "''Pika?''".

Leo Leonardo, The Third

Leo Leonardo, The Third was a green-eyed male cat with grey fur. Leo was named after one of Ramsoomair's real cats; Ramsoomair describes the association as "in name only." Ramsoomair euthanized the real-life cat Leo on July 19, 2010. Leo was introduced on September 4, 2001 in Strip 1, "''Feelin' Gassy''"."''#01: Feelin' Gassy''"
''VG Cats''. Retrieved February 13, 2009.

Pantsman

The

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

of Scott Ramsoomair, Pantsman is an incompetent

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

who concealed his identity by wearing trousers and sometimes

underpants Underpants are underwear worn on the lower body. In British English the term is often shortened to pants and refers to men’s clothing only. Types of underpants Long underpants Long underpants are the bottom half of a style of two-piece unde ...

on his head. His greatest weakness is vodka cooler, which causes him to drop his trousers and transform into "Peter Pantsless"."''#87: It's Lightish Red''"
''VG Cats'' He also wore a pair of jeans around his neck, to provide a two tailed

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

. He was introduced in Strip 37, "''I Like Bunnies''", to help explain the inconsistent updating of the comic.

Animated series

Chris Boe, a friend and associate of Ramsoomair, created an animated version of ''VG Cats''. Only the first half of the first episode, "''Episode 1: A Tale of Two Kitties''", has been produced, and was released on January 21, 2006. Boe wrote and animated the episode.

Related comics

''Bad Mushrooms'', a

sprite comic Sprite comics are webcomics that consist primarily of computer sprites from video games. Art assets are ripped from various classic games such as '' Mega Man'' and '' Sonic the Hedgehog'', are edited and combined by amateur cartoonists, and are ...

created by Ramsoomair prior to the creation of ''VG Cats'', is hosted on VGCats.com. '' Adventure Log'', the official ''Final Fantasy XI'' webcomic written and drawn by Ramsoomair. It has not been updated since 2008. ''Super Effective'', also done by Ramsoomair, began in April 2008 as a comic parody of the popular game series ''

''. It is also hosted on the VGCats website. It has not been updated since 2014.

VG Lewds

After comic #380 in 2018, Scott created a

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...

account for furry-themed

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

based around Leo and Aeris among other video game related characters titled ''VG Lewds''.''VG Cats'' On the same day as the aforementioned comic, Scott stated in a blog post that the site's advertising revenue was no longer able to sustain him financially, and asked his users to help "support me in this newest venture". Scott later disabled adverts on the ''VG Cats'' website altogether in 2020, citing ethical reasons. As of March 2022, the ''VG Lewds'' Patreon was shut down without comment.

Merchandise

In 2003, Ramsoomair designated

CafePress CafePress, Inc. is an American online retailer of stock and user- customized on-demand products. The company was founded in San Mateo, California, but is now headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky along with its production facility. In 2001, Cafe ...

as the provider of the ''VG Cats'' store; Ramsoomair soon ended the relationship with CafePress. On June 16, 2004 Ramsoomair announced that he established his store on Hyperion Press. Afterwards ZeStuff hosted the ''VG Cats'' Store. As of 2008 Shark Robot hosts the VGCats store. As of 2008, Ramsoomair is no longer affiliated with

, but it still sells ''VG Cats'' merchandise on its website.

Awards

''VG Cats'' has been nominated for several

Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards (WCCA) were annual awards in which established webcartoonists nominated and selected outstanding webcomics. The awards were held between 2001 and 2008, were mentioned in a ''The New York Times'' column on webco ...

, winning 2 awards in 2005 and 1 in 2006. *

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

: *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

: , , , *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

: Winner: , , , Winner: . Honorable mention: *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

: , Winner: *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: (finalist), (finalist), (finalist). *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

(finalist)

References

External links

''VG Cats'' web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vg Cats 2000s webcomics Internet properties established in 2001 Canadian webcomics Dayfree Press Parody webcomics Short form webcomics Video game webcomics Webcomics in print Web Cartoonists' Choice Award winners Fictional cats 2001 webcomic debuts Canadian comedy websites Furry fandom