Author(s) Launch date September 24, 1993 Genre(s) Comedy | Current status / schedule Concluded End date June 9, 2006 | |
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Website www.ibiblio.org/Dave/drfun.html Similar Argon Zark!, THE Fox, Kevin and Kell, Rogues of Clwyd‑Rhan, Polymer City Chronicles | ||
Doctor Fun was a webcomic by David Farley, which ran from September 24, 1993 to June 9, 2006. It may have been the first popular episodic World Wide Web comic strip. Doctor Fun was part of United Media's website from 1995 until 2003, and it eventually concluded in 2006. The webcomic is often compared to The Far Side, being a series of one-panel gags.
Contents
History
Doctor Fun may have been the first popular episodic World Wide Web comic. It was preceded by Witches and Stitches which was distributed via CompuServe in 1985, and Where the Buffalo Roam which was distributed via Usenet in 1991. Dr. Fun's appearance on the World Wide Web was noted by the NCSA, creator of the Mosaic web browser, as "a major breakthrough for the Web" in 1993. Farley started uploading Doctor Fun while working as a computer technician for the library system at the University of Chicago. At the time, Farley would do the pages of his webcomic "in batches", though it took about an evening to finish each color cartoon.
In 1995, Doctor Fun became part of United Media's website. By 2003, Farley's contract with United Media had "fallen through." Farley stated in 2005 that he hoped to keep doing Doctor Fun for at least ten years in total, or 520 weeks. On June 9, 2006, after posting the final comic of his 520th week, he announced on the Doctor Fun page that "Doctor Fun is over," concluding the series.
Content
Most often compared to The Far Side, Doctor Fun was a series of bizarre one-panel gags. Topics ranged from the mundane to the obscure. Farley reported that, based on the email he received, most readers were of a similar age to him and worked with computers, but that there were also a "disproportionate amount" of nurses. Doctor Fun made various references to science and pop culture and was described by The Houston Chronicle to have a "universal appeal" compared to coeval webcomic NetBoy.
