User:Mendror
Loserz is a webcomic created by Erik Schoenek, depicting the adventures of three high school pals and their acquaintances. Loserz debuted in 2001 with a four panel format and black and white pen and ink art, and ceased regular updates in the spring of 2007, when the creator moved on to other projects.
Characters[edit]
Jodie- Jodie is a bisexual teenaged girl. She is known for her promiscuous behavior, which may be in part a response to her absent father and workaholic mother. Because of her well-known promiscuity, Jodie is not popular at Navajo Valley High School. This does not generally bother her, as she is very close to her two best friends, and enjoys poking fun at the more popular girls. She is also an avid video game player, spending most of her paychecks from her part time job at the fictional fast food establishment, Cock-In-The-Box, on games.
Ben- Ben is a sensitive nerd who suffers from a strange form of social anxiety which causes him to blurt out inappropriate phrases when spoken to by an attractive girl. He is loyal to his best friends to a fault. Ben is perhaps best known for his catch phrase, "I do love a fork in the eye!" In later storylines, Ben becomes more outgoing and attempts to begin a relationship with ultra-popular Jesse, only to be crushed by the realization that she is a lesbian and attracted to Jodie. Ben is frustrated with his inability to get a steady girlfriend, though many comics subtly allude to compatibility between Ben and Jodie, to which both seem oblivious.
Eric- Eric is a chubby young man who tends to be the most sensible of the three central characters. He is also the first to obtain a driver's license and a car, which makes him the designated driver for all activities in which the three friends participate together. Eric's red baseball cap has a different phrase printed on the front in every panel, though it changes back to its original text any time Eric removes it from his head to investigate. Eric's goofy sense of humor attracts the attention of cute new transfer student Alice in a lengthy story arc, leading to a brief relationship during which Eric loses his virginity, faces prejudice due to the interracial nature of the relationship, and ultimately breaks it off with Alice after she fights with Jodie in a movie theater, having been led to believe that Eric was unfaithful.
Jesse- Jesse is a beautiful, wealthy redhead who seems to have everything when she is introduced in the same story arc that features Alice becoming attracted to Eric- she drives a sports car and is dating a popular jock over whom the other popular girls swoon. Unlike the rest of the popular crowd at Navajo Canyon, Jesse is nice to a fault and does not judge others by their popularity. She is also a virgin when introduced, despite pressure from her best friend to sleep with her boyfriend. As time passes, it becomes apparent that she is unhappy with her life, and the reason is revealed when Ben attempts to ask her on a date; she sees Ben as a friend and wants him to help her reveal her feelings for Jodie! Despite Jodie's best efforts, Jesse's charms are overpowering, and Jodie finds herself sleeping with Jesse, which leads to feelings of guilt and a sobbing confession to Ben.
Alice- Alice is another member of the popular crowd, throwing parties at her parents' home and endearing herself to the entire school shortly after transferring in from elsewhere. Alice is also the only African American character who appears regularly. Alice is attracted to Eric's silly antics at one of her parties and enters into a short relationship with him, described earlier. After their breakup, Alice largely disappears from the comic, though she makes a cameo appearance occasionally.
Carrie- Carrie is the vapid and conniving popular girl, determined to preserve the status quo at Navajo Canyon by preventing her crowd from mixing with the nerds. She is the mastermind behind the fiasco leading to Alice's breakup with Eric, planting seeds of doubt of Eric's loyalty in Alice's mind and exploiting Jodie's bad reputation to her own advantage. Despite her cold exterior and harsh behavior, Jesse's relationship with Carrie reveals another side to her- she truly seems to care about Jesse's well being, even if her actions are misguided and her homophobia hurts Jesse's feelings. She is also secretly a Sailor Moon fan.
Adam- Adam is the popular playboy of Navajo Canyon High School. He has dated or slept with most of the prettier girls in school at some point, and is known for his uncanny ability to charm nearly any female- Alice and Jesse are the only girls that appear able to resist him. He is also a roleplaying game and tabletop RPG fan, playing with Ben, Eric, and Jodie in secret until his nerdy tendencies are revealed at a party, at which point he embraces his geeky side and loses no face in the eyes of the popular crowd. Though no details are given, the comic occasionally alludes to a past relationship between Jodie and Adam.
Recognition, Awards, and Fan Tributes[edit]
Loserz was named the 25th Best Webcomic of All Time by Major Spoilers, and is recognized by Comixpedia and The Webcomic List.
A fan going by the pseudonym of Yan Stofurst animated one of the Loserz comics in French on November 30, 2005 as a gift to the artist. Yan Stofurst has announced plans to continue by animating more comics and using English voice acting. In addition, a great deal of fanart has been created for the comic, which was displayed on the website until a server error caused much of it to be lost. Many pieces of fanart can still be found on the Loserz forum.