ABSTRACT
Homestuck (2009–2016) is, as the creator Andrew Hussie himself paraphrased it, a webcomic “made of pure internet” (O’Malley 2012, n.p., original emphasis). This notion refers not only to Homestuck’s sheer size and complexity—it consists of more than 8,000 pages containing various media formats—but also to the way the narrative, production, and reception of Homestuck have been shaped through digital technologies. On the one hand, the protagonists have to obey specific rules, such as a needlessly elaborate inventory system, while simultaneously playing Sburb, a dangerous superimposed sandbox game. On the other hand, the first chapters of Homestuck were mainly created on the basis of various suggestions by readers, relying on participation and game mechanics. This chapter argues, then, that Homestuck is not only influenced by videogames and their genre conventions but that the webcomic can also be understood as a playful yet critical appraisal of various aspects of gaming culture, digital technology, and fandom. Building on theories of metamedia storytelling and technostalgic memory, this analysis elaborates on obsolete internet cultures, such as outdated instant messaging services, and the ways in which Homestuck uses those to tell a story about coming of age in an ever more interconnected world.
