Internet Picture Serials

The internet has really given people a new lease on their creative life. They can create blogs, make their own videos, podcasts, Twitter characters and stories (EDITED years later: not to mention trans-media storytelling), anything, really! Storytelling has really evolved, and people have been taking advantage of it!

For those of you who love blogging, I’m sure some of you like me have dreamed about creating a made-up story in installments on a blog. It’s like a serial story in a magazine without the subscription fee ^_^ Many people have gone out and done just that, and it makes it even more fun when they include pictures. As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and often these stories wouldn’t be the same without them. Here are two of my favorite picture serials that really stand out (hopefully there will be more installments as I come across more!).

My Milk Toof

ickle and Lardee (yup, ickle isn’t capitalized) are two little milk teef, uh…teeth*, who get into slice of life scrapes and adventures, which their caretaker Inhae captures on film. ickle is the brains, and Lardee has a soft spot for food.

Inhae Lee has an amazing camera and a wonderful talent for capturing ickle and Lardee’s antics. Her attention to detail is amazing. So much goes into creating each photo that you often need to look twice to catch all the nuances. And if that weren’t enough, she created her little milk toof pals HERSELF. They are “polymer clay, painted with acrylics, and finished with a varnish” (Update from Inhae, where you can learn more about the series’ creation and plans).

She doesn’t update all the time, but when she does it’s so worth the wait! She is amazing at capturing the charmingly ordinary and the cute in everything!

As for favorite entries, here’s an adorable story where they try to grow taller, and another where they try their knack at baking. There is a Halloween and a Christmas special in there too, and she often has one-photo installments that give a snapshot of ickle and Lardee at work or play. It’s a testament to Inhae as an artist and as a storyteller. She even has a self-published children’s book of ickle and Lardee’s Grand Adventure. It had a limited run, so people are still waiting for her to get another batch together to sell!

Perfectly clean and adorable, My Milk Toof is a wonder serial that’s great for all ages.

Secret Life of Dolls

1) “It’s this girl who usually writes about movies and books and stuff but she also likes dolls, who are generally movie-related, and she wrote about the dolls a couple of times in passing as if they were real, and then one day she started writing about them picking out other dolls because she thought it was funny, and then it developed into a multi-fandom soap opera that she writes for fun, and some of the dolls are in love with each other and some of the others want to kill each other and one of them has a My Little Pony ranch. He’s a sparklepire!”
2) “It’s this girl and she’s out of her mind, basically.”

~ Cleolinda Jones, How to Explain Secret Life

I first became a fan of Cleolinda Jones because of her Movies in 15 Minutes, which she posts at her livejournal, and has published in a real book, too. Actually, that is where she posts everything, so the best way to find what you’re looking for is to search her tags. She’s more of a mature storyteller (more grown-up romance themes,and some swearing), not really intended for kids, but older fans (particularly Lord of the Rings, as she has a NUMBER of LoTR dolls) will probably really enjoy the dolls’ antics and Cleo’s funny characterizations. She’s a HYSTERICAL writer, and I recommend her Movies in 15 Minutes heartily.

It’s so hard to pick out a certain Doll story for you, but I suppose it’s a good idea to start at the beginning to know what on earth I’m talking about. Here’s what happens when action figure Bella Swann joins the cast of characters. There are already 2 Edwards at this point…things are interesting. You can read through all of it here under the Secret Life of Dolls tags. A LOT more information about Cleolinda and her dollies can be found at her TVtropes page.

What is it about storytelling through pictures that is so captivating to me? I’ve been thinking of making my own little series ever since I became addicted to The Secret Life of Dolls a few years back, but I’ve had neither time nor inspiration.

However, I recently decided I was going to give it a go, just to satiate my curiosity and to actually DO something instead of dreaming about it. So, allow me to introduce Wendy, and her serial picture blog, which is unfortunately deleted 🙁