| 1/0 | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Mason Williams |
| Website | http://www.undefined.net/1/0 |
| Current status / schedule | Completed |
| Launch date | August 27, 2000 |
| End date | May 26, 2003 |
1/0 (also One over Zero) is a webcomic created by Mason Williams (pseudonymously known as "Tailsteak"). Its name is based on the mathematical concept of division by zero. It was one of the earliest webcomics to treat breaking the fourth wall as a central concept — its author interacts with the characters as they interact with each other.[1] Tailsteak started with the goal of drawing at least one thousand comic strips,[2] and succeeded with the comic running exactly one thousand strips (actually 1003 including the unnumbered April fools strips), daily from August 27, 2000 to May 26, 2003. It was nominated for the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards category Best Other Genre Comic in both 2001 and 2002 and for Best Writing, Best Minimalist Comic in 2002.[3]
Contents |
1/0 begins with the author quoting the Bible as saying "Let there be light!" He thus proceeds to steal the throwaway character Barnacle Jones from the webcomic Absolute Tripe. Other characters evolve through Tailsteak's manipulation of this new world that Mr. Jones finds himself in.
Most of the characters are fully aware that they are fictional, and indeed frequently converse with Tailsteak himself—he was the only character who remained in the comic from the beginning and until the end as an invisible, godlike entity who communicated with the other characters and the reader through text panels. To a greater degree than most works of fiction which lack fourth walls, 1/0 explores the nature of fictionality itself.[4] Characters create other characters, and even create their own miniature works of fiction, about which they have debates on such matters as whether it is immoral to inflict harm upon their own, meta-fictional characters. The first long-time character was "Junior," who was created from an eyeball of "Ribby," an anthropomorphic rib who in turn was created from one of Barnacle Jones' ribs. Later characters were similarly created from what was available to the characters. All the various character personalities in 1/0 over time became very separate from the author's personality, and what started as a comic without a purpose became a metaphysical study in religion and psychology, among other things. Tailsteak often tries to blur the line between fiction and reality by making the characters drastically different from himself, and at one point the characters all go on strike and refuse to move or talk until their demands are met.
1/0 is also noteworthy for its lack of backstory. The majority of the characters were created during the course of the story, and thus did not have character introductions in the traditional sense. They develop and evolve explicitly, without a past that has to be revealed to the reader.