My Nemesis

My Nemesis is a webcomic written and illustrated by Ken Krekeler. Launched in July of 2005, My Nemesis is updated several times weekly. The strip opens with Kal, the main character, deciding to create the world’s most popular webcomic, all to become incredibly wealthy and famous. Early strips featured slices of Kal’s life or jokes rooted in pop culture, but as the series and art evolved, character-driven multi-strip story arcs became the highlight of My Nemesis.

Characters

 * Kal: Kal is the star of My Nemesis, and incidentally his own universe.  Motivated by fame and fortune, Kal walks through life serving his own interests at the expense of those around him.  While much of My Nemesis seems rooted in reality, Kal rules over a futuristic city on the ocean known as Kaltopia, accessible through transporters.


 * Beth: The sole female regular character of the strip, Beth begins as Kal’s girlfriend.  The resolution to one of the first multi-strip story arcs involved Beth quietly leaving Kal.  Though absent for some time, Beth was still a presence and driving force of action in the series.  Recently, she returned and has become a regular presence in the strip once again.


 * Rob: Rob is Kal’s friend from high school.  He is a teacher, and is responsible for the technology Kal enjoys in Kaltopia.  He serves as a foil to Beth or Kal in many strips, and understands better than any other character what evils Kal is truly capable of achieving.


 * Gabe: Strong and silent, Gabe is Truman’s roommate.  They spend their days playing video games and smoking weed.


 * Truman: The consummate stoner, Truman’s role in the My Nemesis universe seems to be that of comic relief.

A more detailed and unique introduction to these characters and more can be found at the My Nemesis website.

Stories (Warning: Spoilers)

 * Early Strips (7/8/05 to 9/21/05): The series begins with Kal’s struggles to create his webcomic.  His exploits are set against a backdrop of the life of young twenty-somethings, video games, marijuana, and pop culture references.  Dissatisfied with public response, Kal disappears and Beth embarks on a quest to find him.  A vehicle to introduce more supporting characters, Beth visits Kal’s friends and is led back to Rob, who sends her to Kaltopia.  Kal and Beth reunite, and the strip briefly returns to stand-alone gags.  The last few strips introduce concepts utilized in the next story arc.


 * The Break Up (9/26/05 to 10/14/05): Bitter over the success of Ctrl+Alt+Del, Kal  hatches a plan to abduct creator Tim Buckley.  Rob is alerted to Kal’s plan by Kalbot, one of Kaltopia’s robot servants.  Intending to bring Beth to stop Kal, he instead arrives with a break up letter.  Kal abandons his plan and shuts down Kaltopia.


 * The Aftermath (10/17/05 to 11/30/05): Without Beth’s financial support, Kal is forced to move in with Rob.  Kal’s friends try to cheer him up, but he still feels the very unexpected break up.  A brief sub-story finds Kal and his friends in a crowded night club, where they have a chance encounter with Beth.  A hint of things to come, Kal begins a spiritual journey.


 * World Tour (12/02/05 to 2/8/06): Kal leaves to find himself, visiting various sites around the globe.  Rob is charged with maintaining Kal’s webcomic in his absence, and is surprised to find it growing in popularity.  Suddenly, Hollywood executives become very interested in the comic, forcing Rob to make a difficult choice.  Meanwhile, Kal becomes an apprentice of a Tibetan Wiseman, purging himself of his darkness.


 * Hollywood (2/10/06 to 7/5/06): Rob succumbs to temptation, Truman lands himself in jail, and Gabe is broke.  Kal returns a seemingly changed man and begins mending the fractured group.  Kal, Gabe, and Truman fly to Hollywood to deal with Rob, but find themselves facing a powerful menacing executive.  When the manipulation of Rob fails, Mr. Hollywood plays his trump card:  Beth.  This arc features higher quality art, a darker storyline, and fewer comedic moments.  Resolution comes when Kal is revealed to not quite be what everyone assumed he was.


 * Return to Kaltopia (7/9/06 to present): With Kal indirectly killing dozens of people, Rob vows that he must be stopped.  Beth reluctantly joins Kal’s friends as they embark to Kaltopia.