BANGARANG, PETER PAN Filipino-American actor Dante Basco (Hook, Avatar: the Last Airbender) is a notable fan of the webcomic and has been referenced in it, with a character inspired by him even being added into the story later on By Poch Eulalia

Every year on April 13, Internet users gather together in a large group to celebrate the birth of a webcomic known as Homestuck.

Created by American artist Andrew Hussie, Homestuck was released as the fourth part of his collection of webcomics, MS Paint Adventures, on April 13, 2009. The story centers around 13-year-old John Egbert and his online friends (Rose Lalonde, Dave Strider, and Jade Harley) who accidentally caused the end of the world after installing a video game.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED The story of Homestuck began on April 13, 2009, with the first panel introducing its main character John Egbert It ran from 2009 up to 2016, amassing over 8,000 pages and an estimate of over 1.2 million words in its entirety. At its peak, the website recorded over 600,000 unique readers a day waiting eagerly for Hussie’s daily panel uploads. The PBS Idea Channel has gone so far as to call it the “Ulysses of the Internet,” Irish writer James Jouce’s Ulysses novel, which as over 732 pages and 265,222 words. With quite an intimidating number of words and pages, how exactly did Homestuck win over the hearts of millions on a platform that glorifies short-form content? \!\[4\.jpg\]\(https://storage\.googleapis\.com/mb\-mkt\-neo\-prod\-1\-uploads/4\_4687b2add3/4\_4687b2add3\.jpg\)GOOD GROUP, BEST FAMILY Homestuck Philippines (HSPH) reached nearly 2,000 members at the height of its popularity and often held meetups and events for local fans of the webcomic to meet and share their enthusiasm about it (Photo credit: Homestuck Philippines Facebook) While most of it is presented as a single drawing or animated gif alongside a big wall of text emulating early instant message logs, several pages include animated sequences, music, and browser games that users can watch and play through. Much of its dialogue was written to give a unique voice to each of its characters, who were also designed with a simple look that allowed readers to insert themselves easily into their perspective. It felt akin to the classic Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks published by Bantam Books, with each page giving users quite the adventure to trail through. Homestuck has also attracted some notable fans over the years, such as Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley and former Bluey art director Catriona Drummond. \!\[bangarang\.jpg\]\(https://storage\.googleapis\.com/mb\-mkt\-neo\-prod\-1\-uploads/bangarang\_be7e6363c4/bangarang\_be7e6363c4\.jpg\)THE MAN BEHIND THE STORY American artist Andrew Hussie created Homestuck as the fourth part of his collection of webcomics, MS Paint Adventures Homestuck was considered a multimedia experience, with a number of its pages presented in an interactive manner. Video game programmer Toby Fox, best known for creating the indie game sensation Undertale, is also an avid fan. He even contributed to the webcomic by creating most of its music. Perhaps its most notable fan though is Filipino-American actor Dante Basco, who is best known for playing the leader of the Lost Boys, Rufio, from the 1991 film Hook starring Robin Williams and voicing Zuko from the popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Hussie even created a character in Basco’s honor, with the character heavily resembling the Rufio character. Over time, it has shown that its greatest strength lies in its community, with many of its fans forming groups worldwide to bond over their love of Homestuck. Even here, Homestuck found itself quite the following with the Facebook group Homestuck Philippines reaching nearly 2,000 members at the height of its popularity. I remember meeting all sorts of fans and befriending other members whenever they would host events and meet-ups for us to hang out and share our love for the webcomic. Today, Homestuck celebrates 14 years since its creation. Even years after its official end, it’s clear that its legacy is cemented within Internet history.