Life of Riley (Web Comic): Difference between revisions

{{work}}

 

An old webcomic, now defunct, written by Aaron Sacharow and Dan Jaaren of ClanBOB fame. It depicts the adventures of Dan Jaaren, as he attempts to live his life in the midst of supernatural events and extraordinary circumstances. Fortunately, this is not difficult, because Dan is (a) a conduit, more powerful than any earthly being, channeling the power of the gods, and (b) a moron.

 

* [[All There in the Manual]]: A lot of characters are never properly introduced into the story, especially when all the Bobs show up. Since they are all actual members of the [[Clan BOB]] community, the comic sort of assumes you already know who they are.

* [[Ambiguously Brown]]: More ambiguous than usual with Cowkitty. Due to the art style, it's not clear if she has dark skin, or simply light brown fur.

* [[Badass]]: Gore. Among his list of accomplishments are sing beating and breaking the horns off of [[The Dragon|Jarris]], suplexing [[Big Bad|Jezebel]], and killing eleven of the fourteen vampires (all of whom were apparently older than him) who came to kill him (one got away, and two were finished off by Jasmine).

* [[Batman Gambit]]: Naoko used one to get Naisa to {{spoiler|kill her, as well as the entire organizations which was using her to find Source's Tear}}.

* [[Beat Still My Heart]]: Gore does this to HIMSELF to impress a girl. It doesn't work out very well.

* [[Big Bad]]: Jezebel. Later, {{spoiler|Lillith}}.

* [[Brick Joke]]: In a filler gag strip, Aaron admonishes Jone for breaking house rule # 467: "No area effect spells in the house." A whole story arc later, this [http://www.pyrocam.com/life-of-riley/comic.php?strip=372 comes up again].

* [[Butt Monkey]]: For a guy with incredible cosmic power, Dan sure gets jerked around a lot.

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: Jone seemed to fill no role in the early comics except to be Gore's [[Clingy Jealous Girl|crazy ex-girlfriend]]. Later, she turned out to be vitally connected to a major plot point.

* [[Chris Carter Effect]]: Partially due to the comic being [[Orphaned Series|orphaned]], a lot of plot points were never resolved or explained. Indeed, the last twenty or so comics give a lot of answes that actually just result in a lot more questions. Chief among them:

** Why is Gore so strong, and who is this mysterious individual he and Tess speak of? Is that the vampire that created him? And why does he look so different than all of the other vampires?

** How did Dan come back to life? Lillith suggests that he may be {{spoiler|the new Christ}}, but we don't get a definitive answer before the comic was abruptly dropped.

** Actually was directly addressed [http://www.pyrocam.com/life-of-riley/comic.php?strip=305 much later on].

* [[Clingy Jealous Girl]]: Jone, especially while Gore was still seeing Naisa.

* [[Cute Monster Girl]]: Jone.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Electric Pixie. Evil Dan is excellent [[Snark Bait]].

* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: Evil Dan shows us how it's done.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: Jezebel extracts the power sealed within Naisa by, apparently, making out with her. Both Dahn and Jone get pretty [[Squick|squicked out]].

* [[Driving Question]]: For a while, it was "What is the nature of Evil Dan's power?"

* [[Evil Twin]]: Played for laughs with Evil Dan, opposite of Good Dan. Both of them are morons.

* [[Expository Hairstyle Change]]: Happens a lot, although mostly to original characters (as opposed to those who are [[Self-Insert Fic|real life members]] of [[Clan BOB]].

* [[Gender Bender]]: Whenever either Dan changes "Stages," it happens to those around them.

* [[Genius Ditz]]: This trope is more or less the reason why Dan can go Stage 2.

* [[Half-Human Hybrid]]: Jone is half human, half succubus.

* [[Horny Devils]]: Subverted. Subverted. Both Jone and her mother Jezebel are succubi, but neither is ever shown to seduce anyone at all.

** It is implied, however, that Jezebel seduced Dahn before she [[Memory Gambit|regained her memory]]. It was to bring her over to her side, however, not to drain her energy or anything.

* [[Humans Are Special]]: Jezebel realizes this when Dan goes Stage 3, and promptly abandons her entire invasion attempt.

* [[Infinite Canvas]]: There's really no set size to the comics at all. Some are as short as one panel, while other can involve scrolling down a lot to read in their entirety.

* [[Invisible to Normals]]: Gore has an interesting variation. While not invisible, per se, normal people can't see that he's chalk white with pointy ears.

* [[Jive Turkey]]: Evil Dan, after attaining Stage 3.

* [[La Résistance]]: The Bobs become this when Jezebel invades, mobilizing with surprising speed and manpower.

'''Evil Dan:''' Like anyone is going to get that reference. }}

* [[Lighter and Softer]]: The Duel of the Dans is a story arc of complete zany nonsense, compared to the much more [[Cerebus Syndrome|dramatic]] stories that made up most of the comic.

* [[One-Hour Work Week]]: Pretty normal for a web comic, but none of the characters jobs are even MENTIONED, though needing money for rent comes up several times.

* [[One Steve Limit]]: Averted. Not only is there Good Dan and Evil Dan (aka, Blue Dan and Goatee Dan), we later meet a character named Daniel Escalante.

** Despite this the forum community continues, and still includes folks who appeared in the comic. Webcomics still play a role in the community, as they founded [[Planet BOB]].

* [[Our Angels Are Different]]: Starseeds.

* [[Our Demons Are Different]]: At least some of them, like Jone.

* [[Parental Abandonment]]: According to [http://www.pyrocam.com/life-of-riley/comic.php?strip=47 this] strip, Gore's dad (Al Gore), refused to acknowledge his existence, at least until it was convenient for him.

* [[Petting Zoo People]]: Two of the goddesses, Cowkitty and Jynk, are this.

* [[Power Dyes Your Hair]]: Stage 2 and Stage 3 apparently do this.

* [[Power Perversion Potential]]: Aaron and Steph at the end of [http://www.pyrocam.com/life-of-riley/comic.php?strip=252 this] comic.

* [[Running Gag]]: Dan blowing bubbles in the milk as a filler comic.

** Also, innocent bystanders having [[Gender Bender|their genders spontaneously reversed]] whenever one of the Dans enters Stage 2.

** "You're NOT Japanese!"

* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: Naisa, against Dahn's captors. {{spoiler|She [[Disproportionate Retribution|violently murders hordes of people]] just to get to Naoko.}} And keep in mind, she's a [[Our Angels Are Different|starseed]].

* [[Self-Deprecation]]: Dan is an interesting case. On the one hand, he's [[Canon Sue|the main character who weilds incredible cosmic power]], but on the other hand, he's an [[Butt Monkey|idiot who constantly gets dumped on]].

* [[Self-Insert Fic]]: the majority of the cast were based on real life folks who Dan and Aaron knew. One of the entire story arcs involved them gathering all the [[Fan Community Nickname|BOBs]] (real people from the community) to stop [[The Legions of Hell]].

* [[Serious Business]]: The first story arc revolves around the fate of the world being decided...by a paintball war. Later, the two Dans settle their differences with a Dance Dance Revolution duel.

* [[Shirtless Scene]]: Why, hello there, Gore.

* [[Start of Darkness]]: It's implied by narration that Naisa is starting to [[Star Wars|turn to the Dark Side]], with the pivotal point being when she {{spoiler|killed Naoko and everyone who worked in the underground facility}}.

* [[The American Civil War]]: Randomly referenced in a joke story arc before the comic succumbed to [[Cerebus Syndrome]].

* [[The Dragon]]: Jarris.

* [[The Legions of Hell]]

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: Three words: Death Death Revolution.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Naisa's [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]. {{spoiler|She slaughters hordes of people, including Naoko, who was merely a helpless tool in the organization's plan.}} Seriously, Naisa? You didn't think twice about {{spoiler|killing a quadrapalegic hooked up to a bunch of machines}}!?

* [[Unfazed Everyman]]: Aaron and William both play this role.

* [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]: Jone becomes this during the Jezebel invasion story arc. Although she herself has become a powerless mortal, her disipated energy is what allows her mother to manifest in the third dimension.

* [[Xanatos Gambit]]: Jezebel uses this after the goddesses sealed away a portion of her power in Naisa's collar. By accepting Dan's challenge, she bides her time so that she can regain enough power to finish her assault on earth, ''regardless of the outcome of the paintbrawl''. It doesn't work, however, since Dan effectively [[Take a Third Option|takes a third option]] by going Stage 3, scaring Jezebel into retreat.

[[Category:Horror Webcomics]]

[[Category:Embellished Webcomics]]