Homestar Runner Likes the Web

Homestar Runner is ridiculously awesome….and so are the site’s creators.

Wired’s Scott Lewinski reports that Mike and Matt Chapman were courted by both Comedy Central and Cartoon Network to join the Adult Swim line-up, but turned down the offer to stay true to their web-based roots.

It’s easy to argue that the more-than-cult but not-quite-mainstream Strong Bad E-mails and Teen Girl Squad would look natural alongside Robot Chicken, but The Brothers Chaps opted to stick with the freedom and creativity they’ve enjoyed since launching the site in 2000.  Brother Matt says, “if we were doing our show there, we’d still have producers telling us what to do, what to change, what to write, etc. We love the control and the immediacy that writing and creating cartoons on the website brings us. As the ideas come, we can do whatever our whim is that week.”

It’s an inspiring choice, and noteworthy because it highlights the inherent advantages of internet distribution.  The web’s no longer only a stepping-stone for TV or film, but  a viable business model where quality, dynamic programming can generate real revenue (Homestar Runner sells enough merchandise to keep its creators employed full-time). 

Prom Queen greenlights a second season, Next New Networks launches new web channels almost weekly, and Mike and Matt Chapman stay on the web.  There’s a change in the air, and it ain’t just The Poopsmith.