In the mid-90’s, the Internet was a very, very different place. Instead of Twitter, people were forced to log onto Usenet. Instead of Instagram, people shared grainy pictures made in MS Paint on America Online’s web service. And instead of DeviantArt, the World Wide Web had David Gonterman.
For someone not familiar with that name, David “Davey-kins Foxfire” Goterman was a man who seemed to pop up when you least expected it. Starting with his humble beginnings posting on AOL’s proprietary message boards, his early exploits in online roleplaying inspired what would follow: a number of fanfics and webcomics based in the worlds of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sailor Moon, and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, all with a thinly-veiled self-insert character in the center of the action. His trademark use of popular culture, mixed with his burgeoning interest in the furry fandom, plus a slice of his own political and social beliefs, created something that few could fully comprehend.
The sudden influx of Gonterworks in very specific fangroups did not result in the idolization that he sought, but instead a loud backlash that, while not altogether uncommon in the world of DeviantArt and Tumblr, was an unusual sight in the early Internet. Being disowned by the fandoms he desperately wanted to be a part of, he did what anyone might - wipe his website and write an angry comic about the people who made fun of him, while giving himself an anime android girlfriend.
Ok, maybe not just anyone would do that.
Regardless, the instinct to delete the things he had previously made would take over David Gonterman time after time. With each new webcomic loosely based on Magic: the Gathering, he would trash the archive just in time to write another, extremely similar webcomic based on Magic: the Gathering. Desperate to erase his history and start anew, he inadvertently created an interest in his older work, collections like The Gonterman Shrine attracting visitors who might otherwise have been disinterested in the world of Gonterman.
This archive is not meant to be a condemnation of the man. However, it is also not meant to be a celebration. His very particular views, which have evolved over time into perhaps something not at all unexpected, are still his own. To pretend he never existed would be simple. To pretend he still does not have a presence on the Internet would be simpler still.
No, this archive is meant to simply be. To present the collected works of a man who has fascinated some and baffled many more. To allow the viewer to make their own judgements on “The Ed Wood of the Internet,” to see his highs and lows, and determine if he ever truly was “The Internet’s Most Dangerous Cartoonist.”