Lokke gave away his "Mack the Mouse" telecomics for free, hoping to entice BBS sysops to pay for access to his Online Publishing business.

Subscribers could download extra content like his other telecomics "Talking Heads," "Rainbow," "Reggie the Rattler," and "Yellow Bird."

https://breakintochat.com/blog/2026/03/25/don-lokke-and-mack-the-mouse/

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #comics #webcomics #history #longreads #politics #ansiart #textmode #arthistory

Lokke began publishing his "telecomics" at the height of the 1992 presidential election.

He used them to channel the skepticism and anger felt by everyday Americans about broken political promises and the looming economic recession.

He would go on to draw nearly 300 telecomics by 1995. They were forgotten and mostly lost until decades later when I recovered more than 140 of them.

https://breakintochat.com/blog/2026/03/25/don-lokke-and-mack-the-mouse/

#retrocomputing #comics #webcomics #history #ansiart #textmode #longreads

Mistigram: this spooky, Ringu-esque #ANSIart promo for #DeadModemSociety BBS was drawn by @[email protected] and included in last month's unthemed new MIST0226 artpack collection.
Mistodon: this spooky, Ringu-esque #ANSIart promo for #DeadModemSociety BBS was drawn by Zeus II and included in last month's unthemed new MIST0226 artpack collection.

In an alternate universe somewhere, nobody has heard of “webcomics.” Instead, there are thousands of “telecomics.”

In 1992, Don Lokke Jr. coined the term “telecomics” to describe his new digital comic strips, drawn primarily in the ANSI art format and distributed online through BBSes.

This is the final in-depth profile in my "ANSI art and webcomics" series!

https://breakintochat.com/blog/2026/03/25/don-lokke-and-mack-the-mouse/

#webcomics #comics #retrocomputing #bbs #ansiart #textmode #longreads #history #computerhistory

The workstages of Kaoru fighting a robot! It started as a narrow strip, some stages were done on my Steam Deck at work, and the robot was drawn in a separate file before I merged it into the main one.

#Timelapse #FurryArt #ANSIArt #TextmodeArt #PixelArt #FantasyArt #Nonbinary #Furry #Art #MastoArt #FediArt

Most mages need their feet on solid ground to cast magic, but Kaoru Morimoto (they/them) is not most mages.

#FurryArt #ANSIArt #FantasyArt #Nonbinary #TextmodeArt #PixelArt #Furry #Art #MastoArt #FediArt

Mistodon: this rather angular purple #ANSIart logo in promotion of Gemenon BBS was drawn by Zeus II and included in last month's unthemed MIST0226 artpack collection.

RE: https://digipres.club/@kirkman/116241827181329943

My forthcoming profile of Don Lokke and his "telecomics" has been a lot harder to write than I expected.

But I'm very happy with the latest drafts. The end is finally in sight.

(This will be the fifth and final installment of my "ANSI art and webcomics" series: https://breakintochat.com/blog/category/ansi-art-and-webcomics/?order=asc)

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #ansiart #textmode #textart #comics #webcomics #history #computerhistory #longreads

Mistodon: a regretful reprint, this #ANSIart promo for #BlackSunshine BBS was drawn by Mavrik and released in the MIST0695 artpack collection released 31 years ago. It depicts the offbeat Image Comics hero #TheMaxx. RIP to his creator #SamKieth.