Bruno the Bandit

Bruno the Bandit was a webcomic drawn by Ian McDonald about an incompetent bandit in a fantasy setting. The strip began on July 20, 1998, and a new strip was posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until October 23, 2009. It is published online by Keenspot, and in print by Plan 9 Publishing. Bruno the Bandit was nominated for Best Fantasy Comic in the 2002 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards. McDonald is currently on indefinite hiatus.
McDonald developed the comic starting from his parody strip "What if Conan the Barbarian Was Garfield's Owner?", Conan becoming Bruno and Garfield becoming the microdragon sidekick. It began as three or four panels in black and white and laid out horizontally, published six days a week. Strips also appeared laid out vertically, with varying numbers of mixed orientation panels. Double-height strips and occasional solid colors appeared in 2001, at the end of which posting changed to thrice weekly. The strips were colored from April 4, 2003 until April 16, 2003 by Dominic and from May 30, 2005 to December 14, 2007 by colorist Lynn Blackson. The strips from the launch until July 5, 2001 have been translated into German.
The comic's plots often leverage anachronistic elements: technologies such as such as cell phones, cameras, and televisions exist without drawing comment, and books of great evil are released in paperback, "for the benefit of evil wizards everywhere." There are many homages to other comics, such as Garfield (the most referenced), Peanuts, Sandman, Conan, and others.
The strip was organized in short story arcs. Some of the stories last for only 6 strips. The longest one as of late 2005 took 72 strips. There is continuity between the sagas, but gags drive the story more than long-term plot development.
Religion and Philosophy.
Bruno's world has a complex history (often retrofitted onto Bruno's ancestry), springing from an elaborate religion founded by an ancient and wise prophet named "Ailix". Combining aspects of Buddha, Mohammed, and Jesus this peaceful and enlightened system of justice and non-violence has led to as much conflict as real world religions.
So the greater the gulf in time and philosophy between Bruno, his victims and accomplices, the greater the distinctions between his endless corruption and their enlightenment. Bruno stubbornly clings to his evil ways (which include torture, murder, investment fraud, and clubbing baby seals) in the face of overwhelming evidence of the Machiavellian power of enlightened self-interest.
The Enemy of Ailix is a demon god named "Xu'buxx" and his crafty Hench-bird named "The Bluebird of Happiness". Both use Bruno and others for their own ends.
Main characters.
The main characters are:
According to Bruno, his sword was one of many mass-produced in the factories of Asuton. (Still, it is a lethal weapon, and also has a digital alarm clock.)