Now here we have one of the most notorious strips in the Red Ring oeuvre, posted in 2009 after the comic had been well established for several years. This was a double-sided coin for Shawn; while he had gained enough of a fanbase that he was able to make a living just from making his comic, there was also a group of dedicated Red Ring “haters” that sprung out of this, creating their own threads on the likes of 4Chan and Reddit dedicated to making a mockery of each and every new strip. The Something Awful Forums were the most notorious haven of this behavior, and it infuriated Shawn to no end. Hence, this strip.

This comic is also historic for another reason: this was the first webcomic strip ever cited as evidence in a criminal trial! We won’t get into the details here, but nevertheless, another groundbreaking strip from Shawn!