When did Pete start writing plotlines that you could discuss in, say, a Science Fiction class (which also does fantasy, but nevermind)? Obviously, the beginning of Sluggy is mostly gags that run over a few days, maybe a week at the most. When does Pete really start to get into characters, giving them motivation, backgrounds, the things that make them human to us?

Honestly, the first of that started to come out as early as the Sci-Fi Adventure, in my opinion.

I saw the Sci-Fi as more of a longer gag than normal. True, it introduced Aylee, and the DFI, but I still saw as not really deep.

They* call it "Cerberus Syndrome"named after the print comic Cerberus. It refers to when a strip goes from being gag-a-day and light to having deep characterization and a full-fledged story. Sluggy Freelance is considered to be the seminal example of Cerberus Syndrome in webcomics.

I don't know if I can pinpoint the turning point, though.

*Webcomics critics, particularly Comixpedia, The Webcomics Examiner and of course Websnark.

I'd say it starts with the first K'Z'K storyline. That's when Pete moves past simple parodies and you can really see how he's planning storylines out way in advance.

Book 2.

Assume everything before Vampires is just build-up and the major line is Vampires, and that's a pretty decent plot line, right there. Not just something I could call a general parody.

True, but it wasn't as far-reaching a storyline as K'Z'K. It was mostly self-contained.

We've forgotten Torg Goes To Hell, though, which definitely was a chapter that led to several other storylines.

I'm gonna have to side with rysto here, I belive it started with K'Z'K.

Kzk easily
The tie in with the vampires made it a lasting story.

Otherwise the vampire gig was just another goofy adventure like the sci-fi thing.

The start of the vampire thing seemed like a turning point to me when I first read it, actually. Zoe walking back alone, the vampire and then Riff stepping in. I went "hey, what?!" mostly because I'd seen Riff up to that point as basically an ordinary guy waster, not a hero. The depth of atmosphere - this is the first strip that definitely has a soundtrack for me - had a lot to do with it as well, and the fact that the basic situation (woman walking home alone at night begins to feel unsafe) is a real-life one, regardless of the vampires, which made the whole comic feel suddenly way more grown up.

Vampires is were you first see it but it had been a slow build up to that since Gwynn first came to the New Years Party and Sam vanished

Damn it billy, you beat me to it. You might attribute this to the evolution to a better writing style and not like the earlier stories. I *love* the Cerebus Effect in comics. It's pretty visiable in queen of wands too.

And it's spelled Cerebus.

I think I'm going to have to go with the Book 2 crowd, any real seriousness started there.

The thing is, the vampire gig wasn't goofy. In the sci-fi adventure, Torg and Riff didn't really care about what was happening. Some girl is killed standing next to them, and they don't blink. In the end, they're saved by meta-humor provided guns. That means "light-hearted comedy".

In the vampire thing, there's not much room for meta-humor. People care deeply about what's happening, to the point where you're supposed to get emotionally involved. And it didn't hesitate to permanently remove some cast, which is about as lasting as you can get. Everything about it says "serious storyline" to me.

The initial K'Z'K story threatens more dramatic consequences if they fail, but I don't see how the writing is any more serious than vampires. So book 2 for me, too.

I'd have to say the Sci-Fi Adventure because the consequences of their actions (Aylee) intrude into the Sluggy world and persist. If this was just a fluff adventure then Aylee would have gone the same way as Teddy Weddy.