The Beam is a webcomic created by various players of Eternal Lands, a free MMORPG. The strip revolves around members of a guild, "Eternal Lands Mifits", or ELM. The guild is known for lack of in-game activity, using the game mostly as a chat client.

Although occasional strips are relevant to everyday people, much of the strip's humor is specific to the game or the players on whom the characters are based.

Most strips are standalone jokes, although occasionally a story will take place over 6-10 strips. Galvin has stated that although he enjoys writing series, he cites lack of motivation as the reason for their rarity. The first series, "Jack & Galv's Quest", ended with an apology after two strips.

Overall, the strip has a cult following, consisting mostly of players of Eternal Lands. Since the strip is not advertised, it is spread by word of mouth.

Main Characters

Galvin

Other Name(s)

Galv, Chris

Function

Galvin is a burnt-out nerd. He smokes too much and places too much confidence in his ability to attract beautiful women. On Channel 20, (the Off-Topic channel), he is notorious for bad language that results in punishment from moderators.

In the strip, he GeneRally acts as the "dumb" character. He believes in unhealthy living, CASUAL [...] and making fun of people more intelligent than he is.

Jack

Other Name(s)

Sarge

Function

Jack is Australian. In the strip, he often acts as Galvin's partner in poorly planned schemes. The pair have been seen making failed attempts to smuggle junk food into Ben's house in , "cure" Christianity in , and several others.

Ben

Other Name(s)

Hazor, Shazbot

Function

Ben is known for his "hatred of fun", as Galvin puts it. He is strictly against substance abuse, junk food and recreational [...].

In the strip, he acts as the straight man, taking the brunt of Jack and Galvin's jokes.

Guy

Function

Very little is known AbOUT Guy, so he is portrayed as a stick figure with a top hat and a very expressive face. At the time of this writing, he has appeared in one strip drawn by Guy himself and one series, "The Intervention". Ironically enough, Guy is arguably the most artistically drawn character in the strip.

Minor Characters

Josh

Other Name(s)

Cain, Demon Mage, Chubby Lover

Function

Josh appeared in and drew several of the early strips, but as his activity in-game lessened, so did his presence in the strip. He was famous for his love of fat women.

Vikki

Other Name(s)

Storm, Vik

Function

Vikki is the only woman to ever appear in a story, with the exception of an unnamed blond in the very first strip, "Pickin' Up Ladies", and an elderly woman in "$4.04". Her function in the strip is unclear, but it was suggested that she had threatened to beat Galvin up if he didn't start including her.

Dan

Other Name(s)

Sir Dan

Function

Dan is rarely functional at all, due to being inebriated at all times. He typically appears face down with an alcoholic beverage in his hand.