Overcompensating is the sometimes fiction other times auto-bio web-comic by Jeffrey Rowland. Rowland is also the creator of other web comics When I Grow Up and Wigu Adventures as well as the founder of TopatoCo, a t-shirt company specializing in selling web-comic based merchandise.

The strips feature a collection of characters, some fictitious, some based on people Rowland knows in real life (quite a few are real web-comic creators), with the main character being an Author Avatar.

Status: Concluded

Description From: TVTropes

(LAST UPDATED: 9/26/25)

Introduction

Written by u/hayate666

Welcome to r/sinfest!

Perhaps you're a new reader, perhaps you're an old veteran looking for a place where people are still discussing what Sinfest has turned into today.

First of all: welcome! You are not alone!

The tale of Tatsuya Ishida and Sinfest is a 20+ years old, long story of a reclusive man who went from writing a beloved comic for over a decade into a sharp nosedive into being a social media obsessed conspiracy nut.

It started when he shifted the subject of a daily comic with beloved characters into a radical feminist propaganda piece, which eventually turned out to be a SWERF and TERF brand of feminism. This was also the time he started lashing out at people who disagreed with him on his forum and through his writing.

Tats never stopped drilling down after that.

Over the years that followed he added COVID conspiracies, MAGA support, open discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, lizard and paedophile conspiracies, alt-right propaganda, getting in bed with white supremacists and who knows what else by the time you read this introduction.

Needless to say this got him eventually kicked off Patreon and other mainstream sites where he got quite a bit of income from. This never slowed him down.

At this point in time the unironic fans of Sinfest have dwindled and we spend most of our time on mocking what Sinfest has become, while still melancholically remembering the beloved artist Tats used to be.

Tatsuya Ishida is a deeply disturbed man and a cautionary tale about what happens when you turn 50 and forget to go outside once in a while.

Official media

Sinfest Main Comic Page

• Still updated daily, NOW IN COLOUR!

Sinfest Official Fan Forum (DEFUNCT BUT ARCHIVED)

• People who agree with Tats's politics only! Content is heavily moderated, mostly a ghost forum nowadays.

Tats's Twitter

• Tats is pretty active on Twitter nowadays, reposting old comics and talking about his beliefs. Disagreeing with him gets you blocked. If he can find your account he will even do it preventively. It's as simple as that.

Tats's Spinster (DEFUNCT BUT ARCHIVED)

• Spinster is a version of Twitter where feminism, but especially radical feminism (Or more accurately - feminism appropriating transphobes), is the forefront of the discussion. Tats is less active here than on Twitter and a lot of posts are copied between Spinster and Twitter.

Tats’s Subscribestar

• A platform where Tatsuya uploads his daily comics and promptly places them behind a paywall where you have to subscribe in order to see them - essentially a carbon copy of his former Patreon with even the same tier list as his Patreon.

Tats’s Substack

• An alternative platform where Tats uploads the daily comic. That’s it, but it’s official media so onto the list it goes.

Tats’s Locals

• Another subscription based Patreon alternative where daily comics are paywalled, again, that’s it, simply on the list for completionist’s sake.

Notes from the Resistance

• A collection of writings from Tatsuya himself oftentimes posted below the main comic - stories, anecdotes, these provide an interesting insight to the way Tatsuya's mind works back when he could be bothered to share them.

Kowalski, analysis!

A collection of posts by different Reddit users, mostly contained on that dive into the history and background of Sinfest through the eyes of (mostly) long time readers.

The History of Sinfest

• A collection of posts made by members describing in more detail some of the major events in the Sinfest timeline.

Part 1: the appearance of Trike Girl

Part 2: the Rogue Fembot and the birth of a meme

Part 3: quick reader questions

Part 4: quick reader questions - part 2

Part 5: Fuchsia and Criminy

Sinfest History: The Forums (AKA: The Start of the Sinfest Civil War)

Historyfest

• A post which is as close to a biography of Tatsuya Ishida himself as we'll get. All information provided was gathered from public sources - many of which are listed here.

Historyfest 2.0 (NEW & IMPROVED)

• An UPDATED version of the unofficial biography of the life and career of Tatsuya Ishida

I Would Rather Die a Thousand Deaths

• A post written by which offers an outsider's perspective into the breakdown of the major events in Sinfest's history.

ExamineFest

• A series of posts which examine various aspects of Sinfest through an academic lens, finding connections between Sinfest and the works of those like Dworkin, Hoffer, and Solanas.

Sinfest: Yearly Themes in Review

• A series of posts by which goes through Sinfest's history and examines the themes, stories, and development of the comic at the end of each year.

A Look into Tatsuya (Tatzi) Ishida's Downfall

• Written by u/MagicalGirlUnicornia this is a more condensed dive of Sinfest's history with a focus on when the various bigotries Tatsuya now holds first became prevalent in-comic.

The Twisted Logic of Sinfest

• This analysis by a member explores the potential logical path that allowed Tatsuya Ishida to become another victim of the TERF to Nazi pipeline.

Sinfest Related Comics

Sinfest comics that were either made before the online era or were print-exclusive.

The Daily Bruin UCLA Comic Collection

• WARNING NSFW - A collection of comics from Tatsuya's Ishida's college paper.

Dark Horse Facebook Collection

• A collection of (once) exclusive comics that were posted to the Dark Horse Facebook page.

Real Life Comics

• A collection of comics from the Real Life Comic archives guest starring Tatsuya Ishida

Otaku Feh

• WARNING NSFW - A parody of Sinfest created by Dave Kelly (AKA: Shmorky), notable because, according to the creator, the comic irritated Tatsuya enough for him to reach out and complain about it directly.

Dragoneers Crossovers & Cameos

• A (incomplete) list of Sinfest-related cameos, crossovers, and references.

Reviews, Wikis, & Other Sinfest-Related Media

Places outside of Reddit where Sinfest gets discussed by other people.

The Webcomics Review

• Tumblr blog with a lot of individual Sinfest comic reviews, mostly from a writing/story structure perspective.

TV Tropes

• The primordial soup of where as it is came from. It used to be the only place outside of the fan forums where Sinfest was discussed regularly, but since Tats went off the deep end the discussion has been closed by the mods as there wasn't anything trope related worth discussing.

Sinfest TV Tropes page

Sinfest TV Tropes YMMV page

Sinfest TV Tropes forum

Sinfest TV Tropes Dethroning Moment of Suck page

Bad Webcomics Wiki entry on Sinfest

• A bit of a controversial review since a lot of people don't like the wiki it's posted on, but the information in it is accurate.

The Webcomic Police Review Part 1 Part 2

• A two-part review about how the author feels Sinfest is misrepresenting feminism.

Complaining About Books

• Another Sinfest review that goes through Sinfest's history and development into the train wreck it is today.

Personal Time With Greg: Sinfest

• Pretty nice review, the author gives an informative review about Sinfest before and after its feminist turn.

BitterKarella’s Sinfest Thread (Part One) (RECOVERED: Special thanks to u/Sniper-Jo for the link!)

• A Twitter thread going through Sinfest’s history year by year providing commentary.

Warning: Format makes it difficult to read

BitterKarella's Sinfest Thread (Part Two)

• A continuation of the commentary of Sinfest's yearly output - this time on Bluesky

Kleenfeld on Comics - On Tatsuya Ishida

• An examination of Sinfest in its current state written by Sean Kleenfeld

A Special Presentation, or Alf Will Not Be Seen Tonight

• A podcast exploring Sinfest and Tatsuya Ishida.

Drawing Controversy

• A podcast exploring Sinfest and Tatsuya Ishida.

The Haus of Decline Podcast: The Sinfest Episode feat Bitter Karella

• A podcast featuring regular Sinfest commentator Bitter Karella further exploring Sinfest's continued decline.

MaeGodHaveMercy Meeting Tatsuya Ishida

• An add-on to the BitterKarella’s Twitter thread by the cartoonist Mae Dean; creator of Real Life Comics - it describes a rare moment where she and other cartoonists spent time with Tatsuya Ishida, including a link to a comic version of events. Imgur Version of the Comic

Mr. Testosterone’s Wild Ride Sinfest Thread

• Another Twitter review and breakdown of Sinfest’s politics.

YouTube Collection

• A playlist of YouTube reviews about the comic - Note: The views and opinions of the reviewers included are their own and do not reflect the beliefs of any moderators or members, they are simply here for archival purposes.

Sinfest Wikipedia

• The Wikipedia entry on Sinfest - has some interesting trivia with references worth checking out.

Wickedpedia

• Unofficial Sinfest Wiki

RationalWiki

• Sinfest's entry in this particular wiki - provides a general breakdown of the comic's rise and fall specifically regarding its messaging on issues such as feminism and politics.

Webcomics, Part VIII: Sinfest

• A 2012 Review of Sinfest for the University of North Georgia's University Press by Matthew Pardue (Also credited to Barbara Seaton), a well-written review which provides insight into the comic's premise and humor during that time period.

The Long, Strange Journey of Sinfest

• A 2022 Review of Sinfest written by Ryan Broderick, this one references BitterKarella's twitter thread but provides another breakdown of Sinfest's history and shift in ideologies throughout the years.

Public Information about Tats

Contains quotes from the author himself, mostly in interview form.

My Criminal Days Are Behind Me

• An essay written by Tatsuya Ishida and hosted on the Dark Horse website which further explores the GI Joe controversy and his short-lived career within the comic book industry.

The Wages of Sinfest

• A piece done on Tats by Publishers Weekly includes quotes alongside some of Tats' career history.

The Sisterhood of the Pimp Ninja Sluts

• A 2012 article in The Comics Journal exploring more of how Tatsuya expresses himself through his comics.

Tatsuya Ishida Speaks on Sinfest, Jesus, and Fans

• Another Publisher's Weekly piece on Sinfest and Tatsuya Ishida shortly after the release of his second book collection.

LibraryThing

• Notable for having the only known picture of the man himself, otherwise dead links and limited information that similarly can be found in more comprehensive sources.

Plans for the Future

Sinfest Storyline Collection (IN PROGRESS)

• A Google doc with a collection of some of Sinfest's biggest storylines to make for easier reading CURRENTLY ACCEPTING REQUESTS

Sinfest Book Collection

• Scans of every Sinfest book - with any and all commentary and bonus features.

DARK HORSE RELEASES

• Sinfest Book One
• Viva La Resistance

MUSEWORKS RELEASES

• Sinfest
• Life is My Bitch
• Dance of the Gods