I discovered this comic just now, via my Toby, and I must say I love it. In fact, I like almost all strips I've seen, and thus I have nothing interesting to say. Lovely color palette (unusually periwinkle too!), original and funny ideas. The world view seems benevolent, slightly strange and hilarious. I love comics like this. This is what I aspire to.
Tuckered-out gentlepups.
Dr Grover is in every hospital.
Stop thinking about dicks.
The inspector was lonely.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Cranky Feminist Comics Reader
"Once you hit that, all other girls seem flat". I know I'm just a fat humorless feminist (like many QC readers told me when I last dared complain about size issues in this comic). But honestly. There are so many offensive layers to this. In the QC universe, Faye is the only buxom girl, so possibly the others feel flat because they ARE. None of the other QC girls have even realistically small boobs, so this might actually be the problem. Faye is about average, with an hourglass figure - not fat, or really even chubby. On the other hand, not all guys like big breasts. Not all girls like being objectified, either.
Once upon a time in another blog, I criticized the depiction of Faye as the only "chubby" girl in QC and the way her body is constantly played for jokes - not hatefully, but it's an issue and it marks her as different. I was ridiculed at the QC forums (where I chose not to respond) and flamed at my blog for about two weeks. Feisty readership. Jacques responded - possibly without reading my blog - that "every time some girl complains" about this, we apparently ignore how Faye is a SEX OBJECT. Even if she's chubby. To my mind, this does not mean equality, or respect, or realistic depiction of female bodies. But if Jacques thinks it does, that explains a lot. I know he means well, but this is what happens when an artist completely ignores issues like sexism and objectification of women. It's a hot mess.
Casual Fur Day recommends "keeping your bitch on a leash". Yes, I get it, it's about dogs. That doesn't mean it's funny or appropriate. And what about this lewd-looking publicly breastfeeding cow? Breastfeeding: all about sexual titillation! Domestic violence: funny!
"Outlandish humor" is author Mr E's own definition of his style. It looks more like "outrageous" to me. We're meant to find it funny because it's so wrong yet so true! Well, it's not true. But of course, I'm just a humorless feminist if I don't find this funny.
It's also offensive to men, of course. Hey, your son has no digestive tract, head or limbs! Oh great, less work for me. Then there are racist overtones. And ha ha fat people who eat too much, you don't even need a joke or pun really, just show how in denial they are! It's almost so outrageous that I considered not mentioning it, because this type of reaction might be exactly what they're looking for. "Look at me, I piss people off! Woohoo! I'm cool like those South Park guys!" You know what, you're not. And when they just go out of their way to offend people - they're not either. (South Park does have good social commentary and parody sometimes though, which this comic doesn't.)
Once upon a time in another blog, I criticized the depiction of Faye as the only "chubby" girl in QC and the way her body is constantly played for jokes - not hatefully, but it's an issue and it marks her as different. I was ridiculed at the QC forums (where I chose not to respond) and flamed at my blog for about two weeks. Feisty readership. Jacques responded - possibly without reading my blog - that "every time some girl complains" about this, we apparently ignore how Faye is a SEX OBJECT. Even if she's chubby. To my mind, this does not mean equality, or respect, or realistic depiction of female bodies. But if Jacques thinks it does, that explains a lot. I know he means well, but this is what happens when an artist completely ignores issues like sexism and objectification of women. It's a hot mess.
Casual Fur Day recommends "keeping your bitch on a leash". Yes, I get it, it's about dogs. That doesn't mean it's funny or appropriate. And what about this lewd-looking publicly breastfeeding cow? Breastfeeding: all about sexual titillation! Domestic violence: funny!
"Outlandish humor" is author Mr E's own definition of his style. It looks more like "outrageous" to me. We're meant to find it funny because it's so wrong yet so true! Well, it's not true. But of course, I'm just a humorless feminist if I don't find this funny.
It's also offensive to men, of course. Hey, your son has no digestive tract, head or limbs! Oh great, less work for me. Then there are racist overtones. And ha ha fat people who eat too much, you don't even need a joke or pun really, just show how in denial they are! It's almost so outrageous that I considered not mentioning it, because this type of reaction might be exactly what they're looking for. "Look at me, I piss people off! Woohoo! I'm cool like those South Park guys!" You know what, you're not. And when they just go out of their way to offend people - they're not either. (South Park does have good social commentary and parody sometimes though, which this comic doesn't.)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
A Cranky Comics Reader, Part 2
Today's Questionable Content strives to answer the age-old question:
You know, there could have been plot, or character development, or something funny, but when you have such a popular comic, these kinds of juvenile ideas must come first. Most of the readers are adolescent boys (mentally or physically), after all.
Jesus, Marvin, how many setup strips do you need for the joke "Marvin's Dad is a giant nerd"? I know that when you have to do seven strips a week, thinking of a new drawing and joke for each one is a bit of a chore. But you know, that's what they pay you for. Doing the same exact joke three or four days in a row, with almost the same picture over and over is just... the reason why newspaper comics are dying.
(x, why) bores us with yet another pun that has to do with math. It's just not very clever, or funny. I'd like to give some points for originality - I haven't seen this idea before. So I will give points for that. But the jokes in this comic always sound too much like "I am now going to be funny. Wait for it.. here it comes! Now laugh!"
A Cranky Comics Reader
I'm in a bad mood today, so I intend to complain about any comic that rubs me the wrong way. Grrr! Let the hating begin!
Questionable Content is back to the old boring stuff: two characters talking about a third character and sex. I don't think I've ever laughed at the sex jokes. They just seem somehow too purposeful, like "isn't it cool and daring that I talk about sex in this way?" Also, I dislike Tai, perhaps more than any other character. It seems like she was brought on just to be the Wild Sexy Lesbian Who Has Wild Sex Adventures With Other Girls. As a bisexual I say boo-urns. I'm sure such girls exist and read the strip, but it could just be a cheap way to lure in young guys who like to imagine hot chicks making out.
Skipping Out has our titular hero, Skippy, returning home. He promises to be a new man. Well, that might bring some life into the strip. The old format reads way too much like Garfield. Skippy even looks like Jon, with his baby blue shirt. Mattie is the Garfield, the rude and snarky one, while Skippy is the Jon, the responsible yet loserish one. Laird is the Odie, dumb and blonde. This bugs me to no end. I also dislike the way you can't navigate with "previous"-"next"-"first"-"last" like with most comics. You have to go through the comics page, where you can't even click on individual strips, but rather get clusters. Also - the strips are tiny and compressed, so the banner actually looks better. I'd like to like this strip, but it's making it very hard. The "s-smite the homo" one is funny, actually. That's about it.
I only realized today that Bellen isn't going to be updating anymore, ever. :( I loved this comic and its depressing, yet somehow funny ponderings on life. This is the third beloved strip that dies, after The Perry Bible Fellowship and Animals Have Problems Too. I have a lot of respect for artists who quit while they're ahead, but it still makes me sad. Box Brown has a new comic, linked to on the Bellen page, but I'll look at it and write about it on another day. I'm in a bad mood today so I wouldn't want to spoil that.
Questionable Content is back to the old boring stuff: two characters talking about a third character and sex. I don't think I've ever laughed at the sex jokes. They just seem somehow too purposeful, like "isn't it cool and daring that I talk about sex in this way?" Also, I dislike Tai, perhaps more than any other character. It seems like she was brought on just to be the Wild Sexy Lesbian Who Has Wild Sex Adventures With Other Girls. As a bisexual I say boo-urns. I'm sure such girls exist and read the strip, but it could just be a cheap way to lure in young guys who like to imagine hot chicks making out.
Skipping Out has our titular hero, Skippy, returning home. He promises to be a new man. Well, that might bring some life into the strip. The old format reads way too much like Garfield. Skippy even looks like Jon, with his baby blue shirt. Mattie is the Garfield, the rude and snarky one, while Skippy is the Jon, the responsible yet loserish one. Laird is the Odie, dumb and blonde. This bugs me to no end. I also dislike the way you can't navigate with "previous"-"next"-"first"-"last" like with most comics. You have to go through the comics page, where you can't even click on individual strips, but rather get clusters. Also - the strips are tiny and compressed, so the banner actually looks better. I'd like to like this strip, but it's making it very hard. The "s-smite the homo" one is funny, actually. That's about it.
I only realized today that Bellen isn't going to be updating anymore, ever. :( I loved this comic and its depressing, yet somehow funny ponderings on life. This is the third beloved strip that dies, after The Perry Bible Fellowship and Animals Have Problems Too. I have a lot of respect for artists who quit while they're ahead, but it still makes me sad. Box Brown has a new comic, linked to on the Bellen page, but I'll look at it and write about it on another day. I'm in a bad mood today so I wouldn't want to spoil that.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Why Is This so Awesome?
Question Duck. OK, this is honestly just... wow.
This strip looks amazing. Every drawing looks detailed and the color ones are just... I was reminded of Calvin and Hobbes, that's how good it looks. Take this strip for example. (It may actually be a conscious nod to C&H, because they're sitting under a similar tree thinking philosophically.)
In each strip, the boy and his duck go to some place and then the duck asks a seemingly unrelated question. I can't really explain why this is so great. It's just a very novel idea and it's rendered beautifully. Not sure if it's meant to be "funny ha ha" - I didn't laugh at any strips, but I greatly enjoyed them. Especially the duck's gleeful expression when asking a puzzling question.
Found, once again, thru the webcomics list. Many strips have funny names but are disappointing when you see them, and then there are these little masterpieces. I will keep looking for more.
This strip looks amazing. Every drawing looks detailed and the color ones are just... I was reminded of Calvin and Hobbes, that's how good it looks. Take this strip for example. (It may actually be a conscious nod to C&H, because they're sitting under a similar tree thinking philosophically.)
In each strip, the boy and his duck go to some place and then the duck asks a seemingly unrelated question. I can't really explain why this is so great. It's just a very novel idea and it's rendered beautifully. Not sure if it's meant to be "funny ha ha" - I didn't laugh at any strips, but I greatly enjoyed them. Especially the duck's gleeful expression when asking a puzzling question.
Found, once again, thru the webcomics list. Many strips have funny names but are disappointing when you see them, and then there are these little masterpieces. I will keep looking for more.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday Delights
I really enjoyed today's Questionable Content. Visual joke, surprise element, and Hannelore. The nightmare panel looks really good, especially the evilly gleeful devil character. More of these please, Mr Jacques.
Observations about cats in a Finnish comic blog. Mostly just visual, so should be cute for non-Finnish-speakers too. Amusingly, she renders the cat's throat sound as "Pör" (which is usually used to denote a bee's buzzing). I like to use "krrr" myself.
Speaking of observations about cats: I loved this strip at American Elf. Diary strips can be dull if it's all "this is what I did today". But Kochalka mixes his everyday observations with whimsy and imagination, and it's an irresistable mixture. Also, my cat licks like that all the time. Hee!
And a new find: Brainless Tales has got me excited. I love the vintage style and the one-panel ponderings. This usually works well for a comic (Family Circus and Ziggy being, obviously, the exceptions). There's something original to this comic, and it seems both good-hearted and hilarious so far, somewhat verging on the surreal, which is always enticing.
Observations about cats in a Finnish comic blog. Mostly just visual, so should be cute for non-Finnish-speakers too. Amusingly, she renders the cat's throat sound as "Pör" (which is usually used to denote a bee's buzzing). I like to use "krrr" myself.
Speaking of observations about cats: I loved this strip at American Elf. Diary strips can be dull if it's all "this is what I did today". But Kochalka mixes his everyday observations with whimsy and imagination, and it's an irresistable mixture. Also, my cat licks like that all the time. Hee!
And a new find: Brainless Tales has got me excited. I love the vintage style and the one-panel ponderings. This usually works well for a comic (Family Circus and Ziggy being, obviously, the exceptions). There's something original to this comic, and it seems both good-hearted and hilarious so far, somewhat verging on the surreal, which is always enticing.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Recap Comics
Instead of ending the fork storyline, Sinfest is now recapping it in this strip where absolutely nothing happens. Also it's not funny at all. I really hope this isn't the beginning of the end for Sinfest. It has been funny and innovative, and it's sad to see it muddle down into boredom.
Questionable Content is doing much the same in today's comic. Of course, with the pace of life in this strip, we're talking about something that possibly happened last night, but it's many, many updates ago. Namely here. After spending so many days going over this between Dora, Faye, Sven and Marten, it's nice to see that Faye and Angus are also discussing it. You know, like life proceeds by something minor happening and leading nowhere, and then a bunch of people talking about it.
Last but probably the most read of the bunch, Ctrl+Alt+Del has two characters discussing a third character while standing in one position with huge speech bubbles over their heads. (My girlfriend, who's read the strip more, pointed out that the story itself has been done before in the strip.)
You have an established style, a readership and thus a podium to say whatever you want. So why does this happen? Too many expectations on you? Drawing the same strip for too long? Updating too often? Either way, it's not a proud day for webcomics.
Questionable Content is doing much the same in today's comic. Of course, with the pace of life in this strip, we're talking about something that possibly happened last night, but it's many, many updates ago. Namely here. After spending so many days going over this between Dora, Faye, Sven and Marten, it's nice to see that Faye and Angus are also discussing it. You know, like life proceeds by something minor happening and leading nowhere, and then a bunch of people talking about it.
Last but probably the most read of the bunch, Ctrl+Alt+Del has two characters discussing a third character while standing in one position with huge speech bubbles over their heads. (My girlfriend, who's read the strip more, pointed out that the story itself has been done before in the strip.)
You have an established style, a readership and thus a podium to say whatever you want. So why does this happen? Too many expectations on you? Drawing the same strip for too long? Updating too often? Either way, it's not a proud day for webcomics.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)