Writing Funny......

I'm kind of thinking to myself on how to write funnier... I run (w/Andrew) a comic/cartoon site and I feel that we should be funnier. People enjoy our comics and the art of it but they seem to say 'Funny but needs to be funnier.'

My question is, most people find my funny in real life (like the 'joke character') but I'm having a hard time converting that into 'funny comics'. Now I think our comics are good and some are obviously better than others but I feel I could be funnier.
What do you recommend? Is there a mood to get into or something?

Do you find it necessary to use excess profanity to be funny? I mean it seems a lot of comics who want to be funny use lots of swearing. Me? I find that it doesn't need be.

What do you say?

Swears won't make you funny.

There are so many webcomics that soley rely on "teh naughty language" as their gimmick, that it will mostly just serve to make you blend into the pack.

Rely on writing stuff that you personally find funny. Trying to write stuff that you think other people will find funny often times coming off looking fake. The internet is a big place, if you do stuff you personally enjoy (which should be the main reason you're do a webcomic anyway), eventually you'll garner yourself an audience.

That's my thoughts atleast.

Oh yea:

Swears won't make you funny.

Like Kidnemo said, swears don't make you funny, I find wit and sarcasm to be best. :)

Well, me personally I tend to sway to the 'Mel Brooks' type humour. The kind that you are like 'What the hell!'. Stuff that is odd.

If you have ever seen Spaceballs or Young Frankenstein, you know what I mean.

I just figure I want to gain an audience and I think we have a good thing going (we are still young under 10 comics) but I want to make sure an audience actually starts coming..... so far the only forum members we have (a way I measure our popularity) is the people I actually know in real life. :D

Everything takes time.. I suppose.

Using a forum as a reflection of your popularity is a bad indicator. Generally a very small percentage of your regular viewers will also register for your forum.

Also only having under 10 strips is very, very low.

First off, get a hit counter. Being able to track your hits and referrers is invaluable. If you can't afford one, look into a free counter.

Well I have a built in web counter.
The reason I use the forums as an indicator is it kinda (to me) reflects how many people actually enjoy it.
I could have 10,000 hits a day but if they all come and go 'meh' and leave then I am being fooled.
You know?

10 comics is low, but we just started last Thursday... lol.

People claim Penny Arcade to be the top dog of web comics (PVP too) and they have been around a lot.... I bet when they first started, finding an audience was hard too, but still. That was the reason I asked about the 'swears' because the top dog does it..... anyways, we will find our corner. I just hope it's a good one.

go watch some monty python dvds for the holy grail and life of brain and listen to the commentary tracks on there - i've always found their philosophy about humour quite interesting, and in one instance John Cleese even talks about the use of foul language in humour. but hey its just a suggestion.

Actually Monty Python if kind of similar to Mel Brooks.

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Originally Posted by pixelassassin

Well I have a built in web counter.
The reason I use the forums as an indicator is it kinda (to me) reflects how many people actually enjoy it.
I could have 10,000 hits a day but if they all come and go 'meh' and leave then I am being fooled.
You know?

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The best way you can judge if people are enjoying your work aside from getting actual comments/fan mail is to check out your unique hits vs. your pages loaded count.

If you have 10 strips, 5 people come to your site, and 50 pages were viewed, that's a good indicator that people liked what they saw.

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10 comics is low, but we just started last Thursday... lol.

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You should be making as many contacts with other websites to link you as possible. Check out places like www.topwebcomics.com. Do guest comics. Get as much feedback and critcism as you can.

And PA is a good comic, but not everyone loves it. Worry about making your own mark, not copying the "big dogs".

Some people say using foul language means "you can't think of better words to use".

Sometimes that's how the character's supposed to be. Look at Trailer Park Boys (a Canadian tv series) for example. In one episode Ricky goes to court, and he asks the judge to let him use curse words in court because he can't defend himself any other way.

Trailer Park Boys rule! hehe Bubbles!

Anyways, I don't want to 'copy' PA. Not at all, I'm just saying, even they use swears. I really don't want to, our comic doesn't need it.
You know, I think you have a good idea though about linking to other sites.
I'm going to look into it.

Would YOU be interested? ;)
AIM me at CBGRules

I don't mind a little foul language.

Now when someone has 104 F-words or just too damn many swears in a single post, then it begins to look mighty crass.

I've always followed the thought that PG comedy is the best comedy. I see swearing and such as a crutch, and truly great humor doesn’t need it.

That's not to say I don't swear ever, or don't make jokes with swearing, but most of the best humor I have seen doesn't need swearing to be funny.

so are you going to link your comic or not? I'm curious about it.

How to write funny you say....

I dunno. My attempts at humor are hit and miss, but since some people find them funny I'll give some of my techniques...

There is always the outrageous exageration technique, as seen in my "why I love Delaware" passage:

We don't have sales taxes. It's not so much the money saving aspect I like. I like the nice simple change I get when I pay for something.

When I buy something in Delaware, I always get either one penny or one nickle back because everything costs either $XX.99 or $XX.95. That single coin fits nicely in my pocket and does not jingle around, because single coins can't jingle. If I go to another state and buy something, the price is still $XX.99 or $XX.95, but the sales tax always adds something like 27.934 cents to the price so I end up with 4 pennys, 2 dimes, a nickle, 3 quarters, 2 silver dollars, 5 half dollars, a manufacturer's mail in rebate for $0.012 cents off surpluss Strawberry Shortcake cerial, a used buss ticket, and sometimes a hockey puck signed by Dion Sanders wrapped in a three dollar bill. And another penny. All of this stuff has to go in my pocket and it looks rediculous. The ladies see me and say "have you been shopping outside of Delaware or are you just happy to see me?". If I were the ghost of Christmas Past and I lost my chains, I would go outside of Delaware to buy new ones because all the crap in my pocket after paying would greatly add to the clanking sound the chains make when I walk (and it's all about clanking sounds with Christmas ghosts).

__________________________


Then there is the "make a statement that is very odd to think of in the first place, let alone say" technique:

I immagine the worst time for civilization to end would be in the morning right as you are finishing up brushing your teeth, but before you have a chance to rinse. You'd be spitting out dry white paste all day. Put that on top of the fact that civilization just ended, and your day is really fucked.

____________________________________

(note that "fucked" is not needed, but "screwed" sounds too weak. Feel free to use something like "Smurfed" if an alternative is absolutly needed.)

Then there is the close cousin of the "where did that come from?" statement: The "where did that come from?" question.

Can an elaphant yell or roar or anything like that with his vocal chords? If so, can he harmonize with his own nose trumpet? I wonder how many times in the history of the world an elephant has hit a perfect fifth with his voice and his nose. I wonder if the other elephants noticed.

___________________________________

Then there is the rarely-appreciated all-out lunacy technique as shown in my short, short story "Trout on the Bar Stool, Flounder in the Pretzel Bowl. Use with caution.

Trout on the bar stool: Hey flounder, did you ever get that lawnmower of yours working?

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: No.

Trout on the bar stool: That's a shame. That was always my favorite lawnmower. Some lawnmowers you can push around every single weekend for an entire summer, and by the time winter rolls around there is not one single lawnmower memory lingering in your head. But that lawnmower was different. I haven't even seen it since I borrowed it from you over that Labor Day weekend 15 years ago, and I still think about it every day. Heck, I didn't even mow the lawn with it. My wife and I just used it to create 4 little rectangular sections of matted down carpet fibers on our living room rug. Who would have thought it's wheels would have been so perfect for that?

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: I've always loved the matted down carpet fibers in your house.

Trout on the bar stool: Yup, that was one special lawnmower.

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: Ummm.... now that I think about it, I've never owned a lawnmower before.

Trout on the bar stool: I did think it was weird that a flounder would own a lawnmower. I probably don't own a carpet, either. I guess fish get pretty delusional when they've been sitting out of water as long as we have. How long have I been on this bar stool anyway?

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: About an hour.

Trout on the bar stool: Oh. *dies*

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: *dies*

The End

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Originally Posted by piku

I've always followed the thought that PG comedy is the best comedy. I see swearing and such as a crutch, and truly great humor doesn’t need it.

That's not to say I don't swear ever, or don't make jokes with swearing, but most of the best humor I have seen doesn't need swearing to be funny.

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I agree. I mean, for example, I love Sinfest www.sinfest.net(The BEST webcomic in all the universe!!!), and it has no swears at all - just premium wit and fully entertaining flavor of jokes that never goes *pltt*:yuck:! AND I also give props to music artists/groups who can be funny/witty/get their point across without using the MF this, and the FU that, and most importantly, the Suck this b*tch.

One of my favorite comics, Brian Reagan, uses very few obscenities in his material. The same could be said about Kevin James. However, many other people that I find funny, such as Wanda Sykes, does use them, but it doesn't really hurt her act. I think that the same ideology can be applied to paper comics as stand up comics: swearing doesn't exactly hinder or help your message, but it more defines your audience and what type of comedy the writer is trying to create. Whichever road you decide to take, I think that it?s important to be consistent, so that your characters? personalities can be more defined.

Well, if you want to see our web-comic, it's at http://www.joystickadventures.com

Yesterday I got feedback about the design. Today I don't want people to bash our comics, I just need advice on how to write funnier.... which I am getting and thank you guys for.

As far as Nemo said, the affiliates idea is one I overlooked and I am all for it. If you noticed I dropped the latest reviews/forum access to the right and added an affiliates panel.
Underneath that will be the link to JA button once I complete it.
Thanks Nemo!

The first I usually do when writing my comics is I ALWAYS take into consideration my characters traits. ALWAYS. It's a must for me. I hope that shows through.
(Jonas is similar to Goofy, Henry is a childish fat guy and Baxter is similar to Donald. Goofy being silly and idiotic and Donald being ill tempered and violent at times.)

UPDATE: There, my site features a support JA button (2 actually). Thanks for the advice Nemo. Now I must shop around and find some affiliates.

I personally like seeing/using curse words, but it can't be thrown around a lot. I think if you use it sparingly, it's got more impact and gets a lot of feelings across quickly. Like instead of "I don't think so", you have "Fuck that!".

It has to fit the character and if a bunch of swears are used in every panel, it's overkill.

EDIT: I just checked out the comics up so far and it's pretty good. But in the latest one, in the second panel where the two are hiding from the Rancore, I know they are supposed to be sweating, but it really looks like someone hocked the biggest loogie on them.

I'm the cartoonist of Joystick Adventures, and I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with Kid Nemo about the audience issue. I like drawing comics, I enjoy our comics and that's all I can do, really. I can't control anything but my work, and I'm sure somebody out there will appreciate it and, of course, as we get more experienced styles and such will change and we'll naturally get better at doing this thing.

As for the swearing issue, I'm not above using swear words to help evolve a punchline or character, but using swear words as the punchline really doesn't do anything for me. The latest Penny-Arcade Perhaps the Biggest Dorks Ever is an example of swearing taken too far with no real point. I don't find it funny, and think it just comes off as juvenile. But then again, somebody out there likes this and I'll still load up PA come Wednesday for the new comic. If swearing adds nothing to a comic or character, then it's pointless. Likewise for everything else.

lol, it does look like that now that you mention it. Perhaps droplets would have been a better choice.

Some genuinely funny people -- get this -- actually swear as part of normal conversation. And for them to censor themselves once they get infront of an audience/pen/typewriter is equivalent to talking down to me, so far as I'm concerned. To dismiss it as a 'crutch' is really, really silly.

Edit: beaten to the PA punch.

Foul language is fine as long as it used well and not just thrown around for the sake of having it in there.

Bill Cosby - Never swears, has some of the most hilarious material on the earth.

Chris Rock - Swears moderately, but is capable of doing an entire segment without swears. Still has hilarious material.

Lewis Black - Constantly swears, also has some of the most hilarious material on the planet.

All three are funny, it's just a matter of your preference, really. Everyone has posted some good input on the issue. If your comic doesn't have swears, then you should stay with that. Each of the comics I listed above turned their life's silly situations into a comedy routine. Bringing out the hilarity of everyday life is always good. Most of the really good comics have always done that.

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Originally Posted by Andrew

The latest Penny-Arcade Perhaps the Biggest Dorks Ever is an example of swearing taken too far with no real point. I don't find it funny, and think it just comes off as juvenile.

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I love it. It plays on their ranting psychosis, the insults getting more and more pointless in the heat of the moment.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2003/20030804l.gif

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My question is, most people find my funny in real life (like the 'joke character') but I'm having a hard time converting that into 'funny comics'. Now I think our comics are good and some are obviously better than others but I feel I could be funnier.
What do you recommend? Is there a mood to get into or something?

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I'm not really good at making jokes either. If I tried a "four panels, here's a joke!" format, I would kill myself. So instead of worrying about how to come up with jokes, I just created somewhat off-beat characters and assumed that they would occasionally do something funny. My comic is story based though, so I don't think this would work out for you.

For you I would say keep up with the news. If it is a gaming comic, you'll find several things every week to get ideas from. Its much easier to be funny in response to something than it is to create, and if you find yourself stuck without topics,just stretch a few out.

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I could have 10,000 hits a day but if they all come and go 'meh' and leave then I am being fooled.
You know?

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If they just say "meh" then they won't keep coming.

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Originally Posted by Tones

One of my favorite comics, Brian Reagan, uses very few obscenities in his material.

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He was the first person that came to mind when I first started reading this thread. The man's act is ssqueaky clean, yet he is one of the funniest people alive.

I hate to be the dick of this thread. But comic timing and funny can't really be learned.

I mean I guess it could, but it would involved the infulence of someone funnier.

The best advice I can give you is go out a lot and try to find humor in everyday situations. I personally find it works to find the one little detail about a normal situation that seems out of place, then make a HUGE deal about it.

That or I just blatantly steal from my much funnier friends.

P.S. Swears aren't always funny but a perfectly timed fuck can be...

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2003/20030528l.gif

Thats classic right there, classic.

I don't believe that really. I think everyone can be and write funny.

But being funny in rea life is different than converting that same funny-ness into a comic. It's hard when you only have 3-4 panels to get a joke across.

I like doing the comic and I like our characters. I think we will get an audience and of course the internet is a big place.

I'm currently looking into finding some affiliates myself. I think that will help get our name out quite a bit.

No I agree. Like I said timing etc, hard thing to do. But there are people who just can't get it, y'know? I'm not saying your that person by any stretch I'm just saying, if your not naturally funny its hard man, hard.

Anyway I gave you a good suggestion, influence man, influence.

See, now both of those PA comics posted are absolutely retarded. This is probably PA's finest moment (though there are many other strips damn close):

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2000/20000505l.jpg

Also, I really think age has something to do with the acceptance of swearing or not.

It seems to me that obviously teenagers accept swearing more as they tend to do it a lot. Whereas people in there 20's might be over that and not necessarily swear just to swear anymore. I mean people swear when they are mad. Myself, I tend to swear hardly ever.
It just all depends on the person and their morales I suppose.

if your not naturally funny its hard man, hard.

That's the thing. People do find me funny in real life. I constantly make people laugh and I just have a hard time taking that and writing it into a 4 panel comic.
I'm more the physical comedian myself anyways.... like more the actions I do or the things I might say by accident. At least that's what I'm told.... kinda like a Kramer, I suppose.
I think your suggestion is good man, don't worry about that. Any suggestion is a good suggestion.

Also keep in mind that some of the dirtiest comics became super stars when they were not swearing...Bob Saget and Tim Allen.

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Originally Posted by piku

See, now both of those PA comics posted are absolutely retarded. This is probably PA's finest moment (though there are many other strips damn close):

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2000/20000505l.jpg

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I personally like this comic for the fact that it shows how PA has evolved. This comic is funny, but it's a different kind of humour, whereas now they show somewhat different styles.

I know over the while we will evolve and I look foward to that.

Is that a guest comic?

http://www.joystickadventures.com/webstats/

KidNemo, those are my stats. I actually forgot I had this installed. I somewhat understand it but I'm a little lost.
It looks to me that people are reading it, which is good. Also, keep in mind we opened on July 31st and traffic really went up for that month. August is catching it and we have just begun this month.

If anyone can help me understand this webstats I would be greatful.

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Originally Posted by pixelassassin

That's the thing. People do find me funny in real life. I constantly make people laugh and I just have a hard time taking that and writing it into a 4 panel comic.

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Then why do a comic at all?

Comics are generally less effective overall than a well-written essay. Penny Arcade has hundreds of crappy, worthless comics burying the few dozen classic ones. Tycho's front-page news rants are usually much better than the comic itself.

rezo: That is a really old Penny Arcade comic. Several years now. That was their first style.

Then why do a comic at all?

I enjoy doing it.

That Wang Clip one sucks. It's so... uninspired.

Now THIS one...

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2002/20020619l.gif

I think some posts in here a great example of how many peoples tastes for comedy come into play.

It all goes back to Kid Nemos first post actually.

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Originally Posted by piku

See, now both of those PA comics posted are absolutely retarded.

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Nope.



http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2003/20030505l.gif

this is the funniest PA ever.


And I agree Pixel, plenty of examples of sense of humor here.

I agree with yawa, that strip is funny.

oh shite, I am jeremy :p

And there's nothing wrong with comics being jeuvenile.

That's how real-life is.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2002/20020923l.jpg

Kenshin - yeah, that one rocks too. Totally forgot about it.

i enjoyed foul language in films like Snatch and Lock stock and two smoking barrels... only because it was delievered so great. pikey or east end speak is always funny.

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Originally Posted by Kenshin

I love it. It plays on their ranting psychosis, the insults getting more and more pointless in the heat of the moment.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2003/20030804l.gif

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But it makes no sense why he's insulting him. I don't find that funny atleast...

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Originally Posted by Kenshin

And there's nothing wrong with comics being jeuvenile.

That's how real-life is.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2002/20020923l.jpg

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But this proves a point and is extremely funny in the process.

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Originally Posted by Mode7

Some genuinely funny people -- get this -- actually swear as part of normal conversation. And for them to censor themselves once they get infront of an audience/pen/typewriter is equivalent to talking down to me, so far as I'm concerned. To dismiss it as a 'crutch' is really, really silly.

Edit: beaten to the PA punch.

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If you need to say FUCK THIS or FUCKING KLEENEX in every comic to be funny, that's a crutch.

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Originally Posted by Andrew

But it makes no sense why he's insulting him. I don't find that funny atleast...

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Tycho and Gabe survive on a love/hate relationship. Insulting each other is just how they express affection for each other in a non-homosexual way.

If you look closely at the last panel, the look in Tycho's eyes is not the look of contempt. It's the look of someone lost in the moment...

Don't get me wrong, Penny Arcade is great. Just sometimes the swearing seems a little over-board. Like that 'is' the joke. I dunno, maybe I'm too old. :(

Anyways, I have been sending out some affiliation requests, I hope that gets the word out.

I figure we will find our audience sometime. I didn't make this thread as an advertising scam, so that's why I didn't list our URL at first, but hey, people asked, eh? I hope at least some of you enjoy it.

- Matt

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http://www.joystickadventures.com/webstats/

KidNemo, those are my stats. I actually forgot I had this installed. I somewhat understand it but I'm a little lost.
It looks to me that people are reading it, which is good. Also, keep in mind we opened on July 31st and traffic really went up for that month. August is catching it and we have just begun this month.

If anyone can help me understand this webstats I would be greatful.

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Kid Nemo, you on?

I thought that the "Do the Yoshi" comic was hilarious, the funniest of all.

Thanks. I came up with that idea.

I think a worldwide moratorium should be placed on any new videogame-related comics.

It's an overdone genre.

Everything is only as over-done as you make it seem.

Well we're not married to doing strictly gaming, we also do strips about movies and things that happen to us, so we're alright. BTW, we update tomorrow for anybody who's interested.

Ripped from another thread, http://dmiller.shackspace.com/GIJOE/ perfect example of swearing being funny.

Swearing can be totally funny. Look at Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Almost every joke relies on Jay swearing, yet it still works.


In Australia, we have this TV show called "the panel", which is basically 6 Comedians sitting around a table talking about shit. The other night, they were saying that you have to train your comic ability, otherwise you'll lose your funniness. If you want to see an example of this, see Maddox's first article ever and compare it to his latest. So basically, if you keep trying to be funny, you'll get better.




personally, I like offbeat humour the most, like Kidnemos Comet 7 and another favorite of mine, white ninja comics.

I didn't like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back that much. I thought it was very bland and relied on swearing too much.

But then again, that is what their characters do, I guess.

I just wanted to thank any and everyone who has been visiting and liking our comic. We're #300 on top webcomics at the moment (out of 1100 or so) and we've only been open a month or so. Good stuff!

Try swearing. Try anything to make that comic funny, or just stop.

Calvin & Hobbes never had a swear in it, not just because of its media either. You got the impression that Calvin would (in one stip it is shown that he'd like to know some swear words which I found even funnier given his advanced vernacular), but vocabulary was always his strong suit. Swearing would have been counter to his character of useing sopisitcated language to express what could be juvenille. This doesn't work for everyone though. There's no rule. It's all based on the characters you're useing. Calvin & Hobbes would have never been considered great had (even if allowed) swearing been a part of it, even if infrequently. That's not the fault of swearing, it's just not made for that character or the strip.

Yours on the other hand, are two teenage - early 20's gamers. Swearing would not seem out of place... and if delivered dryly swearing could make such character funnier =/

No one, at the end of the day, can tell you how to be funnier - you either are or are not. Station made some seriously good recommendation. I suggest you look into them seriously.

The "Fruit Fucker 2000" PA strip reminds me of well used swearing. "Drink my juice! It's fucking nutritious" If someone could find that and post it you could see how, in it's context, it is hilarious.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...&stc=1&thumb=1

Not to toot my own horn but sometimes it IS funny. Like the Fruit Fucker 2K thing, the use of swearing in a product name or in an advertisement is funny because that never happens. That could be "Don't Steal My Tiles" and would be less funny I think. Likewise:

http://www.boomspeed.com/spiff/albertdrip.jpg

wouldn't be funny if it just said "dripdry = dummy lol."

the parts that make that humorous are the 'dipshit' and "lol" because the juxtaposition of Albert Einstien with the phrase as well as haveing seemed to have written "lol" is absurd.

Swearing has no bearing on humor either way. You're either funny, or you aren't. That's it.

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Originally Posted by Chibi Nappa

Then there is the rarely-appreciated all-out lunacy technique as shown in my short, short story "Trout on the Bar Stool, Flounder in the Pretzel Bowl. Use with caution.

Trout on the bar stool: Hey douchebag, did you ever get that lawnmower of yours working?

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: No.

Trout on the bar stool: That's a shame, pigfucker. That was always my favorite lawnmower. Some lawnmowers you can push around every single weekend for an entire summer, and by the time winter rolls around there is not one single lawnmower memory lingering in your head. But that lawnmower was different. I haven't even seen it since I borrowed it from you over that Labor Day weekend 15 years ago, and I still think about it every day. Heck, I didn't even mow the lawn with it. My wife and I just used it to create 4 little rectangular sections of matted down carpet fibers on our living room rug. Who would have thought it's wheels would have been so perfect for that? Oh yeah, and did I mention that you should eat my ass?

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: I've always loved the matted down carpet fibers in your house. And eating your ass.

Trout on the bar stool: Yup, that was one special lawnmower. Die.

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: Ummm.... now that I think about it, I've never owned a lawnmower before. Jesus I fucking suck.

Trout on the bar stool: I did think it was weird that a flounder would own a lawnmower. I probably don't own a carpet, either. I guess fish get pretty delusional when they've been sitting out of water as long as we have. How long have I been on this bar stool anyway? My balls would be killing me if they weren't inside my fucking body.

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: About an hour.

Trout on the bar stool: God I fucking hate you.. *dies*

Flounder in the pretzel bowl: *dies*

The End

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See? You can lace that with "fucks" and it wouldn't be the least bit funny. Well, maybe just a bit...

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Originally Posted by AFX

See? You can lace that with "fucks" and it wouldn't be the least bit funny. Well, maybe just a bit...

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That is actually highly-developed time release humor created by a team of mad scientists in their secret lair on the grassy island of a jug-handle deep within New Jersey. Rest assured, you will be paralyized by laughter about 12 years from now after reading it.

edit: I can't belive you actually took the time to re-write Trout on the Barstool, Flounder in the Pretzel Bowl. :bang:

Thanks for the feedback.

Mzo: Hmm... other people have found it funny. We're in the top 150 now. I guess you either do or don't.

maybe it's the click through from your signature?

I dunno. That URL doesn't stand out too much. I've been telling people about it and have gotten some good feedback and suggestions for the comic and I'm taking them all to heart.

Right now we're 86 or so out on the Top 150 webcomics listing. Pretty good.

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Hmm... other people have found it funny

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I'd love specific cited examples of instances people found humorous. I looked through them all. 2 things were kinda funny, but were quickly drowned out in a sea of lame:

1) a guy crapping out a Yoshi egg is, in and of itself, inherently funny.

2) the way the afro guy wear his sweatband 3/4 of the way up his 'fro.

And that is it. Work from there.

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Originally Posted by Mzo

I'd love specific cited examples of instances people found humorous. I looked through them all. 2 things were kinda funny, but were quickly drowned out in a sea of lame:

1) a guy crapping out a Yoshi egg is, in and of itself, inherently funny.

2) the way the afro guy wear his sweatband 3/4 of the way up his 'fro.

And that is it. Work from there.

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Specific cited examples?

1) like the Acclaim suits response to the good game comment made by the techie-like man.

2) People enjoyed the Chain of Command comic

3) I had one person say they really enjoyed the first comics punchline (only 2)

4) Several people loved the Sega - Namco comic, although a month or too late.

These are examples that I have talked to people about.

Like I said: You may not like the comic style, but other people do. (not all other people) Stormy gave us a compliment here on the boards too.

We're planning on doing more spoofs of games now, though. It's a lot easier to get away with just a couple of friends playing games or watching movies.

But I think spoofs are fun

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I dunno. That URL doesn't stand out too much. I've been telling people about it and have gotten some good feedback and suggestions for the comic and I'm taking them all to heart.

Right now we're 86 or so out on the Top 150 webcomics listing. Pretty good.

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TWC list resets every month, so a lot of comics make pushes early on but fall back down quickly. Be happy if it sticks around there for a few more weeks.

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Originally Posted by pixelassassin

Actually Monty Python if kind of similar to Mel Brooks.

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Nuh-uh. Other way round.

Python is GOD, and all things come from the Python team. That is, things are similar to THEM. They are not similar to anything. ;)

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Originally Posted by rezo

TWC list resets every month, so a lot of comics make pushes early on but fall back down quickly. Be happy if it sticks around there for a few more weeks.

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Yeah, we'll definitely see. We were 300 last month or so before the reset with only like 1 weeks voting, if that. Right now we're 56.

Honestly, not as a strike against you or anything... I can't think of 20 funny internet comics let alone 86. I feel bad for whomever is at 1100th.

lol. We're still holding strong at about 50 in the top 150 webcomics. So we're doing fine right now. Competition is beginning to get heavier now though. Most sites around our ranking average 4 or 5 votes a DAY.

No problem here. I can muster those votes up no problem.

I'm going to give this webcomics thing a shot myself.... Here's my first attempt. Not my "A" material, but whatever... :) I call it: Mr. Whepunfrut. He's the hampster that may or may not be used in any actual in-panel action. It's pronounced "weapon fruit", by the way.

http://www.ti-solutions.net/tate/whepunfrut1.gif

Yeah, I've been watching alot of "living dead" movies lately. I haven't quite settled on the visual style. I don't know if I like thier limbs just appearing as needed or sticking around full time.

My vote goes to YAWA's as far as classic PA goes.

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Originally Posted by Andrew

But it makes no sense why he's insulting him. I don't find that funny atleast...

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It's not that he's insulting him, it's that he's going completely overboard. He took a concept and ran with it, which in that case meant creating more and more random belittling names. It's funny (to some) because it's over the top and doesn't really make much sense.

Humor differs from person to person, as I personally agree with Mzo regarding your comic. What This and Chain of Command were almost funny, but it seems to be primarily your delivery and punchlines that need work. Most of the ideas themselves are fine, they just need to be executed differently in order to come across right.

Here's my undiluted comments as a first-time viewer. It might be... well, hell, it is harsh. Sorry.

I find the main problem is that, intended effect or not, you totally come across as a rip-off of PA.

I mean, seriously, the site layout looks extremely similar, the characters look like absurd parodies of Gabe and Tych, and the humor seems like it's trying for the exact same feel (which wouldn't neccessarily be bad if it equaled, or at least came closer, to the payoff of PA strips, but for the most part it falls quite short of that mark).

I would seriously advise you to start over from scratch on the site design, redesign the characters, and try to distance your humor from being a bad imitation of an established comic.

Yeah, this isn't the "you're doing great" critique you want to hear, it's hard medicine to swallow, and I'm not accusing you of consciously aping them... but it's obvious their influence has seeped in a bit too much. Start over, make it your own, and it'll find an audience.

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Originally Posted by Chibi Nappa

I'm going to give this webcomics thing a shot myself.... Here's my first attempt. Not my "A" material, but whatever... :) I call it: Mr. Whepunfrut. He's the hampster that may or may not be used in any actual in-panel action. It's pronounced "weapon fruit", by the way.

http://www.ti-solutions.net/tate/whepunfrut1.gif

Yeah, I've been watching alot of "living dead" movies lately. I haven't quite settled on the visual style. I don't know if I like thier limbs just appearing as needed or sticking around full time.

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That's a very good looking comic. I like the style. I think you should keep the limbs on all the time, but maybe make them detached like Rayman or something along those lines.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

It's not that he's insulting him, it's that he's going completely overboard. He took a concept and ran with it, which in that case meant creating more and more random belittling names. It's funny (to some) because it's over the top and doesn't really make much sense.

Humor differs from person to person, as I personally agree with Mzo regarding your comic. What This and Chain of Command were almost funny, but it seems to be primarily your delivery and punchlines that need work. Most of the ideas themselves are fine, they just need to be executed differently in order to come across right.

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Perhaps. We'll improve with time.

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Originally Posted by Bacon McShig

Here's my undiluted comments as a first-time viewer. It might be... well, hell, it is harsh. Sorry.

I find the main problem is that, intended effect or not, you totally come across as a rip-off of PA.

I mean, seriously, the site layout looks extremely similar, the characters look like absurd parodies of Gabe and Tych, and the humor seems like it's trying for the exact same feel (which wouldn't neccessarily be bad if it equaled, or at least came closer, to the payoff of PA strips, but for the most part it falls quite short of that mark).

I would seriously advise you to start over from scratch on the site design, redesign the characters, and try to distance your humor from being a bad imitation of an established comic.

Yeah, this isn't the "you're doing great" critique you want to hear, it's hard medicine to swallow, and I'm not accusing you of consciously aping them... but it's obvious their influence has seeped in a bit too much. Start over, make it your own, and it'll find an audience.

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We've heard it before and we know. But there's 2 of us and this is just the kind of humour we like and do. We do resemble PA because it uses the 2 gamers format. Starting over because we're similar or something like this isn't an option right now and we can only do content we enjoy, and then go from there.

We're gaining an audience, so obviously people are enjoying the content we are doing. That's all I can ask for. We are planning on doing more parodies and series as opposed to the one time shot comics PA likes to do. Also, integrating our other characters in with more frequency is a good way to get away from the 2 gamers format.

The past 2 - 4 comics we've done have been entertaining enough with the feedback I've gotten off of them