Thursday, August 14, 2008

My new favorite comic

Strip, not comedian. I recently happened across a web-based cartoon, xkcd, by a guy called Randall Munroe.


Apparently xkcd is not an acronym, just the name of the comic.


Some of it is smart, observational material for a general audience.


Other panels are for hardcore computer programmers, biochemistry PhDs or online gamers, which makes those of us who have no clue what he's talking about feel that much less like geeks. When he lightens up the science quotient, he can at least get a chuckle out of those of us who took physics in high school.


Other times it's not so much a joke as evidence of the relatably weird ways people think.


It's interesting to discover you're not the only one who occasionally sees the world through an odd prism. Many will recognize their own foibles in his depiction of his own, though we rarely discuss such minutiae.


Besides the dorky stuff, there are also broader ones like this song chart.


The state of syndicated comics is pretty terrible these days, with unfunny pap larding up America's newspapers (which are themselves getting killed; causal relationship?).


But who needs a syndicator? In today's world, anyone can distribute their work easily online.


With Gary Larson long gone and Bill Watterson having hung it up in 1995, it's a happy surprise to happen upon a smart, original cartoonist who can make you laugh.


Some of the cartoons are pretty conceptual, and others are art sketches without a comedic point. I'm just posting a handful of the ones I found amusing.


I don't have much else to say about it but I keep writing filler sentences like this one to provide more room to post examples.


The cartoonist also provides additional commentary for each cartoon at his website, which you can read in a popup text box by hovering over the panel with your mouse. Check it out at xkcd.com.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

xkcd is the best. This one is one of my favorites.

Jenny Blair said...

Awesome. I miss Gary Larson and Bill Watterson a lot. Maybe here is consolation.