Tue Jul 14, 2009 — by Marc Alan Fishman

Webcomics You Should Be Reading: 'Cyanide and Happiness'

Yup. I'm sick. Twisted. Perverse. Warped. Dare I even say (dare... dare....) a little insane in the membrane. Why you ask? Simply put... someone sent me a link to this crudely drawn little webcomic, and after a single strip, I knew I must share this with the six or seven of you who haven't heard of it. What lay ahead in this article will make some of you angry. Others will throw their hands up in disgust and curse loudly at the screen. But there will be those who see this as a new beacon of hope. Yes my friends, I bring to you something so wrong it must be right. A webcomic that appears to challenge xkcd in artistic merit, and tickle the nethers of the Parking Lot is Full for content. Look quickly beneath this velvet drape and behold the evil hilariousnesstitude of... Cyanide and Happiness!

The strip starting humbly by a young Kris Wilson, who was then suffering from strep throat (seriously folks, if Wikipedia didn't exist, I might not know anything.). Kris caught the eye of web hosts Matt Melvin, Rob DenBleyker and Dave McElfatrick. Soon thereafter, the strip was given a home on what is now Explosm.net. While Wilson was the originator of the comic, over time, Matt, Rob, and Dave joined the fray, helping to add strips since it's inception in 2005. But seriously, enough with the “information”... I know those who didn't heed my warning above want to know why I'm giggling like priest in an elementary school over this ugly ugly strip.

Cyanide and Happiness by definition is described as “dark, cynical, often offensive, and exceedingly irreverent. Frequent topics of humor include disabilities, rape, cancer, murder, suicide, necrophilia, pedophilia, sexual deviancy, sexually transmitted diseases, self-mutilation, nihilism, and violence. The comic does not always have a definite punchline in each strip, or may have several panels of "awkward silence" after (or instead of) the punchline, with characters simply staring at each other.” (again, kudos to those wikipedia writers... where do they get the time?!). If that description doesn't make you foam at the mouth for examples, well, you're probably more normal than I am.

As one cycles through Cyanide and Happiness, it's obvious there's a good sense of timing, and a deliberate storytelling ability, despite the art being all but non-existent. Yes, it's essentially stick figure humor, much like the aforementioned xkcd, but for all of dumb people who find strips like these far funnier than these. And yes, I know I've already waxed poetic on xkcd, and now you loyal FOMAFers (again, if you DON'T know, well, look it up.) are getting your panties in a bunch. Did Marc just go back on his word? Is he saying Cyanide and Happiness is somehow superior to xkcd? Is he trying to start a flame war? Yes. I am. I want all of you to get riled up and start a crazy posting war. Tell your friends... get them involved. Tweet about it on your dingleberries, and update your mybooks with your facespace messages. I want to see vile comments lambasting my parents for even giving birth to me, which leads (eventually) to you having to read this article, and now you're so angry you just have to.... AAAAHHHH!!!

Sorry about that. Won't happen again. I promise. So, how about a list of funny strips to prove my point? Eh? Would that make you happy? I know it would. Enjoy:

• Why I don't have any fish as pets.
• Why I love casual Fridays.
• Why I don't love importing in export ports.
• Why I love literal humor.
• Why I'm not an atheist.
• Why I know exactly what happens when you've been making comics way too late. (You're welcome Matt and Kyle)
• Why LOLCATs should sue.
• Why I'm actually getting married.

The Breakdown:

Drama: Yes... there's a ton of drama here. It's like TNT. They know drama. Or is that TLC? Or HGTV...

Humor:  Poop jokes. Non-sequitors. Sex. Making fun of people by way of the Beastie Boys... What else could you possibly want folks? Answer: Tact.

Continuity: Strickly speaking? There's none that I've found. They may deal with similar situations, but you needn't know anything before diving into all the funny ha-has. Wait, sorry. I found 1 example of a story-line. You're welcome.

Art: Something between a Monet, and Manet, and a Mental Patient. Ugly, crude, lacking backgrounds, shading, depth,  or really any semblance of talent. But still, it gets the jokes out. And frankly, I think better art would only get in the way of the vile humor.

Archive: Going long and strong since 2005. Due obviously to having 4 authors and no need to be pretty makes it's fairly simple to produce strips. Good for them. That being said, this ain't a strip that needs to live anywhere but your desktop. Ok, they do sell plushies and tee shirts. Those are fine by me. Even bad artists need to pay the bills, right?

Updates: Nearly everyday folks. Give them a hand.

Risk/Reward: Are you easily offended? Like detailed, beautiful hand-crafted artistry? Like subtle near-british levels of sarcasm? Then go away you pretentious, aureate, grandiloquent, specious, magniloquent, turgid, vainglorious bastard. For all you other awesome idiots, click away and enjoy the madness.

Seacrest out.

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