Another day, another comic that stopped making sense on friday but by then it was too late to think of something else so here it is as preceded and described by this sentence which you might say is maybe a run-on sentence but who’s to say what is and isn’t a run-on sentence in this world of grey areas and blurred lines and comics that don’t make sense even to the person who drew them which is too bad because it’s his birthday tomorrow and he really should take one day a year to feel quasi-pseudo-good about himself. Oh yeah, and I bought me a new PC, hence much setting-up and downloading and installing and so on, hence the lateness of this week’s installment of the comic. Switching computers is pretty much just as bad as switching apartments, I’m finding, but at least I finally replaced my 10-year old monitor–which will result in a different look to the coloring of the comic, perhaps, because the brightness/contrast/whatever settings are all different now. Oh well, at least i’m not subconsciously inserting Chad Kroeger into my comics!! J’ACCUSE, Penny Arcade!!!
–Rowntree
June 23, 2008 at 4:17 am
I would totally see those guys live.
June 23, 2008 at 4:36 am
Nice strip. Although the gas jar needs to be a bucket.. Happy B-day.
June 23, 2008 at 5:14 am
Is it truly a day of high feast? Tacos and burritos for everyone! I think I missed Celebration of a Champion Day too. And he truly was Championic this year, what with the captaining and victorizing.
Your comic has confirmed my failure as a human being, since I always thought it would be really cool to go to Mars. Is it my fault that NASA didn’t hold to their plan of having manned missions to Mars by 2008? Seriously, that’s what the plan was 20 years ago (according to National Geographic). I figured I’d be about the right age and everything, but even so, I doubt there’d be room for musicians on board. Not even one. Not even one who accidentally typed Mission to Mars (the greatest film Jerry O’Connell has ever starred in). I liked it, even if it didn’t make sense to you.
June 23, 2008 at 7:43 am
this one of your best comics ever, man.
June 23, 2008 at 11:01 am
Having helped raise two daughters, I believe I get your comic. My ladies totally schooled me in snark .
June 23, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Did you just imply that Chad Kroeger is Jesus?
June 23, 2008 at 1:24 pm
For the record, I believe in neither of them.
June 23, 2008 at 8:04 pm
I’d totally see them live, I guess they’d be better than Nickelback!
Happy birthday by the way! Hope we’ll get to see many more years of such great and unusual comics
June 23, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Some interesting comments on reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/comics/info/6okmn/comments/
June 23, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Perhaps because it hits so close to home, this is one of your best comics yet.
I second Camille – here’s to many more years of Subnormality!
June 23, 2008 at 9:47 pm
This is nothing like that Calvin & Hobbes comic where Hobbes wishes for a sandwich and Calvin makes a huge wish and Hobbes at the end says “I got my wish”
June 23, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I love that strip. Calvin’s facial expression in the last panel is just classic.
[reads comments] Rather a mixed reaction, but then everything gets rather a mixed reaction. And yeah–the guitarist is technically an admiral. Ten thousand bonus points for identifying the historical inspiration for each band member’s costume.
I shall do my best. I never thought i’d make it even one year, and yet here I am. Thanks for the kind sentiments!
June 24, 2008 at 12:50 am
Man that comic is too true.
Funny thing is, I DID live my childhood dream: to be a search and rescue helicopter crewman in the USCG. Did it for nine years.
Now, I’m a graphic designer at a boring software company and look just like the proles in the top panels. Dreams are tough to make last forever.
Crap. I’m all depressed now.
June 24, 2008 at 1:11 am
It’s an odd dichotomy: as the saying goes, truth is at the core of humor….but then, there’s a point where truth may *subsume* the humor.
It’s hard to know where, exactly, that happens. And it’s certainly subjective, so I won’t even begin to claim that my impression defines the success of your latest strip. But I will note that my reaction was an awful lot like arkonbey’s: “Crap. I’m all depressed now.”
Subnormality treads that line an awful lot, and you frequently get the path just right. I’d like to be able to say something *helpful* that might be of some minor use to you in your future strips. But the fact is, I just don’t have a clue, beyond perhaps suggesting you might wanna explicitly ask yourself: “What/where’s the *funny* in this strip?” When you can describe that presence, great. At least then, we’re all in the same Subjectivity Hell, where some will get the joke and some won’t.
That, of course, assumes you’re *wanting* funny to be there at all, which may not always be true.
June 24, 2008 at 2:50 am
Yeah, but at least you DID live the dream, right? I wouldn’t be too depressed if I were you. Novelty rap-metal bands don’t last forever either (I hope).
Your suspicions are correct. Funny can be hard to come by, and then there’s the days where I just don’t feel like being amusing, but Funny is still my overall objective. That, and causing crippling depression among the readership!! Well, erm, not really. Still, if you accept the theory that laughing and crying are roughly the same thing (tears of joy, anyone?), then I’m usually in the ballpark. I think? I hope.
June 24, 2008 at 6:10 am
I love this comic.
My dream was to go to space and visit Mars. After working in the space program for a few years though*, I knew that despite everyone in the Mars program fervently wishing to do manned missions to Mars, it was never, ever going to happen on the funding that NASA is going to get for the conceivable future.
So I’ve since aimed my dreams a little lower, into the realm of the achievable. That’s kind of depressing to contemplate, but I think it’s more fun to actually get my wishes sometimes!
*Atmospheric science, nothing -that- exciting.
June 24, 2008 at 7:53 am
Seconding the sentiment that I would see that band live, despite rap and metal being two awful tastes that taste awful together!!!!
June 24, 2008 at 7:54 am
I’m so torn, I love the band’s gimmick but rap and metal are two awful tastes that taste awful together. What a dilemma!!!
June 24, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Bah… I’ll take Industrial/Hip Hop over Rap/Metal any day of the week…
http://bilder.posthof.at/20080530/page.htm
(Run, don’t walk, if you have the opportunity to see Saul Williams live…)
June 24, 2008 at 3:09 pm
it’s all part of the plan
June 24, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Even though I knew the punchline before I scrolled over, the last panel still made me laugh. Well done man!
June 25, 2008 at 1:43 am
sadly, only the terrible, terrible dreams come true…
June 25, 2008 at 11:56 pm
definitely one of my favorites
June 26, 2008 at 2:09 pm
It’s allegorically autobiographical. Good on yah winston.
June 26, 2008 at 5:25 pm
There’s Patton on the left and Napoleon on the right… I *think* the drummer is Charles de Gaulle. I can’t place the singer, though.
June 26, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Got it — the singer is Zhukov!
June 27, 2008 at 12:19 am
Right on all counts except the guitarist, whose uniform was inspired by admiral Nelson but isn’t really accurate enough to be recognizable. Napoleon is therefore close enough. Ten thousand bonus points are yours!!! [thunderous applause, cheering, the doffing of hats]
June 28, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I think I’ve seen those guys. Didn’t they open for British Sea Power?
June 30, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Hilarious.
July 1, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Hi!
I just read the whole comic strips availible. This is one of the most interresting webcomics I’ve read in the last months. Great art combind with uniqe and sool themes is a major plus in the world off web comics. thumbs up for the creative mind and hand behind this.
July 5, 2008 at 3:00 am
Too true. Too true.
July 6, 2008 at 4:44 pm
One of the best to date.
July 27, 2008 at 2:00 am
The individual has alway’s had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is to high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
Friedrich Nietzsche
July 27, 2008 at 2:15 am
This strip is so true it’s sad, not funny. I guess it”d be much funnier if I were in a band! Then I”d be laughing my butt off at the drones.
I’m still young though, and if I can appreciate this comic and relate to it I guess all is not yet lost!
and yeah Nietzsche sure got it right.
July 27, 2008 at 3:41 am
LOL, dude that was too cool man! Wow, you hit the nail on the head with that one!
JT
http://www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com
July 27, 2008 at 4:00 am
Truely, truely a masterpiece.
I went down the road less traveled
and have never regretted doing so.
July 27, 2008 at 4:54 am
You forgot to include the part about the rocker shooting heroin into his veins, and dying in a pool of his own vomit.
July 27, 2008 at 6:01 am
unfortunately, the reality is more like all of them end up at desk jobs
and plus, that metal band guy had about 5 dollars in his jar. He could never afford to pay for the food of his band members and certainly couldnt afford a car
=(
July 28, 2008 at 2:05 pm
yes, because all that matters in life is having fun and partying your ass away. The key here is not to get married or have kids, or else you’ll have to get a real job so you can take care of them. But you still want plenty of sex… so,… just don’t get anyone pregnant. And if you do, just get a freakin abortion.. cuz ROCK AND ROLL AND F**KIN’ is my idea of a meaningful life – forget anyone else.
(this comes from a musician and artist who believes in creative expression – and also responsibility. i don’t think we should resign too life in a cubicle… but this type of cartoon sends the wrong message. Just sayin.)
July 28, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Really gorgeous!!!
July 31, 2008 at 2:14 am
Sweet Strip!!! That was totally funny.
August 6, 2008 at 6:26 pm
The Generals Rock! YEEEEAAH
August 7, 2008 at 2:52 pm
> yes, because all that matters in life is having fun and partying your ass away. The key here is not to get married or have kids, or else you’ll have to get a real job so you can take care of them. But you still want plenty of sex… so,… just don’t get anyone pregnant. And if you do, just get a freakin abortion.. cuz ROCK AND ROLL AND F**KIN’ is my idea of a meaningful life – forget anyone else.
As someone who’s married with two kids and a cubicle job to feed them —yes, that’s pretty much correct. Should have stayed with my guitar.
August 7, 2008 at 2:53 pm
> He could never afford to pay for the food of his band members and certainly couldnt afford a car
who the fuck cares for cars? cars are stupid.
August 8, 2008 at 9:02 pm
oh yah lol
August 16, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Brilliant. Everything I’ve been trying to explain to people for the last 8 months summed up perfectly.
September 8, 2008 at 11:07 pm
so fucking true
September 16, 2008 at 4:36 am
One more comment about this comic, which I return to again and again:
Awwwwwwwwww… Muthahfuckin’ YEAH!
October 8, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I really love this one its excelent. Strive to be what you want to be it’s like saying btw don’t live to be bored.
October 16, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Dude… thank you for making this.
Awww Mothafuckin YEAAH!!!
October 23, 2008 at 12:58 am
I don’t know how you learned to see into my head, but I dig it. Awesome comics!
November 27, 2008 at 6:15 pm
The best, yeeeaaaahhh!
December 21, 2008 at 2:38 am
AWWW MUTHAFUCKIN YEAH!!!!!
That is fuckin classic
January 17, 2009 at 4:41 am
Ha ha ha!!! Too true!
January 31, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Amazing.
February 26, 2009 at 9:57 pm
What are the nationalities of the generals costumes?
American, German, French aaaand? (Shit like this drives me mad, knowwhatimean?)
February 26, 2009 at 10:01 pm
How stupid of me, didn’t read the above posts.
March 16, 2009 at 12:28 am
LOL nice! kudos dude kudos
April 20, 2009 at 7:03 am
I wanted to be a doctor when i grew up
And now I’m in Med School.
Sorry to buck the trend there, looooserrrrrs hahaha
May 15, 2009 at 5:35 am
If this strip is supposed to be all dystopian and ‘power-to-the-rebels’…
What exactly is the blonde girl smirking at? She knows something we don’t?
May 24, 2009 at 5:28 pm
That’s me on drums in the last panel. In the future….
June 5, 2009 at 3:07 am
I generally like your comics, but you really missed the mark here.
The messages of this comic get further and further from the truth as the list goes on:
1: No one who wants to become a doctor or policeman ever realizes his dream, and aspiring musician never end up living with their parents and working at Block Buster.
2: No one who works in a cubicle ever enjoys his job. He always hates his life, because anything that doesn’t involve fame and fortune isn’t worth getting up in the morning to do, and nothing that requires sitting at a desk, using a computer, and working interacting with colleagues could ever be challenging or rewarding.
3. Edgy, “nonconformist” kids that were into music were picked on and viewed as outcasts and nerds, while kids who actually applied themselves and wanted to do well academically were always popular and never considered nerds.
June 24, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Great stuff, I am officially a fan
Long live Weirdoes everywhere (yes, YOU too)
check this, mate of mine here in Berlin:
http://www.toonpool.com/toonagent/profile?userid=169
all the best
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