Good news first: there’s yer new comic, and it’s early too for once. She gets in and out through the garage if you were wondering.
Bad News Second
Well, if you think i suck then it’s actually good news, but anyway i need to take a bit of a vacation from the comic so there won’t be another one for three or four weeks unfortunately. I have great reasons though, like a perfect storm of converging things, the main thing being that i’m moving to a new apartment for April (hurrah!!) which is going to preclude the creation and uploading of new comix due to the usual time-consumedness and non-internetedness and box-unpackery and ikea furniture assemblage. Fear not though, I’ll be back as soon as i can. The mental break will be much welcomed, but the returning from it will be even better. I hope y’all understand and will bear with me during this period of downtime. Thanks again for reading, and I’ll talk to yer later!
remain awesome,
WR
movin’ downtown, baby!
March 22, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Cheers! See you in a month!
March 22, 2009 at 3:40 pm
awesome. cant wait for new comix
March 22, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Aww.. I’m sad to see that there’ll be a break, but I understand. Good luck with moving!
~ink
March 22, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I didn’t realize that Canada Post was issuing flak jackets to their staff
March 22, 2009 at 4:33 pm
My brain no worky, what’s the 63 refer to?
March 22, 2009 at 5:11 pm
The Sphynx speaks for us all.
Blocking mail you don’t want (or shouldn’t be getting because it’s addressed to a former occupant) is harder than getting rid of a stalker. Yes, stalkers are more potentially dangerous but at least you can get a restraining order and if they trespass you have the right to konk them on the head with a bat.
But no judge will grant a restraining order against nuisance mail senders. And, if you konk the senders or the postal carriers on the head (which the latter don’t deserve because they’re legally obligated to deliver all mail), you go to jail. Yes, you can “request to be removed from our mailing list,” or write “MOVED-ADDRESS UNKNOWN” on the envelope and stick it in the mailbox, but that’s about as effective as asking N*ck*lb*ck to disband and issue a public apology.
March 22, 2009 at 5:13 pm
The mail ALWAYS comes through.
March 22, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Brilliant stroke of genius, once again, sir.
see you when you have finished making hamster-juice.
I know what I mean.
March 22, 2009 at 8:07 pm
You and your comic will be missed. Enjoy your break, though.
March 22, 2009 at 8:53 pm
NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Oh, well. Enjoy your move.
Nice comic, by the way.
Did the sphynx scratch the mailman below the eyes between the last and second to last panels?
March 22, 2009 at 9:07 pm
hahahahaha the sphynx is always good
March 23, 2009 at 12:01 am
This is genius.
March 23, 2009 at 12:22 am
Dear the Sphinx, could you please eat the *ohthehumanitycensored* artist and author of Subnormality?
He always goes on haiti… hiati… hiatusses… eh whatever – when we need our weekly fix.
KThxBye.
np: Matias Aguayo – Minimal (DJ Koze Remix) (Reincarnations)
March 23, 2009 at 12:35 am
Find the little things, pt. 1
1. Photo of Stephen Harper attached to a letter. Yes, he really does look like a LEGO figurine, Americans.
2. Sphynx lives across the street from 666. Has skulls, bones in trash.
3. Visible is a return-to-sender address of Stéphane Dion.
March 23, 2009 at 12:58 am
haha.
March 23, 2009 at 2:08 am
Do your thing man. Just don’t move next to any mythical characters and you’ll be fine.
March 23, 2009 at 3:04 am
I think the Sphynx speaks to that psychotic voice in my head. Good luck with the move and hopefully the next comic will have a novel size amount of text in it.
March 23, 2009 at 4:46 am
your comic strip just makes me happy
March 23, 2009 at 8:05 am
thank god i don’t get those ‘eat this and that’ mails.
March 23, 2009 at 8:38 am
Hope moving goes smoothe, and see ya on the other side. Meanwhile I will be down at office despot getting a self inking stamp that says refused that I can bribe my way out of ‘lunch with Sphinxie’ with.
Maybe she needs a pet hooman?
hmmm.
March 23, 2009 at 10:55 am
Enjoy the moving, hope it goes well. I’ll take this opportunity to thank you for posting your comic online as well, it’s brilliant
March 23, 2009 at 12:30 pm
You’re not coming back, are you. You lot always do this to me.
March 23, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Have a personally productive and fun month off, but know that we’ll be eagerly awaiting your return!
March 23, 2009 at 4:34 pm
so, she can’t handle DVDs but she can open envelopes
March 23, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Dear Sphynx
Please eat everyone who advocates murder in any way shape or form of a democratically elected leader while happily ignoring terror regimes and their awful leaders
P.S. Ignatieff was not elected – get him now!
March 23, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Very, very sharp claws, arkonbey. Good for opening envelopes. Not good for handling little plastic circles.
March 24, 2009 at 1:30 am
Moving?
Have you filled out your “change of address” form at Canada Post yet?
March 24, 2009 at 1:57 am
rob: Just the staff who deliver to 665.
Michael Ezra: Public apology, nice touch! If only…
Jaames: Fear not, i’m working on a novel-size amount of text right now…
Etrigan: Yes, exactly!
Line Noise: Not yet, doing it next week…
March 24, 2009 at 3:44 am
Elvis rocks, Harper sucks.
March 24, 2009 at 1:51 pm
hehe, neighbour of the beast.
March 25, 2009 at 12:35 am
“Jaames: Fear not, i’m working on a novel-size amount of text right now…”
Novel-size?
I’m not sure whether this is cause for celebration or dubiousness. Novels are kinda long…
March 25, 2009 at 12:45 am
[...] March 22nd: Sphynx X Good news first: there’s yer new comic, and it’s early too for once. She gets in and out through the [...] [...]
March 26, 2009 at 3:00 am
Nice touch on the return address in the bottom-left panel.
March 26, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Though I’ll miss your comics, I hope the move goes well. I hate moving. Unless of course it’s a good move. It is a good move, right? Anyway, I look forward to further awesomeness incarnate in the form of your next eagerly anticipated comics.
March 28, 2009 at 3:33 am
Love your comics. It’s like you know what’s going on inside my head sometimes.
March 29, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I bet it’s no picnic to be her garbage collector, either. Though I do wonder what the local Jehovah’s Witness population is like…
March 30, 2009 at 4:46 am
Am I the only person who is attracted to the sphynx’s face?
March 30, 2009 at 2:16 pm
But I thought we were all in love with Mr. Harper here at Subnormal…
March 31, 2009 at 6:00 pm
haha I liked it, though it’s a departure for you; it read more like a straight gag and punch line.
April 1, 2009 at 5:37 am
Oh lordy lou, not a break… Now what will entertain me during the long, dull hours of work? I might actually have to resort to… Well, work.
I guess it’s back to trawling the internet for comparatively so-so webcomics for me.
P.S.
Good luck with the move.
April 2, 2009 at 4:52 am
Brilliant. I’m not one for brunettes but I love Sphinxy.
April 4, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Whoa. Read them all, so much for a saturday morning. Really like your work. Love the sphynx, and what the pink hair chick (you?). Anyway, greetings from argentina. Nickelback sucks.
April 6, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Enjoy the break; your comic is incredible!
April 7, 2009 at 4:22 am
Hope your break goes well. Your comic is absolutely awesome.
April 11, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Is it wrong for me to be attracted to the cartoon girl on your homepage? She’s kind of hot.
April 13, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Overall I enjoy all the Subnormality comics, but the level of preachiness is just a little too high for my tastes. It’s ok for a comic to have a message as long as its covered in a creamy, humor, chocolate, coating. The issue arises when the tangy message overpowers the sweet chocolate, creating a bitter sensation and an aftertaste of pretention.
i.e. Nickelback – Despite the fact that you are slightly more subtle about your hatred of Nickelback than the average troll, some of your comics can be condensed to the idea that “Nickelback sucks.”
Conformity – Conformity is bad? Really? I Hadn’t noticed. Could you hammer the idea in a little more brutally?
Keep up the good work!
April 13, 2009 at 6:39 pm
tl;dr version of Izzy’s comment:
herp derp I don’t get the running jokes in the comic, stop using running jokes!
April 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Hello,
I don’t really know you, but I love your comic. I’m inviting you to come go-karting at action500 for my birthday this friday, where no one would know who the hell you are but me. I’ll also buy you a slice of pizza.
Cheers,
-Jared
April 14, 2009 at 8:54 am
It seems the fruits of your labor is go-karting and pizza slices…
Lucky bastard.
April 16, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Argh, I can’t wait any longer for the next comic! It’s mid-April already, isn’t it?
April 17, 2009 at 8:01 am
Yeah, where the hell is the next one?! :p
April 17, 2009 at 8:06 pm
It’s hard to move and reorganize, especially when you’re an artist. You have to figure out how the natural light runs during the day so you can get your studio right, for example. Allowing time to set up right will make things more efficient in the long term.
April 18, 2009 at 12:13 am
Bengo: I got a nice big window in front of my desk now, so i don’t even need my desk lamps during the day. Still getting used to it, not that i’ve had a lot of time behind the desk of late.
Speaking of which, don’t worry y’all, a comic is in fact on the way for sunday. I’m itchin’ to get back this weekend, transmitting from my new HQ in downtown Large Canadian City.
April 18, 2009 at 12:26 am
I didn’t know they made those in Large.
April 18, 2009 at 9:35 am
Hyoo-ray! *cough*
Thank dog, I’ve been holding my breath for almost too long now…
np: Jared Emerson-Johnson – Consecutive Office (Sam & Max Season One OST (Disc 2))
April 18, 2009 at 10:54 pm
> don’t worry y’all, a comic is in
> fact on the way for sunday
That’s a really good news. “Subnormality” is one of the only 3 comics I enjoy reading on the web.
April 19, 2009 at 12:11 am
where are youuuuuuuuu :[
feels like its been months since ive seen brand spankin new comic from you
hope all is well
@doom what other comics do u enjoy im always looking for good ones
April 19, 2009 at 12:33 am
@Doom
Tempting the question: What are the other two?
April 19, 2009 at 8:59 pm
@Bengo
> Tempting the question: What are the other two?
Sinfest and Buck Godot.
April 19, 2009 at 9:37 pm
@Doom
Is there something those have in common that makes them stand out among all the others? Or more than one thing?
April 19, 2009 at 11:53 pm
@Bengo
Are you trying to do some kind of webcomic popularity survey?
Anyway, I don’t have anything better to do right now, so here you go:
The most common thing between them is that they all provide something to think about (“brain food”). They either sometimes touch questions that are interesting to me (life, death, meaning of existence, employment, choics in life and so on), or have interesting continuous story (or series of stories) where I can’t predict what happens next, or show a really good(and deep) imagination/fantasy. They all have a fairly good drawing style. Also “good quality content” appear more frequently when compared to other comics.
In more details:
Subnormality sometimes refer to real life in funny or interesting way (see story about girl that tried to buy letter openers), sometimes talks about real-life problems (see “the circle of life”) or gives interesting story which shows a good imagination and gives a lot of additional details (see “further additional adventures of sphynx”(page 452)). Because when there is something to think about, it makes comic interesting. I mostly read subnormality because of unusual ideas, although real-life references are also interesting (“Zavtragrad”, for example, even though it isn’t part of subnormality). In this way comic is somewhat similar to “amazing superpowers” (I don’t read it), but “amazing superpowers” seriously lacks depth – It has one “crazy idea” per strip, few illustrations, and this is it. This makes “amazing superpowers” shallow and boring. In comparison “Subnormality” seriously uses your imagination (via “walls of text”), which makes story deeper, and more interesting (once you read the text, of course).
Sinfest have a really nice drawing style, story that is hard to predict, it mocks real world in interesting way. In the middle (approximately 2006, I think) it suddenly becomes more sentimental, deep and (sometimes) sad, and touches few interesting questions (life, death, love, etc). Also, it has strong characters with distinct personalities. Unfortunately, to find out what is so good about Sinfest, you will probably need to read all Sinfest strips (currently 3142), which will take few days. I mostly read it because I sympathize to some of the characters, and don’t know what happens next, and story is good. Also because I expect that something interesting will appear again.
Buck godot has interesting story (It doesn’t touch any of the questions I mentioned, though). It is hard to predict what happens next – because main character is quite clever, despite appearance. The latest story became a bit too long, but I still want to see a conclusion. It is a shame that this comic will be finished at June of this year.
From other comics I saw – 1/0 was a very interesting, but it was finished in 2003.
I also tried reading “Faulty Logic”, “Ctrl+Alt+Del”, “Penny arcade” and so on, but although some of them have good drawing, these comic strips have small percentage of really interesting content (< 5% of the strips are seriously good), so I don’t read them anymore.
April 20, 2009 at 12:37 am
Thanks for the thoughtful and interesting response. I appreciate your taking the time.
I find I gain more insight from “the guy at the bar” than a dozen surveys. Since I create comics and write about them, I am always interested in heartfelt, thoughtful opinions. Like dud content or comics that are often just OK, many opinions are not as deep and considered as I would like, so I ask strangers questions when I see them say something that hints of deeper reflections. Someone like you is an excellent compliment to a reviewer’s article, since you have been following selected titles for years.
I find myself in agreement with everything you said, and luckily, I have been reading Sinfest too.
I am at my happiest when I can work philosophical, scientific and ethical questions into our more serious titles and still make them funny. I want to believe that less intellectual readers who lose interest will be replaced by loyal and appreciative readers who value those aspects. But writing for a particular type of person, rather than seeking broad popularity, is a less understood path. Hence my sudden inquiries to strangers.
Thanks for the assist.
April 20, 2009 at 9:00 am
It’s the little things that make your comics so damn awesome. About fifth time I read this comic I realized Sphynx’s house number was 665 which I found hilarious (I don’t know why)
April 20, 2009 at 1:01 pm
@Doom: If you like Buck Godot, shouldn’t you be reading Girl Genius as well?
April 20, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Winston, I’m dead as long as the next comic is not yet up. HURRY!!!
April 20, 2009 at 8:19 pm
@Leak
I rather like someone who reads Buck and not GG. It suggests very specific tastes, which, if I was Phil Foglio, I’d be asking about.
I don’t know if you do a comic, but I am sure you can imagine: sometimes the attributes and deficits perceived by the creator are different from those perceived by the reader. The best comics probably catch on and close that gap.
My own reluctance to bend on certain points may cost us some readers, but may enhance the loyalty of those who like my position. The main ways I find out are experimentation, reader mail, the occasional review, and asking people their impressions. Put another way, high quality feedback is a precious commodity.
April 20, 2009 at 9:48 pm
tl;dr version of LafinJack’s comment:
herp derp somebody criticize subormnality durr stop criticizing
…Ahh, that WAS oddly satisfying. I see why you do it.
April 20, 2009 at 10:35 pm
The Sphinx is hot.
April 20, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Anonymous(4/20/09):
Minus the whole she-eats-people thing, yeah.
The women (and men) in Subnormality are generally smart, nice (on the outside, at least), or somehow attractive, unless designed to be stupid, or a face in the crowd.
I like that.
Characters I can actually feel sympathy for, and people with depth, not a single-minded automaton.
In short: Awesome people and art.
August 19, 2010 at 1:32 am
Hey, I’d like every goddamn canadian politician eaten, not stephen harper only XD
August 25, 2010 at 12:13 am
Thanks for getting that shitty song stuck in my head about 10 comics back.
Never made is as a wise man,
Couldn’t cut is as a poor man stealing,
And this is how you remind me of who I really am, this is how you remind me….
You can have it back sucka!
October 22, 2010 at 9:13 am
Dear The Sphynx,
How do you type with boxing gloves on
March 24, 2011 at 7:07 am
After reading up to this point, I’ve decided the Sphynx sounds a lot like Katey Sagal, at least inside my head.