The questions might be empty, but it’s not like they’re floating bits of intellectual flotsam in a vast and empty sea. The questions are tied to the lifeblood of our history, of our culture–knowing things about them is representative of knowing things about the world. Yeah, maybe the game show’s not exactly focused on that sort of overview, but that’s because it’s a goddamn game.
Would you say Scrabble’s built around a freakish obsessive’s grasp of the dictionary, a sign that our civilization is in a state of decadent intellectual decline?
This was a great comic! Extremely well drawn and very, very funny! I always love the ones Sphynx the best! She’s by far my favorite webcomic character. I even got a Sphynx t-shirt, which is still my favorite shirt. I know it’s been a while, but thank you again for posting my picture of me in the Sphynx shirt on the Great Wall of China!
I agree with Rutskarn. Yes, Jeopardy is a commercially-oriented game show, but unlike most such shows you actually need a brain to do well on it. Unlike, say, The Price Is Right or Deal or No Deal where all you have to do is make lucky guesses and, if necessary, jump up and down screaming like an idiot.
Also, while it’s true that memorization of facts isn’t the same as, for example, critical analysis or identification of trends in data, memorization is nevertheless an activity that’s healthy for the brain.
Of course, if the Sphynx is a contestant the above points are all moot because Trebek and the judges will simply let her win. She’d even get to say “Suck it, Trebek” and make obscene jokes at his expense, and make him laugh uproariously at them.
“Did you just determine the capital of Spain?” LOL! And I agree with your pessimism. Most of the history classes I’ve been in are the same way. Origins and trends are replaced by single events and names which only serve to misconstrue why history happens in the first place!
Brilliant!
And, as a person who qualified for Jeopardy several years ago, (and never got called… Thanks a lot, Alex!), I have to admit, the whole thing is pretty true.
While Jeopardy! may be rather shallow and corporate, it does have one advantage that I’ve found. Watching it is a great way to prep for Knowledge Bowl competitions. If you can ace Jeopardy, the Knowledge Bowl is a cakewalk.
Nice effort with the Arabic writing, Though the La, Mim, Jim and Ya should be connected to their following letters. The Sphinx has probably didn’t visit an Arabic speaking country for a long, long time.
Holy F*ck Winston, all hail the WordWallScalers: it’s not possible to blow smoke up an ass that’s photosynthesising sunshine so energetically so I won’t, but I Gots Me a Tan from this comic.
I’d determined to be a detailtard to the point I made notes from the first frame (word bubble within eyeshot of schedule & clock / bored receptionist *smoking* reading Manboy while regurgitating the company line but then the
aaaahSphinx is returned.
You gave us our Sphinx. I’d've travelled in TRAMS to see that.
My wife keeps telling me to try out for Jeopardy!, since she’s under the illusion that I have The Knowledge, but I tell her, “Honey, I was on Quiz Show in high school. If you know the answer to any question, chances are so does everyone else on the panel. The true measure of success is if you can hit the buzzer on time. And my reflexes SUCK.”
That said, I tune in to watch Jeopardy! each and every night. ‘Cuz it’s fun.
This one is great!
When Sphynxy was figuring out Madrid, it seemed a little too drawn out, but it completely paid off when we got “Did you just _determine_ the capital of Spain?”
Plus we got to see her enthusiastic for a moment for once.
Anyway, in the midst of the “great way to get eaten” panel, I was thinking about the wallotext complaints and wondering how anyone could fail to prefer this to some typical stupid gag comic. (In the software world, there’s a now-ancient line for such a situation that goes “If you want PL/I, you know where to find it.”)
(Incidentally – I know it’ll ruin the joke about her big paws, but why doesn’t she just get servants to do stuff for her? Like read the mail, and change the dvds?)
That background of Madrid sounds so plausible given the history of Spain I’m not even going to bother looking it up. That was awesome.
The Arabic was hand-lettered, wasn’t it? Assuming you aren’t actually fluent in Arabic (neither am I), it’s fairly awesome that you managed to write something close enough for knowledgeable people to criticize. It all looks like undifferentiated squiggles to me, and I actually pick up (non-ideographic) languages rather well.
THAT was funny. The last few have been introsepctive and artistic, and made interesting insightful statements. But THIS one I loved, and its the sort of thing that got me reading the comic in the first place.
Love yer work. Love the Sphinx. Love the determination of Madrid and the thought of Zoroaster shrieking “Abomination!” while the Sphinx just looks one with her trade mark ennui.
8. Arm wrestling, involving only the leaders of the warring nations. Best four out of seven.
9. Face-slapping, preferably in the stereotypical “wussy” way so it’s more fun to watch.
10. Inflicting horrible live music on each other. Whoever gets hold of N*ck*lb*ck wins the arms race. Unless the other side manages to (*shudder*) clone them, in which case we have detente due to the threat of mutually assured destruction.
The comparison of humanity to someone trying to get fired from their job is delightfully and unexpectedly enlightening. I *should* expect such things from you, given the rest of your work, but I keep being surprised. Thanks for your insight! Also, I love the sphinx.
I actually auditoned for Jeopardy last month. Had I known, I would have worn a Sphynx T-shirt. Ah well, life’s nothing more than a series of missed opportunities.
Good as always! And kudos on the Majerit origin of Madrid, not even in Spain that is common knowledge. I read somewhere that it meant “thousand fountains” because of the abundance of subterranean water. Madrid is the only European capital without a proper river(Manzanares river is little more than a stream)Also, the town´s motto is “I was built over water – my walls are made of fire”. That´s because of the walls being made out of flint stone, and they´d produce sparks when attacked with metal weapons. I hope someone finds this interesting…
Before the Islamic conquest of spain (not yet Spain), there was a Roman settlement on the Manzanares called Matrice. They got kicked out by the Visigoths who in turn got their asses handed to them by the Arabs. They changed the name to Majerit, or Mayrit, from the arabic word mayra. Not sure what it means, something to do with water or trees.
Amanda: Yeah, exactly. Let’s all memorize dates and names and ignore fundamental lessons that might actually help us in our lives. Let’s all be doomed to repeat the past!
EthZee: Perpetual war you can only do with sharp sticks and catapults, i think, since it’s over too quickly once the weapons become more efficient. A rustic, hands-on approach to war is certain to make it last, so let’s go with large-scale nude fistfights or something. Just like 3000 guys in a field kicking the crap out of each other. You could stretch that out for centuries…
Damn futuristic lazer wars are over in like 7 minutes. How about this for a Depressing Notion: We only have peace because war is too efficient now. Take away the nukes and we’d be beating the shit out of each other once again probably. THEREFORE: I propose that every nation on earth be provided with a massive nuclear arsenal!! It’s the only way to get world peace. Or global incineration, but hey, i’ll take the chance. Nothing good on TV anyway.
erik: I caught him in my garden, helping himself to an armload of turnips. I managed to chase him off with a garden hoe, but the damage was done and now i’m out for perpetual revenge. Suck it, Trebek.
Winston: Somehow, I doubt Jeopardy champions study by buying books of random names, dates, and locations, just like mechanics don’t just memorize wheels, bolts, flanges, and levers. They know the names and dates because they know history–their knowledge base is what allows them to answer specific questions.
Yeah, that’s how you cram for Jeopardy, but that can hardly be the whole of the process, can it? He knows that a few topics are going to come up, but as he said, they could really come from just about anywhere.
A base of knowledge is necessary to contend in Jeopardy, although it certainly helps to have a mind developed gathering minutia.
LafinJack: Thanks for the link! Here’s a good Ken Jennings quote I’ll reprint:
“Jeopardy! victory goes not to the biggest brain—it goes to the smoothest thumb. Timing on the tricky Jeopardy! buzzer is often what separates the winner from the, well, non-winners…”
I’m a one-day champion; the Final Jeopardy! on the day I won was about Speedy Alka-Seltzer. Within weeks, Speedy showed up in Alka-Seltzer’s new campaign.
I thought about that “weapons making war too efficient/quick” thing. To solve this problem, we simply wait until man has perfected matter duplication, linked with remote mind-state transference technology.
Mount them in some sort of DMZ, and Voila! Respawning peoples. Simplez.
Of course, there’s the problem with resources running out after a while, and laser technology not existing, etc etc. Therefore, I can only imagine the eternal raygun-pirate-zeppelin warfare occurring in a universe where the main resource is an abundance of the rare and amazing Awesomeite (1337th element on the Periodic table!). We just need to find a planet where we can get it from, and voila! Instant free energy, incredible advances in technology and human quality of life, and a propensity of challenging (but Awesome) past-times.
Once we find Awesome-ite, things that in the past concerned us terribly (plagues, warfare, poverty etc.) will NOT disappear – they will be irrevocably changed so that they are all awesome.
Typhoid? How about – ZOMBIE PLAGUE?
Warfare? We’ve already covered the lasers/pirates/tanks-that-fire-nuclear-missiles etc.
Poverty? No more poor people – simply Badass Wrestling Hobos (all wearing those top-hats with the top hanging off like a tincan lid).
Having good buzzer reflexes is vital, but I guess I don’t see how that can be the whole of it. Sure, given a group of people who all know the answers, the victor is the one with the fastest buzzer skills, but some knowledge is obviously necessary to win.
I can see your point about minutia and twitch reflexes comprising a large percentage of what it takes to win, but that’s because it’s a game. A combination of talents, (admittedly) not all of them representative of a pure intellectual grasp of humanity, are necessary to win. But the game itself does reward those who have studied human history extensively–I guess I don’t see how incorporating other elements is representative of the fact that humanity is in a state of decadent decline.
This comic reminded me of the book Civilization and its Discontents by Sigmund Freud: in the end, the Sphinx remarks our civilization seems like a man trying to get fired from his job.
It’s always interesting to note the schisms, the rough edges, that grate when man aggressive and sexual nature clashes with civilization’s demand for perfect order. In fact, it’s what gives so many artists their inspiration. In sum, it’s a large source of stress for the individual.
I think this comic is one of my favorite installations of contemporary art, and I’m glad it’s running.
However, I feel like all art that makes an impact as art, and not as the fuel for a philosophical revolution, does not ‘only’ criticize what exists, but aims to build up an epistemological structure of its own.
Anyone can be a skeptic – and certainly in this age there are quite a few – but so many good stories have incorporated a future in regards to the struggle with civilization.
It’s beautiful to praise what is there. It’s intelligence to criticize what is there. But to criticize and then praise a new beginning, that is art that will change society.
I know this sounds vague, but I’ve been reading these comics for a while now and I see within them not just criticism but a genuine optimism and understanding of the ideal form of the human condition. And an artist cannot do the same thing over and over, not that I think your caliber is diminishing, but… that’s just my thoughts. Love the new comic, though
I have to admit, I thought you were slipping a bit, but the last two have been really great. It’s the insightful social commentary I’ve come to expect from Subnormality. Thank you.
Rutskarn…..yes! Have you seen “Idiocracy”? The revolution has already begun…..
Winston…..thanks for bringing the Sphinx back! Very, very funny and entertaining to read, not to mention informative AND educational . How could I not agree with your observations?!?!
Also: i will buy your comics if you bundle them and print them. In the words of the prophet: “Fuhrealz”.
If you consider Winston to be an optimist, I’d like you to send a message to the first pessimist you see. Just tell him there’s a guy you know named Phrank, who like him to stay to stay far, far away from him. :-p
But ideally, it needs people to run about shooting things (other people or vehicles). And tanks would be nice.
We need something like the game Total Annihilation; two arbitrary sides, both with methods of keeping population up, nanobots that recycle metal, and the ability to produce hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of tanks and robots and mechs and artillery and jets and helicopters and missiles and giant, 5-story gatling cannons.
A review springs to mind, written by Yahtzee regarding CAD. Allow me to quote you the parts I think might be of interest:
“Shakespeare wrote that ‘brevity is the soul of wit’. He did not then add ‘unless you’re writing a webcomic’. It applies to everything, and don’t tell me you’re arrogant enough to claim to know better than Shakespeare.”
and:
“If any dialogue can conceivably be replaced with a gesture or facial expression… do so; this is a comic, a predominantly visual medium, not a fucking essay.”
Your art isn’t bad, dude (although the non-fappable – i.e. the male – characters of yours could do with more work regarding their anatomy), but you really need to rethink this wall of text thing. It’s just ugly.
Well, Winston’s text is, indeed, quite brief compared to Shakespeare’s work, so I don’t think there’s any conflict there. As for replacing dialogue with more imagery, my personal opinion is that Winston manages a perfect balance between the two, so that the images are very pleasing, and the text is very amusing to read.
You happen to dislike the walls of text. The thing is, there are, believe it or not, people in this universe who like it enough to read it, and would prefer Winston not change his ways at all. You obviously aren’t one of those people, which leaves one question, and only one:
What the hell are you doing here, reading this comic, when you clearly don’t like it?
Harrison, just go away. Stop reading. Go back to CAD. We’ve been over this a thousand times before; your points are not new, your quotes are probably not new, and everyone who came before you has not changed the the way the strip is written. You won’t, either.
If you have to stay, it might help to think of it as more of a novel with pictures to go along with the text. Or just look at the pretty pictures each week and pretend there aren’t any speech bubbles. But you’re just wasting your own time – and ours in trying to explain this to you.
Man, the anti-text wall arguments aren’t very valid for this particular comic. I have seen some that could have benefited from a bit of editing – but none of the text here detracts from the humor.
Why should any sort of rules apply to a comic anyway? Why should a comic be less of text and more visual… anything that can be funny yet insightful is as much a part of a comic as the drawing.
I think this one is an awesome take on TV shows and general knowledge.
Even in schools, we are taught certain things in certain fixed ways. Why can’t we be taught to derive things with some basic knowledge of basic facts?
Harrison,
As much as we enjoy you telling us that a reviewer who is ridiculously long winded would potentially disapprove of this comic because he disapproves of other comics and points out that there’s a trait about them that, among other things, he doesn’t like that they have a lot of words, because in his opinion (which is apparently the word of god himself, who has sent an angel to descend from the heavens and disguise himself as a fairly popular video game, and apparently webcomic, reviewer and use his position to declare to the masses that if you’re going to draw pictures and put them up on the interwebs they better not have a lot of words because it isn’t to his taste) they can and thus should convey the generally simple ideas through pictures rather than words.
But here’s the catch – it’s harder, and takes a very gifted individual to convey complex ideas and irony through facial expressions alone, in fact I’d say that since most people can’t read faces well enough to derive anything far above “I am in pain”, “I am surprised” or “I am happy”, or a combination of those emotions, it would be impossible to convey that someone has not anticipated that hundreds of years into the future the currency has changed and that person’s quest to kill an oversized american president in the past has been hindered once again and as a result he and his dull witted companion will have to resort to fruitlessly demanding change from strangers.
But if you find some sort of facial contortion that fits the bill, draw it, and post it here.
I think that from here on in, all comments along the lines of “this comic has too many words/walls of text/durr readin iz liek hard” should be grounds for permanent I.P. banning.
Hm. One thing I dislike more than the people complaining about the walls of text, are the people who post walls of text rebutting the people complaining about walls of text. We get it, Winston can do what he likes, it’s the limitations of the artform, there’s no strict one-size-fits-all rules blah blah blah. Just siddown and read the dang comic, fer chrissakes!
Although this now makes me a person who writes a wall of text to complain about the people who write walls of text rebutting the people who complain about the walls of text oh no I’ve gone crosseyed.
MNov = Please, for the love of god, never write anything again. Reading that post was just painful. That entire first paragraph is one sentence long and never finishes itself. Holy shit man. I mean there’s only three periods in that rambling monstrosity. Then topped off with a condescending intellectual air. AHHH!! BRAAIINN BULGIIINGGG..EYES MELLTTTIIINNGG…AH…AHH…AHHHHH!!!!!!
There was something else I wanted to say, though. Now, what was it… ?
…
Oh yeah.
“Just siddown and read the dang comic, fer chrissakes!”
We did. And then we read the comments. And responded to the comments.
Although, I don’t know about the others, but I wouldn’t call it a “dang” comic, and I most certainly did not read the comic for “chrissakes”, and I don’t even know what “siddown” means, so I guess I failed you there.
I’m sorry. Can you ever forgive me?
Line Noise: sometimes the simplest of jokes are the most hilarious. DAMN YOU TO HELL FOR MAKING ME LAUGH!!!!!
MNov: are you saying that you don’t love god, as you wrote something shortly after Joe pleaded, “for the love of god”, that you “never write anything again”?
OKAY, That’s enough of me taking things WAY too literally…
Dear Mr. Rowntree: I have recently found your webcomic, and I am pleased to note that the following line has won me over, probably for life:
“Did you just DETERMINE the capital of Spain?”
I also like “Reception!” Well done sir.
One reason our culture has become like someone trying to get fired is that we don’t believe in jobs, or in firing, anymore, metaphorically speaking. All things are utterly arbitrary. No meaning = no purpose. As per Sartre, the only meaningful question is getting fired, or suicide. Bleak but unavoidable result of the worldview. But people will do anything to avoid ‘work’, and would rather embrace this lunatic worldview than consider others which lead to different conclusions.
Anyway, I can’t stop reading the comic. Strong work!
Maybe Watson’s victory means the end of trivia, and new production featuring actual intelligence? I’m right with the Sphinx, humanity is (at best) doomed to boredom.
What would it take to convince you to let off the caps lock in your comics, though? Sentence case is easier to read.
It’s a prideful boast that I just read 123 of your comics in one sitting, but let it also reflect on the quality of your work. At times satirical, meta, poignant, and powerful. Admittedly verbose, but occasionally pithy. And balanced aesthetically and intellectually. A very well done comic. If I gave you any more praise I’d be fawning, so I’ll stop.
Did you intentionally develop your writing skill or did it grow from repeated practice?
July 21, 2009 at 3:19 am
i think this is my favorite comic yet.
not funny, but so true and so ironic.
keep up the great stuff!
July 21, 2009 at 3:28 am
Well, that’s a bit bleak, innit?
The questions might be empty, but it’s not like they’re floating bits of intellectual flotsam in a vast and empty sea. The questions are tied to the lifeblood of our history, of our culture–knowing things about them is representative of knowing things about the world. Yeah, maybe the game show’s not exactly focused on that sort of overview, but that’s because it’s a goddamn game.
Would you say Scrabble’s built around a freakish obsessive’s grasp of the dictionary, a sign that our civilization is in a state of decadent intellectual decline?
July 21, 2009 at 3:52 am
This was a great comic! Extremely well drawn and very, very funny! I always love the ones Sphynx the best! She’s by far my favorite webcomic character. I even got a Sphynx t-shirt, which is still my favorite shirt. I know it’s been a while, but thank you again for posting my picture of me in the Sphynx shirt on the Great Wall of China!
Oh God, I’m rambling now. Great comic, dude!
July 21, 2009 at 3:55 am
I agree with Rutskarn. Yes, Jeopardy is a commercially-oriented game show, but unlike most such shows you actually need a brain to do well on it. Unlike, say, The Price Is Right or Deal or No Deal where all you have to do is make lucky guesses and, if necessary, jump up and down screaming like an idiot.
Also, while it’s true that memorization of facts isn’t the same as, for example, critical analysis or identification of trends in data, memorization is nevertheless an activity that’s healthy for the brain.
Of course, if the Sphynx is a contestant the above points are all moot because Trebek and the judges will simply let her win. She’d even get to say “Suck it, Trebek” and make obscene jokes at his expense, and make him laugh uproariously at them.
July 21, 2009 at 3:59 am
“Did you just determine the capital of Spain?” LOL! And I agree with your pessimism. Most of the history classes I’ve been in are the same way. Origins and trends are replaced by single events and names which only serve to misconstrue why history happens in the first place!
Brilliant!
July 21, 2009 at 4:16 am
Hey, it’s the return of the Sphinx!
And, as a person who qualified for Jeopardy several years ago, (and never got called… Thanks a lot, Alex!), I have to admit, the whole thing is pretty true.
July 21, 2009 at 4:20 am
actually, “Sponsored Annoying Memory Recall Test” abbreviates to SAMRT. heh
July 21, 2009 at 5:12 am
Circuit, I do believe that was pointed out in the comic…
July 21, 2009 at 5:13 am
While Jeopardy! may be rather shallow and corporate, it does have one advantage that I’ve found. Watching it is a great way to prep for Knowledge Bowl competitions. If you can ace Jeopardy, the Knowledge Bowl is a cakewalk.
July 21, 2009 at 5:46 am
Hmm… and yet I still like playing along at home. And I’m good at it if its a subject I’ve studied.
Still, determining the capital of Spain was awesome!
July 21, 2009 at 5:57 am
Perpetual war? Sign me up! Or rather, sign other people up, of course.
July 21, 2009 at 6:05 am
What, no Alt Text? I feel ripped off somehow…. I kid, this comic rules.
July 21, 2009 at 7:07 am
Nice effort with the Arabic writing, Though the La, Mim, Jim and Ya should be connected to their following letters. The Sphinx has probably didn’t visit an Arabic speaking country for a long, long time.
July 21, 2009 at 8:09 am
cynical as always. i like it!
July 21, 2009 at 9:09 am
Sphinxieeeeeeee!!!!
Smart, cute, determined!
Woooo!
July 21, 2009 at 9:21 am
For some reason, i feel attracted to the sphinx. Have no idea why
July 21, 2009 at 11:31 am
Holy F*ck Winston, all hail the WordWallScalers: it’s not possible to blow smoke up an ass that’s photosynthesising sunshine so energetically so I won’t, but I Gots Me a Tan from this comic.
I’d determined to be a detailtard to the point I made notes from the first frame (word bubble within eyeshot of schedule & clock / bored receptionist *smoking* reading Manboy while regurgitating the company line but then the
aaaahSphinx is returned.
You gave us our Sphinx. I’d've travelled in TRAMS to see that.
Glorious WiRo, another Christmas in July.
July 21, 2009 at 11:57 am
)
July 21, 2009 at 12:05 pm
THANK YOU WINSTON
No, seriously, that was worth the wait. Awesome comic.
July 21, 2009 at 12:23 pm
المجريط
The letters kind of go together when written next to one another. Sort of like cursive, but not quite.
Very funny strip.
July 21, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Great comic.
Also, yay for Zombo.com, where everything is possible…
np: Tosca – John Lee Huber (J.A.C.)
July 21, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Those poor, poor SWAT bastards.
Also yay to the return of the Sphinx AND walls of text.
July 21, 2009 at 4:57 pm
My wife keeps telling me to try out for Jeopardy!, since she’s under the illusion that I have The Knowledge, but I tell her, “Honey, I was on Quiz Show in high school. If you know the answer to any question, chances are so does everyone else on the panel. The true measure of success is if you can hit the buzzer on time. And my reflexes SUCK.”
That said, I tune in to watch Jeopardy! each and every night. ‘Cuz it’s fun.
July 21, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Jesus H. Christ.
Your comics have too much text. This is not an opinion. There is TOO MUCH TEXT.
Write a blog with a couple pictures next to it if you must.
July 21, 2009 at 5:10 pm
You don’t mess with Jeopardy! You have gone to far, good sir!
July 21, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Man, I missed Sphynx <3
July 21, 2009 at 5:41 pm
This one is great!
When Sphynxy was figuring out Madrid, it seemed a little too drawn out, but it completely paid off when we got “Did you just _determine_ the capital of Spain?”
Plus we got to see her enthusiastic for a moment for once.
Anyway, in the midst of the “great way to get eaten” panel, I was thinking about the wallotext complaints and wondering how anyone could fail to prefer this to some typical stupid gag comic. (In the software world, there’s a now-ancient line for such a situation that goes “If you want PL/I, you know where to find it.”)
July 21, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I love the Sphynx.
(Incidentally – I know it’ll ruin the joke about her big paws, but why doesn’t she just get servants to do stuff for her? Like read the mail, and change the dvds?)
Dave,
Put a sock in it.
July 21, 2009 at 8:44 pm
About time somebody messed with Jeopardy. It’s not like it’s sacred, is it?
Winston, you are brilliant.
July 21, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I have a question for the author: Which kind of perpetual war would be best?
1. Spears and swords warfare
2. WW2-style: tanks, mud, flamethrowers, rifles with bayonets
3. Modern-style: Smart-bombs, Area-Denial systems, AK47s and RPGs
4. FUTURE WAR: LASERS PEW PEW PEW
(Nuclear War is discounted, as by its very nature it can’t last more than an hour or so)
I’m for either 2 or 4. I’d like to see some participation here, people! Vote for your favourite! (or suggest your own, stupider, choice)
July 21, 2009 at 8:58 pm
5. Thumb war.
6. Pillow war.
7. Spray-everyone-with-baby-oil-and-make-them-play-Twister-to-the-death war.
July 21, 2009 at 9:00 pm
what did alex ever do to you?
July 21, 2009 at 11:45 pm
That background of Madrid sounds so plausible given the history of Spain I’m not even going to bother looking it up. That was awesome.
The Arabic was hand-lettered, wasn’t it? Assuming you aren’t actually fluent in Arabic (neither am I), it’s fairly awesome that you managed to write something close enough for knowledgeable people to criticize. It all looks like undifferentiated squiggles to me, and I actually pick up (non-ideographic) languages rather well.
July 21, 2009 at 11:45 pm
She´s such a great character, really funny and impressive documentation, regards from al-Majrīṭ!
July 22, 2009 at 12:08 am
THAT was funny. The last few have been introsepctive and artistic, and made interesting insightful statements. But THIS one I loved, and its the sort of thing that got me reading the comic in the first place.
Love yer work. Love the Sphinx. Love the determination of Madrid and the thought of Zoroaster shrieking “Abomination!” while the Sphinx just looks one with her trade mark ennui.
Keep it up please!
July 22, 2009 at 2:25 am
haha, Dave, you’re [insert derogatory term of choice here]!
July 22, 2009 at 2:35 am
8. Arm wrestling, involving only the leaders of the warring nations. Best four out of seven.
9. Face-slapping, preferably in the stereotypical “wussy” way so it’s more fun to watch.
10. Inflicting horrible live music on each other. Whoever gets hold of N*ck*lb*ck wins the arms race. Unless the other side manages to (*shudder*) clone them, in which case we have detente due to the threat of mutually assured destruction.
July 22, 2009 at 9:12 am
Man, I LOVE the Spinx comics. Certainly a favorite.
Great work as usual, mate!
July 22, 2009 at 1:41 pm
11. Pirate war.
That is all.
July 22, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I feel so proud that I can read the Arabic words. I guess those religious lessons at the masjid were useful after all. XD
July 22, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Yay! The Sphinx is back!
And I do love the action occurring in the background through the window.
July 22, 2009 at 7:59 pm
…Theophilus, that suggestion is almost perfect.
Make it a perpetual war with pirates who have zeppelins and lasers and I’m willing to sign!
July 22, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Your work is awesome.
July 22, 2009 at 9:09 pm
The comparison of humanity to someone trying to get fired from their job is delightfully and unexpectedly enlightening. I *should* expect such things from you, given the rest of your work, but I keep being surprised. Thanks for your insight! Also, I love the sphinx.
July 23, 2009 at 6:47 am
The comparison wasn’t of humanity, but of western culture and ideals, I believe.
July 23, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I actually auditoned for Jeopardy last month. Had I known, I would have worn a Sphynx T-shirt. Ah well, life’s nothing more than a series of missed opportunities.
July 23, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Good as always! And kudos on the Majerit origin of Madrid, not even in Spain that is common knowledge. I read somewhere that it meant “thousand fountains” because of the abundance of subterranean water. Madrid is the only European capital without a proper river(Manzanares river is little more than a stream)Also, the town´s motto is “I was built over water – my walls are made of fire”. That´s because of the walls being made out of flint stone, and they´d produce sparks when attacked with metal weapons. I hope someone finds this interesting…
July 24, 2009 at 1:25 am
Before the Islamic conquest of spain (not yet Spain), there was a Roman settlement on the Manzanares called Matrice. They got kicked out by the Visigoths who in turn got their asses handed to them by the Arabs. They changed the name to Majerit, or Mayrit, from the arabic word mayra. Not sure what it means, something to do with water or trees.
July 24, 2009 at 2:59 am
Amanda: Yeah, exactly. Let’s all memorize dates and names and ignore fundamental lessons that might actually help us in our lives. Let’s all be doomed to repeat the past!
EthZee: Perpetual war you can only do with sharp sticks and catapults, i think, since it’s over too quickly once the weapons become more efficient. A rustic, hands-on approach to war is certain to make it last, so let’s go with large-scale nude fistfights or something. Just like 3000 guys in a field kicking the crap out of each other. You could stretch that out for centuries…
Damn futuristic lazer wars are over in like 7 minutes. How about this for a Depressing Notion: We only have peace because war is too efficient now. Take away the nukes and we’d be beating the shit out of each other once again probably. THEREFORE: I propose that every nation on earth be provided with a massive nuclear arsenal!! It’s the only way to get world peace. Or global incineration, but hey, i’ll take the chance. Nothing good on TV anyway.
erik: I caught him in my garden, helping himself to an armload of turnips. I managed to chase him off with a garden hoe, but the damage was done and now i’m out for perpetual revenge. Suck it, Trebek.
July 24, 2009 at 4:06 am
Winston: Somehow, I doubt Jeopardy champions study by buying books of random names, dates, and locations, just like mechanics don’t just memorize wheels, bolts, flanges, and levers. They know the names and dates because they know history–their knowledge base is what allows them to answer specific questions.
July 24, 2009 at 4:26 am
Rutskarn, Ken Jennings disagrees.
July 24, 2009 at 4:45 am
Yeah, that’s how you cram for Jeopardy, but that can hardly be the whole of the process, can it? He knows that a few topics are going to come up, but as he said, they could really come from just about anywhere.
A base of knowledge is necessary to contend in Jeopardy, although it certainly helps to have a mind developed gathering minutia.
July 24, 2009 at 11:26 am
LafinJack: Thanks for the link! Here’s a good Ken Jennings quote I’ll reprint:
“Jeopardy! victory goes not to the biggest brain—it goes to the smoothest thumb. Timing on the tricky Jeopardy! buzzer is often what separates the winner from the, well, non-winners…”
July 24, 2009 at 6:47 pm
“Jeopardy!” online tests are given in January.
I’m a one-day champion; the Final Jeopardy! on the day I won was about Speedy Alka-Seltzer. Within weeks, Speedy showed up in Alka-Seltzer’s new campaign.
July 24, 2009 at 7:59 pm
@Winston:
I thought about that “weapons making war too efficient/quick” thing. To solve this problem, we simply wait until man has perfected matter duplication, linked with remote mind-state transference technology.
Mount them in some sort of DMZ, and Voila! Respawning peoples. Simplez.
Of course, there’s the problem with resources running out after a while, and laser technology not existing, etc etc. Therefore, I can only imagine the eternal raygun-pirate-zeppelin warfare occurring in a universe where the main resource is an abundance of the rare and amazing Awesomeite (1337th element on the Periodic table!). We just need to find a planet where we can get it from, and voila! Instant free energy, incredible advances in technology and human quality of life, and a propensity of challenging (but Awesome) past-times.
Once we find Awesome-ite, things that in the past concerned us terribly (plagues, warfare, poverty etc.) will NOT disappear – they will be irrevocably changed so that they are all awesome.
Typhoid? How about – ZOMBIE PLAGUE?
Warfare? We’ve already covered the lasers/pirates/tanks-that-fire-nuclear-missiles etc.
Poverty? No more poor people – simply Badass Wrestling Hobos (all wearing those top-hats with the top hanging off like a tincan lid).
…A man can dream.
July 24, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Having good buzzer reflexes is vital, but I guess I don’t see how that can be the whole of it. Sure, given a group of people who all know the answers, the victor is the one with the fastest buzzer skills, but some knowledge is obviously necessary to win.
I can see your point about minutia and twitch reflexes comprising a large percentage of what it takes to win, but that’s because it’s a game. A combination of talents, (admittedly) not all of them representative of a pure intellectual grasp of humanity, are necessary to win. But the game itself does reward those who have studied human history extensively–I guess I don’t see how incorporating other elements is representative of the fact that humanity is in a state of decadent decline.
July 26, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Now for the scrawl or text:
…and the one thing we have learned from history is that we do not learn from history.
July 26, 2009 at 5:14 pm
This comic reminded me of the book Civilization and its Discontents by Sigmund Freud: in the end, the Sphinx remarks our civilization seems like a man trying to get fired from his job.
It’s always interesting to note the schisms, the rough edges, that grate when man aggressive and sexual nature clashes with civilization’s demand for perfect order. In fact, it’s what gives so many artists their inspiration. In sum, it’s a large source of stress for the individual.
I think this comic is one of my favorite installations of contemporary art, and I’m glad it’s running.
However, I feel like all art that makes an impact as art, and not as the fuel for a philosophical revolution, does not ‘only’ criticize what exists, but aims to build up an epistemological structure of its own.
Anyone can be a skeptic – and certainly in this age there are quite a few – but so many good stories have incorporated a future in regards to the struggle with civilization.
It’s beautiful to praise what is there. It’s intelligence to criticize what is there. But to criticize and then praise a new beginning, that is art that will change society.
I know this sounds vague, but I’ve been reading these comics for a while now and I see within them not just criticism but a genuine optimism and understanding of the ideal form of the human condition. And an artist cannot do the same thing over and over, not that I think your caliber is diminishing, but… that’s just my thoughts. Love the new comic, though
July 26, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I have to admit, I thought you were slipping a bit, but the last two have been really great. It’s the insightful social commentary I’ve come to expect from Subnormality. Thank you.
July 26, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I’m guessing you disabled comments from your next post?
Anyway, looking forward to walls of text next week, and please send some of your rain over my way. We really need it here.
July 27, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Rutskarn…..yes! Have you seen “Idiocracy”? The revolution has already begun…..
Winston…..thanks for bringing the Sphinx back! Very, very funny and entertaining to read, not to mention informative AND educational
. How could I not agree with your observations?!?!
Also: i will buy your comics if you bundle them and print them. In the words of the prophet: “Fuhrealz”.
July 27, 2009 at 10:03 pm
12. online flame war
July 28, 2009 at 11:59 am
@Mike,
If you consider Winston to be an optimist, I’d like you to send a message to the first pessimist you see. Just tell him there’s a guy you know named Phrank, who like him to stay to stay far, far away from him. :-p
July 28, 2009 at 6:07 pm
@Styxtwo:
That’s not really a war, just people screeching at each other over cyberspace.
A Real Man’s War has to involve actual death (and explosions) at some point.
July 29, 2009 at 11:08 pm
13. online flame war with remote laser beams so people can kill others through the tubes.
August 1, 2009 at 11:59 am
Hm. Better.
But ideally, it needs people to run about shooting things (other people or vehicles). And tanks would be nice.
We need something like the game Total Annihilation; two arbitrary sides, both with methods of keeping population up, nanobots that recycle metal, and the ability to produce hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of tanks and robots and mechs and artillery and jets and helicopters and missiles and giant, 5-story gatling cannons.
That would be nice.
August 1, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Yes… “nice”. That is the right word.
*backs away slowly*
August 1, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Okay, ‘nice’ probably isn’t the ideal word.
Maybe ‘awesome’, then. Awesome is probably a better word. Or ‘tickety-boo’, for those who are fans of the less usual.
August 1, 2009 at 7:31 pm
*backs away more quickly*
August 1, 2009 at 9:56 pm
A review springs to mind, written by Yahtzee regarding CAD. Allow me to quote you the parts I think might be of interest:
“Shakespeare wrote that ‘brevity is the soul of wit’. He did not then add ‘unless you’re writing a webcomic’. It applies to everything, and don’t tell me you’re arrogant enough to claim to know better than Shakespeare.”
and:
“If any dialogue can conceivably be replaced with a gesture or facial expression… do so; this is a comic, a predominantly visual medium, not a fucking essay.”
Your art isn’t bad, dude (although the non-fappable – i.e. the male – characters of yours could do with more work regarding their anatomy), but you really need to rethink this wall of text thing. It’s just ugly.
August 1, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Well, Winston’s text is, indeed, quite brief compared to Shakespeare’s work, so I don’t think there’s any conflict there. As for replacing dialogue with more imagery, my personal opinion is that Winston manages a perfect balance between the two, so that the images are very pleasing, and the text is very amusing to read.
You happen to dislike the walls of text. The thing is, there are, believe it or not, people in this universe who like it enough to read it, and would prefer Winston not change his ways at all. You obviously aren’t one of those people, which leaves one question, and only one:
What the hell are you doing here, reading this comic, when you clearly don’t like it?
August 1, 2009 at 10:31 pm
One more thing: the male characters most certainly CAN “fap”, thank you very much.
August 1, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I’ll just add that I also don’t have a problem with your text, because it’s usually well worth reading.
Also, just found your comic yesterday, and now I’m all caught up. Looking forward to more in the future.
August 1, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Oh, and I really enjoyed the RECEPTION!
August 2, 2009 at 1:13 am
Harrison, just go away. Stop reading. Go back to CAD. We’ve been over this a thousand times before; your points are not new, your quotes are probably not new, and everyone who came before you has not changed the the way the strip is written. You won’t, either.
If you have to stay, it might help to think of it as more of a novel with pictures to go along with the text. Or just look at the pretty pictures each week and pretend there aren’t any speech bubbles. But you’re just wasting your own time – and ours in trying to explain this to you.
HTH
HAND
YMMV
August 2, 2009 at 10:06 pm
http://www.aolradioblog.com/2009/07/22/all-nickelback-new-radio-station/
you have to be joking
August 3, 2009 at 2:59 am
Man, the anti-text wall arguments aren’t very valid for this particular comic. I have seen some that could have benefited from a bit of editing – but none of the text here detracts from the humor.
And the punchline is classic.
August 3, 2009 at 9:02 am
Why should any sort of rules apply to a comic anyway? Why should a comic be less of text and more visual… anything that can be funny yet insightful is as much a part of a comic as the drawing.
I think this one is an awesome take on TV shows and general knowledge.
Even in schools, we are taught certain things in certain fixed ways. Why can’t we be taught to derive things with some basic knowledge of basic facts?
August 4, 2009 at 2:55 am
Hey man, don´t worry about delay
August 4, 2009 at 2:57 am
Hey, it´s really 2:57 there? I though it is like 5 hours earlier than here.
August 4, 2009 at 7:03 am
Harrison,
As much as we enjoy you telling us that a reviewer who is ridiculously long winded would potentially disapprove of this comic because he disapproves of other comics and points out that there’s a trait about them that, among other things, he doesn’t like that they have a lot of words, because in his opinion (which is apparently the word of god himself, who has sent an angel to descend from the heavens and disguise himself as a fairly popular video game, and apparently webcomic, reviewer and use his position to declare to the masses that if you’re going to draw pictures and put them up on the interwebs they better not have a lot of words because it isn’t to his taste) they can and thus should convey the generally simple ideas through pictures rather than words.
But here’s the catch – it’s harder, and takes a very gifted individual to convey complex ideas and irony through facial expressions alone, in fact I’d say that since most people can’t read faces well enough to derive anything far above “I am in pain”, “I am surprised” or “I am happy”, or a combination of those emotions, it would be impossible to convey that someone has not anticipated that hundreds of years into the future the currency has changed and that person’s quest to kill an oversized american president in the past has been hindered once again and as a result he and his dull witted companion will have to resort to fruitlessly demanding change from strangers.
But if you find some sort of facial contortion that fits the bill, draw it, and post it here.
August 4, 2009 at 7:22 am
I think that from here on in, all comments along the lines of “this comic has too many words/walls of text/durr readin iz liek hard” should be grounds for permanent I.P. banning.
How about it, Winston?
August 4, 2009 at 2:45 pm
wake up dear, its aug 4th
August 4, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Hm. One thing I dislike more than the people complaining about the walls of text, are the people who post walls of text rebutting the people complaining about walls of text. We get it, Winston can do what he likes, it’s the limitations of the artform, there’s no strict one-size-fits-all rules blah blah blah. Just siddown and read the dang comic, fer chrissakes!
Although this now makes me a person who writes a wall of text to complain about the people who write walls of text rebutting the people who complain about the walls of text oh no I’ve gone crosseyed.
August 4, 2009 at 6:48 pm
MNov = Please, for the love of god, never write anything again. Reading that post was just painful. That entire first paragraph is one sentence long and never finishes itself. Holy shit man. I mean there’s only three periods in that rambling monstrosity. Then topped off with a condescending intellectual air. AHHH!! BRAAIINN BULGIIINGGG..EYES MELLTTTIIINNGG…AH…AHH…AHHHHH!!!!!!
I hate the internet.
August 4, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Joe says ouch.
Hear Joe say ouch.
Ouch Joe, ouch.
August 4, 2009 at 11:50 pm
EthZee: You do realize that you just respon…
Hold on, second paragraph. Nevermind.
There was something else I wanted to say, though. Now, what was it… ?
…
Oh yeah.
“Just siddown and read the dang comic, fer chrissakes!”
We did. And then we read the comments. And responded to the comments.
Although, I don’t know about the others, but I wouldn’t call it a “dang” comic, and I most certainly did not read the comic for “chrissakes”, and I don’t even know what “siddown” means, so I guess I failed you there.
I’m sorry. Can you ever forgive me?
Line Noise: sometimes the simplest of jokes are the most hilarious. DAMN YOU TO HELL FOR MAKING ME LAUGH!!!!!
August 5, 2009 at 2:22 am
Well I for one read these comics because it somehow benefits Christ.
August 5, 2009 at 12:18 pm
MNov: are you saying that you don’t love god, as you wrote something shortly after Joe pleaded, “for the love of god”, that you “never write anything again”?
OKAY, That’s enough of me taking things WAY too literally…
August 5, 2009 at 2:42 pm
MNOV – FOR THE LOVE OF SWEET BABY JESUS DESTROY YOUR KEYBOARD BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!
August 23, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Dear Mr. Rowntree: I have recently found your webcomic, and I am pleased to note that the following line has won me over, probably for life:
“Did you just DETERMINE the capital of Spain?”
I also like “Reception!” Well done sir.
December 8, 2009 at 8:58 pm
This cartoonist is somewhat “warped” ? yes ?
Is good, me like-ee
January 21, 2010 at 11:11 pm
I like this comic more and more every day
Sphynx is such a lovable character.
April 28, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Sphynx is cute, I love her. <3
May 14, 2010 at 4:49 am
If the Sphynx were human, I’d want to date her. But if she were human, she wouldn’t be the Sphynx we all know and love. Arrrrggg, the Catch-22!!
I wonder how her encounter with the SWAT Team went…
June 29, 2010 at 3:27 pm
One reason our culture has become like someone trying to get fired is that we don’t believe in jobs, or in firing, anymore, metaphorically speaking. All things are utterly arbitrary. No meaning = no purpose. As per Sartre, the only meaningful question is getting fired, or suicide. Bleak but unavoidable result of the worldview. But people will do anything to avoid ‘work’, and would rather embrace this lunatic worldview than consider others which lead to different conclusions.
Anyway, I can’t stop reading the comic. Strong work!
March 22, 2011 at 5:27 am
Maybe Watson’s victory means the end of trivia, and new production featuring actual intelligence? I’m right with the Sphinx, humanity is (at best) doomed to boredom.
What would it take to convince you to let off the caps lock in your comics, though? Sentence case is easier to read.
December 14, 2012 at 9:42 pm
It’s a prideful boast that I just read 123 of your comics in one sitting, but let it also reflect on the quality of your work. At times satirical, meta, poignant, and powerful. Admittedly verbose, but occasionally pithy. And balanced aesthetically and intellectually. A very well done comic. If I gave you any more praise I’d be fawning, so I’ll stop.
Did you intentionally develop your writing skill or did it grow from repeated practice?