New comic, rolling in fashionably late as usual. I dunno, it’s a nice shade of orange at least, right?
ALSO
Did an interview this month for Under The Radar, so have a look if you like, well, walls of text (surprise!). Thanks again to Jeremy Nisen for the opportunity!
yeah,
wr
Virus Comix News 
March 12, 2011 at 3:36 pm
oh man, wonderful comic. conventional sexiness is totally overrated.
March 12, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Emporio Bullshiti – Vulgari – QuasiModo
March 12, 2011 at 3:50 pm
I love your stance. Truly great stuff! Wow! The New Sexy! Or maybe not as new as all that. Keep up the good work! Thanks.
Bull Slam
March 12, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Cool stuff!
(“With special guest star Frida Kahlo!”)
March 12, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Yes. Love it. To quote Ani DiFranco “I think pretty is nice but I’d rather see something new”.
March 12, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Awesome.This is why I come here every week but its a shame that the only place I can find a curvy woman in a De Havilland Aircraft t-shirt is in a comic. Damn where are you.
March 12, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Nice change of pace from the last effort. – less cynical more upbeat, positive, hopeful.
Great stuff.
Like
March 12, 2011 at 4:47 pm
This is great. I love your work, but this made me have to reply. Keep up the great stuff you’re doing.
March 12, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Maybe it’s all subjective.
March 12, 2011 at 5:05 pm
A wonderfully positive song Winston, and I hope the notes are heard far, wide and for much long.
March 12, 2011 at 5:16 pm
fantastique!
March 12, 2011 at 5:19 pm
Another awesome comic; all your comics are awesome when I think about it.
March 12, 2011 at 5:31 pm
I like it, sexiness as subversive. Troo troo.
March 12, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Willingness to get your hands dirty has always been very high on my list.
March 12, 2011 at 5:46 pm
Oh look! I’ve got some new mail. I wonder wh- HELL YEAH, MORE SUBNORMALITY!!
March 15, 2011 at 1:59 am
Exactly how I feel 🙂
March 12, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Nice thoughts ! Gotta love the “Chara Sucks” poster 🙂
March 15, 2011 at 1:55 am
Everyone is sexier than Chara right now…
March 12, 2011 at 6:17 pm
i like everything about your comic except how much you whine about your own text length and update times. that includes the text length and update times.
the webcomic triangle- art. writing. updates.
pick two.
i suspect this Under the Radar dude only jumped on it because you do so often.
you’re doing fine.
March 13, 2011 at 12:11 am
I think I’ve figured out the reason why he mentions it so often… have you seen the comments that his comics get on Cracked? Wow, just wow… I don’t know how he can stand it. Most of those people deserve to be punched; they often miss the point entirely, then give him their own awful ideas, then loudly whine about how they didn’t like something that they got for free.
March 13, 2011 at 4:10 am
*reads some comments at cracked*
oh DUDE. i never realised he was getting that kind of feedback elsewhere. i mean, it gets a little brown-nosey over here in places, but those guys are just pure poison.
is that place even paying you, rowntree? because if they’re not, you should leave, man. the fans will follow, and you won’t have to deal with a dozen “you suck” messages every time you make something awesome.
March 13, 2011 at 6:32 am
I make it a point not to read the comments on Cracked
March 15, 2011 at 1:58 am
S’alright, the comments on cracked are downright reasonable lately, when compared to the early days. If you wanna see kill yourself-level depressing comments, head over to cbc.ca/news. Ugh….
March 15, 2011 at 7:05 am
I find it depressing that people can still find time to worry about the stock market
March 12, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Love this. I always read your stuff and enjoy but I’m not moved to comment often. This time I had to tell you how awesome I think this one is.
It’s really awesome.
March 12, 2011 at 6:32 pm
I smell poster!
March 16, 2011 at 7:28 pm
Agreed 🙂
March 18, 2011 at 10:45 pm
PLEASE make it a poster.
I went to go buy it but it wasn’t in the store, and so my first comment is a plea to PLEASE let me buy this as a poster!
March 12, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Once again, a beautiful and very very true comic.
March 12, 2011 at 6:35 pm
That’s one heck of a tee-shirt.
March 12, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Great Comic!
March 12, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Oh no! Pink-haired girl looks like Poison from Final Fight in the face mosaic!
March 12, 2011 at 6:54 pm
This is awesome.
March 12, 2011 at 7:47 pm
I read this this morning, then changed out out a baggy sweater to a nicer shirt. Everyone needs to remember this.
March 12, 2011 at 8:25 pm
I did the opposite – went out unshaven in shorts and an old t-shirt. And felt like a star 🙂
March 12, 2011 at 7:57 pm
how nice and uplifting…
March 12, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Fuckin’ A! You always seem to be able to help me put things back into perspective. I’ll buy this poster the second it comes out.
Also, a great comic is sexier than just having a new one every week.
March 12, 2011 at 8:15 pm
Or not, entirely possible that it isn’t.
March 12, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Great work!!
March 12, 2011 at 8:49 pm
This comic couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you for your art!
March 12, 2011 at 10:24 pm
this is a great inspirational comic but of course your’s always are
March 12, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Or maybe, just maybe, facial hair is ugly regardless of gender and people who don’t shave it are lazy.
The others are pretty good though.
March 12, 2011 at 11:08 pm
Possibly my favorite yet.
March 13, 2011 at 12:20 am
daily dose of self esteem.
March 13, 2011 at 12:27 am
I’ve been reading your work for a while, but this is the first time i’m leaving a comment, because this just plain rocks rainbow socks! That, and I introduced a bunch of people to Subnormality today, and it was the perfect one for them to get a first taste of.
Btw, did I detect a dig at Mr. Oatmeal in this one? Can’t remember for the life of me if that’s what he looks like.
March 15, 2011 at 2:02 am
Dig confirmed. And thanks for commenting! Much appreciated. Plus “rocks rainbow socks” is some Fine Wordplay, i reckon.
March 13, 2011 at 12:27 am
Yeahs!! That really would make a fine poster.
March 13, 2011 at 12:34 am
Sphinxes have sex?
March 13, 2011 at 6:38 am
Where did that come from?
March 13, 2011 at 3:25 pm
4th row, 3rd from left
March 13, 2011 at 8:56 pm
oh.
Well immortality is pretty damn sexy
March 15, 2011 at 2:04 am
Nah, they’re just contractually obligated to appear in the comic every few weeks.
March 13, 2011 at 1:13 am
Awwww, thank you for this comic. This is exactly what sexy is. Like my momma always said “if you love a monkey, you think he’s cute.”
March 13, 2011 at 4:22 am
This needs to be a poster.
Cool interview as well. I like you thoughts on the comic industry and whatnot.
March 13, 2011 at 5:12 am
Needed this. Thank you for always saying stuff people need to be reminded of.
(Although I’m not hot for electoral reform – mostly for alternate interpretations of Dostoevsky. 🙂 )
Please a poster!
March 13, 2011 at 5:13 am
Which isn’t to imply that I’m not way into electoral reform, because I am. Just not what gets me on the pole, so to speak.
I shouldn’t make comments on the internet at 1 AM.
March 13, 2011 at 5:53 am
Synophrys makes people look awesome, and 3000 is way too low a number. I like this one just as much as “Weird?”, if not more.
March 13, 2011 at 6:45 am
Any chance I could get this comic and translate it in Spanish? I like it very much and I think it’s something that should be read by everyone.
March 13, 2011 at 7:30 am
Curse you, Rowntree!
What do you think you’re playing at, trying to make a hideous mutant like myself think he’s sexy?
For thisl, you shall be eaten last.
The pictures are pretty, though.
Love,
TF
March 13, 2011 at 11:00 am
Maybe, maybe not.
Great shad of orange indeed tho!
March 13, 2011 at 11:35 am
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate these comics! I check the site daily, and it is always a good day when a new one appears. I especially agree with the listening part. People need to relearn the art of undivided attention. It shouldn’t be as they say in Fight Club that people only really listen to you when you’re dying. Again thank you!
March 13, 2011 at 11:36 am
Maybe this comic is sexier than many others I have read 🙂
I liked it.
March 13, 2011 at 12:13 pm
I like the message.but see a big gaping flaw in it: all of the supposedly “unattractive” people are good-looking. There’s not a one who popular culture would deem unattractive.
Roller Skates girl is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, an increasingly attractive ideal (if you’ve not heard the term, check out the entry on TVTropes — you’ve seen the character type somewhere).
Mutual ideal couples are masculine and feminine ideals: muscled tatt guy and blond girl will low cleavage.
Girl nerd with luscious long red curly locks.
Well-breasted blonde thin ‘dirty-glam’ girl casting pleasant look at doctor in his scrubs.
Two gay bears cuddling up each other … a well-desired physique in the ‘bear’ area of the gay community.
I could go on.
None of these people as you’ve depicted them would really HAVE trouble finding love or considering themselves attractive.
For this comic to have been at all effective, it really would have needed to have had characters that would’ve cast them outside the mainstream concept of ‘beauty.’
You know, I gotta say, for the very first time, I’m disappointed.
That doesn’t change my immense appreciation and belief that you’re a Major Talent. But I do think you completely missed the mark on this one.
March 13, 2011 at 12:31 pm
I gotta say it’s not the first time I’ve gone “meh” at one of Rowntree’s comics, but hell, he doesn’t have to please everyone all the time.
I would point out another issue – the fact that the first one, with the Manic Pixie Girl, as TVtropes (<3 that site) would call her, is basically just saying "someone sitting on a huge pile of cash is more appealing than someone who's invested their money in a nice car" – pretty materialistic whichever way you spin it.
Anyway, I'm just picking holes here, this is still my favourite comic ever (on the internet or otherwise)
March 13, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Well, I see the whole pile of money as representing one of two things, maybe even both. Either it’s a persons potential to do great things (stack of possibilities), or it’s simply saying that it’s sexy not to piss all your money away on stupid shit you don’t need. Maybe slightly materialistic, but I get it.
March 14, 2011 at 4:38 am
Reading comprehension is sexier than nitpicking.
March 14, 2011 at 4:54 am
@lily – well said, Mike seems to have expended a great deal of energy in totally missing the point.
March 14, 2011 at 3:38 pm
To be fair, I think Mike could have a valid point. I hadn’t thought about it in that way, but he has a interesting point. I wouldn’t call it nitpicking.
And anyway, maybe nitpicking is sexy as hell, lily. You aren’t the one to decide that.
March 15, 2011 at 4:23 am
1) I genuinely feel bad for people whose Asperger’s syndrome or contrarian personalities or whatever prevent them from appreciating the humor and visual wit of the parallels in the comic.
2) Oh okay, maybe nitpicking is sexy as hell, and porn is sexier than a mental connection and luxury sedans really are pretty bitchin’ and road head is waaay more of a turn on than being listened to. However, I do have to point out that appealing to post-modern relativism here is, again, totally missing the point.
March 15, 2011 at 10:55 am
It’s all relative… that’s the point. This whole comic could have been a bunch of cliches that everyone hates so we could all go “Yea man that’s right! Photoshopped models are fugly!” without further consideration… but he chose to throw a few gray areas in there (see: http://www.viruscomix.com/page500.html) to make it interesting.
Also, you don’t have to agree: everything is preceded with a “maybe”. Honestly, just knowing about some obscure issue is enough to be sexy without them agreeing. Makes it more sexy to me to have contrasting opinions on something that you didn’t think anyone else knew or cared about so you can discuss it in depth.
At any rate, not my favorite but still pretty neat. I want a tattoo of that “Hot For Electoral Reform” girl. Only thing I would add to this comic before making it a poster is more maybes! Update it with more panels. ^_^
March 15, 2011 at 10:56 am
Also, you can be listened to while getting road head. Just sayin.
March 15, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Maybe complaining about nitpickers is sexy as hell, lily.
Rrowwwl.
March 21, 2011 at 1:02 am
I must respectfully disagree: simly posessing an amount of money is not /necessarily/ materialistic. it is the attachment to gaining more money in comparison to others, for the purpose of aquiring status symbols to assert one’s superiority over them which is materialistic. unfortunately often possessing large amounts of money leads to such an attitude, but one can imagine a generous but careful rich person. indeed the seem rare if not nonexistent, but you would indeed expect not to hear of them as much as the other kind as they are not trying to use their money for social status.
March 13, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Frame 2, Hell yeah, IS not Might Be. Lotta things to be solved on this planet. Taking them on and working together to do it is Sexier than…
March 13, 2011 at 2:12 pm
As usual, Winston, it’s utterly brilliant. Frankly, I couldn’t think of anything less sexy than body by Fisher, brains by Tinkertoy.
March 13, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Making intelligent webcomics is sexy.
March 13, 2011 at 4:31 pm
SEXY
March 13, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Thankyou.
March 13, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Yes! Yes! Yeeesssss!
March 13, 2011 at 6:17 pm
I love this so much.
March 13, 2011 at 7:08 pm
You make the best statements – please keep up the great work!!
March 13, 2011 at 7:56 pm
A brilliant, out-of-the-comfort-zone diamond. Please keep up the great work! [2]
March 13, 2011 at 8:46 pm
There’s a lot of things here that I agree on but wouldn’t ever tell anyone else.
Let me know
March 13, 2011 at 8:52 pm
why not?
March 13, 2011 at 10:15 pm
Great piece. Pleasure to look at and read.
March 13, 2011 at 10:31 pm
this is so cute, i love thiss!
March 13, 2011 at 10:49 pm
First time poster, long time fan of the site, hope I get your attention though because I feel like this one deserves to be another epic poster. I’d definitely buy it and I hope others agree so this can happen!
March 14, 2011 at 12:00 am
Isn’t “sexy” an extrapolation of lust? I mean… you can respect someone’s opinions or mindset or talents and all but ultimately that comes from a cerebral connection you make with that person. “Sexy” can also be a gut reaction to someone you see on the street- it doesn’t need words or abstract reasoning.
I’m not sure what all “sexy” means in the context of the comic, though.
March 15, 2011 at 9:01 am
Yeah, I’m with you there. Just because someone is cool it doesn’t mean they’re sexy.
March 21, 2011 at 12:56 am
that is what seems to me to be (one of) the central point(s) of this comic: for many (obviously not all, and often, not consciously) “sexy” has taken the place of what used to be called cool, and this has led to somewhat of an erosion of the value of cool things. So since now the word sexy is often used meaning “cool” because it is seen (again often unconsciously) as THE prime value in the western mindset, one way to gain back those values is by adjusting what we see as sexy.
March 14, 2011 at 1:42 am
Hell yeah.
March 14, 2011 at 3:28 am
I’m usually 100% with you, but Frida Kahlo is gross.
March 14, 2011 at 4:41 am
She doesn’t even need to be sexy to be 3000 times sexier than people who go out of their way to call her gross.
March 14, 2011 at 10:36 pm
You know, I don’t find her attractive, but I don’t feel any ill will toward her for it, or have any need to mock her. Is that okay?
March 15, 2011 at 7:56 am
Golly. I really made some people angry on the Internet. Maybe I should post some YouTube comments and AAAAAAHHHH I’M AN INTERNET TROLL NOW.
March 15, 2011 at 8:15 am
Boy, it’s like we had a little conversation about Mexican paintress Frida Kahlo and the concept of feminine beauty right here in the comments of W.R.’s webcomic. As if you engaged me and asked me to reconsider my trollish position. I still think she’s gross, but I’ve had to stop and think about why (it’s the eyebrow). Where else are intelligent and sophisticated people conversing on this subject? NPR? The Gridiron Club? Coffeehouses in Paris? We’ve just had a little moment here together. Thank you, Lily and DoubleW, for challenging me. It gave me room to grow. Also, I’m replying to myself!
March 15, 2011 at 8:27 am
yay?
March 15, 2011 at 1:41 pm
The question we all want to know is:
Can Frida Kahlo detach her monobrow and use it as a mustache when she needs to disguise herself as a man? Because that would be sexy.
And what would happen if Frida Kahlo called herself gross?
March 15, 2011 at 1:46 pm
No clue what merited those melodramatic comments considering neither of your replies were remotely angry. I guess you reeeally feel the need to think of yourself as a master provocateur!
March 15, 2011 at 5:47 pm
“And what would happen if Frida Kahlo called herself gross?”
From what i’ve heard she DID think of herself as gross, hence her exaggerating the eyebrows in her paintings (please correct me if i’m wrong though. i don’t know too much about her to be honest). She was so not gross though.
March 15, 2011 at 6:26 pm
I guess I felt attacked–which might not have been merited; DoubleW was certainly finding proper middle ground, and my emotional reaction to your reply, lily, is almost certainly different than the spirit in which you wrote it. My Internet defense mechanism to that sensation is to talk around the conversation, to circumlocute, and thereby remove myself from what could have been either a very positive or perhaps a very negative conversation. I should probably put forward that Kahlo’s outward appearance in no way diminishes the intense bravery and sensuality of her gross artwork. Also, I might add that I’m naturally melodramatic, and prone to writing very short or very long comments. [smile emoticon]
March 17, 2011 at 9:25 am
Math says that if Frida Kahlo indeed calls herself gross, and if the comic is right, then she’s completely unattractive.
The above sentence also makes me completely unattractive (and everyone else who understands math).
March 17, 2011 at 10:28 am
It’s… oh god, it’s an unsexiness chain reaction! WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE (eventually, since nobody finds each other sexy so no new generations).
March 14, 2011 at 6:40 am
I find passion sexy. By which I mean, if someone talks about a subject passionately and engagingly, then I’ll love them for it. It doesn’t matter if they are talking about 16th Century handkerchiefs, 21st Century Hungarian film, or the use of imaginary numbers in modern physics and mathematics.
March 14, 2011 at 3:35 pm
I suggest you qualify that “doesn’t matter”, good man. Unless you also think someone talking passionately about their firearms collection or the 9-11 conspiracy or Jersey Shore is sexy too, in which case can I get your number? ¬____¬
March 14, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Okay, maybe not any topic. Although I still hold that a discussion of firearms could be sexy if taken from the right angle. I admit, that it does make me skeevy on one level (being instruments of death and all) but seeing as I happen to think swords are quite cool* , I realise that it would be hypocritical to assume that an interest in firearms was an extension of a power trip, or an enjoyment of killing.
I suppose I can knock the conspiracy theorists on the head by requiring that the discussion be well informed, as well as passionate. I suppose I should also add a requirement for basic human decency, to get rid of the various bigoted rants, although mostly they’d fall at the ‘informed’ hurdle as well.
*I don’t actually own any… the whole instruments of death thing… but I love them as museum pieces.
March 14, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Heh… Er, just FYI, I’m not one for Conspiracies or (worse) Jersey Shore. I am interested in firearms, but I don’t think it’s a power/killing thing; killing people is, I think, bad. And I don’t actually own any, either. I just think they’re fascinating.
(But yeah, I can understand the passion thing; just, try to qualify your statements in future)
March 14, 2011 at 8:23 pm
I love swords and firearms myself, though I am very much against killing people. Well, unless we’re talking about killing the cast of Jersey Shore. Then it’s incredibly sexy
March 15, 2011 at 1:46 pm
You do know that people who are in the Jersey Shore are people too, right? They may act ridiculously but that’s due to a combination of factors including upbringing, psychology, and the external pressures induced by watching and starring on reality television.
Claiming a desire to kill these people in cold blood is rather disturbing. Maybe you should see a psychiatrist before your psychopathic urges get the better of you.
Besides, waste of ammunition. That stuff’s expensive, I hear.
March 14, 2011 at 6:42 am
beautiful.
you made my night. ^^
cheers from Mexico
March 14, 2011 at 7:29 am
Reading a webcomic with too many words is sexier than any other webcomic on the www!
‘Sexy’ is a frame of mind 😀
March 14, 2011 at 9:59 am
I think I see Poison in the last panel! Ha!
March 14, 2011 at 10:21 am
Thank you for this!
Personally, I find a girl who’s an avid reader pretty damn sexy and fake silicon breasts pretty damn repulsive. But I guess I’m in the minority in this society.
And some of the photoshopped magazine covers I’ve seen staring at me while at the checkout line are hideous! Yeck!
March 14, 2011 at 11:17 am
LOVE. IT. Thank you!!
March 14, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Everything WR does is thought-provoking and growth-producing….though sometimes the seeds take a little time to sink in and grow. He’s right up there, wide open, taking chances, like a jazz musician pushing the edge. Do you know how hard that is, how much work is required–to come up with original *non-derivative* material time after time?
Hey, donate a few bucks to the cause, yeah? If you can. Help should go both ways.
March 14, 2011 at 1:13 pm
I love the fact that the cover of Fake Monthly features an image of Eleanor Roosevelt! All that’s left of her is the pearl necklace.
March 14, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Remove “maybe”.
Strengthen argument.
March 14, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Poster please!
March 14, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Okay….
March 14, 2011 at 10:15 pm
So of all the clever and insightful observations, this is my contribution:
hey, is that Poison of Fight Final fame?
4th row down, 5th portrait over?
March 15, 2011 at 2:11 am
Damn straight.
March 15, 2011 at 1:47 am
THIS IS CRAP!
March 15, 2011 at 2:14 am
Interesting take. Would you also say it’s worse than the Smiths?
March 15, 2011 at 10:25 am
Nothing is worse than The Smiths…
March 15, 2011 at 1:48 pm
There’s nothing sexier than someone who knows what they do and don’t like.
Also, people who spout rage in comments threads. Damn fine.
March 23, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Sarcasm… interpreters.. malfunctioning…
March 15, 2011 at 2:47 am
Yay for Frida!
March 15, 2011 at 3:31 am
“Hot for Electoral Reform”
I’ll show you my Hare-Clark system if you show me your Map of Tasmania.
March 15, 2011 at 4:31 am
Maybe the way it should be is sexier than the way it actually is.
March 15, 2011 at 4:38 am
“Emporio Bullshiti”
Love it! 😉
March 15, 2011 at 11:08 am
Read the article… considering working on my own comic now. Can’t draw very well and don’t know where to start… hmmmm.
March 15, 2011 at 11:14 am
These are good, insightful…Love it!
March 15, 2011 at 12:41 pm
this site is a great oportunity for reinventing humour or possibly collaborating with it!
March 15, 2011 at 1:07 pm
I don’t normally comment, but thank you.
I’ve been feeling rather insecure and this makes me feel a lot better.
March 15, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Thanks – brainy funny is way better than lol funny.
March 15, 2011 at 4:38 pm
hot for frida.
i need this on my wall, rowntree. stat.
March 15, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Maybe….nah.
March 15, 2011 at 7:09 pm
Absolutely
March 15, 2011 at 7:23 pm
It’s actually become redundant to compliment your work.
Particularly because times like this one you crack out a damn nice comic, and it IS better than others (to me).
To put it simple, nice, very nice work..
March 15, 2011 at 8:04 pm
love ’em. My fave is “listening in public.” Also love the animation-it’s retro fantastic.
March 15, 2011 at 11:25 pm
I have all of the good things to say about this comic. ALL OF THEM
March 16, 2011 at 12:06 am
I am sexy as hell, and I don’t care what any man says.
March 16, 2011 at 1:39 am
Maybe, but most likely not.
March 16, 2011 at 7:59 am
Ha, this is great. I wish more people would realise that ‘effort expended and money spent on tarting-up self/obliterating idiosyncracies’ does not always correspond to ‘increase in sexiness’ – quite the opposite, much of the time!
March 16, 2011 at 9:22 am
I love your comics, but…..I think you’re heading a little to close to “gotta have a message” territory. I miss the old “draw….awww heck” comics you used to have in between the deep ones. The art is awesome tho
P.S. Canada is currently competing at the cricket world cup being held in India/Sri Lanka/Bangladesh. Bet most Canadians didn’t know you guys had a cricket team 😀
March 16, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Love your work. 😀
March 16, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Maybe.=]
March 16, 2011 at 4:56 pm
“Maybe what you have is sexier than what you’re supposed to want”. LOVE that image.
The one with the listening is always really nice, that yellow works amazing, and the AAAAH license plate is a very nice touch as usual :D:D
SOLID, Winston!!!
March 16, 2011 at 6:31 pm
I LOVVVVVVVVVVVE THIS!!!
March 16, 2011 at 9:54 pm
maybe i am nicer and happier for see this then i usually am. i would like to see this one day written all over everybodys face. its good to see someone is out there trying to show that everyone can be sexy no matter what everyone else tells you. sexy is in the eye of the beholder. i do have to admit i like a toned mind over a toned body any day.
March 21, 2011 at 12:50 am
although I must say: it is nice when the mind is toned such that one understands the value and mental reward in taking good care of the body. Mind alone is surely better than body alone, but eating well, excercise and a good diet do seem to be part of a well-rounded mind. the body and mind are perhaps not as seperate as many would like to think.
March 16, 2011 at 11:44 pm
maybe sexier is a baboon in a bra drinking coke in the Phoenix zoo..true story.
Liiiiipppssssss !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ah ha
March 17, 2011 at 3:18 am
Thanks Winston. I needed that.
I always do, actually.
🙂
March 17, 2011 at 11:08 am
aww
i love it
March 17, 2011 at 6:52 pm
FIREFLY REFERENCE ❤ 🙂
March 17, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Why “sexier”? Why not “better”?
Is “sexy” a new trend for “good”?
Must everything be “sexy”??!
It’s just plain clear that you all really want is to be “sexier” not “better”.
(well, I’m not sexy, that’s why I’m posting this lol)
March 19, 2011 at 12:05 pm
I feel like this comic is an effort to reeveluate what we see as “sexy”, meaning what we see as catching your eye, desirable and attractive. How do you define “better”, anyway? 😛
May 18, 2011 at 4:11 am
I am pretty hesitant to post this, as it seems to go against what others thought the message was, but…why can sexy not mean just sexy? A turn on? Or however…I have always found these sorts of things Literally sexy…I’ve been made fun of for…physical reactions to Advanced Mathematics lectures, or spirited political debate, even if it is a subject that is not inherently interesting, peoples passionate, well informed, well Spoken rants are…sexy.
Just one chicks opinion, hey? =)Have a great day, guys ❤
*also…I have consumed these comics over the past few days, I don't remember how I found them, I haven't even really eaten…it's amazing, beautiful, just…I'm in awe. I've cried, I've laughed out loud, I've gotten lost in the artwork, I've shared with friends, I've sat quietly after reading, then reread…Just thank you. Thank you for having the guts to do it, and share it, and (apparently) withstand some horrifically trollish comments…I take inspiration from it. I can't really get into Why this means so very much to me, but…Just thank you. (I'm getting all misty, "lol")
May 18, 2011 at 4:12 am
*inherently interesting To Me, it should read. Sorry *blush*
March 17, 2011 at 9:42 pm
These always make me feel better
March 18, 2011 at 6:07 am
Just a quick note to say thanks for the link (in your interview) to Oyvind Thorsby’s work — which is sheer genius. I hadn’t come across him before, so very glad for the pointer to what has swiftly become a favourite.
March 18, 2011 at 9:17 pm
I wish I could see the FAKE magazine illustration posted everywhere on every magazine for at least a week. Loved it.
March 18, 2011 at 9:34 pm
i love tamed sarcasm
March 18, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Thank you for alerting me to Oyvind Thorsby! ‘Hitmen For Destiny’ is awesome despite the initially off-putting graphics – which I’m now beginning to love.
March 20, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Right on! Pride in exposing others to Hitmen…
March 18, 2011 at 10:58 pm
then again, maybe not?
March 19, 2011 at 1:12 pm
“Maybe willingness to get your hands dirty is way sexier than it’s given credit for.”
Thank you so much for writing this. I love your comics man. It’s really nice to have a weekly reminder that I’m not insane, and that there are others around that think like me. Your comics have had a very positive impact on my life, and I can’t imagine I’m the only one, so on behalf of all of us out there…
Thanks dude!
March 19, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Dziękuję !
P.S.
Maybe just being is sexier than anything else.
March 19, 2011 at 11:59 pm
Bonzer!!
Maybe pot noodles are sexier than anything else.
March 20, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Thinking of my diet, I sure hope so…
March 20, 2011 at 3:01 am
i love it.
March 20, 2011 at 4:05 am
Maybe a quit smart kid with a future is sexier than a loudmouth dumbass jock.
Doubt it….
March 20, 2011 at 4:13 pm
I for one like your premise.
March 21, 2011 at 12:43 am
it can be. when combined with quiet confidence. not the top-dog macho kind, but the secure in themselves kind. modest confidence, the kind which comes not from trying to put yourself first, but from havinbg nothing to be ashamed of because you do what you /know/ to be the good thing. (oh dear I am really gonna upset some people by suggesting one can “know” what is good. oh well, c’est la vie.)
March 23, 2011 at 5:31 pm
This:
http://www.xkcd.com/513/
May 18, 2011 at 4:16 am
…is this sarcasm? I truly hope so…Intelligence is the Ultimate turn on…=D
March 20, 2011 at 9:34 am
Your comics have always been amusing or better, but the past few ones I’ve read (this one, good/bad/etc of video games, and a couple of others) have been funny and brilliant. Keep up the great work!
March 20, 2011 at 11:56 am
Nuuuuu! Frida Kahlo is just creepy. Her face staring at me through all those pictures, sometimes from the body of some horrible beast. Whether or not self-expression or the female uni-brow are hot or not should not tie into a woman who was too self-obsessed to draw anything other than her own face.
March 20, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Women with facial hair are not sexier than the guys who make fun of them. That is just almost never true.
Frida Kahlo did not actually look like Salma Hayek.
March 21, 2011 at 12:46 am
maybe people who understand “sexy” as not just being limited to the body (which will soon fade in anyone…) are more sexy than people with a more… how shall we say… limited understanding of things. this is why those sadly limited people will never be satisfied.
March 21, 2011 at 10:26 am
“Sexy” is not something you “understand”. It’s something you feel. What you find sexy has nothing to do with whether you’re intelligent, cultured or educated. It’s not even something you control.
March 21, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Ah but you are mistaken. What you understand, how intelligent, how creative, etc. you are determines your worldview in general, and is the underlying basis for the feelings you have in reaction to something. It certainly isn’t something you control at the time of the feeling, by then it is much too late. But you certainly can do things which shift your underlying beliefs/understanding, and therefore shift the types of reactions you feel to things.
March 22, 2011 at 9:04 am
But these are base instincts; you’re genetically programmed to follow a “lovemap” constructed at a very early age.
March 20, 2011 at 3:01 pm
I really enjoy your work. The message is great.
March 20, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Obviously the author is a woman hahaha. This shit is ridiculous. These things wouldn’t exist unless they were found more attractive. Emotion vs. logic
March 20, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Yes, but is the comic worse than the Smiths? Because a lot of things are ridiculous but aren’t necessarily worse than the Smiths.
March 20, 2011 at 7:30 pm
I must point out that as a male I agree with what’s being said in this comic. Therefore the author is not so “obviously” a woman. Also I’m straight in case you’re wondering about that now.
March 20, 2011 at 8:15 pm
@josh – that sounds like an emotional response, plus your logic is flawed – does that mean you’re a woman?
@Winston – the comic is in no way as ridiculous as the Smiths. They were, imho, sublimely ridiculous. You’ve work to do to get to that level – get cracking!
March 23, 2011 at 4:33 pm
You missed the point of the comic completely; perhaps what we think is sexy is very different than what we are supposed to think of as sexy
March 20, 2011 at 4:37 pm
“Maybe willingness to get your hands dirty is way sexier than it’s given credit for.”
HEYO! My mind just went down the gutter! 😀
That was my favorite line in the whole comic. Good job!
March 20, 2011 at 7:16 pm
You must be told this quite often, but one more won’t hurt: You are really talented, and I think your work carries a very powerful message that needs to be heard. Your art is great too, it comes across as well done, yet accesible and relatable. Kudos to what you are doing, I really admire you. :] Have a great life.
March 20, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Long time reader, first time commenting. (sorry I have internet social anxiety, ha!) This was absolutely lovely. And Frieda looks like such a g.
March 21, 2011 at 12:00 am
“Maybe!” Love how that comic rocks without the schadenfreude – cheers and such!
March 21, 2011 at 1:05 am
I am never uninspired by your art, words and background humour. Always a joy to look at and to read. A real fucking joy. Thanks!
March 21, 2011 at 4:20 am
Amazing comic. Was just cute and amusing enough to make me go “awwwwwwwww”.
March 21, 2011 at 5:28 am
Wonderful!
March 21, 2011 at 11:14 am
*applause*
March 21, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Brilliant!!
March 21, 2011 at 6:47 pm
not directly related to this, your work on cracked was recommended on kotaku, and i think i had this feeling before too, which led me to ask this: winston, do you like (to quote at least) nine inch nails?
although “what have i become, my sweetest friend” was covered by multiple artists afaik. but there was a “downward spiral” too
March 21, 2011 at 11:30 pm
Oh, i’m a huge, huge NIN fan, hence the odd reference makes its way into the comix. The Fragile is easily my overall Favorite Album, i reckon.
March 22, 2011 at 6:48 am
WIN!
March 22, 2011 at 1:15 pm
… What I wouldn’t give to know a gal who feels the same way as these comics.
Then again, I wonder if there’s a gal out there who’s lookin’ for a guy that feels like that, too.
March 23, 2011 at 12:59 am
Trust me, we’re out there!
March 23, 2011 at 1:24 am
I certainly hope so, I’m looking for one too.
March 22, 2011 at 11:51 pm
This one is wonderful overall, per usual, but one panel brought me up short. The “electoral reform” pole dancer looks *exactly* like the librarian/writer/freelance editor I love. Right down to the rectangular glasses. I sent her a link and she said “I’ll be damned.” Which brings me to the panel about what you have being sexier than what you are supposed to want.
Oh, and both of us are hot for electoral reform. Raowr!
Keep reminding the world of the truth, Mr. R.
March 23, 2011 at 12:45 am
i wish we worked together at some cafe in the general ossington/annex/little italy vortex
March 23, 2011 at 11:57 am
Hey, i live in that vortex!
March 23, 2011 at 8:04 am
If the pretention in this comic could be converted to fuel, we would run out of solar energy before running out of gas.
March 23, 2011 at 4:27 pm
If we all converted to Nuclear, Solar, and Wind power, we could leave the Middle East….
March 23, 2011 at 5:46 pm
Hey, i like you too. Oh my god, we should team up and go on “Dragon’s Den!!” “Yes, the pretentiousness of my business partner is the solution to the world’s energy crisis, and thus we are looking for fifty-two billion dollars for one ten-trillionth equity in our business.” Plus then i’d have a chance to kick jim treliving in the nuts. LET’S DO THIS!!
March 23, 2011 at 11:34 pm
Thank you for this comic. It’s possibly now my favourite comic strip ever.
I totally agree on all of these points. Especially the facial hair one. Any conventionally unattractive person is a million times more attractive than anyone inconsiderate and insecure enough to make fun of them.
March 24, 2011 at 8:39 am
Ingenious. I’m going to name my peg leg after you.
March 25, 2011 at 12:26 am
Yay! A peg leg named after me?! My life mission has been achieved.
March 24, 2011 at 1:14 pm
perfect
March 24, 2011 at 7:19 pm
I think you are all sexier than the ideas you oppose.
Solidarity and Simplicity
Seth Z G
March 25, 2011 at 1:55 am
I was having a bad week and to top it off, I had a bad night. You put a smile on my face and for that I can’t thank you enough. Just so you know, you helped brighten my night a little.
March 25, 2011 at 4:45 am
You have appropriated my brother’s name, Winston Rowntree.
And what I have to say to this comic is GOD YES!
March 25, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Genial! muchas gracias.
March 25, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Shit! I love all your strips. They make me think, and thinking is fun.
March 25, 2011 at 6:31 pm
I guarantee you this was written by a woman
March 25, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Agreed. First thing I thought.
March 25, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Why? Not all guys are horn-dog idiots.
March 25, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Well, speaking as a guy and a horn dog idiot, I must say that there’s no logical reason to believe that this HAS to have been written by a woman.
March 28, 2011 at 12:10 pm
This has come up in debate before… WR is a dude.
March 25, 2011 at 8:57 pm
As always a great comic, but this one in particular was that “exactly what I needed to read today” kind of comic.
Thank you.
March 26, 2011 at 10:21 pm
Perfect. I love it.
March 28, 2011 at 12:02 pm
I espicially love the chibi Frida Kahlo in the last panel.
March 29, 2011 at 8:36 am
Great stuff, Mr. Rowntree. It’s a pleasure having you on the internet.
March 29, 2011 at 10:24 am
Wonderful 🙂
March 31, 2011 at 3:06 am
Emporio Bulshiti!!! I nearly spit out my milk haha! Brilliant!
April 2, 2011 at 12:27 pm
…or maybe not.
😉
April 6, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Love it
April 8, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Damn feminist using the internet for their fantasies. When will they learn it’s for men and their stock portfolios
April 11, 2011 at 9:01 am
Maybe someone already asked this, but is this being made into a poster? I want this in about a 6 foot height. I think this needs to be posted in every high school in my city.
April 11, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Wonderful commentary and great art! Thanks for telling it like it is!
April 13, 2011 at 12:47 am
this literally made my day, thank you! i will be sure to share it!
April 16, 2011 at 3:51 am
beautiful : )
April 26, 2011 at 1:25 am
I’ve been following your comics for ages, and you’re one of the most interesting, well-drawn, well-written ones on the internet. Keep up the good work!
April 29, 2011 at 2:30 pm
This really helped me. I grew up with the internet but I’ve never left a comment on a site until now. Thanks
May 1, 2011 at 10:47 pm
Thank you SO much for your “Sexier Th>n” comic. I’ve been reading your site for ages but that one really struck a chord with me as I have dealt with really bad self-esteem for as long as I can remember.
Never has a comic put tears in my eyes (in an emotional way, lol)! Thanks again.
May 2, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Maybe you’re confusing sexiness with value as a person. Not all measures of someone’s worth factor into physical attraction. Which, let’s be honest, is all “sexiness” as a concept really refers to. In fact, I’d say it’s that very overemphasis on physical attraction in our culture that leads well-meaning people to say something like “listening is sexier than anything else you can do in public” or “hot for electoral reform.” Because only by claiming it adds to sex appeal can you get most people consider it something they should bother with.
May 2, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Maybe you’re confusing physical attraction with sexiness. There may be a component of that but there is far more to sexiness than physicallity, i.e. I think Leonard Cohen is intensely sexy yet I am not at all physically attracted to him.
May 3, 2011 at 3:48 pm
maybe this site is sexier than any other crap sites out there! it’s also awesome 😀
May 7, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Yaaaay! Oh sexiness…. will we ever understand you? Will anyone?
May 12, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Poison! You’re a Final Fight fan, Winston?
May 15, 2011 at 4:24 pm
You’re wrong about the women with facial hair thing (term “opinion” NOT warranted here). If your art is shit to begin with AND you’ve got a ‘satchel that rivals Reynolds, you probably deserve to become a relentless amputee and be made fun of- for eternity
May 20, 2011 at 4:57 am
cute
May 28, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Love it, who’s to say whats sexy and where to draw the lines. Do I have your permission to post the link on my facebook page (not just the layout) with credits to you of course?
May 31, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Why does everything have to be a cliche!? Lets have our own conceptions of sexy!!
June 2, 2011 at 1:28 am
Can you make “Sexier Than” into a poster?
June 28, 2011 at 2:12 am
I love this comic.
June 30, 2011 at 1:16 pm
But just maybe.
July 6, 2011 at 7:15 pm
This is brilliant. Thankyou
July 20, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Thanks for your graphic art/commentary. I’m an old guy who started out loving the Disney stable of comics, grew into Combat “comics”, Sargent Rock, etc. went to weed in the 60s and enjoyed Zap, Freak Bros and so on. I haven’t seen any I liked in years until I dropped in on your site.
July 25, 2011 at 8:46 am
I LOVE YOUR COMICS. Please make more about philosophical and comparing stuff. Thanks!
July 28, 2011 at 1:57 am
This made me smile inside. : )
July 29, 2011 at 2:57 am
Fantastic work. I particularly liked the ‘FAKE’ picture, to pick a single highlight from a very beautiful, dare I say sexy? comic. 🙂
August 8, 2011 at 8:15 am
Thank you for yet another sublime read. These comics always make me think and smile, and if I can go about the rest of my life thinking and smiling I reckon I’m sorted.
August 21, 2011 at 7:56 pm
This is beautiful.
September 12, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Yes, but what happens when you are the “sexy ninja” type.
What I mean is: what is good for to be sexy, if nobody can see you?
Yes, I find myself asking this question rather often.
September 13, 2011 at 2:29 pm
I think you just made me cry. 🙂
September 30, 2011 at 3:17 pm
One of the best you have! Totally agree with everything!
November 17, 2011 at 10:37 am
Nice…thank you for making people feel good, rather than never measuring up!
November 20, 2011 at 5:08 pm
this was awesome and inspiring. Thank you
December 4, 2011 at 3:40 pm
I really appreciate your work, and I’m quoting this text to put on my facebook wall (you’re given credit) and I hope that’s okay. Thank you so much for these comics!
December 22, 2011 at 12:14 am
Love this. Fantastic. Brilliant. Bravo.
December 30, 2011 at 5:10 pm
This comic is amazing, thank you 😀
January 1, 2012 at 12:43 am
As a guy who often wears scrubs at work, I’d like to suggest that I’m getting my hands dirty, too. Unless blood, feces, urine, and dripping sweat under my surgical gown are that much less sexy than dirt and sawdust in your calculations, I think a true white collar would have been a better character to be looking askance at the carpenter on the bus. Your health care workers are underappreciated.
January 1, 2012 at 2:18 am
pretty sure he was showing both the carpenter and the doctor as people willing to get their hand’s dirty
January 1, 2012 at 5:17 am
Like Joe said – WR is juxtaposing the real workers with the idealised picture behind them. The image of people that we’re supposed to consider desirable and ideal and which is, of course, bollocks.
fb
January 2, 2012 at 8:01 pm
Yeah, what they ^ said. I’d hate for anyone to interpret it otherwise.
January 4, 2012 at 10:47 am
I would really like to buy this as a Tshirt. Es posible?
January 20, 2012 at 10:03 pm
I check a number of comics every day before work,but, subnormalityi is the only one I am always willing to be late for work to read. This comic makes me proud to be Canadian.
January 23, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Loved it!!! AND I agree!!!
February 11, 2012 at 7:53 am
I am definitely sexier than I think
March 18, 2013 at 11:45 pm
anything is sexier than photoshop, a toned mind is sexier than a toned body, proper photoshopping is the product of a toned mind.
January 21, 2014 at 5:39 pm
OK great…. now how do I find a girl perceptive enough or patient enough to look past the expected and see me for any of it?
October 11, 2016 at 12:04 pm
And then, just below the comic, the word
“Nope.”