The "gross comics" debate

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I'm not offended by ph*rting jokes, theyy just don't really tickle my funny bone, which is quite seperate....in my own strips, I have only done one idea on this subject; I just never saw any real mileage in this theme....I will leave it for others to mine this rich vein.....it's all yours, boys. Im not especially complaining about 'vulgarity', if others enjoy this stuff, fair enough.

It is a perfectly good topic heading you have supplied here, Lew, but if I had authored this topic, I would have called it:

IS IT ART...............OR IS IT PH*RT?

.....but that's just my nonsensickal sense of wordplay.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I'm not offended by this subject, it just doesn't especially tickle my funny bone......in my own strips, I only done one gag on this subject, as I never found it especially rich in potential for humour: it is up to others to mine this rich vein.

Lew: there is nothing wrong with your topic-heading on here, but if I wrote it, I would have called it:


IS IT ART................or is it PH*RT?


---------but that's just my nonsensickal sense of wordplay.

[Kashgar]

I certainly found the 'campfire' scene in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles a lot funnier as a teenager than I do now but that could just be down to the tedium of repetition.
I come from a generation who quite happily laughed at electrocutions and maimings in comic strips without thinking them gross or over the top so I'm not going to begrudge a modern day kid his quota of fart gags if it amuses him or her. My only problem with them is that I don't think they work that well in a medium that is devoid of sound.

[Lew Stringer]

My only problem with them is that I don't think they work that well in a medium that is devoid of sound.

Possibly not, but we try to compensate for that with the use of sfx lettering and visibly showing the cloud of gas. Whether it works or not depends on the reader of course, but I always enjoy lettering the sound effects. (As seen in the examples above.)

Interesting responses. Each to their own of course but I found it bizarre that some people find real life farts funny, but not in the comic strips! Conversely I don't find it funny if people deliberately do it in public but I think it's harmless and inoffensive in a humour strip.

A couple of points:

1) I get the impression from people who don't read modern comics that they think the comics are solely focused on gross humour. This is not the case. It is the focus of some strips (such as The Bogies in Dandy Xtreme for example) but not in the case of most. Even then, the strips depict the humour so far removed from reality that it's difficult to see how they could offend. (The Bogies are the product of a dream, whereby these green creatures spoof tv shows, comic characters etc. They're green cartoon creatures with faces and limbs, not realisticly painted images of mucus.)

2) This "gross humour" has been around quite a while now and can be traced back to Johnny Fartpants, Oink!, and the Garbage Pail Kids. It's not a new phenomenon. It's at least 25 years old. The biggest shock is that it took other mainstream comics so long to latch on to it. When Oink! dipped its trotter into that area Smiths moved it away from the children's section because the establishment was so out of touch. Today? Not a problem. Some Dandy/Beano readers will have parents that collected Garbage Pail Kid stickers and who read Oink. So putting poo jokes into Toxic or Dandy is hardly going to phase them.

However, if the history of British comics teaches us anything it's that comics evolve. "Gross humour" will eventually give way to something else. Not necessarily anything gorier or more "gross", just different. Time will tell.

Lew

[philcom55]

if the history of British comics teaches us anything it's that comics evolve. "Gross humour" will eventually give way to something else. Not necessarily anything gorier or more "gross", just different. Time will tell.

It's interesting that British and American comics seem to have evolved in wholly different directions in this respect. As far as I'm aware fart jokes are still virtually unknown in the US, whereas they seem to have developed the depiction of gore to a fine art (eg DC's 'Darkest Night' event, and all those zombie comics). I guess it says something about the enduring differences between our two societies, in spite of the fact that kids on both sides of the Atlantic have always been fascinated by both subjects.

- Phil Rushton

[Phoenix]

I don't find it funny if people deliberately do it in public

If it happens unintentionally in an inappropriate environment such as a church or a library, people will laugh as a reflex action, but the laughter will be brief because it is embarrassed laughter.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I heard a woman do it in a central library-----twice------and she acted so innocent and aloof, it added even more to the supressed laughter. The ultimate taboo would have to be in a church, though.

[Nigel Auchterlounie]

focused on gross humour. This is not the case. It is the focus of some strips (such as The Bogies in Dandy Xtreme for example)

Lew

Further to lew's comment, he's right the "snot" isn't really snot in the bogies strip. It never comes from a nose, it usually fires out of a cannon or something. but also a lot of the time there isn't really any snot at all. I never bend over backwards to put some snot in.

I just write what I think is funny.

The comedy in the Bogies is based mainly on anti-climax and repetition.
That is to say plans never quite work out, and they often make the same mistakes three times in a row. (the third mistake requiring a twist of some sort).
I think any "gross out" strip needs a little more to it than just pure gross to keep going, And that a lot of people might not bother giving a strip a "go" if it's got the wrong title.

[Nigel Auchterlounie]

I messed up that quote thing didn't I.

[Digifiend]

Just edit it, removing the / from the first [/quote]. That'll fix it.

[Lew Stringer]

Further to lew's comment, he's right the "snot" isn't really snot in the bogies strip. It never comes from a nose, it usually fires out of a cannon or something. but also a lot of the time there isn't really any snot at all. I never bend over backwards to put some snot in.

I just write what I think is funny.

The comedy in the Bogies is based mainly on anti-climax and repetition.
That is to say plans never quite work out, and they often make the same mistakes three times in a row. (the third mistake requiring a twist of some sort).
I think any "gross out" strip needs a little more to it than just pure gross to keep going, And that a lot of people might not bother giving a strip a "go" if it's got the wrong title.

Good points. I think Dandy Xtreme has gotten itself a bad reputation here due to rumour rather than fact. Looking at the recent issue out of 18 pages of comic strip only 3 pages contain what could be described as "gross humour". Two of those are The Bogies but as you say, the gags aren't actually about mucus. So that leaves one page, Spooky Skaters, which features a fart gag but even that's not very explicit.

Admittedly some issues will feature more "gross" humour than others but all in all, I fail to see what people's animosity is towards Dandy Xtreme other than "it's different to how it was 30 years ago". Well, what isn't?

Lew

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I just learned today that frogs secrete mucus through their skin, not their noses, and that's why they're slimy.....


Lew: I wouldn't mind a proper look through DANDY X TREEM but every time I see it, it is sealed in a bag [maybe this is to make it look more 'x-certificate' and alluring], however in the past when I have bought sealed mags or whatever, it was usually a bit of a disappointment when the goods were unwrapped.

This sealed bags marketing ploy probably attracts some readership, but I reckon it is off-putting to a significant number of potential readers: all I can gather other than your own reliable reccomendations are the thoughts of two members on here who bought or saw this publication once, and dubbed it 'gross-out' as it's very title suggests.....

Even if someone can scan in a page on here of typical X-treem fare, it will maybe help to promote it a bit, which is what it deserves.

[felneymike]

"it's different to how it was 30 years ago". Well, what isn't?

Commando... Hindustan Ambassadors... um... er... Air!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

there were traffic jams 30 years ago...they're even worse now.

[tony ingram]

I really don't like this kind of humour-I just find it distasteful and unnecessary. Maybe I'm just old fashioned...