Nice thing about finishing that list last week? It sorts out what the next comic in the Not So Wild Review is with one simple click. And that comic is:
BOB THE ANGRY FLOWER
My weekly dose of absurdest humor, Bob has kept me chuckling for nearly 9 years now, and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. That said, I can't quite review it like the last 3 Not So Wild Reviews. There is no story element, outside of a short stint known only as Rothgard, and that's fairly recent. And as for characters, well, there are only 3:
There is Bob, who is an angry flower. Then Stumpy, who is a bored stump. And finally Freddie, who is an innocent flying fetus. Stumpy and Freddie are there to react to whatever weird thing Bob is up to at the moment. All three do whatever happens to be funniest at the time.
HUMOR
And that's really the point of the comic, whatever happens to be funniest. Bob's humor is borderline surreal, involving talking punctuation marks, UN mandates and various space aliens. Why Bob does ANYTHING is the joke, and usually the answer is "because."
Which isn't to say it's always funny. Like Nobody Scores!, which is based on the same concept, the jokes either hit you in the face like a truck, or miss by a mile. Bob, however, does it constantly, once a week, every week. This provides a steady diet of humor that even the funniest comics can't quiet get right. This once a week scheduling also keeps the comic from going stale too fast. The final joke of every comic is pretty similar ("just because"), and if it ran daily, or even 3 times a week, I could see myself growing bored of it. With weekly dose, it keeps it from leaving a bad taste in my mouth for very long, if it ever does create one.
ART
Bob's art is actually really good, considering that the whole point is for a giant flower to do something crazy. Looking at early work, you can see the basic shapes of the characters easily coming together, but there's a sketchiness to it that indicates it is very early artwork. A steady progression of development into the current style is easy to see as each strip gets a little be cleaner than the previous one.
Honestly, I would expect nothing less from a comic that's nearly 20 years old at this point. It's like looking at early Peanuts strips and comparing them to what's being reprinted in papers now. There is an obvious difference, but it's not so different as to be unidentifiable.
OVERALL
Bob has been a staple of my comic list now for a long time and as long as he keeps making it, I will likely continue to read it. It's a small, fun dose of zany that keeps me coming back every week. In a way, it signals the beginning of my weekly updating comic read through, which I usually do Sunday, and in a sense is the front page of my internet funny pages. It doesn't always get a big laugh out of me, few comics do, but it always gives me a chuckle and prepares me for the rest of my day. I recommend Bob as a nice break from the massive epic comics and story driven dramas. And if we're lucky, Bob won't try to open any more cans. With a tank.
See you next week kiddies.
BOB THE ANGRY FLOWER
My weekly dose of absurdest humor, Bob has kept me chuckling for nearly 9 years now, and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. That said, I can't quite review it like the last 3 Not So Wild Reviews. There is no story element, outside of a short stint known only as Rothgard, and that's fairly recent. And as for characters, well, there are only 3:
There is Bob, who is an angry flower. Then Stumpy, who is a bored stump. And finally Freddie, who is an innocent flying fetus. Stumpy and Freddie are there to react to whatever weird thing Bob is up to at the moment. All three do whatever happens to be funniest at the time.
HUMOR
And that's really the point of the comic, whatever happens to be funniest. Bob's humor is borderline surreal, involving talking punctuation marks, UN mandates and various space aliens. Why Bob does ANYTHING is the joke, and usually the answer is "because."
Which isn't to say it's always funny. Like Nobody Scores!, which is based on the same concept, the jokes either hit you in the face like a truck, or miss by a mile. Bob, however, does it constantly, once a week, every week. This provides a steady diet of humor that even the funniest comics can't quiet get right. This once a week scheduling also keeps the comic from going stale too fast. The final joke of every comic is pretty similar ("just because"), and if it ran daily, or even 3 times a week, I could see myself growing bored of it. With weekly dose, it keeps it from leaving a bad taste in my mouth for very long, if it ever does create one.
ART
Bob's art is actually really good, considering that the whole point is for a giant flower to do something crazy. Looking at early work, you can see the basic shapes of the characters easily coming together, but there's a sketchiness to it that indicates it is very early artwork. A steady progression of development into the current style is easy to see as each strip gets a little be cleaner than the previous one.
Honestly, I would expect nothing less from a comic that's nearly 20 years old at this point. It's like looking at early Peanuts strips and comparing them to what's being reprinted in papers now. There is an obvious difference, but it's not so different as to be unidentifiable.
OVERALL
Bob has been a staple of my comic list now for a long time and as long as he keeps making it, I will likely continue to read it. It's a small, fun dose of zany that keeps me coming back every week. In a way, it signals the beginning of my weekly updating comic read through, which I usually do Sunday, and in a sense is the front page of my internet funny pages. It doesn't always get a big laugh out of me, few comics do, but it always gives me a chuckle and prepares me for the rest of my day. I recommend Bob as a nice break from the massive epic comics and story driven dramas. And if we're lucky, Bob won't try to open any more cans. With a tank.
See you next week kiddies.
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