Online Cartoonist Finds Financial Success Offline

destinyland writes "The first collection of Perry Bible Fellowship comics has racked up pre-sales of $300,000 due to its huge online following. Within seven weeks the volume required a third printing. Ironically, the 25-year-old cartoonist speculates people would rather read his arty comics in a book than on a computer screen, and warns that 'There's something wonderful, and soon-to-be mythic, about the printed page...' He also explains the strange anti-censorship crusade in high school that earned him an FBI record!"

PBF transcends the net

[by Anonymous Coward]

My father, who isn't even a geek was describing one of the comics to me. If I recall correctly, it was on display in Maxim magazine.

on another note, here is a fun task: read all the PBF comics: he has hidden references and messages across the whole series.

it's a trap

[Racemaniac (1099281)]

he's probably just trying to trick everybody in going over all the comics searching for hidden messages (and it's working -_-)

Mythical Bibles

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

There's something wonderful, and soon-to-be mythic, about the printed page

Which is perfect for the bible, because it's a myth.

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[kinabrew (1053930)]

I think the parent may think "Perry Bible Fellowship" actually has something to do with the Bible.

It's not so much off-topic as ignorant as to what is the topic.

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[Doc Ruby (173196)]

While you won't be able to prove to me tonight that your holding a bible is indeed a fact, that's entirely besides the point.

Proving the bible's stories are true is also besides the point, if the point is faith. Because faith is precisely what we have when things cannot be proven, not just because they're too inconvenient to do so on a given night.

I'm not going to get into a long debunking of the bible's "facts". I'm not even going to get into a debate about whether a book about the otherwise undocumented p

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[Doc Ruby (173196)]

Getting your joke was done in my first sentence. The rest is for the people with no sense of either humor or faith.

Me and god, we've got an understanding. He doesn't exist, and I don't mind.

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[WNight (23683)]

Definition: "Bigot is often used as a pejorative term against a person who is obstinately devoted to prejudices even when these views are challenged or proven to be false or not universally applicable or acceptable."

Challenge the belief that all religion is false. Until then, the belief that it is a joke does seem universally acceptable.

Religious people think that because crazy opinions are everywhere (for instance, that Adam Sandler is funny) that their crazy ideas must be just the same, and accepted as va

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[I(rispee_I(reme (310391)]

and on a further note, science has yet to ever be proven as fact. there's one assumption that is always made and can never be proven (just as one could say a higher power could never be proven, therefore you can only assume there is or there isn't); you assume that a cause will always have the same effect. the only reason people accept this as true is because no one has disproved it. repeated tests are only circumstantial tests at best. don't get me wrong, i fully believe that science is true, but i'm just

The Diamond Age

[by Anonymous Coward]

'There's something wonderful, and soon-to-be mythic, about the printed page...' If you've read The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, it's all laid out in there. Nano technology makes nearly everything possible, and at the same time makes nearly everything ubiquitous and therefore worthless. The only true things of value are those labor intensive things made by hand. You can already see the trend developing in our current world, despite being decades, possibly centuries away from the technology written about in the book. The retro trends of listening to record albums and tube amps. Analog is unique. Digital is common, unexceptional, vulgar. Film and real fiber prints will become prized possessions. The same future lies ahead for bound paper books.

Re:The Diamond Age

[Dirtside (91468)]

The retro trends of listening to record albums and tube amps.

Er, I don't think more than a tiny, tiny fraction of people engage in those activities. That's not really an indicator that people as a whole are finding more value in analog than digital.

Film and real fiber prints will become prized possessions.

If that's the case, it'll only be because of their rarity, and only because for some reason there are people who will pay a lot for a rare item even if it has no functional or useful (or even particular aesthetic) value.

Nostalgia's all warm and fuzzy, sure, but eventually people who can't help clinging to the past get old and die, and the rest of us can move on.

Re:The Diamond Age

[joto (134244)]

While I agree with your argument (it's far from everybody who prefers vinyl to CDs or film to digital cameras), I must disagree with the proposition that it's only for nostalgic reasons. Film cameras are still objectively "better" than digital cameras, when you consider contrast and colour-balance and all that. And tube amps certainly have their uses, e.g. if you want the "warm analog" sound (which you can then easily record on to a CD). [By the way: It's not that the "warm analog" sound is a more accurate sound reproduction, it's only there when you abuse the electronics, but it's certainly more pleasant than the failure mode of digital electronics.]

The old saying "they don't make stuff like this today" is often true. Progress means the price goes down, and the product is thus available for more consumers, but still good enough for most. Some people however, are willing to pay extra, either in money or convenience, in order to get the "best", which often are what they made in the old days.

However, other things are better explained through fashion. People don't by vinyl because it's better. People buy vinyl for the same reason your grandfather always used a tie. It's the fashion.

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[Atario (673917)]

I know you! You're David Cross's character in this sketch [youtube.com]!

PBF is fine in either format

[StefanJ (88986)]

Some comics work just fine on a screen. They might be made for the screen, or be print comics that happen to have the layout and lines and style that remain readable on a screen.

I read PBF online, but will probably buy multiple copies of the book to use as gifts.

Some comix I don't think cut it on screen. Some of Chris Ware's head-thumpers like the "Acme Novelty Company" really belong on a printed page.

Newspaper comics

[mboverload (657893)]

Is it just me or are the comics in newspapers COMPLETELY devoid of any humor? I haven't smiled at a comic in years. It's like the newspapers demand trash and get it.

I love PBF and other online comics. They can do or say anything they like without censorship. PBF wouldn't be the same if it couldn't use explicit material.

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[mboverload (657893)]

This isn't to say that PBF relies on solely adult material. Far from it.

However, some of his best stuff is for adults. Too bad the website crashed so I can't show you an example.

Epic:
"The Man with No Penis"

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[driftingwalrus (203255)]

The last funny newspaper comic stopped printing years ago. It's a wasteland now.

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[jamstar7 (694492)]

Yeah, I miss Bloom County, too.

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[TomHandy (578620)]

Not sure exactly how Opus is too "left-wing"; it's libertarian if anything (and Breathed's quote about himself probably sums it up: "Liberal, shmiberal. That should be a new word. Shmiberal: one who is assumed liberal, just because he's a professional whiner in the newspaper. If you'll read the subtext for many of those old strips, you'll find the heart of an old-fashioned Libertarian. And I'd be a Libertarian, if they weren't all a bunch of tax-dodging professional whiners.").

I'd have a hard time figurin

Re:Newspaper comics

[fmobus (831767)]

Moreover, PBF's author is a extremely capable, in terms of drawings. He has a good domain on a number of techniques and styles. Most online comics, on the other hand, create a single style and stick to it forever, increasing their quality in a more progressive manner.

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[pluther (647209)]

There are still comics in newspapers?

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[HandsOnFire (1059486)]

There are still newspapers?

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[Just Some Guy (3352)]

There are still newspapers?

Yep, and I still subscribe to one. I just wish I could pay half-price for a trimmed down local-only version with comics and the crossword.

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[OzRoy (602691)]

There hasn't been a decent newspaper comic since The Farside.

I think PBF has a similar random dark humor.

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[ResidntGeek (772730)]

There hasn't been a decent newspaper comic since The Farside.

Not a Calvin and Hobbes fan?

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[TempeTerra (83076)]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Calvin and Hobbes finished in 1995.

(Although according to Wikipedia The Far Side finished earlier the same year, for all you nitpickers out there)

Re:Newspaper comics

[Just Some Guy (3352)]

Is it just me or are the comics in newspapers COMPLETELY devoid of any humor?

It's just you. Well, OK, they're pretty awful as a whole but there are still some decent ones:

• Pickles: Who knew crotchety old men could be funny?
• Heart of the City: Ditto 7 year old girls and their geeky friends.
• Non Sequitur: If Gary Larson chose to tell a story instead of a one-liner.
• Doonesbury: No, really. Not everyday, but most of the time.
• Zits: Almost always at least mildly amusing, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny.
• Baby Blues: For parents only, I think - a perfect reflection the middle class married with kids lifestyle.
• Peanuts: Yeah, I said it. Now that they're running Chuck's old stuff before he forgot that adults buy the newspaper.

Still not funny:

• Cathy: Irving, think Ike Turner. You know what to do.
• Gasoline Alley: Does anyone like this?

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[Reziac (43301)]

Gasoline Alley, Mary Worth, Rick O'Shay, etc. aren't =supposed= to be *funny*. They're essentially soap operas in graphics format.

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[Just Some Guy (3352)]

Gasoline Alley, Mary Worth, Rick O'Shay, etc. aren't =supposed= to be *funny*.

I recognize the difference between "unfunny" and "dramatic". Note that I didn't list Gil Thorp or Rex Morgan, MD or anything else like that. I think you're wrong about Gasoline Alley, though. Although it is basically a long-running serial, it tries to be funny quite often. For Better Or For Worse is in the same category except that its humor succeeds more often than not.

Re:Newspaper comics

[FleaPlus (6935)]

I'd personally add Pearls Before Swine [comics.com] and FoxTrot [foxtrot.com] to that list of good newspaper comics. Of course, I actually read those comics almost entirely online. ;)

Re:Newspaper comics

[martinX (672498)]

>>Is it just me or are the comics in newspapers COMPLETELY devoid of any humor?

NO WAY. Take Garfield. There was this one time that Garfield tried to get a lasagna, and Jon tried to stop him, and then ODIE got involved. I'm crying here just remembering it. Man it was funny.

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[jamesh (87723)]

NO WAY. Take Garfield. There was this one time that Garfield tried to get a lasagna, and Jon tried to stop him, and then ODIE got involved. I'm crying here just remembering it. Man it was funny.

Oh yeah! I remember that one. Good times had by all. Reminds me of the one where Charlie Brown says 'Good Grief!'.

Re:Newspaper comics

[moosesocks (264553)]

Although it's really easy [xkcd.com] to make fun of Garfield, there have been a few interesting cases of Jim Davis breaking from the main storyline.

For instance, this [snopes.com] story arc from 1989 is moderately disturbing, especially when you consider that it's is Garfield comic....

And while we're on the subject of Garfield: removing Garfield's thought bubbles removed [truthandbeautybombs.com] can be quite humorous (and occasionally depressing), while randomized sets [dougshaw.com] of 3 frames from the comic are about as funny and as coherent as the real thing.

And finally, although it's not garfield, The Family Circus can be easily made funny with a different set of captions [theotherfamily.com].

I was there when Bill Keene killed DFC

[spun (1352)]

I made quite a few captions for the original DFC. I was known as 'spun' there, too. Many of them even made it into the 'green' category. I was there when DFC closed down. Bill Keene himself called the guy who ran the site and basically said, "The cartoon is about me and my family, and you guys are putting us into the most disgusting and degrading situations. What if my kids read this site? Please, would you stop?" So we all felt kinda bad, and we stopped, but that doesn't make DFC any less funny. You can st

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[Bazman (4849)]

Why is everyone referring to PBF as an 'online' comic? I first read it as a printed version in the UK Guardian newspaper.

Comics in The Guardian are always high quality. There's currently Steve Bell's 'If' strip and Doonesbury, plus PBF, and in the past they've re-run Krazy Kat.

Unlike US newspapers, UK papers don't generally have an eight page comic section to fill - perhaps that is the reason for the perceived decrease in quality.

Mirror

[by Anonymous Coward]

Here's a mirror [framemytv.com].

Retarded.

[Ethanol-fueled (1125189)]

Now go read a real comic like this [wikipedia.org] one.

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[ty421 (1087701)]

Of course, N.G. has said that Bill Watterson is a bit of an inspiration for him [thescope.ca], so I suppose this is just a natural progression of "real" comics. On the other hand, Calvin & Hobbes is the greatest comic to have widespread newspaper publication, although I will accept evidence to the contrary.

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[Nuroticat (558672)]

Sinfest [sinfest.net] is also quite worthy. It's a spiritual (lol) successor of strips like Calvin & Hobbes and Bloom County. I've enjoyed Sinfest more than any other web or newspaper comic for years.

Support the artist

[YodaYid (1049908)]

I bought the book simply to support Nicholas Gurewitch - there was not much in there that I didn't already see before. But since his site doesn't have advertising, I was happy to support him directly (it's comparable to Radiohead's "pay what you like" model in that sense).

I do wish there were more "special features" in the book, but there are some interesting bits at the end where he includes comics that he has since taken out of the PBF canon, explaining why he made those decisions (for example, he eschews pop references in his comics, so those sort of comics are part of the "Lost Strips" series in the back of the book). Also, he has some of his extra-tasteless ones :-)

I like to think of PBF as the opposite of Penny Arcade, which is almost always topical, picking apart the latest headlines for laughs (not a bad thing, just different). PBF's humor will still be funny in fifty years, when people will have no clue what Penny Arcade (or South Park, or Family Guy for that matter) are talking about. It has that timeless element to it that makes me a fan.

And before I forget, congratulations to Nicholas Gurewitch on his success! It is well deserved.

Well...

[Comatose51 (687974)]

Well that's one advantage printed comics have over online ones: immune to Slashdotting.

Achewood

[goosman (145634)]

PBF is one of a very few good web comics (though I generally read it in a weekly dead tree) but the king is http://www.achewood.com/ [achewood.com]. Pure genius.

Re:Achewood

[Bill, Shooter of Bul (629286)]

wow achewood... it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and a ring around my eyes, but sadly thats not a good thing. Its as if someone wrote a program to take anything funny that has every been said, or written and remove the humor from it, leaving only a soulless, time wasting, empty shell of a cicada.

WTF?

[cherokee158 (701472)]

Am I the only one who finds this strip badly drawn and entirely unfunny? I promised myself that when I hit forty, I wouldn't lose touch, but I am beginning to feel a bit old: I appear to be the only person not carrying a bible who thinks the endless torrent(no pun intended) of graphic violence, profanity and scatalogical humor pouring from the web to be more boorish than humorous. Am I alone?

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[BeanThere (28381)]

No; there is a clear cultural trend towards nihilism. It may be a(n over) reaction to a prior overly sanitised and politically correct era brought on in part by the Comics Code. The same undercurrents are present in most major media - movies, music, art etc. This 'race to the bottom' has been pretty much taken to its extremes now, so I look forward to the pendulum (hopefully) swinging the other way again soon. But given the way cynicism, boorishness and not caring are 'in', that people can't seem to tell th

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[Fantastic Lad (198284)]

Everyone makes that promise and everyone breaks it.

Not only did I not make that promise, but I didn't do it because I'd lost touch and knew it back when I was in my late twenties. Heck, I have a strong suspicion that I wasn't even in touch during high school. Had no idea what was in with regard to fashion, music, popular kids, etc. And somehow all through it and to this day I have managed to maintain deep and friendly ties with representatives of every age group, gender, and social class imaginable. I t

Personal Favorites

[Symbolis (1157151)]

PBF has been a favorite of mine for a while, now. Here's some others(wiki pages. Paper comic sites(read: syndicate sites) suck more often than not):

Zits [wikipedia.org]
Get Fuzzy
Pearls Before Swine [wikipedia.org]
Lio [wikipedia.org]

Online comics:

Schlock Mercenary [schlockmercenary.com]
Something Positive [somethingpositive.net]
Erfworld [giantitp.com]
Penny Arcade [penny-arcade.com]
Irregular Webcomic! [irregularwebcomic.net]
There's a few others, but that's most of them.

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[by Anonymous Coward]

Your Favourite Comics Probably Do Not Type All Their Dialogue In Camel Case, Which Makes Reading A Sentence Incredibly Annoying, IMO. IsupposeIshouldbehappyyoudidn'ttypeotalloutlikethis.

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[HandsOnFire (1059486)]

I've been doing too much reading lately. I noticed that "IsupposeIshouldbehappyyoudidn'ttypeotalloutlikethis" had a typo within a split second. I think you mean IsupposeIshouldbehappyyoudidn'ttypeitalloutlikethis.

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[TempeTerra (83076)]

The brain is a strange thing. I spotted the typo too, but for some inexplicable reason my brain also thinks that the string contains the word 'kittens' somewhere after the apostrophe.

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[fmobus (831767)]

Well, at least he will have means to pay for his hosting bill in the near future. At least for some hours :)