So what're the most common cliches?

Chaos Cricket · Post by **Chaos Cricket** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:30 pm

Havin Death or Satan show up is certainly common, though I'd say it's far from cliche...right now, anyway. Breaking the 4th wall is definitely a cliche, as is the author appearing in the comic. Sprite comics aren't so much cliche as they are painful (remember--sprite comics make the baby Jesus cry).

Other cliches include ninjas, gratuitous use of l33t, and comics about kids who do nothing but sit around playing videogames all day long.

Alaina · Post by **Alaina** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:35 pm

Monkeys. Cheese. Roommates.

Roommates with monkeys that eat cheese.

Chaos Cricket · Post by **Chaos Cricket** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:59 pm

What about roommates with cheese who eat monkeys?

[geoduck] · Post by **[geoduck]** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:05 pm

Cheese that eats roommates.

Psiogen · Post by **Psiogen** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:11 pm

Robots. Monkeys. Pirates. Ninjas. Jesus. Zombies. Hitler. Robot monkeys. Zombie ninjas. Pirate Hitlers. Robot monkey Jesuses. Ninja Jesus zombie monkeys. Jesus monkey pirate robot zombie ninja Hitlers.

Chaos Cricket · Post by **Chaos Cricket** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:12 pm

"And a partridge in a pear tree"

Zhan_Dvega · Post by **Zhan_Dvega** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:34 pm

Breaking the 4th wall is cliche.

Breaking the 4th wall WELL isn't.

KathleenJ · Post by **KathleenJ** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:39 pm

Psiogen's got it, right there.

I'll add an old standby, pie. And bears, and bees, which are both steadily moving to the place where monkeys are now.

Also, roommates where one is fun-loving, and one is conservative.
Add a fourth-panel punchline like "I hate you so". For extra points, replace the punchline with a random act of violence, such as an axe to the head.

TheBladeRoden2 · Post by **TheBladeRoden2** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:39 pm

Not just the author showing up, but the author showing up to talk about how bad his comic is. example: "Omg I'm using myself as a character how lame is that?"

Chibiartstudios · Post by **Chibiartstudios** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:02 pm

I never minded it when people had the author make an entrance as long as it was well done or limited.

Sprite comics though... I have only read 2 sprite comics that I liked (8-bit theater and Bob and George) the rest I hate beyond all measure.

and you can add showing boobs for no reason. Though I should mention that I LIKE that cliche.

Chaos Cricket · Post by **Chaos Cricket** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:06 pm

chibiartstudios wrote:and you can add showing boobs for no reason. Though I should mention that I LIKE that cliche.

Hey, just because something's cliche doesn't mean it's bad.

MixedMyth · Post by **MixedMyth** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:13 pm

Small cute critters that are deadly. (Eh, I'm guilty of that one)

Chaos Cricket · Post by **Chaos Cricket** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:14 pm

yeah, but your small cute deadly critters are just so...small...and cute...and deadly.

KathleenJ · Post by **KathleenJ** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:19 pm

Ok, I was inspired and I just spent 20 minutes creating a monstrosity. Is there a place for this in How Not to Run a Comic?

Chaos Cricket · Post by **Chaos Cricket** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:23 pm

It could possibly fit with "How Not to do an Action Scene," or maybe "How not to introduce characters." Probably the latter more than the former, though.

But I think it's brilliant either way.

Jim North · Post by **Jim North** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 11:15 pm

If there's no place in HNTRAC for that masterpiece, then there is something terribly wrong with the universe.

Bekka · Post by **Bekka** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 11:36 pm

Hey, that's a cool comic! What happens next, does Robot Hitler revenge himself!?

Psiogen · Post by **Psiogen** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 11:49 pm

Zombie Jesus wrote:AXE YOU FOOL!!!!!!!!1
brainnnns

Robot Hitler wrote:god damn it i am axed

Oh man, that's like the ur-webcomic.

JexKerome · Post by **JexKerome** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 11:51 pm

Clich

Joel Fagin · Post by **Joel Fagin** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 12:54 am

Breaking the fourth wall, sentient pets (small robots, slime molds, homocidal rabbits, etc), celebrity cameos - particularly Scully and Mulder, spoofs and mirrors of movies and TV shows, alien abduction, James Bond villain type villain, mad scientist, character that can create any sort of sci-fi technology (such as phasers, teleporters, robots, etc), time machines and time travel, narrative causality,* wacky adventures across an entire fictional spectrum. (Time travel, zombies, alien abduction and so on) and Satan or demons.

- Joel Fagin

* That