There are more subtly executed comics with stories that are as subtle as their execution but those are usually made by folk trying to be sensitive, not funny.

That was an extremely necessary response, ngazin.








Kind of like this one.

Why are people marking this lame? that song is dope.

woah woah, tell me what it was called!

Here Comes A Special Boy. You can download it from their website. I'd give you a direct link, but the URL doesn't change. :(

Amen. That's an awesome song. Freezepop for the win.

Actually, there are references to both strips in the song.
But yes you're right that is the primary one.

closely followed by the special girl.

Retardo is actually a guy.

Retardo! This is not squirt.org! Take your horny comments over there where they can be appreciated.

And I think you know what I mean by appreciated.

It always reminds me of when Mr. belvedere accidentally sat on his goods and had to be rushed to the ER by his boys. How can a man recover from that. Some crispy Stellas, that's how!

Oh my god. I suddenly find that I'm very glad I never watched that show.

This was the first strip i saw, it's had me hooked ever since

It started all of this, so you have to love it.

How do his pants stay on that is what I want to know

Look how bemused Philippe is

This strip is important because it made me keep reading. Classic.

The really early strips are weird. They're funny, but almost in a completely different way than later strips.

agreed. I love the early days because so many are like 3/4 of typical linear jokes, but my brain can't quite figure it out and so just laughs anyway.

it gets a five because it is the first and it sets the tone for the rest perfectly

This should be on the flag.

I love how Philippe is not only standing on it, but he's standing on it in a corner, happily oblivious. There's really no other place for him to stand; that much is obvious.

the subtle awesomeness of this strip still amazes me...

Come on Teodor, I thought you were the music guy. That drum machine looks pretty simple to me. Then again, Onstad played up the animal qualities of the characters earlier on (they don't know how to drive, they need to use clandestine methods to get fast food delivery from humans, the whole animal underground concept wasn't really there yet, etc.).

this is my all time favorite strip

This man is genius.

So classic, so newbie, I hope my comic series starts out as good as this!

I think the fact that the strip evolves and develops from something so basic is awesome

they are hell of different and the subtle humor dosen't work very well in them.

I think that, for the most part, the newer strips are better than the really old ones. But this one, the very first, is brilliant and ranks among my favorites.

Looking back, this strip has a strange and surrealist feel to it compared to the others. I want to know what made Onstad start his comic out with this strip instead of something else.

The closest thing to pure happiness I've ever seen.

Certainly the most original and, to me, the best online comic nowadays. Most strips lack the balls for a punchline like this.

I love how they don't seem to consider asking him to move.

The strip does not have a standard punchline. Whatever you say about it, it's a typical example of Achewood's surreal universe and has become an iconic strip for its fans. For fans with a knowledge of the strip it does have humour... As a first strip of a comic it is truly bizarre. But if I had to buy any Achewood strip this might be the one. Probably not though, I might have to get the one where Ray orders Pat to say good things about Ray's dick. :D

Its sort of like a really good mixed drink, suble, but then WHAM it hits you

Did it really hit you? Or are you still in the dark about it? Because, I get it but it's not a WHAM effect.

It's Beautiful.

achewood may never end

God I hope not. The last comic I was in love with was 1/0 and I always get sad at the end. :(

I know. You watch Ghanny walk away in his new body and it all feels wrong. It was even worse when it was updating, because you knew the ending was coming at 1000 and every day was a countdown.

How it all began . . . cryptic, elliptical, homely.

I'm assuming this, the very beginning, is where Philippe starts looking like he's maybe retarded, eh?

One cannot fault the start of such a great comic strip. I am sure this has been done before, but much like most things on the internet I shall do it again and review every single strip. Luckily I shall do it better.

Here goes:

The beauty of the first strip of a comic is that no character development is required, unlike, say, a pilot. All that exists here is a simple absurd outcome that, as far as I am aware from the history of Achewood, was merely something that amused Onstad and he therefore wanted to put out on the internet.

i am so happy, right now.

The fact that the number of strips I've read may affect my ranking means I'm going to have to read from the beginning again. This is not a complaint.

here comes a special boy

why the heck does teodor have a drum machine, anyway?

i'm glad it got better.

Have to agree, not funny. Glad it got better.

is there like some jerk on here that is laming everyone who thought this comic was funny

The one that started it all.

While the generation of strips preceding the Party may be generally inferior to those that came after, I still find this strip completely and utterly hilarious.

I think you're wrong, for what it's worth. After the party is when Achewood became:

1) like a lot of other webcomics in the sense of being more character and storyline-based, enabling him to create many strips that aren't funny or original at all but simply move the story arc along.

2) almost exclusively focused on Ray and Beef. I find Ray's personality and way of speaking quite grating, to be honest, and Beef can get pretty repetitive at times.

The reason that one is inclined to think that post-party Achewood is better is because it's still awesome in its own way, and because there are now a lot more post-party strips which means there are more great later strips than early ones by sheer number. But I think that if he'd continued in this style it would have been just as good, if not better. And I still think that there will never be a better strip than Lie Bot's Ass.

Reeeeally. This is the makings of an epic debate right here.

In regards to your first point, Onstad rarely skips a panel without at least some throwaway stab at humor, much less a strip, even if it is moving along some larger arc; almost all the dialogue carries a steady stream of quirks and innovative wordplay. As for original, pretty much everything about Achewood is so original that if you read it without being properly acclimated to the strip's unique tone chances are you won't even enjoy it.
And while yes, Ray and Beef have moved into the spotlight somewhat, I find this preferable to the pre-Party equivalent: Teodor, Cornelius, and Lyle were all more or less the same bland character and Philippe was just a straight-up retard instead of a slightly nostalgic commentary on five-year-olds. And while Ray and Beef's respective dialects may get somewhat tiresome now and again, I would sooner take that than the similar repitition of one-off jokes about booze you find in the earlier strips.

i found it funny AFTER i read through the archives. not sure why.

That drum machine utterly confounds me.

Perhaps it is because I cannot read Japanese.

it is truly a god among drum machines, one of the most distinctive sounds (along with the 808, used for hip hop and such)

though personally i prefer the tr-606, aka Big Black's weapon of choice

Ah.
The times before alt-text.

The primordial comic soup from which all greatness came.

Why is this not a five by default?

This is the future. In the future, stuff can be funny without having to be all . . . funny.

Madness? THIS...IS...ACHEWOOD!

Throw it all away for a reference to a poorly made, historically inaccurate movie.

Hehehe hella sassin' on "300"!

Chubbied due to mutual distaste for frank miller and his cinematographic manglings.

Between staring at the absolute Zen contained in Philippe's expression and listening to "Here Comes a Special Boy," I think I've found the recipe for true oneness with the universe.

Seriously, I cue up that song every time I read a strip with Philippe in it now.

I always imagine the theme song to Achewood as "Bottle of Wine" as performed by The Fireballs.

Wrong. "Waiting Room" by Fugazi.