Count Your Sheep
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Count Your Sheep | |
|---|---|
 Katie talks to Ship in a panel from Count Your Sheep, dated February 7, 2005 [1]. |
|
| Author(s) | Adrian Ramos |
| Website | http://www.countyoursheep.com/ |
| Update schedule | Updating weekdays |
| Launch date | June 11, 2003 [2] |
| End Date | Ongoing |
Count Your Sheep is a webcomic written and illustrated by Adrian Ramos, generally known as Adis. It was launched in 2003 on the Keenspace hosting service and became part of Keenspot a year later. It is also part of the Quicksketch Comics collective. As of January 2006, it had a hair under 10,000 steady readers [3].
Contents |
[edit] The Characters
The comic focuses on Katie, a young child; Laurie, her single mother; and Ship, imaginary friend and counting sheep of both. Other very minor characters appear only rarely; their speech bubbles usually originate from outside the panels.
[edit] Laurie
Laurie, 27, is the young and struggling mother of Katie who seems a lot like a grown-up and worn-down version of her daughter. Although she is in her twenties, she still has enough imagination left for Ship to exist for her. While Laurie cares deeply for Katie (and Ship), she's often downcast and melancholy. Becoming a widow apparently before her daughter was born hit her hard. She often deals with women's and single parent issues, such as her perceived aging, her perceived weight, her lack of money and her late husband, Marty. Laurie has been known to cope with her stress by crying, which is not unknown to both Katie and Ship.
There were some indications that Laurie's occupation is that of a piano teacher, since Katie has mentioned that her mom relies upon the piano for a living [4] and there are signs that Laurie can play the piano quite well [5].
She is occasionally seen as a child herself in "Back In Time" comics, tougher and more aggressive than Katie. These are often used to advance the plot. She dreams of traveling the world, but has never had the money. Appliances apparently fear her 'single mom' powers.
[edit] Katie
Katherine ("Katie") Dickinson, 7, is whimsical, creative, the most hopeful and arguably the main character of Count Your Sheep. The comic most often centers on her antics, getting through childhood and trying to understand the world with her limited knowledge of how it works. Not having lived as long as Laurie, she has a child's optimistic view of life. Even so, she seems to have a good understanding of what is happening in the world, just not why. Something very important to Katie is music; she particularly enjoys punk and indie rock. She is also a huge fan of The Beatles, having been told at a young age by Ship that their music is actually her dead father communicating with her.
[edit] Ship
Ship, N/A, is a counting-sheep and the imaginary best friend of both Katie and Laurie who hails from the latter's childhood. He's the most level-headed character and forms a centerpiece to which both others express desires, frustrations and everyday thoughts. Playmate and guide to Katie, aide and moral support to Laurie, Ship is an inseparable part of the family. He's also the only sheep they need to count to fall asleep [6]. While his origins are unknown, it is implied that he has fairy origins[7].
Even though he is imaginary, and both "real" characters admit to it, Ship has a completely different personality and is clearly able to manipulate physical objects. He often appears to be lazy, perhaps because he cannot actually do most things that "real" people can. Usually he contributes conversation and much of the humor. Ship has also broken the fourth wall several times.
Ship's status in the real world isn't entirely defined. He's invisible to most people, no matter how hard he may try. He has answered the phone and talked to Laurie's mother, who even after 20 years screamed over the phone that he is not real. Worse, he may be capable of being in two places at once [8].
Paradoxically, while Laurie's parents see and hear Ship but refuse to acknowledge his existence, Laurie's sister Karla does believe he exists despite being unable to see or hear him [9]. It is unclear if this is merely meant as a source of humor or serves a deeper function of the plot.
A strip[10] has suggested that Ship has a life of his own and is able to exist outside of Katie's and Laurie's imagination. That same strip also implies that Ship can be seen by animals and is able to interact with them as well, throwing serious doubts to his status as an imaginary being.
[edit] Marty
Marty is the late husband of Laurie and father of Katie, an unseen character who's never appeared or spoken (except from one rare occasion where he answers the telephone [11]), but whose influence is felt everywhere. "Back in Time" shows that Marty fell in love at first sight and courted Laurie since the two were little children, teasing, asking her out, and doing favors [12] despite the young Laurie's empathic and occasionally violent dislike that only very gradually turned to reciprocation [13]. Katie is convinced that Marty is talking to her through The Beatles, and Laurie lives with the fond memories of Marty. The circumstances of his death are as of yet unrevealed, although a recent comic alludes to a car accident. [14]
Marty must have shared in Katie and Laurie's unique imagination, as he could also talk to Ship.
[edit] Setting
Although the city the strip is set in is never named, a number of clues to the location are given. The celebrated holidays, and Laurie's love of football indicate they are in the United States. A new years strip [15] reveals they are six timezones from Amsterdam, along with frequent winter snow suggests they are in the north east. Because Katie has never been to the beach, coastal cities or those bordering the great lakes are also unlikely. There is no indication as to how big the city they live in is, only that it has bus service.
Most strips take place inside Laurie's house, though most of the Back in Time strips are in or near her parent's house. Other common settings are Katie's school, the local playground, and riding the city bus.
[edit] The Artwork
The comic draws inspiration from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, possibly due to the similar setups of both comics, as well as the fondness for unconventional panel structures. Its coloring style, a palette of soft blues, is one of the peculiarities for which its fans enjoy it. In contrast, Back in Time strips that depict Laurie as a little girl use a palette of soft purples instead of blues. The blue coloring may have been added to enhance the fact that most strips early on took place at night, and that the color was supposed to be a natural effect (in the strip.) However, since there are currently daytime strips and the blue color has been kept, there is no proof that this is true.
The comic originally appeared in two formats: four panel full strips (which are similar in size to the comics found in daily newspapers) and semi-strips composed of a single panel with text. After Adis got a drawing tablet, the layout of the strip became more inventive.
[edit] The Feel
Katie's innocent cheerfulness combines with Laurie's tragic past to make Count Your Sheep a strange mix of humor and melancholy accentuated by the blue colors. The strip is characterized by "quiet humor" that often involves discussions of the nature of childhood, life lessons, and the misunderstandings that occur between grownups and children. Because of this, it is most often compared to Calvin and Hobbes, Mutts and Peanuts. Ramos has also referenced the Disney movie Lilo and Stitch as an influence.
Although it is primarily a humorous comic there are some plot-points that are alluded to, most often involving Katie's father and the characters' struggles as a single-parent family.
As mentioned before, the comic draws from Calvin and Hobbes, but in a complementary way. The "quiet humor" of the strip strongly contrasts Calvin and Hobbes' rough and tumble nature. Katie and Ship would talk at home and have discussions while eating cookies, or carry potted plants, while Calvin and Hobbes had their red wagon, the sled, the tree fort and Calvinball (not to say that CYS isn't active at times). Calvin's parents were generic middle class parents who seem to be little more than boundaries to compare to Calvin's youthful nature. Laurie is a young, financially struggling, single mother, and the fact that she can still see Ship (who often is the most adult of the three) reflects just how different she is from Calvin's parents.
[edit] More than Cute Campaign
On January 9, 2006, Adrian started a campaign to get more viewers by raising awareness and challenging the perception that the strip is only based on cuteness. This involves advertising, a facelift to the site and Count Your Sheep's reinsertion on the Buzzcomix Top 100 list.
[edit] Awards
2004 Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards
Winner of
- Outstanding Comic
- Outstanding Newcomer
- Outstanding New Character Design
- Outstanding Character (Writing)
- Outstanding Short Form Comic
- Outstanding Fantasy Comic
Nominated for
- Outstanding Use of Color
- Outstanding Comedic Comic
- Outstanding Story Concept
2005 Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards
Winner of
- Outstanding Story Concept
