Nothing Nice To Say
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 Blake and Fletcher |
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| Author(s) | Mitch Clem |
| Website | MitchClem.com/NothingNice RSS |
| Update schedule | Updates every Monday |
| Launch date | February 25, 2002 [1] |
| Genre | |
| Followed by | San Antonio Rock City |
Nothing Nice To Say is a webcomic, touted as "The world's FIRST online punk comic"[2] and is created by artist, Mitch Clem. It is sometimes abbreviated as Nothing Nice, NNTS or NN2S.
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[edit] Synopsis
First launched online in February, 2002, Nothing Nice To Say follows roommates Blake and bald-headed Fletcher as they make fun of punk rock, punk rock fans, and just about everything relating to the punk subculture, including themselves. Although it follows the de facto 3-panel webcomic setup of two roommates with one being slightly off-the-wall, it is unique in placing them in a punk setting.
[edit] History
During much of the comic's existence, Mitch used the space under the comic as his blog. Now his blog can be found at his LiveJournal (See Link Below).
Clem's blogs began to show that he was likely suffering bouts of depression. Because of this he was mocked on the comic's own discussion forum; the internet traffic for which had rapidly outgrown the traffic for the comic strip. This is allegedly one of the reasons that Mitch- somewhat unceremoniously - end the comic in 2004. At this time, Mitch told fans he would be collaborating on a strip called Joe and Monkey with fellow webcomic artist Zach Miller.
During the later part of 2004, Mitch announced in his LiveJournal that he would resurrect Nothing Nice, because he simply couldn't keep himself away from it. The new version of Nothing Nice debuted in February 2005 drawn entirely in black and white, as opposed to the original run, which was in color.
In January 2006, Clem brought back the strip's original color format, but declared shortly afterwards that Nothing Nice was to be put on indefinite hiatus in order to concentrate on another, autobiographical strip called San Antonio Rock City.
Mitch Clem stated that he was unopposed to bringing back Nothing Nice (though perhaps at a less frequent schedule), and stayed true to this statement when he brought it back on a weekly schedule on August 28, 2006. He also continues work on San Antonio Rock City, and has combined all of his comics and art portfolio into a single website.
[edit] Main Cast
[edit] Blake
One of the comic's main characters. He is named after Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker and Jets To Brazil fame (also has an obvious resemblance to Jawbreaker-era Schwarzenbach), and is a great fan of both bands. Tends to be the voice of reason of the two main characters. Besides Schwarzenbach bands, he is also a fan of pop-punk bands. Played guitar in a band with Fletcher, called The Negative Adjectives. He has a shrine to Henry Rollins in his bedroom, something Fletcher was unaware of until September 13, 2006. Blake is considered by many fans to represent a sort of "parallel universe Mitch", or is at least modelled on the comic's author; the parallels between certain of their life events and their shared tastes and opinions are used as evidence for this.
[edit] Fletcher
Blake's roommate. Did not originally have a name; instead he was named through a reader contest. Tends to come up with some fairly crazy and somewhat anti-social ideas. Often wears a band shirt that reads "BAND". Is a fan of old-school hardcore punk. Played drums for The Negative Adjectives.
[edit] Phillip
Originally a ska fan, he now listens to emo and vehemently denies having ever liked ska at all; this is plotted by the author to make fun of what he perceives to be the trend-hopping nature of most modern-day emo fans. Blames the female gender for most of his problems, even though they actually tend to be self-inflicted. Also seems to exude "whiny bitch pheromones" which make it impossible to stay around him for any longer time without resorting to physical violence.
[edit] Cecil
An anthropomorphic gopher. Very sarcastic, and at one time insulted people for spare change. According to the comic, has played bass for Screeching Weasel, roadied for Fifteen and secretly written songs for The Donnas. Played bass for The Negative Adjectives before he quit right before their first show. Cecil has apparently rejoined the band since Joe Banks (see below) joined [3].
[edit] Joe
The comic's youngest character. He's a skater and tends to get made fun of by Blake and Fletcher, as they see most skaters as "corporate whores".
[edit] Joe Banks
In 2005, Nothing Nice To Say and Joe and Monkey had a crossover, featuring Joe, the titular hero of the latter, auditioning for Blake and Fletcher's band, The Negative Adjectives (after seeing a poster written by Fletcher proclaiming that the band needed no new members). Ironically, Banks was accepted as the band's new singer and second guitarist and has since been featured in strips featuring the band performing.
[edit] Bort
Was originally straight edge, but has since broke his edge and started drinking as well as smoking. Has straight edge X's tattooed on the back of his hands, and is prone to violence when one points out the irony in having them and consuming alcohol and tobacco.
[edit] Other Recurring Characters
[edit] Skar
A skinhead oi! punk, and is mistaken by Blake and Fletcher for a Nazi.
[edit] Karen
A radical feminist (riot grrl). Spends a lot of her time getting upset at Blake and Fletcher for allegedly objectifying female punk rock band members, yet dated Alice only to further her own feminist agenda.
[edit] Alice
A goth girl and a lesbian. Currently dating Karen.
[edit] Charlie/Chris
A vegan, hardcore-crust punk. The rest of the cast tends to walk on egg shells around him due to his veganism, as they're afraid they might upset him if he so much as touches an object that has been in contact with dairy products. He has been referred to as both "Charlie" and "Chris," an error that Clem has jokingly acknowledged.
[edit] The Hippie Chick
Also known as That Hippie Chick Who Works At The Coffee Shop is hinted at having dated Alice. Not much else is known about her, other than that she is in fact a hippie and likes the Grateful Dead and Phish.
[edit] The Ska Dude
Doesn't have a name. Was introduced because Mitch wanted a ska dude.
[edit] Cthulhu
Yes, the same Cthulhu from the H.P. Lovecraft stories. He's lived in Blake and Fletcher's closet for, presumably, the entire series, though he has only shown up a couple of times. Most recently, Cthulhu was turned into a kitten, though his subsequent trip to the sewers, where he raised a C.H.U.D. to eat the person who turned him into a kitten, suggests he still has his powers.
[edit] Zach Miller
Has appeared in some NN2S comics. Creator of Joe and Monkey and the late No Pants Tuesday
[edit] Mitch Clem
Mitch often appears in his own comics, often arguing with Blake & Fletcher via intercom, and was once sighted drawing the comic at a coffee shop.
[edit] Spin-Offs and Related Content
[edit] The Coffee Achievers
The Coffee Achievers originally started out as Nothing Nice story arc, but later turned into its own comic as a collaboration with Joe Dunn, from Joe Loves Crappy Movies. The cast is mostly the same as that of Nothing Nice, but with small alterations, and is not considered to take place in the same universe as Nothing Nice To Say.
The Coffee Achievers began a working relationship between Clem and Dunn that has now developed into a partnership, with the pair creating a new webcomic syndicate called "Turnstile Comics". The duo intends to host Nothing Nice To Say, The Coffee Achievers and their upcoming post-apocalyptic saga "The Rain Dogs" on Turnstile.
[edit] Publications
In June 2005, Clem announced that he would release a black and white comic book containing all of the strips up to the comic's most recent resurrection (late 2004). However, due to the older strips being in low-quality colored image formats, he will be redrawing the entire series for the book, which is to be published by Young American Comics. In January 2006, Clem stated that the release date was indefinitely deferred, due to the considerable task of replicating over 300 strips.
