Wondermark
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| Wondermark | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | David Malki ! |
| Website | http://www.wondermark.com/ |
| Update schedule | Updated every Tuesday and Friday |
| Launch date | 2003 |
| Genre | Humor |
Wondermark is a comic created by David Malki ! which is syndicated to Flak Magazine and appears in The Onion's print edition.[1] It features 19th-century illustrations that have been recontextualized to create humorous juxtapositions. It takes the horizontal four-panel shape of a newspaper strip, although the number of panels varies from one to six or more. It is updated on a strict twice-weekly schedule.
A typical Wondermark episode is comprised of one or more Victorian-era drawings of people and/or objects, repeated for several panels, with dialogue added to create a joke. In some cases, the images vary from panel to panel, creating a narrative. Occasionally, the joke in the last panel takes the form of a purely visual gag.
The creator, David Malki ! (who insists that the space and exclamation point are part of his name), has stated that the images are obtained from public domain primary sources such as 1800s-era periodicals. Malki ! obtains these images from public libraries and from his own collection of rare books.
Contents |
[edit] Story
There is no narrative continuity in Wondermark; each week's episode is generally unrelated to the previous or next. On rare occasions a scenario will repeat for a second week, expanding on the previous week's joke. In some episodes, situations and dialogue indicate that the setting may be the 19th Century; in other episodes, the characters allude to recent events or use contemporary technology (such as computers). Although certain images are used multiple times in different episodes, Malki ! has stated that each episode is meant to be read independent of any continuity.
[edit] The Wondermark website
Besides the comics, the Wondermark website includes a number of features and articles:
[edit] The Comic Strip Doctor
The Comic Strip Doctor is a monthly column in which Malki ! analyzes what he calls "the worst in newspaper comic strips," and then re-writes one episode of the strip. Examples include Marmaduke, Beetle Bailey, The Wizard of Id, and Momma.
[edit] The Making of Wondermark
The Making of Wondermark is a facetious behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the comic strip. It satirizes the committee-rules process that creates many newspaper comic strips as well as other elements of popular culture (such as movie trailers, which Malki ! edits as his full-time job). It also presents a humorously exaggerated view of the amount of time, effort, and personnel necessary to produce the comic strip.
[edit] Pets Love Comics Too
"Pets Love Comics Too" is a feature whereby Wondermark readers send in photos of their pets reading Wondermark, and the pictures are posted on the site. The site describes the photos as evidence that pets lead a double life while their owners are away. For their efforts, contributors receive a signed print of a Wondermark strip (with online purchase of a book).
[edit] Collected Editions
There is one Wondermark collection, entitled The Annotated Wondermark. It was first printed in December 2004. It contained Wondermark comics 1-100 and also included many pages of ancillary material, such as rejected concept pieces and reader-participation features. It was available through Wondermark's CafePress store on a print-on-demand basis.
In the spring of 2005, The Annotated Wondermark was reprinted to include an introduction from independent comics legend Dave Sim. The second printing was also available through the CafePress store, and signed copies of the first printing were offered for sale through the Wondermark website only.
In the fall of 2004, dissatisfied with the image quality of the CafePress books, Malki ! reprinted The Annotated Wondermark yet again. This third and final printing featured completely remastered images, printed by a professional book printer in high resolution. By avoiding the print-on-demand paradigm, Malki ! was able to lower the cost of the book substantially, and it is currently on sale at the Wondermark website. The third edition eliminates the Dave Sim introduction in favor of one by Ryan North, creator of Dinosaur Comics and co-creator of Whispered Apologies.
[edit] Other Wondermark venues
David Malki ! has also contributed to Whispered Apologies and created guest comics for Reprographics, Thinkin' Lincoln and Alien Loves Predator. Wondermark is part of the Playground Ghosts collective whose other members include Reprographics, Acid Keg, Fluff in Brooklyn, and Pixel.
Wondermark is also featured in the Blank Label Comics Hurricane Relief Telethon website and book, and exclusive episodes are created on a bimonthly basis for Zoinks! The Webcomics Newspaper.
[edit] External links
- This page was originally based on an entry from Comixpedia and is used under the GNU Free Documentation License.
