Wonderful Wurld of Webcomixx: KC Green

if you don't find this funny maybe we shouldn't be friends

I'd like to take more time to discuss my favorite webcomics in this blog, because there are so, so many that I like that I would feel guilty not talking about them. Especially considering that I read them and enjoy them every day. Oh sure, I'm all to quick to start bitching all over webcomics I can't stand, and admittedly I still feel there's a lot of crappy comics out there. But dems the internet brakes.

And of course, as I will always say, it is much more enjoyable to talk about things I like than things I don't like. Hence, Mr. KC Green.

KC Green is a very talented cartoonist. I guess that's an easy way of summing him up. Here's another: KC Green seems like the sort of cartoonist that was custom-made for me to enjoy. For starters he has a very sharp, yet very goofy sense of humor that I am instinctively drawn to - for every comic he makes about Euclid, he'll make another about pouring an ant farm on a fat man's honey-smeared ass. He makes some choice "nerd humor" references - Portal, Sailor Moon and stray internet jokes have weeded themselves into his works at various points - but he never hammers them into your head obnoxiously, like far too many webcomics out there. He employs a healthy dose of meta-humor into his work (most notably in his autobio comic Horribleville), but it's never any of that staring-at-the-reader "HOLY SHIT I'M IN A WEBCOMIC! BREAKIN' DAT FOURTH WALL!!" bullshit used by lesser artists. And as much as I enjoy the so-called "whackiness" of his art style (which to me looks somewhat inspired by John K. or Shmorky), Mr. Green has good sense not to overdo things. He makes visual strips with a serious flair, but he doesn't overload your senses with super-nutty faces or characters doing HA-WHACKYYY things.

What it comes down to, though, is that there is a real underlying sweetness permeating throughout Mr. Green's work - despite many of his comics being filled with bizarro violence or rampant negativity, they're all relatable in some way. Take this Horribleville strip, for example; yes, it features Mr. Green slicing his throat open and splattering his mangled body onto the windshield of a schoolbus full of children, but beyond the horrifying violence there's that sweet, sad desire to be remembered in some way. KC has something of a famously self-deprecating personality, one that shows often in Horribleville and many of his other comics. Which might be why he's grounded enough not to make himself look like a high-and-mighty prick in his comics - drawing yourself in a comic is kind of a risky thing to do, and he pulls it off well.

Aww jeez.

Listen, I'll be honest here. I am very jealous of KC Green. The guy is my age (maybe a LITTLE older, but born in '87 so that's enough for me) and he is prodigiously talented at what he does. Since I started working on an autobio comic for my campus newspaper, I have often become embarrassed with my work just by thinking, "Jesus KC Green would make this idea much funnier." And yet his humility matches his talent; if you ever catch him perusing the Something Awful forums or read his Twitter, you will find that he is a very nice guy and is, unfortunately, very hard on himself. This comes through in his work all the time, and maybe this is what drives him to make so many goddamned comics.

My message to Mr. Green - YOU ARE A BRILLIANT MAN. I, Sean Rose, famed internet music/bullshit blogger, am incredibly jealous of you. Please keep making comics.

If you want to dip into Mr. Green's work, the aforementioned Horribleville would probably be your best bet, as it's a great window into his personality. Alternately, if you like your comics short and sweet, you should check out his daily three-panel strip Gun Show, featuring some of the absolute funniest so-called "mini-comics" I've probably ever read (if you like that buttfuckin' comic I featured at the top of the page, you should dig the rest). He also runs a custom comic service, so if you throw a few bucks his way you can have your very own KC Green comic! And YOU can suggest the theme!! Ain't that great??

I have an idea about a guy that is actually sexually excited by Atari porn. Whenever I have a decent amount of money, I'll probably throw some KC's way. Because whatever comic I get back from him is pretty much 99% guaranteed to be funny. (%1 not because maybe he'll be tired or something.)