Jump to content
The Corroboree
basalamant

Abusive Husband: my debut comic series.

Recommended Posts

Ever since Feb 2010 I have been working on many different series of comics that I hand drawn, the context of this particular series is very different to my others (most comic series orbit around psychedelia, friends, surrealism etc) but this is just a pinch of black humour; plus, it is far easier to draw than the other series. I would like to know what you people here think; even though I have a fair idea :P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by basalamant

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i think u need to give ur dad a big hug!

but im sure theres a niche market out there that would appreciate it.

maybee pople who find domestic violence funny. hey it worked for the honeymooners.

i think it sucks but thats irrelevant.

.

Edited by incognito
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i think u need to give ur dad a big hug!

but im sure theres a niche market out there that would appreciate it.

maybee pople who find domestic violence funny. hey it worked for the honemooners.

i think it sucks but thats irrelevant.

 

You think what sucks? The Honeymooners or Abusive Husband? Ah note though; he only verbally abuses them and never hits them, that's one thing I always wanted to avoid, plus the family don't see him as a threat - it's never depressing or vulgar :) Lol nah this isn't based on my father at all, he's been out of my life since 1997 so there isn't any material to go with in that department.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good drawings I guess, way too much bad vibes for me though.

:scratchhead:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm not feeling the punch in each comic that much, but that being said, you've definitely got some artistic talent.

As incognito said though, there will be people who get a laugh out of this.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I find it hard to see the humour. Black or otherwise.

Any particular reason or stimuli that caused you to write this, or is it just a random impulse?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

hah it gave me a chuckle in parts. like the drawings too.

There are characters like this on everyday TV, dont see why people get so defensive. Nothing should be sacred in comedy imo

Keen to see your other styles if you wanna post them :)

Thanks for sharing, takes a bit of balls to show something like this knowing that many will sook about it

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am typically a moral and artistic relativist, so I will say well done, keep it up and see where it goes ;)

Here is a great site for off-beat comics updated every few days, might get some inspiration from it:

http://whatthingsdo.com/

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Fair enough. Hm yes, everyone I personally know finds them funny; that's why I posted them on here, diverse opinions! Random impulse? I think not; I'm very good with this series, it's easy easy easy to think of situations, characters, scenario's etc where as with my other comics it isn't so easy at all, plus the drawings are crude in Abusive Husband and easy to complete where as "Mara's Garden" (god that's a tough one), "Adam", "Beyond Beyond" and "Cut Corners" are quite hard to draw and finish as they're far more professional than the drawings in these series - this is in not way a self depiction of anyone's miserable life that I know; my family are all nuts and grew up in the outback so their way of talking, dealing with life and cussing is intense - so the verbal abuse aspect is "inspired" by that I guess.

There is high rage and temper in our bloodline.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am typically a moral and artistic relativist, so I will say well done, keep it up and see where it goes ;)

Here is a great site for off-beat comics updated every few days, might get some inspiration from it:

http://whatthingsdo.com/

 

Thanks for the response! I appreciate it :) really don't think I should link anyone to this; do you know the electricretard.com website?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

hah it gave me a chuckle in parts. like the drawings too.

There are characters like this on everyday TV, dont see why people get so defensive. Nothing should be sacred in comedy imo

Keen to see your other styles if you wanna post them :)

Thanks for sharing, takes a bit of balls to show something like this knowing that many will sook about it

 

Thank you! They aren't meant to be a great big laugh; this is just my first series I'm actually completing; I have 12 per series so I have a bit more to go but this is just a taste of Abusive Husband series 1. I think Adam and Mara's Garden would be easier for people to get into; most my comic series are based on my psychedelic adventuring...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like it HEAPS! I like it because it's cool and unique. It also gives me a laugh although I don't know why.

I wish I could make stuff like that. Keep it up

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

it definitely depicts domestic violence. anybody who treats their family like that has serious serious issues.

apart from that though, i like them. great drawings and i like the way you place the text and use different coloured pens.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You definitely can draw but to be honest I don't see any humour in it. It's not black humour. I don't need to identify or empathise with a character but it helps.

It's just a depiction of a horrible person saying nasty things that aren't particularly clever. Show us your other stuff, I'm sure it's much better than this.

I'd rather see "Drug Abusive Husband- this month's issue sees Drug abusive Father force his son to help him shelve a healthy dose of meth, but whoops the fat fuck puts in pcp"

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't see anything funny about it either. I'm not offended by it, I just don't see the humour. Perhaps it could be tweaked into a form of satire, but as it stands (to quote quill) "It's just a depiction of a horrible person saying nasty things that aren't particularly clever". Really, it could literally be the script for a public service announcement about domestic abuse. There has to be some kind of irony or something, a twist to it, maybe a punchline, to actually turn it into humour. IMHO.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

to be honest, not really funny... and i love politically incorrect shit. the sicker, the darker, the depraved... well, the better :P

why not derive humour from the classic mysogynistic cliches? i'd elaborate on some examples but i think i'll suss the vibe of this thread pans out lest i get :crux:

but yeah -- i don't really find the content offensive, just ain't very funny.

regardless, i also tip my hat to you for posting this... does take some cojones on a forum such as this.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i agree w/ballzac & faustus, i'm not offended & i could see potential, but there was no payoff/punchline.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I appreciate all your feedback.

I understand what you are all saying in lacking humour; then again it could be different views of humour because many people I know find it funny (and at the same time I know many people who don't); but it isn't really my intent to make people burst out laughing, I'm well aware you can't really get that many laughs from Abusive Husband; this is just the first series I have gone with and actually finished a few comics because the other series of mine take forever (better drawings, better characters etc). I will put up a slide from "Adam" soon.

This is the plain and simplistic idea behind it though; it's about an abusive husband and he just yells vulgarities at his family; nothing more nothing less. I kept making up other stuff; I made some comics witty, I made him racist at times, I made him a methamphetamine user, I made other family members (drug addict aunty, paedophilic uncle) but it just aint right; I just kept narrowing it down to the husband who shouts abuse and swear words at his family.. Its simply just about the most over-the-top, ludicrous, angriest man you can think of and there is no story behind why he's so pissed off. He's psycho, which is what many people have told me why they like it. One friend said to me "his face is screwed up like that even when he isn't angry."

So in other words, there ain't meant to be a punchline. Its a very simplistic series.

Thanks for all your input though.

PS. yeah I don't find this offensive at all either but so many people are so touchy so I thought I should put on the big act and say "oh gee yeah this is really terrible humour :/ blah blah blah"

Edited by basalamant

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You definitely can draw but to be honest I don't see any humour in it. It's not black humour. I don't need to identify or empathise with a character but it helps.

It's just a depiction of a horrible person saying nasty things that aren't particularly clever. Show us your other stuff, I'm sure it's much better than this.

I'd rather see "Drug Abusive Husband- this month's issue sees Drug abusive Father force his son to help him shelve a healthy dose of meth, but whoops the fat fuck puts in pcp"

 

"It's just a depiction of a horrible person saying nasty things that aren't particularly clever."

Exactly :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Here is a slide from "Adam". Adam is a spin off from one of the first series I did called Cut Corners which is about a bunch of boys and a girl and their offshoot friends that live in a house and deal with every day life trauma's to surreal psychedelic adventures. Tom, one of the boys, owns a greenhouse and is quite drug-savvy, his best friend Adam who is often unseen in the series is usually under the influence of psychedelics but he somewhat has an unstable mental state too..

So "Adam" is plotless, basically about a crazy tripper who gets into obscene situations and its mainly about the visuals of the comics and his lack of functioning in normal reality; he also makes up friends in his head (two headed rabbit, worm-man etc) and the two news reporters on the television always crawl out of the tv and chase him (their heads detach from their body into balloon form and abuse him). Also, Adam is inspired by the music of the UK duo The Orb if anyone is into them...

Yeah my scanner is broken.

DSCN0132.jpg

Just because it is a comic, doesn't mean it has to be funny. As a matter of fact... none of mine are. I don't like creating humour, too much effort to please too many different people that, in the end, everyone just tells you how terrible your work is anyway...

Edited by basalamant

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

^ Awesome drawing.

Comics are not like novels. There is no time to develop a narrative. There's gotta be something about it that grabs. Even comics that have a wider narrative through a series have some sort of a punchline in each strip. It doesn't even necessarily have to be funny. Sometimes the 'punchline' will make you sad or make you think. But I think a comic without some sort of a punchline is like a joke without a punchline:

Three men walk into a bar. The bartender asks what they'd like and they say "three beers please". Then one guy light up a smoke and the other two start playing pool. Later they go home.
I don't like creating humour, too much effort...

I think maybe it's worth a little extra effort to turn great drawings into great comics. The question is, will the people who find this funny/entertaining now like it any less if there was a little more depth to it? Of course, they're your comics and if you like them the way they are and other people enjoy them too, then that's great. I just feel your talents are going to waste :BANGHEAD2:

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It only takes one or two well thought frames to change the entire effect of the comic. To draw a parallel to your comic, here's a For Better or for Worse comic where someone's throwing a tantrum:

110612.jpg

If it weren't for the last two frames, this comic would be pointless, but that punchline - though not "laugh out loud" funny - gives a humerous twist to the scene.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think maybe it's worth a little extra effort to turn great drawings into great comics. The question is, will the people who find this funny/entertaining now like it any less if there was a little more depth to it? Of course, they're your comics and if you like them the way they are and other people enjoy them too, then that's great. I just feel your talents are going to waste :BANGHEAD2:

 

Thank you! I really enjoy drawing Adam.. You make several good points which I am certainly one to embrace, but I think Abusive Husband will always remain simple however I do intend to let the series unravel and therefore I do know that the depth of substance will grow with it; in series 2 he goes to prison... haven't planned that out but that's in the long run but Abusive Husband isn't really sentimental; you can't relate to characters. Like someone said; it's a horrible person saying crude things that aren't clever; that's pretty much exactly what I want..

Cut Corners has punchlines, the characters are far better with big personalities, even though it is as funny as Garfield :| they still have something to them. Perhaps we all have very different views of comics. I find some comics can be like narratives and yeah I find some comics every now and again where the animation is adorable and bubbly yet the context is overwhelmingly sad and the comics go nowhere; but hey, some people like them.

Ha, I'm happy with my "talents" as it isn't just poorly structured comics I do; I do heaps of short story writing, screenplays, drawings, watercolours and (once upon a time) paintings all over my room... posting Abusive Husband here is really the first time I've ever shown people my work over the internet... that and facebook...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good point ballzac. Very good point. I certainly don't think I will apply this to AH, but I can see punchlines happening in Beyond Beyond; if I had a completed comic of Beyond Beyond I'd post it but... it's only in pencil atm.

Also, it's in Russian Cyrillic, so I'd have to translate it :P

Very good point though.

Hm. When I complete some better comics I'll post them up and see if the punchlines and what not are good enough, I think they are but it isn't up to me, is it just?

Edited by basalamant

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think they are but it isn't up to me, is it just?

 

Well obviously it is, but you posted them here because you wanted other people's opinions :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×