As a student, I always hated math. It's
not that I was terrible at it, I could just never shake the question
of when in my life I was going to need to use cosine, or calculate
the surface area of a pyramid. SO when I heard about XKCD, a comic
entirely based on science and math, I was skeptical of my capacity to
enjoy it.
Fortunately, my skepticism was soon
quashed. Understanding of math and science isn't usually a
requirement for understanding the jokes here, though it just might
make the better. I wouldn't know. I don't understand math. Instead,
the humor comes from, frankly, incredibly clever writing. Sometimes
there isn't really any humor, but the writing and ideas are still
interesting enough to keep you fascinated.
I realize that I'm not doing a great
job of telling you what this comic is about, and that's because it's
a very difficult thing to define. There are no main characters, no
overarching plots, just whatever Randall Munroe thinks is funny or
insightful at the time.
The Good
As I've said, the
writing and ideas are top-notch, and will almost certainly keep your
interest. Several times a comic will get incredibly deep or
existentialist, then be brought back to humorous through the sudden
use of water guns or carnivorous dinosaurs.
Others that don't
have humor at all are more of experiments with the art form of online
sequential art. Notably, one comic titled “umwelt” displayed a
completely different comic depending on your browser, location and IP
address range. Others will take advantage of zoom, panoramic view or
gifs to make their joke.
If it seems like
this “the good” segment is relatively short, its because its hard
to put into words what makes this comic good. Do not misunderstand
me, this comic is better than good, this comic is great. But the
existential nature of a lot of them, combined with the lack of
overarching structure makes reasons and themes somewhat difficult to
pin down. At the end of the day, all I can really say is that each
comic will leave you feeling...something. Even if you aren't sure
what that something is.
 |
| I THINK I was amused... |
The Bad
If you're looking for a comic with a load of deep characters or a
complex plot line, look elsewhere. Likewise, many may be turned off
by the stick-figure art style, or the comics that are all text. If
visual art is what appeals to you, well, maybe this isn't for you
either.
There are also a number of comics that remind me of those
“inspirational” posters you would see behind a manager's desk.
They're more heartwarming and tell the message better, but you can't
shake the feeling that they're telling you “what life is all
about”. Some people really get into that kind of things, I'm just
not one of them, I suppose.
Lastly, for the sake of fair warning, the first comics on the site
are not indicative of the entire thing. They're doodles from Munroe's
school notebooks, and if you skip until you start seeing stick
figures, you'll be at the actual comic.
The Verdict
Read this comic. Seriously, at least give it a good chance. It makes
you think, makes you chuckle, and makes you...well, we'll just say
“other”. There are reasons you may not get into it, but from what
I can tell they're few and far between.
