This is by far the most talked about web comic here on SDMB, from the countless “obligatory XKCD link” posts, to the almost-weekly “explain today’s XKCD to me” thread, to a good deal of discussion about the artist and his personal life.
I don’t hate XKCD. It’s occasionally clever. But much more often, it mistakes obscurity for wit, and there’s kind of a smarmy smugness about it – “Here’s a really esoteric reference. If you get it you’re one of the cool kids, and if you don’t you’re not as smart as we are.”
Now, I’ve never been known as a parade-rainer. I don’t pop into threads about TV shows to harp about how much the show sucks. I try not to judge people who enjoy things I don’t. But in this case, I’m genuinely curious about what the appeal is and wondering if I’m missing something, as this little stick-figure panel seems to have quite the rabid and devoted following. Please tell me why it appeals to you so much.
… oh, and while you’re at it, does “XKCD” actually mean anything?
XKCD doesn’t mean anything. It’s just 4 letters used to make a non-taken username. I do the same thing on most forums.
The good part about XKCD is not that he uses esoteric subjects. The good part is that he draws humour from subjects that are important to me (geeks), which few other sources do to quite the same degree. Take Big Bang Theory, it uses physics stuff in the humour, but mostly from an outsiders point of view.
Other things I like about XKCD is that it is mostly quick to read, and there is often a novel concept you can think about, even if the comic itself isn’t funny. Actually, these days I am reading it mostly for those. I personally think that he should stop the webcomic and start making a graph/concept blog, to write on whenever he has an idea.
The best thing you can do if you’d like to really understand, is to read the first ~300 comics, back when he was at his best.
I’ll readily admit that individual comics can go over my head. That’s fine, I’m not a physics/computer geek. But it makes me smile or laugh or at least think “Heh, clever” as often as not which is better than most comics.
Just to echo everyone else it’s a really a matter of if you understand it than it’s funny, otherwise it just isn’t for you.
I’m not geeky enough for it really, but I still read and enjoy a majority of them. If I get it I feel REALLY smart, if not I just shrug and say oh well.
I have to admit, I really enjoy reading the comic and find it funny as hell. Not every time…you simply can’t hit home runs in humor evert at bat…but most of the time I at least chuckle.
Humor is a funny thing though (;))…what one person finds hilarious, another might just say meh and move on. I remember folks at my work extolling the virtues of Seinfeld, for instance, and going over the shows at work. And when they were doing it, it was pretty funny. Thinking to get in on it, I started watching, and I found that my cow-orkers TALKING about Seinfeld was actually funnier (to me) than watching the show.
For what it’s worth, that’s the same impression that I got a while back when I started reading the archives from oldest to newest. More recently, I started reading the archives newest to oldest, and don’t get that impression. It may be that the author’s style has changed over the years.
99% of the time, the artwork doesn’t add anything. xkcd would be more interesting as a blog discussing the idea behind the comic, with occasional drawings when necessary. The two-minute kiddy stick figures really don’t do anything to add value.
I laugh much more often than not. I also often learn something, even if it doesn’t immediately affect my life. Every once in a while, he shows some real art and/or shows a picture that must have taken a long time and a lot of work. (Like the scale model gravity wells or the movie plot/proximity page.)
Not a lot to add, except that I’m normally the sort of guy who hates smug smartypants writing. I disdain writers / cartoonists from whom I get an “ain’t I clever?” vibe.
My gut reaction to xkcd is to hate it for the same reason, but I just can’t. The more I read it, the more convinced I am that the writer does just think about things like this.
That said, I find it hit-or-miss. I rarely go to the site; I tend to assume the best comics will be reposted somewhere I see 'em.
We’re geeks. It’s that simple. A geeky comic strip made for geeky people using computers, which was once the most geeky thing you could do. It’s no more complicated than that.
If you need humor explained to you, the chances that it will then be funny to you are minuscule. You either find something funny or you don’t, and it is hard for someone else to change which side of the fence you are on manually.
So what if you sometimes need to understand the subject in order to get the joke? The target audience is greatly entertained. The phrase “Little Bobby Tables” still makes me laugh, and that strip is what, two years old by now? Maybe even three?
elitist air
I like vintage xkcd. Bobby Tables and the like. Nowadays half the time it’s a sex joke, which is fine, I guess. Certainly other comics dip from that well all the time. But XKCD makes a point of billing itself as an intellectual exercise as well as a comic. Which makes this sort of thing stand out in stark relief as not being intellectual or funny. Also, he’s run graph jokes into the ground. I can’t even appreciate a good one, now because he’s abused them so much.
