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by planetguy 5114 days ago
Y'see, this is why The Oatmeal guy is a comic genius. He understands that while

"drawing of your mom seducing a bear"

is funny,

"drawing of your mom seducing a kodiak bear"

is hilarious.

3 comments

comedy protip: strong/hard consonants are funny. 'kodiak' is an awesome comedic word. Any punchline involving a bear could almost certainly be improved by inserting 'kodiak'. Just like you should use 'buick' when you need an arbitrary car, and 'tuesday' when you need an arbitrary day. This also explains why a well-placed 'fuck' is funny.
He's not a comic genius, he's a marketing genius. His comics are actually quite banal; everyone hates their printers, a list of reasons why makes us feel good but isn't actually funny.
I agree. The first couple Oatmeal comics I saw were amusing enough, but the formula gets old, fast.
I guess everyone's sense of humor is different. Personally, I found the "literally" comic confronting, but I was rolling on the floor laughing at the gay-roller image... IMO, the guy is a comic genius :-)
um. i guess you have not read "Why Captain Higgins is my favorite parasitic worm"

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/captain_higgins

Still think its banal and not funny? does everyone hate parasites that can turn ants into zombies?

Of course not everyone would agree with me that it is banal, but I have read a number of them I've seen linked here and there, including the above. I didn't find any of them particularly amusing. Nor did I like the artwork.
That's the least funny one I've seen yet, it's just some information that most people learn in school put to pictures. The kodiak bear pic however, is funny.
I'm sure 15 year old girls talk about zombie-creating parasites all the time. Everyone is bored of it ;)
The zombie thing is very cultural and limited in time, it may not be funny after the fashion is gone.
Can you elaborate? I don't find his humour overly humourous but each to their own.
Besides the "komedy k's" that was already mentioned, a kodiak bear is a very specific type of bear. More specificity is generally considered funny when you're describing a story in the form of a joke. Not only does it add tension by drawing out the conclusion, it implies the comedian has actually put some significant thought into the situation they're describing.

Not just a bear. Not a polar bear. Not a brown bear. A kodiak bear. The only thing funnier would be "a 8' tall, ill-tempered, honey-hating, monkey-fighting kodiak bear. Named Maurice."

I found it particularly funny because it's not exactly a great drawing of a bear, so claiming that it's a kodiak bear is pretty absurd.
It is also in part funny as it matches the classic immature, over the top, but skillfully delivered tone and scope.