Category / Fourth Wall

by zbicyclist

Fourth Wall

Mitch4 sends this in: “Some kind of META, or 4th Wall … The META aspect is that it acknowledges being a comic. The allusion to the Silly Putty tradition of pulling off a layer of ink from the funny papers (and maybe applying it elsewhere, like a rubber stamp), here goes farther and shows us the removal of a layer of his physical body, leaving a skeleton. The artist’s hand reaching in to do this is reminiscent of Escher’s meta practices.”.

Boise Ed sends this in, and wonders: “Is it my imagination, or are cartoonists in general doing a lot more fourth-wall gags recently? This example is more blatant than most, though.”

Not a strong vote of confidence from the cartoonist.

I don’t know the revenue model at Comics Kingdom, but I see Wannabe has 309 followers (those who have make it one of their favorites). A lot of the comics with larger numbers are strips that have been around forever, either with new authors (Blondie, 13.8k; Family Circus 10.6k; Hagar the Horrible 13k) or simply classic reruns (Buz Sawyer 1.6k; Beetle Bailey classics 12.7k)

Newer strips tend to have much lower numbers. (Macanudo, 3k; Todd the Dinosaur 2k; TBD 900).

That’s not a comprehensive list,

Saving you the trouble of looking it up: “Estradiol is a form of estrogen, a female sex hormone that regulates many processes in the body. Estradiol is used to treat menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal changes, and to prevent osteoporosis (bone loss) in menopausal women. Estradiol is also used to treat low estrogen levels in women with ovarian failure. It is also indicated to treat certain types of breast cancer and prostate cancer.”

That last panel is intended to be intentionally confusing, so doesn’t count as a CIDU.

Boise Ed sends this in: “Here’s a different approach to the fourth-wall mania.”

by zbicyclist

Fourth Wall

Mitch4 notes: “Or is it actually 4th-wall? I thought so because the art seems to show him looking out at us, but both parents are grimacing as though they heard this and are considering their responses.”

“Looks can be deceiving” seems like a phrase too old for Dennis’s purported age, so I’m going with 4th-wall.

by zbicyclist

Fourth Wall

New Adventures of Queen Victoria is now irregularly updating, and the 3 after this one have also just been thought balloons in the dark. Per Wikipedia: “The strip ended on February 14, 2021; according to Sungenis, “15 years is long enough to do anything.” In January 2026 the comic returned to GoComics with new strips.”

There’s not much about new projects on Pab’s website. I dimly recall hearing he had some health issues.

by zbicyclist

More Fourth Wall

Boise Ed sends this in: “Here’s nother imaginative use of the Fourth Wall idea.”

I seem to remember Dagwood used to talk to the dog for this type of monologue, not directly to the reader.

Boise Ed notes, “You don’t get much more fourth-wall than this one.”

by zbicyclist

Fourth Wall Fun

By one definition, “4th wall comic refers to a comic book where characters become aware of their own fictional existence and address the audience directly. This concept, known as the Fourth Wall, separates the characters from the readers, allowing them to comment on the narrative and its limitations.” By that definition, not all of these fit. In some of these, it’s that the cartoonist lets us acknowledge the cartoonist’s existence, while the characters remain unaware. Is there a separate term that should be used for that?