Oh, man… I think I can relate to this strip more than is entirely comfortable.
Beautifully handled strip, sir. Is that… actually the hardest one you’ve posted, or have I missed more serious stuff before? Almost convinced it’s all been nudies recently!
I feel ya, man. I’ve been in her shoes a few times. Pretty strong of you to share it with us. I’m sure you have your own friends and family, but I think I speak for all of us loyal fans when I say we’re here for you both.
I never left comments for your strips, despite my anticipation to read them every week. But I just have to say that this one almost hurt to read….really because of how reminescent it was with some of the people in my life. You really do a great job of capturing everyday life in your work, whether its funny or sad.
It’s ’cause of you and Cadwell that I want to work in comics. Thanks for the inspiration you guys.
Hope everything is better and Anna is getting her grip back, hope you’re fine. My prayers will be with you guys, even when I am not the most religious kind of guy I believe it can help. It won’t do no harm anyway.
I don’t know you, I’ve spoken to you once, but I’d hate myself if I didn’t say something. It’s incredibly strong of you to share this. I hope you two can return to normality soon, Marc. Best wishes for the both of you.
I’m pretty much just repeating what the others have said, but it’s very brave of you both to tackle this topic in your script. As a fellow autobio cartoonist, I doubt I’d have the balls to address this kind of darkness. Well done and I hope you guys are getting through it.
Ohh.. I am moved so much by this that I have to write a comment. That last phrase is my favourite part of the whole thing. Hope you kids are okay, I’m sending you happy thoughts.
I’m torn between the overwhelming gravity of this strip and what feels like an insensitive need to congratulate you for the raw, uncensored reality presented in this comic. When I wrote an article proclaiming my fascination with your willingness to share personal aspects of your life, never did I expect Ellerbisms to become quite this intimate.
In closing, this strip has been playing on my mind all day. I wish both yourself and Anna nothing but happiness.
The good thing about Ellerbisms jumping the shark with this installment is that it was never any good in the first place, and as such nothing of value has been lost.
You’re doing great work, Marc, and I appreciate the honesty you put into your strips. Never mind the above comment, it’s nice to lose readers like that.
Marc, the fact that you are willing to show such honesty astounds me. it takes a strong individual to share such an experience, especially to such a wide audience.
to oz: wow, not only was your comment pointless and mean, but i worry that your life must be very sad for you to feel the need to post such a remark.
To Oz
Why dont you show everyone something of value that you have created, something that may have touched people in some way.
Or you could just go through life being a knob.
Some people appreciate really Ellerbisms, in fact these, Ghost World and Scott Pilgrim were what got me into comics in the first place. To just slate someones work like that is ridiculous, it takes alot of guts to generally put your own work out but when it’s as personal it’s even more difficult. I hope you find something better to do with your life that doesn’t devalue what others do.
I found it incredibly brave for Marc and Anna to share such personal moments with strangers and shows amazing charachter. I hope things get better for you both and continue to do so. Keep your heads up.
Ooooh, so when JAKE leaves a silly comment, it gets blocked, but when Ozzy everyman says his piece, approve away!
Oz IS right though. I mean can we really be sure self harm is a real thing? I suspect it’s made up by “them” to create a climate of fear. Why would anyone actualy inflict pain on ones self??
Mainly This is a lesson in never trying anything different Marc. You should just start recycling old strips, maybe? Or maybe you should turn Ellerbisms into a computer-game related webcomic? Basically you need to start catering for everyone, spread yourself thin, keep it watered down.
Also Global warming isn’t real, and obama is the anti-christ.
Consider this comic within Ellerbisms as a whole. It’s 90% recollections/retellings of amusing exchanges and internal musings, with the occasional smattering of dealing with modern relationships. The creator himself describes it as:
“the small events on Marc’s life, though blown up to be much larger than they first appear to be.”
Then all of a sudden, following a comic about stealing small dogs, a comic about self-harm. It’s the old Ctrl-Alt-Del Miscarriage situation again, only all the more jarring when you remember that Ellerbisms isn’t a work of fiction. Why would a creator insert a piece like this into a comic that goes against it’s tone? A comic that the self-written definition of demeans and cheapens the heavy event that it tries to portray? I can’t take a comic about self-harm as seriously as I should when it’s sandwiched between gag strips.
“Why in Ellerbisms” is my point. Does the creator not feel this is something strong enough to stand on it’s own? While posting it here is obviously going to get it seen more easily than elsewhere, it’s very location dilutes the message it wants to get across. Personal taste regarding his comic aside, I heavily doubt that the creator’s main concerns were attention-seeking and pageviews when dealing with this installment. So again, “Why in Ellerbisms?”
Incidently, I was unaware that being a creator myself was a prerequisite for having an opinion on something. Do I have to instigate a famine that kills millions before being allowed to consider that the failings of the Five-Year-Plans might’ve been a bad thing? I might not particularly like his diary comic, but I can at least respect an artist/author who has the stones to allow public criticism.
But hey, thanks for being mature about someone daring to have a negative opinion by refraining from personal name-calling.
Firstly, I want to say thank you for finally leaving an intelligent criticism of the strip as opposed to being just another internet jerk.
However.
I have several qualms with your responses and I’ll address them here publicly as you did with yours.
First of all, if you are so indifferent about this strip then why in the world would you continue to read it, come back and check for comments and engage in a discussion? If you didn’t like it to begin with, what’s lost? Nothing. Move on with your life. If you never liked it and you still don’t like it why would you leave a comment saying I jumped the shark? If you didn’t think it was good in the first place then it can’t “jump the shark.” Also, if you post a negative comment on someones strip, the people who do actually like it are going to retaliate or offer a counter view, so you shouldn’t be surprised by the hostility towards you.
People responded to your original post because, let’s face it, it was a prickish comment. How can someones life “jump the shark” anyway? If you had posted your second post first then people wouldn’t have an issue. The fact that you dived in with a snarky comment rubbed me and others up the wrong way.
You have an issue that the strip above is “sandwiched” between gag strips and therefore you can’t take it seriously? Well as you can see from Monday’s and today’s strip is that the subject is still being dealt with, so we’re not back to the LOLs just yet. I know the jump from laughs to darkness was quite dramatic but not only has that always been the case with Ellerbisms but what else am I supposed to do? I had no idea that the event itself was going to happen and I think that highlights the fact I was oblivious to what Anna was going through. Would you rather I have a few strips leading into it, when I had zero thought that it was happening until the day it happened? Maybe throw some more knives into past strips to give the reader a heads up? From my perspective it came from nowhere, just like the strip.
Ellerbisms is mostly about the chuckles, yes, but it’s also had spontaneous moments of seriousness as illustrated here, here,here, here,here, and here to name but a few. I don’t think this episode surprised anyone that really pays attention to the strip as there’s always been a bit of darkness running throughout it. Much like other strips though I only give a small portion of the event and never the full picture, much like the “gag” ones, you’re still getting a very small moment of the day.
To say that I only did this strip to get more page views is a fucking joke and an insult to not only me but my girlfriend. Ellerbisms represents our life together and it’s what I’ve chosen to write and draw about about. Why in Ellerbisms? Well there’s your answer. It happened to us and I thought it was as an important aspect of our life. I’ve been talking with Anna about doing this strip for months and it wasn’t an easy decision to come to, but ultimately I wanted to draw it as pure and simply, it happened to us.
Okay, so you got a public reaction out of me which I believe to be the main point of your original comment but this is where it ends, I don’t think we have anything else to discuss and if you’re going to throw accusations at me then I can’t be bothered to continue to discuss this with you. Thank you for your honesty regarding this strip, the way you handled it in the first post was that of a jerk though and if you don’t read the strip ever again, I don’t really give a shit.
I read Ellerbisms because I’m a fan of Love The Way You Love. Ellerbisms might not have clicked with me, but you can’t please everyone all the time. But if JSR wanted to work with you, I’m sure he had good reasons, so I’m hedging my bets that when you do something else it may well be more to my tastes.
That works, Ellerbisms as a straight reflection of your life, right down to the abruptness of the tone and subject matter shifting. When you put it like that, I suppose looking at something autobiographical as a structured narrative is a bit backwards.
“To say that I only did this strip to get more page views is a fucking joke and an insult to not only me but my girlfriend.”
I’m sorry you feel insulted, but that’s not what I said. Admittedly, in a sea of abrasiveness, it’s understandable that you might have got the wrong end of the stick on that matter. My point was that I was unsure why this matter was covered in something as light-hearted as Ellerbisms, because I was very certain that it WASN’T to do with getting pageviews. But then, by now looking at the comic as a reflection rather than a narrative, it would remiss to omit it. Again, I’m sorry if you took that as offensive, but I assure you that was not my intention.
While it may well be impossible (I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must be like) for you to distance or detatch yourself from autobiographical work, especially regarding important events such as this, it’s somewhat difficult at a base level to identify the “cast” as anything other than characters, given that I don’t know, have never met you, and most likely never will. However given that I am aware that Ellerbisms is not a work of fiction and that I have some familiarity with the subject matter itself, it would not have been unreasonable for me to assume that a tad more tact may have been in order. On that same note, please do not misconstrue all this as some sort of personal attack on you, your family or the events.
Anyhow, I’ll apologise if you’ve found me to come off as a “jerk”, and I’ll thank you for answering my questions.
Hey, i’m a huge fan but i’ve never posted a comment before, i just wanted to say that this strip and the ones after it really moved me, it brought back some really vivid memories of finding my brother (he’s doing well now). Hope things get better
I just wanted to thank you for being so honest in your work, I’ve been following your stuff since I found your first ‘hourly comic’ in London one summer, I love your style, how you’ve progressed and your willingness to share your life with us readers, thanks to your work, I’ve been more truthful in my own autobio comics. Again. Thank you for being so strong, and to anna – even though this is a couple of months behind (?) I hope you’re feeling stronger too *hugs* xxxx
I know everthing that can be said just about has, but I just wanted to show how appreciative I am of your honesty while writing this comic. It greatly shows the sharp ups and downs of real peoples lives. I havent read the recent strips (I just started at the begining and am working my way through), but I hope everything picked back up for anna and yourself!
This strip stands out. I can follow Oz actually. what’s wrong with discourse?
his first comment was badly worded, but he’s right that there’s a huge tone change here. I personally probably wouldn’t have put this strip on this site, maybe hinted at the event in some way but not this descriptive.
I’m doing the autobio approach myself and know it can be REALLY tricky and dangerous to involve those closest to you into a story, as they might feel misrepresented or even feel like a part of their/our intimacy was stolen. so there’s a responsibility. I’ve already hurt people this way.
also there’s always the risk of exploiting real drama in your life. we live so secure lives with so many options. it’s like we’re happy if we’re faced with dramatic challenges and we wanna use it for art. but I think this should always be done in awareness of the context and the frame it’s being made public.
anyhoo, read the whole archive in the last weeks and appreciate it, came from “super everything” blog. keep it up.
I’ve been reading the archives through slowly over the past few days after finding you through scarygoround. I admire your honesty and Anna’s too. I find myself relating to Anna increasingly more and I hope that you are both well. hauntingly well written and delicately done. Kudos.
Thank you, both of you, for posting this. The love that is shown there, the dark subject… you have done beautiful and moving work. I honestly hope everything is better for you two though. Take care.
Some people don’t understand just what “auto-biographical” really entails. Read some some times OZ. It isn’t all full of little chuckles if it is truthful.
Hard times happen and it is very brave to put them down here for any caring person and dipshit to read. Such is the risk.
Thanks for all the InDesign help earlier, peeps. I think I've fixed but only time will tell. Off to see Trail of Dead now though. KILL KILL. 2012-10-10
Oh, man… I think I can relate to this strip more than is entirely comfortable.
Beautifully handled strip, sir. Is that… actually the hardest one you’ve posted, or have I missed more serious stuff before? Almost convinced it’s all been nudies recently!
I feel ya, man. I’ve been in her shoes a few times. Pretty strong of you to share it with us. I’m sure you have your own friends and family, but I think I speak for all of us loyal fans when I say we’re here for you both.
Poor doll…hers hopes to a brighter day.
Hiya,
I never left comments for your strips, despite my anticipation to read them every week. But I just have to say that this one almost hurt to read….really because of how reminescent it was with some of the people in my life. You really do a great job of capturing everyday life in your work, whether its funny or sad.
It’s ’cause of you and Cadwell that I want to work in comics. Thanks for the inspiration you guys.
Hope everything is better and Anna is getting her grip back, hope you’re fine. My prayers will be with you guys, even when I am not the most religious kind of guy I believe it can help. It won’t do no harm anyway.
I don’t know you, I’ve spoken to you once, but I’d hate myself if I didn’t say something. It’s incredibly strong of you to share this. I hope you two can return to normality soon, Marc. Best wishes for the both of you.
I’m pretty much just repeating what the others have said, but it’s very brave of you both to tackle this topic in your script. As a fellow autobio cartoonist, I doubt I’d have the balls to address this kind of darkness. Well done and I hope you guys are getting through it.
Ohh.. I am moved so much by this that I have to write a comment. That last phrase is my favourite part of the whole thing. Hope you kids are okay, I’m sending you happy thoughts.
Bold of marc. But even bolder of anna for letting him do it. Well done to you both.
Very deftly handled Marc. Well done.
I’m torn between the overwhelming gravity of this strip and what feels like an insensitive need to congratulate you for the raw, uncensored reality presented in this comic. When I wrote an article proclaiming my fascination with your willingness to share personal aspects of your life, never did I expect Ellerbisms to become quite this intimate.
In closing, this strip has been playing on my mind all day. I wish both yourself and Anna nothing but happiness.
The good thing about Ellerbisms jumping the shark with this installment is that it was never any good in the first place, and as such nothing of value has been lost.
You’re doing great work, Marc, and I appreciate the honesty you put into your strips. Never mind the above comment, it’s nice to lose readers like that.
to: Oz
I don’t know what’s worse, that your comment is totally pointless or
that you don’t know how to use the phrase “jump the shark”
Marc, the fact that you are willing to show such honesty astounds me. it takes a strong individual to share such an experience, especially to such a wide audience.
to oz: wow, not only was your comment pointless and mean, but i worry that your life must be very sad for you to feel the need to post such a remark.
To Oz
Why dont you show everyone something of value that you have created, something that may have touched people in some way.
Or you could just go through life being a knob.
Marc, you have officially made it big on the internet, idiots are writing offensive nonsense on your website.
To Oz:
Some people appreciate really Ellerbisms, in fact these, Ghost World and Scott Pilgrim were what got me into comics in the first place. To just slate someones work like that is ridiculous, it takes alot of guts to generally put your own work out but when it’s as personal it’s even more difficult. I hope you find something better to do with your life that doesn’t devalue what others do.
I found it incredibly brave for Marc and Anna to share such personal moments with strangers and shows amazing charachter. I hope things get better for you both and continue to do so. Keep your heads up.
Ha ha… even Oz is going to feel special soon. Bless.
Ooooh, so when JAKE leaves a silly comment, it gets blocked, but when Ozzy everyman says his piece, approve away!
Oz IS right though. I mean can we really be sure self harm is a real thing? I suspect it’s made up by “them” to create a climate of fear. Why would anyone actualy inflict pain on ones self??
Mainly This is a lesson in never trying anything different Marc. You should just start recycling old strips, maybe? Or maybe you should turn Ellerbisms into a computer-game related webcomic? Basically you need to start catering for everyone, spread yourself thin, keep it watered down.
Also Global warming isn’t real, and obama is the anti-christ.
xxx
Consider this comic within Ellerbisms as a whole. It’s 90% recollections/retellings of amusing exchanges and internal musings, with the occasional smattering of dealing with modern relationships. The creator himself describes it as:
“the small events on Marc’s life, though blown up to be much larger than they first appear to be.”
Then all of a sudden, following a comic about stealing small dogs, a comic about self-harm. It’s the old Ctrl-Alt-Del Miscarriage situation again, only all the more jarring when you remember that Ellerbisms isn’t a work of fiction. Why would a creator insert a piece like this into a comic that goes against it’s tone? A comic that the self-written definition of demeans and cheapens the heavy event that it tries to portray? I can’t take a comic about self-harm as seriously as I should when it’s sandwiched between gag strips.
“Why in Ellerbisms” is my point. Does the creator not feel this is something strong enough to stand on it’s own? While posting it here is obviously going to get it seen more easily than elsewhere, it’s very location dilutes the message it wants to get across. Personal taste regarding his comic aside, I heavily doubt that the creator’s main concerns were attention-seeking and pageviews when dealing with this installment. So again, “Why in Ellerbisms?”
Incidently, I was unaware that being a creator myself was a prerequisite for having an opinion on something. Do I have to instigate a famine that kills millions before being allowed to consider that the failings of the Five-Year-Plans might’ve been a bad thing? I might not particularly like his diary comic, but I can at least respect an artist/author who has the stones to allow public criticism.
But hey, thanks for being mature about someone daring to have a negative opinion by refraining from personal name-calling.
Cheap shot, OZ. Now go back to your fantasy world where you believe people will actually value your opinion.
On the other hand, they probably think you’re a wanker too.
Oz,
Firstly, I want to say thank you for finally leaving an intelligent criticism of the strip as opposed to being just another internet jerk.
However.
I have several qualms with your responses and I’ll address them here publicly as you did with yours.
First of all, if you are so indifferent about this strip then why in the world would you continue to read it, come back and check for comments and engage in a discussion? If you didn’t like it to begin with, what’s lost? Nothing. Move on with your life. If you never liked it and you still don’t like it why would you leave a comment saying I jumped the shark? If you didn’t think it was good in the first place then it can’t “jump the shark.” Also, if you post a negative comment on someones strip, the people who do actually like it are going to retaliate or offer a counter view, so you shouldn’t be surprised by the hostility towards you.
People responded to your original post because, let’s face it, it was a prickish comment. How can someones life “jump the shark” anyway? If you had posted your second post first then people wouldn’t have an issue. The fact that you dived in with a snarky comment rubbed me and others up the wrong way.
You have an issue that the strip above is “sandwiched” between gag strips and therefore you can’t take it seriously? Well as you can see from Monday’s and today’s strip is that the subject is still being dealt with, so we’re not back to the LOLs just yet. I know the jump from laughs to darkness was quite dramatic but not only has that always been the case with Ellerbisms but what else am I supposed to do? I had no idea that the event itself was going to happen and I think that highlights the fact I was oblivious to what Anna was going through. Would you rather I have a few strips leading into it, when I had zero thought that it was happening until the day it happened? Maybe throw some more knives into past strips to give the reader a heads up? From my perspective it came from nowhere, just like the strip.
Ellerbisms is mostly about the chuckles, yes, but it’s also had spontaneous moments of seriousness as illustrated here, here,here, here,here, and here to name but a few. I don’t think this episode surprised anyone that really pays attention to the strip as there’s always been a bit of darkness running throughout it. Much like other strips though I only give a small portion of the event and never the full picture, much like the “gag” ones, you’re still getting a very small moment of the day.
To say that I only did this strip to get more page views is a fucking joke and an insult to not only me but my girlfriend. Ellerbisms represents our life together and it’s what I’ve chosen to write and draw about about. Why in Ellerbisms? Well there’s your answer. It happened to us and I thought it was as an important aspect of our life. I’ve been talking with Anna about doing this strip for months and it wasn’t an easy decision to come to, but ultimately I wanted to draw it as pure and simply, it happened to us.
Okay, so you got a public reaction out of me which I believe to be the main point of your original comment but this is where it ends, I don’t think we have anything else to discuss and if you’re going to throw accusations at me then I can’t be bothered to continue to discuss this with you. Thank you for your honesty regarding this strip, the way you handled it in the first post was that of a jerk though and if you don’t read the strip ever again, I don’t really give a shit.
I read Ellerbisms because I’m a fan of Love The Way You Love. Ellerbisms might not have clicked with me, but you can’t please everyone all the time. But if JSR wanted to work with you, I’m sure he had good reasons, so I’m hedging my bets that when you do something else it may well be more to my tastes.
That works, Ellerbisms as a straight reflection of your life, right down to the abruptness of the tone and subject matter shifting. When you put it like that, I suppose looking at something autobiographical as a structured narrative is a bit backwards.
“To say that I only did this strip to get more page views is a fucking joke and an insult to not only me but my girlfriend.”
I’m sorry you feel insulted, but that’s not what I said. Admittedly, in a sea of abrasiveness, it’s understandable that you might have got the wrong end of the stick on that matter. My point was that I was unsure why this matter was covered in something as light-hearted as Ellerbisms, because I was very certain that it WASN’T to do with getting pageviews. But then, by now looking at the comic as a reflection rather than a narrative, it would remiss to omit it. Again, I’m sorry if you took that as offensive, but I assure you that was not my intention.
While it may well be impossible (I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must be like) for you to distance or detatch yourself from autobiographical work, especially regarding important events such as this, it’s somewhat difficult at a base level to identify the “cast” as anything other than characters, given that I don’t know, have never met you, and most likely never will. However given that I am aware that Ellerbisms is not a work of fiction and that I have some familiarity with the subject matter itself, it would not have been unreasonable for me to assume that a tad more tact may have been in order. On that same note, please do not misconstrue all this as some sort of personal attack on you, your family or the events.
Anyhow, I’ll apologise if you’ve found me to come off as a “jerk”, and I’ll thank you for answering my questions.
Hey, i’m a huge fan but i’ve never posted a comment before, i just wanted to say that this strip and the ones after it really moved me, it brought back some really vivid memories of finding my brother (he’s doing well now). Hope things get better
Dear Mark,
I just wanted to thank you for being so honest in your work, I’ve been following your stuff since I found your first ‘hourly comic’ in London one summer, I love your style, how you’ve progressed and your willingness to share your life with us readers, thanks to your work, I’ve been more truthful in my own autobio comics. Again. Thank you for being so strong, and to anna – even though this is a couple of months behind (?) I hope you’re feeling stronger too *hugs* xxxx
I know everthing that can be said just about has, but I just wanted to show how appreciative I am of your honesty while writing this comic. It greatly shows the sharp ups and downs of real peoples lives. I havent read the recent strips (I just started at the begining and am working my way through), but I hope everything picked back up for anna and yourself!
Beautiful portrayal of an awful situation, hope all is well now.
This strip stands out. I can follow Oz actually. what’s wrong with discourse?
his first comment was badly worded, but he’s right that there’s a huge tone change here. I personally probably wouldn’t have put this strip on this site, maybe hinted at the event in some way but not this descriptive.
I’m doing the autobio approach myself and know it can be REALLY tricky and dangerous to involve those closest to you into a story, as they might feel misrepresented or even feel like a part of their/our intimacy was stolen. so there’s a responsibility. I’ve already hurt people this way.
also there’s always the risk of exploiting real drama in your life. we live so secure lives with so many options. it’s like we’re happy if we’re faced with dramatic challenges and we wanna use it for art. but I think this should always be done in awareness of the context and the frame it’s being made public.
anyhoo, read the whole archive in the last weeks and appreciate it, came from “super everything” blog. keep it up.
I’ve been reading the archives through slowly over the past few days after finding you through scarygoround. I admire your honesty and Anna’s too. I find myself relating to Anna increasingly more and I hope that you are both well. hauntingly well written and delicately done. Kudos.
thank you for sharing this. that takes guts which most people don’t have. i wish you nothing but the best.
Thank you, both of you, for posting this. The love that is shown there, the dark subject… you have done beautiful and moving work. I honestly hope everything is better for you two though. Take care.
Some people don’t understand just what “auto-biographical” really entails. Read some some times OZ. It isn’t all full of little chuckles if it is truthful.
Hard times happen and it is very brave to put them down here for any caring person and dipshit to read. Such is the risk.