History WebComic / Subnormality

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Expressed by many characters, especially the Sphinx. However she does mention they have redeeming qualities in [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page521.html Monsters Playing Poker]]

* HeroicComedicSociopath: The Sphynx kills humans all the time, but it's played for laughs. It helps that she seems to dine mainly on [[JerkassVictim Jerkass Victims.]]

** [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page505.html This one plays the Trope straight]], but what the guy's reasons [[NightmareFuel are far from normal.]]

* IronicHell: Has been known to play with this one. On one occasion a misfile causes a guy to be signed up for the wrong ironic punishment, which is immediately corrected when [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne he takes offense to being buried in dog feces]] (having always made it a point to clean up after his dog, even if he did kill five people). In another one, Hell's latest tenant frustrates the demon assigned to him for orientation because here, yet again, is some dipshit who thinks a single lifetime of being a dull little guy has given him the guile to outwit millenia-old beings who have honed the craft of eternal suffering; then his attempt to prove his point ends up seriously screwing his pooch.

* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions / BeliefMakesYouStupid: Let's just say that Winston is definitely one of ''those'' Atheists.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Sphynx, apparently. It's fine for her to kill and eat people since she's not human, whereas a human cannibal is shown to have ended up in Hell. (Her "reasoning" [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page517.html is that she's simply higher on the food chain]]. Of course, the Sphynx isn't actually dead yet.

** One of the biggest ones [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page586.html when the Joleco Pet Store owner finally returns for his "dog"]].

** Exemplified by a great many of the characters in "[[http://www.viruscomix.com/page466.html The Service]]".
** ''Every single thing'' that appears in the [[MeaningfulName appropriately titled]] "[[http://www.viruscomix.com/page439.html Not Worth It!]]"

* {{Demonization}}: Apparently, MargaretThatcher is a [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]] who is [[SincerityMode obsessed with nuclear weapons]]. UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, on the other hand, prefers to express himself through [[VillainSong freestyle rap]]. The joke being that both were run through an "exaggeration engine" thus apparently explaining their grotesque forms and bizarre behavior... only to be revealed that said engine wasn't even turned on, which only somewhat destroys the point.

* NoKillLikeOverkill: The guys who clear snow from people's houses with '''''[[http://www.viruscomix.com/page430.html the freaking Dardanelles Gun]]'''''.

* ToServeMan: The monsters- most notably the Sphinx- have a taste for people and are not remorseful about it. The weirdest part is, human witnesses seem to take this in stride; one guy who gets angry at the Sphynx is mad ''not'' because he thinks it's evil, but because she's hurting his business by preying on his customers! (Still, that ''would'' be kind of bad for business...)

** [[InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja The Truth Ninja]] [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page455.html helps a couple avoid a serial killer]].

* NoKillLikeOverkill: The guys who clear snow from people's houses with '''''[[http://www.viruscomix.com/page430.html a freaking 16th century Russian howitzer]]'''''.

** Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, she also chooses to lurk outside a gym when hunting for victims, because customers tend to be clean and showered when they come out and too tired to run, insisting to the owner when he complains about it that he'd do the same thing if ''he'' were a predator.

** Of course, [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy on the other end of the spectrum]], she also chooses to lurk outside a gym when hunting for victims, because customers tend to be clean and showered when they come out and too tired to run, insisting to the owner when he complains about it that he'd do the same thing if ''he'' were a predator.

** A subtle one- [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page440.html the letters hanging from Princess Washburn's skirt]] (IEAIAIO) is the title of a song by SystemOfADown.

This comic is rather subjective; many readers enjoy it for the messages they receive from it, and others dislike it for how hard Winston tries to hammer in his morality. In this comic, you do just as much reading as you would if you were reading a book, it just has pictures to go with it. Somewhat of a LightNovel, except the art style is more reminiscent of western comic books than Japanese Manga.

Rowntree also writes an irregularly updated sister comic for Website/{{Cracked}}.com called Abnormality. Its strips are narrower (to fit the website's layout), generally shorter and rarely plot-driven. Many of them are humorous infographics. [[http://www.cracked.com/members/WinstonRowntree/ they're accessible from Rowntree's author page.]] For convenience all page images taken from Abnormality link to this page. He also contributes to Cracked's ''WebVideo/AfterHours'' series, providing illustrations for Michael's brain.

It can be found [[http://www.viruscomix.com/subnormality.html here]].

''Subnormality'' is a webcomic with [[WallOfText a whole lot of words]] created by Winston Rowntree. Created in 2007, this comic is a [[DeconstructorFleet Deconstruction parade,]] where the author deconstructs everything from video game characters to tropes themselves, such as CannotSpitItOut. Most of the events appear to take place in the same city, although other locales are used, such as Hell or some undefined time in the past. Some of his works are hilarious, some are depressing, and others are somewhere in the middle where you can't figure out what you're supposed to gain from it.

** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]: "...Oh. [[LiteralGenie You're one]] of ''[[JerkassGenie those]]'' genies."

* SpeechCentricWork: It frequently lampshades its tendency to rely on walls of text and copious dialogue.

* HumanityOnTrial: In [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page554.htmlstrip strip #187]], the pink-haired girl is summoned to speak on her galaxy's behalf before THE EMPEROR OF THE UNIVERSE, who threatens to blow it up after getting a complaint from the next galaxy over. He spares the Milky Way galaxy after rewriting reality to make himself everyone's obnoxious boss and clients.

* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** Sure, the Sphinx kills and usually eats passerby, but she would never dream of [[Theatre/OedipusTheKing having sex with her own son]].
** And serial killers ''can'' be civic-minded. [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page462.html "I may have killed and eaten five people, but I damn well cleaned up after my dog!"]]

* TerribleIntervieweesMontage: It doesn't get more terrible than the [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page549.html Dating (Russian) roulette]]: Six speed dates in a row, you ''have'' to settle on ONE mandatory date without seeing the others after you make your choice or being allowed to pick someone you already rejected. Hope you don't land on ''the bullet!'' [[spoiler: There is no bullet. The organizer keeps reusing the same five horrible people over and over, "accidentally" matching two contestants at interview number six who then bond over their shared experience and become new friends, running away together before meeting the so-called bullet.]]

* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: Subverted, as the Horsemen presented turn out not to be the biblical ones, but the [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page433.html Horsemen of the "Atheist" Apocalypse]], respectively [[BeliefMakesYouStupid Science, Progress, Reason, and Equality.]] Rather than heralding the end of the world, [[OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions they create a utopia.]]

* AndIMustScream: [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page421.html Apparently the source of those little figurines]].

* BaitAndSwitch: [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page529.html These]] [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page558.html two]]

* BenevolentBoss: [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page477.html Deconstructed]]

* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Seen [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page403.html here]], panel two

* DeconstructorFleet: As stated above.

* EqualOpportunityOffender

* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct: [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page382.html "I mean, you kind of have to wonder!!"]]

* LiteralMinded: [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page535.html Another problem the Sphynx has with modern life]].

* OrganAutonomy: Played straight [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page509.html here]], [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page420.html here]], and a variation can be found [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page494.html here]].

* ThoseWackyNazis: [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page484.html Neo-Nazi Time Traveller Adventures!]]

* VocalMinority: [[invoked]][[http://www.cracked.com/article_17267_the-truth-behind-obnoxious-assholes-4-pie-charts.html Gave that page its picture.]]

** Even better in [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page382.html this one]].

* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct:
** [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page382.html "I mean, you kind of have to wonder!!"]]

** That said, the trope is not always played straight, especially in the later strips. Ethel has some sharp lines in her face and often makes unflattering expressions, but is a genuinely good person underneath all of her cynicism. Zoe is depicted with scars, dull sunken eyes, and a gaunt face from living in the streets, and proves herself to be very warm-hearted and often (perhaps unknowingly) insightful.

** Of course, in another strip, where she protests that she's not even close to being one of the top 100 causes of death among humans, she admits that it would be "kind of neat" to be on that list...

* BreakingTheFourthWall: [[InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja The Truth Ninja]] [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page455.html helps a couple avoid a serial killer]].

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Sure, the Sphinx kills and usually eats passerby, but she would never dream of [[Theatre/OedipusTheKing having sex with her own son]].

** Well, the first time she actually had to go out and deliberately dye it so that she could even ''get'' the soul-crushing job. After that it sort of started taking care of itself.

* StealthPun: The algebra teacher puts a nice one in his torrent of drug-fueled nonsense: [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page491.html 4+5 is German for NO]]. [[spoiler:nein]]

* TerribleIntervieweesMontage: It doesn't get more terrible than the [[http://www.viruscomix.com/page549.html Dating (Russian) roulette]]: Six speed dates in a row, you ''have'' to settle on ONE mandatory date without seeing the others after you make your choice or being allowed to pick someone you already rejected. Hope you don't land on ''the bullet!''
** [[spoiler: There is no bullet. The organizer keeps reusing the same five horrible people over and over, "accidentally" matching two contestants at interview number six who then bond over their shared experience and become new friends, running away together before meeting the so-called bullet.]]

'''''Subnormality''''' is a webcomic with [[WallOfText a whole lot of words]] created by Winston Rowntree. Created in 2007, this comic is a [[DeconstructorFleet Deconstruction parade,]] where the author deconstructs everything from video game characters to tropes themselves, such as CannotSpitItOut. Most of the events appear to take place in the same city, although other locales are used, such as Hell or some undefined time in the past. Some of his works are hilarious, some are depressing, and others are somewhere in the middle where you can't figure out what you're supposed to gain from it.

* BechdelTest: Passes with flying colors. (Even more so if one of the two women doesn't have to be human, which the Sphynx is not.)
** That said, the author specifically notes in the AltText that all of the [[ForWantOfANail Museum of the Theoretical]] strips (3 total as of 8/19/2015) fail this by virtue of technically featuring only one female character each. Which isn't to say they aren't insightful about the nature of human perception, pursuing lifelong dreams, or the vagaries of circumstance--and compassion.