Line #33 ComicStrip/Lio


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lio100113.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Just another day...]]
3
4	A newspaper comic by Creator/MarkTatulli, revolving around the life of the titular character, known for its lack of dialogue, unique storylines, and creepy protagonist.
5
6	Plots revolve around the strange circumstances Lio gets into, usually with [[BlackComedy extremely dark punchlines]]. The comic is also known for frequently taking shots at other comic strips, both for one-offs and even occasionally longer storylines. The strip premiered in 2005.
7	----
8	!!This work contains the following tropes.
9
10	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Lio's dad laughed at a drawing Lio had made of his principal being eaten by a creature at the zoo... unfortunately, he did it while they were both still in the principal's office.
11	* TheAlcoholic: Lio's cat, Cybil loves her gin. It's also implied that Lio's dad drinks a bit as well.
12	* BackToTheWomb: In one strip, the main character uses a time machine to send himself back to the beginning - only to find himself in the womb again.
13	* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: Lio whenever he has to look after his cousin Bubbles.
14	* BedsheetGhost:
15	** [[http://www.gocomics.com/lio/2007/03/07 This strip]] plays with it.
16	** Lio is shown wearing one in [[https://www.gocomics.com/lio/2015/10/25 this strip]].
17	* BrainBleach: In one strip, Lio goes to wash out his eyes after he goes swimming and catches [[Franchise/TheLittleMermaid Ariel]] making out with WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants.
18	* BullyHunter: Lio sometimes terrorizes bullies, and the occasional predatory animal.
19	* ButtMonkey:
20	** Lio himself seems to have fallen into this nowadays.
21	** Not to mention his dad.
22	* CardiovascularLove: Parodied at least twice, once with duct tape for a broken one, and once when it needed a defibrillator.
23	* CatsAreMean: Lio's cat Cybil.
24	* CaughtInASnare: Averted in the February 13, 2009 strip where Lio lays a Valentine card in the loop of a snare in which he attempts to catch his crush Eva Rose. She doesn't fall for it.
25	* ChessWithDeath: Well, Shuffleboard, as seen [[http://www.gocomics.com/lio/2016/06/04 here]].
26	* CoolOldLady: Lio's Grandma. Although she doesn't actually appear, we get the impression that she's cool by letter writings such as [[http://www.gocomics.com/lio/2009/01/13/ this]]
27	* CreepyChild: Lio, with his blank eyes and [[FluffyTamer interesting choice of pets]]. Oh, and he will happily feed puppies to them.
28	* DarkIsNotEvil: Despite his strange taste in pets, and his friendships with slasher movie icons, Lio is a decent kid at heart.
29	* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Among others, Lio is friends with Death, [[Franchise/{{Halloween}} Michael Myers]], [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]], [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]], [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface]], and a giant man-eating fish monster.
30	* EditorialSynaesthesia: In one RunningGag, Lio's crush on Eva is shown as a heart in the usual fashion, which Eva then physically shreds/stabs/etc..
31	* EldritchAbomination: Lio has a pet cthulhu named Cephalopod. (No, that isn't backwards.)
32	* EveryoneHasStandards: Despite Lio's love of [[PerkyGoth all things creepy]] and pranks, he seems to draw the line at legitimately hurting people ([[AssholeVictim unless they deserve it, of course]]). He's often shown keeping his various pets (usually [[CatsAreMean Cybil]]) from harming innocent people/animals.
33	* EveryoneHatesFruitcakes: In [[http://www.gocomics.com/lio/2014/12/16 one strip]], Lio finds a box labelled "Fruit Cake" and uses the ''fruitcake itself'' as a footstool to pin a Christmas stocking up on the fireplace.
34	* FluffyTamer: In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/lio/2010/09/12/ September 12, 2010 strip]], Lio tries to tame the monster from ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'' using a giant hamster cage and a huge steak. Judging by the monster's face, it looks pretty tempted.
35	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Lio loves and is loved by all animals, from monsters, to squids, to bunnies -- although this ''does'' come with an awareness that some of his animal friends eat other animals or even humans, and a willingness to indulge their appetites. His tendency to automatically take the side of the animals in any animal vs. human situations does manage to backfire rather spectacularly on one occasion, when he's mugged by some baby ducks he just saved from a hunter.
36	* FunnyTerrainCrossSection: In [[https://www.gocomics.com/lio/2023/07/25 this strip]] Lio is using a metal detector on a beach, and is excited when it "beeps", but is soon disappointed to find nothing but a crumpled old beverage can just below the surface. A few feet below ''that'' is an entire FlyingSaucer, complete with mummified alien.
37	* HeroicMime: Lio.
38	* KickTheDog: Lio once [[https://www.cartoonbrew.com/comics/lio-5006.html fed Pinocchio to termites]].
39	* MadeFromRealGirlScouts: Ripped off the trope-naming joke once, and has had other jokes based on the same general idea.
40	* MissingMom: It's eventually revealed that she has died, [[MoodWhiplash in a Christmas strip no less]], although with no mention of where or when.
41	* MouseHole: In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/lio/2024/01/20 January 20, 2024]] strip, Cybil the psycho cat is about to use a ''flame thrower'' to go after what looks like a whole family of mice huddled inside a classic mouse hole.
42	* MrImagination: Lio, although it plays a smaller role in the strip than you might think. Almost all the weird stuff that happens is explicitly real -- backed up by WordOfGod -- and it's nearly always completely unambiguous about the rare occasions where it isn't.
43	* NightmareFetishist: Lio has a giant squid and a snake as ''pets''. He tried to bring them to the school dance once.
44	* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Lio. Are you starting to get an idea of what this strip is like?
45	* NoSmoking: Lio seems not to like smokers very much.
46	* NotSoAboveItAll: Lio's dad can't resist pulling his own pranks on his son sometimes.
47	* ObviouslyEvil:
48	** Anyone who's an AssholeVictim is readily identifiable by having bad teeth.
49	** Eva has even worse teeth than most of the {{Asshole Victim}}s. Draw your own conclusions.
50	* OneWordTitle: Also a ProtagonistTitle.
51	* OpenMindedParent: Despite getting exasperated by his son's macabre antics sometimes, Lio's dad clearly loves and accepts him, no matter what.
52	* PetTheDog: Despite her dislike of Lio, Eva doesn't hesitate to rescue him when the dinner ladies capture him and try to cook him.
53	* PerkyGoth: Lio himself.
54	* ProtagonistTitle: Also a OneWordTitle.
55	* RejectionAffection: No matter how much (and how cruelly) Eva Rose rejects his advances, Lio never stops his efforts to win her over.
56	* RobotMaster: Lio is constantly making new friends. How well they work varies.
57	* ShoutOut: [[https://www.gocomics.com/lio/2019/08/12 In this strip]], Lio and his pet fish watch ''Film/{{Jaws}}''.
58	* StylisticSuck: A few days after New Years in 2012, Lio notices that he's crudely drawn. [[NoFourthWall He then writes a note to Mark Tatulli, the strip's creator, stating that the holidays are over and to lay off the sauce.]]
59	* SurrealHorror: Quite a lot of strips have a one-shot character appear as an AssholeVictim for two panels, then die in a bizarre and disturbing way in the third. Even the main characters are subject to random attacks by skeletons and leaf monsters, though Lio and Eva are badass enough to outfight them, and Lio's father knows when to flee.
60	* TakeThat: ''Repeatedly'' pokes fun at other comics. It's gone after ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' the most, likely out of response to an incident where Tatuli received hate mail when ''Lio'' replaced ''Peanuts'' reruns in one its papers. [[http://joshreads.com/images/07/04/i070415lio.jpg This]] strip probably wins an award for the most {{Take That}}s in the entire run, while [[http://joshreads.com/images/07/03/i070325lio.jpg this strip]] is probably the most brutal assault on a single comic. His ribbing at ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' could be seen as more of an AffectionateParody, as in the first treasury, his comments leave the impression he has great respect for the strip. There's also [[http://www.gocomics.com/lio/2007/02/28 this strip]] where Lio sets out flowers for the ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' dailies in a cemetery for comic strips that also includes ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'', ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', and ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''. Outside the cemetery, for contrast, there's a parade of comic strip characters who are still alive despite having long ago lost any relevance or humor they may once have had, including ComicStrip/{{Nancy}}, ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS, and [[ComicStrip/Blondie1930 Dagwood]].
61	* ToiletHumour: Used occasionally.
62	* UnconventionalFoodUsage: Lio uses [[EveryoneHatesFruitcakes a fruitcake]] as a [[http://www.gocomics.com/lio/2014/12/16 footstool]] to hang up his Christmas stocking.
63	* UnfazedEveryman: Though he can still be startled, Lio's dad eventually evolves into this, reacting to his son's macabre shenanigans mostly with resigned exasperation.
64	* WeirdnessMagnet: Weird stuff happens around Lio whether or not he actively seeks it out or causes it.
65	* WeWillAllFlyInTheFuture: In [[https://www.gocomics.com/lio/2022/12/21 this strip Lio travels forward in time!]] Naturally, the futuristic city he finds has a number of weird-looking craft flitting around above its skyline.

Context ComicStrip / Lio