Line #61 Webcomic/Fluble


1	[[quoteright:181:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flubleprev_1576.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:181:[[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext No, not even in context.]]]]
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4	''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20150618152719/https://www.techhouse.org/cgi-bin/fluble/vault.pl?date=19971006 Fluble]]'' ("rhymes with bubble") is a webcomic by Chris Mastrangelo that ran from 1997 to 2001. It featured a wide and diverse supporting cast, as well as long and often quite convoluted storylines. The latter may seem like it would make it difficult for a new reader to get into the comic, but ''Fluble'' cleverly avoids this by [[DadaComics not making any sense no matter where you start reading]].
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6	''Fluble'' humor is characterized by {{Deconstruction}}, LampshadeHanging, RefugeInAudacity, and a constant stream of utter nonsense. This is very well reflected in the main cast:
7	* '''Fluble P. Marshell''', the comic's eponymous hero and [[LoserArchetype archetypal loser]], a genetically engineered, vaguely anthropomorphic frog living in Syracuse, New York. Hopelessly unemployed. Never hesitates to come up with a ZanyScheme or conspiracy theory. Dies on several occasions during the comic's run.
8	* '''Balt Baltmer''', an exiled alien scientist who lives with Fluble and Burble, and inexplicably tolerates their antics.
9	* '''Burble''', formerly a creature of almost godlike power, now a walking tomato. Also, completely insane.
10	* '''Clown''', the circus freak and local token female. Fluble's unrequited LoveInterest. Loves animals, though her pets are tragically short-lived.
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12	The supporting cast includes Fluble's imaginary gargoyle Occam, [[ConArtist Mack The the Whale]], [[DeathbringerTheAdorable Death Duck]] the [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Duck of Death]], and Zoso the [[ShapedLikeItself World's Smartest Thing-That-Isn't-A-Mailbox]]. On the opposing side, Fluble's greatest nemeses are Zangoth the Demon, [[TheDevilIsALoser Bob the Lord of Hell]], the murderous and lethally adorable [[KillerRabbit Devil Bunny]], the Amish, and most importantly, the Evil Penguins and their overlord, [[MagnificentBastard Number One]].
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14	----
15	!!Provides Examples Of:
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17	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Parodied in the storyline where Clown swoons over Zangoth despite the fact that the demon is clearly abusing her.
18	--> '''Clown:''' This meat tastes very interesting.
19	--> '''Zangoth:''' It's an old family recipe.
20	--> '''Clown:''' Well, just remember after dinner we have to walk my dog.
21	--> '''Zangoth:''' No, we don't.
22	* ArtShift: Twice. ''Why does the boiled lobster sing'' is drawn in a more stylized, Frank Miller-esque fashion that goes with the spoof FilmNoir feel. ''Woonsocket'', which is told from Burble's perspective, is in appropriately psychedelic full-color.
23	* BlackComedyRape[=/=]DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Lump and Balt.
24	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Burble.
25	* CrapsackWorld: Pretty much everyone is corrupt, uncaring, and/or grossly incompetent.
26	* CrazyPrepared: How can we get to the Moon? Why, on our [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum funk-powered]] space train, of course!
27	* DadaComics: I will only point out that the image for this article depicts a hallucinatory gargoyle giving romantic advice to an anthropomorphic frog who is in love with a circus freak whose house is full of vikings (again).
28	* DeadpanSnarker: Balt, though Fluble can display some acidic wit if he wants to.
29	* DeathIsCheap
30	* DeathbringerTheAdorable: Death Duck the Duck of Death.
31	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Death Duck the Duck of Death, ''The Mystery of Mystery Hill''
32	* TheDevilIsALoser: Bob, Lord of Hell
33	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: In the ''Killing Time'' storyline, Fluble [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin literally]] [[IncrediblyLamePun kills the manifestation of Time]], triggering the [[NiceJobBreakingItHero collapse of the universe]]. To be fair, Time had been a real {{Jerkass}}.
34	* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: ''The Chips of Doom''.
35	* EldritchAbomination: Woobie, the embodiment of wrath.
36	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Actually happens at the end of ''Wrath of Woobie Part 2''.
37	-->'''Clown:''' You know, I think I'm gonna miss the world.
38	-->'''Fluble:''' Eh. It was overrated.
39	* EvilTwin: Rubble, immediately [[LampshadeHanging called out]] for the cliché that he is.
40	* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: [[invoked]] The original website had an article entitled "How to read Fluble", explaining that it's completely fruitless to try and find any hidden meaning in Fluble.
41	* IDontPayYouToThink: One standalone strip rides this for all its worth, with Clown's boss saying no less than three variations of it:
42	-->"Dammit Coinean, I don't pay you to ask relevant questions! I pay you to shred Arruda files!"
43	-->"Dammit Coinean, I don't pay you to point out my obvious stupidity! I pay you to make Arruda files!"
44	-->"Dammit Coinean, I don't pay you to shred Arruda files! I pay you to shred Arruda files!"
45	* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: Played out almost verbatim (except with a puppy instead of a kitten), when Fluble wants to prove he can be scum in order to make himself attractive.
46	* KilledOffForReal: Subverted ''twice''. Less of a shock considering Fluble has died so many times he can do it at will.
47	* KillerRabbit: The Devil Bunny.
48	* NamesToTrustImmediately: Parodied with Burble's "mysterious benefactor", Vile Treacherous Bastard
49	* OnlySaneMan:
50	** Usually Balt.
51	*** Inverted in the ''Woonsocket'' storyline, which is narrated by Burble the Raving Nutjob, who repeatedly dismisses Balt's reasoning as "delirious ramblings".
52	** Handed over to Clown in the ''Why Does the Boiled Lobster Sing?'' storyline.
53	* PaperThinDisguise: Played straight (to an extreme) several times.
54	** At the final showdown in the ''Woobie'' saga, Fluble's Evil Future Self disguises himself as Jacques Cousteau by putting on a red knit cap. It works.
55	** In ''Onions Of Thunder'', Clown has to get out of her workplace so he asks Fluble and Burble to cover for her. When Clown's boss walks by, they both claim to be Clown (standing right next to each other). It works.
56	** In ''Do You Remember Love?'', Rubble once again attempts to take Fluble's place. Burble then drags in Zangoth dressed in a frog costume and proceeds to prove that he is the real Fluble by pointing out things such as "The real Fluble has a tag marked 'Fluble costume'", or that "the real Fluble is actually not Fluble at all". ''[[RuleOfThree It works]]''.
57	* ThePlan: Number One is a big fan of these.
58	* ThePowerOfLove: Subverted in ''Do You Remember Love?''. Fluble seems to be KilledOffForReal, and Clown sheds a single tear upon his lifeless body as she confesses that she loves him. Fluble immediately springs back to life...
59	--> '''Fluble:''' Really?
60	--> '''Clown:''' As a friend, yeah.
61	--> '''Fluble:''' That's what I came back from the dead for? Friend-love?
62	* PrivateEyeMonologue: Parodied in ''Why Does The Boiled Lobster Sing.''
63	* RuleOfFunny
64	* RunningGag: Fluble's attempts to hold down a job; Clown's short-lived pets.
65	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Clown is the only female in the main cast. The only other woman is Lump, who appears in ''Momentary Lapse of Reason'', and later for one scene in ''War of the Wigglums''.
66	* SoftGlass: Subverted as Fluble attempts a dramatic entrance by crashing through a skylight. Ouch.
67	* StatusQuoIsGod: No matter how a storyline ends, everything is back to the way it was before.
68	* TakeThat: Fluble mercilessly ridicules every possible demographic.
69	* TimeyWimeyBall: Played with in ''Wrath of Woobie Part 3'', only to throw it in the bin at the end.
70	-->'''Fluble:''' But if you kill me, you'll never have been born!
71	-->'''Fluble's Evil Future Self:''' [[ArcFatigue Who cares at this point?]] Just get into the vortex and die.
72	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: A space abomination, who happens to be named Woobie, and who is bent on destroying the universe because [[spoiler: Number One]] mistreated him as a child.
73	* {{Yandere}}: Lump.
74	* YouBastard: In one strip, Fluble and Burble thank the readers for their support, then call them a bunch of sick freaks.
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Context Webcomic / Fluble