Line #92 Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic


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3	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/IWC_title_2515.gif]]
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5	->''"[[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial No, I'm totally not trying to get]] ''[[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/ Irregular Webcomic!]]'' [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial mentioned on every single page of]] [[Website/ThisVeryWiki TV Tropes]]."''
6	-->-- '''David Morgan Mar'''
7
8	A webcomic done with Franchise/{{LEGO}} figures and [[TabletopGames roleplaying]] miniatures, by [[Tropers/{{Dmmaus}} David Morgan-Mar]], an Australian physicist, who also perpetrates ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids''. Full of deliberately bad puns and surprisingly erudite references; one can learn a great deal just by reading the annotations. Despite the name it was updated daily.
9
10	The comic finished with strip #3198 on October 29th 2011, although weekly annotations continued alongside a re-run of the entire archive, with new annotations for each strip. In April 2015, after a successful Patreon campaign, David Morgan-Mar announced new strips on an at-least weekly basis, which commenced on April 26, 2015; initially just twice-weekly, the comic currently runs on weekdays, with the rerun continuing at weekends.
11
12	[[AC: Covers a number of ongoing themes, including:]]
13	* '''Fantasy:''' A group of roleplayers guide their party through a quest that tips the hat to Tolkien... before laughing at him.
14	* '''Space:''' A SpaceOpera [[GoneHorriblyWrong gone bad. Very, very bad]]. Like Fantasy, also intended to be chronicling the events of an RPG, rather than directly telling a story. [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/850.html With two of]] [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/polls/poll0158.html the same players, no less.]] [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/1009.html They transpose rather neatly.]]
15	* '''''Series/MythBusters'':''' Adam and Jamie test somewhat more unusual myths than normal (this one crosses over with the Death one, below, [[StuffBlowingUp a LOT]]).
16	* '''Steve and Terry:''' The adventures of a crocodile hunter ([[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed no, not THAT one]]), his long-suffering wife Terry, Dame Jane Goodall, and [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]].
17	* '''Nigerian Finance Minister:''' The source of [[FourOneNineScam all those spam e-mails]] and his quest to raise money. Funnier than it sounds. Has not appeared since the strip restarted.
18	* '''Creator/WilliamShakespeare:''' Shakespeare is a {{Fanfic}}-writing office worker.
19	* '''Cliffhangers:''' an ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' spoof. In a few early strips, [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/89.html this is also an RPG campaign]].
20	* '''Espionage:''' a spoof of Film/JamesBond, this time directly following the plot of the movies and with very few crossovers with other themes (and implied to exist outside the rest of the strip's continuity, given it continued as normal when the entire universe was destroyed). Got partway through ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'', but ended some time before the comic originally finished and only restarted, on an infrequent basis, in December 2020.
21	* '''Imperial Rome:''' Winner of a reader poll to introduce a new theme, but in practice was too difficult to write jokes for and has not been seen since 2009.
22	* '''Scientific Revolution:''' An excuse for DMM to write heartfelt annotations about Newton, Halley, Pascal, Pasteur, Linnaeus and their contemporaries.
23	* '''Martians:''' The attempts of a group of Martians to take over the world, and their encounters with an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Ordinary College Student]] and [[ImplausibleDeniability overly zealous]] [[TheMenInBlack government agent]].
24	* '''Pirates:''' ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin
25	* '''Supers:''' A hand-drawn theme featuring the adventures of some superhero RPG characters. Pretty much retired after 2008, as DMM doesn't draw those strips himself and the artist who did could only draw them in his spare time.
26	* '''''Series/StrangerThings'':''' The newest theme. Currently following the plot of the first season.
27	* '''Me:''' the ongoing adventures of the comic's author. This theme has not been revived since the restart.
28	* '''''Franchise/StarWars''''' and '''''Franchise/HarryPotter''''' parodies. The former isn't done much anymore, likely to leave some jokes for ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' (although it was revived in 2019 and has become pretty frequent since then), while the latter is often part of Shakespeare's fanfics.
29
30	The themes CrossOver very, very often in combinations you would not expect.
31
32	Death is common in all the themes and has its own theme as well. There is not just one Death, but Deaths for different causes, who get moved around depending on job performance. One, Death Of Being Wrestled To Death By Steve, got wrestled to death by Steve. Twice. The favorite death is [[ButtMonkey Insanely Overpowered Fireballs]], who has been [[GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity demoted and re-promoted several times]].
33
34	Can be found [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/ here]]
35
36	Not to be confused with ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow''.
37
38	There is an accompanying podcast (''Podcast/IrregularPodcast!''), which does original material. Number #13 is particularly funny for tropers.
39
40	----
41	!!''Irregular Webcomic!'' provides examples of:
42
43	* FourOneNineScam: The Nigerian Finance Minister theme is basically about what would happen if all those spam e-mails were legit requests from the Nigerian government.
44	** Steve (and the Nigerian government) fall victim to one when the king of Nigeria makes Steve his heir, only for Steve to get dragged to court. Jane Goodall is able to save him (though not the Nigerian treasury) by pointing out that Nigeria isn't and never has been a monarchy.
45	* AndTheAdventureContinues: When the crossover problems were resolved all of the different themes finished their quests and then had this ending.
46	* ArtEvolution: Or Photo Quality Evolution, anyway.
47	* ArtifactTitle:
48	** The title originally refers to the fact that the comic is being updated irregularly. Since 30 April 2004, it is now regular. This is even lampshaded in the [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/special/faq.html FAQ]] page.
49	** The Cliffhangers and Espionage themes are, like Fantasy and Space, named after the relevant ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' genre books, although the RPG elements were soon dropped in the former and never used in the latter. They still make ''sense'', but readers might wonder why those specific names, rather than "Pulp" and "Spies", or even "Montana Jones" and "James Stud".
50	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Despite what is mentioned under FourOneNineScam, while Nigeria ''is'' a republic, it also has ''numerous'' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_traditional_rulers kings, princes, chiefs, emirs, and others]], all recognized by the Nigerian government.
51	* AWizardDidIt: Paris [[spoiler: clone]]. Although at that point we almost have the explanation.
52	%%* AuthorGuestSpot
53	* BackToFront: [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1667.html "My personal time stream has been running backwards for some reason, and this strip doesn't have a punchline."]]
54	* BaitAndSwitchComparison: has the following exchange after Lambert describes his encounter with a Gollum-{{Expy}}
55	-->'''Lambert''': It was going to ''eat'' me and then ''steal'' it (i-e: Lambert's ring)!
56	-->'''Kyros''': Strange how one can become so tainted by lustfor wealth and power, as embodied in shiny trinkets, and corrupted to such a wretched state.
57	-->'''Mordecai''': Yes, but what about this creature he mentioned?
58	%%* BaitAndSwitchGunshot
59	* BananaInTheTailpipe: [[https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/5005.html One comic]] features a joke about destroying the Death Star by stuffing a "giant three-eyed Kinyenian potato" into the same thermal exhaust port that Luke shot with a proton torpedo in [[Film/ANewHope the movie.]]
60	* BeatPanel: A favorite device of the author, heavily lampshaded
61	* TheBigDamnKiss: [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3075.html Right here.]] And it's about damn time.
62	* BigNo: The GM [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/585.html here]] when the Fantasy characters decide to split up to get their prelimary tasks done quickly.
63	* BigWordShout: '''[[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2813.html Kiiiiiirrrrrrkkk!!!]]'''
64	* BookEnds: Excluding the series of guest strips that followed, the comic itself [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3182.html ended]] as it [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1.html began]]
65	** During the overly long "Orcrift Mountains" arc, at one point, the caravan runs away from yet another Balrog after traveling through time, [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2152.html only for Kyros to catch up again without the Balrog around]]. The storyline is then interrupted by the CrisisCrossover in early 2009. When the storyline [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2279.html finally resumed]], the last two panels of the pre-interruption are repeated before Kyros finally revealed what he had done with the Balrog.
66	-->'''Alvissa:''' Kyros! But... but... the Balrog!\
67	'''Kyros:''' Yeah, yeah. Not a problem.\
68	'''Alvissa:''' How do you keep ''doing'' that?
69	* BrickJoke: In the annotation of [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/1324.html strip 1324]]: "[[spoiler: In fact, Loren is a Martian.]] This will be revealed in strip #1500." Sure enough, [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/1500.html strip 1500]]. [[WordOfGod According to the rerun annotations]], the author did not seriously intend to follow through with it at first.
70	%%* BrainInAJar: UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler himself.
71	* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Every character has their own distinct colour for speech bubbles, although as [[https://irregularwebcomic.net/2206.html this strip]] notes, this can occasionally cause problems when themes crossover in unexpected ways.
72	%%* ColorCodedPatrician: The head Death.
73	* CrisisCrossover: [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/comic.php?current=2161&dir=next5 at the end of 2008]], [[spoiler: the universe imploded due to [[TemporalParadox temporal paradoxes]] ocurring [[MeanwhileInTheFuture simultaneously]] in most of the themes. The characters all ended up at the Infinite Featureless Plane of Death, but eventually managed to get their respective continuities [[ContinuityReboot rebooted]]]].
74	** Although they might not have gotten it completely right... [[spoiler: Nazis run the world.]]
75	* DeadArtistsAreBetter: Discussed in this [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1890.html strip]].
76	* DeathIsCheap: None of the Deaths have actually collected more than one soul in the entire storyline. Nor, for that matter, have they collected a pay-check, leading to DeathTakesAHoliday...
77	** Death of Being Ground by a Mars Rover Rock Abrasion Tool might be getting his chance soon, though!
78	* DeathTakesAHoliday: The Deaths going on strike.
79	%%* DeconstructorFleet
80	%%* DeepImmersionGaming
81	* DemotedToExtra: Quercus from the Space theme is currently this.
82	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Wrestle out Cthulhu, technically. Steve also wrestled to death [[spoiler:[[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/657.html Death of Being Wrestled to Death by Steve when he showed up to collect the soul]], which caused its own problems.]] That introduced the [[spoiler: Paradox Department, which is run by a giant frog.]] He has ''also'' wrestled a [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Balrog]] to death. Without even getting any burns.
83	* DistractedByTheSexy: From the annotations:
84	-->''I did half a year of French at high school. I don't think I absorbed much beyond "Je m'appelle David." You'd think I would have paid more attention to the luscious young Miss P. who was our teacher... or maybe that was my problem.''
85	* DoneAGeorgeLucas: Redirect Namer (with kind permission from Dr. Morgan-Mar), referencing his adding missing sound effects to a podcast.
86	* DontExplainTheJoke: This is the comic that averts this rule to the point that you'd never know it existed. If there is any chance that a [[ViewersAreGeniuses non-genius in the audience]] will not get the joke, it will be explained, in great detail. Not only are the explanations incredibly interesting in their own right but they often make the actual joke ''funnier''. [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2414.html This comic's]] annotation brings explaining the joke up to eleven.
87	* DressedToPlunder: Pirates can be easily identified by their fancy hats.
88	* DyingRace: The author pointed out that a page on this trope is desperately needed here, in TheRant to [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2765.html strip #2765]]. Four days later, he apparently got tired of waiting and started the page.
89	* EasterEgg: In [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1466.html this]] strip.
90	* EarlyBirdCameo: The Great Dragon Sage Ardaxar makes one in [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2252.html this strip]], during [[spoiler:the simultaneous explosions the characters cause to restart the universe]].
91	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Early on, all of the themes (except for ''Steve and Terry'') were posited as roleplaying games with Morgan-Mar as the DM. All of them ended up dropping this, though it stuck with ''Space'' and ''Fantasy'' for a while.
92	* EightiesHair: In flashbacks to [[Series/MythBusters Jamie and Adam]] in college.
93	* EldritchAbomination: [[Creator/HPLovecraft Cthulhu]] (in the form of a Lego octopus mounted on a tyrannosaurus miniature) is a recurring character, and often gets wrestled by Steve.
94	* ElementalPlane: The Infinite Featureless Plane of Death. Note that this is apparently a parody/shout out to ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', even though the author denies (in jest) ever reading that series.
95	** However, it isn't truly featureless (Link needed: Reference to stubs on the ground), and it [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1280.html might not be infinite]]
96	* EloquentInMyNativeTongue: Draak. Justified because the structure of his mouth and throat makes it very difficult to speak English.
97	* [[BuiltWithLego Everything's Built with LEGO]]: With the exception of Space and Fantasy themes, which use RPG figures, and Supers, which is drawn.
98	* ExpospeakGag: "[[Webcomic/BobTheAngryFlower Robert the Infuriated Inflorescence]]"
99	* FateWorseThanDeath: Death of Insanely Overpowered Fireballs is demoted to this at one point. He's not clear on exactly what he's supposed to do with the people who suffer from him -- he can't collect them like a proper Death does, after all...
100	* FictionalCurrency: The Fantasy theme uses copper coins called commons, silver coins called nobles, and gold coins called royals. Nobles are the most commonly used; the names of the other two are mentioned in [[https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1056.html the annotation]].
101	* FunWithAcronyms: '''S'''ecret '''A'''ction '''Squa'''dron '''T'''eam of '''C'''ryptid '''H'''unters.
102	%%* GeniusBruiser: Draak
103	* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: As stated above, Death of Insanely Overpowered Fireballs has been demoted and then reinstated so many times that it is hard to keep track of his job. Other deaths are also shuffled around, but poor, old Fireballs falls victim to this the most [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3155.html This may not happen anymore, though]].
104	%%* GirlOnGirlIsHot: [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/2561.html Here]].
105	* GoldSilverCopperStandard: The currency in the Fantasy theme is copper coins called commons, silver coins called nobles, and gold coins called royals.
106	* TheGrimReaper: An entire enterprise of them, manned by a cynical "Head Death".
107	* HerCodenameWasMarySue: William Shakespeare writes those ''Literature/HarryPotter'' [[FanFic fanfics]] where the exchange student Will charms Hermione. He also writes the novelisation of the movie of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' where he creates the character Willimir (Faramir and Boromir's handsomer younger brother). Willimir is the new love interest for Éowyn.
108	* HiddenInPlainSight: [[spoiler: The Ruby of Dwarven Might from the Arcane Crown of Power turns out to be the gem on Mordekai's belt]].
109	%%* HisNameIs: Parodied [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/443.html here.]]
110	* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: Sir Isaac Newton is portrayed as a [[Series/DoctorWho Time Lord]], and gathers various scientists from history to fix the time stream.
111	%%* HookHand: Colonel Haken
112	* HurricaneOfPuns: Constantly.
113	** [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/2826.html Exhibit A]]: 2.7 puns per panel with one pun-less panel.
114	** Then there's such things in the "Steve" theme as "Stoats in a boat", "Weasels on a diesel", and others.
115	%%* HypocriticalHumour: Starts with this.
116	%%* IKnowMortalKombat: Ishmael
117	* IShouldWriteABookAboutThis: Lambert, at the end of the first great Fantasy quest. He even titles it ''There and Back Again, or The Hobbit''. [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3156.html Here]].
118	%%* IllTakeTwoBeersToo: [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/961.html Here.]]
119	%%* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Actually ''featured''.
120	%%* IncrediblyLamePun: A lot.
121	%%* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/743.html Here]].
122	%%* ItWillNeverCatchOn: The "Imperial Rome" theme.
123	%%* IWasQuiteAFashionVictim
124	* LampshadeHanging: Lampshades lampshading, twice. Sometimes in later strips the LampshadeHanging takes the form of a link to this wiki.
125	%%* LandDownunder: See also DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu.
126	* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: Head Death is the only Death to wear a non-black cape. It's blue.
127	* TheLonelyDoor: There is a teleportation gate connecting the sister villages of Footcrag and Cragfoot, on opposite sides of the nigh-impassable Orcrift Mountains. [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1880.html As explained here]].
128	%%* LookBothWays
129	%%* LoveableRogue: Mordekai insists on being called this.
130	%%* MeanwhileInTheFuture: Lampshaded in [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2177.html this strip]].
131	%%* TheMole: [[spoiler: Erwin]].
132	* MyBrainIsBig: The male telepath [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/219.html seen in the Space theme]].
133	* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: At one point, one of Death of Insanely Overly Powered Fireballs' demotions had an extremely strange name. Death of Being Stared at Angrily by a Giant Frog.
134	%%* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Steve
135	* NoSwastikas: Not in the comic itself, which features swastikas in some of the early "Cliffhangers" strips, but Lego doesn't make a Hitler figurine (although you can make one using certain parts, the author chose not to). The author made him a brain in a jar. Before WWII.
136	* NonIndicativeName: In its original run, the comic actually updated with extreme regularity; even after being resumed, it has (and sticks to) a fairly strict schedule, though with irregular bonus updates. On the other hand, the ''content'' is highly irregular (and leaps irregularly between plot arcs.)
137	* TheNothingAfterDeath: Parodied a bit with the Infinite Featureless Plane of Death. Which isn't featureless as Head Death has a desk and [[spoiler: the Paradox Department has an office door and his receptionist has a desk.]]
138	** Not to mention the potentially [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1280.html non-infinite implication of the positive curvature ...]]
139	* OddlySmallOrganization: Thus far, we've only seen a maximum of maybe a dozen-odd Deaths.
140	* TheOmnipotent: X introduces himself as "semi-omnipotent". He can displace a starship thousands of parsecs with no trouble at all, but
141	->'''X:''' I can create a rock so heavy that I can't lift it. And then: ''I can't lift it''! An ''actual'' omnipotent being ''would'' be able to lift it.
142	%%* OrganTheft: An extended plotline in the Space theme.
143	* OverlyLongGag:
144	** The start of 2009. [[spoiler: The Scientific Revolution theme currently (Aug. 2010) has a story line dealing with paradoxes created as a result of the explosion that destroyed the universe.]]
145	** Will Shakespeare's discussion of overuse of BeatPanel.
146	* OverlyLongName: Valentina Irina Ranevskaya Galina Ivana Natalya Iriyushka Anastasia Sonyechka Marinochka Ineslenka Tatyana Hvorostovskya, a.k.a. Dr Ginny Smith.
147	%%* PhotoComic
148	* APirate400YearsTooLate: The pirates become this when they are [[AWizardDidIt arbitrarily]] transported to [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/comic.php?current=2662&theme=10&dir=next5 1940.]]
149	%%* PirateGirl: Wendy Wenchgood .
150	%%* PlantAliens: Quercus
151	%%* PlotTailoredToTheParty: Played with in the "Supers" theme.
152	* PreAssKickingOneLiner: [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2694.html "It's science, Punk!"]] Made even better by the annotation.
153	* PublicDomainCharacter: Several, including Hitler, Shakespeare and Cthulhu.
154	%%* PunnyName: Loren Ipsum.
155	* RaidersOfTheLostParody: The ''Cliffhangers'' theme is one big AffectionateParody of ''Indiana Jones''.
156	%%* TheRant
157	* RebuiltSet: Old Lego sets that have been taken apart [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/579.html need to]] be [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/865.html rebuilt occasionally]]. Sometimes [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3887.html 8 years later]].
158	* RubberBandHistory: A changed WWII and Hitler's Brain in a jar.
159	* RunningGag: Mostly involving Death, giant frogs and insanely-overpowered fireballs. Not to mention regular (every 100 strips or so) hobbit puns, "Oh yeah, I killed a Balrog [some number of "Again"s]", and "Nazi science sneers at X!" Two of these are [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2754.html here]].
160	* SerialEscalation: When a Darth Maul avatar showcases his weapon in [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/82.html Comic 82]], the heroes take their [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-upmanship one-upmanship]] up to eleven.
161	-->Darth Maul: "Fear my trendy double-bladed laser sword!"
162	-->Out of the way, Paris, so I can use my quadruple laser sword!
163	-->Quintuple!
164	-->Septuple!
165	%%* ServileSnarker: Erwin.
166	%%* SesquipedalianSmith: Parodied with the Jones family.
167	%%* SignedUpForTheDental
168	%%* SingleBiomePlanet: Lampshaded.
169	* SingleIssueWonk / BerserkButton: DMM really, ''really'' [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2623.html hates]] ''TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}}''.
170	* ShakespeareInFiction: A modern version, who writes ''Literature/HarryPotter'' {{fanfic}}s. He likes self-inserts, which means there's also Shakespeare in Fiction in Fiction. Provided it's canon in both storylines, [[spoiler: Will was kicked out of the [[Series/DoctorWho TARDIS]] by the scientists in the Scientific Revolution storyline as they were gathering scientists after it was pointed out Will wasn't a scientist. He was kicked out around 1990 because they didn't have time to take him back to the 1500s.]]
171	* SocialSemiCircle: Will, Ophelia and Mercutio watching Mr Marlowe's Powerpoint presentation in the Shakespeare thread. Mentioned in the commentary [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/644.html here]].
172	* SplashPanel: [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1455.html Here]] and [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1497.html there]]. .
173	* StableTimeLoop/Unstable Time Loop: Occurs in almost every theme, often [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. Of note is the time [[spoiler: Serron and Iki Piki's future selves attempt to bust them out of jail. It fails. Their past selves ultimately get their organs stolen, so they end up stealing the organs from their future selves.]] Then...
174	** TimeyWimeyBall: Things eventually get so bad that [[spoiler: the universe gets destroyed.]])
175	** Death of Inhaling Hatmaking Chemicals collects Jamie after he died of an insanely overpowered fireball, which led to a fight between him and Death of Insanely Overpowered Fireballs. The fight eventually escalated to the point where the Head Death gets involved, and he punishes them by his usual method of demotion and promotion, promoting Inhaling Hatmaking Chemicals to Insanely Overpowered Fireballs. But he does it retroactively, meaning that Inhaling Hatmaking Chemicals is responsible for the last two victims of insanely overpowered fireballs- the first of which was Jamie.
176	* StealthPun:
177	** Shakespeare in [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/967.html #967]] has a chance to occupy "office B down on level 2". Does he want it? A dialog box for "[=PunGuard=] 2.1" covers the pun in the comic! It would have been a pun on ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'': "2B or not 2B, that is the question."
178	** [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1996.html Comic #1996]] seems to be setting up [[RunningGag yet another]] hobbit-pun. Lambert doesn't tell the pun, and the annotation links to this very trope page. Only Morgan-Mar knows the intended pun for sure. It might have been "Don't make a hobbit of it", or perhaps "Don't burn the hobbit", a pun on "burn the habit."
179	** Another example: in [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2096.html comic #2096]], Lambert's hobbit-pun is ruined by a (rather ominous, but that's not the point) cough. Lambert probably meant "hobbit-tat," a pun on "habitat."
180	** [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/3177.html The Quintessential Fifth Elementalist.]] [[spoiler:Consider the literal meaning of the word "quintessential".]]
181	%%* StripBuffer
182	* StuffBlowingUp: The line from ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' "Explosions fix everything!" could have applied here, since several characters think it might be able to restart the universe, and some are preparing to make things explode. The existence of the character "Death of Insanely Overpowered Fireballs" says a lot.
183	* StupidJetpackHitler: Pretty much the entire "Cliffhangers" theme.
184	* StylisticSuck: Shakespeare's in-comic writing of his own ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fanfiction.
185	* SubmarinePirates: The pirates somehow end up in 1940 and [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/comic.php?current=2735&theme=10&dir=next5 hijack a German U-boat]].
186	* TakeThat: [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2870.html #2870]], among other. DMM even apologizes for it in the annotation.
187	* TechnoBabble: [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1503.html This strip]] brings it up to eleven before lampshading it.
188	* TemporalParadox: Built up to during the latter half of 2008, when pretty much all the themes started TimeTravel {{story arc}}s, and eventually a few of those (as well as the Large Hadron Collider) started leading to paradoxes. [[spoiler:5 or so paradoxes occurred, and on New Year's Eve culminated in an "ominously silent explosion". New Year's Day's comic is just a big blank expanse, marked as a crossover between every theme except the "isolated" ones.]] Later, it was the subject of ''another'' crossover arc.
189	-->'''Head Death:''' [[spoiler:Alright, who destroyed the universe?]]
190	* TheyKilledKennyAgain: Adam and Jamie in particular, but by all means not the only people to die multiple times.
191	-->'''Adam:''' You can only die once. Busted!
192	%%* ThoseWackyNazis
193	* TonightSomeoneDies: Morgan-Mar announced the permanent death of a major character before the end of 2007. After setting up most of the regulars in highly perilous situations, [[spoiler:31 December came about -- and the "Me" character, Morgan-Mar in person, was killed.]]
194	* TorchesAndPitchforks: Wielded by several angry mobs in the Fantasy theme, usually after the heroes have (more or less) accidentally burnt down their village. First seen [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/650.html here]], also [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1062.html here]], and [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1137.html here]].
195	* JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife: Mentioned InUniverse--[[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2177.html this strip]] warns "Do not click if you have something urgent you need to do today!"
196	%%* [[TwoLinesNoWaiting Two]] ''[[SerialEscalation Dozen]]'' [[TwoLinesNoWaiting Lines No Waiting]]
197	%%* UnnecessarilyLargeInterior: The [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1455.html Hall of Dworin]].
198	* UnsoundEffect:
199	** [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2964.html TRANSCEND!]]
200	** [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1949.html Grab! Climb! Maintain precarious grip!]]
201	** [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3032.html ICE!]]
202	* ViewersAreGeniuses: And some of the [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1280.html more]] [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1960.html complex]] [[http://irregularwebcomic.net/341.html ones]] come with [[DontExplainTheJoke footnotes]], which may or not be related to the strip in some tiny way.
203	%%* WallOfText: Parodied [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1159.html here.]]
204	* [[WebcomicsLongRunners Webcomics Long Runner]]: By [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2000.html his own count]], the 18th longest-running webcomic in existence[[note]]Using strip count as a metric. He notes his strip-a-day schedule means his count increases more than twice as fast as the popular Monday-Wednesday-Friday pattern.[[/note]].
205	** Has [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3160.html long since]] gone well past the [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3000.html 3000]] mark.
206	%%* WebcomicTime: Lampshaded, complete with link to the Website/TVTropes page in TheRant.
207	* WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: The invading Martians in the theme of the same name.
208	* WeirdTradeUnion: Deaths on strike. [[spoiler: Which was eventually broken.]]
209	* WhamEpisode: The author (as a character of the comic), promised on strip 1667 that a major character would die before the end of the year. On strip 1800 (on New Years Eve no less), he makes good on his promise. [[spoiler: He kills himself.]]
210	** The next year ends with [[spoiler: several paradoxes occurring in all the strips, causing the universe to collapse and everyone from all the strips ending up on the Infinite Featureless Plane of Death [[DeathIsCheap (again for some)]].]]
211	* WriterOnBoard: The Shakespeare theme started out as a one shot railing against the culture-deadening evils of Microsoft [=PowerPoint=], though it moved away from this quickly.
212	%%* YouHaveFailedMe
213

Context Webcomic / IrregularWebcomic