->''"Two strangers, an apartment, and snow. A lot of snow."''

''Bricktown'' is a {{webcomic}} written and drawn by Christopher Barley. It stars a pair of strangers, Greg and Jill, who come to share an apartment because of a trick by a mutual acquaintance (his friend, her cousin). While at first the duo hate each other, they eventually come to care for one another as friends, and continue living together.

Set in a fictionalized version of UsefulNotes/{{Rochester}} known as "Bricktown" (which stems from the real-world Rochester Institute of Technology's nickname of Brick City), the series follows an EnsembleCast of Greg and Jill’s circle of friends and acquaintances, nearly all of which are [[JustForFun/OneOfUs nerds of some sort or another, just like the author himself]].

The story is a SliceOfLife RomanticComedy, focusing on primarily on the interactions and [[CharacterDevelopment developing relationships between the various characters]]. It relies heavily on humorous {{Story Arc}}s, with small comedic breaks, or potentially just filler art, between the arcs.

The humor comes variously from the interplay of characters (mostly [[OddCouple Greg and Jill]]), comedic {{shout out}}s to pop culture and nerd culture, the general idiosyncrasies of people, and the occasional jaunt into {{absurdism}}.

In general, just like real life, it falls fairly in the middle of the SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness, and most arcs will have an even amount of comedy and drama, though it's also very much into the "optimistic" end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, so even the serious moments end up being more tender and heartfelt than downright {{angst}}y.

Originally, it was hosted on Platform/TheDuck, but has since moved over to its own page on [[http://www.bricktowncomic.com BricktownComic.com]]

!!The comic features the following tropes:

* ACupAngst: Jill seems to be a little sensitive about her {{UsefulNotes/pettanko}} status, but mostly when people mock her about it.
** Jen, apparently, [[BigBreastPride likes to point out the substantial difference in size]] between them.
* ArtEvolution: As the author became more comfortable drawing the characters, and began using better materials, the character designs have become more set and detailed. A few notable instances:
** All the characters went from having fully-black irises in early colored comics, to each having a color unique to them in more recent comics
** The comic itself has gone from black and white to colored every day, since the author has become more proficient with Adobe Illustrator (and thus learned how to color in very short amounts of time)
** Greg’s hair began as vaguely square, then evolved to full-on boxy later on.
** Greg went from having normal eyebrows in the first few comics to BigOlEyebrows quickly
** Jill’s hair started out as vaguely flat on the bottom, like chin-length hair. As time went on, it’s morphed into a more spherical puffed-out [[TwentiesBobHaircut pageboy]].
** Jill was initially drawn as very slim or almost wiry. As time went on, befitting her sporty background, she developed a more athletic build, with fuller arms, [[HartmanHips shapelier legs]], and a toned tummy.
** Jill’s red shirt started out as loose-fitting, but over time became more form-fitting, most notably that it now hugs her arms
** Initially, Jill wore white lace-less tennis shoes with her Capri pants; more recently, because the weather has gotten much colder, she’s begun wearing boots that are the same shade of red as her shirt.
** Jen’s bust, which Greg notes at one point "are way bigger than Jill’s” started out as not being ''much'' bigger than Jill’s, and fluctuated a bit in size. Over time, however, she became bustier, and her design finally settled at around a D-cup.
* ArtifactTitle: Somewhat of a stealth example. While in this version of UsefulNotes/{{Rochester}}, the entire city is nicknamed "Bricktown," the title originally came from "Brick City," the nickname specifically for RIT, where the author had written the first modern iterations of the story. Once he graduated, and decided to have the characters be out of school as well, the name "Bricktown" was assigned to Rochester as a whole. [[AllThereInTheManual All this happened well before the comic was first published, however]].
* BigOlEyebrows: Greg, though he didn’t start out that way.
* BelligerentSexualTension: Greg and Jill. [[WordOfGod It’s the author’s favorite Trope]] on Website/TVTropes, and [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Ranma]] is one of his favorite {{Anime}}s, if that gives any indication of his preference for this trope (he often draws Greg {{cosplay}}ing as Ranma).
* ChainmailBikini: {{Averted}} with Boudicca, Jill’s character in D&D. She [[WordOfGod officially]] wears a [[HellbentForLeather leather muscle cuirass with leather platemail pteruges at her crotch and rear]], leather-and-fur gauntlets, a fabric bodysuit underneath, and fur knee-high boots. The only bit of skin showing is her face.
** Potentially {{inverted}}, however, since between her muscle cuirass and body suit, not a whole lot is [[AmazonianBeauty left up to the imagination anyway]].
* ClothingDamage: Appropriately enough when fighting a dragon, nearly everyone in the party suffers this and lacerations during the fight with the Shadow Dragon.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble:
** Greg – Sanguine
** Jill – Choleric
** Bill – Melancholic
** Jen – Phlegmatic, or more accurately, Phlegmatic-Sanguine.
* GibberishOfLove: Poor Bill at his first date with Jen. Trying to correct himself makes it even worse.
* GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Jen, by far the most [[TheAce well-composed character]] in the series, prefers wearing a lavender shirt.
* GratuitousGerman: Keeps popping up throughout the comic.
* LimitedWardrobe: PlayedWith. The characters obviously have their default/favored outfits, which they wear the majority of the time, but they are also shown wearing different outfits, as well, from time to time.
* MeaningfulName: Some of the Ziegelstadt Characters.
** Boudicca, a [[BarbarianHero Barbarian]], named for the Britonnic war-queen.
** Loge, a Rogue, named after the German version of Loki, God of [[TricksterArchetype Trickery]].
** Senvizagian Senoma, Curt’s [[KnightErrant Cavalier character]] meaning “No Face, No Name” in Esperanto
** Kyrie Eleison, Steve’s female {{Dhampyr}} [[TheGunslinger Gunslinger]]: “God/Lord Have Mercy”
* MrFanservice: Bill - [[OneHeadTaller Tall]], [[HeroicBuild with a very toned build]], [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold great hair]], just the slightest bit exotic, is prone to dorky moments, and [[SharpDressedMan looks great in a suit]].
* MsFanservice: Jen – [[AloofDarkHairedGirl tall, dark, and beautiful]], with bronze hair, great features, by far the smartest character, and a [[TheTease playful]], [[{{Dominatrix}} strong]], [[HeroicSeductress smoldering personality]].
* NoodleIncident: Two, in fact.
** Jill made the University of Pittsburgh's Men's Rugby Team cry… ''How'', exactly, is left up to the reader's imagination.
** Steve is no longer allowed to use rope in D&D, because he has caused “no less than three in-game apocalypses.” No further information is ever given, probably because of the trauma it would bring back to everyone (except Steve) involved.
* OutdoorsyGal: Give how tanned she is, it’s a safe bet to assume that Jill is/was one.
* PassionateSportsGirl: Jill, who comes from UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}} (where Football is revered more highly than God). She loves football, has a Steelers lamp in her room, and was captain of the MEN'S Rugby team at her undergraduate school, The University of Pittsburgh. She's very much a {{tomboy}}, and is [[BloodKnight more than up to a competition of any kind at any time]].
** Interestingly, it seems that Jen might actually be more athletic than Jill. Jen, a Psychiatry student, has 1-on-1 "Basketball-Therapy Sessions" with Jill, and seems to be better than her friend; she also [[CombatPragmatist seems to push Jill's buttons during them, to give herself even more of an advantage]], which has the added effect of making Jill deal directly with her issues.
* PietaPlagiarism: {{Invoked}} after Loge, Greg’s D&D character is put down to negative HitPoints
* PintSizedPowerhouse: Both Jill and her D&D Character, Boudicca. Despite being 5-foot-even, Jill is apparently strong enough to swing around an HDTV, or to throw a bowling ball with good accuracy.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Boudicca, whenever she [[{{Berserker}} Rages]].
** Jill, in real life, as well, gets red eyes when very, very angry. [[UnstoppableRage What comes next is usually painful]].
* RedOniBlueOni: Jill's red to Greg's blue. Greg is an [[JustForFun/OneOfUs unabashed nerd]] with a seemingly general mellow attitude, who can quickly turn into a Grade-A {{Cloudcuckoolander}} at the drop of the hat; Jill is a [[PassionateSportsGirl rabid sports fan]] with only hints of being a closet nerd, is generally more uptight and by-the-book than Greg, and has a HairTriggerTemper. To drive the point home, Greg's typical wardrobe consists of various shades of blue, while Jill's consists of shades of red.
* ShoutOut: The author is a [[JustForFun/OneOfUs self-proclaimed “horrendous nerd”]]. As such, the shout outs are many and often.
** The vast majority of strips’ titles are references to something.
** Greg and Jill live in [[Literature/{{Fahrenheit 451}} Room 451]]
** Greg is a fan of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''.
** Jen can be seen reading her favorite novel, ''Series/GameOfThrones'', in several strips.
** The strip, "Don't Do it, California!" is a giant ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Se7en}}''.
** Greg and Jill's first time really getting along involved ''Film/SpaceJam''.
*** Jill states that she wanted to be Lola when she was younger. [[{{Foreshadowing}} this becomes important later on]]
** Greg apparently applied to Stu's shop, "Rochester Alchemist and Barrister," in an [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Ed Elric Cosplay]], complete with Al plushy on his shoulder.
** When Greg tries to apologize to Jill, his efforts included getting her a football signed by Terry Bradshaw (she's from UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}), and him recreating [[SerenadeYourLover the boom-box scene]] from ''Film/SayAnything''.
** Greg drives a VW Beetle [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} with Autobot hubcaps]].
*** Said Beetle also has a very [[Film/TheLoveBug distinct carhorn]].
** During the “Welcome to Rochester” story arc, a whole flock of penguins [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment shows up in their apartment in one comic and are never mentioned again]]. Among the penguins is [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Pen-Pen]], and the comic is titled [[WesternAnimation/AdventureTime Gunther!?]]
** Greg and Jill play ''TabletopGame/{{Scrabble}}'' . As Greg points out, it’s [[CurbStompBattle not a smart idea to play ''Scrabble'' against a writer]]
** Greg is apparently a huge fan of Franchise/{{Superman}}: he wears red-and-blue boxer briefs with the [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS S-Shield on them]], and has a red-and-black Superman shirt similar to the one worn by [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Conner Kent]]
** Curt is a Trekker. He wears a turtleneck which looks like a Starfleet uniform from the [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Gen Era]], and a coat which explicitly is an official Next Gen jacket.
** Steve owns a jacket with a [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Decepticon]] symbol on the left breast.
** The cast are fans of TableTopGame/DungeonsAndDragons, though they openly play TableTopGame/{{Pathfinder}} rather than 4E. The entire first Ziegelstadt arc was, [[WordOfGod according to the author]], as accurate to the [[ShownTheirWork real Pathfinder rules as humanly possible]].
*** During that arc, Jill’s character attacks and hits the Shadow Dragon, but the damage “only grazes it.” Jill’s response is, of course, “[[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland How appropriate! It fights like a cow!]]”
*** When Steve’s character fires her pistol point-blank at the Dragon to finish it off, she gives a very familiar BondOneLiner: "[[Film/{{Jaws}} Smile, you son of a bi-]]"
** During the "When Billy Met Jenny" arc, Greg’s hair has grown long and unruly. Jill says his head looks like a [[Franchise/StarTrek Tribble]], and his hair's shape is very similar to [[Anime/CowboyBebop Spike Spiegel’s]]
* {{Tomboy}}: Jill, Jill, Jill. See both {{Tsundere}} and PassionateSportsGirl.
* TokenMinority: {{Inverted}} with the main cast of characters; only Jill, Randy, and Aaron are a) white, and b) Christian. As for the rest:
** Greg’s biography reveals him to be a [[{{UsefulNotes/Buddhism}} Buddhist]]
** Bill is Jewish, though he’s a typical [[InformedJudaism Moderate Jew]], so it’s not immediately obvious.
** Both Curt and Steve are black. While Curt’s family is completely American, Steve is [[TwoferTokenMinority half African American (his mother), half Afro-Brazilian (his father)]], thus his Portuguese last name, Rocha
** Jen is AmbiguouslyBrown, though she does have either dark blonde or very light brown hair. Her character bio says this is because she is half Cherokee, a quarter Melanese, and a quarter Dutch, so [[ShownTheirWork genetics are in her favor to have such a phenotype]].
** WordOfGod says Stu is Jewish, and shows more [[AllJewsAreAshkenazi "typically Jewish"]] traits. Then again, he’s also from {{Joisey}}, which in many ways overrides his other traits, especially his manner of speech.
** John is, of course, [[{{UsefulNotes/Buddhism}} Buddhist]], given that he left American to join a Buddhist Convent in Japan.
* {{Tsundere}}: Jill, with a HairTriggerTemper rivaling [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Akane Tendou]]. The author's even said that, while he created Jill and solidified her personality long before he discovered [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Ranma]], he doesn't deny the similar personalities, and rather enjoys the parallels between the characters.
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