History ComicStrip / LifeInHell

* GoodGriefAnotherPeanutsShoutOut: Groening has admitted that the striped shirts of Akbar and Jeff were based on those of Charlie Brown.

* BelligerentSexualTension: Ackbar and Jeff ''hate'' each other - and love each other, too.

* HaveAGayOldTime: {{Deconstructed}} when a homophobe angrily tells Ackbar and Jeff that "gay" used to mean happy. They tell him they're called that because they ''are'' happy.

''Life in Hell'', (later ''Life is Swell'' in 2007), was a weekly comic strip by MattGroening that ran from 1977 to 2012.

* MyCountryTisOfTheeThatISting: The strip pokes a lot of satrical jabs at American society.

* StrawmanPolitical: Groening doesn't think highly of RichardNixon, RonaldReagan and the right-wing. One strip identifies "voting Republican" as a psychological disorder.

* UndergroundComics: Early on. It's since become more mainstream, but still isn't as well known as Groening's [[{{WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons}} other]] [[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} creations]]. Also, unlike ''ZippyThePinhead'', ''Life In Hell'' was only syndicated to alternative weeklies and didn't appear as often.

* SadistShow

* StrawmanPolitical: Groening doesn't think highly of RichardNixon, RonaldReagan and the right-wing. One strip identifies "voting Republican" as a psychological disorder, for Pete's sake!

Matt Groening stated that he would continue the strip as long as possible, though his production was strained by work on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. There were also accusations that success, fame, marriage and fatherhood had all conspired to dull his edge. Meanwhile, the steady decline of alternative newsweeklies post millenium meant that the market for "underground" stips was steadily diminishing. Finally, on June 20th, 2012 with distribution down to fewer than a dozen papers Groening announced that ''Life in Hell'' would end altogether.

* There were actually a few mainstream papers that ran it, but only a small number.

The series focuses on the life of Binky, a bitter, depressed and thus "normal" rabbit stuck in a dead end job, with a bad apartment and regularly sees a therapist. The stories follow his interactions with other humanoid-animals and his misadventures as he deals with his own issues and those of the others around him.

Matt Groening stated that he would continue the strip as often as possible, though his production was strained by work on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', until, on June 20th, 2012, he announced that ''Life in Hell'' would end altogether.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Originally, Matt Groening was going to use ''LifeInHell'' as animated filler for ''The Tracy Ullman Show'', but after realizing that he would have to give up the rights to his creation, Groening (while waiting to pitch his idea to Creator/JamesLBrooks) drew up some crudely drawn humans and named them "The Simpsons." That's right; had Groening actually gone along with pitching ''LifeInHell'', there would be no ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]''.

* HaveAGayOldTime: {{Deconstructed}} when a homophobe angrily tells Ackbar and Jeff that "gay" used to mean happy. They tell him that's because they're called that because they ''are'' happy.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Originally, Matt Groening was going to use ''LifeInHell'' as animated filler for ''The Tracy Ullman Show'', but after realizing that he would have to give up the rights to his creation, Groening (while waiting to pitch his idea to JamesLBrooks) drew up some crudely drawn humans and named them "The Simpsons." That's right; had Groening actually gone along with pitching ''LifeInHell'', there would be no ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]''.

* EverythingsBetterWithBunnies: The main characters are rabbits because Groening claims they are the only animals he can draw recognizably well.

Matt Groening has stated he will continue the strip as often as possible, though his production is strained by work on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. On June 20th, 2012, he announced that Life in Hell would end all together.

* ButtMonkey: More often than not, Binky.
** And Bongo.
* CrapsackWorld: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin If the title didn't clue you in already]]