History Webcomic / Academia

'' '''Academia''' '', "the webcomic for the intellectual in all of us", is a [[SliceOfLifeWebcomics slice-of-life webcomic]] about a pair of undergraduate students with different majors and different outlooks, who [[OddCouple live together.]] Stephen Janzen Gould is a high-strung, prickly ambitious student of neurobiology and immunology, who is making a genuine effort to be a more pleasant person to be around without compromising his academic future, and dealing with a minor inferiority complex. Pavel "Pasha" Moskowitz is a gigantic and affable Russian Jew with a double major in music and philosophy, easygoing but for his nightmares of ''[[TheDivineComedy Inferno]]'' and the occasional philosophical quandary.

* AnonymousRinger: Although the names on some of the buildings are changed, everything is visually modelled on University of Toronto and the surrounding neighbourhood.

* CanadaEh: In addition to the above instance of AnonymousRinger, Stephen, Ida, and Jack are all explicitly said to be from Canada on their character pages, and yet so far, there have been no particularly Canada-based jokes.

** Pasha's surname, girth, and violin-playing are likely references to Papa from ''AnAmericanTail''

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Gloriana's poster of CharlesDarwin, labelled "[[PublicEnemy Chuck D]]". Also, the above "Snarkosuchus" poster, and another poster for "[[MemeticMutation Socially Awkward]] [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort]]".

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Gloriana's poster of CharlesDarwin, labelled "[[PublicEnemy Chuck D]]". Also, the above "Snarkosuchus" poster, and another poster for "[[MemeticMutation Socially Awkward]] [[HarryPotter Voldemort]]".

* InsufferableGenius: Stephen is trying not to be this. Massively inverted with Jack.

* BigEater: Pasha. "I ''love'' cream eggs." Although he makes a point of keeping kosher.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Gloriana's poster of CharlesDarwin, labelled "[[PublicEnemy Chuck D]]". Also, the above "Snarkosuchus" poster.

* NonIndicativeName: I Thought [[TheDivineComedy Comedies]] Were Supposed To Be Funny

* RedOniBlueOni: Pasha is the blue one, and Stephen the red. Rather ironic, given that the more even-tempered one is the humanities student and the scientist is the irritable, energetic one.

** An octopus, a creature renowned for its flexibility and camouflage abilities, is named "Film/{{Zelig}}".

* StealthInsult: Pasha's grandfather tells him he'll be "seeing plenty of this circle." Pasha doesn't immediately recognize what that means: they're in the circle of the gluttonous.

* {{Tsundere}}: Both Ida and Ana are minor instances of this.

* NonIndicativeName: I Thought [[TheDivieComedy Comedies]] Were Supposed To Be Funny

* StealthInsult: Pasha's grandfather tells him he'll be "seeing plenty of this circle." Pasha doesn't immediately recognize what that means: they're in the circle of the slothful.

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Averted with Jack, but probably a deliberate invocation of this trope, since his character page describes him as "easy to resent".

* EggsBreadBreadedEggs: "Kids today with their rap music and their iPods and their cephalopods and their... [=cephaloiPods=]..."

Supporting characters include Gloriana, Stephen's lab partner, Jack, her roommate (who is awesome), Ida, a snarky figure skater, and Zelig, Pasha's pet coconut octopus.

* LovableJock: Jack

'''Academia''', "the webcomic for the intellectual in all of us", is a [[SliceOfLifeWebcomics slice-of-life webcomic]] about a pair of undergraduate students with different majors and different outlooks, who [[OddCouple live together.]] Stephen Janzen Gould is a high-strung, prickly ambitious student of neurobiology and immunology, who is making a genuine effort to be a more pleasant person to be around without compromising his academic future, and dealing with a minor inferiority complex. Pavel "Pasha" Moskowitz is a gigantic and affable Russian Jew with a double major in music and philosophy, easygoing but for his nightmares of ''[[TheDivineComedy Inferno]]'' and the occasional philosophical quandary.

* AllJewsAreAshkenazi: Pasha says he's Ashkenazi in one scene.

* AnonymousRinger: Although the names on some of the buildings are changed, everything is visually modelled on University of Toronto.

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Averted with Jack, who is the sort of character you expect you'll be required to hate.

** Pasha's character page features a variation on the ''HyperboleAndAHalf'' "Clean all the things" meme, and Jack's has a doodle of [[HomestarRunner Trogdor]], [[strike: burni]] ''integr''ating an equation.

* CargoShip: Pasha's breakup with his reading glasses.

* ArtShift: Pasha's dream sequences are done in the style of Gustave Dorais's illustrations for ''TheDivineComedy''.

* DeadpanSnarker: Ida, Ana, and Pasha's grandfather

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Gloriana's poster of CharlesDarwin, labelled "[[PublicEnemy Chuck D]]".

** One of the leads is a scientist named Stephen J. Gould.

* TheScottishTrope: Pasha's references to "[[{{God}} G-D]]"

* VisualPun: Some of Stephen's t-shirts

-->'''Zeyda''': I'm not having you pass out at Paolo and Francesca. Falling unconscious within a dream?\\

* CanadaEh: In addition to the above instance of AnonymousRinger, Stephen, Ida, and Jack are all explicitly said to be from Canada on their character pages.

* HuskyRuskie: Pasha

* JackAttack: Jack Fortinbras is awesome

'''Academia''', "the webcomic for the intellectual in all of us", is a [[SliceOfLifeWebcomics slice-of-life webcomic]] about a pair of undergraduate students with different majors and different outlooks, who [[OddCouple live together.]] Stephen Janzen Gould is a high-strung, prickly ambitious student of neurobiology and immunology, who is making a genuine effort to be a more pleasant person to be around without compromising his academic future, and dealing with a minor inferiority complex. Pavel "Pasha" Moskowitz is a gigantic and affable Russian Jew with a double major in music and philosophy, easygoing but for his nightmares of ''[[TheDivineComedy Inferno]]'' and the occasional philosophical quandary. Supporting characters include Gloriana, Stephen's lab partner, Jack, her roommate (who is awesome), Ida, a snarky figure skater, and Zelig, Pasha's pet coconut octopus.

* EverythingsSquishierWithCephalopoids: Zelig the octopus