Line #57 Webcomic/StrangePlanet


1	A {{Main/Webcomic}} by artist Nathan W. Pyle.
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3	[[InAWorld Taking place on an unknown planet]], at an unknown time, with simple and unnamed TheGreys-style alien beings as the stars, "Strange Planet" functions as a goofy mirror of our own planet in our own time simply by using only ExpospeakGag dialog.
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5	A [[WesternAnimation/StrangePlanet2023 television adaptation]] developed by Pyle and Creator/DanHarmon will premiere on Creator/AppleTVPlus August 6, 2023.
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7	----
8	!! Tropes used in this comic include:
9	* AcidRefluxNightmare: A being is seen as a nightclub bouncer selectively letting pizza slices in, only for them all to charge past him. He wakes up with a nearly-empty pizza box in his lap.
10	-->"What the unpleasant nonsense."
11	* AlcoholInducedIdiocy: A proposed round of "harmless fun with sharp objects" is made less harmless by the suggested introduction of "liquid that affects our logic."
12	-->"This part seems unwise."
13	-->"I ingested some already."
14	-->"Thus your bad idea."
15	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: An [[MeetTheInLaws introduction to the lifegivers]] goes predictably awry when they show the newcomer an extensive collection of "[[EmbarrassingOldPhoto regrettable images]]" of their offspring in various phases.
16	-->"[[IWasQuiteAFashionVictim Many beings wore those]]."
17	* AmusingAlien: ''Strange Planet'' posits that ''[[HumansThroughAlienEyes we’re]]'' [[HumansThroughAlienEyes the Amusing Aliens]].
18	* ApologizesALot:
19	-->"I caused the collision yet you conveyed remorse."
20	-->"It is my habit. I convey remorse to any being I collide with."
21	-->"That is consistently considerate."
22	-->"And even to some inanimate objects."
23	-->"That is odd but harmless."
24	* BlandNameProduct: Observe the adventures of the [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Marvelous Being]]!
25	* BlanketTugOWar: A being in bed with another notes that their respective quantities of blanket are “disproportionate” and attempts to make up the deficit, insisting, “Semiconscious selfishness is still selfishness.”
26	* BreakingTheFourthWall: In the final comic in the first book, a tattoo artist gives the main characters [[spoiler:a copy of the book itself.]]
27	* CallARabbitASmeerp: More like "Call a rabbit a long-eared quadruped with primarily saltatory motion", but still...
28	* CanineCompanion: Like us, many of the beings have an infatuation with dogs, or their planet’s three-eyed, allergy-inducing equivalent.
29	* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: One being attempts to mitigate the sadness caused by missing others by recalling their most annoying habits, but tearfully concludes, "I want to be aggravated by them."
30	* CatsAreMean: [[DownplayedTrope While it doesn't get as harsh a treatment as some examples]], the destructive behavior and "aloof and indifferent" attitude of cats is handled in a way likely to resonate with cat-owners.
31	* CardiovascularLove: The strangeness of this convention is [[{{Lampshaded}} lampshaded]] several times.
32	-->"I drew a vital organ [[CupidsArrow being wounded]]."
33	-->"Critically!"
34	* ChildishPillowFight: "Comfort square combat."
35	* CountingSheep: Or in ''Strange Planet'' terms, "number[ing] woolen creatures."
36	* DeadpanSnarker: Many of the beings.
37	* DogsAreDumb: One dog is brought to the doctor for "ingesting objects that are not sustenance" ("Common!")
38	-->"Your creature will function normally."
39	-->"I hope with more wisdom."
40	-->"The creature's inquisitiveness will overwhelm their wisdom."
41	-->"Ah."
42	* DotingGrandparent: Two young beings are excited to be left in the care of their "super lifegivers," who refuse them nothing.
43	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: As Pyle has commented, some early strips use words that he would later invent ExpospeakGag substitutes for, such as "animal" (which invariably becomes "creature" later on). A few strips have been subject to OrwellianRetcon to reflect this: for example, the published book version of an early comic about parents introducing their new baby has them declare its weight in "hand-rocks" instead of pounds.
44	** In one early comic, one being calls another Alex. In subsequent comics, all beings are unnamed.
45	* EarthAllAlong: Literally, the "Strange Planet" of the title remains unnamed. Allegorically, its name is obvious.
46	* ExpospeakGag: 100% of the dialog, and the trope that gives the comic most of its humor. Its aliens simply using Expospeak on even the most mundane activities (e.g.: visiting neighbors, giving a hug, having a pet), it highlights the silliness and foibles of humans. The one exception is the rarely appearing tattoo artist who speaks normally... and says he picked it up [[spoiler: reading ''Strange Planet'']].
47	** On a more in-universe level, one comic has a being investigating "independent horticultural strategies"—in other words, playing [[VideoGame/AnimalCrossing Creature Intersection]].
48	* ExtraEyes: Most animals, including creatures resembling dogs, bears, and birds, are distinguished from their terrestrial counterparts by having three eyes. Cats are an odd exception.
49	* FantasticFaunaCounterpart: The dog equivalent is bright red and has [[ExtraEyes three eyes]]. The cat equivalent is just a cat.
50	* FleetingPassionateHobbies:
51	-->"I'm pursuing a new skill."
52	-->"What happened to the previous skill?"
53	-->"I did not immediately excel so I abandoned the pursuit."
54	-->"Is excellence in any skill possible without a dedicated effort?"
55	-->"I'm dedicated to finding out."
56	* FlowersOfRomance:
57	-->"Also these are dying."
58	-->"So meaningful."
59	* TheGreys: The subjects of the comic. Although when colored they're more "the Blues".
60	* HandsInPockets: The aliens are depicted from the waist up unless the action requires otherwise- even when their lower bodies are visible in a panel they'll often be wearing socks, sitting under a blanket or else something will be obscuring their feet. When the strips were published as a physical book, Pyle jokingly touted more depictions of feet as a selling point.
61	* HumanoidAliens: Nondescript, unisex-appearing TheGreys are the only speaking characters. However, this isn't a [[SciFiWebcomics Sci-Fi Webcomic]] -- everything they do is something entirely human.
62	* HumansThroughAlienEyes: By portraying common human actions as AmusingAlien customs, the strip shows us how we might appear to another species.
63	* HypocriticalHumor: A RunningGag has one of the beings commenting on the unfathomable nature of cat behavior while obliviously indulging in similar behavior (for instance, chuckling over the cat's pursuit of a laser pointer before playing a video game).
64	* ICantLookGesture: One being can only observe horror movies selectively through a "digit lattice."
65	-->"[[MoodWhiplash The pleasant moments always precede terrifying moments. ... I can't trust them]]."
66	* ImNotAHeroIm: Dialogue from an in-universe action flick:
67	-->"You preserved my existence."
68	-->"[[AllAPartOfTheJob I'm merely participating in my vocation.]]"
69	* IndirectKiss: {{Discussed}} between a couple who accidentally used the same "mouthstone scrubber." One is disgusted while the other doesn't see why it's a big deal.
70	-->"Is that more intimate than when we mouthpush?"
71	-->"Mouthpushing is acceptable mouth intimacy."
72	* KaraokeBox:
73	-->"We will pay you to let us sing as badly as we want."
74	-->"I will amplify your voices in an insulated chamber."
75	-->"Perfect because only our friends will want to hear this."
76	-->"I know I don't."
77	* LaboriousLaziness:
78	-->"Did you complete your formal education assignment?"
79	-->"No. But I organized my chamber."
80	-->"You used one responsibility to evade another."
81	-->"Yes."
82	-->"This will be a crucial productivity strategy for the rest of your existence."
83	* MadAtADream:
84	-->"Last night in a semiconscious state, I imagined you betrayed me. When I awoke these imagined events made me suspicious of the real you. What an irrational reaction."
85	-->"Truly!"
86	-->"And yet."
87	* MasterOfNone:
88	-->"As the popular sentence states...[[JackOfAllTrades I am somewhat competent at many tasks]] but not very competent at any task."
89	* MathematiciansAnswer: A few strips have this punchline, such as one about a being struggling to create a "fictional narrative" who is asked if said struggle is "substandard or routine" ("Yes").
90	* MiddleChildSyndrome: Two lifegivers assigning roles to their spawn:
91	-->"You [the youngest] must be protected."
92	-->"You [the oldest] must be responsible."
93	-->''({{Beat}})''
94	-->"[[TriviallyObvious You are center offspring]]."
95	* MustHaveCaffeine: Some beings function by consuming "jitter liquid" in organ-threatening amounts.
96	* ObliviousToHisOwnDescription: A young offspring invading its lifegiver's rest chamber, unable to lose consciousness.
97	-->'''Lifegiver:''' Please reattempt. I must rest for tomorrow's events.
98	-->'''Offspring:''' What occurs tomorrow?
99	-->'''Lifegiver:''' I am supervising a small being and feeding them multiple times.
100	-->'''Offspring:''' That sounds exhausting.
101	-->'''Lifegiver:''' [[DeadpanSnarker It is]].
102	* OceanAwe: Two beings are depicted experiencing this, with one noting that it's still a novelty due to growing up "[[FlyoverCountry in the middle of the farfromliquid]]."
103	* PlanetOfHats: Planet of beings leading similiar lives as humans but speaking in a formal and abstract way.
104	* [[RingRingCrunch Ring...Ring...CRUNCH]]: Invoked.
105	-->”I wish to harm the melody machine.”
106	* RuleAbidingRebel: One couple are amused to find their offspring engaged in "mild rebellion" in the form of a SkeletonMotif sign affixed to a bedroom door, noting the "gentle adhesive" with which it's attached.
107	* ShoutOut: Observation of the re-assembled bones of a perished creature leads to this:
108	-->"Sometimes [[Film/JurassicPark existence locates a path]]."
109	* StickFigureComic: The art style is black-and-white line art with no distinguishing characteristics of the unnamed aliens. Pyle occasionally adds touches of pastel colors to reprint some of his more popular strips.
110	* SatireParodyPastiche: Very light and Horatian satire, with the intention of just showing some of the weirdness of our lives we just take for granted by using defamiliarization through Expospeak.
111	* SpockSpeak
112	* SickeninglySweethearts:
113	-->"I have tumbled head above feet for you."
114	-->"You remove the air from my lungs."
115	-->"You have unrightfully taken my vital organ."
116	-->"[[ThirdWheel I am observing the distant ceiling]]."
117	* TeachersOutOfSchool: A young being is flabbergasted to observe an instructor "outside of the learning chamber."
118	-->"All beings exist outside of the roles you observe them in. Whether it is your instructor or the being who prepared my jitter liquid, each being's existence expands far beyond their vocation. Do you understand?"
119	-->"[[ComicallyMissingThePoint ...Who is supervising the learning chamber??]]"
120	* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: Constant.
121	* ToothFairy: Young beings are visited by the Magical Mouth Stone Being at night, who purchases their dead mouth stones from under the comfort square. The price is determined by market forces.
122	* WaxingLyrical:
123	-->''"[[Music/WhitneyHouston Ohhh I want to flail with a being!]]"''
124	* WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong: Phrased in an in-universe film as "What negative outcome could there be?"
125	* WittyBanter: On a newscast about a massive creature sighting.
126	-->"Creature experts say the creature probably just wants to ingest trash."

Context Webcomic / StrangePlanet