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1[[quoteright:253:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/11822394_120813711595009_3686702195975842153_n.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:253:[[CouchGag Adverbly verbed by Mike Shapiro]]]]
3
4->''"[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Action! Adventure! Excitement! Geometry!]] All this and [[SelfDeprecation less]] can be found within the virtual pages of Joe the Circle, the [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative only psuedo-science-fiction comic that takes less than five minutes per episode to draw]]!"''
5
6''The Adventures of Joe the Circle'' was an early ScienceFiction WebComic by Mike Shapiro. Originally printed in Shapiro's college newspaper in the early '90s, it first appeared online in 1995. It followed the adventures of [[HeroicComedicSociopath Joe]], a violent, gun-toting circle, along with his companions: [[OnlySaneMan Ronnie]], an even-tempered triangle; [[BigEater Bob the Boobian]], a dimwitted . . . ''thing'' with a gaping maw and limited vocabulary; [[TheDitz Franko]], a clairaudient flying fish; and [[CaptainCrash Bert Smert]], a laid-back gearhead who provided the crew's transportation.
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8The comic was rather crudely drawn, but made up for it with freewheeling storylines, goofy humor, and extremely quotable dialogue. Most of the comics can be found at [[http://joe-the-circle.com www.joe-the-circle.com]], with a few older issues accessible through [[http://web.archive.org/web/20040604170524/http://joe-the-circle.com/old.shtml archive.org]].
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10Incidentally, you may have encountered Shapiro's work in another form. He's a [[http://www.mikemusic.com composer]] in RealLife, providing music for films and VideoGames, at least [[VideoGame/EmpireEarth one of which]] can be found on Website/ThisVeryWiki.
11
12----
13!!This webcomic provides examples of:
14
15* TheAce: Joe sees himself as this. Others, not so much.
16* AdventurerArchaeologist: Mattock Blork the Hexagon is presented as one, but is actually after the Soulwhomper of Klaaaarr for the power it confers.
17* AncientArtifact:
18** The Pickle of Power.
19** Later, the Soulwhomper of Klaaaarr, an ancient artifact with unspecified (but apparently godlike) powers.
20*** [[RunningGag I thought it was the Soulwhomper of Cheese!]]
21* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "Action! Adventure! Excitement! Geometry!"
22* BagOfHolding: Bob, whose stomach is composed of an ''entire dimension'', is a living example.
23* BavarianFireDrill: [[http://joe-the-circle.com/comic/?p=123 "Hey, wait . . . why were we assuming that this guy is on our side?"]]
24* BigEater: It would be quicker to list the things Bob ''won't'' eat. See Bag of Holding.
25* BiggerOnTheInside:
26** Bert's car has far more internal space and amenities than one would expect.
27** Bob's stomach contains an ''entire alternate dimension''. [[BizarreAlienBiology This is a normal feature for his species]].
28* {{Calvinball}}: Zorgellian Mega-Poker requires various NoodleImplements, as well as a working knowledge of the laws of thermodynamics.
29%%* CasualInterstellarTravel:
30* TheConscience: Ronnie and Franko try (and usually fail) to be this to Joe.
31* CouchGag: For a large part of its run, the comic had a different [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal alliterative]] byline (such as "Arthritically Ascribed by Mike Shapiro," "Raptly 'Ritten by Mike Shapiro," etc) on every page.
32%%* DeadpanSnarker: Ronnie.
33* TheDitz: Franko comes off this way, combining a childlike personality, frequent hallucinations, and occasional actual prophecies, seemingly at random.
34* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: The Planet of Unmanageable DOOM, obviously. Once the doom becomes manageable, it's incorporated into consumer products such as Doom Hedge Clippers and Doom Cola.
35* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Franko's name is spelled "Frank-O" in the earliest comics.
36* FanCommunityNicknames: The message board was called the "mOb" ("m" for "message," "b" for "board," with Joe's silhouette in between). Posters sometimes referred to themselves as "mObsters." "Circlefriends" was also sometimes used.
37* KickTheDog: Invoked and lampshaded by the commander of the Anti-Joe Armada, who drops an anvil on a subordinate to demonstrate his evil.
38* KudzuPlot: Lampshaded and averted at the beginning of Volume 3.
39--> ''The story so far: '''WHO CARES?''' That's right! Last year's storyline has been abandoned due to its horrible complexity. We now present you with something [[DarkerAndEdgier considerably more violent and acerebral]]''.
40* MissingEpisode: Everything before the "Joe Dies" storyline is lost to the mists of time.
41* MundaneUtility: Once managed, the Unmanageable DOOM is put into consumer products like Doom Lawnmowers and Doom Cola.
42* MyBelovedSmother: Joe's mother constantly nags him about his career and family choices, and compares him unfavorably to Ronnie.
43* NoodleImplements:
44** How "DOOM" can be used as a soft drink ingredient is never explained.
45** Besides the normal cards and chips, Zorgellian Mega-Poker is played with a compass, tidal chart, and anvil.
46* OnlySaneMan: Ronnie's sanity checks are always ignored or overruled by the rest of the cast.
47* PaperThinDisguise: Joe makes it past the AJA with nothing but a beard, an accent, and a SuspiciouslySpecificDenial. Not that he needs anything better, since all circles look more or less the same.
48* ScheduleSlip: It was not uncommon to go weeks, months, or even ''years'' between updates. In fact, the series never officially ended - it just hasn't updated since 2007. Lampshaded in Shapiro's bio:
49-->''"Mike continues to produce Joe to this day, pausing only for occasional three-to-four year stretches of indolence and ennui."''
50* SelfDeprecation: Often showed up in the CouchGags.
51* SpaceIsNoisy: Averted and lampshaded early on with a footnote explaining that the giant "WOOOSH!" behind a spaceship is actually strange graffiti that follows it around. Otherwise played straight.
52* StuffBlowingUp: Joe's preferred problem-solving method.
53--> ''"Deep within every problem is a solution involving explosives."''

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