Does xkcd Suck?
by Brian Buckley ~ February 8th, 2010. Filed under: Comics, Opinion, Public Opinion.
If you’re reading this article, chances are good you’ve heard of xkcd, the thrice-weekly stick figure webcomic by Randall Munroe. I’ve been reading (and loving) it for over three years now because of science strips like this one, computer strips like this one, and all-around awesome strips like this one. I own an xkcd T-shirt and a signed xkcd print.
You see, I’m biased.
I’ve been pondering, though. With many things I enjoy (The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, the Matrix trilogy), I’m well aware of the sizable minority (or even majority) who dislike them. After all, LotR has no shortage of detractors, and if you haven’t seen a Harry Potter hate site, you haven’t been on the internet. But somehow, I’d always assumed that xkcd was different; I guess I just figured it was one of those things, like sunshine, Earthbound, and Patrick Stewart, that everybody likes. In my mind, there were only two reasons someone wouldn’t like xkcd: they weren’t a geek, or they just hadn’t heard of it.
You know those conclusions you reach, without evidence, inside your own mind? Sometimes they’re wrong.
Google “I hate xkcd” and you’ll find a cornucopia of bile, ranging from the direct (xkcd sucks) to the direct (Is xkcd Sh*tty Today). Now, it could be that Randall Munroe’s creation is a victim of its own immense popularity, but I’m not so sure. Several minutes of determined Googling failed to find anything worse than mild annoyance directed against Penny Arcade, another mega-popular webcomic; meanwhile Dinosaur Comics, as far as I can tell, simply has no detractors whatsoever.
All of which makes me curious: do you hate (or love) xkcd? If so, why? Do you think it’s a love-it-or-hate-it thing, or is this a simple case of popularity breeding contempt? Quickly, Internet Readers, to the comments section! The web is getting low on opinions, and we need yours!
February 9th, 2010 at 6:48 am
I think that because xkcd is for a very different type of nerd than the two other comics you mentioned, people hate it because they feel stupid for not always understanding the jokes. Randall is a dangerous combination of science nerd, computer nerd, AND can hold his own in the lit nerd realm.
It could also be that the art in xkcd, though part of the schtick, is annoying to some people because he doesn’t have to pursue outside work to support himself and folks think that he’s getting paid to draw stick figures (which means they just don’t get the jokes). At least the art in PA shows a great deal of work and development. As far as Dinosaur Comics, it probably doesn’t hurt that Ryan North is basically the nicest guy on the internet. If there were a hate site, he’d probably go to that person’s house to make peace.
Either way, I’m a huge fan of all three. But I wouldn’t mind if Least I Could Do suddenly stopped updating.
February 9th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Ditto on Ryan North being the nicest person on the Internet. Dude sends personal replies to e-mails, and personally sends snail mail replies to snail mail. If someone made a hate site for Dinosaur Comics, he wouldn’t have to go talk to them…the site would just spontaneously combust.
February 9th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
No.
On a related note, if I had more time and interest, I might start Oatmeal Is Too Long and Not As Funny As They Think.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Haven’t read too much of The Oatmeal yet. It certainly does seem…abrasive.
February 11th, 2010 at 7:02 am
Just because someone dislikes xkcd doesn’t mean they don’t get the jokes, as so many of it’s devoted fans think. I personally dislike the strip because of it’s lack of effort in the art department. I understand that it’s all part of the joke, but never the less I love art and I just dislike the utter lack of effort. Penny Arcade is a much more successful strip because it has both a writer and an artist who work harmoniously together, and most people – even casual gamers – can get the jokes. Xkcd revels in its heady, elitist, superiority.
I get the jokes, I just don’t like the strip.
Please, please, please don’t assume that because someone dislikes something that you like they are stupider than you.
Please excuse my rant, Brian, this issue is a sore subject for me because I have gone through it tons of times with most of my friends and Lindsey’s reply got on my nerves. Thank you for your time.
February 11th, 2010 at 10:03 am
@Marie’s friend: I certainly agree that disliking something doesn’t mean a failure to understand it, and I can respect not liking the art style. It’s not for everyone.
I can’t agree, though, that xkcd itself is elitist (though some of its readers may be). It does have a specific target audience, but then so does Scientific American; he just knows who he’s writing for. There have been plenty of xkcd jokes I didn’t get until doing a little research, but I don’t resent it. To the contrary, I’m glad of the chance to learn something. In my opinion, Penny Arcade is the same way – a lot of the comics don’t make sense unless you take the time to read Tycho’s long and somewhat convoluted news posts, but I don’t mind that either, since I like Tycho’s writing style.
I’m also curious what you mean by saying Penny Arcade is “more successful” then xkcd. Do you mean more successful at entertaining you personally, or do you mean successful in some objective sense? If you just mean number of readers, xkcd gets about twice as many visitors as Penny Arcade based on Alexa’s (admittedly imperfect) ranking system.
February 11th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
While it is true that xkcd is a more popular website, it is less successful monetarily. PA has ads that companies bid for on its site. Penny Arcade also holds two conventions where lovers of games, not just lovers of the comic, are free to gather (and infact swarm) every year. It also has a very successful charity called Child’s Play which tops its own goals every year. PA has created a community, one that exists not only on the web.
Penny Arcade is a comic about two unique characters who are separate from the comic’s creators, while the author of xkcd Mary Sue’s himself into every comic. PA also strives to entertain while xkcd is more of a personal journal for the author. Either you get Randall’s journal or you don’t, he’s not trying to make you get the joke, whereas PA is trying to help its readers understand the joke if they don’t get it. Jerry places links in his accompanying posts to let gamers in on the joke if it is something out of their knowledge. This is inclusive behavior, not exclusive. Xkcd’s audience is Randall and engineers, whereas PA’s audience is people who like to be entertained. Penny Arcade is more successful in its execution. It has a writer and an artist while xkcd has a blogger who can’t do either (having good grammar does not make one a good writer).
Maybe xkcd itself is not being elitist, but it is also difficult to separate it from the vocal minority of its readers who assume that superiority. Fanbase can be a reason to dislike a strip. Xkcd’s fanbase can sometimes appear hostile while PA’s fanbase is, in my experience, more welcoming. Xkcd might not suck but it’s definitely an exclusionary experience. The “art style” in xkcd might not be for everyone, but the comic experience should. You could drive traffic to a porn website, but that doesn’t make it great porn, it’s just a pre-engaged audience. Geeks/nerds will end up on xkcd to get what they want-a laugh.
February 12th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
I’m not trying to say that xkcd is better than PA; I certainly agree Tycho’s a better writer than Randall. (Though to be fair RE: the sense of community, PAX, Child’s Play, etc., PA has been around for 12 years and xkcd for only 5.)
But to say that Randall Mary Sues himself into every comic is, I think, simply not true, and ditto for your claim that it’s more of a personal journal than a comic. While the ideas behind the comics may be personal or quirky, they are presented in a way that’s readily understandable – usually at face value, sometimes after a quick trip to Wikipedia. The reason I like xkcd so much (and I’ve heard this from others too) is that with so many comics, I look at it and think: “Yes! That’s me! I’ve had that exact thought before!” In my mind, that’s the very definition of relatable. I think he’s definitely trying to present something that people can relate to, and judging by the strip’s immense popularity, he’s succeeding. I’m not an engineer, by the way.
It sounds like you’ve had some bad experiences with some obnoxious xkcd fans, which is unfortunate. We’re not all like that, I promise.
February 13th, 2010 at 1:45 am
I was merely responding to your question about why I thought PA is more successful than xkcd. You are not going to change my mind about my opinion on xkcd, I was just voicing why I dislike it (which is the point of your article, if I am not mistaken). “But to say that Randall Mary Sues himself into every comic is, I think, simply not true, and ditto for your claim that it’s more of a personal journal than a comic.” Just because you see yourself in Randall doesn’t mean he’s making a unique character. The character in the comic is a mirror image of Randall’s experiences, which is the definition of a Mary Sue. He admits on the site that he gleans jokes from the journals that he wrote in the past. You asked for opinions and I gave mine.
February 13th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
I’m not trying to change your opinion, no worries. I’m not complaining about your response, just having a conversation.
Having a character who’s similar to yourself is not what “Mary Sue” means, however, though sometimes Mary Sues do have that characteristic. That’s why I disagree with you about the Mary Sue thing.
February 15th, 2010 at 6:40 am
Once again, Brian, you have written a comment-generating post and I have been the fly in the ointment
I swear we don’t do this on purpose.
Sorry for the late response–I didn’t realize anyone had commented after me until Wes asked me if I knew I had upset someone.
Marie’s friend–I did not mean to indicate that everyone who doesn’t like xkcd is stupid. But I clearly did so with my comment, and I am sorry.
February 15th, 2010 at 6:41 am
PS I also love The Oatmeal, so it has become apparent to me that I really like snobby, mean comics. Interesting…
February 15th, 2010 at 8:03 am
@Lindsey: If we can generate this much controversy about webcomics and literature, just think what we could do with politics and religion! :-O
February 15th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Uhh, no politics or religion pls k thx. There are enough of those blogs out there.
February 15th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Don’t worry, I’m just kidding. You couldn’t pay me to blog about that stuff.
February 15th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
My Googlefight study manifested these results:
Google hits for “penny arcade” about half of those for “xkcd,” while hits for penny arcade double xkcd. I assuming that arcade and penny appear much more than references to the actual site. On the other hand, “xkcd sucks” gets 5 times the hits of “penny arcade sucks”.