Joke Cliches We Should Probably Stop Joking About

[UzukiCheverie]

You know the kind. That one joke that EVERY comic artist has written/drawn about. Yep, you've probably been guilty of this, too (I know I have). What joke cliches have you seen far too many of over the years?

Here's just a couple of mine:

• "I don't have a joke and THAT'S THE JOKE"
• "There's nothing to eat even though the fridge is full"
• "I should be studying/drawing/doing something productive but instead i'm gonna watch 10 seasons of some show on netflix"

What jokes do you guys think have been done too many times? Any jokes you'd like to see -more- of?

[Chuckles]

Yes, following many slice-of-life comics, I've seen these kinds of joke many many many times...
Except for period jokes. Those are amazing, even when it's just 1 subject.

[jessiepolfliet]

I personally like unexpected humor. Something you never see coming, may it be random or totally fit the picture. I agree with you. There are jokes that too many people use. But I guess what makes them populair is that everyone can relate to them.

Ehm joke cliches... people who sit behind their computer till 4 am.(I mean come on we know we do it)

[hannahvbel]

Except for period jokes. Those are amazing, even when it's just 1 subject.

OMG @Chuckles LOL XD

[sow_ay]

The "I want to draw something !! YEAY !!! Owww.. That sucks.."

[PotooGryphon]

Pet jokes. They're cute but I seen every kind of cat and dog humor joke reused. Cats being uncaring lazy rulers of the home, dogs being the lovable slobbering messy balls of energy they are.

I like the unexpected with those, like Business Cat where the artist took a successful businessman and mixed him with a cat. So the guy works in an office and does cat things like batting a cup off the edge of his desk or bring an employee a dead bird as a raise.

[UzukiCheverie]

Ehm joke cliches... people who sit behind their computer till 4 am.(I mean come on we know we do it)

"It's time to work! . . . after I check Facebook. And Tumblr. And reddit- oh look it's nighttime."

[thisisbaphomet]

Yeah, Ive seen so many variations of that joke for sure. I think at this point, an artist would have to come up with a VERY clever take on that joke to be effective.

[vsock]

the world needs more anti jokes

[Raven_C]

That one joke where the character wakes up and says "yeah five more minutes" or something, then ends up waking up really late in the day and is disappointed with him/herself. It's a very hackneyed situation.

[kurisquare]

YES to all of these, I've seen them way too many times and it gets kind of tiring u__u sure it's nice to see a comic you can relate to, but if you've seen the same joke a lot of times it's not interesting anymore.

I agree with @jessiepolfliet about unexpected humor. Lunarbaboon is a slice of life but the ending is always unexpected!

Let me see if I have some more...

• I draw something, someone else shows up like "oh I just made a sketch", I look at it and it's a masterpiece
• "This drawing looks nice, let me horizontal flip and OH GOD THIS IS TERRIBLE"
• "Everyone is so social but I just stay home with my cat and eat pizza and watch Netflix"

I also have a little thing with autobio comics about the main character and their partner/significant other, it can be done well but sometimes it turns into a lot of inside jokes :/ the kind of joke that's like "oh, you should have been there to get it"

[Strontium]

I'm working on a zine of "Unrelatable Comics" including comics like "smelling everything", "eating popcorn with my tongue" "asking someone to dance on a stopped train without turning on any music" and"eating just half of a Reese's peanut butter cup"

[UzukiCheverie]

the world needs more anti jokes

i'm in support of this

That one joke where the character wakes up and says "yeah five more minutes" or something, then ends up waking up really late in the day and is disappointed with him/herself. It's a very hackneyed situation.

Honestly, when it comes down to it, I feel like if it's joking about something that happens to everybody, and unless you haven't seen ONE comic about it after searching extensively for it, you probably shouldn't make a comic about it; because that tends to be where these ideas fall - things that happen to everybody and thus isn't a very unique or "funny" situation anymore u o u

I agree with @jessiepolfliet about unexpected humor. Lunarbaboon is a slice of life but the ending is always unexpected!

Yes! Lunarbaboon is honestly one of my favorite comics, 100% for the humor in it. The jokes are just so original and even when you think you know what's gonna happen, it still surprises you in the best way xDDD <3

I also have a little thing with autobio comics about the main character and their partner/significant other, it can be done well but sometimes it turns into a lot of inside jokes :/ the kind of joke that's like "oh, you should have been there to get it"

This is something that basically anyone writing/drawing a comic about their own life has to watch out for. Basically, if you know that handfuls of other people aren't going to get it, even if you LOVE the joke, you probably shouldn't write about it because it'll be a waste of a joke. You can make those comics for you and your friends, but if it's gonna be posted online, it's best to keep your ideas a bit more open and keep away from the inside jokes that 95% of the populace won't understand.

---

One thing I like to practice is to not create a comic for a joke you just came up with right off the bat. Unless you are 1000000% sure it's a good joke, it's best to let them sit for a day or two so that when you go back to it, you know if it's a good idea or not. I keep a notepad log of my ideas and I've done this many times before, and has been an important part in deciding what comics should be made and what comics shouldn't be made (I've outright thrown out ideas for either being too inside-joke-ish or just plain dumb lol)

[kurisquare]

One thing I like to practice is to not create a comic for a joke you just came up with right off the bat. Unless you are 1000000% sure it's a good joke, it's best to let them sit for a day or two so that when you go back to it, you know if it's a good idea or not.

Good point there! I keep my comic ideas on a notebook too, and I probably leave them there for weeks before I use them. I do that because of a lack of time to draw comics, but it's also useful to pick your ideas more carefully

[taihendechu]

Well for sure I did the:

"OK LET'S DRAW SOMETHING! ... I don't know what to draw..." one... but it was one of my first comics, so forgive me that
I guess every now and then I still serve those cliches... but I don't even think it's a big problem to put an idea in a comic that has already been there, as long as you tell it in your own way. It's just kinda frustrating when I see a comic online that is exactly like the one idea I wrote down in my notebook to draw one day ._.
I still believe the best short comics are the ones that everyone heard about, but hasn't thought about it in that form...
I have two examples in mind:

Also I agree: Lunarbaboon is one of my favorites on tapastic too. He manages to surprise me most of the time. Love it.

[sow_ay]

Haha, that puts a lot of pressure, I'll be careful when I make new episodes !

[UzukiCheverie]

Sooo now that we've just celebrated New Year's, we can add "HERE'S MY LIST OF NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS - THEY'RE ALL EXPECTATIONS THAT ARE SET INCREDIBLY LOW" and "AWWW DIDN'T MEET MY RESOLUTIONS THIS YEAR AS USAUL" jokes to the list u o u

[hierogriff]

@taihendechu
Yeah, I love that reverse werewolf one!

Anyway I think the lesson here is "The wise speak because they have something to say; fools speak because they have to say something."

...or something.

[byJDarby]

I used to love these but the evolution of iphones joke is getting old. I get it they're all the same, i know...I'm probably still gunna get that iphone9 anyway

[byJDarby]

One thing I like to practice is to not create a comic for a joke you just came up with right off the bat. Unless you are 1000000% sure it's a good joke, it's best to let them sit for a day or two so that when you go back to it, you know if it's a good idea or not. I keep a notepad log of my ideas and I've done this many times before, and has been an important part in deciding what comics should be made and what comics shouldn't be made (I've outright thrown out ideas for either being too inside-joke-ish or just plain dumb lol)

Excellent tip! I've done this multiple times and found myself going "wait, why the heck did I think that was funny," almost 50% of the time. Has saved the internet from tons of deleted material for years