Y’know, Sometimes Stuff Does Suck, But Not Here
So there was beer at the Peculier last night with the usual crowd, plus Chris Hastings (newly of DFP) and by one of those odd coincidences that proves just how incestuous webcomics really are, the best friend of Liz Greenfield (also newly of DFP). “Oh,” she said, “you’re the Fleen guy.” That makes her at least the fourth person that’s referred to me that way … I’m thinking I need some business cards printed up. Anyway, Norna (sorry for not catching your last name) wanted to know why we haven’t written up Stuff Sucks yet; I told her I had intended to hold off a bit yet, wait for the story to hit a break point, but screw that. It’s damn good work and it’s time we acknowledged it. So here’s everything you need to know about Stuff Sucks:
Liz Greenfield is actually John Cusack.
Stay with me here. Check out the parallels in the cast: Daniel is a man-child, not always successful in being what his girlfriend wants him to be. Tony has a record store just to have a place to keep his collection. Aaron & Mike have the same conversation/argument over and over and over again; oh, sure, it’s different words, but it’s really the same conversation. Nicole is (was?) Daniel’s wealthy girlfriend who’s never been satisfied with the way he is. And there’s schemers in the form of Leo and Zemi, with grand plans (some of which target Daniel directly for special mind-games and life-ruining). I’m still trying to figure out where the fish fits in this model, but he does. Oh yes, he does.
And how do explain this? Faced with Nicole dumping Daniel (side effect of a cruel prank by Zemi), Tony heads to Nicole’s house for a little musical warfare á la Lloyd Dobler to try to get her to take Daniel back. But Greenfield knows that in the real world, there’s no boombox-induced awww, that’s sooooo romantic reaction. In the real world after a stunt like this there’s retaliation, escalation, and incarceration.
The loopy and appealling characters are wrapped in an open, clean-line art style that puts me in mind of a combination of Vera Brosgol, Raina Telgemeier, and Tyler Page. The writing is a prime example of show, don’t tell; even with first two dozen strips being reworked and currently unavailable, the reader has no problems dropping into the story at strip #25. Like walking into a well-written movie after the first reel, it only takes a moment to get the gist of the story because the characters are so well-developed. We might chafe at being forced to wait a week to see what happens next, but for the characters it’s all happening too fast as they try to adjust to this sometimes-sucky thing called life.
Why would be Beef be using IE, though? I mean, the dude’s a stone cold hacker, you know he’d be all into Firefox. I’m just sayin’, is all.
By Nick J. on 05.06.06 4:16 pm
The writing in StuffSucks is both funny and intelligent, while the art, both the original and the reworked, is fantastic.
I love this comic, and have reccomended it to all of my friends.
Go read it!
By Matthew on 05.06.06 5:09 pm
Heh It never struck me the connection between High Fidelity and Stuff Sucks, I really enjoy this comic.
By Steve on 05.07.06 5:22 am
the fish fits perfectly. It hasn’t appeared so far in John Cusacks movies, but it should do. It could be like the penguin in Gregory’s Girl!
By The Dapper Anarchist on 05.07.06 6:51 am
Stuff sucks is definitely one of the best web comics out there, the art is viewtiful! However there is something fishy about the links to stuff sucks in this article, I feel they didn’t match up with the comments at all :P
By Tengil vår befriare on 06.10.06 4:42 pm
recently found stuff sucks & i love it. awesome art work & great writing! as far as your comparison to John Cusack – right on! definatly see it now, and blinky – he’s just the epitome of every ‘friend’ character in any JC movie. Think about that!
By morgan on 09.04.06 8:39 pm
[…] Also over in England, the delightful Ms Cusack informs us that she’ll have her first English gallery show this Saturday. In the not-too-distant future, I hope to have a review of the Stuff Sucks iPod skin for y’all, too. […]
By Fleen: Written by bitter, haggard wordbeasts » Monday Morning Afternoon Facial Hair on 11.13.06 12:17 pm
[…] Ever wonder what it’s like to be Liz Cusack Greenfield? She is very polite about penises, and exudes cool even in a steam room. […]
By Fleen: Written by bitter, haggard wordbeasts » Coolness Abounds (Also: Fine Ham) on 01.26.07 11:47 am
[…] I halfway believe that Rene Engström is really just a front for Wes Anderson. There is a precendent, after […]
By Fleen: Your Favorite Faux-Muckrakers Since 2005 » I Gotta Coordinate Things With Anne Better on 01.24.08 10:46 am
[…] are, of course, few places warmer than a working kitchen, and it appears that Liz Cusack Greenfield has found a kitchen to work in. “Less time for comics” is the downside for […]
By Fleen: Enjoy Our Semi-Abusive Opinion Mongering » No Slush, But Freakin’ Cold Out on 12.22.08 2:44 pm
[…] who won’t be at SPX (besides me?) Liz Cusack Greenfield. ’s been a while since Ms Liz stepped away from webcomics, but that doesn’t mean […]
By Fleen: Try Our Thick, Creamy Shakes » That Kid’s Gotta Run His Ass ‘Round The Block A Few Times on 09.22.09 2:00 pm
[…] Greenfield, or the John Cusack of webcomics storytelling, has been engaged in other forms of creation for some years since Stuff Sucks wrapped (with no real […]
By Fleen: Try Our Thick, Creamy Shakes » Welcome Returns on 09.23.13 11:35 am
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