Achewood
| Achewood | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Chris Onstad |
| Website | http://www.achewood.com |
| Current status/schedule | Usually every weekday |
| Launch date | October 1 2001 [1] |
| Genre(s) | Comedy |
Achewood is an online comic strip created by Chris Onstad. It portrays the lives of a group of anthropomorphic stuffed toys, robots and pets. Many of the characters live together in the home of their owner, Chris, at 62 Achewood Court, a fictional address. The events of the strip mostly take place in and around the house, as well as around the town of Achewood, the fictional suburb which gives its name to the comic and is likely a thinly-veiled Palo Alto, California. The comic is particularly celebrated by readers for its unpredictable humor and strong characterization.
History and overview
The first Achewood strip ("Philippe is standing on it") was released on October 1, 2001. The strip sets the tone for the rest of the comic, with its nonsensical humor and surprising visual punchline. In this particular strip, Mr. Bear and Téodor are discussing Téodor's confusion over a drum machine. Mr. Bear informs Téodor that there is an instruction manual. However, Philippe is standing on it.
Throughout the rest of the comic, there is no distinguishable underlying storyline — aside, perhaps, for the general passing of time and development of the comic's characters and their interrelationships. Onstad's preferred method of story-telling is to develop his characters through one-off strips and week-long story arcs. Strips are humorous, relying upon inane and chaotic humor as well as social stereotypes, occasional burlesque literary and historical references, and strong characterization of the comic's many quirky individuals. As the humor often depends on an in-depth knowledge of the characters and their interactions, new readers may appreciate the series more if they start their reading earlier on in the series and progress chronologically from there.
Chris Onstad has self-published six books, five collections of Achewood comics and an Achewood cookbook with recipes from several of the main characters.
In the fall of 2002 Achewood's "Sunday Edition" became part of the online alternative comics anthology Serializer. In their review of serializer.net, The Comics Journal wrote: "It's a pleasure to see strips like Achewood's "Sunday" strip ... use the newspaper format for far more daring, entertainingly perverse work ... would be perfectly at home at a good alternative weekly or a great college paper."
On April 30, 2003, Onstad introduced a new feature to the Achewood universe — an advice column written by the character Ray called Ray's Place. This column has served to further develop the Achewood canon by allowing prose related to the characters to be written. The column has developed characters, mainly as perceived by Ray. It also allows for an interaction between reader and character, a novelty in comic art.
July, 2004 saw the introduction of several in-character blogs. The main characters all began writing on blogger to speak to their audience. This unique perspective further advances character development allowing the daily, often mundane, events of the character to find their way to the audience. Onstad stated in an interview that he found the blogs easier to maintain than the strip, as they do not require as much refining.
In late 2004, it was announced that Checker Book Publishing Group had signed Chris Onstad to a three-book deal that was to begin in November, 2004. However, the deal was canceled soon after due to creative differences.
Onstad seems to relish his privacy, as his Blogger profile implies, however, he often speaks of his wife Liz, and there has been speculation she and Liz Enthusiasm of the indie-pop band Freezepop are one and the same. (Such speculation may be the result of Freezepop recording a song about Philippe called "Here Comes a Special Boy.") However, the rumor isn't true: according to the Freezepop site, Enthusiasm was on tour during the first half of March, 2005. According to the Achewood site, Onstad's wife was in the final stages of pregnancy at the same time. Onstad and his wife (whomever she may be) have one child. Several Achewood characters (Philippe, Teodor) are based on his wife's childhood stuffed animals, who sometimes appear in Achewood photographs.
Etymology
According to the official website, "achewood" was used by slaves during the United States of America antebellum in the production of "achewater", a now outlawed Southern drink with psychedelic properties, similar to the use of wormwood in the production of absinthe. This liquor would induce melancholia in the drinker, hence the name. Chris Onstad has since admitted during an interview that achewater was never actually a psychedelic drink.
The Underground
The Achewood Underground is an underground version of the human city above, inhabited and run by stuffed and real animals. The underground has its own businesses and establishments that parallel those above ground, and its inhabitants often steal or borrow things from their human counterparts aboveground. Aside from Achewood, it is assumed that most cities around the world have their own undergrounds as well. [2]
![[2]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/nDed03/underground.gif){kind=link}
Characters
Ray Smuckles
Raymond Quentin Smuckles is a cat (more specifically, an American Curl) with expertise in such fields as cookery, alcohol, underground street dancing, and women. Along with his best friend Roast Beef, Ray is the central character of the strip; their relationship lies at the heart of Achewood. He tends to be lucky, acquiring money in a variety of ways, including a record contract with Sony (after selling his soul to the devil for piano skills), an auspicious eBay purchase of vintage erotica valued at 600 million dollars, and various business ventures. Ray has a penchant for prank calls, whether outgoing (Marmaduke, Cathy) or incoming (telemarketers) He wears designer glasses, a thong, the occasional cape, and a gold medallion which once belonged to the fictitious Incan Fun God, 'King Chochacho'. He enjoys throwing lavish parties with unusual themes. Ray drives a Cadillac Escalade.
Ray also writes the advice column "Ray's Place" on the Achewood site, though there is a disclaimer at the bottom warning that the advice is in fact from a cartoon cat.
Cassandra "Roast Beef" Kazenzakis
Roast Beef, (real name, Cassandra — Roast Beef was born intersexed), a cat, is interested in computer programming and has a girlfriend Molly formerly in heaven, where he visited her twice: once after being shot by Pat and once after driving a golf cart off of a cliff while high on marijuana. Molly now lives on Earth, and has now reached an on-again, off-again relationship with Beef (as those who know him call him).
It seems that Roast Beef has had a desperately unhappy and impoverished childhood, with Ray perhaps his only friend. 1 2 3
He has been shot at least four times. One shooting lodged a bullet in his spine, which grants him permanent wireless Internet access and another resulted in his cardio-pulmonary system being replaced by that of an Aibo. He has also been shot at least one additional time by Ray and once fatally by Lie Bot (who was masquerading as Ray's uncle Culpepper). He has seemingly incurable depression and/or Avoidant personality disorder, and considers suicide often, though no one seems to care. Roast Beef's birthday is April 22nd. Some of his accomplishments include a program that determines how many eggs and milk you need to buy in a given week, and another that determines the amount of loose change lying around your house and makes a reservation at a restaurant accordingly.
Roast Beef drives a 1965 Ford Galaxie that was a gift from Ray. He has also gone to the moon, by stealing Pat's home-made rocket, and to hell, via various methods including vomiting into an electrical outlet.
According to Onstad, Roast Beef is one of several important foils to the increasingly central character of Ray. Ray's consistent optimism, sexual bravado, unwavering confidence, privileged upbringing, simple attitudes, and good luck makes him seem on the surface a complete antithesis of character to Roast Beef. Regardless, the two have been close friends since childhood, and it may be observed that as the strip progresses, each occasionally adopts the attitudes and perspectives of the other.
The two do, of course, have a few points of dissent: Roast Beef is somewhat more sympathetic to Little Nephew than his Uncle Ray, and has taken issue with Ray's alcoholism.
For a long time Roast Beef lived in a trailer with his abusive grandmother, Gramma K. But recently, he has moved out of the trailer and into Ray's pool shed. He recently became the unwilling host of Jaime the Science Friend, a public access television show, the racist overtones of which attracted the attention of the KKK.
Philippe
Philippe is a naïve young otter who resides in the house with Cornelius Bear, Lyle and Téodor, as well as Chris and Chris's family. He is separated from his mother, who lives in an undisclosed location, but they talk on the phone frequently and have a close relationship. From time to time Philippe's mother sends him unusual presents.
Though he is only five years old, Philippe has had an exciting life. He has made friends with a french fry, been married to a flower, had a frightening encounter with a serial killer (Nice Pete), been possessed by the soul of Billy Idol, run for president, and accidentally killed a robot. Phillipe recently became a 'father' to a bird named Franky. Philippe's birthday is on August 22nd.
Philippe enjoys hugs and is very gullible.
Cornelius Bear
Most often referred to as Mr. Bear, he is a scholarly and fatherly figure to much of the cast. He is not afraid to enjoy a good drink, and tends to be more erudite and romantic than the rest of the cast. Mr. Bear is also the author of several children's books including "So Many Whales", "The Mayor of Banana Town," and — somewhat later — "Janet: The Girlfriend Who Could Only Ever Complain." Although originally from Cambridge [3] he now lives at 62 Achewood Ct. Recently, he was shot by Pat, but survived. During his recovery, he spent his time writing eloquent closed captions for the Spice Channel. Mr. Bear has been seen driving an Austin Mini with the driver's seat on the right-hand side, indicating it was originally sold in Britain.
Mr. Bear seems to command the most respect of perhaps any of the cast — with the noteworthy exception of the brash and petulant Lyle. This can be seen in almost every strip in which they both appear. [4] [5] [6]
Lyle Gabriel
A belligerent stuffed tiger who enjoys playing pranks on his friends and takes his alcohol early and often. He is a talented calligrapher and cosmetician [7] [8], and apparently knows something about cars. Lyle has a mysterious, possibly criminal, possibly tragic past. He has also become involved in pornography. He recently returned from Scotland where he meant to learn how to make scotch, but instead became trapped at a finishing school. He lives at 62 Achewood Court.
Téodor Orezscu
Téodor is a teddy bear, as evidenced by his portrait. He is a skilled cook, musician and graphic designer, and is also an all around friendly guy. He was originally quite crazy and uninhibited, exhibiting nudist tendencies in early Achewood strips, though he seems to have calmed down a bit over the years. These days he's probably the most "normal" out of the entire Achewood cast, though he is definitely not without quirks of his own (such as his passion for risotto). He had an online relationship with a girl named Penny, but we never really see where that ended up. He is close friends with Philippe and is usually in charge of keeping him out of trouble. He seems to be a recreational user of marijuana. Téodor's birthday is in early October. Lie Bot predicted his death to be on April 28, 2005. As it happens, Téodor did die on April 28 [9], after he choked on a Grolsch bottle cap whilst watching BREAST ATTACK ON FUCK MOUNTAIN. However, Lyle performed a "Longshoreman's Heimlich" (swift kick to the gut), which dislodged the cap and revived him.
Pat Reynolds
Pat is a cat, and was introduced at the same time as Roast Beef and Ray. Originally a more prominent character than Roast Beef, he has now taken a background role. His role tends to be the antagonist — he is generally unpleasant — and he is one of the shooters of his friend Roast Beef. He seems to suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder and has some anger management problems, judging from his impending lawsuits against anyone whom he deems has slighted him. His interest in Veganism, Zen Buddhism and various social issues seem less a genuine feeling for the causes and more a way to feel superior to his friends. He often declares his refusal to continue buying products from companies after minor perceived slights which are usually not the fault of the business; for example, he claims to have stopped buying Kleenex brand tissues after he accidentally pulled three tissues out of a box instead of one, and stopped shopping at Whole Foods because of disgust with a female employee's visible axillary hair. Peculiarly, he also has an irrational hatred of barbers and hairstylists, as well as toll booth operators, and a fervent belief that the world would be a better place if Mexicans didn't take so long getting into cars. He constructed the rocket which took Roast Beef to the Moon. He is on the run after escaping from jail (he was convicted for shooting Roast Beef, and later shot Mr Bear too, if by accident [10]), but it doesn't seem to have affected his lifestyle. He lives quite comfortably on the lam with "Nice Pete," a serial killer whom he met in jail. Pat has been seen driving a Ford Mustang.
Molly Sanders
A cat, and Roast Beef's on-and-off girlfriend. Roast Beef first met her in Heaven after being shot by Pat. Molly now resides on Earth, living in the pool shed with Roast Beef. Roast Beef's lack of social skills often means their relationship is strained, but Molly's extraordinary patience and tolerance (and Beef's willingness to go along with her sexual adventurousness) often win out. Molly may have been a programmer in a previous life but currently works in the restaurant and bar industry; she has implied in her blog that she is unable to get better work because she remains legally dead. She has held jobs at various bars and restaurants, including Applebee's, Taco Bell (from which she was fired), and The Smoke (a local bar in the underground). Most recently, Molly worked at an "upscale tex-mex place" called Butte, until a fire forced its closure. Molly has now secured a job at Starbucks which she claims makes her "the hub of Achewood's social universe." Molly was involved in sandwich porn for Vlad when she worked at his Subway.
Minor Characters
- Dr. Andretti
- A cat and one of the Achewood underground's foremost physicians. He was responsible for bringing Roast Beef back from the dead on more than one occasion.
- Arthur
- A cat who is part of Pat's anger management class; wears star-shaped glasses. Seems overly enthusiastic about most things and is now verifiably gay.
- Blister
- The ghost of Todd the Squirrel's old friend Blister, back from the afterlife for reasons he does not remember. Blister speaks many languages, but not Chinese.
- Cartilage Head
- A nightclub performer whose antiquarian vaudeville act showcases his apparent lack of bones. After a performance, he tricked Ray into abandoning him as he lay dying. In the end, however, it was only to photograph him with the caption "I proved myself a coward who would desert a dying man."
- Chris Onstad (Blog)
- Creator of the Achewood strips. Though not a comic strip character in the strictest sense, he has appeared in at least three comic strips (from the neck down) and, according to his (the character's) blog, seems to be able to communicate with the stuffed animals and cats that make up the Achewood cast. Chris's birthday is June 13th.
- Circus Penis
- A porn star cat.
- Emeril and Spongebath
- Two cats that Ray and Beef seem to be familiar with. Emeril is basically a cat that looks like Emeril Lagasse. In the alt-text of a 2004 strip, it was suggested that Emeril is a Melungeon. Spongebath is a rather large cat that doesn't seem to do or say much and gets around by means of what appears to be a scooter. They are fans of The Tenmen, a musical group made up of cats with Rickenbacker musical equipment (even the drum). On recycling day, they like to go Trashspotting with Roast Beef.
- Chucklebot
- A robot who specializes in making people chuckle. He is gay and he has known this since he was 12. He is always happy and thinks Billy Idol is "such a dish." His chuckles have been getting a bit rough lately.
- Milklin Honniker
- A cat who has had an unfortunate time attempting to sell things door to door (car seat covers, bird roasters, and books for children in "nontraditional family situations"). Most recently he was trying to convince Roast Beef to become a Jehovah's Witness. Ray decided to give him business advice, which Milklin gladly followed. He took out an ad in "Reminiscence" Magazine.
- Lie Bot
- A robot that tells lies much of the time. He intersperses snippets of truth as well, so it can be hard to tell when he is actually lying — in fact, despite his name and knowledge of previous lies, the non-robot characters invariably believe him. Was last seen impersonating Ray's uncle Marlon Culpepper.
- Vlad
- A robot and womanizer. He has a strong Eastern European accent, and is apparently from Poland. Though his current occupation is unknown, he was once proprietor of one of at least three Subway sandwich shops in the Achewood underground. He once made a pass at Philippe's mother over the phone.
- Andy
- Another robot, basically just a box with legs. Apparently he doesn't like to hang out at Vlad's place too often and owns a red Fender Stratocaster which Vlad finds corny.
- Charley "Little Nephew" Smuckles (Blog)
- Ray's nephew, often at odds with Ray. At one time a hip hop musician [11] (creating the album Fuck... Algebra! [12]), he later became a goth [13]. It is assumed that he is no longer part of the goth clique as his recent blog entries are quite rude and crass and do not exhibit any gothic qualities.
- Peter H. "Nice Pete" Cropes (Blog)
- A cat, Nice Pete is a convicted felon, and a serial murderer. His motherless upbringing in rural West Virginia was highly dysfunctional and Onstad's strips about Nice Pete are done in the style of Faulkner. He was once cellmates with Pat. In person he tends to be quite pleasant. He is currently working on a novel consisting of several short chapters which can be read in his blog. Apparently lives with Pat.
- Penny
- A (presumably human) woman with whom Téodor had an online relationship. The two have never actually met, though Penny did give Téodor what appears to be a sweater with the letter 'T' on it. He wears the sweater in almost every strip he appears in.
- Philippe's Mother
- A river otter, probably stuffed, who is Philippe's mother. She has a habit of sending Philippe various things mostly having to do with how Philippe is a "Special Boy." Is a widow and seeing someone new, much to Philippe's dismay, and was also hit on by Vlad at one point. A guest strip by Drew Weing depicting the "filming" of Achewood revealed her to be an abusive "Mommy Dearest" type stage mother; it was given high praise by Onstad but was never firmly established to be canon.
- Michael "Showbiz" Kazenzakis
- Roast Beef's deadbeat twin brother, he is identical to Roast Beef but with hair pulled back into a ponytail. He and Ray seem to have also been friends during childhood, spending much of their time making up cocktails. He is perpetually in deep debt to the Rockford Fosgate Company, a car-audio manufacturer.
- Tina
- A cat with whom Ray has an on-again, off-again relationship. For a time, Tina lived with Molly, who considered her to be the very definition of "lowest common denominator." Tina's birthday is March 2nd.
- Trouble Man and No-No
- Two ghastly characters who are the last ones left in Heaven when Roast Beef arrives[14], everyone else being consumed by an apartment fire and sent back to earth. They are commissioned by Roast Beef to perform the "murder act" on him in order to return to Earth.
- Todd Todd Todd Todd Todd T. Squirrel
- Todd is an illiterate, drug-dealing, often violent squirrel. His illiteracy most likely has led him to be one of the only recurring characters to not have a blog. He drives a miniature squirrel-sized van[15], and is friends with Philippe. Has recently put on some weight during a stint in prison[16]. Todd purportedly came into being when a stork dropped a burrito into a volcano. 100 minutes later, Todd emerged, not knowing who he was. The stork, thinking that Todd had eaten the burrito, called Todd a "jerkwad" and the "the real thing". Todd took this as an explanation of who he was, and consequently became a jerkwad. He then strangled the stork, whose lifeless body morphed into Todd's van.
- Ultra Peanut
- A young female river otter who comes from China. Her English is improving. She is friends with Philippe and has a small digital pet called Click Robot that dies if it goes to the bathroom too much.
Bibliography
- Volume I — A Momentary Diversion on the Road to the Grave
- Volume II — Worst Song, Played on Ugliest Guitar
- Volume III — The Devil's Dictionary
- Volume IV — Ten a.m. and Drunk as a Lord
- Volume V — An Empty Cup of Rum
- The Achewood Cookbook
Miscellaneous
- Chris Onstad participated in Song Fight! by creating cover art and title for "What We Need More of is Science" and "Red Skates." The first title originated as a Roast Beef expression. One entry for it on Song Fight was done by Milwaukee Youth Center Choir, who also did a theme for Ray's Place, Ray's advice column.
- The geography of the Achewood Overground is based on that of the Palo Alto/ Stanford area. Dexter University corresponds to Stanford University, Achewood Heights is equivalent to Menlo Park, East Achewood is analogous to East Palo Alto, and the Achewood Estates/Achewood areas refer to different areas of Palo Alto.
- Achewood is sometimes featured in the Chaparral, Stanford University's humor publication, of which Onstad is an alumnus.
External links
- Achewood.com (official site)
- Achewiki — A wiki devoted to Achewood
- Achewood Message Board
- A review of Achewood
- Ray's Place
- Serializer
- An interview with Chris Onstad
- Interview at Brian M. Palmer