Pictures for Sad Children

whatever happens you guys will do great-ish things, probably. unless you don't, like most people. but you will be doing it together. unless you get divorced.
—gary describes the the toast he wants to give at his brother's wedding
i made this comic and i regret it, but i regret most comics and i regret most things.
—john campbell

pictures for sad children is a webcomic by john campbell. it features a minimalist style of art, humor, and grammar. originally, the comic also featured character-driven stories about a ghost and some other people

it uses punctuation only sporadically which is why this article is written this way not because we are too dumb to find the shift key. blame john campbell

the two main characters were paul and gary, although sometimes the comic would follow the other minor characters for a little bit

paul, who is a ghost, who is wearing a bedsheet, died just before the first strip. he wears the bed sheet to look ghosty of course. he hates everything and doesn't care

gary is a grad student who currently works at a call center that takes the overflow of indian help lines. people call him and Hilarity Ensues

after 226 pages, the story of paul and gary came to a very abrupt and inconclusive end. since then, the comic has continued as an unconnected series of surreal one-shots w/ sometimes story arcs but not as long as the big one

the world of pictures for sad children is cynical. most of the characters are depressed even though they know that they have no real problems. the main characters also resign themselves to a life of unfulfilled dreams and crushing meaningless jobs.

there are many magic realist elements to the world as well, like an ipod that plays you your regrets, a family that has the powers of jesus, and post-it notes that seemingly come from no one

the author is currently dabbling in various new media, please bear with his experimentation

tropes used in pictures for sad children include:

i can almost see something mediocre. it says pictures... of small children??

lacking the hazy hooks of their debut, a pleasing middle ground between lo-fi and club, this folk ep will be making year end lists for the east coast shitgaze tropicalia no wave dubstep sxsw bedroom split single

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