Apparantly I'm now a world champion

January 8, 2014 11:44 AM

"That is not to say that Oglaf depicts a perfect world. There is a dark side to its humor and it can depict humiliations and sex coerced through magic and subterfuge and through dominance. When a king wants his court wizard to transform him to look like the duke so he can sleep with the duke’s wife (a variation on a scene from Excalibur), he realizes it is easier to order the court wizard to transform himself into the duke’s wife and the king fucks him instead." -- Osvaldo Oyola explains the timeless appeal of Oglaf. Not remotely safe for work.
posted by MartinWisse (70 comments total)

Every few months I remember Oglaf and end up going through a bunch of the comics and am delighted. The (SFW) Fountain of Doubt(links to oglaf.wikia wiki) comic still makes me snicker. Also, the fucktopus in this NSFW strip is giggle-inducing.
posted by rmd1023 at 12:03 PM on January 8, 2014 [7 favorites]

Previously.
posted by bibliogrrl at 12:04 PM on January 8, 2014

I love Oglaf. I may always love Oglaf.
posted by Kitteh at 12:04 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

oglaf owns. peace-
posted by Quart at 12:05 PM on January 8, 2014

Also, I was completely delighted to find out that one of the creators also created Platinum Grit, which was one of my favorite comics back in the 90's.
posted by bibliogrrl at 12:05 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

My favorite strip is the not-even-NSFW Fountain of Doubt.
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:07 PM on January 8, 2014 [8 favorites]

Did people see the Oglaf Yuletide fanfic? I liked it!
posted by rivenwanderer at 12:10 PM on January 8, 2014 [7 favorites]

All you need to know about theology.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 12:11 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

All you need to know about theology.

I hadn't noticed the title on that one before. Suddenly all those references in Mallory to knights being given extreme unction take on a whole new perspective.
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:17 PM on January 8, 2014

Say what you will about the sexual content, I dare you to find a better defense against parkour assassins.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:21 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

Oh god this would be a perfect illustration for an article on startups and customer development.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 12:27 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

Oglaf fills the void where Sexy Losers used to sit in my heart.
posted by Joe Chip at 12:28 PM on January 8, 2014 [12 favorites]

Oglaf is such a great illustration of sex-positive polymorphous perversity at its best. I found it hard to like at first precisely because I associated it, just on account of the subject matter, with Phil Foglio and all the other preexisting versions of fantasy sex comics that reflect the less savory parts of geek culture. But the irrepressibly great spirit of the comic sneaks up on you, like a more delightful but equally unavoidable bog beast.
posted by RogerB at 12:31 PM on January 8, 2014 [9 favorites]

I like to explain Oglaf as a magical realm where everyone has used WIS as a dump stat. Fukken yeah!
posted by adipocere at 12:34 PM on January 8, 2014 [15 favorites]

I like to explain Oglaf as a magical realm where everyone has used WIS as a dump stat. Fukken yeah!




Stupid Wish Dolly.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:35 PM on January 8, 2014 [7 favorites]

I accept this quest in the name of all that is Just and Just-Like-That-Again... I shall read them all.
posted by bastionofsanity at 12:39 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

The best part of Oglaf is finding out my dentist reads it. While my mouth was full.
posted by mikurski at 12:39 PM on January 8, 2014 [16 favorites]

You could never feel completely sorry for the apprentice.
posted by arcticseal at 12:41 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

oglaf is my favourite! and isn't Ivan supposed to come back?
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:46 PM on January 8, 2014

I'm just always in total awe of the level of craft in Oglaf. I can't think of a webcomic that's better put-together.

And fucking hilarious.
posted by COBRA! at 12:47 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oglaf is fucking hilarious and often hilarious fucking, but danged if that that article didn't try its hardest to kill the mood with needless deconstruction and labored explanation.
posted by Spatch at 12:49 PM on January 8, 2014 [9 favorites]

"Hey, here's a delightful thing!"

YAY

"Here's why it's delightful!"

BOO
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 12:51 PM on January 8, 2014 [12 favorites]

with Phil Foglio and all the other preexisting versions of fantasy sex comics that reflect the less savory parts of geek culture.

But but Phil Foglio is loverly and XXXenophile was one of the greatest sex comedy comics of all times.
posted by MartinWisse at 12:57 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

Yeah, I clicked the link and then realized that I didn't want to read the article, that the chances of it enhancing my (already boundless) appreciation of Oglaf were essentially nil and of making me go "why the fuck did I read that" seemed pretty substantial.
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:59 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

What I really like about Oglaf is that not only is it beautifully done, not only does it have that irrepressible YEE-HAW! bonobo-brain sex thang which would in a fair world make being human rather more fun than it actually is, not only is it fucking funny... but it's not pornographic. Perhaps it's just me, but of all the things I get, sexual arousal ain't one. Not that I have anything against an old-fashioned rush of lust.

Also: Phil Foglio. I know he did NSFW comics, and I enjoy (although with diminishing returns) Girl Genius, but I've never seen the rude stuff, although I've tried to find it a few times. What crimes does it contain?
posted by Devonian at 1:02 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

But but Phil Foglio is loverly and XXXenophile was one of the greatest sex comedy comics of all times.

Yeah, sorry — I probably shouldn't have used his name as a proxy for a more general distaste for the generally regressive sex politics of fantasy-sex stuff. If there's a Foglio appreciation out there comparable to this Oglaf piece I'd certainly like to see it.
posted by RogerB at 1:06 PM on January 8, 2014

The cum sprites, won't someone think of the cum sprites?!
posted by Ber at 1:06 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

To quote Foglio himself:

Hoot Island (interviewer): During the course of XXXenophile's run you've depicted oral sex, anal sex, group sex, masturbation, voyeurism, double penetration, inter-racial (literally), bestiality (although generally with an animal possessing intelligence), mild sado-masochism, homosexuality (female, in every issue; male, just in the last issue), exhibitionism, sex with any number of devices, necrophilia (or sex with a ghost, anyway), prostitution and every single position and combination imaginable, including some that were only possible in micro-gravity. Okay, what wouldn't you do?

Foglio: Wow. That's easy. Rape. Mind Control. Pedophilia. Classical necrophilia. Anything involving excretion. Snuff Porn. Branding. Piercing. Heavy S & M. Spanking.

HI: How come?

Foglio: Because it's not my cup of tea. If somebody wants to produce a happy sex positive story about pedophilic rapists who are into water sports and branding, THEN KEEP THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!
posted by delfin at 1:07 PM on January 8, 2014 [22 favorites]

I feel obliged to point out that XXXenophile is available from the pay-site Slipshine (along with a lot of other comics in a similar vein). Or at least it was about a year ago when I stopped subscribing.

And yes, Oglaf is brilliant.
posted by YAMWAK at 1:11 PM on January 8, 2014

Wiki

I'm still hoping for a Son of Kronar spin-off series.
posted by Segundus at 1:17 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

Just wanted to chime in with my favorite clean Oglaf and my favorite dirty Oglaf and my just plain favorite Oglaf ever.
posted by murphy slaw at 1:20 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

You could never feel completely sorry for the apprentice.

mumpf lglumpf oh yeah mmf 'ats 'ood shlmpf
posted by Sebmojo at 1:47 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

Well 'King Blowjob' let me assure you that you won't fellate your way out of these fiscal troubles.
posted by seanbickford at 1:59 PM on January 8, 2014 [13 favorites]

Foglio: Because it's not my cup of tea.

And this is kind of what I meant, though I put it badly, by using him as a contrast with Oglaf. Foglio may be a great sex-positive straight dude but he's still a straight dude, and (though please do correct me if I'm really wrong about this) the comics of his that I've seen are all pretty much heteronormative — in the sense that they use "would this be arousing for a hetero male" as a screening principle, with maybe a token exception here and there. What's great about Oglaf is that it's much more comprehensive in its resistance to heteronormativity — the presence of queerness is not just a matter of a token act or character here and there, but a pretty omnipresent feature, including a ton of plotlines (e.g. the "best at blowjobs" thing or some of the Kronar ones) that explicitly deal with homophobia and use it as a source of humor. That's the piece that really made me into a regular reader of the comic.
posted by RogerB at 2:06 PM on January 8, 2014 [4 favorites]

I AM A RIVER TO MY PEOPLE!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:15 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

I find that many readers who enjoy Oglaf may also enjoy my new favorite comic C.urvy.org . It's got the sex+, queer+ pulpy sci fi thing on lock.

It is a serial, however.
posted by sibboleth at 2:20 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

The article went off the rails a bit when it complained about the lack of POC, then noting "Navaan – the virgin vampire assassin – and also one of the few featured characters that is clearly a woman of color"... who was prominent in both of the two extended storylines, and still around. For fantasy (yes, I know, We Can Do Better) in general, that's pretty good.
posted by Halloween Jack at 2:25 PM on January 8, 2014

If we're recommending good sex comics, people may want to check out Sunstone, a BDSM strip by Stjepan Sejic, available at Deviantart (members only, content filter needs to be mature) about a lesbian dom/sub pair who come together out of kinkiness but then fall in love and that sounds incredibly naff, I know, but it works.
posted by MartinWisse at 2:29 PM on January 8, 2014

Classical necrophilia

umm...does this mean there's also things like jazz necrophilia, rockabilly necrophilia, and dubstep necrophilia? o_O

Also, I love Oglaf so damn much, and I want to recommend it to everyone I know, but I'm always scared they'll walk away with the wrong impression of me if they start reading certain of the episodes without understanding the broader context of the comic. Fukken dammit. :-(
posted by lord_wolf at 2:34 PM on January 8, 2014 [7 favorites]

I LOVE THOSE FUKKEN DWARVES!
posted by infinitewindow at 2:40 PM on January 8, 2014 [6 favorites]

That article is a heck of a plate of beans. Sexy beans obviously
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:46 PM on January 8, 2014

It is absolutely impossible for me to choose JUST ONE favourite Oglaf, although the top five would include Sport, anything involving those RAD FUKKEN DWARVES, the Snow Queen/Grier romance stuff, anything with Navaan, and the Lizard of Guilt.
posted by elizardbits at 2:51 PM on January 8, 2014

Oh god and Sandoval the Xoan Ambassador.
posted by elizardbits at 2:51 PM on January 8, 2014 [6 favorites]

Curvy's neat because it's got this whole cool cosmology and while the sex is kind of everywhere the comic is at least as interested in the various themed worlds as in the fuckin'.

I LOVE THOSE FUKKEN DWARVES!

Their chess golem slays me every time.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:55 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

Holy crap I never noticed that each comic has a little meta-joke that pops up in one of those text box things when you hold your mouse over it.

(Yeah yeah whatever they're called)
posted by Dr. Zachary Smith at 3:22 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

alt text
posted by elizardbits at 3:28 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

I think Oglaf is hilarious.

Current Googlers, please note that, for whatever reason, Google suppresses Oglaf.com in their search results. This has been debated online, but no one knows why it's happening...
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 4:23 PM on January 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

ALSO the bettermyths dude has his book out finally and in all the Norse parts which involve dwarves it is pretty much impossible not to picture them as the Oglaf dwarves.
posted by elizardbits at 4:37 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

I thought you were ready for a more abstract analogy.

Apparently I was wrong.

(My favorite strip, certainly NSFW)
posted by pemberkins at 4:54 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

I was so tempted to link to one of these in the Snow Queen thread a week or two ago. Particularly Tool. Decided it probably wasn't the right tone for the thread...
posted by George_Spiggott at 4:58 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

Still makes me laugh every time
posted by Hogshead at 5:15 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

Still, forever, and always the best one.
posted by tzikeh at 5:19 PM on January 8, 2014 [4 favorites]

This one is a spectacular example of how to use of build, pause, reaction in comedy.
posted by tzikeh at 5:29 PM on January 8, 2014 [18 favorites]

I swear before Crom, before this year is over I will attempt to make an authentic Fruit Viking outfit.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 6:45 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

alt text

This is the downside of reading oglaf on a tablet. On the other hand, it's a good reason to reread it on a desktop...
posted by sneebler at 6:50 PM on January 8, 2014

I just recently remembered that I hadn't checked Oglaf in a couple months, which resulted in an immediate loss of an hour as I went through everything I'd missed.

Sadly, I'm at work now. Must wait til later to find out what links ye be posting.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:51 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

This one is a spectacular example of how to use of build, pause, reaction in comedy.

My girlfriend and I reference that comic on IM so often that now we just use this as shorthand:

:|

:D

posted by Ian A.T. at 6:54 PM on January 8, 2014 [10 favorites]

I find that many readers who enjoy Oglaf may also enjoy my new favorite comic C.urvy.org . It's got the sex+, queer+ pulpy sci fi thing on lock.

Welp there went my evening. That shit is AWE SOME.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:59 PM on January 8, 2014

I kind of deliberately ignore Oglaf for long stretches of time so I can binge on it.

Delicious, delicious binging.

I have crossed oceans of ok I'll stop
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 7:29 PM on January 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

I just recently remembered that I hadn't checked Oglaf in a couple months, which resulted in an immediate loss of an hour as I went through everything I'd missed.

RSS feed readers are the best thing that ever happened to webcomics.

And this is kind of what I meant, though I put it badly, by using him as a contrast with Oglaf. Foglio may be a great sex-positive straight dude but he's still a straight dude, and (though please do correct me if I'm really wrong about this) the comics of his that I've seen are all pretty much heteronormative — in the sense that they use "would this be arousing for a hetero male" as a screening principle, with maybe a token exception here and there.

I find Foglio shares something in common with Oglaf's Cooper and Bayne - that generally everyone involved in the getting-sex-on stuff is basically consenting and having fun.

Ok, maybe not the apprentice.

But if you look at a lot of western adult cartooning, so much of it involves a woman coerced or somehow checkmated into having sex. With that in mind, you can see a sort of warmth and respect that usually comes up in Foglio's stuff and Oglaf. Within the bounds of a gag comic, of course.
posted by sebastienbailard at 7:40 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

Rape. Mind Control. Pedophilia. Classical necrophilia. Anything involving excretion. Snuff Porn. Branding. Piercing. Heavy S & M. Spanking

I know it's (sigh) different strokes for different folks (I know, in an Oglaf post), but some of those things are not even remotely like some of those other things.
posted by Mezentian at 8:56 PM on January 8, 2014

"Don't mess with friendship, bitches".

Like many I spend months away from Oglaf, but as soon as I check in I wonder why.
posted by Mezentian at 9:43 PM on January 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

I know it's (sigh) different strokes for different folks (I know, in an Oglaf post), but some of those things are not even remotely like some of those other things.

Sure. I think it's a mix of stuff he considers unethical, and stuff he finds to be unstimulating on a personal level while not considering it unethical.
posted by sebastienbailard at 9:48 PM on January 8, 2014

Rape. Mind Control. Pedophilia. Classical necrophilia. Anything involving excretion. Snuff Porn. Branding. Piercing. Heavy S & M. Spanking

I know it's (sigh) different strokes for different folks (I know, in an Oglaf post), but some of those things are not even remotely like some of those other things.

He's not comparing or equating them. It's just a list of things he's not personally into.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 12:13 AM on January 9, 2014 [3 favorites]

I find myself looking up Oglaf strips to send to people as links to illustrate a certain concept or joke a lot.

I went and read the comic and only skimmed the article because it annoys me to see an important scene from many versions of Arthurian mythology-- the (possible) conception of Arthur-- to a scene from Excalibur.
posted by NoraReed at 1:58 AM on January 9, 2014

Holy crap I never noticed that each comic has a little meta-joke that pops up in one of those text box things when you hold your mouse over it.

Yeah, that's "time to go reread the entire series again" when you figure that out.
posted by immlass at 8:23 AM on January 9, 2014

Wait until you guys realise that it's *two* alt text jokes for each page. The last one has:

alt="Grogol's clothes come from farm suppliers."
title="The gauntlets of hang-on-you're-a-dick could have saved him."

Firefox shows the first one while the strip is loading (or you can use Chrome), and the second on mouseover.
posted by sukeban at 9:51 AM on January 9, 2014 [3 favorites]

'cuz I'm in a public place right now, I'm just gonna let YOU search for oglaf cosplay and be delighted.
posted by moonmilk at 2:05 PM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

Holy crap I never noticed that each comic has a little meta-joke that pops up in one of those text box things when you hold your mouse over it.

Yeah, that's "time to go reread the entire series again" when you figure that out.

One of the things that made me love Dinosaur Comics was finding out that there was not just a roll-over joke but also another one in the subject line of the email that popped up when you pressed the "contact" button.
posted by rtimmel at 2:57 PM on January 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

Hey I just figured out you can see the alt text on an iPad if you tap and hold (dammit, now everything sounds dirty) on the image.
posted by exceptinsects at 7:49 PM on January 9, 2014