A Softer World

Review

A Softer World is based around the concept of captioning photos, though it takes the concept to such a high level that you often forget to think of it as such. You begin to read it as the narration from a surreal world that is just slightly wrong. Little moments of anti-zen.

It is updated once per week (Friday) and is standarized to three frames the majority of the time. A single photograph is used, though in sometimes the frames each show a different portion of the photograph, sometimes the frames show different zooms, and sometimes the frames show more or less the exact same bit. The standard layout is the first frame introduces a concept, generally unusual, the second frame expands it, and the third frame acts as a punchline. Half the humor is straight misdirection, the other half is some strange combination of "cruel" humor and Far Side esque unexpectedness.

Using this simple formula, the "comic" has managed to stay funny for as long as I have read it, if funny is the right word. Some of the strips seem more sublime than humorous, or more a cross section of thought, such as the one where a person discusses faking a chinese accent to get laid.

Like most webcomics, you get what you pay, so do not expect the funniest jokes you have ever read (still really funn, though). Also, like a lot of "gag" webcomics, the humor tends to drift to the somewhat cruel, so if you do not like cruel humor you will not be thrilled with all of the strips.

This is still in my regularly visited bookmarks, though, and I think most of the people I have sent there or who have went there on their own have really enjoyed it. Give it a whirl, the worst you can say is "No".

My score: 83.