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{{trope}}
[[File:huge_eat_6308huge eat 6308.png|link=Bob the Angry Flower (Webcomic)|rightframe|[[Makes Just Asas Much Sense in Context|This makes even less sense in context]].]]
 
{{quote|''[[Word Salad Humor|"MY NAME IS POKEY THE PENGUIN I LOVE CHESS!!]] [[Dissimile|IT IS LIKE BALLET ONLY WITH MORE EXPLOSIONS!]]"''|'''Pokey''', ''[[Pokey the Penguin (Webcomic)|Pokey the Penguin]]''}}
|'''Pokey''', ''[[Pokey the Penguin]]''}}
 
Geeks have a weird sense of humor. Geeks also read a lot of webcomics. As a result, many webcomics tend to have a bent towards surreal, non sequitur humor. [['''Dada Comics]]''' take this to the extreme, being composed of nothing ''but'' surreal, non sequitur humor. They may be gag-a-day comics, or cover story arcs that make little or no sense. They may also be ([[Stylistic Suck|intentionally]]) badly drawn and scripted--thescripted—the biggest difference between this and unintentional bad drawings and scripts is the difference between imitations of [[Word Salad Philosophy|timecube.com]] and ''[[The Eye of Argon]]''.
 
Since they're not meant to be taken seriously, [['''Dada Comics]]''' are (with at least [[One Over Zero1/0|two]] [[Dresden Codak|exceptions]]) almost never subject to [[Cerebus Syndrome]], bless their tiny, crippled souls.
 
A [[Sub -Trope]] of [[Surreal Humor]]. Compare [[Dream Land]], [[Surreal Theme Tune]]. See also [[Deranged Animation]], [[Post Modernism]].
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
 
▲{{examples|Examples:}}
== Comic Books ==
* Bob Burden's ''[[Flaming Carrot]] Comics'', combining [[Surreal Humor]] with occasional bits of wisdom. Also formed the basis for a movie that wasn't much like the original: ''Mystery Men''.
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* From Brazilian comic ''Monica's Gang'', Louco (Nutty Ned). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Avss7-EVqM Animated example].
* Most of the humor in ''[[Le Genie Des Alpages]]'' is of the Dada variety.
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror]]'' #15 features quite a few of these.
* The Happy Noodle Boy [[Show Within a Show|comic within a comic]] from [[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]].
* [[Doom Patrol (Comic Book)|Doom Patrol]] featured the Brotherhood of Dada. They were pretty darn weird, and considering that this comic is ''the'' example of [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made Onon Drugs?]], that's saying something. One of their most memorable moments was when they first met the Doom Patrol and the leader of the Brotherhood, Mr. Nobody, threw a fish on the ground and said "There! Now we've taken over the world! What are you going to do about ''that?"''
 
 
== Newspaper Comics ==
* Though rare, [[Dada Comics]] do appear on the printed page. A well known example is Bill Griffith's ''[[Zippy the Pinhead]]'' and its [[Show Within a Show|comic-within-the-comic]] ''Fletcher and Tanya''
* "The Angriest Dog in the World" consists of a panel that briefly explains the, um, "premise" of the comic, followed by three panels of the dog in his owners' yard. The final panel is the same as the preceding three, but set at night. The only way to distinguish one comic from another is by the word balloons emanating from the house, which expound on topics ranging from silly puns to existentialist dilemmas to the makeup of obscure chemical compounds. Oh, by the way, it's written by [[David Lynch]].
* Max Cannon's ''[[Red Meat]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20131104054323/http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/ (Available online)]
* Steve Notley's ''[[Bob the Angry Flower (Webcomic)|Bob the Angry Flower]]]]'' ([[http://AngryFlower.com Also available online* Gary Larson's ''[[The Far Side]]'' (no recurring characters, with some minor, still non-canon exceptions), twisted non-sequiturs, blenderized pop-culture injokes - pretty much the forerunner of all the other [[Dada Comics]] in the newspapers)
* [[Gahan Wilson]]'s comics in ''[[Playboy]]'', ''The New Yorker'' and other publications.
* [[Charles Addams]]' comics in ''The New Yorker''.
* There is perhaps also no better way to describe the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110722221139/http://www.glenbaxter.com/gallery.html oddities] of artist [http://www.glenbaxter.com Glen Baxter.]
* Edward Gorey's [[Surreal Humor|blatantly surreal]] and [[Nightmare Fuel|occasionally nightmarish]] illustrated short stories provide an [[Ur Example]] for this trope, with particular credit due to ''The West Wing'', ''The Epileptic Bicycle'' and ''[Untitled]''.
 
 
== Webcomics ==
* ''[[Pokey the Penguin (Webcomic)|Pokey the Penguin]]'', a bizarre comic about a penguin who [[Polar Bears and Penguins|lives in the Arctic Circle]] with Mr. Nutty, a drunken and inexplicably British snowman, Skeptopotamous, an Eeyore-esque hippo, and a bunch of other penguins, going on crazy misadventures and occasionally butting heads with the Italians, who want his Arctic Circle Candy. Dialogue is in all-caps, occasionally scribbled out or in strike-through, and is peppered with lines like "THE FLYER HAS A CUTE KITTEN DRAWN ON IT! IT REPRESENTS VIOLENCE AND CARNAGE."
** Demonstrated beautifully with help from [[Final Fantasy|Cait Sith]] in this [http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/55133 flash video] by one of the minds responsible for ''[[Arfenhouse (Video Game)|Arfenhouse]]'', itself an animated example of [[Dada Comics]].
** And then there's ''[http://www.crummy.com/features/dada/pokey Dada Pokey]''...
* ''[[Chainsawsuit (Webcomic)|Chainsawsuit]]'' by Kris Straub, of [[Checkerboard Nightmare]]. Almost none of the comics are related, except for some recurring characters such as Two Cops, the cop who enrolled in the Police Academy twice by mistake, or Cthulhu. Found [http://www.chainsawsuit.com here.]
* Most of the comics at ''[http://www.renderosity.com/ Renderosity]'' fit this category.
* If ''[http://www.succubi.org/db/ Listening to 11.975MHz]'' doesn't count, ''nothing'' does. It seems to take place in a literal [[Dream Land]]. The cast includes a girl with antennae (of Pac-Man chasing a ghost) who speaks only nonsensical French, a girl in swirly [[Nerd Glasses]] who speaks only in calculus equations, a Chinese Girl who speaks only nonsensical Chinese, a [[Barbie Doll Anatomy]]-subverting [[Innocent Fanservice Girl]] (possibly Brazilian, from her dark hair and Markov-chain Portuguese) a Hippie Chick who wears 1 less item of clothing each time she appears (last seen wearing a lab coat, glasses, peace sign, hair band, sandals, and nothing else), and a walking radio that can only say the words "Zachary", "Acetaminophen", and "Beige". Oh, and random scenery that quotes... random things. Like the names of European dictators, or random snippets from 1960s novels. Randomly. This doesn't include the backgrounds and minor characters, which can be charitably described as "screwed up." Oh, and the contact page gives information on contacting the author over ''CB radio''.
** (Note: The author claims to have never heard of Dadaism.)
* ''[http://www.supermegacomics.com/ Super Mega Comics]'' certainly qualifies. The art consists entirely of poorly-drawn stick figures that put [[Megatokyo|Shirt Guy Dom]] to shame, and the plots make a marginal amount of sense, at most.
* ''[[Buttercup Festival (Webcomic)|Buttercup Festival]]'' usually consists of a protagonist, dressed like the Grim Reaper, conversing with an off-screen character about nothing in particular, and features some exceptionally strange dialogue. [http://www.buttercupfestival.com/9vol1.htm An early example can be found here.]
* ''[http://www.witchsbrew.org/ Witch's Brew]'' is ''literally'' Dada. Each strip is produced via the Exquisite Corpse game, where multiple artists collaborate on each strip, but must make their contributions without seeing any more than one panel of the strip.
* ''[[Chicanery (Webcomic)|Chicanery]]'', a sprite comic starring an assortment of ''[[EarthboundEarthBound]]'' characters and other clip art. After the events of the game, Pokey embezzles $44 million from Giygas so that he and Ness "have enough legal tender [[Lampshade Hanging|to go on nonsensical zany adventures]]". They are quickly joined in their escapades by a trigger-happy Mr. Saturn who is relatively more coherent than others of his kind, Mr. T (represented by the "generic black guy" sprite from ''[[EarthboundEarthBound]]'', which looked unmistakably like the real T), Ness's former comrade Jeff, and Pip from ''[[Chrono Cross (Video Game)|Chrono Cross]]''. These escapades include traveling through time to prevent a nuclear detonation (and briefly ending up in medieval times, represented by graphics from ''[[Ultima]] I''), the occasional treasure hunt, extended parodies of ''[[Parasite Eve]]'' and ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', and a fight between a giant Mister B. Natural and a [[Humongous Mecha]] based on ''[[MST3KMystery Science Theater 3000]]'''s Frank Conniff ("the 2000-inch TV's Frank").
* ''[[Beaver and Steve (Webcomic)|Beaver and Steve]],'' in their [https://web.archive.org/web/20130831065832/http://www.beaverandsteve.com/index.php unfeasible adventures,] do encounter the occasional recurring character or plot point (which occasions probably make for the weaker of the strips); at its best, though, this sometimes-single-page, sometimes-story-arc webcomic shows no interest in consorting with such dull companions as continuity or logic. [[There Are No Rules]] here. Anything can happen. (Although there is a better-than-average chance that there will be toasters, robots, and time travel involved.)
* ''[http://www.damonk.com/prime/d/20001003.html Framed!!!]'' is very surreal, starting with its self-referential metafictional premise of real people trapped in a comic strip. It frequently identifies conventions just so that it can violate them, such as having a character turn into abstract art or shove a tilting panel back into position. It's also responsible for the massive "Framed!!! Great Escape" crossover event, a weeks-long orgy of [[Post Modernism|metafiction]].
* ''[[Loserz (Webcomic)|Loserz]]'' sometimes falls into that, as in [https://web.archive.org/web/20110602051139/http://bukucomics.com/loserz/go/323 this] strip.
* The webcomic ''[[Dresden Codak (Webcomic)|Dresden Codak]]'' and its science-based surrealism qualifies, despite having [[Cerebus Syndrome]] for a short while.
* It is nigh on impossible to describe the black-and-white comic ''[http://www.somethinghappens.net/ Something Happens]'', but it sure fits in this category.
* Another webcomic example is ''[[Fluble (Webcomic)|Fluble]]'', with evil penguins (why is it always penguins?) working for THEM bent on galactic domination, clowns, fish, and random celebrities killed with axes.
** [[EverythingsEverything's Better Withwith Penguins]].
* ''[http://www.crummy.com/features/dada/ Dadasaurus Rex]'' takes the already eccentric ''[[Dinosaur Comics (Webcomic)|Dinosaur Comics]]'' right off the rails.
* ''[[Ctrl +Alt +Del (Webcomic)|Ctrl Alt Del]]'' does this occasionally with its Chef Brian comics.
* ''[http://revfitz.com Mr. Square Comics]'' seems to take this trope as it's manifesto, though they are ALL extremely out there, these in particular are some of the weirdest: [https://web.archive.org/web/20160313042611/http://revfitz.com/msi164.html issue 164], [https://web.archive.org/web/20160313050502/http://revfitz.com/msi93.html issue 93] [https://web.archive.org/web/20160313053613/http://revfitz.com/msi95.html and issue 95]
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20131009214510/http://www.electricretard.com/ Electric Retard]'' has this, along with [[Refuge in Audacity]]
* ''[[Subnormality (Webcomic)|Subnormality]]!'' Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the title.
* ''[http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/ Garfield Minus Garfield]''. While some show how much of [[The Woobie|a woobie]] Jon is, others simply make absolutely no sense.
** [[Garfield Minus Garfield (Webcomic)|Garfield Minus Garfield]] isn't quite as dada as the ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130603072057/http://www.dougshaw.com/garfield.html Garfield Randomizer]''.
** And ''[http://www.joshmillard.com/garkov/ Garkov]'' is what happens when you throw the dialogue in a blender.
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130907163757/http://www.likelystories.com/ The Dada Detective]'', which neatly subverts this trope by having a technically sensible plot - a detective is trying to find a missing duck - but is filled with talkative mimes, goons who are overly fond of metaphor, disco, and Peter Lorre.
* ''[[Mezzacotta (Webcomic)|Mezzacotta]]''. It's expected when there are trillions of strips and that they are generated by randomizing the lines.
** From the same people behind it comes ''[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/ Square Root of Minus Garfield]'', where people can contribute their own [[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]] strips, resulting in variants of ''Garfield Minus Garfield'''s premise like ''[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=53 Garfield Minus Jon]'' and ''[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=2 Garfield Plus Garfield]''. Others make tributes to other things like ''[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=5 Dinosaur Comics]'', ''[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=534 MS Paint Adventures]'', and ''[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=22 Homestar Runner]''. Of course, there's lots of variety like ''[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=52 Plush Garfield]'' and ''[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=51 Dark Side of the Lasange]''.
* ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'' does this occasionally, usually with the Twisp and Catsby strips.
** ''Twisp and Catsby'' [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/3/24/ started off] as a bit of a parody of [[Dada Comics]].
* ''[[Girly (Webcomic)|Girly]]'' uses this for a bit of its humor, though it is not exclusively Dada.
** However, it is the spinoff series of ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130907133359/http://cutewendy.com/go/1 Cutewendy]''; which was ''very'' Dada.
* ''[http://www.jerkcity.com Jerkcity]''
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20120901020313/http://www.slowwave.com/index.php Slow Wave]'' is a collective dream diary in comic form. It makes roughly no sense.
* ''[http://www.mountaincomics.com Mountain Time]'' is completely inane, though the author [http://mountaincomics.com/?page_id=2 claims] it is deeply meaningful.
* ''[httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20190531114716/http://megagamerz.com/ megaGAMERZ 3l33T]'' is a parody of this genre. It is ostensibly written by Diablo, a fictional evil chicken (not to be confused with all those real evil chickens) from the comic ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20111210092628/http://www.goats.com/archive/971015.html Goats]''. Early strips are barely distinguishable from real Dada Comics, but over the comic's year-long run "Diablo" pushed the comic into being a more obvious and extreme parody.
* ''[http://www.flyingmanandfriends.com/ Flying Man and Friends]''. Pick a strip. Any strip.
* This one's called ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20120706194834/http://dada.warped.com/dada.html Dada]''. There are references to the original Dada movement; for instance, the Mona Lisa is a major character. Plots are followable, but are interrupted by word-association battles so often that you might not notice.
* ''[[The Comic Adventures of Left and Right (Webcomic)|The Comic Adventures of Left and& Right]]'' is about two very similar friends that crack contrived [[Visual Pun|Visual Puns]]s when they're not plotting to kill each other.
* Everything at ''[http://www.isthistomorrow.com/ Is This Tomorrow]'' qualifies, especially Aether Transmission.
* {{color|purple|Expecting a funny example? TOO BAD!}} [[Brawl in Thethe Family (Webcomic)|WALUIGI TIME!]]
* ''[[Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff (Webcomic)|Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff]]'' a webcomic that ties into ''[[Homestuck]]''. It's a two-gamers-on-a-couch series only totally incomprehensible and ''so ironic'' you can't even begin to understand all the layers of irony.
* ''[[UnwindersUnwinder's Tall Comics (Webcomic)|Unwinders Tall Comics]]'' sometimes veers into this territory, as well as having at least one [https://web.archive.org/web/20140215025940/http://tallcomics.com/?id=48 in-universe example].
* ''[[The Tripadelic Life of Spannith No Punchlines (Webcomic)|The Tripadelic Life of Spannith No Punchlines]]'', troper-written.
* ''[[Axe Cop (Webcomic)|Axe Cop]]'', drawn by professional artist Ethan Nicolle and written by his 6-year-old brother Malachai.
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20131103154711/http://www.perfectstars.com/ Perfect Stars]'' is beautifully drawn but barely intelligible.
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20110825191603/http://z11.invisionfree.com/WOAM/index.php?s=a0e34c78016c838eaf3e5449919e0761&showforum=30 These Webcomics Are Bad]''. [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin]].
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20100721022140/http://gooddaysir.smackjeeves.com/ Tonight is a good day]'' is an obscure example, as well as one of the straightest examples of this trope (I think so, anyway.)
* ''[[Fall City Blues (Webcomic)|Fall City Blues]]'' - the recurring Transitfish Syndrome filler.
* ''[[The Book of Biff (Webcomic)|The Book of Biff]]''. Every single update, Biff has found some way to defy the laws of physics, do something inexplicable, or simply apply everyday objects in absolutely insane ways. The second comic pretty much solidified this early on - it involved Biff inexplicably trying to smother a grease fire by beating it [[When All You Have Is a Hammer|with two hammers]]. (This has since become a mini-meme among the commenters for early comics.)
* [http://www.leonatkinson.com/random/index.php/comic.html This random generator] provides a new Dada comic every time you refresh the page. ''WHEN ARE METEORIC INTERSCINDINGS MARLING YOUR FORWARD PITYINGS?''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130824232803/http://www.bogleech.com/comics/latest.htm Bogleech's comics] are definitely this, mixed with a healthy dose of [[Squick]] and horror.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131003044427/http://www.eegra.com/show/sub/cat/comics/ Eegra's 'Hilarity Comics'] are dada gaming humor.
* ''[http://www.woodsofevil.thecomicseries.com WoodsOfEvil]'' fits here.
* ''[[Large Bagel (Webcomic)|Large Bagel]]'': A human sized bagel named Pinisu-chan and her friends protect the earth with their vaguely defined [[Magical Girl]] powers. A bizarre parody of [[Magical Girl]] [[Anime|animesanime]]s and [[Fanime|fanimesfanime]]s.
* ''[[Purple Pussy (Webcomic)|Purple Pussy]]'': Which deconstructs and plays up toilet humor to near incomprehensible extremes.
* ''[httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20131209093958/http://whiteninjacomics.com/index.shtml White Ninja Comics]'' has some consistency in White Ninja's character, but his role and the the supporting cast always change from one inexplicable situation to another.
* ''[[Ctrl R (Webcomic)|Ctrl R]]''.
* ''[http://www.fiascos.thecomicseries.com/ Fiascos]'' is a comic about an unnamed man in a suit with a TV for a head and a fluorescent alien called Jam try to return to their homeland. Things descend into chaos almost immediately.
* ''[http://http://educomix.thecomicseries.com/ Educomix]'', despite picking up a storyline a few strips in, remains completely insane in comparison to anything in real life, yet runs on its own [[Magic aA Is Magic A|consistent internal logic]].
 
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Absurdity Ascendant]]
[[Category:Webcomic Tropes]]
[[Category:Dada Comics{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Trope]]
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