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{{work}}
[[File:WW74Complete_1646.jpg|frame|Elly and the reason she never says "It could always be worse."]]
{{quote|'''Sam:''' When exactly did we stop pursuing happiness and start avoiding unhappiness?.
'''''[http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com The Word Weary]''''' (sometimes called ''The Word Weary Comic'') is a [[Stick Figure Comic]] webcomic about [http://twulasso.com/?p=522 disappointment, loneliness and love]{{Dead link}} centered around John Kossler, an [[Author Avatar]], and his friends.▼
▲{{quote|''When exactly did we stop pursuing happiness and start avoiding unhappiness?.''<br />
▲''Probably the minute we entered our early 20s.''|'''John'''}}
▲[http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com The Word Weary] (sometimes called 'The Word Weary Comic') is a [[Stick Figure Comic]] webcomic about [http://twulasso.com/?p=522 disappointment, loneliness and love] centered around John Kossler, an [[Author Avatar]], and his friends.
The author, John Kossler, makes light of his depression and his position as the [[The Woobie|omega male]] in his group of friends. When the comic begins, the audience is introduced to Yorick Kingsley, a performance artist who is [[Comedic Sociopathy|somewhat mean]] to John, Jason Kirkwood, a hard drinking [[Politically Incorrect Hero|misogynist]] philosopher and the only member of the group who was in a relationship when the comic started, and Sam Kirkwood, Jason's younger brother and the voice of reason in the group. Soon the characters meet Harry the Hipster and his girlfriend, Elly, an independent [[Fiery Redhead]], to whom John finds himself instantly attracted. Later introduced are Lillith, a girl who plays Dungeons and Dragons and thinks [[Nerds Are Sexy]], her friend, Grace, who prefers being alone to having to deal with immaturity (while still deeply wanting to love and be loved), and Lillith's socially awkward stalker, Nick Trotmann (who's ALSO implied to be an [[Author Avatar]]).
The comic is heavily [[Slice of Life]] (almost to the point of being a [[Journal Comic]]) and much of the humor comes from the friction between the character's personalities. Kossler makes use of puns, [[Dead Baby Comedy]], sarcasm and the occasional [[Bottom of the Barrel Joke]]. Strewn throughout are [[Wham! Episode|Wham Episodes]] in which all pretense of humor is dropped and the emotions of the characters are explored... but these are pretty rare.
''The Word Weary'' is notable for its tight narrative (issues #4-#79 comprise one day in [[Webcomic Time]]) and attention to continuity while maintaining the humor. Kossler has also mentioned numerous times that he tries to make the female characters in the comic as realistic and relatable as possible - while still featuring misogynistic male characters. The comic updates Thursday and Saturday with... [[Schedule Slip|spotty consistency.]]
The comic started in 2011. It has not been updated since 2014.
----
{{tropelist}}
▲* [[Abusive Parents]]:
▲** John mentions off-handedly that his parents were abusive alcoholics.
** The Mayor seems pretty abusive to his family.
* [[Actually Pretty Funny]]: Though initially annoyed at Yorick's shirt with his face on it, John later remarks to himself that he thinks it's funny.
** He eventually decides to use it as the punchline for the next issue of the in-comic comic.
* [[Affectionate Parody]]: Of [[Peanuts]] in [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/10/8-october-2011.html this "guest comic."]
Line 43 ⟶ 39:
* [[Arc Words]]: Comics [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/06/15-june-2011.html 40], [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/06/16-june-2011.html 41] and [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/06/21-june-2011.html 42] all end with the same words: "There's no way this can end badly."
* [[Art Evolution]]: Prior to strip 80, all the Caucasian characters were #FFFFFF white. After the beginning of the second arc, Kossler gave them actual skin color and began shading them.
** One commenter wondered if he were trying out new styles and layouts during his "Guest Strip" week, which immediately preceded that comic.
* [[Art Shift]]:
** During the parts of the series that take place in the Dungeons and Dragons game the characters are playing, the normally bright color palette is replaced with black and white. The monsters featured in the game are also drawn more realistically, with the notable exception of the White Satyr.
** It's subtle, but the color palette becomes much more drab after the start of the second day. (See [[Darker and Edgier]]).
** During the "Guest Comic Week" that John Kossler admitted he had authored himself, there is a [[Furry Fandom|furry]] comic, a [[Photo Comic]] and a [[Affectionate Parody|parody]] of Peanuts.
* [[Author Appeal]]: John fits his interest in history (the Dungeons and Dragons game), the occult (Claude and some of the tapestries in The Abbey restaurant) and indie music (many of the titles) into the comic.
** And Russian culture. Lots and lots of Russian culture.
* [[Author Avatar]]: The [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/p/about.html About section] states that five of the characters are based on the author and his friends.
Line 56 ⟶ 52:
* [[Bedmate Reveal]].
* [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy]]: The concept behind the Dungeons and Dragons game, except it applies to the entire Russian Revolution, not just one person.
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]:
** Sam is a lot nicer to John than Yorick and Jason, but flies off the handle when provoked enough.
** John is usually obsequious and quiet... right up until you get him drunk.
Line 65 ⟶ 61:
** The girl's shirt in [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/08/13-august-2011-48-hours-late.html this comic] doesn't actually say "air" in Japanese.
*** {{spoiler|Because it says "fart."}}
* [[Binge Montage]]: [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/10/1-october-2011.html The first season finale.]
* [[Black Best Friend]]: Grace to Lilly. Although [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/05/24-may-2011.html issue 31] implies that they're just work buddies.
* [[Blinding Bangs]]: Although he has his hair covering his eyes, the White Satyr is still pretty accurate with that scythe.
* [[Blunt Yes]]: Invoked often in many different ways.
* [[Breakout Character]]: Invoked by name... by Captain Scrotumbutt.
* [[Brick Joke]]:
** Yorick's tear drinking.
** Yorick's "This Guy Fucked Your Girlfriend" shirt. It's appeared in nearly every comic since issue 4.
Line 77 ⟶ 73:
* [[A Boy and His X]]: Harry the Hipster and Kerouac the Pig.
* [[Brutal Honesty]]: Quite a bit of it.
* [[Butt Monkey]]: John and Poor Trotmann.
* [[Cannot Spit It Out]]: Hey, look! It's Poor Trotmann again!
* [[Cannot Talk to Women]]: Poor Trotmann personifies this trope completely. John is a little better at it, but chickens out of asking them out on a date.
Line 88 ⟶ 84:
* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: See [[Angrish]].
* [[Chew Toy]]: John for Jason and Yorick.
** Although it appears they have adopted Poor Trotmann as their new one.
*** "Did you get us a new toy?!"
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Jason.
Line 94 ⟶ 90:
* [[Continuity Nod]].
* [[Continuity Porn]]: ''Justified'' since the comics all take place close together (see [[Webcomic Time]]), but some of the jokes tend to fall flat if you haven't read the whole comic.
* [[The Corrupter]]: Jason and Yorick to John. They try, at least.
* [[Crapsack World]]: As John said in the comments section of [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/11/19-november-2011.html this issue], the main philosophy of The Word Weary is "when it rains, it pours and also you get struck by lightning and one of the paramedics who revives you steals your shoes."
* [[Creator Breakdown]]: The alt text of [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/09/3-september-2011.html this issue] and the news under [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/10/1-october-2011.html this comic] imply the entire comic is one long one.
* [[Crosses the Line Twice]]: [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/04/8-april-2011.html This strip]. Even Yorick admits he can't top it.
Line 103 ⟶ 99:
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Yorick. Pretty much all of his lines so far, in fact.
* [[Derailing Love Interests]]: ''Played with.'' John was ecstatic when he got Lillith's number, but uses {{spoiler|Poor Trotmann's lie that she had a boyfriend as an excuse not to pursue her.}}
* [[Deus Angst Machina]]:
** John much? On his [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/p/characters.html character page] John meets and unnamed girl. When she passes him by, he remarks that it was wrong of him to hope.
*** That may have been his ex-girlfriend, who he describes more in the post on [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/07/12-july-2011.html this] comic.
** Poor Trotmann. So very very much.
* [[Did They or Didn't They?]]: Neither {{spoiler|John nor Elly}} remember having sex, but considering they woke up naked together, she believes they did.
* [[Did You Just Have Sex?]]: Ostensibly Sam and Lillith in [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/11/6-november-2011.html this issue.]
* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: Jason opens a bottle of beer on the goddess queen of the sun's face during a dream.
* [[Does Not Like Men]]: Grace seems to be turned off by immaturity.
Line 116 ⟶ 112:
* [[Easter Egg]]: When a person clicks on the comic, most will just take you to the image file by itself. Some however lead the viewer to a different website.
* [[Embarrassing First Name]]: Elienne goes by Elly.
* [[Entitled Bastard]]: Doesn't come up so much in the comic, but Kossler said in a [http://twulasso.com/?p=522 newspaper interview]{{Dead link}} that this is how he sees every character.
* [[Everybody Is Single]]: Out of the nine main characters, only three are in relationships when the narrative starts.
* [[Everybody Smokes]]: Most of the main characters- John, Harry the Hipster, Grace and Poor Trotmann- smoke. Some of the smoking is justified by the fact that John works at a hookah lounge.
Line 125 ⟶ 121:
* [[Feathered Fiend]]: [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2012/05/10-may-2012.html Jake the blue jay.]
* [[Five Stages of Grief]]: ''Parodied'' as the five stages of drinking.
* [[Flipping the Bird]]: John does this when he angrily announces he refuses to do the comic anymore.
* [[Fortune Teller]]: ''Played with'' by Claude- he reads Tarot on the street even though he doesn't actually put any stock into prognostication.
* [[Four Eyes, Zero Soul]]: All of the characters have [[Monochromatic Eyes]], but Harry is the only character with glasses whose lenses are opaque. Considering he's a manipulative sociopath, he fits this trope nicely.
* [[Four
** '''The Cynic'''- Jason
** '''The Optimist-''' John
Line 145 ⟶ 141:
* [[Humans Are Flawed]]
* [[Hurricane of Puns]]: [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_12.html This strip's] alt text has a flurry of penis jokes based on how John draws his characters.
* [[Idiosyncratic Episode Naming]]:
** Most titles are names of songs or albums, but the three issues that end with the phrase "there's no way this can end badly (see [[Arc Words]]) all end with a variation on "No Way..."
** [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/11/29-november-2011.html Issue 96], in which John and Elly have a conversation but their dialogue isn't written, has no title.
** The title of issue 61 is the number 61 written in binary and the title of issue 64 is simply called "Nintendo."
Line 155 ⟶ 151:
* [[It Got Worse]]: Despite trying to stop the universe from punishing her further in the first arc, the second arc dumps a whole new load of crap onto Elly.
* [[I Wrote Our Story]]: John Kossler is writing a webcomic about John Kossler writing a webcomic.
** While trying to think of ideas to write his next issue (to be released the next day), it's mentioned John has already completed three. Later at the bar he talks about stealing Yorick's shirt as the punchline for his joke- which was indeed the punchline of issue four of the series.
*** Thus Day One of the comic takes place on March 14, 2011.
* [[Jerkass]]: Yorick. So very much so.
Line 163 ⟶ 159:
* [[Kick Them While They Are Down]]: Here, homeless guy! Have some [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/12/3-december-2011.html cat food!]
* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: Grace gets chewed out by her boss for her recent tardiness and points out that she called in the previous Thursday. Sort of like how the comic had been going up late often the week previous to it and John did indeed miss the previous Thursday's update.
** The title of [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/10/27-october-2011.html that issue] hangs a lampshade on [[Lampshade Hanging]].
* [[Lap Pillow]]: Lillith lets Elly rest in her lap after she discovers her passed out on a bathroom floor.
* [[Let's See You Do Better]]: Emile's mother says as much to Elly after she criticizes her parenting.
* [[Lonely Together]]: ''Averted'' when {{spoiler|Poor Trotmann}} declines to go on a date with Grace.
* [[Long Pants]]: One of the defining features of the art style.
* [[Love Martyr]]: Elly sticks by Harry even though she's unhappy with being tied down to anyone.
Line 172 ⟶ 168:
** [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/06/24-june-2011.html CHEER THE FUCK UP.]
* [[Male Gaze]]: Though the comic never frames a scene around women's breasts, it's mentioned many times that John pays attention to little else when talking to women.
** [
* [[The Man]]: Referred to in the title of [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/11/3-november-2011.html this issue.]
* [[Men Act, Women Are]]:
** ''Subverted'' with Grace and Elly, who are as much agents of the story as the male characters.
** ''Played straight'' with Lillith, who has much less character development than the other two and seems to do little more than react to situations.
* [[Misanthrope Supreme]]: Many, many of the characters.
** "Why bother cultivating this girl if you're not going to plough her?"
Line 183 ⟶ 179:
* [[Misogyny]]: In The Word Weary? NEVER.
* [[Modesty Bedsheet]]:
** ''Parodied'' when Elly finds {{spoiler|John}} lying naked on her floor and covers herself in a towel. He wonders to himself why she would bother covering her body if they've had sex.
** This is ''justified'' since she doesn't remember having sex with him and thus wouldn't feel comfortable being naked around him.
* [[Moment Killer]]: [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/04/18-april-2011.html This issue] would have been [[Love At First Sight]] had it not been for the inappropriate interjection.
Line 189 ⟶ 185:
* [[Mood Whiplash]]: So there were 33 joke-a-day comics and then [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/06/31-may-2011.html WHAT THE HELL?!]
* [[Monster Clown]]: Yorick's rogue character in the D&D game dresses like a jester. And he's just as acerbic and mean as he is in real life.
* [[Nerds Are Virgins]]: ''Subverted.''
** Despite playing Dungeons and Dragons, Jason is in a committed relationship when the comic starts. And John has apparently had sex with someone's girlfriend.
*** {{spoiler|Scratch that, TWO people's girlfriends.}}
** Lillith really likes nerdy guys.
* [[Nietzsche Wannabe]]:
** A surprising number of characters have made nihilistic tirades:
*** Jason is the most prominent example as the majority of advice he gives seems to be based on a wholly pessimistic worldview.
*** Harry also fits into this trope as he believes everyone he knows will end up disappointing him monumentally.
** The author may be ''playing with'' the trope as all of the Nietzchian monologues are made for comedic effect, possibly signaling that he finds the viewpoint absurd.
* [[No Dialogue Episode]]: Used sparingly but effectively in [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/11/29-november-2011.html this issue] and [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/09/3-september-2011.html this one.]
* [[No Social Skills]]: John is constantly referring to his inability to talk with girls (except, apparently, for Lillith and Elly). Jason and Yorick managed to get the group kicked out of a restaurant.
* [[Not Good
* [[Not Good
* [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore]]: The author flat out stated in his About section that he is willing to make major changes to the characters.
* [["Not Making This Up" Disclaimer]]: John has said in many newsposts that much of the content in the comic is based on real life... even when he ordered pizza in the guise of a Dungeons and Dragons character.
* [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]: The Mayor ruins a man after claiming a building the man had renovated was historical AFTER the man had spent $150,000 to renovate it.
** The author stated in a [["Not Making This Up" Disclaimer]] in the comments section that he read an article about something similar happening in Dallas, so it has a little [[Truth in Television]] value.
* [[One Dialogue, Two Conversations]]: John and Madeline have one of these discussing "roaches." [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* [[One of Us]]: John himself plays D&D and reveals he's a fan of TV Tropes in the About section of his site.
Line 214 ⟶ 210:
** ''The GROUPACALYPSE!''
* [[The Rant]]: The comics in which characters go off on tirades or monologues tend to outnumber the comics in which they don't.
* [[Grigori Rasputin
* [[Raised Catholic]]: John makes the sign of the cross when he hears a siren and has an icon of the Virgin Mary in his room.
* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: Branden, a friend of the group who works for Yorick, gives one to Yorick after he decides not to fight the injunction on his show.
* [[Rebellious Spirit]]: Elly.
* [[Reluctant Fanservice Girl]]: Elly. She's been naked or nearly naked twice and [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2012/03/20-march-2012.html both] [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/10/13-october-2011.html times] she seemed mortified at the experience.
* [[Rock Bottom]]: With her relationship on the rocks and her underpaying job keeping her from getting a car, Elly muses that she's "run out of things to go wrong in her life."
* [[Schedule Slip]]: The author makes much note of the days he updates on time.
* [[Secret Police]]: Morris refers to Harry as "the Gestapo of Upstate New York."
* [[Seen It All]]: Ida, the Mayor's assistant, isn't phased at all when he trashes his office and [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2012/03/24-march-2012.html defenestrates his phone.]
Line 226 ⟶ 222:
** The three guest comics John Kossler wrote himself, as they all poke fun at comic.
* [[Shrinking Violet]]: Lillith and John. But John's getting better, it seems.
* [[Shout
** Many of the comics' titles have their names taken from songs. Another is lifted from a William Faulkner novel.
** Chris mentions employees named [[Questionable Content|Jeph]], [[Girls
* [[Shown Their Work]]: The panels that take place in St. Petersberg are all photos of the city.
* [[Sibling Yin-Yang]]:
** Sam and Jason Kirkwood.
** Even more pronounced with Harry and Mona Byrnewald.
Line 237 ⟶ 233:
* [[Sliding Scale of Gender Inequality]]: A very rare Type 5 as the male and female characters are portrayed with the same amount of agency- that being said, there are many more male characters than female.
* [[Slut Shaming]]: Openly ''subverted.'' Mona and Lillith hook up with men shortly after meeting them, but none of the characters who know about their trysts think anything of it. When {{spoiler|Elly sleeps with John}} after knowing him for only a day, she's more concerned about cheating on her boyfriend than the fact that she slept with him.
* [[Smoking Is Cool]]:
** ''Played straight:'' Grace is the only character introduced so far who smokes cigarettes regularly. She seems more relaxed and at peace with the world than the other characters. She also has a nerdy white friend who looks up to her.
** ''Inverted:'' Poor Trotmann is the opposite of cool and he smokes hookah at the lounge in which John works.
* [[Sophisticated As Hell]]: The characters are all pretty fucking articulate.
* [[Stalker
* [[Stylistic Suck]]: ''Inverted.'' It's a stick figure comic (the female characters' breasts are... interesting) but when the characters are playing D&D, the monsters and villains are drawn more realistically.
** In the comic in which John apologizes for missing [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2012/04/so-jason-sam-yorick-i-spent-last-two.html two weeks of updates], the monsters again show a level of sophistication that doesn't appear in the comic proper.
Line 249 ⟶ 245:
* [[Sympathetic Adulterer]]: Elly feels awful about cheating on her boyfriend, but definitely [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/06/21-june-2011.html has her reasons.]
* [[Take That]]: Even though he claims to appreciate the novel, the author says in the [[Alt Text]] of [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2012/01/birthday-comics.html this comic] that half of John Updike's ''Rabbit, Run'' is just the author talking about how much he "likes blowjobs and dry humping."
* [[
** John and Poor Trotmann refer to themselves in the second person during their one-man conversations.
** Sam takes this to the next level by talking to one of his [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/08/11-august-2011.html hallucinations.]
** A very meta example: During the infamous first guest comic week that John [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/10/9-october-2011.html authored himself], each comic was prefaced with the correspondence between him and the person making the guest comics. Since he wrote them himself, he was literally talking to himself.
** Elly when she's trying to console herself.
* [[This Is Sparta]]: ''Parodied'' and ''played straight'' in [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/09/4-september-2011.html this issue.]
Line 264 ⟶ 260:
** Wring!
** Knead! Knead!
** An audible '''SNAP''' is heard when [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/04/7-april-2011.html Sam] and [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/11/15-november-2011.html Elly] break down.
* [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]: It's an ensemble piece, but all of the main characters have been douchebags during some point in the comic.
* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: John, Yorick, Sam and Jason. They're close.
* [[Wall of Text]]: The comic can get verbose, but [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/06/14-june-2011.html comic 39] takes this trope [[Up to Eleven]].
* [[Webcomic Time]]: Every comic from issue four until 79 WAS ONE DAY.
** Issue five indicates it's 3:30 in the afternoon and issue 29 states it's almost 9 at night. That means that, in the six weeks that passed between their release, it's only been a few hours.
** The trend continues in Day Two. As of this writing, it's about lunchtime the day after the story proper starts... which means that, in 140 comics and over a year of updates, it's only been about 24 hours.
* [[What Did I Do Last Night?]]: In the second season premier, John wakes up naked on a floor and has no clue how he got there.
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/04/19-april-2011.html THIS IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.]
* [[White Male Lead]]: Out of the nine main characters, six are male, eight are white, all nine are heterosexual.
* [[World War
* [[You Are Not Alone]]: Judging by one of the [http://wordwearycomic.blogspot.com/2011/07/12-july-2011.html comments the author left in response] to a fan who took the comic's themes of loneliness and alienation to heart, John Kossler views his entire comic as one reminder to people that he too feels alone and alienated but finds humor in his situation. YMMV on how effective he is at this.
* [[You Need to Get Laid]]: Jason on why John shouldn't pursue Lillith just as a friend.
* [[You Wake Up in
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Web Comics]]
[[Category:Web Comics of the 2010s]]
[[Category:Defunct Web Comics]]
[[Category:Stick Figure Comic]]
[[Category:Historical Webcomics]]
[[Category:Slice of Life Webcomics]]
▲[[Category:Webcomic]]
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