Cmd-Opt-Z

I hope you guys dig the new art style and the bold direction I’m taking with the story line. I felt like this comic worked really well without dialog, but if you want to… oh, I don’t know, ADD YOUR OWN, and POST YOUR EFFORTS ONLINE and maybe PUT A LINK TO IT IN THE COMMENTS I guess that would be ok.

[RSS Readers and anyone else that didn’t come in on the main page might want to click HERE]

[NOTE: I don’t actually read CAD, nor do I have any sort of grudge or hatred toward it’s creator. The original comic in question turned into a meme almost instantly and became one of the most parodied things on the internet. This is just a “me too.” If this joke does not make you laugh, please come back Friday and there will be a new comic.]

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135 Comments

  1. ______
    ___ / lmao ___
    |lol|[] | lmao | []|lol|
    _ / lmao/ _ /
    (_) _[]_ (_)
    /| | /|_()_| | |
    [ l] || || [l ]=[]
    { m] || || [m } []
    a] / | | [a/
    { o} | | | | {o}
    /_ /_
    the lmao mech

  3. Joel, you saucy bastard, that was awesome! I usually spend April fool's day offline, but had to come and check HE out. Lovely.

    Haven't run into other jokes yet, but in real life I heard that there was a Big Brother audition in my university, at the faculty of arts and design. Yeah, sure..
    ..Holy crap it turned out to be true and the place was crawling with kids who want to embarrass themselves in public and get drunk in national television.
    I mean, more than it usually is.

    -D

  6. That is made of win. I've never commented on these things before, but I just had to drop in to say what a family-sized box of win this is. They will never live that storyline down, will they?

    Also, Cmd+Opt+Z is the instant-reset command for Macs, I take it?

    • And I just noticed that his expression never changes between the panels. This just keeps getting better.

  9. I think everyone should be done in the Chibi style. It's just better art, amirite?

    Incidentally, Josh is my favorite character, but as long as you bring him back as a ghost with chains made out of bacon a la Jacob Marley, no one should notice.

  10. I think your comic should be done in the Chibi style. It's just better art, amirite?

    Incidentally, Josh is my favorite character, but as long as you bring him back as a ghost with chains made out of bacon a la Jacob Marley, no one should notice.

  18. This is one of the first comics I didn't laugh at in any way shape or form, maybe it just cause I don't give a crap about that site but it does show your artistic flexibility. Anyhoo keep up the good fight.

  19. josh is killed off so often i don't really notice anymore. is today's actually a new comic? haha!

    speaking of april fool's comics, check this one out: http://www.garanos.com/ though it is fantasy, i don't think it's up your alley typically, but since she did a star trek parody today, totally following canonically from the previous comic, she gets extra points.

  20. josh is killed off so often i don't really notice anymore. is today's actually a new comic? haha!

    speaking of april fool's comics, check this one out: http://www.garanos.com/ though it is fantasy, i don't think it's up your alley typically, but since she did a star trek parody today, totally following canonically from the previous comic, she gets extra points.

  21. Wow. You know what? I don't get why everyone hates Tim for that comic and for that story line arc. The guy was trying something, and stretching his story telling, and its his damn comic and his damn right to do so. You don't have to like it, hell no one makes you read his comic. but seriously you don't have to be an ass and mock the guy over it either.

    Seriously its like what the hell is your issue? Plenty of web comics do storylines, and plenty of them do worse ones than that and tearing someone apart because of it is just childish.

  22. Mocking is a fundamental part of freedom of speech, if that bothers you I can't tell you how sad that is and how dumb you must be, please go away.

  24. Wow. This is an instant classic. I have no problem with TimB, but don't read his comic anymore. I am amazed though how well known he must be to get this kind of reaction to a parody of his comic. I'm starting to become a big fan of Joel and to think in is only in the next town over from where I work. I'm not worthy.

  25. Ha ha, nice.

    Given how everyone seems to hate that guy, and you seem to know the readership level of every single webcomic, how many readers does he have?

    • Kane Live Through Death!
      Have you noticed both phrases are said in the exact same tempo in both their respective series (BSG, C&C)? Just putting that out there.

  32. I guess if i had to break it down and ruin the joke, it's "funny" because I spent 6 hours faking a website and copying another comics style to a T for April Fools. My sadness is your laughter.

  33. I guess if i had to break it down and ruin the joke, it's "funny" because I spent 6 hours faking a website and copying another comics style to a T for April Fools. My sadness is your laughter.

  34. Calm down. I dont care about CAD and I dont read CAD but the story line is question is part of internet lore now. Its one of the most mocked and parodied comics on the internet and it's instantly recognizable to comic fans. This isnt an attack on Tim. It's my saying "me too" regarding a popular meme. You sure did infer a lot of negativity from 4 panels with no words. Seriosuly… Its for laughs. Laugh.

  37. I wasn't trying to say it wasn't funny, it's that it was such a step out of what I was expecting that I was disappointed and didn't laugh tell I read the blog and I do appreciate your efforts. I could have been more thoughtful in my original post but I'm trying to multitask right now.

    P.S. Sorry for the sadness.

  42. You didn't make a point as much as you made an "Ad Hominum" attack. I agree that it's pure parody, but I'm not griping against Gaidin.

  43. Whew, I saw this coming. Haha, but seriously I was just sharing my opinion and taking a stance for something I felt even though I knew it was opposed by most of the internet. I didn't mean to insult anyone or sound like I was all "you guys all suck" or something. Just saying "hey whats everyone's problem with that comic?"

    So in short, I'll still defend that comic and its story line and Tim for writing it. Oh and I like hijinks ensue, its a good comic and hope it keeps going for a long time.

    • You totally deserve your opinion, and it doesn't matter whether most of the internet agrees with you or not. As for what the problem is, anyone who went from a traditional CAD comic to that comic with understanding of what was going on would get the Benz from the change. TB has every right to explore whatever kind of story he likes. Just as everyone has the right to point out the jarring difference of the juxtaposition. Its so jarring as to be… laughable maybe?

  48. April Fool's on us, eh Joel? A very bold move, but I think CAD drew a lot of flak for the first time they did it. The guys from Penny Arcade really insulted Buckley, as the link you postd above shows, and Yahtzee totally ripped on webcomics in general ( and CAD in particular) in one of his videos and on his blog. Just giving a head's up in case Yahtzee sets his sights on you too.

  49. I stopped reading CAD weeks before he did his "experiment". For me, I was tired of badly done insane Chef strips. Later I heard he was trying a new tone and story that was "edgy" and "controversial." As a guy who has watched more shitty gay-themed movies than I care to admit, I am reasonably convinced that when an author calls his/her work "controversial" what they really mean is "no one likes this badly done shit."

  51. Hilarious. You nailed the way his mouth just sort of hangs open all the time.

    Josh can always try again, right? I mean, unless the damage was so extensive that they had to remove his bacon uterus.

  57. laughed my ass off at this.

    I do read CAD and though I thought the topic was a little heavy for a goofy webcomic I thought the outrage over the story arc was childish

    it was like:

    "What? you expect me to deal with your characters ocasionally struggling with real life scenarios in order to build character development? BLASPHEMER!!! CRUSIFY HIM!!! CRUSIFY HIM!!!!"

    • As I understand it (and I dont really understand it) the outrage was more about when the girl apologized for being "a bitch" or whatever after the miscarriage. I think they felt that showed a disconnect from the "realistic" story he was trying to tell.

      • I think that may be the excuse but the underlying issue was at having the presumed story arc of a cute fest of cheezy sitcom cliche ripped to shreds, and daring to dabble in a deeper storytelling.

        Everyone bitched about the fluff, and when he writes a tradgidy that puts a rift into the relationship that allows a former scumbag bf to get a foothold in his life they didn't even give him a chance to see where he went with it.

        yeah it's unrealistic, because it's fiction. obviously these people never read any Shakespeare.

        like I said, I thought this was hilarious but some people have a problem with putting things into perspective. There have been way worse jokes that aren't even character developments that failed to incite such rage, IE…

        http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=271
        http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=272

        • The problem I had, I don't know about other people, was that was not the comic that I visited. I have no problem with deeper storytelling and in fact have many comics bookmarked that would have plots that fall into that category. My issue was that it was a humor comic that completely changed directions. Humor comics can do good bits of drama and drama can do good comedy. This however seemed out of place and did not fit with the rest of the comic. Weather one views it as good or not branding is a major aspect of life and I imagine that if he had simply started up another comic, a non-comedy, or at least a different style of comedy, on that same site and used this storyline there he would not have caught so much flack.

          End wall of text

          Oh and the comment about not "those people" not having read Shakespeare, well for one I personally think many of his plays are overrated, not to say he wasn't brilliant, but overall the comment is condescending and unwarranted .

          Re end wall of text

          Uh… ya, all this is ignoring that fact that I don't know much about the online rage surrounding the arc, just anecdotal but my points about what I thought/think still stand. Also there is not way in hell I am going to bother editing this since I got carried about with overly verbose explanations as I am doing right now so…

          end wall of text (really this time)

          • Crap really should have looked that over at least once before posting. Well anyway, I am aware of my stupid mistakes, I don't care enough to correct them here, and I have got to stop posting comments when I am lacking sleep.

            • <start substitutions>The problem I had, I don't know about other people, was that was not the Play I came to see at the Globe that I visited. I have no problem with deeper storytelling and in fact have frequented many Plays that would have plots that fall into that category. My issue was that Romeo and Juliet was a love story that completely changed directions. Dramas can do good bits of tradgey and tradgedy can do good bits of drama. This however seemed out of place and did not fit with the rest of the play. Weather one views it as good or not branding is a major aspect of life and I imagine that if he had simply started up another Play, a non-drama, or at least a different style of drama, and used this storyline there he would not have caught so much flack. </end substitutions>

              It took a turn down a dark alley which happens in CAD regularly.this time people lost their minds about it. Tim deserves shit for being a douche in real life, however the miscarriage fits fine with about 10 other disasters that he wrote into his story arcs, IE The apartment building they all live in burning to the ground with nothing salvagable, Job loss, Gold Digger attempting to murder characters etc etc.

              • The thing is that all the other disasters were done with at least a somewhat amusing overtone, no I'm not saying he should have done this for the miscarriage, and this one did not. Again this is why I mentioned branding. Again you might think it a bad thing but in life branding is a very very important part of media and this storyline "broke the brand" as it were, a bit of hyperbole there but my point comes across. Suddenly I'm thinking of New Coke, I'm sure there is an analogy somewhere in there but frankly I don't acre enough. Anyway to close, I actually don't like Romeo and Juliet but that analogy I don’t think works. That is a single play. Each play is a separate work. Comics are one work, each arc may be different but they are still all part of CAD. The only umbrella Romeo and Juliet falls under is the writer and I mentioned that I think he would not have been criticized so much, which again may have been over the top I didn’t follow the response that much, if it had been under the umbrella of a different comic under the greater umbrella of TB. When a play is not what one expect there are two possibilities, the marketing was bad and gave an improper idea of what the play was about, or the viewer was mistaken as to the nature of the play. What would be a better analogy would be if the final light saber duel in Return of the Jedi had been replaced with a tap dance competition, again extreme hyperbole but… ya…. I think you’ll get my point. Also just for the record I still read CAD, partially cause of my massive webcomics addiction, but also because although I recognise branding I don’t view it as paramount and therefor was willing to see what happened, whether it changed or stayed the same I was willing to wait and see if it was good. You are fully entitled to your opinion of whether it fit or not which is why, assuming a polite response, if any, I am most likely not going to bother making another post. I am also going to be stupid again and not bother editing.

  60. Let me preface this with some information. I like your work, I've always thought you were a decent guy, and I got my boyfriend hooked on your podcasts.

    However, when did this become a popular meme? I read CAD, (as well as ~100 other comics) and only heard that there had been some backlash in the webcomic community, which I mostly chalked up to creative differences and ignored. Where in the depths of the internet was this "popular" meme being spread? 4chan and ED don't count as "popular" to me, since one of the requirements for frequenting those sites is having twisted sensibilities.

    I was offended and disappointed that you picked this strip to parody. As far as I can tell, the community derides Tim for being insensitive and dealing with this emotional issue so poorly, but then you spread it so more people can be exposed to his "insensitive" portrayal? And you want me to LAUGH at miscarriage? This indicates to me that you are either just as unintentionally insensitive as Tim or you are intentionally being a giant ass.

    I'm not trying to defend Tim, or prevent you from mocking him. Everyone does deserve a good mocking. But you picked the wrong way to do it.

    • I knew not everyone would get a kick out of this comic, but you are entitled to your opinion. Im glad you felt free to share a differing view point without fear of repercussion. Im trying to keep this site "debate friendly" and free of "internet-fight."

      Just to clarify, i didnt put much thought into this. I had the idea at 10:30pm on the 31st and spent about 6 hours putting the fake site and the comic together. Its one comic out of hundreds. I thought it was funny to make fun of something a lot of other people had made fun of some months ago. Im certainly not making fun of miscarriage. Its a man in the hospital bed, so I dont think that was an issue. Its a "prank" on my readers that most of them have seemed to enjoy. Sorry I cant count you among them, but hopefully you'll stick around and find more stuff to laugh at.

    • Wow. You are in serious need of a sense of humor, like YESTERDAY. It's not making fun of miscarriages any more than the comic that inspired it did–hell, it's not even a woman character!

      To say that Joel's work in this April Fool's Joke (which, if you have any reference to popular culture, will know that NOTHING is sacred on that day) is unfunny and insensitive like calling a Three Stooges routine childish and immature–it misses the point. While I'm not saying that I myself am a fan of the Stooges' brand of humor nor am I likening Joel's work (or rather, Tim's for being the progenitor of this meme) to the Stooges' iconic comedic antics. All I am saying is that it is not for everyone.

      Joel's no stranger to controversy. He has dealt with many hot button issues, namely making jokes about some of the characters' ethnicities (Eli and Denise, namely), or at the expense of the recently deceased (Isaac Hayes, anyone?) and lest we forget, the debacle that came over the repeated use of homosexuality–reliably at Josh's expense (especially the seemingly innocuous jokes that this strip spawned, surprisingly: http://hijinksensue.com/2009/01/14/recommended-fo… ).

      I'm not condoning the ridicule of such sensitive topics, but you really gotta loosen up a bit. Joel's first job in keeping HE going is to entertain us, his fans, who without us, there is no point. If you don't see the humor in the strip, that's fine, they can't all be winners and he can't always please everyone. But again I think you are missing the point of the April Fool's joke.

      Sure, you can get offended and thank you for voicing your opinion on it. But I don't see what the harm is in posting a strip that shows a male character in a hospital bed, who without any means of his own can bear a child, can be offensive to you.

      But that's just me. I don't pretend to know where you're coming from. All I am suggesting is that you probably read into the joke more than you were intended to.

    • Your sensibilities have nothing to do with what's popular. The reality is that 4chan generates a huge amount of traffic and serves as the source for 95% of the memes that eventually filter down to you and all the other "sensible" individuals.

      Also, CAD has always been utter trash, and this inane storyline is simply the best example of that overpowering suckage.

      • Shhhh… the rest of the internet isnt ready to know that 4Chan's army of ultra-offensive 14 year olds are responsible for most of the LOLS! Its one of those "you cant handle the truth!" type issues.

      • Shhhh… the rest of the internet isnt ready to know that 4Chan's army of ultra-offensive 14 year olds are responsible for most of the LOLS! Its one of those "you cant handle the truth!" type issues.

  61. I hated that storyline because I felt, and yes, I don't know what was happening in the head, that he'd done all this build up to "Oh, parenthood, parents baby baby baby baby" with the intention of doing the miscarriage at the end of it. In other words, I felt it to be a deliberate manipulation of the audience with no intention at all of having any lasting effect on the characters.

    Also, I work guest relations at con, and I found the guy to be a massive dick. 8)

  62. I actually thought I hit the wrong bookmark and for some reason, Buckley was parodying YOU by using your characters in his story. Then I thought it was a guest comic, and was even more confused. When I finally realized that I was just drunk, I had a nice lol at my own stupidity.

    Just to clarify, I read keep CAD in my comic bookmarks and read it fairly regularly. That does not prevent me from acknowledging that the whole Miscarriage fiasco was Shark Jump 5000.

    • I know this seems meta upon meta but (and youll just have to take my word for it) I was actually trying to make fun of the back lash the original comic got and not the comic itself or Tim Buckley. I dont read CAD so I dont really know what its all about. I know Tim has a bad rep but Ive never met him so I have no first hand experience. I was really trying to get at "hey, remember that thing the internet got upset about a while back? Here it is again with my characters and a fake web site. April Fools!"

      Anyone actually getting offended at this fake upon fake twice meta'd comic is a little beyond me.

  63. i still don't actually understand the comic, b'c i in no way read CAD, but just reading all the comments is great. i love the speech bubbles ppl are coming up with!

    • I'm with what Johnny Ace said.

      Also, I'm never reading a comic first from my phone again…ever.

      Also, I'm back before Friday….dammit! 🙂

  65. i'm actually a fan of cad for the most part, and i check it every week or so; i thought my brain was melting when your page started to load; your version caused strange looks in the room i'm in as everyone stared at me laughing at it; good stuff

  67. Well, you get double kudos for actually putting effort in to your word art and balloons, and more importantly the funnier ending of 0004p9gq!

  71. I give guests the benefit of the doubt, they're away from home, they're jetlagged, most are sick and worried about the financial viability of this… But by the end of the second weekend with him I was just like, "Oh, nope, just a dick." 8)

  74. </begintroll>Anyone who finds abortion or miscarriage funny is stupid!</endtroll>
    Sorry with all the debate over an april fools joke I couldn't resist. 😀

  75. I would just say that I don´t really enjoyed this comic. As a foreigner I´m a little bit oblivious to all the controversy that generates in cons or in forums about webcomics. A lot of people seems to take for granted that we all know what´s going on under the ropes in the internet and ´till now I had no idea of any of this. I do enjoy HE and CAD, each one for different reasons. This thing is pretty old and had little to do with anything nowadays, and that´s why I don´t think is funny – otherwise it would be rather funny see eli suffering 😀

    Anyway, great job Joel. we appreciate the effort.

  76. Too true. 4Chan is to Internet Humour as Gay Men are to Fashion: they're dictating what will be the mainstream a year down the track.

  77. Too true. 4Chan is to Internet Humour as Gay Men are to Fashion: they're dictating what will be the mainstream a year down the track.

  78. This is one of the first comics I didn't laugh at in any way shape or form.

    You make it sound like Joel parodied "Penny Arcade".

  79. Somebody do me a favor and point me to the CAD comic this is a parody of? I did a quick look down all the responses here and didn’t see one, sorry if I missed it.

  81. Never mind, somebody else asked the same question somewhere else and I got:

    http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=2008…

    I don't read that comic either, so I checked out several comics before and after to get some context. Can't see how this is at all funny.

    Of course, I never understood how "You like me, you really like me." became such a laugh riot. Apparently most people have no ability to process real tragedy or true feelings.

  83. A girlfriend got me into CAD a few weeks ago, and I read the entire thing in one night–including the miscarriage arc. I loved it, mostly because I'd just been through one myself, and I got the release from that story arc that I'd yet to find anywhere else.
    That being said, I laughed so hard just now reading this comic. Good job, Joel. I know not everyone shares my sense of humor, but there's too much messed up crap going on in the world today to get upset over what was clearly meant to be a funny parody. Thank you! ^.^

  85. Oh man… I noticed the different drawing style. Then I scrolled down. Laughed for 30 seconds straight. Eyes officially watering.

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