webcomic
Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books.
Webcomics can be co ...
and humor website created in 2009 by cartoonist Matthew Inman. It offers original comics, quizzes, and occasional articles. Inman has produced a series of ''Oatmeal'' books with content from the webcomic and previously unpublished material, related board games, and other merchandise.
In 2010, Inman said ''The Oatmeal'' received more than four million unique visitors per month. In 2012, he said ''The Oatmeal'''s annual revenue was around US$500,000, of which three-quarters came from merchandising and the rest from advertising. The website won the
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
for Best Digital/Webcomic in 2014.
In 2019, Inman announced plans to step back from ''The Oatmeal'' for a while to concentrate on other work.
Website
Creation
Inman created ''The Oatmeal'' website in 2009. Early comics regularly made the front page of
Digg
Digg, stylized in lowercase as digg, is an American news aggregator with a curated front page, aiming to select stories specifically for the Internet audience such as science, trending political issues, and viral Internet issues. It was launch ...
, driving traffic to the site.
Inman said that when he started the comic, he felt that drawing was a chore. In a 2010 interview, he said that when thinking of a subject to write about, he simply picks something he is interested in. He usually worked at home, but as he finds it difficult to go long periods without social contact, he often goes to a coffee shop to work. Inman said that he found it is much easier to gain exposure for his work through the internet than it would have been two decades earlier. He added that he enjoys making people laugh, and although he can't actually see the reaction of others to his work, he still appreciates seeing the high number of
page view
In web analytics and website management, a pageview or page view, abbreviated in business to PV and occasionally called page impression, is a request to load a single HTML file ( web page) of an Internet site. On the World Wide Web, a page request ...
s that his website receives."Episode for March 31, 2010". ''Last Call with Carson Daly''. Aired March 31, 2010.
Content
The format of ''The Oatmeal'' has been described as "storytelling-meets-infographics" and as "a quirky and often crudely-drawn comic". The comics cover an eclectic range of topics: a 2010 article describes comics on being chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor, evil scheming kittens, people being sodomized by Bigfoot, and babies that taste like nachos. Other themes are zombies, horse care, English grammar, dolphin brutality, and sexual congress between koalas and goats.
His first viral comic was "How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You", and other comics have titles such as "How to Use a Semicolon", "What it's Like to Own an Apple Product", "How the Male Angler Fish Gets Completely Screwed", "15-ish Things Worth Knowing About Coffee" and "How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell."
One comic, "Why Nikola Tesla Was the Greatest Geek Who Ever Lived", was heavily critiqued by a writer for ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
''. In response Inman made a second post going through the ''Forbes'' article, acknowledging some good points but picking apart others, including calling multiple sections "bullshit" and defending his work as "a comedian
ho speaks
Ho (or the transliterations He or Heo) may refer to:
People Language and ethnicity
* Ho people, an ethnic group of India
** Ho language, a tribal language in India
* Hani people, or Ho people, an ethnic group in China, Laos and Vietnam
* Hiri Mo ...
in hyperbole."
In reaction to
Tumblr
Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...
's regular downtimes, Inman created the TumbleBeasts in 2010 as a parody of the Twitter
Fail Whale
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, and urged Tumblr to use them. Tumblr added the artwork to their 404 page for some time, renaming them Tumbeasts.
Hiatus
In June 2019, just after the release of ''
The Secret Life of Pets 2
''The Secret Life of Pets 2'' is a 2019 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination, directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Jonathan del Val, and written by Brian Lynch. It is the sequel to '' The Secret Life of Pets'', ...
'' – a feature animated film in which Inman was credited as creative consultant – Inman told the ''Washington Post'' that he "won’t be regularly creating the Oatmeal much longer" and was planning a hiatus of around two years. Inman said that he loved ''The Oatmeal'' but "I’m just tired and it’s been a decade of writing comics for strangers from my basement, and I want to try something different for a while." Around the same time, Inman signed a deal to develop an animated feature for
Illumination Entertainment
Illumination (formerly known as Illumination Entertainment) is an American computer animation studio, founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007. Illumination is owned by Meledandri and the Illumination brand is co-owned by Universal Pictures, a divisi ...
, though at that time the film did not appear to have been
greenlit
To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
and no details were announced.
Success
''The Oatmeal'' received 300,000 visitors in its first month and within 10 months had received 4.5 million visitors. Inman said in 2010 that ''The Oatmeal'' received more than 20 million page views per month; as of 2012 the site received 4 million visitors a month.
Inman said in 2012 that ''The Oatmeal'' had a revenue of $500,000 a year. The ''Guardian'' considered the claim and found it reasonable given the site's visitor numbers.
Fast Company
''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year.
History
''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...
described Inman in 2012 as a "millionaire".
Campaigns for related products have also been successful. A fundraiser to develop and produce a card game called
Exploding Kittens
''Exploding Kittens'' is a casual dedicated deck card game designed by Matthew Inman of ''The Oatmeal'' webcomic, Elan Lee and Shane Small, and first published by ''The Oatmeal'' in 2015. Beginning as a Kickstarter project seeking US$10,000 in ...
raised $8.8 million, and a game company co-founded by Inman received a $30 million investment in 2019.
Inman appeared on an episode of ''
Last Call with Carson Daly
''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''Th ...
'' in 2010 and mentioned his web site.
Exploding Kittens is being made into a Netflix series by Mike Judge and
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting ''The Office'' f ...
.
Awards
The website was awarded the
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
in the Best Digital/Webcomic category in 2014. In 2016, Inman received the
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer. He was best known for his work on the '' Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows '' ...
Humanitarian Award from
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
, an award given "to people in comics and the popular arts who have worked to help others."
Physical products
Books
As of 2019, Inman had released ten books, which collect material from the website and feature new material.
* ''5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides)'' (2011)
* ''How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You'' (2012)
* ''My Dog: The Paradox: A Lovable Discourse about Man's Best Friend'' (2013)
* ''Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants'' (2013)
* ''The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons I Run Long Distances'' (2014)
*''404 Not Found: A Coloring Book by The Oatmeal'' (2016)
* ''If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle-Aged Men'' (2017)
* ''How to be Perfectly Unhappy'' (2017)
* ''Why My Cat is More Impressive Than Your Baby'' (2019)
At least one of ''The Oatmeal'' books was a ''New York Times'' Bestseller. ''How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You'' spent at least 20 weeks on the NYT bestseller list "Paperback Advice & Misc.", often at #1.
Merchandise
Revenue from ''The Oatmeal'' includes the sale of wall posters, greeting cards, calendars, clothing, coffee cups, signed prints, stickers, magnets, and badges.
Games
In January 2015, Inman, Elan Lee, and Shane Small launched a
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
crowdfunding campaign for their project
Exploding Kittens
''Exploding Kittens'' is a casual dedicated deck card game designed by Matthew Inman of ''The Oatmeal'' webcomic, Elan Lee and Shane Small, and first published by ''The Oatmeal'' in 2015. Beginning as a Kickstarter project seeking US$10,000 in ...
, a card-based, Russian-roulette-style game with art by Inman. The campaign raised $1million in its first seven hours, and ultimately raised $8.8million, becoming the most-funded card game on Kickstarter.
The success of the game prompted Lee and Inman to found a company in 2015, also named Exploding Kittens. Since then, the company Exploding Kittens has released five more games: Bears vs. Babies (2017), You've Got Crabs (2018), Throw Throw Burrito (2019),, On a Scale of One to T-Rex (2019), and the
mobile game
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
Kitty Letter (2021). There is also merchandise of characters from the games.
In October 2019, it was announced that Peter Chernin, American businessman and the CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), had invested $30 million for a minority stake in Exploding Kittens. Inman said that the funds will be used to mount a live gaming convention, Burning Cat; and to hire more artists and produce three to five new games a year.
Events
At the same time as announcing his fifth book, ''The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons I Run Long Distances'', Inman announced "Beat the Blerch", an organized running race in 10 kilometer, half, and full marathon formats which was held in Carnation, Washington, on September 20 and 21, 2014. All 2,000 spots originally offered for the first race day were sold out in 20 minutes, prompting Inman to open a second day for more runners to enroll. The Beat the Blerch event took place every year from 2014 to 2019. In 2020, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a "virtual race" was organized instead.
In June 2019, Exploding Kittens Inc. announced the planning of a live gaming convention. The two-day event was to take place in May 2020 in Portland, Oregon, U.S. It was named Burning Cat in reference to the Burning Man festival, and was to conclude with the burning of a large wooden statue of a cat in homage to Burning Man's burning of a human-shaped figure. Burning Cat was to feature appearances from guest speakers alongside a series of gaming and networking activities. The event was postponed until 2021, then indefinitely, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Tesla Museum fundraiser
In August 2012, Inman launched a fundraising campaign on the
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
website Indiegogo to support a nonprofit organization offering to purchase
Wardenclyffe Tower
Wardenclyffe Tower (1901–1917), also known as the Tesla Tower, was an early experimental wireless transmission station designed and built by Nikola Tesla on Long Island in 1901–1902, located in the village of Shoreham, New York. Tesla inten ...
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. The organization,
Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe
The Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe (also known as TSCW) is a nonprofit organization established to develop a regional science and technology center, museum and makerspace at the site of Nikola Tesla's former Wardenclyffe laboratory on Lon ...
state of New York
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...
agreed to match donations up to $850,000.
The fundraiser raised $1,370,461 from over 33,000 backers, including Joseph Sikorski, director of the Tesla film ''Fragments From Olympus'', and
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...
. With the grant from New York state, the campaign totaled over $2.1 million. After the fundraiser, Jane Alcron of the Tesla Science Centre said the additional funds would be used to start converting the ruins into a science center and perhaps building a replica of the original tower.
In May 2014, Inman produced a comic on ''The Oatmeal'' titled "What it's like to own a
Tesla Model S
The Tesla Model S is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-moto ...
- A cartoonist's review of his magical space car", and a follow-up comic titled "Part Two: Man Vs. Motor" in which he talked about Nikola Tesla, and
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...
, the CEO of
Tesla Motors
Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and electric truck, trucks), battery energy storage from ...
. After publishing the comic, he tweeted Musk, inviting Elon to donate to the Tesla Museum. At 2 a.m. the following day, Elon responded by tweet: "I would be happy to help". Musk then donated $1 million for the development and construction of the museum.
Inman is featured in '' Tower to the People'', a 2015 documentary on Wardenclyffe by Joseph Sikorski.
original content
Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from replica, reproductions, clones, forgery, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romantici ...
. FunnyJunk alleged that those accusations were
defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
and demanded $20,000 in damages. Infuriated by the demand, Inman set up a Indiegogo fundraiser to raise $20,000, but to give the money to the
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (includin ...
and the
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...
. The campaign raised $220,024 at completion. He stated he intended to take a photo of himself with the cash, then send the photograph along with a satirical illustration of FunnyJunk's mother "seducing a
Kodiak bear
The Kodiak bear (''Ursus arctos middendorffi''), also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is the largest recognized subspecies or population o ...
" to FunnyJunk.
FunnyJunk's lawyer, Charles Carreon, attempted to shut the campaign down, alleging it violated Indiegogo's terms and conditions. Carreon also filed a ''
pro se
''Pro se'' legal representation ( or ) comes from Latin ''pro se'', meaning "for oneself" or "on behalf of themselves" which, in modern law, means to argue on one's own behalf in a legal proceeding, as a defendant or plaintiff in civil cases, o ...
'' lawsuit ''Carreon v. Inman et al'' in
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California (in case citations, N.D. Cal.) is the federal United States district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of California: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del ...
against Inman, Indiegogo, the American Cancer Society, and the National Wildlife Federation in response. On July 3, 2012, Carreon filed a notice of
voluntary dismissal
Voluntary dismissal is termination of a lawsuit by voluntary request of the plaintiff (the party who originally filed the lawsuit). A voluntary dismissal with prejudice (meaning the plaintiff is permanently barred from further litigating the sam ...
in his lawsuit against all parties
without prejudice
Prejudice is a legal term with different meanings, which depend on whether it is used in criminal, civil, or common law. In legal context, "prejudice" differs from the more common use of the word and so the term has specific technical meanings.
...
.
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ci ...
greeting card
A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthday ...
maker Oatmeal Studios sued Inman and Recycled Greetings for
trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...
. Oatmeal Studios holds the trademark for their name and after ''The Oatmeal'' worked with another company to make greeting cards based on the comic, Oatmeal Studios argued that this was too similar and likely to cause confusion. On August 28, 2013, a Stipulation of Dismissal with prejudice was filed by Excelsior Printing Company, the litigants in the lawsuit, meaning that the two parties had settled the dispute.
Author
''The Oatmeal'' was created by Matthew Inman (born ). Born in Chino,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, he moved with his family to the small, rural town of
Hayden, Idaho
Hayden is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. Located in the northern portion of the state, it is a suburb of nearby Coeur d'Alene and its population was 15,570 at the 2020 census.
History
The origins of the city of Hayden has ...
, when he was in grade school. Hayden was an ultra-conservative environment; he rebelled against those views.
Inman created websites for others from age 13, and he moved to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
at age 17 to work in technology. After some jobs for other companies, he created a dating website called "Mingle2", which became popular. He sold Mingle2 but stayed on with the new company, and wrote comics and quizzes to attract readers. Inman says this work was the inspiration for ''The Oatmeal''.
Inman opposed the
Stop Online Piracy Act
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was a controversial proposed United States congressional bill to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to combat online copyright infringement and online trafficking in counterfeit goods. Introduced on Oc ...
(SOPA). He said that while the act would have afforded him more rights, he disliked like the way that SOPA would have put the onus on sites to prove their innocence. He joined a global day of action against the legislation.
Inman lives on
Bainbridge Island
Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 23,025 at the 2010 census and an estimated 25,298 in 2019, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County.
...
in the
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
area, . He is a long-distance runner, including
ultramarathons
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...