''The Perry Bible Fellowship'' (abbreviated to ''PBF'') is a
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 newspaper
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
by
Nicholas Gurewitch
''The Perry Bible Fellowship'' (abbreviated to ''PBF'') is a webcomic and newspaper comic strip by Nicholas Gurewitch. It first appeared in the Syracuse University newspaper ''The Daily Orange'' in 2001.
The comics are usually three or four ...
. It first appeared in the
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
newspaper ''
The Daily Orange
''The Daily Orange'', commonly referred to as ''The D.O.'', is an independent student newspaper published in Syracuse, New York. It is free and published daily during the Syracuse University academic year.
It was one of the first college papers ...
'' in 2001.
The comics are usually three or four panels long, and are generally characterized by the juxtaposition of whimsical childlike imagery or fantasy with morbid, sudden or unexpected
surreal humor
Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causality, causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayal ...
. Common subjects include irony, religion, sex, war, science fiction, suicide, violence, and death.
The comic has won an
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 ...
, two
Ignatz Award
The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping ...
s, and three
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...
s.
Publishing
''The Perry Bible Fellowship'' first appeared in 2001
in the
Syracuse student newspaper ''
The Daily Orange
''The Daily Orange'', commonly referred to as ''The D.O.'', is an independent student newspaper published in Syracuse, New York. It is free and published daily during the Syracuse University academic year.
It was one of the first college papers ...
''.
In an interview, Gurewitch said that the title was "borrowed from an actual church, from a place called
Perry
Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...
, in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
". Gurewitch also worked as the art director for ''The Daily Orange'' for a semester in 2002 while at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
.
By 2006 the comic was being printed in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', UK's ''
Maxim
Maxim or Maksim may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine
** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition
** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition
*Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
'', ''
New York Press
''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011.
The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...
'', Boston's ''
Weekly Dig
''DigBoston''—formerly known as the ''Weekly Dig'' and known colloquially as ''The Dig''—is a free alternative newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts. It covers news in the Greater Boston area and offers commentary on music, arts, politics, busin ...
'', ''
Portland Mercury
''Portland Mercury'' is an alternative bi-weekly newspaper and media company founded in 2000 in Portland, Oregon. It has a sibling publication in Seattle, Washington, called '' The Stranger''.
Contributors and staff
Editor-in-chief: Wm. Steven ...
'', and ''
The Baltimore City Paper'', and by 2007 was being printed in ''
The Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...
''.
In a 2007 interview, Gurewitch stated that he was making a living from ''PBF''.
On February 18, 2008, Gurewitch announced he was cutting back on the production of the comic strip, saying "I feel I owe it to myself and the Perry Bible Fellowship not to turn a joyful diversion into a long career." Previously a weekly strip, it is now infrequently updated;
, it is still receiving updates occasionally.
Art
The art in ''The Perry Bible Fellowship'' varies from strip to strip. While some comics feature simplistic human figures with little more than a mouth and eyes for a face, other strips are extensively colored and meticulously detailed. Sometimes, the artistic style changes within the strip itself. A recurring feature of the strip is simplistically-drawn human figures exhibiting little detail or realism, and heads reminiscent of
smiley faces
"Smiley Faces" is a song by American soul music duo Gnarls Barkley from their debut album, ''St. Elsewhere (album), St. Elsewhere'' (2006). It was released July 17, 2006, as the second single (music), single from that album in the United Kingdom ...
. Some strips emulate the styles of famous illustrators such as
Shel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended universit ...
,
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an American writer, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for books by other writers. Hi ...
, and
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...
, made evident by marginal notes such as "(Apologies, R. Crumb)".
Books
In 2007, a book collection was published, titled ''The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories''. Even before its release, preorders alone made the book one of the fastest-selling graphic novels on
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
, causing publisher
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
to increase its first print run to 36,000, and print the book domestically to hasten distribution; it has since gone into three printings. Dark Horse Comics also noted the comic's popularity in the UK, as
Diamond UK put in the largest order Dark Horse has ever seen from them.
The second book, ''The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack'', a 256-page hardcover compilation, features more comics (including the ones from the previous book) and previously unreleased material including unused strips, an interview with
David Malki
''Wondermark'' is a webcomic created by David Malki which was syndicated to ''Flak Magazine'' and appeared in ''The Onion'' print edition from 2006 to 2008. It features 19th-century illustrations that have been recontextualized to create humorous ...
and a foreword by
Diablo Cody
Brook Maurio (''née'' Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, '' Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unl ...
. The book was released on February 18, 2009, again from Dark Horse Comics. A tenth anniversary edition of the ''Almanack'' was published on February 11, 2020.
Reception
Ted Rall
Frederick Theodore Rall III (born August 26, 1963) is an American columnist, syndicated editorial cartoonist, and author. His political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic strip, comic-strip format and frequently blend comic-strip and e ...
included Gurewitch and ''The Perry Bible Fellowship'' in their 2006 book, ''
Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists''. Rall described the comic as "a webcomics phenom", saying it had "leapt from widespread popularity among the technocrati to... mainstream print media". Rall called it a "twisted blending of the cute and profane", saying that "a lot of
tshumor involves violence, but the horror is tempered with a gentle, sweet tone."
Boing Boing
''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice won ...
, reviewing the 2009 printed Almanack, called ''PBF'' "a concentrated dose of the kind of dark, twisted humor that makes you bark with laughter and look away at the same time...complemented by Gurewitch's visual style, which veers from the simplistic and cartoonish to incredibly detailed line art that's like something out of
Tony Millionaire
Tony Millionaire (born Scott Richardson in 1956) is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author known for his syndicated comic strip ''Maakies'' and the ''Sock Monkey'' series of comics and picture books. He lives in Yarmouth, Maine at Pleas ...
."
Webcomics reviewer Eric Burns said in 2008 that "''Perry Bible Fellowship'' is a comic that works in subversion humor... and Gurewitch is a master at it... The problem is, this is a well that's way too easy to drain dry. Twenty or thirty times, you'll get a horrified laugh. Then, people will expect it. Finally, it will have no impact. It's just what ''Perry Bible Fellowship'' does." Burns did praise the artistic style, and said that "when he's on his A game, it's hard to think of anyone who's better in webcomics – particularly in four panel gag-a-day."
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
described ''PBF'' in a 2020 article as "one of the internet’s most beloved webcomics", saying that it "seamlessly match
shand-drawn artistry with subtle but devastating punchlines that reveal a heartbreaking truth about the world." Also in 2020, 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 ...
said, "His is the only webcomic I keep up with regularly and when a new comic is released, I feel a giddy rush of excitement over what masterpiece he’s given us this time."
Awards
Author
Nicholas Gurewitch was born on March 9, 1982, in
Canandaigua, New York
Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora) is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex ...
, and is currently based in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
. He attended
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
, where he studied film and where his comic strip was first published in ''
The Daily Orange
''The Daily Orange'', commonly referred to as ''The D.O.'', is an independent student newspaper published in Syracuse, New York. It is free and published daily during the Syracuse University academic year.
It was one of the first college papers ...
''. Besides ''The Perry Bible Fellowship'', Gurewitch released the book ''Notes on a Case of Melancholia, or: A Little Death''. NPR described ''Melancholia'' in 2020 as a "surprisingly uplifting" comedy about the
personification of death.
Gurewitch also worked on developing a program called ''Daisy Garden Story Time'' with
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
, though the program was not produced.
Nicholas is the cousin of comedian and
''Last Week Tonight'' writer
Dan Gurewitch
Daniel Gurewitch (; born May 20, 1984) is an American comedian, writer, and actor. He has worked as a senior writer for American comedy website CollegeHumor, and as a writer for the late-night talk and news satire show '' Last Week Tonight wit ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry Bible Fellowship, The
2001 webcomic debuts
American comedy webcomics
2000s webcomics
Short form webcomics
Webcomics in print
Web Cartoonists' Choice Award winners
Eisner Award winners for Best Humor Publication
Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Online Comic
2001 establishments in the United States
2010s webcomics
Surreal comedy