Impressions: Whubble

Wait, What?

'Whubble' is a workplace humor gag-a-day webcomic by creator Jamie Smart. And boy-howdy; what an amazing discovery this webcomic turned out to be. I honestly laughed out loud more times than I have in a long time. Its brand of humor is right up my alley and I'm so thrilled to have found it.

While I initially called 'Whubble' a sort of 'Dilbert' with animals, I feel that's not the best comparison. 'Dilbert' had a very dull, drab and slow feel to it, and 'Whubble' is far more animated. Their styles of humor share a level of absurdity, but the characters in 'Whubble' are just so much more zany; and being cats just adds a new level of silliness.

The writing for 'Whubble' is spot-on. The main character, Whubble, plays the part of the straight-man in many of the strips; the every guy who reacts to the unusual behavior of the rest of the cast. Much of the humor is derived from watching Whubble's reactions to his co-workers and boss. And some of the funnier strips are ones where the punchline is left to your imagination by the omission of panels that would otherwise spell-out the joke. That type of humor can be a hard thing to pull off, and Jamie succeeds masterfully.

With any form of entertainment where a character's reaction is essential the the humor of the joke, the ability to show expression is imperitive. Thankfully, Jamie Smart has the artistic talent to nail the expressions perfectly. And that same talent shows through for the rest of the art in the strip. While the character designs and artwork is simplistic, it is also very polished and never boring.

I highly recommend this webcomic to everyone. I love the humor and the artwork. Sadly, I've heard there is a possibility the comic will be coming to end in the near future. It's a shame, but better that it ends while still great, than to continue simply for the sake of continuing. I'll certainly be on the look out for more of Jamie's work.

On a side note: be sure to check out The Webcomic Beacon's 2008 Beaky Awards. I was asked to be a judge for the awards and this webcomic was introduced to me while reading through the nominations. I'll let you listen to the podcast to hear everyone's opinion, but I will say it was a favorite among many of the judges. Winners will be announced within the next few weeks.