The Perry Bible Fellowship
{{Short description|Webcomic and newspaper comic strip}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox comic strip
| title = The Perry Bible Fellowship
| image = File:The_Perry_Bible_Fellowship_-_cover_of_2009_Almanack.jpg
| caption = Cover of the 2009 book collection
| author = Nicholas Gurewitch
| current =
| illustrator =
| url = {{URL|pbfcomics.com/}}
| status = Occasional comics only
| first = {{start date and age|2001|p=y|br=y}}
| altnames =
| syndicate =
| genre = Surreal humor, dark humor
| rating =
| preceded by =
| followed by =
}}
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 panels long, and are generally characterized by the juxtaposition of whimsical childlike imagery or fantasy with morbid, sudden or unexpected surreal humor. Common subjects include ironical occurrences, religion, sex, war, science fiction, suicide, violence, and death.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}
The comic has won an Eisner Award, two Ignatz Awards, and three Harvey Awards.
Publishing
The Perry Bible Fellowship first appeared in 2001{{Cite news|title=Grim Reaper Comedy 'Melancholia' Is Surprisingly Uplifting|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/04/05/826955138/grim-reaper-comedy-melancholia-is-surprisingly-uplifting|access-date=2021-01-28|website=NPR.org|date=April 5, 2020|language=en|last1=Lehoczky|first1=Etelka}} in the Syracuse student newspaper The Daily Orange.{{Cite web|last=Weiss|first=Josh|title=Artist Nicholas Gurewitch Discusses Scrapped Comic Ideas For 'The Perry Bible Fellowship' In Honor Of 10-Year Anniversary Almanack|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshweiss/2020/02/06/the-perry-bible-fellowship-almanack-first-look/|access-date=2021-01-27|website=Forbes|language=en}} In an interview, Gurewitch said that the title was "borrowed from an actual church, from a place called Perry, in Maine".{{Cite web|last=Heater|first=Brian|date=February 27, 2007|title=Interview: Nicholas Gurewitch Pt. 1 (of 2)|url=http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2007/02/27/111/#more-111|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022031554/http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2007/02/27/111/#more-111|archive-date=2008-10-22|access-date=|website=The Daily Cross Hatch}} Gurewitch also worked as the art director for The Daily Orange for a semester in 2002 while at Syracuse University.
By 2006 the comic was being printed in The Guardian, UK's Maxim, New York Press, Boston's Weekly Dig, Portland Mercury, and The Baltimore City Paper, and by 2007 was being printed in The Chicago Reader.{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64596017|title=Attitude 3 : the new subversive online cartoonists|date=2006|publisher=Nantier, Beall, Minoustchine|others=Rall, Ted.|isbn=1-56163-465-4|location=New York|oclc=64596017}}{{cite news|last=Reiser|first=Evan|date=March 7, 2010|title=Q&A with Nicholas Gurewitch|work=The Daily Orange|location=Syracuse, New York|url=http://media.www.dailyorange.com/media/storage/paper522/news/2007/01/19/Comics/Qa.With.Nicholas.Gurewitch-2654353.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dailyorange.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com|url-status=dead|accessdate=April 6, 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807043225/http://www.dailyorange.com/2.8673/q-a-with-nicholas-gurewitch-1.1235304|archivedate=August 7, 2011|quote=Gurewitch first printed "The Perry Bible Fellowship," or "PBF," in The Daily Orange, where he was art director for a semester in 2002.}} In a 2007 interview, Gurewitch stated that he was making a living from PBF.{{Cite web|last=Nguyen|first=Kevin|date=2007-10-02|title='Bible' Talk: An Interview with Nick Gurewitch|url=http://bygonebureau.com/2007/07/18/bible-talk-an-interview-with-nick-gurewitch/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002223351/http://bygonebureau.com/2007/07/18/bible-talk-an-interview-with-nick-gurewitch/|archive-date=October 2, 2007|access-date=2021-01-27}}
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."{{cite web|last=Cassel|first=David|date=February 19, 2008|title=Gurewitch announces semi-retirement|url=http://www.blorgable.com/2008/02/19/the-perry-bible-fellowship-enters-semi-retirement/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210172104/http://www.blorgable.com/2008/02/19/the-perry-bible-fellowship-enters-semi-retirement/|archivedate=February 10, 2012|accessdate=April 6, 2016|work=Blorgable|publisher=Total Image Publishing|location=Wollstonecraft, New South Wales}} Previously a weekly strip, it is now infrequently updated;{{cite web|title=About|url=http://www.pbfcomics.com/about/|accessdate=April 6, 2017|work=The Perry Bible Fellowship|publisher=Nicholas Gurewitch}} {{As of|2021|January|lc=y}}, it is still receiving updates occasionally.{{Cite web|last=Tyrrell|first=Gary|date=January 26, 2021|title=Three Balms In These Fraught Days|url=http://fleen.com/2021/01/26/three-balms-in-these-fraught-days/|access-date=2021-01-27|website=Fleen|language=en|quote=But here we are, 20 years on, and Gurewitch is still cranking out new comics. What’s that? You didn’t realize that there were new PBF comics, tied to the 20th anniversary and not linked to/from the archives?}}
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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} A recurring feature of the strip is simplistically-drawn human figures exhibiting little detail or realism, and heads reminiscent of smiley faces. Some strips emulate the styles of famous illustrators such as Shel Silverstein, Edward Gorey, and Robert Crumb, made evident by marginal notes such as "(Apologies, R. Crumb)".{{cite web|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2139707,00.asp|work=PC Magazine|title=10 Wicked Awesome Webcomics|last=Reynolds|first=Whitney|date=February 2, 2016|page=8}}{{cite web |url=http://pbfcomics.com/archive_b/PBF189-Keep_on_Truckin.jpg |title=Keep on Truckin' |work=Perry Bible Fellowship |accessdate=February 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623200858/http://www.pbfcomics.com/archive_b/PBF189-Keep_on_Truckin.jpg |archive-date=June 23, 2008 |url-status=dead }}
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, causing publisher Dark Horse Comics to increase its first print run to 36,000, and print the book domestically to hasten distribution; it has since gone into three printings.{{cite web|last=Cabron|first=Lou|date=January 5, 2008|title=Records broken by the Perry Bible Fellowship?|url=http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2008/01/05/records-broken-by-the-perry-bible-fellowship/|accessdate=February 20, 2008|website=10 Zen Monkeys}} 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.{{Cite journal|last=MacDonald|first=Heidi|date=October 9, 2007|title=Perry Bible Fellowship Collection a Pre-order Hit|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6488199.html|url-status=dead|journal=Publishers Weekly|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011022512/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6488199.html|archivedate=October 11, 2007}}
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 and a foreword by Diablo Cody.[http://www.pbfcomics.com/book.php The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack on the PBF Website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116224914/http://www.pbfcomics.com/book.php|date=January 16, 2009}} The book was released on February 18, 2009,{{cite web|date=November 8, 2012|title=The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack on|url=http://www.betterworld.com/The-Perry-Bible-Fellowship-Almanack-id-1593079885.aspx|accessdate=February 11, 2013|publisher=Betterworld.com}} again from Dark Horse Comics.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} A tenth anniversary edition of the Almanack was published on February 11, 2020.{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Dami|date=February 14, 2020|title=Perry Bible Fellowship's Nicholas Gurewitch on making comics for the internet's golden age|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/14/21136498/perry-bible-fellowship-nicholas-gurewitch-webcomic-dark-horse|accessdate=February 14, 2020|work=The Verge}}
Reception
Ted Rall included Gurewitch and The Perry Bible Fellowship in his 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 [its] humor involves violence, but the horror is tempered with a gentle, sweet tone." Boing Boing, 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."{{Cite web|last=Doctorow|first=Cory|date=2009-04-23|title=Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack: twisted comedy that makes you laugh and look away|url=https://boingboing.net/2009/04/24/perry-bible-fellowsh-1.html|access-date=2021-01-27|website=Boing Boing|language=en-US}}
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."{{Cite web|last=Burns|first=Eric|date=February 19, 2008|title=Eric: State of the Web(cartoonist): Nicholas Gurewitch|url=http://www.websnark.com/archives/2008/02/state_of_the_we_2.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214165905/http://www.websnark.com/archives/2008/02/state_of_the_we_2.html|archive-date=2008-12-14|access-date=|website=Websnark}}
The Verge described PBF in a 2020 article as "one of the internet’s most beloved webcomics", saying that it "seamlessly match[es] hand-drawn artistry with subtle but devastating punchlines that reveal a heartbreaking truth about the world."{{Cite web|last=Lee|first=Dami|date=2020-02-14|title=Perry Bible Fellowship's Nicholas Gurewitch on making comics for the internet's golden age|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/14/21136498/perry-bible-fellowship-nicholas-gurewitch-webcomic-dark-horse|access-date=2021-01-27|website=The Verge|language=en}}
=Awards=
Author
Nicholas Gurewitch was born on March 9, 1982, in Canandaigua, New York,http://pbfcomics.com/ Nick will be at The Inn on the Lake in Canandaigua, NY (town of birth!) on Sunday, October 18, 2009, 11am-5pm. For Canandiagua-Con. and is currently based in Rochester, New York.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}} He attended Syracuse University, where he studied film and where his comic strip was first published in The Daily Orange. 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, though the program was not produced.Heater, Brian; [http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2007/02/27/111/#more-111 “Interview: Nicholas Gurewitch Pt. 1 (of 2)”], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022031554/http://thedailycrosshatch.com/2007/02/27/111/#more-111 |date=October 22, 2008 }} Daily Crosshatch, February 27, 2007.
Nicholas is the cousin of comedian and Last Week Tonight writer Dan Gurewitch.{{Cite web|date=2017-09-18|title=SU alum wins 2nd Emmy for John Oliver show|url=https://www.syracuse.com/tv/2017/09/syracuse_emmys_john_oliver_show.html|access-date=2021-01-28|website=syracuse|language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://pbfcomics.com/}}
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Category:American comedy webcomics
Category:Web Cartoonists' Choice Award winners
Category:Eisner Award winners for Best Humor Publication
Category:Ignatz Award winners for Outstanding Online Comic