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Hey Gravelings!

I’ve entered a competition for the “Least Topical Joke of the Year in a Webcomic or Cartoon” and I think I might have a shot at it.

There is a story behind this joke though, so stick with me for a minute.

Now, most of the strips here at Montgrave aren’t in any way derived from my real life, believe it or not I am not an anthropomorphic bunny who inherited a mansion (I’m actually an anthropomorphic otter who inherited a houseboat, but the situation didn’t seem to have as much humor potential). I typically find people’s work that’s based on their “real lives” to be hopelessly self-indulgent and boring. Like listening to me talk about modern art after a six-pack of Zima’s. I don’t care how funny you may think your friend Steve or Gary or whatever-the-douche is, because every single goddamn story you tell about him makes him just sound like some drunk asshole.

“…And then [insert douchey friend's name here] put his foot through their window! Oh, man it was CRAZY!” Really? Because it sounds like he just smashed some poor dude’s window for no reason other than he’s a drunk who may or may not be suppressing some wicked daddy issues.

But I digress, today’s strip IS one of those rare gems that is actually inspired from a recent event in my life, in this case it’s one that happened for everybody else more than five years ago, which is that I started watching Lost for the first time.

Typically I’m no slouch with pop culture phenomenon bandwagoning but this was just one of those things I missed. I’m not sure what I was busy doing in 2004 but I guess I wasn’t watching a lot of tv (when I was training for my life of crime-fighting by becoming that which criminals fear most, a drunken otter with a houseboat and nothing left to lose). Anyway, I missed the show and after a while having never seen a single episode, it became one of those weird factoid things that everybody farms as a way to make themselves sound more interesting. Did I lose you there? Let me explain.

Factoid Farming (patent pending) is when people go out of their way to have a factoid about themselves to bring up in relation to a particular subject (typically a subject that comes up on a semi-regular basis). For example, it was unusual that by the third season of Lost I had yet to see a single episode so when somebody would bring up Lost I would say, “Really? I haven’t seen a single episode,” and then people would react with appropriate, polite surprise. People do this all the time. Factoid Farming, keep an eye out for it.

Anyway, so I recently started watching Lost with my girlfriend and I was thinking about how it’s a really awkward thing to be just getting into. It’s in that awful transitory state where it’s been on long enough to alienate all of it’s once loyal fanboys and fangirls yet since it’s not over yet fans don’t have that sort of rose-tinted view of it that is only possible after the event is over and done with, “well, yeah I had my spleen out…but I got a bunch of free ice cream!” That sort of thing.

Right now starting to watch Lost is like showing up to a party at 4 am. Back a few hours ago everybody was having the time of their lives but then the night wore on and people got drunker and drunker, maybe somebody’s douchey friend kicked in a window, and the couple who was hosting the party had a big fight and stormed off to bed in a big awkward scene. Everybody who is still there and conscious just wants to be at home in their own bed but they’re too drunk to drive, so they have to stick this thing out til the bitter end. And then there’s me showing up at 4 am screaming, “Who is ready to fucking PARTY?!” That’s what it’s like.

Speaking of which I have to go find out what the deal with this polar bear is (no spoilers!). I’m not 100% sure but so far my theories are either that A) The island has been cursed by a Mummy or B) It’s a Scooby Doo thing where it’s all just a set-up by an old man who doesn’t want contractors tearing down his themepark to build a freeway, so he has to dress up like a monster to scare people off his land.

See you on Friday!

- Zac