No 4th Wall to Break
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No 4th Wall to Break is a webcomic that was originally written and drawn by Chris Whetstone. The name of the comic comes from the saying "breaking the fourth wall", which refers to a character in a piece of artwork who directly acknowledges the audience.
Although the technique of breaking the 4th wall is a common attribute of webcomics, No 4th Wall to Break takes the idea one step further. In this comic, there is no fourth wall; reality and the pseudo-reality of the web-comic are blended seamlessly. The comic exists in a strange formless yellow limbo in which there exists no real cause and effect; there is continuity, but it often makes strange leaps.
No 4th Wall to Break is a comic characterized by a playfully bizarre style. Whetstone's humour is based on placing his characters in random, unrelated circumstances. The minimalist style of Whetstone's character design strangely enhances rather than detracts from the occasional sight gags.
No 4th Wall to Break was first published on May 21 2002. With some interruptions, Whetstone publishes two comics per week. The comic's art style is cartoon-minimalist, and many of the characters are stick figures or stylized abstractions of creatures and objects. One character, for example, is a triangle.
The art has evolved over the life of the comic. Originally, Whetstone drew the comic by hand on what appear to be Post-it notes. It was scanned in and edited to add text. However, Whetstone and co-creator Jamie McGarry (see "The Creative Team" below) currently draw the entire comic with the aid of computer programs. Two features remain from the early days, however. The comic always appears with a yellow background, and each character always speaks in a different font.
The Creative Team
As Whetstone was having difficulty updating the site on a regular basis, a British "guest artist" named Jamie McGarry was introduced on May 31 2005. Whetstone said that McGarry would be "taking over the art side of things for a little while". This addition to the creative team followed a period marked by an abnormally high concentration of guest comics on the site while Whetstone was unable to update.
McGarry is the artist and writer of a webcomic named Built for Comfort.
The Characters
Otto T. Specter - A spectre who for no discernible reason dwells within the yellow limbo. Despite already being technically dead, Otto has died and returned to life previously in the comic, lending to its surrealism. Otto works for the internet, but there hasn't been much working going on since the first few strips.
Lit Match - Was introduced to the comic quite early on and has been featured in most. He is brash and a little arrogant.
Chris Whetstone - The author of the comic appears in most of his creations as part of the fourth wall breakery.
Bert the Petulant Triangle - An angry triangle. Spends most of his time antagonising the minor characters and beating up Malefax. He was killed shortly after he was introduced, but came back to life along with Otto and Hitler. Since his introduction in August 2003, Bert has since become one of No 4th Wall to Break's most popular characters.
Odin - The Norse god had made several appearances in the comic until the December 17 2004 story, when he made up his mind to depart. Though he declares he might appear in the future for a cameo, this may not be possible. He is a skilled guitar player.
Malefax - Supposedly a supreme evil being, Malefax is in fact a child like floating, bat-like blob. Malefax was the other winner of the "Create a new character" competition.
Los Mosquitos - A group of mosquitos that are apparently Mexican. They do not speak English, and, since the other characters don't speak Spanish, most of what they say is "¿Qué?" and the ubiquitous "Furia de Los Mosquitos!". Los Mosquitos spend most of their time attacking Chris and trying to suck his blood. They were one of the winners of the "Create a new character" competition held in 2003.
Quote Guy - A person who only says famous movie quotes/catchphrases. Originally from the Repository of Dangerous Things, when the author of that site stopped, she auctioned off her more popular items, and Chris Whetstone received Quote Guy.
Walt - An anarchist with nice hair and freaked-out eyes. He's still dead after randomly sinking right near the start, but failed to reappear in the regression storyline.
Bucket of Ice Water - A bucket of ice water. Appears occasionally as Lit Match's nemesis. Possibly because s/he is in love with Lit Match, but recognises that union is impossible and that her/his feelings are unrequited, thus leading to destructive yet cold rage, like some sort of evil wet samurai. In February 2004 Bucket of Ice Water was killed by Bert.
Hitler - Hitler was first introduced into the comic when Otto died, and was taken into purgatory. In order to escape purgatory and become "alive" again, two other dead had to travel with him, and Hitler and Bert the Petulant Triangle were chosen (much to Otto's dismay). He worked in what he believes to be a comedy club, the "Laughter House with an S at the front".
Jamie McGarry - Jamie McGarry is the newest character in No 4th Wall to Break. He looks like Chris Whestone except he has a pair of brown spectacles and often speaks in Britishisms. His contribution to the strip usually consists of berating the author for a lack of scripts.