Cuteness and everyday humour in Nathan W. Pyle’s Strange Planet

Abstract

This article analyses the elements that contribute to the specific kind of humour central to the comic strip series Strange Planet, one that combines humorous components with everyday situations. We will examine the main strategies behind the comic disjunction that dominates the work of Nathan W. Pyle. On the one hand, the graphic representation of cuteness enhances the candid banality of its everyday themes. On the other hand, the verbal discourse approaches the everyday with cold neutrality of the enunciations, provoking an ironic effect. In order to understand how these concepts apply to narrative in comics the article employs theories of humour and academic work on cuteness. The article also looks at how the strip optimizes its distribution through the internet.