Overthinking Oglaf

October 6, 2012 8:42 AM

It's a cartoon by Oglaf that could have been drawn for Metafilter! [First link is a work safe image at the current time, site as a whole is totally nsfw.]
posted by pharm to MetaFilter-Related at 8:42 AM (107 comments total)

I am looking forward to seeing this but it seems like deeplinking to JPGs is technologically prohibited at Oglaf so maybe someone can give me a working link and I'll edit it in?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:44 AM on October 6, 2012

It is a pretty ingenious strip, from a site that regularly amuses. I miss the apprentice though.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:46 AM on October 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Looks like you need to click through the "I promise I am over 18" link to get there, so go here and it's today's strip.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:47 AM on October 6, 2012

Oglaf is so well-done. I'm always amazed at how it manages to be so porny without making blind titillation the focus, and how it happily eschews all heteronormativity.

wow heteronormativity isn't in spellcheck? get on my fuckin' level, computer
posted by Greg Nog at 8:50 AM on October 6, 2012 [40 favorites]

I love Oglaf in unhealthy ways.
posted by The Whelk at 8:53 AM on October 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

(I have a sword here for any attempt to overthink this cartoon in the thread. It's called SUDDEN CLARITY.)
posted by The Whelk at 8:54 AM on October 6, 2012

Sorry about the first link: I must have already had the over-18 cookie, so the deep link worked fine for me.
posted by pharm at 8:54 AM on October 6, 2012

swing by the erotic bakery, pick up the over-18 cookies
posted by Greg Nog at 8:56 AM on October 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

OOOOoooo, erotic cakes.
posted by The Whelk at 8:56 AM on October 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

Changed the first link to the comic page itself, which shouldn't complain but will presumably bring up the "you sure about this, chief?" interstitial for first time visitors.

Oglaf is one of the funniest web comics going. The fact that it's rather pointedly dirty about half the time means that it's a little harder to recommend in mixed company than a lot of others, though.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:04 AM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oglaf is so good because it's from the makers of Platinum Grit.
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:47 AM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

The 18-or-over page which is coming up for me in the first link is probably not best described as work-safe (sexy leather lady character).
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:53 AM on October 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

My affection for Oglaf is illegal in 36 states.
posted by kyrademon at 9:54 AM on October 6, 2012

I saw this and immediately thought about beanplating here on Mefi, too.
posted by annsunny at 9:57 AM on October 6, 2012

I accidentally wore my falcon mistress shirt to work the other day. The only thing I had to cover it up with was my unicorns fucking afternoon delight sweatshirt.

sigh
posted by elizardbits at 10:09 AM on October 6, 2012 [7 favorites]

I don't always grok Oglaf, but that was really fantastic.
posted by Phire at 10:25 AM on October 6, 2012

Isn't this FPP material? Pretty sure XKCD has had many--Oglaf surely deserves a couple, and this one was pretty sparse. An update on it with other highlights and a link to the t-shirt would be awesome.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 10:33 AM on October 6, 2012

Encapsulates.
posted by infini at 10:51 AM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have a sword here for any attempt to overthink this cartoon in the thread.

You see, it's totally clever cultural commentary; a metaphor for the site itself, if you will. We, the readers, are adventurers who have stumbled into a dungeon, lured by its (often erotic) wonders. And now we have just opened the door to yet another trapped room. We have been through quite a few by now, but have managed to disarm all of them so far. Well, most of us have; many have given up and turned back. We've disarmed all the traps in our way -- we read the comics, get the joke, laugh and move on. This one, however, is a different beast. What does it mean? Where is the trap? Well, the trap is in thinking that it means something other than what it is, that it's clever cultural commentary, a metaphor for something, whereas in reality, it's just a comic.
posted by daniel_charms at 11:18 AM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

And that sword of yours is, of course, a penis metaphor.
posted by daniel_charms at 11:19 AM on October 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

And that sword of yours is, of course, a penis metaphor.

But it was used ironically!
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:48 AM on October 6, 2012

How do you ironically slice someone's head off?
posted by The Whelk at 11:49 AM on October 6, 2012

With a cutting remark, of course.
posted by daniel_charms at 12:01 PM on October 6, 2012 [15 favorites]

No, that would be metaphorically, which may or may not contain irony.

*slices head off*
posted by The Whelk at 12:05 PM on October 6, 2012

Oh, god, conceptual treasures. Any time a piece of media presents some variant of "love is the most powerful force in the universe" I have to force myself not to swallow my own tongue.
posted by Justinian at 12:08 PM on October 6, 2012 [5 favorites]

*dies (literally)*
posted by daniel_charms at 12:08 PM on October 6, 2012

Conceptual treasures? Is that like intellectual property? Because if you haven't paid real money for them, you're probably in big trouble.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:19 PM on October 6, 2012

This being Oglaf, the Fountain of Conceptual Treasures is on the second hill past the creek after the Fountain of Girl.
posted by Iosephus at 12:25 PM on October 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

I have to force myself not to swallow my own tongue.

Given the nature of Oglaf, you should probably distract yourself swallowing someone else's tongue (metaphorically).
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:39 PM on October 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I can't really explain why but I love the allegory giraffisnake. [NSFW but not so porny]
posted by en forme de poire at 12:56 PM on October 6, 2012

Herpetocamelopard?
posted by en forme de poire at 12:58 PM on October 6, 2012

If it were truly about MeFi, there'd be a rabbit hole in the corner for all the threads I got lost in. Saw this yesterday and immediately thought of MeFi; great minds and all that.
posted by arcticseal at 1:07 PM on October 6, 2012

Metafilter: It better not be a conceptual treasure, freindship or some shit.
posted by Artw at 1:21 PM on October 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

My god, is it 2235 hrs already?
posted by infini at 1:36 PM on October 6, 2012

Metafilter: a conceptual treasure
posted by daniel_charms at 1:52 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Apart from Oglaf's many other virtues, I have never seen genitals so fully cartooned yet so realistic. Seriously, the skill is awesome.
posted by Segundus at 1:59 PM on October 6, 2012

I love Oglaf, but sometimes (esp. with the multi-strip continuity arcs) I have the hardest time understanding what the fuck is going on.

But yes this one was perfect.
posted by Sokka shot first at 2:29 PM on October 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

Hey! I've seen this before! I love this!

There was one - it was something having to do with a Minotaur or a monster or a maze or... something. I can't remember. But I saw it many months ago and I never knew where it came from and it was hysterical.

Someone help me out!
posted by kbanas at 2:41 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

kbanas: Kittens?
posted by daniel_charms at 3:14 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I hadn't read Oglaf before. WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY LIFE?
posted by davidjmcgee at 3:26 PM on October 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

OOOOoooo, erotic cakes.

I am totally going to make these tomorrow. With ironic icing.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 3:34 PM on October 6, 2012

This strip would have been perfect for Metafilter if one of the characters had been wearing a fedora.
posted by yoink at 3:41 PM on October 6, 2012

No!

It was this, actually, and it looks a lot like Oglaf but I can't find it actually sourced there, as I did not really look, but stumbled upon it somewhere completely unrelated, awhile ago.

Does that make any sense?
posted by kbanas at 3:48 PM on October 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

Metafilter: it degenerated into sex comedy pretty much immediately.
posted by univac at 3:52 PM on October 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

That's super funny, kbanas! Odds are decent that the Pterodactyl household will begin extensive use of the phrase "I will build a labyrinth to house the regards".
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 3:53 PM on October 6, 2012

Ah! here is the original. Mods, feel free to change my link.
posted by kbanas at 3:59 PM on October 6, 2012

I think you should keep the old link because that can be sent pretty safely to my mom whereas I'd rather not send the actual website.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 4:11 PM on October 6, 2012

I think my favorite is still this one.
posted by teraflop at 4:13 PM on October 6, 2012

kbanas: "Ah! here is the original. Mods, feel free to change my link."

The emoticon version of that gets a lot of play in IM conversations between my partner and I:

:|         :O

(I lobbied for the second one to be :D instead but it never caught on.)
posted by Phire at 4:16 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Man, that one with the minotaur could end with the third panel and be perfect.
posted by Wolfdog at 4:29 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh man, the spider...
posted by Artw at 4:32 PM on October 6, 2012

The blowjob spider? Is hilarious.
posted by nathancaswell at 6:00 PM on October 6, 2012

Oh God I had never even heard of this strip. Oh, this is beyond hilarious. Thank you.
posted by middleclasstool at 6:34 PM on October 6, 2012

Note: Blowjob spider is NSFW.
posted by Artw at 6:54 PM on October 6, 2012

Note: Blowjob spider is NSFW.

I just got tea up my nose, giggle-snorting at this comment.

YES, ONE WOULD IMAGINE SO.
posted by tzikeh at 7:22 PM on October 6, 2012 [9 favorites]

I love Oglaf, but sometimes ... I have the hardest time understanding what the fuck is going on.

With Oglaf, when in doubt, the safe option is that the fuck is indeed going on.
posted by zippy at 7:50 PM on October 6, 2012 [6 favorites]

Oglaf actually has its own TV Tropes page. Boy, there sure are a lot of fuckken tropes in it.
posted by maudlin at 7:55 PM on October 6, 2012

I love Oglaf, but sometimes (esp. with the multi-strip continuity arcs) I have the hardest time understanding what the fuck is going on.

It's subtle, isn't it?
posted by hal9k at 8:17 PM on October 6, 2012 [3 favorites]

YES, ONE WOULD IMAGINE SO.

There's always someone who asks.
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:09 PM on October 6, 2012

The mouseover text on this one has replaced the original song lyrics in my head. Forever.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 9:17 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Aaaand now I'm earwormed.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 9:30 PM on October 6, 2012

Where the hell was this when I was thirteen? I had to settle for pausing a third-generation VHS copy of Wizards.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 9:40 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey, it updated now! Okay then, that's our Oglaf archive-binge for the time being.

I'm surprised they didn't throw in a tramp-stamp/"something to read" joke on top of this one
posted by Curious Artificer at 9:52 PM on October 6, 2012

Artw: "Note: Blowjob spider is NSFW."

But, "Blowjobs are adorable!"
posted by the_artificer at 10:08 PM on October 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

I hadn't read Oglaf before. And snorting scotch out my nose really hurts.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:48 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I thought it was a bit thin for a front page post, but the self-referentiality made it perfect for metatalk. Glad to have introduced some more people to Oglaf :)

(ps, If one of the mods could change the title on yesterday's Lem post to spell his name correctly, that would scratch my OCD itch...it ought to be "Stanisław Lem".)
posted by pharm at 3:28 AM on October 7, 2012

Ghidorah: "I miss the apprentice though."

Ah man, don't tell me he's actually gone. I thought it was one of those temporary passings. I guess it's been long enough now that I should have given up hope already.
posted by vanar sena at 5:49 AM on October 7, 2012

Apparently he will indeed be back.
posted by vanar sena at 5:54 AM on October 7, 2012

Huh. That's good to know. I'm also a bit stunned to find out about the existence of an Oglaf wiki. Must resist.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:19 AM on October 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Where have you been hiding the Oglaf this whole time, MetaFilter? No one brings this up at the Cabal meetings? OR WAS THAT A SHAM CABAL MEETING?
posted by Mister_A at 7:53 AM on October 7, 2012

Phire: also known as the 'Tom Haverford face' from Parks and Recreation
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:58 AM on October 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I love the 'Starburst' violator on the mail-order hamburger ad - "Turns out this was a dumb idea!"

A nice touch, indeed!
posted by Mister_A at 7:58 AM on October 7, 2012

Ivan & Navaan's 'Doesn't Count' Kama Sutra is a part of the Bonus material in Book One. It features Ivan and Navaan performing different sexual acts which doesn't count, in other words, ways that you can have sex but still count as a virgin. TopatoCo describes this as "handy if you love somebody but still need to use them as unicorn bait.".
posted by The Whelk at 8:02 AM on October 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oglaf is great; I'm glad for the reminder that it exists. I first got put onto it when the archive was only a single screen and at some point there was a long hiatus between updates and I stopped checking.
posted by Mitheral at 8:06 AM on October 7, 2012

Oglaf is one of my favorite web cartoons these days. And I thought of Metafilter when I read that one too.
posted by immlass at 8:39 AM on October 7, 2012

There's hoverover text? Now I have to go back through and read them all again!
posted by winna at 8:50 AM on October 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

LET'S DO FLANG
posted by elizardbits at 9:30 AM on October 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

A Flang t-shirt is needed.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 10:09 AM on October 7, 2012

Doesn't look like the page registers the RSS, so here it is: http://oglaf.com/feeds/rss/.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 10:51 AM on October 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Help!
If I like Oglaf, what other webcomics will I like?*

*I really really really fucking oglaf.
posted by kurosawa's pal at 11:08 AM on October 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

*I really really really fucking oglaf.



I wondered if you had accidentally left a word out there, but considering the context - NOPE THAT'S ABOUT RIGHT




please don't edit that. Oh please.
posted by louche mustachio at 11:14 AM on October 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

If you like Oglaf, pick up Smutpeddler, the Spike Trottman-created all-female created porn anthology. It's really funny in parts and has Bible slashfic.

Yep. It's that kinda book.
posted by The Whelk at 11:16 AM on October 7, 2012

Whoa Bible slashfic! Will there be Onanism?
posted by Mister_A at 11:52 AM on October 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

if you're doing it right, sure.
posted by The Whelk at 11:56 AM on October 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Am I the only one who finds Oglaf funniest on the rare occasions when it's not about sex? (I mean I like the sexy sex and all but sometimes it seems like he gets so distracted by the naked bits that he forgets to draw a punchline. Unless penis is a punchline.)

penis
posted by ook at 12:23 PM on October 7, 2012

sometimes it seems like he gets so distracted by the naked bits that he forgets to draw a punchline.

Oglaf is written and drawn by a woman.

vagina
posted by tzikeh at 12:28 PM on October 7, 2012 [5 favorites]

Serves me right for using a gendered pronoun (I had a sneaking suspicion that might be wrong...)
posted by ook at 12:32 PM on October 7, 2012

I love Oglaf...
posted by schyler523 at 12:36 PM on October 7, 2012

No, I cannot help you. I am a fucksmith. (points to sign reading "BESPOKE FUCKS")
posted by Sebmojo at 1:13 PM on October 7, 2012 [4 favorites]

Oglaf is written and drawn by a woman.

Trudy Cooper. Her Twitter.
posted by Sebmojo at 1:20 PM on October 7, 2012

Have now read the entire archive and need the cum sprite t-shirt and yes, a flang t-shirt.
posted by Specklet at 2:09 PM on October 7, 2012

(I lobbied for the second one to be :D instead but it never caught on.)

It is unequivocally a :D. Your partner is wrong to resist.
posted by adamdschneider at 4:45 PM on October 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh god I just realized that I absofuckinglutely need to be the funpire for halloween this year. I WILL DO FLANG.
posted by elizardbits at 7:05 PM on October 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

Thanks a LOT, Metafilter. I've now spent the last few hours catching up on Oglaf, reading the wiki, and reading TV Tropes.
posted by Deoridhe at 7:55 PM on October 7, 2012

Metafilter is the gateway drug to TV Tropes
posted by The Whelk at 7:56 PM on October 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

It would be fun to get a few people together to be the fungod wormthing for halloween.
posted by schyler523 at 7:56 PM on October 7, 2012

The Metaphorical Giraffe should be in the Halloween parade, Chinese dragon style.
posted by The Whelk at 7:58 PM on October 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

Let's make that happen, cap'n.
posted by PinkMoose at 9:11 PM on October 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

That is a meetup I would go to.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 9:56 PM on October 7, 2012 [2 favorites]

Wait, are we talking about the giraffe or the fungodwormthing?
posted by hattifattener at 10:59 PM on October 7, 2012

Does it matter?
posted by Confess, Fletch at 5:53 AM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Only metaphorically.
posted by bonehead at 10:33 AM on October 8, 2012

Is it an orgy or a beer type meet up?
posted by infini at 12:32 PM on October 8, 2012

infini, you say "or" like somehow we can't have both.
posted by straw at 3:24 PM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm amazed at how Oglaf manages to be so porny without actually being (a) erotic or (b) funny.
posted by dunkadunc at 12:28 PM on October 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I can't help but type out straight lines.
posted by infini at 12:54 PM on October 9, 2012

Alright, which of you lot did this?
posted by boo_radley at 9:17 PM on October 23, 2012 [4 favorites]