Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Encyclopedia
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC) is a humorous webcomic
by Zach Weiner
. SMBC is "at heart a geek comic, but it nevertheless addresses a broad range of topics, such as love, relationships, economics, politics, religion, science, and philosophy." It has been featured on a variety of websites and blogs, including The Economist
, Glamour
, Boing Boing
, Bad Astronomy, Blastr, Blues News, Joystiq
, and Freakonomics. It is published daily and has few recurring characters.
The first 480 comics were originally removed from the main SMBC archives; however, they could still be found on a hidden section of the site that was linked to in the SMBC forums by Weiner himself. He made them officially publicly available on September 22, 2008.
The comic used to feature a votey, a special punch line only visible if you vote for SMBC as best website. This restriction is no longer used. In most comics you can now see a bonus joke by hovering over a red button with the mouse. The earliest is on the comic dated November 27, 2006.
for his fans to enjoy. This is normally updated once a week on Mondays with a 1.5-4 minute short or with two .5 minute shorts and has garnered a popular fanbase. Certain holiday
clips are marked "part one," although very few have a second part as of yet. Despite its one-shot style there are certain characters who have received multiple storylines, such as James Ashby as president, J.P. Nickle's news stories, Jon Brence's dating shorts, and Zach Weiner
as Jesus
/James Ashby as God
. All the videos are satirical.
In a YouTube
video on the SMBC website, Zach Weiner addressed accusations that the comedian Sarah Silverman
stole a joke from one of his strips at a Spike
video game awards ceremony, in addition to pleading with Sarah Silverman to go on a date with him. In the satirical video
, he claimed that the joke must have been stolen because he was "the only humorist ever to write on the topics of Africa
, AIDS
, or video games".
In response to a criticism of his focus on academia, in July 2010 Weiner discussed his ideas concerning webcomics in an open forum with critics.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
by Zach Weiner
Zach Weiner
Zachary 'Zach' Alexander Weinersmith , is the author and illustrator of the webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal , currently residing in California...
. SMBC is "at heart a geek comic, but it nevertheless addresses a broad range of topics, such as love, relationships, economics, politics, religion, science, and philosophy." It has been featured on a variety of websites and blogs, including The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
, Boing Boing
Boing Boing
Boing Boing is a publishing entity, first established as a magazine, later becoming a group blog.-History:...
, Bad Astronomy, Blastr, Blues News, Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
, and Freakonomics. It is published daily and has few recurring characters.
History
The comic was character-based in a previous incarnation, focusing on the romantic and academic endeavors of several college students. That strip (referred to as "Classic SMBC" on the site's archives) ran from January 28, 2002 to September 3, 2002. The comic went through three other renderings between Classic SMBC and the current version. The current version of the strip began on September 5, 2002 and has updated daily since.The first 480 comics were originally removed from the main SMBC archives; however, they could still be found on a hidden section of the site that was linked to in the SMBC forums by Weiner himself. He made them officially publicly available on September 22, 2008.
The comic used to feature a votey, a special punch line only visible if you vote for SMBC as best website. This restriction is no longer used. In most comics you can now see a bonus joke by hovering over a red button with the mouse. The earliest is on the comic dated November 27, 2006.
SMBC Theater
More recently Weiner has begun a side project linked with SMBC called SMBC-Theater which features skits and short videos put up on YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
for his fans to enjoy. This is normally updated once a week on Mondays with a 1.5-4 minute short or with two .5 minute shorts and has garnered a popular fanbase. Certain holiday
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
clips are marked "part one," although very few have a second part as of yet. Despite its one-shot style there are certain characters who have received multiple storylines, such as James Ashby as president, J.P. Nickle's news stories, Jon Brence's dating shorts, and Zach Weiner
Zach Weiner
Zachary 'Zach' Alexander Weinersmith , is the author and illustrator of the webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal , currently residing in California...
as Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
/James Ashby as God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. All the videos are satirical.
Recurring themes
There are several topics which frequently occur in SMBC, including:- GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
(represented by a communion wafer), Jesus and Satan - Superheroes (most commonly SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
and BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
) - Relationship counseling and problems
- Dating
- Various fields of scientific and mathematical researchResearchResearch can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
- Engineers as compared to other members of society
- DeathDeathDeath is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
and suicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse... - ParentingParentingParenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
- SurgerySurgerySurgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
- Lawyers and the legal system
- SexualityHuman sexualityHuman sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
- EconomicsEconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
- PoliticsPoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
Awards, controversies, and criticism
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal has twice been nominated for Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards and won in 2006 for Outstanding Single Panel Comic (in 2003, it was nominated for Outstanding Short Form Comic).In a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video on the SMBC website, Zach Weiner addressed accusations that the comedian Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
stole a joke from one of his strips at a Spike
Spike (company)
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Most of the staff were part of Human Entertainment. Human's Fire Pro Wrestling series is owned by Spike.-Games developed:*Crimson Tears*Dangan Ronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei...
video game awards ceremony, in addition to pleading with Sarah Silverman to go on a date with him. In the satirical video
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, he claimed that the joke must have been stolen because he was "the only humorist ever to write on the topics of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, or video games".
In response to a criticism of his focus on academia, in July 2010 Weiner discussed his ideas concerning webcomics in an open forum with critics.
External links
- Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
- SMBC-Theater – executive produced by Zach Weiner, Marty Weiner and James Ashby
- Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Archive
- The 2006 Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards ceremony for "Outstanding Single Panel comic"
- Les Céréales du Dimanche Matin : Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal in French
- Interview: Zach Weiner