Achewood
| Achewood | |
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| Author(s) | Chris Onstad |
| Website | www.Achewood.com |
| Current status / schedule | Inactive |
| Launch date | October 1, 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Slice-of-life, Surreal humor |
Achewood is a webcomic created by Chris Onstad in 2001. It portrays the lives of a group of anthropomorphic stuffed toys, robots, and pets. Many of the characters live together in the home of their owner, Chris, at the fictional address of 62 Achewood Court. The events of the strip mostly take place in and around the house, as well as around the town of Achewood, the fictional suburb which gives its name to the comic.
The comic's humor is most often absurdist, typically lacking a traditional set punchline, and very often moves to the highly surreal. The world of the strip is expansive, featuring many major and minor characters with detailed backstories, and often references previous events, making it an ongoing narrative. As Onstad is a food and cooking enthusiast, many Achewood strips contain some reference to food or drink.
Originally published regularly, the comic began to skip days in late 2010, and in March 2011 Onstad announced that Achewood would be going on indefinite hiatus. In November 2011 the comic returned, followed by an announcement in December that the hiatus was over. However, Chris Onstad has stated that no regular schedule will be in effect, and new strips have been sporadic. Chris Onstad indicated in 2012 his plans for pitching Achewood as an animated series. No further news has come on this front, and the comic itself was not updated between April 7, 2014 and December 24, 2015.
The strip returned on December 24, 2015 and was updated most subsequent Fridays. On December 25, 2016, Onstad announced that the strip was again on hiatus.
The first Achewood strip ("Philippe is standing on it") was released on October 1, 2001. Onstad has stated in multiple interviews that he was inspired to launch the strip by the events of September 11, 2001. The strip sets the tone for future strips with its nonsensical humor and flat visual punchline. In this particular strip, Mr. Bear and Téodor are discussing Téodor's confusion over a drum machine. Mr. Bear informs Téodor that there is an instruction manual. However, Philippe is standing on it.
Throughout Achewood, there is no distinguishable underlying storyline—aside from, perhaps, the general passing of time and development of the comic's characters and their interrelationships. Onstad's preferred method of story-telling is to develop his characters through one-off strips and short story arcs. Strips are humorous, relying upon bizarre and chaotic humor as well as social stereotypes, obscure burlesque literary and historical references, and strong characterization of the comic's many quirky individuals.
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