History Webcomic / Wondermark

* AuthorTract: Frequently subverted. Characters will start off making a typical 'angry webcomic author' rant at someone, only to go somewhere very, very strange. [[http://wondermark.com/606 Example.]]

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: The [[http://wondermark.com/808/ Starhorse arc]] invokes this in the most frustrating way possible--the fisherman ends up only catching one of five horse-heads, and every time he tries to make a wish the single head warns him that whatever he wishes for will be reduced to one-fifth in the most inconvenient way possible. [[spoiler:It's ultimately revealed that it could have granted him a whole wish at any time it wanted.]]

* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: "[[http://wondermark.com/482/ At the Walforth Barber Academy]], our credentialed graduates coif ''kings,'' ''popes,'' and ''emperor-pope-kings.''"

* ContinuityNod: Strip [[http://wondermark.com/245/ #245]] features an elephant on a runaway wheeled contraption. More than 10 years later, [[http://wondermark.com/c1425/ Strip 1425]] provides an origin story of sorts for this elephant, showing how he ended up on his wild journey. A series of strips starting at Strip 1437 are also sequels to the first 25 strips or so.

* DeadAllAlong: WordOfGod [[http://wondermark.com/comic-666/ says this has been true]] for everyone since the very beginning.

* {{Disneyfication}}: Discussed and defended in [[http://wondermark.com/c1180/ this comic]], where the turban-wearing man says that most original fairy stories were [[ScareEmStraight barely-disguised lectures]] that rewarded [[PinballProtagonist children who obeyed rules]], and part of the value of {{Disneyfication}} is recognising children want stories where [[HeroProtagonist the heroes get to make choices]] and [[CharacterDevelopment improve themselves]].

* ItsBeenDone: [[http://wondermark.com/845/ A man claims to have invented]] "''food'' inside of ''bread''." He's less than happy to be told that dumplings already exist. In [[http://wondermark.com/846/ the followup strip]], he thinks he still deserves some recognition for inventing them independently -- a claim which, even if true, his friend finds unimpressive.

* IWishedYouWereDead: Parodied [[http://wondermark.com/126/ here]]. A child angrily wishes his mother was dead. Her response: faking cancer for 20 years until he apologizes.

* LongGame: ''[[http://wondermark.com/c1511/ in which a neighbor takes action]]'' has a neighbor accuse the other one of gently scuffing his shoes on his driveway every day for eight years so just enough cement remains so that when it rains, the puddle spells "a turbo choad lives here."
* MeaningfulName: [[http://wondermark.com/745/ Mr. Meanscary]], a child-eating monster that happens to look like the backside of a dog. He angrily claims his grandfather was given the name on Ellis Island (although the AltText indicates he's still a child-eater).

%%* MoralGuardians: [[http://wondermark.com/567/ O selfless saviors!]].
* MundaneMadeAwesome: [[http://wondermark.com/1k67/ What was going through your mind?]] An interview with a football player just trying to catch the ball turns into a mystical journey.
* NecessaryFail: [[http://wondermark.com/659/ In one strip]], a father posits that all mistakes and bad things that happen are necessary to avoid a BadFuture, and have already been attempted and evaluated by time travelers.

** [[http://wondermark.com/345/ Next years memes predicted]], which mashes up random creatures and things.
** [[http://wondermark.com/238/ Ninja on a unicycle]].
** [[http://wondermark.com/495/ PIRANHAMOOSE]]. ...''awesome.''
* NobodyHereButUsStatues: [[http://wondermark.com/wp-content/uploads/2005/08/drabbledoc.gif This]] ''Drabble'' RemixComic from ''The Comic Strip Doctor''.
* OhWaitThisIsMyGroceryList: Applied to an unfortunate Cyrano [[http://wondermark.com/106/]], who mixes up his grocery list with his love poems.

* OpinionMyopia: InUniverse: [[http://wondermark.com/1k77/ "It's tough to be cursed with perfect taste."]]
* OverlyLongAirplaneBannerGag: Done in [[http://wondermark.com/508/ this]] strip, using a bird rather than an airplane.

* PianoDrop: [[http://wondermark.com/394/ This is why you don't eat those little desiccant packets.]]

** ''[[http://wondermark.com/520/ Punching Stuff Until It Blows Up]]'' and its [[http://wondermark.com/521/ two]] [[http://wondermark.com/522/ sequels]].

* SoBeautifulItsACurse: "[[http://wondermark.com/440/ Isn't it just awful being pretty?]]"

** [[http://wondermark.com/352/ SteamPunk robots]]

** Observe - [[http://wondermark.com/368/ the 19th century Facebook]]
** You've... been... [[http://wondermark.com/538/ Steampunk'd!]]

* TalkingAnimal: Tagged as [[http://wondermark.com/tag/humanized-animals/ humanized animals]].

* TicketLineCampout: Subject of [[http://wondermark.com/321/ this strip]] where a bunch of people are supposedly camped out to buy the new Harry Potter book.

* VampireVannabe: Parodied [[http://wondermark.com/241/ here]]. A woman is eager to be turned into a vampire, but unfortunately she's merely found an ordinary cannibal instead.
%%* TheVirus: [[http://wondermark.com/741/ GOOF'D!]]
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotDidactic: Parodied [[http://wondermark.com/720/ here]], where some people meet a group of aliens called Mexicans who they assume are part of a metaphor about immigration. They aren't.[[invoked]]
* WikiWalk: Played with in [[http://wondermark.com/420/ this strip]].
* YourNormalIsOurTaboo: [[http://wondermark.com/910/ Gaxians consider hair-brushing a very personal thing.]]

* CriticalResearchFailure: [[http://wondermark.com/558/ This one]]: [[invoked]]
-->'''Salesman:''' ''"Hello sir for order a camel?"''
-->'''Customer:''' ''"Capital! Thank you! Just one question before I set off. How high can this beast fly? Are we talking mountain-vaulting altitudes or is it more a graze-the-steeples type of affair?"''