Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Keeps being mixed up with Continuity Creep
, started by nrjxll on Aug 7th 2011 at 6:42:02 AM
Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Misused, started by WhatArtThee on Aug 30th 2016 at 11:36:25 PM
I feel like this needs a new, more generic name. It's named after a comic that is (1) long finished, and (2) often more famous more for going off the deep end than this factor anyway.
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I honestly think it needs a new name but IDK if they'll ever get to it. Mine suggestion is "Dramedy Creep."
pro lurker
i think we should add a show called Al kabir
which is an egyptian soap opera which makes a new season every Ramadan at the start it is a comedy show which gets to dramatic shit like -Al kabir having to sell everything he has because he has to pay off a debt his father had left him -the third brother coming up to buy the house they lived in and explaining his tragic past (like killing his girlfriend in African mines he owns and killing his parent with unplugging her life support for charging his phone) -johnny (second brother) leaving to the US to star in titanic 2 when his brother has children (and having a anger management teacher die on him and have him creminated and the third brother spilling his ashes) -the time Al kabir goes to turkey with the deed his fourth brother owns for a company in turkey where he gets money but then gets his identity stolen and having amnesia with no identity in the hospital washed up and alone where he gets treatment from a doctor washed up in Turkish soap operas and calls him "Mohanad" where he gets to join a gang and go against his brothers gang where he shoots his brother in the ass (twice) then leaves with brother to Egypt after "Mohanad" got married and then divorced to go back to his crazed wife which he abandons -season 5 finally where the third brother goes to space with some house crew to stop an asteroid and then they all leave where they are nearly sacrificed and Al kabir comes into the space station to hold all the crew on gunpoint if they don't bring his brothers down on earth safely where they leave and sacrifice a man who is very strong and when they are all down and feel sad for their comrade who they left he falls out the sky.
I really think the webcomic Apple and Kiwi (now hosted at pizzapranks.com for anyone who's wondering) qualifies for this trope. (Not that they did this in a bad way - it's still a funny comic sometimes) It started out as a gag strip, and then started having the occasional story arc, and now they're having this epic drama in the middle of what may or may not be the apocalypse.
That quote at the top was taken completely out of context; that's not what it meant in the actual episode. Can we replace it?
And then everybody died. The end. Hide / Show Replies
Is there a reason there are no webcomic examples on this webcomic trope page? Did a link get deleted somewhere?
Well *some*body thinks a bit much of their unfunny webcomic...
Edited by Pooptaco
What's the difference between that and Darker and Edgier? I suppose, the latter is considered more superficial and harmful to the work in question, while Cerebus Syndrome is a more neutral description?
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We don't do "neutral" and "harmful" articles. We just look at tools people use.
That said, something in the description really does need to address exactly what the difference between this page and Darker and Edgier is. It used to be that Darker and Edgier was only for adaptations and sequels while Cereberus Syndrome was over the course of one run but Darker and Edgier has undergone so much decay these two might as well be the same page. If someone sees any remaining difference please point it out.
Modified Ura-nage, Torture Rack
Hey guys, shouldn't it be Cerberus Syndrome? Cerberus was the multi-headed dog. Unless it refers to this. At the very least, we should make redirects.
Oh, nvm, I saw the caption. It is based off of Cerebus the Aardvark. Though the whole two headed thing is a source of confusion, so redirects to the the correct spelling are valid. Normally, improper spelling is discouraged as a redirect, but since there's the more famous example in Greek mythology, leading away from it (and let's face it, the multi-headed dog analogy does sort of work in a story), it's best to be done this way.
Edited by bulmabriefs144
Does Cowboy Bebop have a place here? Yes, the finale had a lot of drama, but I don't think the resolution of the series counts. Also, it had humor and drama throughout, although one doesn't completely overshadow the other.
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There are a lot of works listed on the trope page that never started out as comedies. Even a very serious work will generally start from a Lighter and Softer angle just because throwing dark dark dark all up in the audience's faces makes it hard to get into a work. Like Fullmetal Alchemist - the first few volumes have a lighter tone, before the story really gets going... Or even more, Avatar - the series gets darker as the war progresses and Aang comes to terms with his role as its saviour - but unless I'm seriously misunderstanding the definition of Cerebus Syndrome, I don't think those are really examples.
Edited by xGreenling
I'm going to post Eric Burns' definition here, because it doesn't seem to have carried over. Cerebus Syndrome isn't about sliding towards drama and away from comedy. It's about adding drama to comedy. Sometimes the comedy gets toned down as a result, but it isn't a key feature. Ideally, the work in question gets funnier as a result of Cerebus
Cerebus Syndrome: The effort to create character development by adding layer upon layer of depth to their characters, taking a character of limited dimension (or meant to be a joke character) and making them fuller and richer. The idea is to take what was fun on one level and showing the reality beneath it. 'Cerebus Syndrome' refers to Dave Sim's epic, sometimes tragically flawed magnum opus, Cerebus the Aardvark. Cerebus started life as a parody of Conan the Barbarian starring an Earth-Pig born. Over time, it grew extremely complex, philosophical, and in many ways much much funnier. Then, Dave Sim went batshit crazy and Cerebus went straight to Hell, but that's for another day. People saw how Cerebus's humble roots could lead to glorious heights, and as cartoonists get bored with what they're doing, they decided to pull a Cerebus of their own.
Boredom is generally the key to a Cerebus Syndrome attempt. After a while, even a successful webcartoonist gets tired of fart jokes and sight gags and wants to make these characters more than they've been.
It is extremely hard to take a light, joke a day strip and push it through a successful Cerebus Syndrome. Dave Sim did it in stages, and at least in the early days of the transformation brought massive amounts of Funny to cover it over. Done perfectly, one only realizes in hindsight that the strip has turned out to be quite different than it used to be. Done sloppily, the Cerebus Syndrome fails, and the webcomic enters First and Ten Syndrome. Unfortunately, a failed Cerebus Syndrome is an excruciating process for the webcomic's fans to endure.
Please note that one can continue to bring the Funny while going for Cerebus Syndrome — and in fact, probably should. It is far more common to drop the Funny, which increases geometrically the chance to fall into First and Ten. Note also that not all strips that bring heavy Story, mix humorous and serious elements, and have bad things happen to their characters are undergoing Cerebus Syndrome (or First and Ten Syndrome, for that matter). It's only those strips that began on a very light, even limited dimension level and then transform into something different that really shoot for the Cerebus Syndrome. So, Sluggy Freelance, which started out mostly humorous and now has a healthy dose of the Funny and the Story (with occasional forays into sequences like "Fire and Rain") is that rarity of rarities — a successful Cerebus Syndrome. Digger and For Better or for Worse, on the other hand, had complex characterization from day one, and cannot be said to be in Cerebus or First and Ten. Got it? Good. There will be a quiz.
Edited by EsotericWombat
Wizzard
I was thinking of adding the third strip on this page of Narbonic as a parody, mentioning the specific strips it takes off. But I only recognise the first one (Questionable Content) and the third one (Something Positive). Anyone know what the other two refer to?
Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Tropes named for Cerebus
, started by Ganondorfdude11 on Oct 11th 2010 at 7:35:20 AM
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman