A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible

From Comixpedia

A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible is an webcomic drawn by David Hellman and written by Dale Beran, who met at The Park School of Baltimore.

It's hard to describe A Lesson Is Learned really. It is superficially simple vignettes, but between Hellman's beautiful and sometimes otherworldly art and Beran's knack for writing in odd twists and connections, it's usually a jarring, mesmerizing read.

The comic debuted on July 15, 2004. Dale and David have produced two series. The first includes 35 comic strips, and the second series, begun March 4, 2006, has four strips as of April. New episodes appear anywhere from once a week to once a month, with the occasional two-month hiatus.

[edit] Characters

Dale and David are the primary characters, although they do not appear in every episode, and there is a small cast of infrequent real-life supporting characters, including schoolfriend/mad scientist Paul, Dale's sister Sally, and David's mother, Debby Hellman (who dated the Devil in one strip).

Characters, many introduced for just one strip, are often surreal and imaginative, as with a wise yeti (episode 14), or breakdancing giants (25). Fantastical characters, often exhibiting magical or anthropomorphic qualities, include intelligent robots (4, 20), cute woodland animals (22, 27), and dogs (15, 24, 29).

[edit] Storylines

The plots are erratic. Most episodes seemingly begin in surreal realms and hardly leave; others take root in reality. Real-world Dale joined a Shaolin Temple in New York City; from the event sprang a kung fu battle spanning two episodes (32, 33). The first 35 episodes maintain almost no continuity between strips. The few recurring characters often change appearance (especially facial hair) from strip to strip.

The strips are linked by recurrent themes and styles of visual play, although the specific art style varies considerably from strip to strip, and sometimes even from panel to panel. The styles range from the intricately detailed to cartoonishly simple, and applies subtle medium-specific artistic devices, as in episodes 18 and 31. The strips usually have more than ten panels, although sometimes there is only one or no panels at all. The paneled structure frequently breaks down as panels overlap or bleed color, lines and characters into one another.

[edit] Books and Other Collections

Material from A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible will be included in Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists.

[edit] Reviews

Webcomic Examiner, review written by Joe Zabel. Published 2004-11-08

[edit] Other

[edit] Awards & Nominations

• 2005 WCCAs OUTSTANDING LAYOUT - WINNER

• 2006 WCCAs OUTSTANDING ART: David Hellman (Nomination)
• 2006 WCCAs OUTSTANDING LAYOUT (Nomination)
• 2006 WCCAs OUTSTANDING USE OF COLOR (Nomination)
• 2005 WCCAs OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER (Nomination)
• 2005 WCCAs OUTSTANDING ART: David Hellman (Nomination)
• 2005 WCCAs OUTSTANDING LAYOUT (Nomination)
• 2005 WCCAs OUTSTANDING USE OF COLOR (Nomination)

It was named one of the best webcomics of 2004 and 2005 by The Webcomics Examiner.

[edit] Notes and references

• The Webcomic Examiner's "The Best Webcomics of 2004"
• The Webcomic Examiner's "The Best Webcomics of 2005"
• WCCA 2005 Nominations and Winners
• WCCA 2006 Nominations

[edit] Credit