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Rent Control
From Comixpedia
| Rent Control | |
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| Creator(s) | Matt Gaydos |
| Website(s) | http://www.webcomicsnation.com/xm19pg76/rent/series.php, Archive: http://kdose.deviantart.com/gallery |
| Update Feed | http://www.webcomicsnation.com/rss.php?type=series&series=5685 |
| Update Schedule | Running, weekly |
| Launch Date | January 30, 2001 |
| End date | Ongoing; hiatus 2004-2008 |
| Genre | Humor, Anthropomorphic/furry |
Rent Control is a webcomic written and drawn by Matt Gaydos.
Rent Control began as a black & white single panel college comic at The University of Pittsburgh in 2001. It has since evolved into a free-for-all, mostly involving animals and usually crayons and rarely words.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
The Current Series
- Ant is a large ant without a mouth who tries to participate in group events.
- The Bees are a group of related insects who lead parades and makes friends easily.
- Benevolent King Jimmy is a friendly bear/groundhog monarch who leads a kingdom of animals, insects, and toys. He is generous with his knighthoods and other rewards.
- Watermelon Sam is a fruit and the talented pilot of an airship.
- The Turtles are a group of related reptiles who can fly and solve mysteries.
- Flamulture is a flamingo/vulture, recently knighted, who is brave and loyal to Benevolent King Jimmy.
- The Uncles are a group of funeral directors who like to play jokes on each other when they aren't burying members of the community.
- Francis is a heroic landscaper who, along with his dog Butchy Willow, drives a pickup truck small enough to go into scary places to solve crimes.
- Teddy Driver leads a convoy of 18-wheeler trucks across America and feeds hungry children from the back of his trailer as he goes.
- Hot Rod Sally is a mysterious motorcycle driver who is believed to carry the powerful Giant Ruby.
- Eric is a single dad who always gets caught up in Sally's plans. He secretly loves her and is the only person who knows her true identity.
- Bradley is a boy of four who is optimistic and helpful.
- Thumb is Bradley's slower older brother.
- Captain Aqua is an officer in Benevolent King Jimmy's army. He runs a torture-free interrogation camp called Happiness Camp.
- Sheikh Friendly is a charismatic leader of the Islamic faith who helps Captain Aqua get to the bottom of suspicious interrogations at Happiness Camp. He runs an interfaith dialogue think-tank in Washington DC called "Friendly Tank."
- Green Raymond is a friendly green giant who lives in Benevolent King Jimmy's royal wood and is often mistaken for Green Shaymond, who is a mean giant.
The Original College Series - The Pitt News, January 2001 to April 2003
- Andy is the primary tenant of a rent-controlled apartment in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He is neurotic, fussy, and responsible.
- Dave is Andy's lazy, zen-like roommate, perennially blinded by his knit cap. The names "Andy" and "Dave" were derived from the name of a popular ice cream shop in Pittsburgh, "Dave & Andy's"
- Baby Bunny is the sometimes radioactive bunny who likes to play with his friends and loves to cause trouble for his uncle Paranoid Pete.
- Peep-on-a-Leash is a baby chicken and often seen as a pet of Baby Bunny. He is involved with the "Where my peeps at" storyline.
- Stunned Clam is a bivalve mollusk who is easily shocked by the things his friends do.
- Baby Lambie is a close friend of Baby Bunny and can often be found making mischief with him
- Paranoid Pete is Baby Bunny's uncle. He was involved in a nuclear accident, which made him green and very nervous about everything.
- Gus the Pirate is a friendly pirate who is rude to people sometimes.
- Dracula is a Romanian count who drinks blood and scares people; tries to make friends unsuccessfully.
- The German Expressionists are a group of German performance-artists who enjoy creating various installation art and short films.
- Matza Mike is a matza cracker who has a hard time getting dates.
- Spike is Dave's longtime girlfriend. She enjoys sadomasochism, tattoos, and piercings. She is also a cutter but only for pleasure.
- Vladomir Vladivostok is a former KGB agent who now runs a budget travel agency.
[edit] Public backlash against the original series (2001-2003)
Rent Control has always been characterized by a certain lack of orthodoxy. During its publication in The Pitt News, the student newspaper of The University of Pittsburgh, a number of dissatisfied readers registered their frustration with the comic through a steady stream of angry letters to the editor. While the comic had a small but loyal following, particularly in the university theatre department, it is of historical interest to document the unshackled vitriol that spewed from the spleens of beleaguered readers. (Note: the "accident" some of the readers cite occurred in October 2001 when Gaydos was struck by a van while crossing the street.)
Here is a sample of some of the original unedited letters to the editor:
"I think Rent Control is TERRIBLE. I was actually happy when I saw in the Pitt News that Matt Gaydos was hit by a van. I thought, wow, maybe he broke his arm and can't draw. Sadly, I was wrong. The guy should just quit the back page!" -Randy, student
"The cartoon you feature in your newspaper, known as Rent Control, is the worst I've ever witnessed in my entire life. I do believe a cartoon's purpose is to be witty, arise social awareness, or be down-right funny. Rent Control does none of these tasks to the minimum of any standard. I feel an instant urge to vomit every time I look upon its blot on the page. Please inform the person who creates this abomination to cease immediately, or at least ask assistance from someone with a better sense of humor." -Kris Gordon, student
"I hate Rent Control. It is the worst comic in the world. Every time I read it I just want to punch the artist. Argh, they don't any since [sic] whatsoever. Can you hire somebody to write for him? Oh my, is there anybody else with me on this?" -Robbie
"Rent Control is the worst comic I've ever had the displeasure of reading. I know it's hard to come up with a funny comic every day, but come on! A second grader could make funnier comics in his sleep. If you find that stuff amusing, you need to get serious help." -Tim, Disappointed Pitt News Reader
"Rent Control sucks!" -Mike
"The comics featured in the Pitt News (Rent Control, etc.) make me feel like I'm in a tube. I cannot get out of the tube, the only thing I can do in the tube is wiggle my pinky finger. Being in the tube is like being confined to a small tube like structure. The tube is a horrible horrible experience. Please publish non-tube confining cartoons. Such as cartoons that are coherent and delightful." -A German
"Rent Control is gay. It may the worst comic ever. It’s never funny." -Nad, prostitute
"Question: Does Matthew Gaydos actually believe that his comics are funny? Answer: Yes he does. Explanation: This Gaydos character actually lives in a different universe where the men are men and so are the women. Therefore to relieve his sexual tension, he writes absurdly stupid comics that no normal human would ever find amusing." -Turd Ferguson, Professional Comic Critic
"I believe that Rent Control contains hidden messages. If you stare at the latest cartoon, a picture of Admiral Yamamato appears behind the uppermost speech bubble. What does this mean? What exactly are Mr. Gaydos' political affiliations?" -Ol' Dirty Matt Fan, Mouse Pad
"Rent Control is awful. Just because you can draw doesn’t give you the right to try your hand at being funny. Family circus makes more sense than Rent Control." -R. Vincent
"As always this week's 'Rent Control' was painfully bad. I regret that Gaydos has to exhibit his attempts to develop a style in a public forum. Reading the Pitt News = 10 minutes better spent masturbating." -M. Bott, student
"...on Another note, why does Matt get to have color in his cartoons? It doesn't make them any funnier. Know what would be funny? Is if those radioactive characters of his publicly flogged him." -Randy, Student
"I would rather see the back page full of "students wanted for massage" classifieds than another of his shitty cartoons. They’re JUST NOT FUNNY." -Jared, student
"Can someone please tell me how today's Rent Control is a cartoon? It just looks like a colorful drawing to me. What a waste of ink and space." -Suzy
"First and foremost, I wish Matthew Gaydos a speedy recovery from his recent accident. With that said, lets move on to the comics. Rent Control is still unbelievably horrible because it just isn't funny. There is not a loyal enough fan base within the Pitt community to allow recurring themes about abandoned characters to be funny. Honestly buddy, ditch the comic." -Turd Ferguson, Professional Comic Critic
[edit] Matt Gaydos
Matt Gaydos is also the creator of THIS F*CKING BUSINESS and the illustrator of the webcomic Boozenose the Clown, written by Evan Zes. He lives in California.
