The Problem With Short Arms
I started drawing this strip when I realized that I had done a strip about the advantages of having no hands, as well as a strip about prosthetic arms and one about what I’d do as a cartoonist if I lost my arm. What is it with me and arms? It’s like I’m trying to come up with a subject for the next day’s strip and my eyes glance down at my arms. “Hmm,” I say to myself. “Arms. What’s funny about arms?”
I almost didn’t run this strip out of fear that I’d seem repetitive – although I think that ship has sailed. But I said, “To hell with it. It’s late, I don’t have time to write a new strip and I think this one is funny.” I’ll do my best in the future to refrain from arm-related humor. I think I’ll focus on the ankles for a while.
If you could write a comic strip on ankles that was funny, I would give you an imaginary high five.
how about an imaginary mid five?
MID FIVE!
You certainly have a talent for taking any subject, no matter how mundane or weird, and writing something that makes me laugh so hard that the person in the next room has to tell me to shut up. I salute you sir.
x-ref for convenience
bugcomic.com/comics/mostly-armless
bugcomic.com/comics/hands-free
I wonder if bug invented the deep pockets/short arms idiom?
Of course, now you HAVE to do:
Advantages of having short arms
Advantages/disadvantages of having long arms
Advantages/disadvantages of not having ankles
Thanks williamkattwiliams! Exactly what I was looking for.
5th, cannot reach butt when hugging
What if you had no feet? Or legs? Or one arm and one leg? The list goes on and on.
Another problem, the support group for short arms is full of T.Rexes. And then you have to deal with the inspections.
I just finished reading the archives! This has got to be one of the best Internet cartoons out there! The material is so fresh (even with the arm joke repetition!!). Thanks for creating such a great cartoon!
My grandfather always said the ankles were the sexiest part of a woman. Look out or you might have to have a "must be 18 to enter" redirect page.
How long are your arms, adam?XD
Panel #2 – When does Bug ever wear pants?
Well, clearly he can't because of his cripplingly short arms. 😉
my take on it is that the bugs are like tom and jerry, tom's fur was his clothes and if u have ever watched tom and jerry somethimes it fell off or jerry buzzed it off with a garden tool or something and he would have those red full body length pajama things underneath hehe just wat i thought, or they could just be naked all the time, they are bugs o<O
Until you specifically pointed it out, I would never have noticed the connection with previous strips. So don't worry! Your fanatical audience won't hold continued arm-related comedy against you.
Since the arms on the bugs are often the most expressive part, I can't blame you for revisiting the arm. They're also hilarious, I love those "disadvantages/advantages" strips. I can't wait to see what you can come up with about ankles; especially bug ankles.
Bug doesn't appear to have ankles… his legs just go straight down from the hip…
At least bug won't go blind, if you see what I'm saying.
Or get hairy palms. 🙂
Wait…what are the upsides?
Supposedly Matthew McConaughey has very short arms. So short that there are websites and videos dedicated to his short arms. I'm sure he's well aware of those downsides
Hi Adam! I've become a reader of your comic since zach weiner linked it, and I gotta say it's great! Hilarious stuff. It's one out of the three webcomics I check daily, so you've become part of my holy trinity, don't be ashamed to feel honored!
Anyhoo, I was checking a graph of the amount of visitors you get here daily, and I noticed a huge bump a couple of days ago. And I just wanted to ask you (or any other person who's in the know) what was the cause of that increase? Did letterman namedrop you perhaps?:P
An addiction to hands and feet? There's a meat market down the street
a bidet sounds good
You could have done an "Arm Week," much like Zombie Week, if you have realized this earlier…
I like this strip! It doesn't look repetitive at all to me and I see no harm in it XD
The funniest part for me was in the comment under the comic. The line:
" It’s like I’m trying to come up with a subject for the next day’s strip and my eyes glance down at my arms. “Hmm,” I say to myself. “Arms. What’s funny about arms?”"
I laughed for a good 5 minutes because that is pretty much how I am whenever I get stuck writing anything. I stare at whatever happens to be nearby as though it would be somehow relevant.
what's a bm?
It's something you do when you are "loafing" around.
bm = bowel movement
or possibly
bm = "brownian motion"
OK I got it
bm = burrito miscarriage
bm = bunghole magic
topical:
bm = booting mubarak
I'd imagine BM is short for Big Meal, that said, I am likely wrong.
Adam. Love the comic btw, this and SMBC are the only web comics I follow these days (Found bug through Stumble Upon a couple of days before Weiner gave you some linkage)
Keep up the good work
I just laughed so hard, my lungs exploded.
Now you should do a strip on the advantages/disadvantages of possessing lungs.
Don't worry about it, you're not repeating yourself, your developing a theme.
32 comments and nothing about the bidet? I am diappoint.
AKA why t-rexes are sad.
I think you could simply change the title and first panel to say "Upsides to having really short arms". They all work as benefits as well…depending on the context of course.
Here's a sad one for all you men- it also means you can't masturbate.
Have fun with that! 😀
Umm … men? Where do you thing women …
Oh well.
If there’s a problem with ths comic it is that it is not abstruse enough, esp. problem nos 1 and 4 are all to real.
it would be hard to pat yourself on the back, bathing would be an issue; hugs would be hard to give and receive though scheming would be easier
fiddling your thumbs would look just akward
That's because fiddling your thumbs IS awkward.
As a daily reader, I don't find this strip repetitive.
Well, unless you do something on similar topics tomorrow and the day after tomorrow…
What about a comic featuring the benefits of long arms?
Then there's the middle of the arm:
God bless the Human (Bug?) Elbow
Goe bless it where it bends
If it bent too far, we'd be dry I fear
IF it bent too near, we'd be drinking in our ear
So God bless it where it bends!
– old drinking hall tune. Bet you could get some mileage out of it…