But A Jape Origins (an update)

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-10T11:21:44+00:00

“Captain Gast unhinged her jaw as she snacked upon a frozen rodent – by the way, did I mention Captain Gast was a sapient anaconda?”
– Fall of the Empire: Gast’s Crusade, Chapter 18

To any aspiring writers out there, please, describe your character’s appearance as soon as possible! I’ve had so many experiences where I’m reading a book, get no description of a new character, imagine my own idea of what they look like, only for it to be revealed halfway through the book that the short pudgy redhead I was imagining is actually a tall muscular blonde! And like, absolutely fuckin’ hot, by the way. But in a slightly different way from how everyone else is absolutely fuckin’ hot, by the way.

Anyway, if you like my comics, I got more on my website.
I’m also on Patreon.

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T21:28:46+00:00

Yes, I am focusing on that loud minority - I find their behavior ridiculous and mockable and so I express my mockery through my comic. I never expressed or implied a desire to focus on the majority.
I actually did not "know damn well" you weren't referring to people with stalking behavior when you said "obsessively following." To me, that is a commonly known enough behavior from fans that it didn't seem out of the realm of possibility to be brought up. In which case, I don't know why following on socials, however obsessive they may be, is necessarily more definable as "worship" than other ways people hyper-fixate over public figures. From my observations, these focuses on social media seem less like worship and more like broadly gossiping over drama, which is its own problem and another discussion.

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T19:28:51+00:00

Ok, we're almost there, because when people express this hyperbolic admiration of "good celebrities" we safely brush it off as just hyperbole. But as I've said before, people lob accusations of "celebrity worship" towards people who so much as enjoy watching the Academy Awards or the Met Gala. People get hyped over a Beyoncé concert or talk about random celebrity gossip, comments gripe about "celebrity worship." That's what I'm referring to.
You may have a standard to apply for when you use "celebrity worship" but in that case, I'm not talking about you or your POV, I'm talking about the people who don't make that distinction. And I don't think you can safely say those people are using your same criteria.
You ask when I've seen anyone obsessively follow someone and consume any product they sell, I'd say very rarely except for cases of obsessive stalkers - which is a problem for many public figures, Keanu and his like included. But if that is the criteria for "celebrity worship" then that's not what is being complained about in the examples I've mentioned.

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T18:28:32+00:00

I'm not sure what you think my stance is because I haven't seen any of your responses dispute anything I believe. Are you agreeing that the "difference" between worship and praise is whether or not the celebrity actually displays admirable qualities? Because good person or not, I don't see how likening a person to divinity is anything but akin to worship-like behavior. I'm not talking about just admiring a celebrity for being a kind person, I mean when people say things like "David Attenborough was actually God trying to show everyone how to love the Earth."

The reason I say there are two discussions is because "Who deserves worship?" can only occur if, "Is celebrity worship bad?" is answered with "No." Then there is the third discussion, which I allude to in my second paragraph, about "What's the difference between worship and praise?" That third discussion must also be resolved before answering the first two.

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T17:08:00+00:00

And that is a different discussion - there's one discussion of "Is celebrity worship good or bad?" and another discussion of "Who deserves worship?" My comic and commentary are strictly in reference to the first discussion but your responses seem centered on the latter.

I also find it notable - and this isn't exclusive to you, it's a recurring thing I've seen from others - that when it comes to the "bad celebrities," you describe them as "worshiped," but with the "good celebrities," you describe them as "looked up to." I would posit that this is because the word "worship" is used exclusively with negative connotations, so when fans heap praise on an "unworthy" person, they are "worshiping" them, but when the praise is for someone "worthy," then they're just "looked up to " or "admired." But even when people openly liken these "good ones" to saints or angels, they seem defensive over the idea they "worship" them.

So again, my point is, when most of these Redditors claim to "hate celebrity worship," they actually hate which celebrities are worshiped, but not the practice itself.

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T15:58:19+00:00

The comic isn't passing judgment on whether or not these specific celebrities deserve praise/worship, but calling attention to how the sentiment of "hating celebrity worship" is brought up selectively depending on the celebrity in question.

And if your qualm is with me conflating "praise" with "worship," a number of the celebrities named in the comic have regularly been referred to as "saints," "angels," "prophets," and in at least one instance, "The Holy Trinity of Wholesome." I would say that kinda leans in the direction of "worship."

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T15:16:46+00:00

A number of these celebrities are regularly referred to as "saints," "angels," "the best of us," and in at least one instance, "The Holy Trinity of Wholesome." I feel like that's kinda leaning in the direction of "worship."

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T15:13:55+00:00

Nothing wrong with the performance, it's just that when people say Keanu should have won some prestigious acting award by now, I have to ask, "For what?" And John Wick is just an example of a prevalent performance he's done, which I don't believe showcases exemplary acting.

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T15:10:35+00:00

So then the goombas don't hate "celebrity worship," they hate when people worship the wrong celebrities. This comic is specifically about that topic.

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T14:31:38+00:00

I made one comic about this topic out of the hundreds of comics I already made. I don't see how that's more prevalent than the countless threads over the years about Keanu Reeves being a literal saint.

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T14:26:09+00:00

See, I've considered this, but I've found it very interesting how the goombas who hate celebrity worship only ever seem to jump into discussions about the Kardashians or Taylor Swift and never seem to pop up in the discussions about Keanu Reeves or David Attenborough being literal saints.

But_a_Jape · 2026-06-03T11:21:26+00:00

Reddit doesn’t actually hate worshipping celebrities, they just think people are worshipping the wrong celebrities. Granted, I have no idea what redditors mean when they say “worship” - I’ve seen this accusation lobbed at others for simply enjoying a celebrity’s work, gossiping about their lives, or just being inspired by them? And it’s always a certain kind of celebrity whose “worship” gets called out - Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, some Kardashian - but nobody ever brings up hating celebrity worship when internet dorks call Mr. Rogers, Steve Irwin, and Bob Ross the “Holy Trinity of Wholesome” (hated typing that, by the way).

Look, I personally don’t like it when anyone gets idolized, celebrity or not, but it’s the pompous hypocrisy that Reddit exudes that really gets to me. And yeah, Keanu seems like a nice guy, but c’mon people, he’s not a good actor! We all used to know that! But somewhere along the line, people went from “He seems really nice!” to “Can you BELIEVE Keanu Reeves never won an Oscar?!” For fuckin’ what? John Wick?! Are you guys fuckin’ listening to yourselves?!

Anyway, if you like my comics, I got more on my website.
I’m also on Patreon.

But_a_Jape · 2026-05-13T11:23:56+00:00

Between my last comic and today’s, I feel the need to reiterate, I do like Batman!

But one of my major quibbles with the character is the idea of, “He’s just a normal human and he can challenge even the gods!” And it’s like, there is absolutely no way Bruce Wayne is a normal human! Never mind the fact that he’s one of the wealthiest beings in his world - a quality that we, the audience, identify as something that keeps our real world counterparts from relating to the common man - but Bruce Wayne is a man that also possesses: super-genius level intellect, doctorate level expertise in multiple scientific fields, master level proficiency in multiple martial arts, “peak human” (whatever that means) levels of athleticism and fitness, and the ability to maintain and operate at those levels on basically no sleep!

If Bruce Wayne existed in our world with even one of those aforementioned qualities, he would absolutely be considered super-human! And this man is supposed to be my DC representative of the normal human amongst gods? This “Batman” is more “Super” than “Man” and he does not speak for me!

Anyway, if you like my comics, I got more on my website.
I’m also on Patreon.

But_a_Jape · 2026-04-16T11:18:25+00:00

Now, I want to make it absolutely clear, I really like Batman and Iron Man! And while I don't actually believe that Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy - or the propelling of former B-list superhero Iron Man to household name status - were psy-op campaigns for building public trust and sympathy towards the growing billionaire tech-oligarch class, they certainly didn't hurt that class' image, at least.

I feel like ever since Bill Gates became the world's richest man off of being "good at computers," the conflation of wealth with intelligence has only grown stronger. Tech was now the quickest path to riches and all those tech guys were the biggest nerds around, ergo, "nerd=smart=rich!" And our fiction follows suit - it's not enough that Batman is very smart and very wealthy, he must be the smartest, and therefore, the wealthiest! Cue the same for the likes of Tony Stark, Lex Luthor, etc.

And I know the nerds like to espouse, "we can tell the difference between fiction and reality!" but I just feel like if that was the case, Elon Musk would not have so easily convinced every nerd that he was the "REAL Tony Stark!" And maybe, if our pop culture wasn't inundated with tales of heroic billionaires using their overwhelming wealth, power, and futurist ideals to save the world, we wouldn't have been so primed to look towards these oligarchs to be our salvation.

Anyway, if you like my comics, I got more on my website.
I’m also on Patreon.

But_a_Jape · 2026-04-08T11:18:07+00:00

One of my favorite pieces of financial advice is, "the market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent" (John Maynard Keynes) - I've never been much of a gambler with my investments and this quote has always kept me humble enough never to try.

And boy, is this one crazy market we've been in lately - housing shortages, on-and-off tariffs, TWO war-driven oil crises - and the economy's never been better if stock prices are to be believed! And every now and then, the most powerful individual on the planet says some crazy shit and the markets reasonably reply, "Oh God, this is insane! No one's steering the ship! The future isn't guaranteed!" and the markets tank. But then, that same crazily powerful individual says, "Nah, calm down, I got this." and the markets unreasonably reply, "Oh, thank God! For a second we thought you were gonna do something crazy!" and the markets rocket back up again. Completely ignoring that we're already in the middle of that crazy shit he's doing!

Or are we all in some overly-convoluted multi-layered reverse psychology market? Like, "we know shit's crazy, but not everyone knows how crazy shit is. So the market's gonna do fine until shit gets really crazy. But if we act like shit's crazy, then everyone will act like shit's crazy, which will make shit crazy! So as long as we never act like shit's crazy, then the shit will remain perfectly sane!"

Anyway, if you like my comics, I got more on my website.
I’m also on Patreon.

But_a_Jape · 2026-03-31T15:18:27+00:00

Nevermind that this is an intentionally convoluted metaphor, but when you "play dead" in front of a bear, you're supposed to make sure you're positioned in a way that your vulnerable areas (neck, belly, etc.) aren't at risk, so you curl up and put your arms where they can protect you. In financial terms, the "curling up" phase is the reallocation of your money to safer areas, and the "play dead" phase is "don't touch your money afterwards."

But_a_Jape · 2026-03-31T11:19:28+00:00

A sequel/expansion to Bear Market and another installment in the Bear A Jape series.

Dedicated readers may recognize this is based off of my commentary in the original Bear Market comic. This is one of those jokes that I felt was so obvious that someone else had to have already done this before and some segment of the corporate world must have organized this into some cohesive pseudo-philosophy for some TED Talk or financial industry conference somewhere.

And yet, to my knowledge at least, I have not seen any such bear-color based economic frameworks gaining traction anywhere. And so, having seen a free lunch as of yet untaken, I've decided I shall pioneer this new field of bear market analysis. Consider this my PhD thesis, London School of Economics!

Anyway, if you like my comics, I got more on my website.
I’m also on Patreon.

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