Ah, young adulthood. It’s a time of indecision. It’s a time of dreams. Your brain box is filled with all the facts, figures, and statistics accumulated from years of college education, and you’re ready to share your heartbreaking genius to the ignorant, unwashed masses. The world is your oyster, ready for you to pry it open with a rusty knife and feast on its meaty goodness. The young men of Applied Living are typical examples of these post-adolescents who are both rebelling and adjusting to the inherent conformity of a modern capitalist society.

The cast is anchored by Dave, the brown-haired one, and Shaun, the blonde-haired one with the goatee. The first page establishes them as friends since childhood… though I don’t know why, since it’s never brought up again. The first order of business is unpacking, or trying to get your roommate to unpack. Afterwards, they meet a guy with a glowstick, try to get jobs, and set things on fire.

I should warn you, I’m making this comic sound more interesting than it really is.

Remember when Seinfeld marketed itself as The Show About Nothing? Seinfeld has nothing on this comic, which really IS about nothing. And after reading this comic, I know why: actually writing something about doing nothing is an exercise in boredom. As an aside, the comic may actually be attempting to mimic Seinfeld’s trademark humor. One of the strips is entitled “Seinfeld-esque.” If this is so, then it’s in vain: Meyers cannot get the cadence and rhythm to construe anything the resembles a joke.

Take the dialogue, for example. Your Honor, Exhibit A:
“Well, if my theory is at all veracious (and I admit that it is a bit vicious), then you’re probably on the verge of a heart attack. I’m more prepared than a participant of the Cold War.”
“I wasn’t aware you were in contact with an arms-dealer.”
“End of the hall. The guy basically runs a reincarnation of Vulcan’s Forge.”

And for a more recent example, Exhibit B:
“So… your brother seems to be smiting Shaun with the Bible.”
“No, that’s just Mike’s personal manifesto. The Art of War, The Prince, and a Couple of Anti-Prohibition pamphlets ‘re-envisioned’ as a comic book.”

I’ve read this line several times. I have concluded that if I heard one of my friends say this to me in real life, I would 1.) roll my eyes, and 2.) decide to no longer be friends with this person ever again, especially after their back end has come into contact with my steel-toed boot. Because this isn’t humor. This is nerd blabbering. Yet this is the sort of humor that Applied Living apparently provides in spades. (The term “humor,” of course, being used in a purely theoretical sense, since I can say with total, utmost confidence that there was not a single panel in this comic that made me laugh.)

There’s also a recurring theme where Dave and Shaun create a comic strip that mimics Calvin & Hobbes. Only — GET THIS, GUYS — Calvin is an actual Calvinist (if not John Calvin himself), what with his belief in predestination and all. Clever, witty, and oh so random, am I right? Not necessarily. Hasn’t every Calvin & Hobbes reader — which I would like to imagine are more sophisticated than the average comic strip peruser — at some point made the Calvin/John Calvin connection? I mean, it’s not like Bill Watterson took great pains to hide the origins of their names or anything.

The above are only a few examples of the many bits that, to me, fell so flat that they disappear completely when turned sideways. However, humor is indeed subjective. There may have been a point in my life which I like to call “Freshman Year in College” where I might have laughed at Applied Living. Ah, yes … Freshman year: back when you thought Oasis really was the second coming of the Beatles and reading James Joyce was considered the pinnacle of human enlightenment. It’s that awkward time when you’re too old for knock-knock jokes, yet too young to grasp the subtle nuance of a good “Yo Momma” joke. Maybe I would have found the non-sequiturs — which include multiple clones and a talking flame that resides in Dave’s imagination — uproariously funny instead of just embarrassing and tedious. Hey, Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show has a fanatical following for some reason, so I’m not ruling out that there’s an actual audience for sub-par humor. Rating:

Applied Living
written by Shaun Meyers
art by Dave Olson
http://applied-living.com

review by Larry Cruz, a.k.a. El Santo

(3 votes, average: 2.33 out of 5)

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