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About

Hi, there! God only knows why you're reading this page but, hey, glad you care!


What the hell is this crap?
A fine question, that! The Word Weary is the brainchild of the authors and artists of the Word Weary Collaborative. The comic follows the lives of five twenty-somethings as they work to make their passions financially solvent. The characters and stories are loosely based on us and our work.

Alright, but who actually makes the comic?
The comics are principally written and drawn by John Kossler (the bald one with a goatee), but it's a group effort.


And how does he make them?
The process begins when one of the collaborators pitches an idea for a comic. Following that, it's written by John Kossler (me) and the fellow who suggested it. I then draw and ink the comic panel-by-panel freehand and scan it when I'm done. Following that I increase the brightness and contrast on the image until I can easily work with it in Photoshop. I digitally remove everything but the characters' faces and put in pictures of fabric or surfaces to create the clothes and the background.

I noticed a lot of problems with scale and perspective. Is John Kossler one of those artists who's actually really good but opted for a simple style for the sake of the webcomic?
No. The comic is the culmination of my artistic abilities. Unfortunately. I'm getting better little by little, though. I'm learning about vanishing points!

How often does The Word Weary update?
Thursday and Saturday, with the occasional two-comic update on one of those days.

How far in advance do you write your scripts? (Question submitted by Nick Grant of Wonderdrome, which you should totally read!)
Usually about a week late. Mostly though I spend the days preceding updates deciding which characters I want to use, how their interaction will forward the plot and obsessing over the wording of the setup and punchline for the joke. Which NEVER GETS ANY EASIER!!!

Is The Word Weary safe for work?
That depends on how strict your workplace is. There's swearing in nearly every single strip and some bare buttocks every now and then. So far there's been no frontal nudity or graphic sex so... I don't know. Sure?

How much of the The Word Weary is based on real life?
I'd say about half of it. Some of the characters are inspired by my friends, others are just different aspects of my personality personified. So what's true? Pretty much everything about me, John Kossler, is true. I work in a hookah lounge, I'm terrified of women, I DID actually order pizza in the guise of one of my D&D characters. Yeah, I'm pretty much awesome.
Updated 1 December:  At this point comic-John and I have sort of split. He's me when I was less mature and less willing to stand up for myself.  We more-or-less have the relationship Jerry Seinfeld and his character on Seinfeld had.

I notice you have a pretty full TV Tropes page. Do you write your comic with specific tropes in mind or use the site for inspiration?
I LOVE TV Tropes. It's an awesome site and I've learned a lot of good writing techniques from it, but I much prefer writing the comic then looking back and seeing what tropes they fit.


I really liked X character until they did Y thing! Why did you have to change them?
I'm trying to write this comic as realistically as possible. Anyone who's ever known ANY OTHER PERSON knows that people make mistakes. Some people make bigger mistakes than others and some people make HUGE, DISASTROUS LIFE-ALTERING MISTAKES. Feel free to get attached to my characters, just remember they're going to fuck up sooner or later. 




Dude, WTF? That paisley shirt in issue 2 makes me look like a fucking hipster! (Question submitted by Jason Kirkwood.)
I thought it looked cool.

What the hell am I wearing in issue 3? (Question submitted by Yorick Kingsley.)
It's the album art for the Wheels EP by Cake.

I don't like the album art from the Cake Wheels EP. (Question submitted by Yorick Kingsley.)
That's not a question.

Fuck you. (Question submitted by Yorick Kinglsey.)
That was unnecessary.

Those paintings in some of the backgrounds are pretty nifty! Who painted those?
Some of the paintings shown in the comic are the work of Anne Couteau (the girl with the blond hair and glasses). The most recent ones were done by me as I try to work on developing as an artist.


How can I get in contact with you?
It's surprisingly simple.
Or you can follow my twitter.

Why don't you have a list of links with your favorite comics?
Let's look at my favorite webcomics- QC, Dinosaur Comics, Order of the Stick... do these guys need any MORE hits per day? They're great comics, sure, but if I ever do decide to make a favorite comics list, I'd prefer to do less well known ones so their creators can have some more exposure.

Can I advertise on The Word Weary? 
Sure! All my adspace is handled through Project Wonderful.


Can I post your comic on another site?
Contact me before you do.

Why do you look so sad on the site header?
Because this comic's killing me.