Gutter Space # 18 by Leslie Salas

Utilizing Humor to Teach: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, by Zach Weiner

I’m a big fan of comics that like to teach random facts in unconventional and humorous ways. Comics like xkcd fit this bill, but so does Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, a daily webcomic by Zach Weiner.

While all of the characters in this comics are drawn in a particular style, there are no recurring characters and there is no serialized plot. Each comic stands alone, and the humor ranges from silly to dark to seriously introspective social commentary. In addition to the occasional literary joke, there are also jokes about discourse analysis, physics, economics, statistics, life in academia, the possibilities of extraterrestrial life and life after death, to name more than a few topics.

SMBC has an openmindedness that I enjoy. The site regularly features LGBTQ couples, biracial couples, and polyamourous relationships. The joke of the comic almost never relies of the characteristics of the couple. It is simply a fact that—to be honest—should be overlooked and unnoticed by readers.

I like to think of SMBC as a random exercise in amusement and learning. You stumble across unexpected nuggets of wisdom along the way, but overall the experience is interesting and fun. This has gained SMBC a lot of attention over the years, and qualified it at an award-winning webcomic. Take the time to check it out, and let me know what you think.

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Leslie Salas writes fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, and comics. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Central Florida and attended the University of Denver Publishing Institute. In addition to being an Associate Course Director at Full Sail University, Leslie also serves as an assistant editor for The Florida Review, a graphic nonfiction editorial assistant for Sweet: A Literary Confection, and a regular contributing artist for SmokeLong Quarterly.