A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible
Encyclopedia
A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible (ALILBTDII) is a webcomic
drawn by David Hellman and written by Dale Beran. Ted Rall
describes the comic as "explor[ing] the limits of pessimism and fatal consequence in a universe that would be difficult to imagine on the printed page." The comic has been officially "on hiatus" since September 2006.
Dale and David are the primary characters, although they do not appear in every episode, and there is a small cast of real-life supporting characters, including schoolfriend/mad scientist
Paul, Dale's sister Sally, and David's mother, Debby Hellman (who dated the Devil
in one strip).
Dale and David, who met at The Park School of Baltimore
in ninth grade,
published the first strip on July 15, 2004, and since then have produced more than 40 strips. New episodes appeared with varying frequency, sometimes weekly, monthly, or occasionally after a two-month hiatus.
and imaginative, as with a wise yeti
(episode 14), or breakdancing giants (25). Fantastical characters, often exhibiting magical
or anthropomorphic
qualities, include intelligent
robot
s (4, 20), cute
woodland animals (22, 27), and dog
s (15, 24, 29).
The plots are erratic. Most episodes seemingly begin in surreal realms and hardly leave; others take root in reality. Real-world Dale beats up all the monks in a Buddhist monastery, whereupon a group of Shaolin monks seek revenge; these events span two episodes (32, 33). The first 35 episodes maintain almost no continuity
between strips. The few recurring characters often change appearance (especially facial hair) from strip to strip.
March 4 2006 saw a change in direction for the comic; the first 35 strips, dating back to 2004, were retrospectively grouped as "Series One," and all episodes since have been released as part of "Series Two". While the comics of the first series generally featured the non-continuous adventures of the authors, the second series consists of loosely connected storylines with each new strip generally having some connection to previous episodes – either by following characters through more than one strip (36 40), introducing characters with a connection to others already featured (37 38) or by making tangential references (38 39 40 - The Earthbound Clouds pictures both the mice of the previous strip, and Kitestring's girlfriend in the next strip, without either impacting on the storyline). So far, David and Dale have not featured in a Series Two comic.
The strips are linked by recurrent themes and styles of visual play, although the specific art style varies considerably from strip to strip, and sometimes even from panel to panel. The styles range from the intricately detailed to cartoonishly simple, and apply subtle medium-specific artistic devices, as in episodes 18 and 31. The strips usually have more than ten panels, although sometimes there is only one or no panels at all. The paneled structure frequently breaks down as panels overlap or bleed color, lines and characters into one another. Hellman draws the comic entirely on a computer, using Photoshop with a Wacom
tablet.
In June 2006, Hellman And Beran were interviewed in the book Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists
, edited by Ted Rall. Attitude 3 also includes other webcomics such as Cat and Girl, Fetus-X, Diesel Sweeties
, and The Perry Bible Fellowship
.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
drawn by David Hellman and written by Dale Beran. Ted Rall
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is an American columnist, syndicated editorial cartoonist, and author. His political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic-strip format and frequently blend comic-strip and editorial-cartoon conventions. The cartoons appear in approximately 100 newspapers around the United States...
describes the comic as "explor[ing] the limits of pessimism and fatal consequence in a universe that would be difficult to imagine on the printed page." The comic has been officially "on hiatus" since September 2006.
Dale and David are the primary characters, although they do not appear in every episode, and there is a small cast of real-life supporting characters, including schoolfriend/mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
Paul, Dale's sister Sally, and David's mother, Debby Hellman (who dated the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
in one strip).
Dale and David, who met at The Park School of Baltimore
Park School of Baltimore
The Park School of Baltimore is a private, co-educational K-12 school located in Brooklandville, Maryland, USA, just north of the city of Baltimore. The campus lies to the south of Old Court Road in Baltimore County...
in ninth grade,
published the first strip on July 15, 2004, and since then have produced more than 40 strips. New episodes appeared with varying frequency, sometimes weekly, monthly, or occasionally after a two-month hiatus.
Content
Characters, many introduced for just one strip, are often surrealSurreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
and imaginative, as with a wise yeti
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
(episode 14), or breakdancing giants (25). Fantastical characters, often exhibiting magical
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
or anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
qualities, include intelligent
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s (4, 20), cute
Cuteness
Cuteness is the appeal commonly associated with neoteny.- Cuteness effects :Humans respond favorably to a neotenized appearance A neotenized appearance elicits sympathy from humans as well as protective urges...
woodland animals (22, 27), and dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s (15, 24, 29).
The plots are erratic. Most episodes seemingly begin in surreal realms and hardly leave; others take root in reality. Real-world Dale beats up all the monks in a Buddhist monastery, whereupon a group of Shaolin monks seek revenge; these events span two episodes (32, 33). The first 35 episodes maintain almost no continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
between strips. The few recurring characters often change appearance (especially facial hair) from strip to strip.
March 4 2006 saw a change in direction for the comic; the first 35 strips, dating back to 2004, were retrospectively grouped as "Series One," and all episodes since have been released as part of "Series Two". While the comics of the first series generally featured the non-continuous adventures of the authors, the second series consists of loosely connected storylines with each new strip generally having some connection to previous episodes – either by following characters through more than one strip (36 40), introducing characters with a connection to others already featured (37 38) or by making tangential references (38 39 40 - The Earthbound Clouds pictures both the mice of the previous strip, and Kitestring's girlfriend in the next strip, without either impacting on the storyline). So far, David and Dale have not featured in a Series Two comic.
The strips are linked by recurrent themes and styles of visual play, although the specific art style varies considerably from strip to strip, and sometimes even from panel to panel. The styles range from the intricately detailed to cartoonishly simple, and apply subtle medium-specific artistic devices, as in episodes 18 and 31. The strips usually have more than ten panels, although sometimes there is only one or no panels at all. The paneled structure frequently breaks down as panels overlap or bleed color, lines and characters into one another. Hellman draws the comic entirely on a computer, using Photoshop with a Wacom
Wacom
in Krefeld, Germany. Wacom is a Japanese portmanteau: Wa for "harmony" or "circle", and Komu for "computer". Wacom tablets are notable for their use of a patented cordless, battery-free, and pressure-sensitive stylus or digital pen...
tablet.
Response
A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible was named one of the best webcomics of 2004 and 2005 by The Webcomics Examiner, won the 2005 Web Cartoonist's Choice Award for Outstanding Layout, following the latter achievement up the following year by winning Outstanding Layout again, along with awards for Outstanding Use of Color and the overall award for Outstanding Artist.In June 2006, Hellman And Beran were interviewed in the book Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists
Attitude: The New Subversive Cartoonists
The Attitude series of books is a series of anthologies of alternative comics, photos and artists' interviews edited by Universal Press Syndicate editorial cartoonist Ted Rall. The books were designed by J. P. Trostle, news editor of EditorialCartoonists.com. Two sequels and three spin-off titles...
, edited by Ted Rall. Attitude 3 also includes other webcomics such as Cat and Girl, Fetus-X, Diesel Sweeties
Diesel Sweeties
Diesel Sweeties is a webcomic and former newspaper comic strip written by Richard Stevens III . The comic began in 2000, originally hosted at robotstories.com...
, and The Perry Bible Fellowship
The Perry Bible Fellowship
The Perry Bible Fellowship is a newspaper comic strip and webcomic by Nicholas Gurewitch. It originated in the Syracuse University newspaper The Daily Orange. The comics are usually three or four panels long, and are generally characterized by the juxtaposition of whimsical childlike imagery or...
.