Froot Butch

The gang's all here.

Froot Bütch is a four panel, twice-weekly webcomic written by Brendan Albetski and drawn by Brendan Nicholas. It deals with the (largely) fictional characters of RJ, his best pal Davis, his ex-girlfriend Rose and their blonde friend Celia, who live together in an undefined space that when viewed from the outside appears as a suburban home. The four compose one of the arguably most unbalanced group of college students ever to have their activities documented. Long since jaded to the strangely convenient degree of wish fulfillment that exists in their world, the four rocket back and forth between unbelievable windfalls and hilarious catastrophes. For example, during the fiftieth update to the comic, RJ defied all odds and put on pants before noon, only to be struck by a bus and break his arm.

The four characters represent the four cardinal types that you'd expect to find in a college student's webcomic: RJ, the snarky one with a heart of gold, is your typical slacker: just trying to get through the day without dying, failing out or reminding Rose that she still technically pays his rent. Davis, the snarky one with a heart of coal, is the straight man, when he's not reaping gooseflesh with his ungodly scythe. But underneath his ever-present jacket lurks a dark past...a past of chain wallets...and trumpets. Rose is that girl that isn't the blonde one: you know, the strong female type, self-supporting and self-sufficient, who likes dyeing her hair and shadenfreüde as much as the next girl. Celia is the girl next door, or the girl next room in this case: an airhead, a lover of all things ponies, and a cold-blooded anarchist who can never go back to Mexico.

The plot lines are your standard fare: mainly one-shot events in their life with some longer, two to three comic arcs for special occasions, like Christmas or getting laid. The characters go about their daily lives: they feed the dog, they chat with their eerily similar doppelganger neighbors, they go shopping, and they clean up the messes left by that crazy foreign exchange student, Tengu Frank. Culture shock=many laughs.

The comic also features a small collection of secondary characters, who return semi-frequently to force the gang to deal with their problems and come to a deeper understanding of themselves. For example, Jeff Goldblum appears every now and again to teach RJ about the burden of public life, the meaning of friendship, and the word "no." This is where the comic really earns that "Embellished Webcomic" title, as the secondary characters tend to be anything from dream state canine body builders to the aforementioned Tengu out of water, Tengu Frank.

Tropes used in Froot Butch include:

• Celeb Crush: Seems like every character in this comic has a celebrity to obsess over, whether it be Jeff Goldblum, Megan Fox or...George Hamilton?
• Comedic Sociopathy: Everyone in this comic, with maybe one exception, is either a sociopath, wants to be a sociopath, or becomes a sociopath when the time is right. Seriously, why are these people allowed weapons?
• I'm Going to Hell For This: All of these characters are going to some iteration of hell. You too, probably; just for reading it.
• Jerk Jock: His name is Clutch Jabroni. And he slays dragons in real life.
• The Ditz: The recurring character of Mark, too inept and bewilderingly creepy, gets his head stuck in a pipe despite his claims of being a master of illusion.
• Socially Awkward Hero: I don't know that you'd really call him a hero, but Davis is painfully awkward. So much so that he rather kill a man than look him in the eye.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: Davis and RJ certainly fit the bill, though who's wearing what hat changes as the situation warrants.
• Why Do You Hate the Dog?: Davis' dog Marlon is fiendish and sadistic towards RJ...and apparently built like a brick sh*t house.

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Instances of this series provide examples of:

• Acid Reflux Nightmare: During one of the strip's first multi-comic arc, RJ consumes a twenty-pound bag of cheese which results in an extended romp through the character's nightmares.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Davis' dad likes ska...a LOT.
• Animals Hate Him: Davis hates geese. And geese hate Davis. Their blood feud is eternal.
• Asymmetric Dilemma: Finally addressing how RJ apparently lives like a king without a friggin job, RJ informs his girlfriend that he can either never see her again, or be forced to get a job.
• Balloon Belly: The characters are so excited, 'cause the McRib is back. And boy is it ever.
• Burger Fool: In one of Jeff Goldblum's extended appearances, the gang visits that new theme restaurant that just opened up: A Poetry of Steak.
• Calling Me a Logarithm: During the Devil's Highway arc, the characters travel to visit a friend in Fukoph, Kentucky. Needless to say, this gets them into trouble.
• Cats Are Mean: Their neighbor's cat, Chumbuck? It named itself. How...?
• Convenience Store Gift Shopping: A character receives Smart Guy Season 3 on DVD for Christmas. Need I say more?
• Double Entendre: This is used repeatedly, most notably by one of Froot Booch's neighbor Clutch Jabroni, number one bro.
• Halloween Cosplay: During Halloween of the first year's run, characters showed up as fictional favorites like Commander William T. Riker and Seth Brundle.
• Hilariously Abusive Childhood: The ska thing rears its ugly head again. Whether this is hilarious depends on who you ask (not Davis).
• New Job Episode: In the strip titled "On Faith" RJ actually charms his way into a job as a short order cook at "Poetry of Steak," which has never been referenced again.
• Noodle Incident: Apparently Davis and RJ beat up the Wolf Man and pissed in Frankenstein's mouth. Would've been awesome to see that, huh?
• No Sense of Direction: During the Devil's Highway arc, the characters are instructed to keep going until they hit mile marker "triangle." Oh, and if they pass the rhombus, they've gone too far.
• Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: Davis strikes fear into the hearts of those geese. You'd think the battle axe would be sufficient for that.
• Sick and Wrong: RJ...RJ finds Zootube. And he will never be the same.
• The Grinch: Of course Rose doesn't like Christmas. What do you think she is, blonde?
• Wrong Turn At Albuquerque: The Devil's Highway arc has the characters passing through "Ost Wondsor" and ending up at a gos station run by Gary Numan.