 Cover of the first print edition of War and Peas, published byAndrews McMeel Publishing, showing a parody of the paintingAmerican Gothic | |
Type of site | Comics |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Germany |
| Created by | Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz |
| URL | warandpeas |
| Launched | 7 September 2011; 14 years ago (2011-09-07)[1] |
| Current status | Active |
War and Peas is awebcomic by Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz.
The title is a play on words using the novelWar and Peace byLeo Tolstoy.[2]
The comics are in strip format, usually four panels long and characterized by morbid, dark orsurreal humour.[3] The comic's world features recurring characters, for example, Slutty Witch, a standalone witch character who counterposes obtrusive suitors, often with black magic.[4]
At an on-stage interview, Pich condemns nihilism despite the dark humor ofWar and Peas and says that she believes in activism.[5] In the same interview, Kunz adds that he would not describe the comics as cynical: “There's a lot of irony in it and there's definitely a lot of dark humor in it. But we ourselves are pretty hopeful for the future. [...] Often the ending is dark, but our characters survive and they're getting better over time.”
Pich and Kunz met atSchool of Fine Arts inSaarbrücken,Germany.[6] After experimenting with illustrative forms, they found the comic format ideal for their type of storytelling and began to develop the weekly webcomic.[7][8]
Since 2011, Pich and Kunz have posted once weekly every Sunday to their website and several social media platforms includingInstagram,Facebook, andTwitter. They alternate with drawing but usually write together.[9] Starting 2017, they also release their strips on the publishing platformLine Webtoon. Several online and print magazines featureWar and Peas comics on a regular basis, including the Italian magazineInternazionale, releasing new strips every week since 2018.War and Peas has been published in several anthologies, such asLaunch Party orBlock Party – both edited by David Daneman – along with other webcomics, such asMr. Lovenstein by J.L. Westover,Deathbulge by Dan Martin andSafely Endangered by Chris McCoy.
AfterNick Seluk introduced the duo to his publisher, their first book,War and Peas: Funny Comics for Dirty Lovers was released byAndrews McMeel Publishing on March 3, 2020.[10] On July 23, the German translation was published byPanini Comics.[11] On November 5, it was followed by the Spanish translation, published byRBA Libros.[12] On May 6, 2021 the French translation, published byFirst Éditions, followed.[13] In 2023 it was translated in Italian and published by Edizioni BD.[14]
In 2021, the collaboration with theRewriting Extinction campaign began. As part of this, Pich and Kunz worked withRichard Curtis and created a comic that was subsequently published in the comic anthologyThe Most Important Comic Book on Earth: Stories to Save the World[15] byDK. The book consisted of stories created through the collaboration of various comic artists with celebrities and environmental activists, includingJane Goodall,Ricky Gervais andCara Delevigne. Since then, Pich and Kunz have been regularly publishing comic strips about current environmental issues associated with Rewriting Extinction on their website and social media channels.
Since 2023, they also release their strips on the publishing platformTapas.[16]
On October 20, 2023 a new strip collection "Salut la terre" was published in French byLes Requins Marteaux and was highly praised by critics and readers.[17] The book was nominated for a prix Tournesol at theAngoulême International Comics Festival 2024.[18]
On April 2, 2024 the book "Once Upon a Workday" was released byAndrews McMeel Publishing again.[19] The book contains several short stories that are very different from the usual comic strips byWar and Peas. Told in rhyme, the stories are dedicated to the problems of everyday working life, but also to creativity and mental health. "It reminds me that I don’t walk alone with the hardness of life, and shares some feelings I’ve had about my own life and work life." wrote book blogThe Book of Meghan.[20] Jay Snook fromThe Good Men Project wrote "Each section was clever and tried to put a playful spin on a different task. Some of them reminded me almost of Dr. Seuss and appeared to be drawn in a similar style. As this book came to a close I was happy to have some nice laughs."[21]
Several fan accounts on social media are dedicated to translating the comic strips to various languages, such as French, Spanish and Russian.[22]
As of August 2024[update], Instagram reported thatWar and Peas had 1.1 million followers on that service.[23] At the same time,Webtoon reported that they had over 161.000 subscribers[24] with over 44 million views through that service.
War and Peas also has significant follower numbers onFacebook,[25]X,[26]Threads,[27]Reddit[28] andMastodon.[29]
War and Peas is largely praised on the internet.Bored Panda referred toWar and Peas as "one of the most exciting and funniest webcomics in the world"[30] and fellow webcomic creatorNathan W. Pyle states, "It's so nice, really lovely and clean."[31]
Steve Shinney said on the podcastDigital Strips aboutWar and Peas, "It goes to that well of existential dread a lot." Co-host Jason Sigler later compared it toThe Far Side.[32]
In the podcastComic Lab the hostsBrad Guigar andDave Kellett described themselves as "huge fans" ofWar and Peas.[33]
