Save Yourself, Mammal!: A Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Collection

SMBC: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

by Zach Weinersmith

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC) is at heart a geek comic, but it nevertheless addresses a broad range of topics, such as love, relationships, economics, politics, religion, science, and philosophy. It is one of the fastest growing comics online, having sextupled in readership since 2008. SMBC appeals to many different groups, as evidenced by the fact it has been featured on a variety of important websites and blogs, including The Economist, Glamour, BoingBoing, Bad Astronomy, Blastr, Blues News, Joystiq, The Washington Post, Freakonomics, and more. SMBC has never released a book, which is almost unheard of for a comic with such an extensive archive, making this first-ever collection highly anticipated. BreadPig donates its profits to DonorsChoose.org, a not-for-profit organization that aims to improve public education by empowering every teacher to be a change-maker and enabling any citizen to be a philanthropist.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Webcomic, Ebooks, Fiction, Comedy

88 pages, Paperback

First published July 12, 2011

About the author

Zachary Weinersmith (born Zachary Alexander Weiner) is an American cartoonist, who is best known for his webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC). He is the author of two other webcomics, the completed Captain Stupendous with artist Chris Jones, and Snowflakes, co-written by James Ashby and also illustrated by Chris Jones. He also founded the sketch comedy group SMBC Theater with James Ashby and Marty Weiner in 2009.

Weinersmith has been involved in writing and drawing comics since his high school years, but he first published on the internet in the late 1990s. His early comics usually had three or more panels, but after 2002, he switched to drawing predominantly one panel comics. He stated in a 2009 interview that he was glad to have decided to draw one panel comics because he felt three panel webcomics had become a webcomic cliche by that time, and that there were almost no decent one panel comics on the internet. More recently, he has drawn a mixture of single and multi panel comics for SMBC.

Weinersmith's webcomic was recognized in 2006, and 2007 with the Web Cartoonists' Choice Award for Outstanding Single Panel Comic,[3] and received nominations in 2003,[4] and 2008.[5]

SMBC is at heart a geek comic, which nevertheless addresses a broad range of topics, such as love, relationships, economics, politics, religion, science, and philosophy. As shown by the diverse range of blogs listed above, it appeals to many different groups.

SMBC has around 250,000 daily readers, served over 300,000,000 comics in 2010, and is one of the fastest growing comics online (has sextupled in readership since 2008). The comics have been featured on many important blogs, including The Economist, Glamour, BoingBoing, Bad Astronomy, Blastr, Blues News, Joystiq, Washington Post, Freakonomics, and more.

Zach has a degree in Literature and 3/8ths of a degree in physics. He enjoys reading about math, logic, science, history, fiction, and philosophy. His hobbies are space travel, dinosaur riding, and wishful thinking. He currently lives in southern California with his beautiful and brilliant wife.

Note: Zach publishes SMBC and SMBC material under both "Zach Weiner" and "Zach Weinersmith".

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of different webcomics but had never heard of this one. I only picked this up because it was part of the Humble Bundle ebook collection and I am so glad I did. This comic is hilarious and made me laugh out loud the most in a long time. Read the book or read it online, just read it.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have a slot in my life to read webcomics, so I always appreciate it when a collection of a often-referred-to webcomic is published in print.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal feels a little like The Far Side. Every strip is a standalone, with no ongoing plots. The topics are random, but include politics, philosophy, male-female relationships, technology, superheroes, sci-fi, and other geeky fun stuff. Very unP.C. and occasionally NSFW. Great full-color.

I particularly liked the strip on pg. 68, which incorporates both the social awareness which crops up a lot in this strip, and the superhero motif. Also, this one will be going up on my locker.

Excellent searchability in the archives, btw.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of Zach Weinersmith comics from back when he was just Zach Weiner. Most of the cartoons feature what I think of as “Cards Against Humanity” humor, but they're mostly pretty funny (and Cards Against Humanity is still fun). Weinersmith's work has evolved quite a bit since these comics. By far the funniest ones are the one that riffs on the Pina Colada Song concept, and the Don Quixote one. The little choose your own adventure at the top and bottom of each page is really fun too.

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stand-alone comic strips by Zach Weiner. Mainly ranging from the raunchy sex-related ones to some that apparently raise and answer philosophical questions (like, "Whom should you shoot: your husband or the android?"). you should be able to find some to laugh out loud about.

[Megan Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of three collections of webcomics that came our way over the Christmas break. I feel guilty including them, but they are books, and I did/am/will have read them. Two of the three I read as they were published online, including this one.

So, how do you sum up Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal? It's irreverent, it's frequently academic, frequently filthy, and frequently hilarious. The drawing style is rough but interesting.

I was disappointed that my favourite (and many people's favourites, I think) comic wasn't in this book, so I'll have to hope to see it in the next one. Until then, I give you The Most Dangerous Game.

My one real complaint is the layout. As Zach Weiner rarely sticks to a template of panels per comic, they tend to range from single panel, to immense. The book doesn't do a good job of letting you know that what you're reading is only the first couple of panels of a longer comic. I'm not sure how you'd surmount this, but it did make reading it disjointed at times.

[Angela Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny & well worth reading. Some of these comics will stay with you forever.

It can get pretty random, too. Here's some of my favourites!



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[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review stands in for me reading everything Zach Weiner ever published online, including his reading lists (2005-13).

More inspiring than a cartoonist has any right to be. An English graduate and physics dropout, his webcomic has an amazing wry view on basically every academic field.

His jokes are sceptical and romantic, puerile and hyperintelligent. (There are not enough jokes about economists being bastards!)

His science podcast with his wife is badly recorded but always worthwhile, his Youtube group is always funny and often transcendent, and even many of his blogged offcuts are charming- see in particular this one about the future of the library.

/mancrush.

Among the best internet intellectuals.

[Eric Mesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not going to waste time looking it up, but I believe this was SMBC's first collection. So Weinersmith (or whoever didn't the formatting) hadn't figured out the formatting. In order to save space, the comics are all over the place instead of one per page. This isn't horrible, but it does mean there's a little extra time to think about each page and see whether this is one large comic (as is sometimes the case) or a bunch of smaller ones.

It's also the first 10 years of the comic, so there's some overlap with both of the later, themed collections (Science: Ruining.... and Religion: Ruining...). I'd recommend either of those collections over this one since this one isn't formatted as well and since it's random you'd be better off just reading from the website.

[P.H. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real rating: 6.8/10
SMBC is brilliant, though certainly not for everyone as it often utilises anti-humor and material that can often leave one searching for their nearest (insert specialist text book here) but ultimately it is about bringing the world of the highbrow down to a more primal, juvenile place, which reminds all of us that snobbish intelligence is no better than boorish ignorance.
It is rather short for a collection but good cause and all.

[Onionboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This appears to be a collection from SMBC's earlier work. Like any comic collection, you see how far the comic has progressed and improved when you read the early work. But there is some good stuff here too.

[Paperclippe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that was just a fuckin’ delight.

[Sparrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember being so excited to read this when I added it to my TBR list so many years ago. Now that I finally got it from the library, it was rather a disappointment. Either the title comic is the peak of the work, or I've gotten older.

[Emmy]

When it was funny, it was really funny. And when it was dirty, it was really dirty. DNF.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I miss Google Reader delivering me my webcomics. For some reason extensions like Feedly just aren't the same.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes absurd and sometimes black, the humor in this comic is as varied as fans of SMBC would expect. Insightful panels are mixed with purely dumb chuckles - I recommend subscribing to this webcomic as well as having a copy of the book handy to lighten your day.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this as part of the Humble Bundle collection.

I had never heard of the SMBC before seeing it in the Humble Bundle collection and it must have been added AFTER I bought the bundle because it wasn't until I was browsing through my library that I discovered its existence.

This is a collection of typically 1 panel comics that really reminded me a lot of The Farside. I think being a big fan of The Farside helped in my enjoyment of this collection.

This particular edition is the first time it had been translated into English, and it seems that with a few of the comics there were some things lost in translation. There were a few panels where I couldn't discern any sort of joke. Perhaps its just me?

The beginning of the collection is the weakest part. There were a few comics that made me smile, but the good stuff is towards the middle. There were a few that were really quite hilarious and clever. However, in contrast, there were some that were just stupid and edgy for the sake of being controversial and I for one don't like being pandered to.

That being said, it was enjoyable and it lifted my spirits. Can you ask for anything more from a comic collection?

[Chris Chinchilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC) is at heart a geek comic, but it nevertheless addresses a broad range of topics, such as love, relationships, economics, politics, religion, science, and philosophy. It is one of the fastest growing comics online, having sextupled in readership since 2008. SMBC appeals to many different groups, as evidenced by the fact it has been featured on a variety of important websites and blogs, including The Economist, Glamour, BoingBoing, Bad Astronomy, Blastr, Blues News, Joystiq, The Washington Post, Freakonomics, and more. SMBC has never released a book, which is almost unheard of for a comic with such an extensive archive, making this first-ever collection highly anticipated. BreadPig donates its profits to DonorsChoose.org, a not-for-profit organization that aims to improve public education by empowering every teacher to be a change-maker and enabling any citizen to be a philanthropist.

[Ambassador]

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC) is at heart a geek comic, but it nevertheless addresses a broad range of topics, such as love, relationships, economics, politics, religion, science, and philosophy. It is one of the fastest growing comics online, having sextupled in readership since 2008. SMBC appeals to many different groups, as evidenced by the fact it has been featured on a variety of important websites and blogs, including The Economist, Glamour, BoingBoing, Bad Astronomy, Blastr, Blues News, Joystiq, The Washington Post, Freakonomics, and more. SMBC has never released a book, which is almost unheard of for a comic with such an extensive archive, making this first-ever collection highly anticipated. BreadPig donates its profits to DonorsChoose.org, a not-for-profit organization that aims to improve public education by empowering every teacher to be a change-maker and enabling any citizen to be a philanthropist.

**

[Davelowusa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not every cartoon in this book is a bonafide comedic gem, but many of them are really quite great. More importantly, Zach W. opens up the form of the single panel cartoon to new possibilities. While the caption below the panel is traditionally written from a 3rd person omniscient perspective, Zach plays with this convention, allowing characters to comment on the action within the panel. Many of Zach's captions feature first person commentary or even additional imagery. This innovation with his captioning leads to a lot of new possiblities for humor, subverting the reader's expectations in new ways and invoking the meta-awareness of postmodernity.

Job well done.

[Randy Lander · Rating 4 out of 5]

SMBC is quite possibly my favorite webcomic, and I've been waiting for a print collection. This collection is a pretty solid first outing, oversized so that the strips can print in readable size and format, and featuring a "best of" collection of some of the funniest strips.

Truthfully, I would rather have had a comprehensive collection, even if it had to be a multi-volume affair, but I get the decision to start off with the cream of the crop, and Weiner's choices definitely include many, if not all, of my favorites.

[Remo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tras admirar diariamente el talento que desborda Zach Weiner en su SMBC, me hizo ilusión tenerel libro en papel. todo lo que viene en el libro está publicado gratis en la red, lo que es de agradecer. Sin embargo, la selección del libro no es ni de lejos la yo habría hecho, cosa que supongo le pasará al 99% de los que leen una recopilación. En ocasiones el humor es demasiado negro para mi gusto, y creo que el autor roza la genialidad en sus chistes científicos. Un ratillo agradable de lectura.

[Adriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an example of a web comic collection that both benefits and suffers from its origins. There are some hilarious strips while some feel like the artist was in a hurry to have something out on that specific day and just phoned it in.
The art is pretty consistent and several of the strips are pretty ingenious in how the art plays up the joke.
Overall, I found the book to be a good read for when you have a couple of minutes to browse thru the book, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a “sit down and read it front to back” book.

[Heino Colyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a regular reader of webcomics and wasn't familiar with Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal before I got the 2 collections that came with the Humble Bundle. Consistently funny, it covers a range of topics including relationships, economics, politics, religion, science, and philosophy. I will definitely be reading The Most Dangerous Game: A Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Collection in the near future.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading SMBC for a while now online and this book is a great collection of some of the best comics in the series. Zach converted them to print in a very pleasing and easy to read format. I laughed out loud more than I expected since I'd read most of them before. I look forward to the next collection. Also, there's a choose-your-own-adventure in the header and footer of most pages that is pretty fun; see if you win or lose. If you're in to dark humour, pick up a copy of this book.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book online, sight-unseen, and assumed it'd be great, because the webcomic is about one of the greatest things ever, but I was a little disappointed by the production quality. The layout design leaves much to be desired--there are lots of comics somewhat confusingly crammed onto single pages, and the large, square format of the book may have been a bad choice for these sizes of comic strips in the first place. That having been said, the comics themselves are classic.

[Pankaj Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got into SMBC late in 2010, and although I love its scientifically and medically accurate humor, I was just too busy to go through the back catalog. Finally got my hands on this gem of a collection!
It's difficult to read this in the subway and not look weird. I couldn't stop laughing at times.
I seriously think Weiner's older stuff is way funnier.
On a separate note, I have serious doubts about my survival skills, having lost the "Choose your own adventure" every time I played! :(

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious collection of short comics in which absurdity approaches it's theoretical limit. I've been exposed to the occasional SMBC strip, but never realized just how consistently crazy-funny Weiner is. I mean, it takes a lot more than the standard comedic cruft to get me to laugh out loud, a feat easily attained by this tome; the combination of nerd humour, surrealism, egalitarian mockery, and general cynicism was flawless. Oh yeah, and I solved that integral in roughly 20 seconds. BOOYEAH.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's little surprise -- the number of times I've shared the individual daily comics on Google Reader -- that I'd seriously enjoy this SMBC collection. Not every comic is a hit, and sometimes Weiner's cynicism/misanthropy come across a little too strong (for comfort or amusement) -- but, the ones that score (and they are many) tend to be coffee-through-the-nose hilarious.

[Marcelo Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn't easy but I finished the "Choose your own adventure", all the endings. It was quite a nice addition.
The strips are fun and are a great way of introducing somebody to the webcomic. The selection was well done, it covers most of the topics and the formats the webcomic presents. The only thing I missed was the hover at the red button that appears at the web site.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the best web comics out there. The humour is extremely nerdy, but the jokes are consistently funny and the artistic style really stands out. I wish the actual format of the book was a bit smaller, but that would make the panels too small, so there's really no way around it. Read this book, I look forward to the next installment.