Folks, let me tell ya ’bout Exploding Dog. It was created by a guy named Sam Brown (alias) who loves to draw, or at least I’m guessing, because he’s pretty awesome at it. The way the site works is people send him emails with phrases, and he draws a picture to accompany said phrases. These phrases can consist of anything, however random, but the best ones are usually the vague phrases, because there are so many ways it could be taken. And that’s where most of the magic of Exploding Dog kicks in. Usually the way Sam Brown interprets phrases, even the ones where it’s obvious what the phrase means, is what makes the pictures funny and interesting, though the hilarious stick figures don’t hurt. Speaking of stick figures, those are his main characters, so to speak. Other common characters include giant green monsters, robots, and little funny-looking aliens. Even the pictures that aren’t supposed to be funny have succeeded in making me laugh, just from the stick figures’ faces usually.

Sam Brown’s style can only be described as “silly.” Even though I’m sure he puts a ton of effort into drawing these pictures, you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at a lot of them. He doesn’t try to make his pictures look polished or anything like that; they look kinda rough, but that only adds to Sam’s style. This isn’t to say that Sam can’t draw well when he wants to. Some of the backgrounds and scenes in the pictures he draws are masterfully conceived and beautiful. Another great aspect of Exploding Dog is the colors in the pictures, as they’re often intense and/or have some sort of meaning.

I’ve spent countless hours just browsing Exploding Dog. It’s really one of the best corners of the web to check out if you have nothing to do or are bored of the internet, which is often my situation. With Sam’s repertoire stretching back to the year 2000, there’s almost a decade of material to browse through, and it’s fascinating to see where he started and the different media and phases he’s gone through. Basically, if you want a good chuckle, check out