…that’s when newspapers (and even online comic sites) are TOO DAMNED CHEAP to print the first “throw-away panels” of a Sunday comic strip. To see the online throwaways, you often have to click and beep and bounce and sneak through ads and miscellaneous crap in order to be rewarded (HINT: if there’s a “Buy a Print” option button, click on it — it usually shows you the ENTIRE strip, often in a much larger (readable) format). Of course, these extra square inches may only serve to prolong the agony of a non-funny strip, but for God’s sake, let the reader be the judge! And if you get your Sunday comics by paper, you just might be SOL.
Sometimes, these panels are unexpectedly poignant, or slyly humorous, or just a lark on the cartoonist’s part, often to the benefit what might otherwise be considered a trite, tired comic. Sometimes, the bit of extra space helps round out a long build up to a very satisfying conclusion. 9 Chickweed Lane often uses long, wordless Sunday panels to a successful effect (Edda and Amos running around, swimming and diving, or playing musical instructions, Edda and/or Seth dancing, Solange doing very feline things). And, yes, this is credit where credit is due.
15 September’s Hi and Lois, one I rarely read, has a great intro (yes, I was coaxed into “checking it out”):
Even in the non-thowaway first panel, you can see a tiny Charlie Brown and a tiny Hagar walking away from church. Cross-over comic strips are a kick (not only do the Brownes and Walkers include their familys’ strips (Beetle Bailey and Hagar the Horrible), but also Marvin, Zits, Dennis the Menace, Tiger and Peanuts. (I dunno…maybe Charlie Brown is one of those Browns, too.)
Okay. I love crossovers in comics. I love sneaky bits. And so I bow to Hi, Lois and their creators by mashing them unmercifully.
And on a Sunday yet!
In church!
Thanks!
This entry was posted on Monday, September 16th, 2013 at 1:37 PM and is filed under Cameo Appearances. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.