Predictable Humor

I recently posted about getting to know characters in comic strips. What happens when you know them is that you can predict how they will react in certain situations, especially the ones they've been in before. Like when Calvin steps up to the door and announces that he is home while Hobbes is poised on the inside ready to pounce. The situation is predictable and yet it's repeatedly funny! Or at least it's supposed to be.

This predictability is quite an interesting dichotomy. One thing about humor in general is the use of the element of surprise which is what happens or is said in the last panel of a comic strip. That's the way it works. There's always a punchline, a zinger at the end. But the more you know a character, the more you understand the nature of the final panel even before you get there. Yet it's funnier that way. Why? Perhaps it reminds you of the first time you laughed at that similar situation. I think it's like listening to a friend tell a funny story that you've heard several times, and maybe the details have changed a little over numerous tellings, but you still like the outcome nonetheless. It's not only the zinger that tickles your ribs, rather you find humor in watching a friend go through the motions for a laugh. Well known characters do that in comic strips.

Have you ever started laughing before you got to the last panel?

I Go Pogo

Yo, fine-feathered readers! Oh, wait. Google Analytics says I have more than a bird readership now. Well, it's time ol' Hank introduces you to his all-time most favorite comic strip ever! Meet Pogo. Created and drawn by Walt Kelly, it ran from 1948 to 1975 and is named for the main character, Pogo Possum. Its setting is the beautifully drawn Okeefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia.

The strip's humor is a combination of slapstick, physical comedy, and political, social and cultural satire. Dubbed "swamp-speak", its language captures a unique southern dialect with creative use of spelling and phonetics.

Pogo has several main characters but the swamp features countless unique critters that show up frequently, mostly small animals like mice, frogs and bugs. Here's a silly strip from 1953 that I chose as introduction. It features Pogo in a non-speaking role, Albert Alligator (no relation to Marilla), and a randomly appearing weather-frog. Tell me what you think of Pogo!

Go Newspaper Syndicate! Go!

I've explained recently what is a newspaper syndicate. Born from the need to distribute comics to multiple papers, it has since become an antiquated system catering to a struggling market. Newspaper circulation is falling as readers take to the internet for news and inadvertently leave comic strips behind. What's an alligator to do?

In reviewing the syndication process, I see primarily faults, especially from the cartoonist's point of view. Being a comic strip character myself, a creation exclusively of my cartoonist, it is only natural for my bias to lean in this direction. I was created this way!

That being said, I'll start with a bit of praise for the syndicate. Though they are first and foremost a business, the people in employ of the syndicates certainly hold a passion for comic strips. They want what sells and what sells is well written, well drawn (usually) and funny strips. To seek that out from the thousands of annual submissions they receive takes a great deal understanding of the medium and its audience. They want to give up-and-coming artists the opportunities of national and international exposure, to be part of nurturing great successes. If syndicates had it their way, the comic sections would be expanding with more diversity of comics (especially about alligators), more space for them and more readers.

Don't laugh now...

Yo, here's a Non-Sequitur strip with a poignant social message. I like to see when cartoonists use the power of their medium to make a point about a larger issue than the daily laugh. The artform of comic strips lends itself to a whole range of subjects and genres, not just humor.

The freakin' vertically formated strip makes it hard to layout the blog. Click it to read it!

The Circus is in Town

Yo! I thought I'd vanilla it down for today's comic. Here's a sweet, charming, oh-kids-are-so-cute, little Family Circus by Bill Keane.

I've got a bit of cartoonist trivia to go with it. Bill's son, Glen Keane, is one of Disney's top directing animators and the man behind the character of Tarzan, as seen in today's comic. That might make this the most interesting Family Circus comic ever.
Click it to enlarge.

Our take on the recent Get Fuzzy's.

Disclaimer: We don't condone the use of illegal substances here at Zingerding. Our position is strictly about the publishability of the comic strip.

In the last several posts, Hank posed the question of whether those Get Fuzzy strips are appropriate for the mainstream press. We believe they are. Why? Two reasons.

First, although the humor is centered around marijuana, the strip isn't taking a position on the subject. In fact, the joke itself is that Bucky is completely ignorant of his references to the drug. Rob never makes mention of them as related to drugs. He acts in a neutral, bipartisan way, that they are "misleading" and "could use a little editing."

And editing is what they got when they were banned from newspapers. The second reason we believe they should be published is the right to free speech and equality in the press. Why in a newspaper could there be in-depth articles about the war on drugs detailing the hardship of users and dealers, but not a purposely ambiguous comic strip where the zinger is based on ignorance? Comics come in all kinds. If you want sweet and innocent, read Family Circus. If you want off-beat and sometimes edgy, read Get Fuzzy.

We think cartoonist Darby Conley did a masterful job of handling a subject he knew would be controversial. Controversy is okay. It doesn't need to be banned from the public eye. Controversy sparks thinking and the formation of one's own opinions. That's a good thing.

Finally, I get fuzzy.

Yo, here's the latest installment of the controversial Get Fuzzy series from the past two days. Today is your last chance folks, to give us your opinion of these strips! Never again will I ask you about them. Are they acceptable? Click on 'comments'.

Click to enlarge.

Have you gotten fuzzy?

Yo! These two comics are a continuation of the Get Fuzzy series first posted yesterday. Marilla and I want to know your opinion. Regardless of whether you like the strip or its humor, do you think these specific comics are acceptable in the mainstream press? Please leave a comment. We've got one more from the series coming tomorrow!

Click them to enlarge.

Get Fuzzy, not high

Yo, here's a recent series of Get Fuzzy strips by Darby Conley from January 23rd - 27th of this year. The marijuana humor got this series banned from newspapers all across the country including the Boston Globe, Arizona Republic and the liberal-minded Washington Post. In situations like this, editors commonly choose to print reruns of older strips in their place. Here are the first two and I'll post more from the series tomorrow.

Click them to enlarge.






Tell the bird and alligator, do you think comics like these are acceptable? Leave a comment!

What is Syndication?

Simply put, the newspaper syndicate is the business partner for the cartoonist. Here is the way it works:

The aspiring comic strip creator submits a comic strip to the syndicate. The syndicate reviews it to judge whether they a.) think it meets the standards of comic readers and b.) think it will sell to the newspapers. They also take into account things like competition. How many comics about alligators are already out there? Do they already sell a similar strip? And they consider audience. Do they already have any strips that cater to stay-at-home moms? Or single men? Or kids? Or reptiles?

Let's say the alligator strip is very original and funny so they decide to pick it up. They have comic strip sales teams who sell it to the newspaper editors. "Hey we have a great new strip about an alligator that's really hilarious! Readers in such-and-such cities really like it! You gotta give it a shot!" The newspapers buy the comic strips.

The artist delivers the finished art to the syndicate. The syndicate distributes it to the numerous, appropriate newspapers. The newspapers print it for you to read (laugh at alligator's tomfoolery). The newspaper pays the syndicate for the strip. The syndicate takes their 50% and the cartoonist gets the remaining.

Those are the very basics of how comic strip syndication works. There are plenty of pros and cons to this system and yes my dear blog readers, I'll be talking about them in posts to come.

Comic Strip Review: Garfield

Yo, here's a strip from the vault of time - the first Garfield from June 19, 1978. Click it to enlarge it if you want.


Now I'll admit to being a fan of the fat cat for decades. But in all those years, I had no freakin' idea Jon was supposed to be a cartoonist! When I recently came across this debut strip, I was floored by this fact. My only knowledge of the blue shirt-wearing lame-o is that he sat around drinking coffee, reading the paper, calling potential dates and talking to his cat. Sometimes I even wondered how he made a living as he never seemed to go to work. Real life cartoonist, Jim Davis musta decided to drop that from the comic or it was rarely mentioned. A cartoonist, who wudda thunk it?

I love those early drawings of Garfield before he became more cute. He sure was fat and lazy back then. See how his belly just weighs him down? Ha ha ha!

One more thing, is this comic supposed to be a joke? I mean, is "feed me" really the zinger? It was the first comic strip to pick up on cat humor so maybe all you cat people love it. I don't own a cat (I'm a bird after all) so maybe I just don't get it.

Did you know Jon was a cartoonist? Have you ever seen him draw anything?

Red and Rover

Yo readers! I always like comic strips about comic strips. Here's a syndicated strip called Red and Rover by Brian Basset.

Why you love the funny pages.

One of several reasons why you people love comic strips is the characters. Take me for example, my alligatory eyes, my alligatory disposition, you love me!

Ahem, seriously now. When you first begin reading a specific comic strip, you find humor in it or you like the drawings or you relate to the situation somehow. But at first, you don't truly know the characters. Sure you might be able to immediately perceive certain characters' qualities like stupidity, snobbery or laziness but you still don't know him. After reading a comic strip daily or weekly or as often as you may, you eventually get to know the them like a good friend. This may take at least several months of reading.

Think of a strip that you've read for years. I assume you know its main players quite well, how they think, act and relate to each other. No other character driven artform achieves this kind of bond between you and itself. Certain kinds of literature accomplishes it, few movies do it. Comic strips can last years, even decades and it is this longevity that allows you to get to know the characters in a unique way.

What are your favorite characters?

For you dog and cat lovers

To follow with the "Mutt" theme, here's a more contemporary classic from the strip Mutts by Patrick McDonnell. This one dates back to 1994, when it was a new strip just gaining momentum in the papers. Comics about pets can get very popular pretty fast because readers begin to love them like they love their own four-legged roommates. Or they see their own pets in the characters. For many reasons, the attachment grows strong.

Click the comic to view it larger.

Hiya Readers!

Newspaper barons, 1890s, salaries, blah blah blah. We'll be sure to bring you some great comics too!



To start you off, here's an old-school Mutt and Jeff strip from the early part of the last century. Click it to enlarge it.

Where oh Where to Begin?

Oh, oh, I know! Why at the beginning of course! Comic strips were born in very rudimentary form in American newspapers of the 1870s. The invention of photoengraving in 1873 made newspaper illustration inexpensive to reproduce and papers everywhere took advantage of the medium to gain readership. Comics were in their infancy, having not yet adopted panels in sequence to portray time and merely putting words with character drawings. By the 1890s, the basic form had evolved: panels, word balloons, reoccurring characters and storylines that might follow from one day's strip to the next.

It wasn't all fun and games though. The comic strip was a weapon used by publishing barons to gain readership and sell papers. The battle was particularly ruthless between Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst where each ran rival strips that were direct rip-offs of the other. The two newspaper magnates even fought over rights to certain strips and lured artists from one another with higher salaries. We'll get more into this fascinating history someday. Stay tuned.

Welcome to the Zingerding Blog

Greetings! I'm Marilla and my fine-feathered blogging associate is Hank. Together we're the cartoon universe's leading authority on comic strips. Here at Zingerding, we'll be discussing the ins and outs of our favorite medium. Stay tuned to hear more about the art of comic strips, learn about its history and maybe peek into its future. And of course, we'll be meeting many great characters and their artists along the way!