I’m getting ready to start an online comic in the next month or so. I’m calling it Klee Shade, and its concept is that I will take a well-known, clichéd expression (hence the name) and give it a twist, then illustrate it. Here’s my first effort:
[ul][li]Did you get it? (a woman in my office did not, even when it was explained.)[/li][li]Did you think it was funny?[/li][li]Did you think the artwork was detailed enough to carry the joke? (I’m not fishing for compliments here… I just want to know, in this case, whether it’s clear that they’re on a ship.)[/ul][/li]
The last point may be moot anyway… I drew this panel, but the plan calls for me to write and Mrs. Chef to draw. She’s a better cartoonist than I am but it can be a challenge to sit her down and get her drawing (no criticism, she’s just really busy). If she can’t devote enough time to the artist’s duties, I’ll take over, I guess. I’m a better cartoonist than the guy who draws The Quigmans, that’s for sure.
Shweet, Chef. Very good, as far as vicious punnery goes. A little more boat detail would have helped the concept along, but the “S.S. Camelot” made it pretty clear.
Where do you plan on marketing these little gems? Good luck, wherever you go.
An entire comic based on groaner puns? Best of luck…
Yeah, I got it, and the art work is passable. Finer pen strokes might crisp things up a bit IMHO, and make light and shading a little more useful, but it gets the job done.
As far as funny…well how about this:
Better than Family Circle, Worse than The Far Side.
Single Panel comics are tough, I wish you the best of luck, think it will make any appearances in Teemings?
And since this has a Knights of the Round Table motif don’t you think HMS Camelot would be more appropos?
I am an inveterate punster and it will be good for me to have an outlet for my sickness.
I’ve signed up for comic hosting space on http://www.keenspace.com and it should be ready in about four weeks; then I will be forced to confront my utter lack of HTML knowledge. Hamadryad has offered to help me set up the site… whew.
Your point about HMS vs. S.S. is a good one… however, I was concerned about coming across as an insufferable anglophilic prig. I see my concerns were justified. wink [sub]just kidding; please don’t hit the face.[/sub]
As for the artwork, like I said, Mrs. Chef is actually supposed to do the drawing. I didn’t take much care with this one because I intended it mainly as a starting point for her.
Several years ago, Mad Magazine did a semi-regular feature called “Monsterous Cliche’s” that did more or less the same sort of thing. I think Don Martin was the writer/illustrator.
Anyway, it was the first thing I thought of when I saw it.
I don’t want to rain on your parade,** Chef Troy**, but that’s the truth. People will say “It’s too derivative.”
I think it may be a bit premature for you to pass sentence on which is better based on one panel.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that a lot of comic strips have common elements. By your logic, all of the strips that feature kids would have to be abandoned… after all, it’s been done before by Charles Schulz! All strips featuring talking animals - you’re out of here, and apologize to Pogo on the way out! No political humor, either… all you current cartoonists who dare to base your art on politics should go be convenience-store clerks instead and just read old Bloom County books and Doonesbury in the editorial section. And so on, and so on. The success or failure of my comic will not rest on the originality of the concept (You mean people have based cartoons on puns ALREADY? I’m SHOCKED!) but on its execution. For god’s sake, look at the output of Hollywood.
And in case you didn’t notice, Don Martin is dead. And Mad Magazine isn’t looking too healthy either… that piece of crap hasn’t been funny in a LONG time.
Man, and here I was thinking I was gonna announce it when I finally got off my ass to do a strip and post it on Keenspace as well. Screw you guys, y’all can go look for it yerselves if I ever get it going.
Of course, I don’t see any of these here critics trying to do the same thing… go for it Chef, and best of luck to you! The gag-a-day comics are God’s own curse but if you’re set on doing it and you’ve got the time and commitment - I recommend going it on your own unless Mrs. Chef is just as gung-ho about it, it’s gonna founder quick. Collaborations require just as much work as relationships… something to think about.
I just calculated that if I update on M-W-F, that means I have do do 156 of these a year, and if I do it Monday through Saturday that’s 312 a year. :eek: I hope I can keep it going. Thank God for pop culture references.
And believe me, despite the fact that Mrs. Chef is a better cartoonist than I am, I didn’t want to collaborate with her - she invited herself when she heard about it. In fact I have another strip idea that’s been languishing in development hell with her for seven years now. But how do you fire your wife?
I did tell her that this time she has to actually produce or I would go on without her. She has until this weekend to get some panels done, and I’m not hassling her about it anymore… I’ll just quietly start drawing them myself.
BTW, I don’t know that these folks deserved to be spanked for what they said… after all, I DID ask for input and I can’t expect everyone to like it.
My only comment might be that I tend to be a believer in the less verbage the better. The armor is a dead giveaway that there be knights, so a simple “Pardon” would have been more up my alley. Of course if you want to throw in some obscurity, the knights could have been passing each other with the ship’s mast between them saying “Bread and Butter”. But again, ignore me, you rock.
I think it’s great, CT! But I love the lost art of punsmanship.
A friend of mine from 20 years ago used to be addicted to making up spoonerism puns. Here’s one in case you need fodder for your strip: “She conks to stupor.”
Maybe not for ten years, but in the more immediate term I think it will be sustainable. Consider all of the memorable phrases Shakespeare has given us. Advertising catchphrases. TV. Pop culture from a zillion directions. I think I’ll be able to keep it going, especially if I solicit ideas from readers (once I get some) and shamelessly rip them off.
Maybe by the time Klee Shade peters out, Mrs. Chef will be ready to get to work on the other strip.
