#100: Taking it slow
Hello speed demons,
It’s time for a break. Time to let your hair down. Time to throw caution to the wind. It’s time for a brand-new serve of cartoons.
This week see an elaborate campfire singalong, and let a snail lead the way.
Turning it up,
Chris
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Caption: “Too much synth?”
What do you play around the campfire?
Is it a guitar? Maybe a banjo? Maybe a mandolin? Or maybe it’s an elaborate synth setup, perfect for any prog rock experience.
I’m hoping it’s the latter.
A little artist’s note: I feel like I’ve been this person. Like I’ve been the one who turns up and is just a little too prepared. You know what it’s like. Someone finds an instrument and says: hey, want to play? And then you find myself bringing everything you have when one thing would be plenty.
In real life, I used to play keys pretty well, and I grew up in the 80s when synth was a big deal. I mean, it’s still a big deal now, but it’s often simply a throwback to my first decade.
Visually, this one makes me pretty happy every time I see it. Aside from having a few awkward looking cowboys, particularly the middle one, you also have the super-excited synth guy, just waiting to hit those heady 80s notes.
Caption: “Hold up. We’ve been driving on my trail for 20 miles and, also, how are we driving a car?”
Should a snail be behind the wheel?
Because, I think that’s the real question. I mean, sure, I don’t want them to get lost either. But I think I also don’t want them on the road. I mean, who’s working the pedals? How are they turning the wheel? Is there a path of destruction behind them?
All good questions for you to ask.
A little artist’s note: This is one of my favourite types of gags. Although, I acknowledge that it won’t be for everyone.
It’s not that it’s overly complicated, it’s just that its kind of two gags in one. The first is the snails leaving a trail on the map. And that would be funny in it’s own sort of way. Because, well, snail trails are always funny. But the second joke being that how are snails driving car in the first place?, is what makes things interesting.
So, saying all this out loud, I feel like I need to share the earlier version that I’ve tried to sell EVERYWHERE.
So, not much of a difference there, really, other than the change in caption. But I had always hoped that the second gag would tell itself, without the need for it. And perhaps it still does.
One cartoon that does the 1-2 gag really well is this old Garfield cartoon from 1980. Now, I know that Garfield isn’t exactly in vogue these days, but this cartoon has stuck with me since I was a kid. It’s that first idea that Garfield is going to swing down and steal that chicken. Which is funny just in itself. But then the second gag, the one I love, is Jon wondering where the vine came from in the first place. And, as I was thinking about how to do this cartoon, I thought about how Jim Davis did it with that gag and I realised that he revealed the second gag too.
Or I could be horribly wrong and find that none of them are funny. It’s an experiment, and I’ll let the court of public opinion judge me on that one.
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