  Comedy
This week: Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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"I had thought — I had been told — that a 'funny' thing is a thing of a goodness. It isn't. Not ever is it funny to the person it happens to. Like that sheriff without his pants. The goodness is in the laughing itself. I grok it is a bravery... and a sharing... against pain and sorrow and defeat."
- Valentine Michael Smith
(Robert Heinlein,
Stranger in a Strange Land) |
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Hi! I'm Robert Waltz and I'm pleased to be your Guest Editor this week.
Right now, those of you who know me are going, "Oh no! Get ready for some puns!" Well, sorry to disappoint you, but not this week. Puns are only funny to the perpetrator, anyway. Besides, I don't want to be banned for life from this newsletter. Not yet.
This holiday season, I received a gift card to a well-known chain bookstore. The gift card was for a rather substantial amount, and I briefly considered buying half the Science Fiction section, but on my way to the back corner of the store, my eyes fell upon the one book I knew I'd cherish forever.
After I picked my eyes up off the book, wiped them off, and popped them back where they belonged, I scooped up the Complete Calvin and Hobbes Collection (good thing I've been working out; that sucker is heavy) and took it up to the counter.
For anyone who's spent the last 20 years living on the planet Zok, Calvin and Hobbes was a newspaper comic strip by Bill Watterson that ran for 11 years, from 1985 through 1995, with a couple of breaks. The main characters were a boy and a tiger - only the tiger was only "real" to the boy; everyone else saw him as a stuffed toy.
Other than the undisputed fact that this was the Funniest Comic Strip Ever, why am I going on about it in a writing newsletter? Well, because I think we can learn a lot from the comic strip art form. Daily strips are limited in size; most follow a standard three- or four- frame format, and most "gag" strips don't carry over situations from one day to the next (sometimes C&H did; sometimes it didn't). So the writer has a tight little frame to work within: a limited selection of characters, a balance between drawing and lettering, and the need for a fast punchline. It's a kind of flash fiction, somewhere between a one-liner and a full-fledged joke. We may not all have the artistic talent or dedication to produce a comic strip day after day after day - I certainly lack both - but the essentials of comedy transcend the medium.
So when you get a chance, take a good look at newspaper comics. What makes them work? What makes some of them not funny? Most importantly, how can you translate the bits that work from graphics into a purely written form?
And do tigers really have a weakness for tuna fish sandwiches? |
Whether they were inspired by the funny papers or not, here's a small selection of funnies for your reading - and in some cases, interactive - enjoyment!
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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| As some of you already know, I have an answer for everything. Trouble is, no one's come up with the right questions yet. And since I'm only a Guest Editor, now is still not your chance! But drop me a line anyway - I don't mind making my colleagues answer! |
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Comedy: January 17, 2007 Issue [#1490]
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