Notice anything different today? Well, so did Hubris and Paste, apparently, because what else could have rendered them speechless?
But because YOU persevere, and read all the way down here to this blurb, you get to learn that I went, this past weekend, to the National Cartoonist Society’s Southeast Chapter Annual Fall Meeting. It’s more fun to attend than to type, I notice. At any rate, the great Wiley Miller (Non Sequitur) was one of our guest speakers. I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, first because he draws beautifully, and second because I heard him predict the end of Editorial Cartooning As We Know It, and the reasons for its demise, accurately early on and noticed that he flourished as well as anyone could in comic strips hit their decline by being intelligent and treating it like a business he was involved in.
And he pointed out that his Non Sequitur Sunday cartoons’ vertical format read better than traditional two-tier horizontal formats, partly because it doesn’t give you a sneak peek at the punchline as you go from the last panel of the first tier to the first panel of the second, but also because it’s a fluid way to read comics- allowing the readers eye to flow downward in the story as it is wont to do when allowed to roam in a natural way.
And that, kiddies, is how WebComics work, too. So here’s the latest experiment- the vertical panel order in Hubris. We’ll see how it goes. It’s going to make arranging the cartoons for book format a little time consuming down the road, to be sure, but we’ll smash the crud out of that bridge when we come to it.
Greg, usually you saved them for something epic, like that waterfall kayak scene, or Hubris climbing and meeting the bear face to face. I like it better that way…
As for Chase R Ambule, he’s going to lose that consult/talk in about a city block as I don’t think Lowell is a marathon runner, Paste wasn’t calling him Chunkybutt for his training for the Stanky Creek Outdoorfest for Sportsmarts team for nothing!
As for Chase R and the dog, who knows when the dog will win here. Chase R doesn’t look like a marathon runner either.
Besides why do Hubris and Paste have to say ANYTHING? Just enjoy the crazybomb that just hoofed past, with Chase as the lucky target…
I don’t know, Chase might be quite good at running: It is part of his job, no? Also if the dog ever tries to take a bite, he’ll taste like lawyer. I guess then the crazy lady could sue him for poisoning the dog…?
And she’d probably win. There’s enough witnesses where she was warning them NOT TO TOUCH HER DOG, so it’s a dangerous dog, right?
I think the vertical format works really well for this particular strip. (The strip would be really tiny if you put all the panels on one line). Besides, anything Wiley says is worth listing to.
Crazy Lady looks extremely happy under all that molten makeup…
If the book orientation is landscape instead of portrait, fairly simple to just rotate a vertical strip 90 degrees for printing. Yah, the reader will have to adjust the book (and/or possibly neck) to read that one strip, but it’s commonly done so most folks are used to it. Or, all vertical strips, and portrait orientation on the printing, but *bind at the top* – this also gives you double the real estate you can put a single strip on (imagine starting at the top of an 8.5×11 page, continuing over the bound edge & continuing until the bottom of the 2nd page – or vice versa, starting at the bottom with a rock climb, and ending with whatever they find at the top, up at the top of the double page spread.)
Last idea… format or reformat the pages for the book NOW, as you create each one, and save them separately from the pages formatted for web. When you’re ready to look at print, you’ll already have that much of the labor done.
The big problem is that some of the comics are laid out vertically and some horizontally. If many are laid out both ways for the next book, then either there’s a lot of work reconfiguring or the reader has to do a lot of switching from one orientation to the other.
Actually, if many are laid out both ways it will be a very interesting comic. Literally. If many are laid out each way, what I said above is true.
Reminds me of the one about the two hunters being chased by a bear.
Chase doesn’t have to outrun the dog anymore. He only has to outrun Lowell. And I’m betting he called Lowell in for that reason. Poor Lowell. What a shnook.
So having switched from a lap top to a tablet, when I turn it vertical the strip fits perfectly.
I believe you are on to something here. Binge read the comic Thursday and Friday.
Look forward to it now. Thank you Greg.
It works well for a cellphone or portrait device (tablet) but not for monitors or laptops etc.
What’s the issue for monitors and laptops?
Wider than they’re tall. The above strip doesn’t all fit on the screen at one time. With the regular 4-panel format, you can see the full strip at a glance. Depends on what your objective was in creating the layout.
BINGO TSOJ!
You get a biscuit from Greg for getting the answer correct. 😉
chase is the perfect lawer for Lowel for both have their brain on stupidity. and hope the little dog does not bite lowel or the lawer for would not want him to get something . and like the new style.
Cue Benny Hill chase music!
I think after Lowell falls on his face in a block, the little dog runs right over him and can launch for a ‘vent his shorts’ munch on Chase R. …
I an looking forward to this new layout. I view the strip on my desktop, so it is no problem to me.