Well, reading the strip is different with the new format- I knew that would be the case… but what I didn’t know is that writing the new format would be different also.
Somehow, I assumed that I’d be writing the strip the exact same way and then working the drawings into this new and daring vertical stack.
But it doesn’t work that way.
My brain short circuits when faced with this new shape to fill. The almost automatic way I visualized the traditionally shaped strip was out the window and impossible to retrieve. It’s very weird.
So, I’m going to stick with the new format until it has a chance to take hold, then see if it really does work to my advantage and yours.
For those of you who don’t like to scroll down to read a whole strip, I apologize. But the fact is that it does allow me to unveil a gag to you by degrees instead of allowing you your ingrained 2 second comic strip reading time. Did you know that’s what they discovered about traditional comic strips in the newspaper? 2 seconds. That’s what the average person spent on each average strip. Bam. Two. It’s not that I’m trying to bog you down or anything, but the web allows for the art form to be approached and consumed in a different mode. The different mode might actually be psychologically advantageous, for the sake of more room to tell a joke, if not for the jolt of seeing an old thing in a new form.
So. In a couple of weeks we’ll see if I’ve made something good or something just different. And then we’ll see if it’s worth keeping.
You guys continue to let me know your votes on it in the comment section. And if anyone wants to keep count of the ‘pro’ and ‘con’ opinions, well, by golly, I’m not going to stop you. Just lemme know what you discover, right?
