Don't Be a Little Funny

I read a lot of webcomics. Some of them I read because I enjoy them and others because I want to learn from them. Of course, I end up learning from all of them. The ones I enjoy reading are the good examples and the ones that I stop reading are the bad examples. The learning comes from figuring out what the difference is.

Although the specific techniques for art and writing are different, the principles that guide them are the same. At the top of the list is being interesting. The bad examples all suffer from a lack of this. An amateur comic has 4 panels with the same picture. The only difference from scene to scene is facial expressions and possibly hand placement. From panel to panel, nothing happens. The entire comic is about the conversation happening. If all that matters is the words, I have to ask why they have the pictures there in the first place? It would be easier to just write a script.

Unfortunately, those same amateur comics have the same problem with their words that they have with their pictures. There is one joke in the comic and it is all the way at the end. Now, comics have been in existence for a long time and the classic set-up, punchline model is a tried and true method. The one problem is that it is painfully predictable. Anybody who spends any amount of time even being an audience member to comedy will naturally internalize this style and it will grow stale.

If you don't believe me, I will direct you to basically every sitcom ever made. Old, classic TV shows were great when they were fresh and new and nobody was familiar with the writing style, but they grew stale very quickly. As early as 1950, laugh tracks were being used to either enhance an audiences natural reaction or to replace them completely. Laugh tracks patronize the audience, telling them when to laugh and how hard. They exist because the show itself couldn't make the audience react the right way.

Now, we have shows that take pride in not having laugh tracks. Shows like Scrubs, and The Office, are funny because the writing and the acting within the show itself are funny. Not having a laugh track isn't a gimmick; it's a testament to the quality of the show and a sign of respect to the members of the audience.

And comics work exactly the same way. The successful comics are the funny ones, and the funny comics break the formula. A comic like Cyanide & Happiness works on the traditional set-up, punchline format, but the punchline is unpredictable. The set-up makes the audience assume that a certain stale joke happens, but either a play on words or a completely random punchline happens instead. Least I Could Do, also works off of the basic format, but the punchline isn't the only joke. There will be two or three funny comments within a mere four panels.

I would note that both LICD and C&H are extremely popular and well-loved comics. That is why I model my own style on that principle: Don't be a little funny. Be very funny. Be thoroughly funny. Be consistently funny (as consistent as a human can be). And the fact of the matter is that it shouldn't be that hard to do. That's how a real-life conversation is. Even if I am leading toward a point, I am going to make stops along the way to crack a joke. Comedy comes from real life and the absurdity within it. If you want to tap the core of people, model your art after reality.