This is really interesting, though I'm learning to appreciate how difficult it is to make anything decent that's 3 panels long. I'll learn to make something okay, though, if it kills me.* My favourite I've seen so far was posted under the "worst comic" thread - it's the one posted by andydougan called "Hopefully the worst comic I'll ever make". Of the few I've made so far, the only one I kind of like is this one:

[Click to view comic: 'The Holidays']

I like the first panel of this one, but I'll have to work on how to end things.**

[Click to view comic: 'Robots were not built for this.']

* but only if.

** (morbid tautology)

I didn't like "Robots Were not Built for This at First," but after re-reading it, I realize it's just more than I've come to expect on this site and is actually very, very good. Bravo.

"The Holidays," however, is wierd. Normally pointless non-sequiturs happen at the end of a comic as an excuse for a punchline. You have a great punchline, but the FIRST panel doesn't seem to do much for anything. I don't know if it's a non-sequitur or just vague.

Anyway, I think you're going to be a great stripper. More, please!

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peddling the funny around since 09/24/2002

Are you a speed GRAVY boat?

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Batman created by Bob Kane

Hi! Thanks for reading them - I really don't know what I'm doing! When I've started making these, at the first panel, I haven't yet had any idea how any of them will end. I find I really flinch with punch lines - for some reason, I almost don't want to have the LAST panel in "The Holidays", except that you're right - the first panel is the odd one, and it messes up the structure. Something about even putting a punch line in the last of 3 panels makes me squeamish, but when I see a great punch line like the one at the end of "Psychology Experiment: Can Robots be Gay?"*, I realize that I'm probably squeamish about floundering around with an idea in the rest of the comic. I'll have to make some things and see what I think of them after a few days. Maybe I'll just re-work something after that.

Here are 2 that I tried somewhat later today that I don't mind - I wanted to try making something more conventional and get the hang of structuring things, punch lines and all. I tried another one called "Travellin' Matt" with terrible 'non sequitur after the punch line' , which ruined the whole thing for me.

[Click to view comic: 'Helen (episode 1)']
[Click to view comic: 'Helen (episode 2)']

Dcomposed - I've tried one of those speed gravy boats, but I got flour all over my shirt. I traded with my dog for that little chuckwagon he was always chasing around the kitchen, and he's never looked back. *sigh*

*the robot's whole expression - even his arm, which I'd not noticed much before - becomes funny.

Here's one I like more today than I did yesterday. I don't know why. I screwed up the lettering a bit.

[Click to view comic: 'Hunters of the Deep']

Yeah, I like that one.

Dolphins are always funny...

I 'specially like the little noises they make when they're caught in my uncle's fishing nets.

I'm really creepy, by the way

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[i]"For the love of beatings, I plunder until my loins find satisfaction!!" [/i]

Pleased to meet you, Boritom - I have the recording your uncle made that was included in an issue of National Geographic back in the '70's. The sound quality suffers considerably on those old flexi records - I've often wondered if there should be a remake in the works, but then I think to myself "you know, good luck getting those dolphins back together".*

*if you know what I mean.

This is the first comic that I've tried where I've actually thought about what was going to happen before I started making it - doing that cures my squeamishness I was having about punch lines. It's a pretty mild series, but I don't mind that, and I want to finish it.

[Click to view comic: 'Helen (episode 6)']

[Click to view comic: 'July 12, 2003']

I'm doing more reading of other people's comics than comic-making the last couple of days, but I liked this and thought I'd post it.

I'll post this one, and cut back on coffee tomorrow.

[Click to view comic: 'July 14, 2003 (2:50 a.m. - can't sleep)']

They nothing funny about cancer. Or that comic. Especially that comic.

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What would I do?

what the hell are u talking about.

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cunt of the day: all you dumb niggers

I'm talking about safety, and it's okay to have sex as long as you use a condom. C'mon, I'll treat ya to a smoothie.

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What would I do?

your on babe :-). ill wear the dress

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cunt of the day: all you dumb niggers

I like July 12, 2003 quite a bit.

I'm kinda hot and cold with your comics at the moment speedboat_lou, I either really like them or I don't understand them, but they are still a lot better than some of the shit the's been posted recently, keep up the good work, this thread is good.

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Dad was flammable

Thanks for commenting... There were a few I made earlier where I was just experimenting. The "Holidays" one that I posted first, I realize, may have been too vague in the first panel (I had thought that the "whoosh" also looked like the back end of an ostrich, but that was probably too much in my own head - in the "Helen" series, I'm trying to use the dialogue to make what I imagine happening more clear) - then there are some that didn't make sense at all, and aren't worth looking at. I'm going to post another one that I just made, though.

[Click to view comic: 'Don Kirshner Presents!']

Okay... *#$@*!! If you didn't read that last one, please read this one instead, as I'm an editing freak, and this dialogue is 2% better.

[Click to view comic: 'Don Kirshner Presents (slight revision)']

You can take the whole family to this.

[Click to view comic: 'The Feel-Good Hit of the Summer!']

I'm having, like, the worst insomnia.

[Click to view comic: 'July 15, 2003']

hahaa i like that one

The latest strip (July 15, 2003) really is rather clever. However, I can't say I really enjoyed the "Bob Kirshnir Presents" strip(s).

Oops. Don Kirshnir... Sorry..

I like this one:

[Click to view comic: 'Robot Heaven']

The last line delivered by a smiling Clango is really sweet, he seems geniunely happy to just do what he was designed to do until the end of time.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into it.

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Dad was flammable

Originally I had him upset, but then I looked at the comic and thought "why would he be upset about that? He's a robot - usefulness and monotony would be the "real" robot heaven - none of that "freedom" garbage". Changing his expression gave me a punch line I could live with, and a title. I like the idea of that comic, but it bothers me that I didn't consider the whole thing better - I don't know if it works well enough in 3 quick panels.

Does anyone notice how a comic can change if you read it quickly or slowly? There's a brilliant comic I saw (that I'll post in that other thread if more people think it's okay) that works if you look at it as one panel (all at once) or 3 panels consecutively.

I'm beginning to wonder some things. Comics are kind of new to me, and, in all other aspects of my life, if I were making, say, a guy-with-a-rocket-sidekick-doing-a-concert-on-TV-in-the-70's joke, based on a stupid pun and working in an awkward double entendre, an AC/DC reference and some appropriate background changes, I'd only do it if I were, say, hanging out with 35-year old record store employees. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I'm not just doing things that can ONLY be funny to me, and complete randomness to everyone else. How do other people sense what they can get away with, audience-wise? Has it been an issue for anyone? This, to me, is the "brutal" aspect of comic-making.