Now this is curious! What could a rabbit possibly be late for?
Today’s title is for you, Cisco.
Was talking with Levi the other day about formats and storytelling and art… Baujahr and, later, Strobe, have been two-panels strips from the beginning. But Baujahr has also made his way over to a mini-comic/ashcan. And there’s some talk (by me, because I’m a talker) of doing something even larger at some point.
Does format matter? The guys over at Webcomic Alliance just talked (in their most recent podcast) about changing format of a strip from a few panels each day for five days, to a much larger “page” on one day a week, and how that transfer needs to happen. Obviously, storytelling would need to be adjusted, but I also wonder how well that works when there’s an expectation of a “strip” coming out one way, and then you get a “page” instead. Not to mention adjusting to new schedules (some people care, some people don’t).
What I tried to convey to Levi in our conversation was that there’s no need to limit the characters or the story to one type or another. Well… the story, I guess, to some degree. I co-wrote a short run of Baujahr strips (you’ll see them here! eventually), and it was a very challenging experience for me, since I normally write either scripts for full comics, or all-out prose. Trying to convey an idea in two panels was something new for me to try to twist my brain around, and, while it seemed to go over okay, I don’t know if it’s really my forte. In fact, most comic strips (single-to-four panels) have always been impressive to me, keeping the kind of schedule they do, and having a punchline each day. Baujahr and Strobe are a little more episodic in nature, I guess (not quite Prince Valiant or Rex Morgan, M.D.), but it’s still not the same as having pages to work with, or higher panel counts at least.
That said, the Baujahr ashcan (wish I could point you to it, but it looks like it might be currently sold out) felt as true to his nature as the strip (but as the writer, I could be biased). A second story I’ve piecing together now with he and Jeff also just seems to be an extension of what I already know of them, and doesn’t feel off in any way. I guess it’s a little like Spiderman and Superman having comics in the newspaper after we’re used to seeing them in comic books for so long (well, the reverse of that). Or how there was a Bloom County book (and TV special) that wasn’t just reprints of the strips. And the new Peanuts comic book from Boom! And so on.
I guess the only thing to me is, I don’t really care how I get more Strobe and Baujahr… As long as Levi’s drawing them, I just want more of it.
