the Air Vent
Because the world needs another opinion
- JeffId1 at gmail dot com
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Nic L said
Brilliant, Josh
sean houlihane said
We need penguins in the next one.
Josh said
Penguins would be far too accurate ;-)
Derek said
How about..
or maybe,
or maybe,
or maybe,
or maybe,
William Newman said
Harsh. Josh’s use of expressive faces seems to have really taken off. As someone who’s messed around with caricature, I’m impressed (and making mental notes to count the cost before ever risking coming to Josh’s notice as doing something self-importantly wrong).
For what it’s worth, though, it seems to me that it’s really difficult for Josh (or indeed almost anybody else) to represent complete loss of composure (as in the fifth panel) in a way that adds to the humor. In humor for adults (as opposed to things like Saturday morning cartoons) Bill Watterson is the only counterexample who comes to mind. But even Watterson couldn’t always carry it off successfully when he drew it explicitly. And even Watterson would sometimes punt on drawing it explicitly by just showing a side effect (e.g., debris flying outward, or freaked-out exasperated dialogue from off-screen).
Most humorists, not only in drawing but also in live-action comedy, seem to get a better effect by having the subject stubbornly continuing to try to stay in control. The subject may even even be fondly imagining he’s still dignified and in control, despite obviously (to the viewer, because of e.g. his ludicrously inappropriate choices in physical actions or dialog) losing it anyway. (And even Watterson did a lot of this, with stuff like sleds in mid-air en route to doom while Calvin’s actions and dialogue are out of touch with what’s inevitable in 500 milliseconds, or improvising a “science project” en route to school and out of touch with what’s inevitable in 500 seconds.)
I don’t see offhand any elegant way to’ve fit this kind of approach into Josh’s script here. To illustrate the theme, though, I’ll offer a heavy-handed way: place the action behind a microphone labelled “WWW” (or “Google” or some such thing), draw panels showing various contradictory and/or absurd statements and demands, and a final panel text with some variant of “is this thing live?” Then there’s an obvious possible loss of composure and/or dignity in the reader’s mind, but not in any explicitly drawn panel.
M. Simon said
We need penguins in the next one.
Penguins are so Teh Gay.
May I suggest Bulls?
I seem to have left off a “hit”.
Ken Finney said
I think Climate Bear is cool… but at first I thought it was Anony Mouse.
Brian H said
Is that the soon-to-be-employerless Mikey Mann? Such a resumé he’ll have to offer…
Pat Frank said
Jeff, you’re getting sucked back in. You know what they say about entering blogworld: the first post’s free. :-)
Sera said
Glad to see you are back.
Jeff Id said
I deny that I’m blogging.
Actually, there is another post yet from Ryan as I understand but then I’m really done. Unless, RC wind’s up again.
lucia said
Jeff– Make Josh co-blogger.
I think I’d like that cartoon Eric even if it wasn’t eric. I think Josh should start a weekly strip.
boballab said
#11
Jeff you should know better then to use Clinton’s Lewinsky defense :)
Arthur Dent said
Well it all depends on wnat the meaning of the word blog is!
Keith W. said
Jeff, just keep it a part time affair. The occasional blog post instead of the daily. Even if you only have something to say once a week, that is still better than any daily posting from RC.
WhiteRose said
Agree @Nic “brillant”. Suggest everyone to also read a book out about Americans taking a stand against tyranny (no, not Egypt or Libya, but America). It’s a thriller. ( http://www.booksbyoliver.com ) cause it’s now happening here.
Thanks for the math class. It was brillant.
Luke Skywarmer said
jeff, one post a week and short at that, guest post too?
just relax and breathe.
tim
intrepid_wanders said
JeffID,
Based off of your diverse engineering background, what is this “0.24 °C / (W/m2 )”. I have a fuzzy, but I can not place it.
Source: http://theinconvenientskeptic.com/2011/02/climate-sensitivity-help-needed/#comments