Changes

One advantage of doing a strictly web-based comic strip is that I can change it after it runs online. In a newspaper, the strip runs once and that's the only version ever printed (unless it later shows up in a book or on a calendar). But with an online strip, I can make changes, corrections, improvements or upgrades as I see fit. This happened earlier this week.

The strip was about a T shirt on which the color ran after washing it. The first version, which appeared Tuesday,  had one clown talking and that was it. This is a technique used more often in anthology strips like the Far Side or Close to Home, where the characters are different every day, and therefore the traits of each aren't established enough to necessarily make their response funny. In a recurring-character strip, however, the personality of an established character can add to the humor. For example, Garfield may make a snide comment after Jon says something that is itself funny. Our familiarity with Garfield's sarcasm makes the cat's comment the punchline.

When I re-read the T shirt cartoon Tuesday night, however, I decided it might be funnier if the second clown points out that, even though the first guy now has a shirt that ridicules the wearer instead of whomever he's with, he is still wearing it...proving him to be stupid. So I redrew the necessary parts, uploaded it to the site in place of the former version, and told my email subscribers what I'd done, asking for their reactions. Several people responded, all preferring the new version. I do too. Of course, those of you who don't subscribe may have never gotten to see the original version---except that I ran it here. Another reason to sign up! This could happen to a strip again, but I probably won't tell you about it here next time.

I'm curious to see if there'll be any sales of the QlownTown logo shirt in the next few days, since it appears in this same cartoon...I figure product placement is okay in my own strip. I actually decided to offer this comic strip (the second version) printed on merchandise in the online store. (I no longer put every new strip on merchandise, unless I receive a request.) Now you can buy a copy of the strip on T shirts, mugs, etc., and even order a copy of the "runny" shirt itself so you can make a fool of yourself. Hey, people have actually ordered the "You wanna go where everybody knows you're inane" shirt--a sign that some people have no shame.

I live for these people.