« Laber Dey | Main | The Best Of »
September 05, 2006
Later This Week: A "Red Bull Gives You Wings" Joke
From a writing standpoint, this might be the worst one Scott Stantis has ever come up with.
It's a fine idea: Winslow is following the crowd by loving him some energy drink. Nevermind that they've been popular for ages now - remember, this is Scott Stantis, a guy who probably still walks around asking "where's the beef?" Carmen asks if he'd jump off a cliff like everyone else, and he says, "I already do."
Okay, I get the "joke." With Winslow trying to fly all the time, he jumps off of cliffs. But that wasn't the question. And this is where my head explodes.
Maybe if instead of drawing Winslow as being a smug prick and had him explain, "Well I jump off of cliffs all the time!" it might have made more sense. But it took me a half dozen readings to understand the "punchline" here. Is Winslow a trendsetter if NOBODY jumps off of cliffs, which is the point Carmen was trying to make? Ugh.
Someone needs to introduce Stantis to the term "rewrite." Any good writer will tell you that writing something isn't the hard part - it's going back and rewriting it over and over again until it's good. I don't care how pressed for time Scotty is. Today's strip isn't time sensitive - he could have gone back and figured out a way to make his little joke about cliff diving in a way that was humorous and easy to follow. Instead it's obvious once again that he gets an idea, scribbles it down, and hands it in.
Seriously, has anyone - I mean ANYONE - who reads Prickly City said immediately, "Now THAT'S a great strip!" I don't mean the whole run, I mean just one single day's comic. If you have, please tell us which one you thought deserved an "A+" in the comments section. Then maybe later this week we can convince CJo to go back through his collection and dig up the "Best of the best of Prickly City."
I have a feeling it'll be a very short post.
Comments
I once had a friend open up the paper and laugh at a PC strip. It was one of the "boy it sure is hot in the desert" strips where everything (everyone?) was melting. I don't talk to that friend anymore.
Posted by: willie lee at September 5, 2006 12:20 PM
During the storyline with Winslow and the real coyotes, there was one strip where the coyotes were eating their pray, and Winslow came, asking if they like some tea.
Probably out of character even for Winslow, but he was so gay in it, it made me giggle. I was bummed that I couldn't get that day's newspaper so I can save the strip in my scrapbook.
That storyline with the alien was good, too, especially with the shirt that changed every day. And that wire-tapping Sunday strip where Winslow was asking questions to a wire-tapper on top of the telephone pole.
And last year's Halloween Sunday strip where Carmen and Winslow dressed up as their political heros (Carmen as Ann Coulter, Winslow as Ted Kennedy, etc.) and both commented at the same time "You're scary!".
Posted by: Charles Brubaker at September 5, 2006 01:04 PM
I originally posted this in the wrong place, becase I am slow. Anyway, I used the Google site search function the find the two Prickly City cartoons that I thought were amusing. The first was the June 3, 2006 strip about George Lopez ; the second was on October 14, 2005 .
Two laughs a year! Wow.
Posted by: Annie at September 5, 2006 01:05 PM
This is OT, but anyone wondered how Scott would have drawn Snidley Whiplash?
...I thought so.
http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews/cartoons/090106_stantis.jpg
Posted by: Charles Brubaker at September 5, 2006 07:41 PM
for the record...it was almost funny, if it weren't four or more years behind the trend when Red Bull was hot.
Stantis: a half-grin over a year of reading your strip isn't success. it's sad.
Posted by: Jeff at September 7, 2006 12:32 AM
