Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Of Eighth Notes and E-mails


Graphic Storytelling Lesson for Today
Comics lettering decibel indicators:
1. Exclamation points/ multiple exclamation points
2. Bigger letters
3. Boldface
4. Block/balloon letters
5. Colored block letters
6. Gradient colored block letters

When Jon shouts in zombified monotone, he shouts IN YELLOW. Please note that two exclamation points is always funnier than one or three.

Earth-quaking Revelations

Jon has an iMac. This, combined with the infamous recent appearance of Garfield's iPod, should tell us something. "Should" but "doesn't". Whether that's a PAWS, Inc. buyout of Apple (most likely) or that Jim Davis just likes Macs, we may have to wait for his next booksigning and ask in person. Either way, be thankful we Garfield fans don't have to put up with the hideous '80s PCs still portrayed daily in On the Fastrack or the crap that goes down in Shoe.

A consistently heartening thing about Garfield's technology jokes is that they always make sense, don't seem like they're written by someone out of touch with daily communications technology, and aren't about old people's inability to integrate electronics into their lives. It's almost like Jim Davis knows what it's like to sit for hours, staring bug-eyed at a Mac screen... writing about... Garfield... every day.

Burning, Itching Question

How did Jon achieve the position of his left arm, keyboard and mouse in panel one? I tried to duplicate this scene for five minutes, with no success, even excusing the misplaced mouse port as artistic license. Now I won't be able to sleep.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mac does sell keyboards that have a mouse port on both sides to accomidate the sinister among us (which apparently includes Jon). Still, though, his arm contortion is impressive. He's really strayed quite far from the home keys at the moment, shunning all but the "q"s, "w"s, "z"s, and "x"s. His password must be really tough to crack!!

Anonymous said...

so let me get this right. the funnier joke to me:
panel one- he gets the email
panel two- he walkes past garfield
panel three- he yells out the door that he has an email as if he has to tell the world in big block letters.

Anonymous said...

until this entry, i was unaware that Shoe was continuing sans Jeff MacNelly. what a bad idea.
-R. Lovedoll

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Jon, in his seemingly never-ending (if entirely unintentional) pursuit of all things uncommon, actually uses a Dvorak keyboard?

Anonymous said...

Regarding the Mac/Garfield buyout, I believe Davis is probably using Apple's hardware (under the known impression that they are better suited for artists), so when he's drawing a computer, he's going for what he knows.

Flu-Bird said...

have it on the headlines place on RIPPLEYS BELEIVE IT OR NOT