this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2024
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (2 children)

It shouldn’t take 20 panels to tell a joke.

Seems like it's not telling a joke, but instead making a statement about Humanity.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

And to deliver this profound message of "people are inherently distrustful" they needed 20 panels.

They could have done this in one. Have each caveman holding out one hand to pass food and the other hand holding a club behind their backs.

Want to really illustrate the groundbreaking idea that people don't trust each other? Make a second panel with knights replacing the cavemen and swords replacing clubs, then a third panel swapping in businessmen holding pistols.

If humor wasn't the goal that's... fine, but being long-winded in a format based on brevity undermines the message. Using 20 panels guarantees that half of the people who bother to look at the comic won't finish it. Those that do will probably be bored or even resentful that their time was wasted, making them less receptive to the message.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Not everything needs to be rushed. Sometimes the build up makes the conclusion better. Slow the F down.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Agreed. This is not an example of that though.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago

This is not an example of that though.

How so?

[–] [email protected] -2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If your comic needs to be long form to build tension, that's a graphic novel.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Storytelling is storytelling, regardless of the medium.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

And this story is shallow and needlessly verbose.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

Carry on, Internet Warrior.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

I find it interesting that your takeaway was "people are inherently distrustful." While there is truth to that, my interpretation was that "progress can be slow, but it is progress nonetheless." In this case the "slow" of the message was communicated through the panel count.