I think the simple answer is tone. Just as a silly moment can undercut drama and the serious tone, a serious page in an otherwise light-hearted comic is jarring.
Imagine if Garfield and Jon had a moment where Jon confides in Garfield that he has cancer and he is worried it may be fatal; without some sort of punch line to lighten the moment it would feel sad, dark, and foreboding which goes against the tone set by the rest of the comic.
Oh I understand why people didn’t like it. It just feels to utterly entitled and unempathetic to react in the way his audience did. It’s an Indy webcomic, not a professional newspaper strip. And even if it were, it wouldn’t be the first time that a comedy comics artist injected some personal drama or statement.
I mean, i loved Garfield growing up, and if I’d seen that strip you’ve described, I wouldn’t react with anger. I’d be saddened. I’d realize that the author is speaking directly to me about his own fears, his own anxiety.
I think the simple answer is tone. Just as a silly moment can undercut drama and the serious tone, a serious page in an otherwise light-hearted comic is jarring.
Imagine if Garfield and Jon had a moment where Jon confides in Garfield that he has cancer and he is worried it may be fatal; without some sort of punch line to lighten the moment it would feel sad, dark, and foreboding which goes against the tone set by the rest of the comic.
Oh I understand why people didn’t like it. It just feels to utterly entitled and unempathetic to react in the way his audience did. It’s an Indy webcomic, not a professional newspaper strip. And even if it were, it wouldn’t be the first time that a comedy comics artist injected some personal drama or statement.
I mean, i loved Garfield growing up, and if I’d seen that strip you’ve described, I wouldn’t react with anger. I’d be saddened. I’d realize that the author is speaking directly to me about his own fears, his own anxiety.
You reminded me of a distant memory of a sad Garfield comic.