In today’s strip, the actual gag consists of panels 3, 5, and 6. Panels 1, 2, and 4 add nothing to the situation, the setup, or the punchline.
Now, on the one hand, that’s a little lazy, taking a 3-panel daily strip and stretching it into a Sunday strip by adding panels without adding any effort. On the other hand, some comic strips simply make a bigger panel for Sundays, like “F-minus” or “Heart of the City.”
It all falls under artistic license, and no one cares about it except me. Fine.
Except…
For “Andy Capp”, it’s a missed opportunity! Having three extra panels to work with should offer an artist room to build a gag that you can’t do within the confines of the daily strip, as shown in these Sunday six-panel strips:
In today’s strip, the actual gag consists of panels 3, 5, and 6. Panels 1, 2, and 4 add nothing to the situation, the setup, or the punchline.
Now, on the one hand, that’s a little lazy, taking a 3-panel daily strip and stretching it into a Sunday strip by adding panels without adding any effort. On the other hand, some comic strips simply make a bigger panel for Sundays, like “F-minus” or “Heart of the City.”
It all falls under artistic license, and no one cares about it except me. Fine.
Except…
For “Andy Capp”, it’s a missed opportunity! Having three extra panels to work with should offer an artist room to build a gag that you can’t do within the confines of the daily strip, as shown in these Sunday six-panel strips:
http://www.gocomics.com/adamathome/2017/6/25?ct=v&cti=2027242
http://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2017/4/30?ct=v&cti=2027242
http://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2016/11/27?ct=v&cti=2027242
http://www.gocomics.com/inkpen/2017/6/4?ct=v&cti=2027242
http://www.gocomics.com/jumpstart/2017/6/11?ct=v&cti=2027242
http://www.gocomics.com/roseisrose/2017/6/25?ct=v&cti=2027242
http://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot?ct=v&cti=2027242
http://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot/2017/06/04?ct=v&cti=2027242