Good Morning Doctor Toon. I hear you. I’m just a few years older so I’ve watched things “progress” as you have. Kinda sad in some cases. I love my computer, but miss paper copy on many levels, crossword puzzles come to mind first, but so do comics. So here I sit each morning with a computer on my lap and a BIG cup of WFDTNC in my hand. Smile, things could be much worse.
I love the fact that I can read comics online that aren’t available in my local paper, and that the Web has given rise to some wonderful comic writers and artists that never would have been seen a couple of decades ago.
But the downside of “you can see everything, anytime” is that it’s not special anymore. I don’t need to petition the paper to run “Cul de Sac”; I get it here. Scarcity added value in a way, and I miss that.
Eldo, I rather enjoy “Tina’s Groove”, but “the best-ever Strip by a Woman”? Really?
I know “Cathy”, “Sylvia”, and “For Better or For Worse” all generate strong feelings both ways (as does “C’est La Vie”, I’d imagine), but I’ve been quite impressed with “Stone Soup” (for one thing, I think Jan Elliott can draw circles around Rina Piccolo).
Different strokes for different folks, Eldo. De gustibus non disputandum est.
To you, maybe “Stone Soup” seems “cloying”, but to me, “Tina’s Groove” seems “insubstantial.” It’s OK. It’s reasonably funny, but it doesn’t stick with me; I’ve forgotten it 10 minutes after I read it. “Stone Soup” sometimes aims for the heart rather than the funny-bone, it’s true, but the issues are handled with a light touch; it doesn’t appear in danger of developing into Soap Opera, the way “For Better or For Worse” did.
As for whether the drawing and the writing are separate, I disagree vehemently. Yeah, bad art is less damaging to good writing than bad writing is to good art, but comic strips are a visual medium. I’m not including “Tina” when I say this, but there are so many strips out there where it seems like the attitude is “The art only has to be good enough to get the (verbal) joke across”, when in the best strips the art helps TELL the joke. (As someone who admires both Walt Kelly and Al Capp, surely you’d acknowledge how much REALLY GOOD ART adds to the total package).
By stressing that “Tina’s Groove” isn’t a “one-face” comic, I’m assuming you’re implying that “Stone Soup” is. If that’s the case, I’d again disagree. Although perhaps in “SS” the characters all look like the same species, which isn’t always the case with “TG” (joke). Jan Eliot’s characters also seem (to me) to be much more EXPRESSIVE, in terms of body language and such, than Rina Piccolo’s. Tina herself may not look anything like Monica, or the blonde waitress, or whoever, but Tina ALWAYS looks exactly the same, Monica ALWAYS looks exactly the same, the blonde ALWAYS looks exactly the same. The characters in “Tina’s Groove” are (to my eyes) well-designed, but they’re stiff; they don’t “live.”
I’d say both Stone Soup” and “Tina’s Groove” are “character driven” rather than “gag driven”, but “Soup” is of course a “family” strip (as is “FB/FW”), which means it’s going to have a somewhat different dynamic than a “workplace” strip like “Groove” (or, say, “Dilbert”). In the same sense, a “family” sitcom like “Roseanne” will have a different dynamic than a “workplace” sitcom like “Cheers” (to name two of my favorites in THAT medium).
It’s true that I “care about” Jan Eliot’s characters more than Rina Piccolo’s. They may not be as immediately distinguishable in personality as Tina’s gang, but their personalities are well defined (if more subtly). A line or action by Wally would not work if it were given to Phil, Val and Joan are quite different despite being sisters, but it takes some time to figure out who they are. Continued reading, and emotional involvement, are rewarded. Some strips are understandable and funny (or not) if you only see them once a month. Some strips take time to become familiar with.
Ultimately, though, I think I’d enjoy “Tina’s Groove” more if it were just, well, funnier.
squirreldodger about 13 years ago
Hey, I just found these guys. They had better not be on their way out. I need to figure out a way to get them into our Montana papers.
JudyCuddy about 13 years ago
Good Morning Doctor Toon. I hear you. I’m just a few years older so I’ve watched things “progress” as you have. Kinda sad in some cases. I love my computer, but miss paper copy on many levels, crossword puzzles come to mind first, but so do comics. So here I sit each morning with a computer on my lap and a BIG cup of WFDTNC in my hand. Smile, things could be much worse.
Akylax about 13 years ago
I love the fact that I can read comics online that aren’t available in my local paper, and that the Web has given rise to some wonderful comic writers and artists that never would have been seen a couple of decades ago.
But the downside of “you can see everything, anytime” is that it’s not special anymore. I don’t need to petition the paper to run “Cul de Sac”; I get it here. Scarcity added value in a way, and I miss that.
fritzoid Premium Member about 13 years ago
Eldo, I rather enjoy “Tina’s Groove”, but “the best-ever Strip by a Woman”? Really?
I know “Cathy”, “Sylvia”, and “For Better or For Worse” all generate strong feelings both ways (as does “C’est La Vie”, I’d imagine), but I’ve been quite impressed with “Stone Soup” (for one thing, I think Jan Elliott can draw circles around Rina Piccolo).
laojim about 13 years ago
Pickett slide rule? I still have mine but it isn’t make by Pickett. I don’t believe i ever heard of them.
fritzoid Premium Member about 13 years ago
Different strokes for different folks, Eldo. De gustibus non disputandum est.
To you, maybe “Stone Soup” seems “cloying”, but to me, “Tina’s Groove” seems “insubstantial.” It’s OK. It’s reasonably funny, but it doesn’t stick with me; I’ve forgotten it 10 minutes after I read it. “Stone Soup” sometimes aims for the heart rather than the funny-bone, it’s true, but the issues are handled with a light touch; it doesn’t appear in danger of developing into Soap Opera, the way “For Better or For Worse” did.
As for whether the drawing and the writing are separate, I disagree vehemently. Yeah, bad art is less damaging to good writing than bad writing is to good art, but comic strips are a visual medium. I’m not including “Tina” when I say this, but there are so many strips out there where it seems like the attitude is “The art only has to be good enough to get the (verbal) joke across”, when in the best strips the art helps TELL the joke. (As someone who admires both Walt Kelly and Al Capp, surely you’d acknowledge how much REALLY GOOD ART adds to the total package).
By stressing that “Tina’s Groove” isn’t a “one-face” comic, I’m assuming you’re implying that “Stone Soup” is. If that’s the case, I’d again disagree. Although perhaps in “SS” the characters all look like the same species, which isn’t always the case with “TG” (joke). Jan Eliot’s characters also seem (to me) to be much more EXPRESSIVE, in terms of body language and such, than Rina Piccolo’s. Tina herself may not look anything like Monica, or the blonde waitress, or whoever, but Tina ALWAYS looks exactly the same, Monica ALWAYS looks exactly the same, the blonde ALWAYS looks exactly the same. The characters in “Tina’s Groove” are (to my eyes) well-designed, but they’re stiff; they don’t “live.”
fritzoid Premium Member about 13 years ago
I’d say both Stone Soup” and “Tina’s Groove” are “character driven” rather than “gag driven”, but “Soup” is of course a “family” strip (as is “FB/FW”), which means it’s going to have a somewhat different dynamic than a “workplace” strip like “Groove” (or, say, “Dilbert”). In the same sense, a “family” sitcom like “Roseanne” will have a different dynamic than a “workplace” sitcom like “Cheers” (to name two of my favorites in THAT medium).
It’s true that I “care about” Jan Eliot’s characters more than Rina Piccolo’s. They may not be as immediately distinguishable in personality as Tina’s gang, but their personalities are well defined (if more subtly). A line or action by Wally would not work if it were given to Phil, Val and Joan are quite different despite being sisters, but it takes some time to figure out who they are. Continued reading, and emotional involvement, are rewarded. Some strips are understandable and funny (or not) if you only see them once a month. Some strips take time to become familiar with.
Ultimately, though, I think I’d enjoy “Tina’s Groove” more if it were just, well, funnier.