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.
You reminded me of a distant memory of a sad Garfield 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.