I found the above comic on the web comic archive Pictures for Sad Children. It is entitled Love and Guts and Bones, and was created by a man named John Campbell. Ironically, in contrast with the name of the archive, the humor found in many of the comics on this website is either dark or, frankly, strange. Some consist of violence while others consist of jokes that I would describe to be “corny.” There is a large variety in this archive, however, and all of these comics should be given at least one look-over.
The comic I chose, Love and Guts and Bones, consists of what seems to be an ex-boyfriend and an ex-girlfriend conversing with one another. The ex-boyfriend seems as if he is unable to let go of their past relationship, and is still telling his ex-girlfriend’s friends, family, and even email address contacts that they are in fact still together. He sounds a bit possessive in his communication, telling her, “You are the only person who doesn’t think we’re dating,” and ends the comic with, “If love was cow blood, I’d be a slaughterhouse.” He is trying to explain to her how much he cares for her, but the feeling is obviously not mutual. This fact is obvious even without the ex-girlfriend having to say anything. She says nothing throughout the whole comic, which adds to the ex-boyfriend’s characterization as possessive and maybe a little crazy. Visually, the relationship between the two characters is very distant. In the first panel, they are seen in pretty close proximity to each other, but it is obvious that the ex-girlfriend does not want to be around him. Her body language looks very tense, and she is calmly holding her hands in front of her body, closed off from her ex-boyfriend and not being at all visually receptive to what he is telling her. In the next panel she appears in, her body and arms are turned away from him; only her face turned to look in his direction. It almost appears as if she is trying to run or walk away from this young man. In two of the three panels following this one, she is alone. I think this gives us the effect of being able to understand her thoughts about the situation at hand without ever having to hear her speak. She is alone, but we still see her uncomfortable body language toward the young man.
I chose this comic because it has some of the elements that I am looking forward to incorporating into my own comic strip for this next writing project. This young boy has feelings for this young girl, but unfortunately, there is strong miscommunication between the two. He continues to speak to her and explain himself even when she is not communicating back to him in any verbal manner. This is a multi-paneled comic, and the relationship between the panels is established by a small break or separation between each. I like the aesthetic this gives off to the viewers. The comic becomes less confusing to read and seems to flow a little better with the breaks and separations between each panel. In the case of typography in Love and Blood and Guts, the typeface used is very simple. It is sans-serified and looks a bit childish. This effect further helps us to characterize the young man – since he is the only one speaking, and therefore being directly represented by the text.
