The blog of Richard Thompson, caricaturist, creator of "Cul de Sac," and winner of the 2011 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Agreed; The Specific is Funnier Than The General

In the last chapter of the forthcoming must-have book of the year, the Art of Some Guy, I bloviate, dilate & expound on comic strips at excruciating length with Bill Watterson, with a few unrelated ventures into global politics, sports and fashion. At one point, there's this exchange;

RT: I remember one of the first interviews I gave to some reporter somewhere. She called and I told her "the particular is always more funny than the general." And she said, "could you be more specific?" (BW and  RT laugh). And I couldn't! I hemmed and hawed for ten minutes! (Laughter).
My point is not that I can hem & haw for ten minutes (my current personal best for hemming & hawing is 24 hours). My point is the Specific is funnier than the General. It's axiomatic, whatever that means, and I still can't think of any specific examples. So let's run some strips to distract you and make you think you've learned something.




Be sure to watch for future helpful & informative tutorials on the comic arts!

8 comments:

Rob Hatem said...

you're specifically funny even when you're generally funny...the other way around might be as true or truer

Daniel said...

The example I heard somewhere was that the phrase "I feel like I've been hit by a Buick!" is funnier than "I feel like I've been hit by a car!"

conwayde said...

...hemming & hawing.....

Washington Cube said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Washington Cube said...

...or two women, dressed as men, hit my 1939 Plymouth (which happens to be true.) I have a huge crush on Petey. He has principles.

dizzy citizen said...

Great post!

gilda92 said...

Bravo! Encore! Encore!

Stacy Curtis said...

In the top comic ... bottom row, middle panel .... does Alice have six fingers on her left hand?
That is specifically funny!