VARIOUS STUFF

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:

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

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  2. 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!"

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  4. ...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.

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

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