I honestly don't know what to write here.
Added 2023-04-10 14:31:22 +0000 UTCNOTE: I have a new novel out! It's called Brute Force, and I am quite proud of it! Please consider checking it out!
We’ll call the narration-removal an experiment for now.
Over the years, I’ve had a surprising number of people tell me that they don’t read the “instructions” part of Basic Instructions, and just go straight to the dialog.
A surprising number to me, at least.
It takes a certain bravery to tell someone that you actively ignore about a third of their comic strip. When multiple people said the same thing, it made me think maybe they were trying to tell me something.
I eventually decided that they were, indeed, trying to tell me something. They were trying to tell me that they skipped the instructions. There was no subterfuge, or hidden message here. They were literally coming out and saying the thing I needed to know.
People are confusing sometimes. Not this time, but sometimes.
Also, lets be honest, the comic could stand to lose some text.
Comments
I completely agree with the comment by @Rick LoPresto; the instructions provide an absurdist critique of the dialog. Or maybe they are the Greek Chorus of the strip? I sometimes skipped the instructions and always regretted doing so. I think something about the layout made them easy to gloss over, but the best suggestion I can offer would be to make the text lime-green.
Joe Ratterman
2023-04-17 14:49:55 +0000 UTCMy wife alertly points out that men typically hate asking for instructions, and wonders if perhaps you just need a rebranding. Is Missy looking for consultant work?
Joel Ronningen
2023-04-13 12:33:35 +0000 UTC
