Straight Talk: Big Al, the gal

If I may be frank and detached regarding today's comic ... may I? This was a day when I was playing with words. "Tyrannosaurus" has 5 syllables and I found that exciting (I lead a quiet life). So, I built a bizarre haiku around it. I thought about not posting it because it's so odd, but then I decided why not. In addition, it was fun to play with Haiku Ewe herself in coming up with an illustration for the haiku.

The comic has bounced around a lot as far as subject matter goes. Things will begin to settle down in that area toward the end of May when week-long themes will reveal a deeper level of Haiku Ewe's personality. In June, these story lines will start to bleed into each other and the larger story arc will begin to emerge.

Sometimes . . . err . . . OFTEN, comic strips focus in on a story line and then drag it out and pound it into the ground until you feel like you want to take a pistol to someone's head . . . namely the creator's. However, I've found that avoiding story lines keeps the reader's relationship with Haiku Ewe superficial and is therefore distancing.

The comic is still new and it feels like a dog circling his spot a few times before he lies down. Hopefully fans will be patient or even curious as Haiku Ewe's personality reveals itself and as the grand story arc of the strip begins to crystalize.

I don't think it would have worked as well if I'd immediately jumped into the deep end of a story line without first slowly introducing readers to our little ewe. Also, it's taken time for people to sniff this comic's butt . . . if I may perpetuate the dog metaphor. The daily haiku is a different approach to a comic strip and people have had to get comfortable with it.

Actually, I thought it would take a lot longer for people to get on board (dog metaphor over), but the majority of the comments and fan mail I've gotten (yes! after only 2 months the strip is getting fan mail!!) have been in haiku. That is so. dang. awesome.

Hopefully this will be the first and last straight-talk-from-the-cartoonist blog post I will do. But I'm unpredictable, so one never can tell.

Thanks for sticking it out and reading the whole thing.
- Big Al (the gal)

P.S. From Haiku Ewe: "Sometimes our Big Al / Obsesses about small stuff / So just smile and nod"