WP2: Comic Strip

I chose the Pickles comics, by Brian Crane, to select the comic in which I would use for my next writing assignment. Pickles has been one of the comics I have enjoyed since I started reading comics in the newspaper. My family never subscribed for the newspaper. So whenever my brother and I were able to get our hands on a newspaper, we went straight to the comics

Pickles follows a retired couple in their seventies. Earl and Opal go back and forth with bickering. Earl is a difficult and stubborn man, and Opal is more kindhearted. In this comic strip, Opal is trying to convince Earl to volunteer with her to give back to the community. Earl slings back saying that he has given back to the community by helping an old lady cross the street. By this statement he was trying to get out of the work and insulting his wife at the same time. Opal realizes this and gets upset with his remark. Readers that have never read the Pickles comic strip before are able to assume, from just a short four paneled comic, that Opal is a kinder individual that just wants to help those around her. On the other side it is also easy to see Earl’s behavior and individualistic emotions. The format of this comic allows for readers to pick up on the emotions and information from the simplicity of four pictures and four dialogue bubbles. Its simple background is made up of a couch and its foot rest. Opal and Earl are just sitting in what can be assumed as a living room, Earl with his paper and Opal trying to talk to him while he is focusing on his paper.

Each of the panels is able to connect together and thus work together to help the reader to relate to the comic and get the main ideas. They are also forced to look more at the two characters sitting in what the readers are made to believe is the living room because of the lack of other objects in view. When the comic starts out the view is more spread out and you can see both Earl and Opal, while in the two center panels you are focused on the face of Opal and then the face of Earl. This makes the reader focus on what the character is saying instead of focusing in on the whole scene. Then at the last panel the focus is then brought back out so that you can see the broader picture. When the reader is brought back to see both Earl and Opal they are able to see that Earl is no longer in the conversation anymore and has gone back to reading his paper and ignoring Opal.

The font in the dialogue bubbles makes the mood of the comic more care free and relaxed as opposed to a very blocky font that would evoke the thought of seriousness. Instead, readers are able to view this comic strip as a lighthearted comedy.