Many comic strips start off with a good joke, but then a disgruntled reaction is tacked on in the last last panel. This disgruntled reaction is most times completely unnecessary.
Let the comic genius of the goofy character do their thing. If a character wants to say something funny, let that joke stand on its own. We don’t need to see the judgmental reaction of another character.
The judgement only serves to belittle the creative minds of the world. Let the creative minds be free. Let them live. Let them prosper. We don’t need the typical, boring person giving their judgement on something that’s funny. Narrow-minded opinions don’t provide a foil to improve the joke, instead they kill the joke.
(original Calvin & Hobbes comic strip from Gocomics on 4/26/2013)
In this case we have Calvin developing a great idea. Reversing the order of how milk comes out of your nose when you laugh. What a genius! Instead this comic is ruined by Susie’s rejection of Calvin’s idea. This comic is no longer about a fun idea. This comic now becomes about how the world rejects the fun and creative ideas.
Let’s improve this comic by eliminating Susie’s judgmental response in the last frame.
Ahh much better. What do you think? Is the revised comic better than the original?