Those Crocodiles
A few months ago I got an e-mail from Stephan Pastis, the creator of a comic called Pearls Before Swine. He asked my opinion about the crocodile characters he had introduced to the strip. They were a big hit with fans, but he worried about using them too much. It was a good question.
The crocodiles did seem to be one-dimensional, concerned only with the question of how to eat their neighbor, a zebra. But on the other hand, they made me laugh every time they appeared, primarily because of the funny way they talk. There is something irresistible about a crocodile with a low IQ and a speech defect.
I think I gave Stephan some advice along the lines of “Geez, I dunno. They’re awfully cute when they talk funny.” That might not seem sage-like to you, but it was the way I typed it that made it work.
I was reminded of that advice today when I saw his latest crocodile comic, featuring Jojo, now working as a radio talk show host. If you don’t think this if funny, you’re probably an android.
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For more, see here.
http://www.comics.com/comics/pearls/index.html [no longer available]