In response to some debate about the usage of the “4th-wall-breaking” gags, I post today for the very first time a t-n-t strip in which Trent is aware that he’s a character in a black-and-white comic strip.
Though the webcomic community in general, especially the elitist ones, seem to abhor the use of this kind of gag, I believe that breaking the 4th wall is just like any other gag. It can be done good, done bad or done so-so. All that talk about “overused” is crap. Everything has been used at some point or other.
The 4th wall is paper thin, and break it as much as you feel like. If people don’t laugh at the way you did it, that just means you did it badly
That’s a funny strip. I love how he’s going to defuse the bomb with a butter knife.
Oh no! They wasted like 2 seconds making the transition to color! I do like how each strip is one second, though. Good timing in this one. Great gag, too.
@Marko: So…the laughing smiley is good…?
@Noel: I could’ve drawn a chainsaw instead!
@Jon M.: Good! I was hoping someone would notice the time!
Breaking the fourth wall is easy. But breaking it cleverly? Now that takes skill.
I didn’t find this particular comic funny, exactly, but I did appreciate the subtlety with which it broke the fourth wall. There are a lot of little nice touches, like the butter knife, the advancing countdown, and the “tnt” on the sticks of TNT. “Amusing” might be the right word for it. And it is well-done, craftwise.
@Jackson: Yes, “funny” is sometimes too crude and aiming for “amusing” is the more civilised option. Thanks for the opinion. Tomorrow’s comic won’t be funny either, but it aims to make some smart statement. Or at least tries to lol…
Pretty good, maybe he is just color blind….. just maybe….
well colour-blind people can actually still see colour, they just can’t differentiate between red and green, i think…