Basic Instructions, Part 3

Recently I agreed to publicly advise cartoonist Scott Meyer, in the fashion of a reality show, with your help, as he attempts to develop his comic, Basic Instructions, for a bigger audience. If you are new to this blog, start with this link to catch up:

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/08/basic-instruc-1.html

In my previous post on this topic, I asked my readers whether Scott Meyer should focus his strip on relationships, to make it more marketable, or keep it general. The overwhelming majority of readers recommended keeping it general.

How many comics have succeeded with a “general” topic? The most successful example that comes to mind is The Far Side. There’s also Bizarro, Herman, Bloom County, and Non Sequitur.

But how general are they really?

Arguably, The Far Side had a wildlife theme. It usually featured some sort of creature acting like a human. And it often focused on an unlucky coincidence, such as the daycare center being next to the dingo dog sanctuary.

The purpose of having a theme is so readers can say, “That’s me.” The Far Side accomplished that in a novel way. When people would send me their favorite Far Side clipping, it was their way of saying, “This is my sense of humor. I am weirder and darker than you might imagine.” It was completely personal. It was also one-of-a-kind.

Bloom County had kids and a penguin and a guy in a wheelchair. Its themes were all over the place. But interestingly, he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. While the author, Breathed, certainly thought he was covering a wide variety of themes, many readers perceived it as a political comic.

Hold that thought, and allow me expand it with a story from my own experience.

When Dilbert was new, a computer publication approached United Media to reprint all of my computer-themed Dilbert strips in their magazine. The deal was made. Then United Media went to the archives to assemble all of my computer-related comics.

There were six.

Over a thousand Dilbert comics had been published, and both the computer publication people and my own syndication company thought Dilbert was “about computers.” Readers tell you what your comic is about, regardless of how many times you address a theme.

Not long after that strange event, the media started going nuts for Dilbert. They liked the fact that it showed the workers’ point of view. Again, this was news to me. In the early days of Dilbert, my themes were quite general. Dilbert had a job, but it wasn’t the focus. In those days, when I showed the workplace, I was as likely to show the management view as the employee view. The media, and my readers, told me I had a workplace strip that took the workers’ perspective. I took the hint, changed the focus to actually be about the workplace, and Dilbert’s perspective, and the strip took off like crazy.

It’s much easier to sell a comic if you can describe what it’s about in a word or two.

Dilbert: cubicle dwellers
Cathy: women
Peanuts: kids
Calvin and Hobbes: Little boy
For Better or For Worse: Family
Marmaduke: Big dog
Get Fuzzy: Dog and Cat
Pearls Before Swine: Stupidity

My advice to Scott Meyer is to focus on men-women themes about 25% of the time at this stage. That’s enough to give the strip an identity without seriously limiting the topics he can address. And from the samples I’ve seen, those themes are often his best.

For the other 75% of his comics, it’s enough to simply have a man and woman in the conversation, acting as men and women do, and it will seem like a relationship strip regardless of the topic. He can even feature one character, a male, acting typically male, and it will still seem like a strip about men and women in the larger context of the comic.

Strategically, if he plans to submit his work for syndication, this approach will give the editors who review it some choices on which way to develop it. Scott can always say no to any offer or advice. But if the only syndication offer comes attached with the strong advice to make Basic Instructions more about relationships, to make it easier for them to sell, Scott can at least have that option.

Once he’s in 1,000 newspapers, he can do anything he wants.

Comments

[Sanjay]

This story is very funny he guy is very handsome all the best.

[Jason Allen]

I'd argue that Bloom County had a current events theme. It delved into politics as part of the over all theme. Some of the most memorable Bloom County strips had nothing to do with politics. What fan could forget Breathed's strip of a frothy "Mary Kay" cosmetics queen screaming for her minions to kill Opus? Classic!

[Broacher]

Most of the writing is pretty funny-- and in some ways funnier-- just read aloud--without the rather weakly supporting drawings. Like a radio script. Or a standup routine. Sometimes the visual is a lot funnier 'reconstructed' inside the listener's head. This guy comes across more like a skilled writer trying also to be a good cartoonist.

Like Scott Adams is a skilled cartoonist, trying to be a good writer.

Which path is the easier journey, I wonder?

Also makes me think of the issue of comic strip creative teams vs. the 'soloists'. Great example of how this works brilliantly is 'Zits', written by Jim Borgman and drawn by Jerry Scott.

Scott, have you ever pondered becoming part of a writer or artist collaborative? Not that I think you need it in your strip, your stuff is still near the top of the pack.

I'm just curious on your thoughts about 'playing with others'--within or outside the comic strip field.

[Gail]

The feeling I got from reading the Basic Instruction comics is that the author is commenting on the Human Condition, not male-female relationships or relationships of any sort - necessarily.

I think this is a wonderful choice, since most of us can relate to both sides of the issue of, for example, making noise in a theater: if you are trying to open the noisy package, you're embarrassed at the disturbance you're making (unless you're a real jerk), and if someone else is making noise, you get ticked off. The yawn is another good example. Who can't relate to that?

It seems to me the main challenge here is that you either have to cover new ground, since a lot of this subject material has been done before, or cover things in a different way. Mr. Meyer seems to be accomplishing both.

I enjoy reading his comics, and I bookmarked the page (and sent the link to a lot of my friends), but I don't know how to get an rss feed. :)

[Heather]

Is it my imagination, or do you really not like Pearls Before Swine?

[It's my favorite comic strip that isn't my own. -- Scott]

[Noah Vaile]

I would suggest that he avoid political references to "real" people in the "real" world. They both date the strip and annoy people who don't agree with the reference.

People as you say will see what they want and if they think it is a partisan political strip they may very well avoid it or be disappointed that it isn't and then avoid it.

My own opinion is that every one I have seen IS about relationships and I have read them all from July 2006 to the present.

I think you've got a winner here Scott and Scott. Tha's why you like it, isn't it Scott? Because it's done by some one else named Scott and you are trying to fill the comic pages with Scottish humor. A comics empire founded by Adams and Eventually....

[rita mae]

Scott Meyer getting advice from Scott Adams???? SM should take SA's advice. SA seems to have done well for himself. Don't completely blow off the readers, tho, SM. They're your bread and butter. (By the by, the majority of the readers seem to agree with SA, so looks like it's a no brainer.)

Doctor's office keeps calling, they want me to come in again. This is after my stay at The Cardiac Center. They say I need to be hooked up to a machine. I say no. Will go talk to the doctor, but no machines. As my friend Fr. Kelley, a Jesuit at Creighton University used to say, "Life is short. Eat dessert first."

Scott, still love you, but still too old to stalk you.

Rita Mae

[HopefulSkeptic]

Scott says - It’s much easier to sell a comic if you can describe what it’s about in a word or two.

OK, How about this...

Basic Instructions: Bad Advice

[April]

I think that he could take any one of his current strips and stretch it into 2 or 3 strips, then make it a week long theme of "how to do (whatever)" if he has many ideas he wants to use.

Love the strip by the way and have added it to my favorites!

[PK]

Calvin and hobbes: Little boy??
not quite correct I think!!
I guess you know more about marketing than I would ever do but are you not sick of simplifying everything to one or two words just for the sake of making it marketing?
Its amazing if you can do that and nothinkg like it but simplifying for the sake of it to feed to brain dead consumer sounds a bit awful!!

[Real Live Girl]

You're probably right - you have hindsight and experience about this we don't. But I would prefer that Basic Instructions be broader than just couple's relationships. I think of it's theme as "How to" for interacting with people.

[Robert B.]

Scott have you seen "Monty" (formerly "Robot Man")? Not the most successful comic but I think extremely funny. Give that guy some advice about publishing some books.

[scott]

Here are some other ideas for Basic Instructions...

How to eat someone else's food from the fridge at work

How to make an insult sound like a compliment

How to leave work early

How to sound like you know what you're talking about

How to avoid responsibility

How to dance like nobody's watching

How to get the last word

[Andrew]

Your advice is banal and sloppy, therefore, coming from you, it can be nothing but right. What sloppy, banal advice do you have for writing a ‘must-know-more-about-this-one’ CV?

(I think you're both great)

[Niki]

Honestly, so far your two ideas, Scott Adams, are the worst two things I could imagine for the strip. I though Basic Instructions was hilarious. Why? Because it featured entire (as in not a quick one liner which is all you can pull off in three panels) sarcastic conversations making fun of everyday events. These were conversation I could see myself having with my friends in real life. I thought the relationships comics were the worst - overdone, everyones already been there/done that humor.

Scott Meyer - when this doesn't work out, I hope you go back to your original premise. It was perfect.

PS - Dilbert is hilarious - not because of the work setting, but because of the often bizzaro humor.

[Richard Gosling]

I agree with the posters who say that there is already enough of a theme, no need to narrow it down further. Random is good, you never know what you are going to get next. There is a definite style, and that's theme enough.

The recurring characters could do with a bit more development, is the only area I can see needing work. You want to "get to know" them as you read more comics. There's some of that there already, but there could be more. Equally, for the uninitiated, there needs to be more clues on who the person is Scott is interacting with. It took several strips featuring the long-haired bloke before I realised he was Scott's boss.

I like the square layout, but I can't see it losing much by re-arranging the panels so they are 4 in a row instead to keep the papers happy - no problem. I'd prefer he kept the wordiness, I like it, and not every reader has a 3-second-max attention span - there's no need to cater exclusively for the lowest common denominator.

[Rob]

Thanks for recommending Real Life (Stuart?), I've started reading it and it's fantastic!!! :o)

[Nic]

i read through all of the comics and i thought they were really funny, reading many of them i actually laughed out loud. i think the theme is just 'how to' as i think some people have already said and i liked the broad coverage from mundane to bizzare.
the only ones i didn't really like at all were the four 'laws of relationships' ones. i thought they were quite dull and lacked the surreal surprises that made the rest so good.
(sadly) these are very similar to comics i see all the time in newspapers and so they'll probably go down well

[Lex Chiltern]

OK. It's a blog so nobody remembers last week even. Well it seems to be a bit like that. Anyone remember that other cartoonist that Scott tried to help? No? You know the body builder one. With the wife and the chicken. It was funny. I liked it. Then Scott Adams thought it was good and "helped" the guy out. Oh well that was the end of him.

So is another good cartoon about to bite the dust because some "big time expert" who happens to have done well for himself explains what he thinks works to the world?

Hey Adams admits he is just a moist robot. He says he has no way of being realy sure what is true. So he picks on a guy who is doing a good cartoon. Asks his (Adams') fans what they think then argues the point of their opinion. Broad (which I like as well) vs focused which Adams the moist robot with no free will thinks is better.

I refer to Adams by his surname because both cartooinsts in this, I dunno what to call it, have the given name of Scott.

Meyer would probably be well looked after if he just ran away. But he probably won't. If history tells us a tale then Meyers will be forgoten in a few months time.

Adams will blog on, I will read on and post if I feel like it. I will continue to have free will and God will still not exist.

Oh yeah, best prediction ever. Well on this blog anyway.

Lex

[Clare]

I thought "Basic Instructions" was about relationships - just not always man/woman relationships -

[Simon]

Not sure if this view has been posted, but the focus of a lot of Scott's strips do appear to me to be focused on relationships. Whether these relationships are with his partner, child, boss or friends, the strips still focus on how Scott deals with issues with these persons. There are some exceptions, but I would say he is still running at about 75% plus on the relationship theme.
Quite a few strips remind me of the fantasy daydreams that occur in Scrubs - resolving / discussing subject of the "how to...." if there were no social and/or ethical norms that had to be followed.
Is there a reason that the strip is drawn in a 2x2 frame rather than a 4x1? I would think a 4x1 would be more newspaper friendly.
Lastly, I love the single frame of the Scott with the piece of timber inscribed with the word "knowledge". How many times have I wanted to do that!

[Allan]

Scott: I'm curious why your list didn't include the prolific Joe Martin, if only for "Mister Boffo".

[Gregor Wischnewsky]

Hi Scott,
just an OT question regarding today's Dilbert strip (because I really can't make it out): Is Ratbert gnawing Dilbert's shoe or is he humping it?

Best regards,
Greg

[dirtyDavey]

man, that strongly reminds me of that film, "how to lose a guy in 10 days". the heroine is working for a newspaper and writing a stupid column full of make-up tips and women themes, and her boss says once this column has 10,000 readers, she could write anything she wants. well, the end is... "politics you certainly DON'T want!"
if you ask me, can it be the goal for any part-time cartoonist to get published only after doing what he never wanted? i don't know how material the change would be for scott. i personally wouldn't listen to you.

[Choseph]

I haven't laughed out loud at any of the comics I would consider 'relationship' comics, but I've howled at many others and forwarded them to friends/family. Why not 'human interaction' for your two words instead of trying to force it into the overdone man/woman relationships (might as well do a toilet-seat-up joke)? I prefer the four panel comics to the shorter ones still, but I'll give it a few more chances.

Maybe you guys should get up a site where people can rank the comics Scott has on his site directly. That should give you an idea about what the audience (thinks it) wants. Of course, it may be skewed to a Dilbert direction given the users coming from this blog, but still...

[Lord Jim]

Calvin and Hobbes:Little Boy
Definitely no. Calvin and Hobbes is not a strip that can be condensed to one or two words. Watterson manages to convey much more to his readers other than the antics of a kid and his stuffed tiger.

[Esn]

What is amazing about the Perry Bible Fellowship (which was conspicuously absent from your list of "general" comics) is that it has a far larger internet presence than any other comic I can think of, and it is constantly quoted in online discussions. Yet (according to wikipedia) only a dozen newspapers actually carry it.

I hope the guy's making enough money to make ends meet...

And yes, I'd agree that "basic instructions" is a theme by itself. In a more general sense, it seems to be about his life, relationships and experiences. He goes through a life like many other people, but he sees the absurdities in everyday things; that's what makes it so funny.

[Dom]

I have to say its good advice to pick a theme if you really want to sell well, the problem is balancing that with the original humor of the strip. Sometimes such comics deviate too much from the original sense of humor, take Get Fuzzy for example, its noticeable that the most popular merchandise (e-cards, t-shirts, etc.) use material from the past rather than the current poor fare, though I think the problem recently has been compounded by having too many characters, which is something else that doesn't make commercial sense.

The relationship with the reader has to be there, which is why I always worry about the fact that Redmeat (http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/) is my favourite comic.

[Neko]

I loved Basic Instructions so now
this regular reader of Dilbert, Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine has bookmarked Scott Meyer's site.

I'm only an occasional reader of the Dilbert blog comments but I really enjoyed them this time.

I really hope Scott (one of you) will mine the feedback on "Basic Instructions" for the potential humour.

I nearly wet myself when I read the comment that while the men are OK the women need to be hotter (sorry, more 'attractive')
I suppose the commenter was aware that the characters are created by tracing photos ...
To this female reader, all the characters look like ordinary people that might be a smidge overweight.
To me that kind of depiction indicates the possibility of interesting observational humour .

Also - I really like the insight that _women_ generally prefer to look at attractive female characters.
I'm thinking that may well explain all the barely clad pneumatically breasted babes in computer games, movies and comics.
A mystery solved. Thank you so much.

[ramki]

Uncle Scott, you are fast turning into the patron saint for struggling cartoonists :)

I like it!

[Attie Naude]

Ever read Sinfest, Scott?

I love that comic and the art has a really unique style to it. But you'll easily see why that's not marketable to syndication companies, it deals with very touchy issues like God and the devil.

I bet most of your blog readers would find it entertaining.

[irene]

Over here (Malaysia), one of the national newspapers slots Dilbert in the paper's tech pullout.

[Sharon]

Scott:

I remember the post in which you said that if everyone liked your product you were dead - but if a few folks LOVED it you had a gold mine.

For me the original 4 panel strip is always a standout - different, noticeable and something to hang on a cubicle wall (or a fridge).

The "normal" strip does remind me of the syndicated strips - but it's not unique enough to have me click back - the horizontal strips always come across as awkward and missing something - like a joke without the right timing.

I love how you give this strip attention - now let the genius that is Scott (the other Scott) shine through!

Oh - and Scott quit reusing art - when you use the same drawing in two panels you just look cheap! 4 panels means 4 different pictures!

[Abdul]

That's why I so enjoy Al-Dilbert. The theme is immediately recognizable to me as a Dilbert fan and a Muslim American.

http://www.exile.ru/transient/269/aldilbert_06.gif

[Nomi]

Yay. This is exciting. I think Scott Meyer's awksome. (That's a new word. It means awkward in an awesome way.)

[Bobster]

I just need to point out to all of you disagreeing with Mssr. Adams..the advice he is providing is coming from one of the most successful cartoonists in history. Debating him on this topic is akin to arguing with Einstein that he was wrong.

[Simon Gear]

You two Scotts are now taking up most of my valuable shower thinking time so I need to get this off my chest and free up more time for my ruminations on early Britney.

I think the comic is great but it bothers me that all of the commercially succesful strips exploit the 'cute' (from Scott A's List Of The 6). Even Dilbert himself is cute enough to work as a poster / cover of a calender on his own without needing any dialogue. The same is true of all of the examples that Scott listed in this post.

I can't see the strip being a true commercial blockbuster until this is solved.

[Jim]

BasicInstructions isn't about male-femle relationships, it's about arguments and hostility towards one's boss, co-workers, friends, people we meet on the street, and one's spouse. Scott "acts casual" in front of his boss while trying to steal printer paper, he argues with a car dealer who is trying to take advantage of him, he needs a mnemonic to remember Rick's name so he comes up with "Dick", he tells a lady who asks for directions to walk through a wall, he argues with a co-worker that Leonardo Da Vinci is overrated, he can't understand why another co-worker is sad she has to quit and leave her "good friends", and he listens to his wife explain that her dream about a backpack that feels like a dead monkey and is full of poop reminds her of their marriage. Its all done with wit and insight. Male-female relationships is too narrow a theme, and showing different types of relationships makes it easier to identifier with Scott.

[David]

I read all of 'em and subscribed and such, just so you know he has some more support.

[Clumpy]

This is sad for me to read. I liked Dilbert once it could be summed up as "neurotic guy with a dog". The work-related humor wasn't funny because it described common situations (at least not primarily so), but because the characters were appealing. The human aspect of the strip has since been lost, and the characters are now mere vehicles for jokes. (How many times must Dogbert be dragged out to be a consultant? He's not quirky anymore - just sarcastic.)

Anyway - maybe I'm not the target market for a "marketed" strip but this just depresses me. It's good for a strip to have an overarching "theme" for focus or common elements but not shackles.

[Lester Galaxy]

I checked out his strip and as a self proclaimed comics expert it is way too wordy. Couldn't get thru two strips without givng up. He will never make it the way it is.

[Billy B]

What ever
Billy B

[dman]

basic instructions does have a central theme: truth. Makes me laugh because it points the ovious using satire to situations i can relate to. ("most bees are only bragging").
i enjoy the format because it gives me "four punch lines for the price of one" with the whole being larger than the sum of its parts when the final part ties everything together.

on dilbert i used to get that "multi punch line" feeling only on the sunday strips. but lately they feel just like long dayly ones in color.

my recomendation to meyers is to leave the 4 pane execution as the "sunday one" and have a simpler "one or two punch line" version for a daily strip.

hope this helps.

[JHB]

My 2 cents worth..

1. Keep it general - that's one of its strengths. You can only go so far with the man-woman thing before you risk regurgitating jokes done by every humorist since the dawn of time.
2. Occasionally make it even darker (humor-wise). The unexpected ending of some of the strips are what made me laugh the loudest.
3. Keep up the good work. You've got an original, funny-as-hell gem in the rough on your drawing board. I look forward to the eventual TV series :)

[Guy]

This may be the worst comic ever to read at work. It gets everyone around you asking "What the heck is so funny?"

I honestly think this may be the 3rd or 4th best comic of all time. Although, i'd seriously begin to doubt what he can come up for instructions for after 1000 or 2000 strips. "How to plug in your toaster" can only be made so funny.... In fact, that could be hilarious, albeit very specific.

[Dan T.]

So here's the question: does Scott Adams really think Scott Meyer's comic is that good, or is Scott Adams just trying to see if his endorsement and advise alone can take a decent but hardly noteworthy web comic and turn it into a hit?

[KiwiAtaahua]

You once told us that for a prototype or a new idea to be successful, it should have a small percentage of people who are wildly enthusiastic about it and a large majority who hate it or don’t think it will work – the implication being that having the majority saying “I like it” is the kiss of death, and no great success will come from it.

I hope you were wrong, for Scott Meyer’s sake.

[Tyler]

Like many others said: Its a comic about witty how-to's.

But I think Scott is at least partial right. The theme of every instruction is about relationship, the effect of something to other people. Its very Seinfeld-like. Take this comic:

http://www.basicinstructions.net/2007/05/how-to-pose-for-id-photo.html

The picture on your id is in itself not an interesting topic. But as soon as you reason that other people will see it and judge you, there is good humorous potential.

I only dislike the supporting cast characters. The women should look hotter and more feminine.

[D. Mented]

I think you're going too far with the idea of following a formula. The formula is generated by people who invented something that caught on.
Another Cathy, or Marmaduke, or For Better or For Worse wouldn't be successful because it's just like the original. The original was successful because people are able to identify with the characters and recognise the situation, and the presentation has some style, or something that makes the readers feel 'that was well- put'.
Basic Instructions has characters and situations some readers can recognise, and freight train loads of style.
The question is really - how many people identify with any of the characters and recognise any of the situations? Not how can we make Basic Instructions into another "Family Circus"?
By the way, I just saw on the news: the king rat is scurrying, the cheese must all be gone...Carl Rove is resigning!
D. Mented

[rd]

Hiya!
the ninja with brochitis is greaat!
or else you can rip the package with a coin (should i describe how?)
without producing any noise

[Steveo]

I think you're going down in history as the destroyer of promising comic strips. Your success with one cartoon barely gives you standing over me, with zero.

First of all, I doubt you really know what you've done to achieve success with Dilbert. There's too many variables, and you might as well become a weather forecaster.

Second of all, has it escaped your notice that Meyers' comic already has a theme, a focus? Read the title again. Slowly.

[Gorf]

But it already has a theme, it's an instruction guide. The title pretty much describes exactly what the theme is.

[Matthew Kovich]

Basic Instructions is now on my iGoogle page.

this makes me wag

[Dave K.]

The strip "Cathy" is oppressively dull. The "creative" behind it chould reimburse the world for the complete waste of newsprint. Does anyone have a column-inch calculator?

[TallDave]

Scott, I think perhaps you're confusing "ambience" with "topic."

Over a thousand Dilbert comics had been published, and both the computer publication people and my own syndication company thought Dilbert was “about computers.”

Go back and count the number of times a computer appears in the strip, either directly or by implication. Dilbert works in a cubicle, sitting at a computer. It has a computer ambience -- but rarely does the joke revolve around computers.

To the extent Dilbert has a topic, it's about workplace absurdity, particularly management absurdity.

My advice to Scott M is to focus on relationship absurdity. It's a big market, and never seems overserved.

[Jackrabbit]

I find this whole sequence highly interesting. While it may not feel like it to you, Scott, this is really about the media promoting itself. Usually, this drives me nuts, like the promo right before the local TV news telling me to stay tuned for Story X instead of just telling me the story.

Like it or not, Scott, you have taken on the role of Big Media, promoting a smaller clone of yourself. A cynic might say that you stand to benefit, gaining a reputation as a mentor and tastemaker while revitalizing the flagging newspaper syndication industry.

I'm not complaining. This case is unique and kind of fun, like having an all-access backstage pass at a concert.

And Scott, I have to ask: How does feel to be a Medium?

[Barry]

Is Scott Meyer really you, Scott Adams????

You have been trying to develop another comic strip, but everyone compares it to Dilbert, and expects instant success.

Are you using Scott Meyer as a pen name to secretly develop a new comic strip without openly being compared to Dilbert? Then, pretending to have a conversation with your alter-ego?

A-HA! The truth is exposed!

[Chris]

I have now read all of the comics listed on Scott's website. I can't get enough of them as-is. He could pull off doing just relationship humor...those ones seem to be a sure thing. I also love the ones with the child though...

[Rich Gregory]

I take it back.... I *DO NOT* like the idea of a 3 panel strip, with optional running themes (though it is true that then he won't have to come up with 3 funny things for every comic!).

[rstevens]

I should probably poll my readers and see how far their perceptions are from mine. Thanks for making me think about this.

[Stephen]

Scott M:

I like the strip is, but I defer to Scott A's cartoonist wisdom. I did have two minor suggestions for your website. First, I'd create a good looking Favicon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favicon)--yours is currently blank. Check out The Onion, Penny Arcade!, PvP, and xkcd, and you'll see what I mean. Next, I'd change your title tag from "Basic Instructions" to "Basic Instructions - A Web Comic From Scott Meyer". That gives the search engines a bit more to chew on and can make your site easier to find for certain queries. For instance, right now, a search for "scott meyer comic" on Google returns Scott Adams's blog first rather than your site, and a bit of minor search engine optimization like improving your title tag and adding keyword and description metatags could push it to first from third. Best of luck!

[h]

I enjoyed Basic Instructions.
-liked the current format/layout.
-intentionally creating a theme about relationships: BAD- too forced; just happen to create a theme about relationship: GOOD- nice and spontaneous.
-thought to myself after viewing that they would make nice posters; there weren't any to buy at the store.
-think that he should focus on merchandise. Hey those Life is Good people have less to work with than he does.
-It's too bad those digital picture frames are expensive, because with a cartoon RSS feed you could have art on the wall that changed each day/week.

[Bromond]

You know far more than I do about cartooning and marketing, but why should he limit himself? Couldn't he just market it as a 'humorous advice for real-life situations' strip -- kinda like 'Dear Abby' on crack? It should be obvious to any syndication group how funny and talented he is.

[AV]

Every time you write about Dilbert, on "The Dilbert Blog", the comment count approaches zero...

[Christy]

The women in the strip are icky, and it needs some cute animals, because I am not attracted to the characters, women or men. Granted, they seem to be smart though. I could tell you some funny things in advance of a strip I am doing called, Bipolar World...(copyright, trademark, patent etc. etc.)

[Mike Lerch]

Just wanted to posit that Bizarro is my favorite comic. What one or two words sum it up? "Dan Piraro's artful drawings?" Maybe its title is the only description it needs ;)

[carrie]

I finally had time today to read all of the comics on his website. Here's an idea for a new one "How to suppress laughter at work while reading something really funny when you're supposed to be working"

You might wanna shorten it but you get the gist.

[GeordieHalfBreed]

Basic instructions is very good, made me laugh out loud, and i think its general nature is one of its strongpoints - 'recognisability' is a recurring humour technique. Although its wordiness is not a problem on the web, and indeed adds to its appeal, do you think that the smaller format in newspapers, making it harder to read, might be a clue as to why this very funny comic is yet to take off?

P.S. Good on you Scott - it is impressive that not only are you lending a hand, but you are picking such good comics. Maybe you have a sense of humour after all.

[The Dude]

I appologize if this is being posted more than once, again I keep getting "network error" everytime I try to post.
----------------------
Scott I have to disagree with you on the relationships angle. I think that would limit the comic way too much. For instance you wouldn't get strips like "How to fake a smile" or "How to explain the plan". I think the theme of the strip is Scott sharing his life experience on How to do (or not to do "How to talk to your kid about smoking"), why can't that be the theme?

I think that Mr. Meyer has hit a great topic with his topics he just needs to watch out for likness rights and libel issues when it gets picked up. I also think he shouldn't try to get a daily run of the comic, running once or twice a week would be great plus it would leave people anticipating the next installment. This way he can stick to his four panel style which I think works the best compared with the three panel samples you provided a couple days ago.

Building on squigs comment of Mr. Meyer seeing what people like and checking for a pattern maybe it would be a good idea for him to add some sort of a comments section to each of his comics so that readers can provide feedback on each one. They can indicate what they liked, what they didn't like, if they thought one or more frames could have been flushed out better or removed all together, etc. Just a suggestion, that way he can see what kind of comics work the best, and which ones generate the most feedback.

[Ned]

I never thought of this blog as a democracy, and you've just proved it. Most of your readers said "general" so you ignored that advice, told us why we were wrong (even while noting that you followed your own readers' advice that this was about work from the workers' perspective (I always thought it was about one dog's dream of ruling the world, one IPO at a time)) and told Scott why he needed to follow YOUR advice rather than OUR advice.

Frankly, I think you're right (about both your approach and your advice), but I find it deeply and deliciously ironic that you laud "US" for giving you strip-saving advice, then ignore "US" in favor of your own obviously-superior observations on what Scott should do.

Frankly, (twice in two paragraphs - I need a new script-writer), I think he should write about pitching Hollywood, since that's something I've done five or six times and can relate to. Since he's bald, I can't relate to his personal stuff, but since he pitched Hollywood - now that I can relate to (and everybody else should, just to humor me).

Seriously (whew, not "frankly"), I think Scott should:

a. Follow your advice
b. Use his four-panel comics as "Sunday" comics and not lose that format, but also adopt your three-panel-horizontal format for weekdays
c. Lean on you to get Andrews McMeel to publish a book of his archived comics and maybe a special book (as some of your early books were "special" rather than collections) - to get some revenue flowing and jump-start the process for him
d. Get more and better "stuff" for sale - like your EARLY stuff (like embroidered shirts) before you sold out to Cafe Press

Now, go thou and do likewise

Ned

[Caliban Darklock]

I would keep it general not in the sense that it doesn't have a theme, but in the sense that the theme should develop and evolve as the strip does. If you restrict it to relationships, then once you run out of relationship stuff, you're done. But if you stay general, as one subject loses its draw for you, another will pop up. All you need is a sufficiently appropriate foil in your cast of characters.

[Joel]

His comics aren't about romantic relationships, in my opinion, but about *power* relationships.

"I'm glad I'm not whipped" is met with "I'm glad I'm not divorced...by the way, how's that new apartment?"

It's about being sued for your shirt, and handing over your underwear as well.

Status disputes with platonic friends, and small acts of rebellion against the boss are crucial to making the comic work. The protagonist has to be attacked from all sides, and win using verbal Wing Chun.

[jeffrey H]

I also love Real Life.. Check it out Scott

Anywho.. I must agree that GET FUZZY = CAT/DOG

But it wasn't that way... Prior to the visiting cats and dogs year of recent horrid unfunny fuzzy it was a great comic that was not cat and dog.. the charm was that they were the usual uniformed jerks and lovable simpletons that we all know and have in our lives but just happened to be a cat and a dog.

It was as if it was as normal as being Swedish or a Vegetarian.. Just another classification that didn't define the characters but was part of their life.

I am not alone in thinking get fuzzy has switched from being hilarious and relatable to being unfunny and garfield like. Seriously does anyone who isn't nostalgic for garfield truly like that comic on a regular basis?

I hope Darby Conley starts to feel funny again.. In the meantime Pasties will have to pull the funny train into my station. (Pasties learned how to be consistently funny from copying your comic scott according to his first treasury.)

Like Fuzzy, Pasties also has characters who are the regular jerk/idiot/smarty/ethical/misunderstood/etc people who just happen to be animals.. However unlike fuzzy he has never went towards the dark side and made the comic about animals, every new introduction is a human trait, often even the name of the animal reflects the trait (i.e. Connie the Judgmental Cow)

[William Skyvington]

It's great to observe you trying to help the Meyer cartoonist... and no doubt succeeding in building the groundwork of his future career. Please tell us, one of these days when you've got nothing to do, what you think about the concept of altruism. You probably know that Dawkins has written fabulous reams about this troubling concept. Everything would indeed be so much simpler if scientists could affirm that each of us humans simply simply hates all other competitors in the evolutionary arena... At times, alas, we do indeed seem to love [some of] our fellow men.

[Stephen Ware]

99.9% of the people posting comments about this are not syndicated cartoonists, so in that sense, their advice is not as useful as Scott's. But on the other hand, we are all (presumably) syndicated cartoon readers, so in that sense, our collective judgment might be more useful.

I think that the idea of an instructions comic is novel enough. It certainly has a one word association.

Basic Instructions: how-to's

I will get bored if it is all about relationships. You need some other material to spice things up on occasion, and as long as it's still a how-to, it will still have the "BI" flavor to it.

[Joel Odom]

I liked today's comic (re "Ninja With Bronchitis"). I think it would be more entertaining without the long, wordy commentary. The dialog alone communicates enough.

[Brenda]

FYI: Basic Instructions has today been posted on Blogger's "Blogs of Note" list - i'll leave you to speculate on whether any of your support (and potential marketing) have been a part of this happening.

[Ms_Takez]

Why limit him to man-woman relationships? Almost all of his strips seem to be about relating to others. Male-female relationships are important, but hardly the only kind there is.

Plus, running strips & comedy routinces about male/female roles etc. get stale, cliche & antagonistic fast.

[Paul O]

From the samples I glanced at the other day, the theme seemed to me to be pretty clearly "relationships". But that itself is a general term, and includes every aspect of relationships. Women's perceptions of men, men's of women. Differing perceptions of common experiences. Communication and barriers thereto. Interactions and hidden agendas. Living life and getting along. Trying to remake someone in one's own image. That sort of thing.

Does NASCAR fit the theme? Sure, since there are different perspectives to be found. Mowing the lawn? Yup. In fact, I can't think of a single thing that doesn't fit the theme.

But when many people think of relationships, they think only of the direct (and more intimate) interpersonal interactions of a man and a woman. And, certainly, that's not what I saw in this strip.

I didn't see a need to "establish" characters, or to place both men and women in the same strip, in order to carry the message. But I might worry that while your advice is sage, too strict an adherence might cause undue stresses (oh no! Scott said 25/75 and the past month has been 40/60! I need to put more X in it to achieve Scott's numbers!)

[concatenator]

This is the first time in a long time I agreed with literally everything you said. I guess because this is a tested hypothesis - you have actually tried this out on yourself. Some of your other thoughts seem more ...untested.

I worry about what you are doing to this other Scott. Its a bit like time travelers going back and mucking around with your parents. Perhaps accidentally erasing you out of the possibility of being born, or who knows what else. How can you be so sure what you are doing wont negatively impact this guy?

[tim shepard]

No No No No
the Men-Women relationship themes are the weakest strips in the whole Basic Instruction Oeuvre. You'd just be turning it into "Love Is". Bleh.
Keep the weird nerd references in and make it general, it's going to be hard enough coming up with new material.

[Mark Thorson]

As long as his "art" style is
going to be Socialist Realism,
perhaps he could add interest
to the characters by making
them an underground group
of revolutionaries like the
SLA. Except, this would be
group after thirty years of
not accomplishing anything,
except remaining underground.

[WhatThe]

I see Basic Instructions as the comic strip version of the Sonic commercials. It's about people relating to each other.

[Rich Gregory]

OOOHHH!!!
OK, I *REALLY DO* like this suggestion:

If he makes it 3 panels, he'll be able to make the same subject last for 2 or 3 comics, giving it continuity and making people long for the next one. Also, he won't have to come up with 3 funny things for every comic.

[Rich Gregory]

I think that a forced attempt at shooting for about 20% - 25% of "relationship" themed strips may not strain the already excellent creative flow of the strips too much away from what made them so perfect as they were before Dogbert here (cough-Scott Adams-cough) started making changes.

I must also state that my preference is for the square (wordier) format.

That said, I absolutely LOVE "Basic Instructions". Excellent. Perfection? I do not think it's a mistake to compare it to Calvin + Hobbs, The Far Side, Bloom County, or the other strips you cite. These (along with Dilbert) have been my most favoritest strips of all time... The strips worth buying a newspaper for. All of these (and now Basic Instructions too) I feel privileged to have been able to read, actually.

Dilbert and Basic Instructions are now 2 web sites I visit EVERY day, without fail.

Please Mr. Meyers, try not to let all this attention (and the accompanying suggestions) have too big an impact on your work (good luck with that). I read every strip on your site. To pull numbers completely out of my ass and without doing any math, 80% were perfect and I really liked the other 20%.

Maybe your format is less easy to sell. Maybe "too many words" scares people. BUT - You are really "on to something".

Ah, screwit... Take the money. Just because a few highly intelligent people (DNRC) appreciate your work doesn't mean we are right! Artistic vision be damned. Sell out. I never would have seen The Far Side if he didn't sell-out. Oh, wait a minute.... I DID see it... Along with millions of other satisfied readers.

OK, So I *don't* know what you should do... Never mind.

[George Frost]

I would argue that the idea instead is to make something that people can relate to or believe in. cubicle dwellers, women, kids and dogs/cats are topics that people can relate to. They can either picture themselves in the comic, picture what is in the comic actually happening, or picture their family pet being in the comic.

So, on the one hand, I agree: if you focus on a certain one topic, it may be easier to find your audience (or at least a more consistent audience who look for a certain humor).

On the other hand, I'm not sure that "basic instructions" as a broad topic is something that people can't relate to. Does he need to limit it to "basic instructions for relationships"?

I think the argument for putting more focus on relationships is probably better, but I'm not sure.

It's probably about finding a niche of consistent followers who come to know what to expect from you, while at the same time getting something new (or a fresh look each time) concerning that niche.

[Erik]

I've read many of the comments posted, and I may post with the majority when I say that "Basic instructions" is a theme by it self.

The unpredictability is why I would return to this strip.

[stuart - Velkairiwyth]

I really like the Basic Instructions comic - trying to add to my RSS alongside you as we speak. There is one other comic that has the pleasure of sitting alongside you two...

Real-Life

http://www.reallifecomics.com/

It is a comic loosely based on the real life of the author and his friends - started in 1999 - it is a web based comic. for any sci-fi fanatics or gamer heads a lot of the humour will appeal - to me? I can associate because Im a mirror image of Greg - the main character - but I like coke instead of pepsi :p

Check it out - I think a lot of you Dilberteers might like it! I know I do!

[John]

About the 4-panel or 3-panel question you asked about 2 years ago...

If he makes it 3 panels, he'll be able to make the same subject last for 2 or 3 comics, giving it continuity and making people long for the next one. Also, he won't have to come up with 3 funny things for every comic.

J.

[Ray]

@Krissy:

"Cathy: women - seriously? Is that how people really see women?"

In a word, yes.

[Doug]

personally I like the original format and the "general" topics. I haven't laughed so hard at random stuff in a long time.

[Saurabh]

Calvin and hobbes: Little boy? i am not so sure about that, calvin would always be more content rather than a little boy. i think basic instructions as a theme sums it up.

[ND]

I'm curious. When you say that there were all of six computer-themed Dilbert comics, are you referring only to comics that specifically involved a computer, or does that include comics that referred to computers or computing but didn't necessarily directly involve an actual computer (such as the Dogbert Technical Support comics or the PHB Management by Spreadsheet series)?

[Sondra]

Charlie Brown is not so much about kids as it is about friends.

Basic Instructions appears to be about a guy and his interactions with his friends.

Couldn't there be a strip about friends?

There was a sitcom about them. It was fairly popular.

[Dave]

My 2 cents as a non-cartoonist, but a guy who likes Basic Instructions (thanks for introducing it to me Scott) and who read through a lot of the archived strips and read up on Scott Meyers through his website. The strip is also in my RSS feed now as well for the dailies.

I think the site needs some type of grounding or theme that lets you identify who the characters are and what their motivations are. On first glance the strip is a parody of the airline safety manuals with somewhat generic characters. It wasn't until I saw a photo of Scott that I realized the main character was his likeness and wasn't met to be generic.

Also it took several strips to be able to identify the rest of the characters like his wife and his boss. That is because the different 'instructions' require characters to be able to be stretched a bit. The wife character has to serve the wife, friend, girlfriend, etc. depending on the bit. That is fine as long as the character has an established backstory that you can identify. But it took me at least 7 strips until I realized who she really was in the story. And since she isn't featured in everyone that can be a long time.

Other concerns are it seems that the characters are based on real life people in Scott Meyer's life. That is fine, but I would be sure they are drawn differently. I don't know if this is the case, but if the main character looks like Scott I wonder if the others look like their real world counterparts. I think there might be a concern for libel or worse, avoiding something really funny BECAUSE of being concerned about libel. Or just in general not wanting a friend to get mad at you. It looks like this already came up in the July 22nd comic:
http://www.basicinstructions.net/2007_07_01_archive.html

I'm sure that his family and friends are fine with it now, but money and fame does some very strange things to people.

At any rate, back to where I was going. There needs to be some backstory or theme that the audience can identify with. I don't even know the main character's name or what he does besides have a boss, a wife, and some friends. I would want at least 50% of the comics to be non-random so that I can follow along. The theme/story is why people continue to read the comics even after the joke is delivered.

[Joshua]

I thought his best strip was "How to Calm a Frightened Child", perhaps he could theme his strip "frightened children" that would be a theme, and unique.

As for Pearls Before Swine, I'd label it "F'd up animals" more so than "Stupidity"

[Avi]

Someone commented on The Perry Bible Fellowship - I'd say it's about dark humor, reversal of expectations, and fantastic artwork.

http://pbfcomics.com/archive/PBF222-Gamblin_Man.jpg

This wouldn't fit right on the comics page.

[Jon]

How about cartoons of Mohamed blowing his fingers off?

[friskybeaver]

You know Scott, I can't stand people like you who refer to themselves in the third person. Oh, and by the way, when did you change your last name from Adams to Meyer?

[Avi]

Pearls Before Swine: Stupidity
that pretty much nails it.

My impression of Basic Instructions is

Basic Instructions: basic instructions

Maybe there's a better way to phrase that, like How To Do Stuff.

[Simon Robert]

So, why ask us for our opinions, if you are then going to explain, in a particularly patronising manner, how we are all wrong and you know best? You've already decided what he should be doing.

[Avi]

I say, keep it mostly general. If relationships is the genuine theme of the strip, it should emerge naturally.

One thing I like about the strip is how many different topics it covers - how to share a movie, how to calm a frightened child, how to disguise a yawn, how to act casual - and there's a funny-because-its-true, mixed with a hilarious spin.

PS the Dogbert as President story is continuing, and it's still great!

[DS]

Why cant 'general' be a theme? er... I know..

This is the first time I've checked out this site and its awesome. I love the relationship strips. But certain other strips - not related to relationships are great too.

But saying 'stick to relationship strips' as a reader makes me feel, I'll lose out on a great number of those other refreshing strips.

[keith]

I'm not convinced that your "theming" advice is right. Sure, you've listed some successful comics that have a "theme" but all of those easy niches are already filled by multiple comic strips. The "relationships" one has a lot of contenders. Why compete in established categories? Your comic succeeded because it was different (and funny). What if you had set out to imitate other successful comic strips instead of coming up with something unique?

Look at some of the most successful businesses of the last few decades - there's a lot in there that invented a new business category.

I think "Basic Instructions" is really strong. There are a few that would have to be toned down or excluded from print publication to keep them palatable for conservative and young audiences but most of them are funny and already suitable.

Just occurred to me: are you sabotaging? You might not be conscious of it - you probably feel pretty happy and proud of your altruistic efforts to help the guy - but deep down are you afraid of the competition? Here you see something different, funny, unique, and not-easily-pigeonholed, and your advice so far amounts to "make it more like all the other comics you see. Make each strip about the same thing." Hmm. Interesting.

BTW, you gave an interview with CNN a few years ago where you said "you won't see politics in Dilbert." (paraphrasing). Oops! Just saw politics in Dilbert! It just gives me a small amount of pleasure to point this out. I know what that says about me.

[Jon]

I don't think it would even need to focus solely on man-woman relationships. I liked the comics most in which he just talks about how to interact with people, even if it's not man-woman/romantic.

[Chris]

What about PBF comics. They've become incredibly successful and have still remained very general.

Most of them can be viewed at http://pbfcomics.com/ , if anyone's curious.

[AC]

"Hate to be a typo Nazi, but I'm trying to help you out... Fewer typos make you look more smarter."

If you limit adverbs in your sentences, you will appear smarter too.

[Paul Mckenna]

I am drinking wine.

Paul

[Telanis]

I totally agree, Scott. Nothing is really as open-ended as people think it is.

[Ken]

Scott: two reasons why I disagree with your recommendation to focus on relationships:

1) The theme of Dilbert (which was retroactively discovered to be 'office from the workers point of view'), was prior to Dilbert a relatively un-examined source of humour. SO for a while, DIlbert had this niche all to himself. Relationships, on the other hand, are already done to death by a million comics, TV shows, sandup comedians... you get the idea. "Basic Instruction' wouldn't be THE comic about relationships, it would be ANOTHER comic about relationships. Cue the death march...

2) As other posters have pointed out, the random unpredictability of the strip and its subject matter is on of its strengths.

In conclusion, my qualifications for setting you straight on this issu? Well, you may be a multimillionaire cartoonist, but, um, well, I read... a lot of stuff, including comics. Yeah, that's it.

[mich]

I also like any that featured Scott's relationship with his friends. There are many sitcoms focusing on friendships, so perhaps many people can relate to that too.

[swathi]

I don't understand why there are two posts about Scott Meyer. Scott, are you in to some kinda marketing strategy or is this just some friendly advice to Scott Meyer?

[SD]

I like Basic Instructions, it definately has potential to be big. However, I think it was better in it's original format that in strip form. I understand that it makes better commercial sense to have it in strip form, but I definately prefer the orginal.

And I like the way each subject can be totally different and don't think I would prefer it to be just about men and women. Again, it probably makes more sense (I know less than nothing about syndication of comics and worldwide success with a comic, so I'm sure Scott's opionion bears a little more weight than mine!).

Ah well, different minds, different tastes.

[graeme]

I've just finished reading his entire archive (how's that for commitment), and I think his spouse and work themes give the comic a good identity, and allow other themes to have their place.

I definitely like the four panel comics more than the strip format however...they have a strong cumulative effect. Each individual panel is funny, but together they made me laugh out loud almost every time (something I only do occasionally for most comics). Would there be any way he could keep a similar format for Sunday comics? I showed the comic to my parents, and they also laughed quite a bit.

The strip format cartoons were still funny of course, but the whole in this case is more than the sum of the parts.

[JPatterson]

To refine my comment in the Part 2 post, I think Basic Instructions has a very Seinfeld-type charm to it. Like the show, it doesn't focus on one thing, just on being funny. As much as that may be against type, it was also wildly successful.

[Edash]

I like the fact that you ask for the opinion of people and then push your own opinion: a majority of readers said they would like to see Basic Instructions be a "general" comic. Nevertheless you explain that this probably won't work and that there are very few "general" comics.
I can agree that, as you are in the trade, you are no doubt more knowledgeable about the subject than most of your readers, but still...

[John Callender]

As I read through Basic Instructions in reverse chronological order, I noticed at a certain point that the strips were becoming funnier and funnier. I wasn't sure if that was because I was "getting" his sense of humor, or if it was because he's become less funny with the passage of time.

After careful analysis, I'm pretty sure it's the former. Which, obviously, bodes better for his future success.

I'm also not sure about this: I think I agree with those who've commented that the reformatted-to-be-syndication-friendly version seems less funny than the web-friendly, text-heavy format. But they're both still very funny, and I'm not sure which I'd prefer: a struggling-artist comic put out once a week by a guy who has to maintain a day job, or a daily strip in the papers that supports him doing it fulltime. Which will give me more amusement over the long haul?

It's all about me, you see.

[Stomper]

Or he can keep publishing online, without a syndicate, and still do whatever he wants. Just, with less money.

--Stomper

[Krissy]

Cathy: women - seriously? Is that how people really see women?

[Paul K]

While I can see your point, one of my favorite things about Basic Instructions is the variety itself. The fact that it's not been pigeon-holed makes it unique and refreshing.

I'm afraid that when he compromises his format, waters down his language, and narrows his target audience, the comic will lose a lot of what makes it unique.

However, that being said, I'm unable to fault him for wanting to make a living off what he enjoys, and doing what it takes to make it happen.

[Eric]

Typo heads up...

That’s enough to *gives* the strip an identity without seriously limiting the topics he can address.

Hate to be a typo Nazi, but I'm trying to help you out... Fewer typos make you look more smarter.

[Lisa]

Yes, he can print anything he wants. Example, Dogbert for President, complete with stilts and wig. Not exactly workplace humor. But we read it! All 863 billion of us!

[LA Clay]

My favorite Computer themed Dilbert was on a T-shirt

"you can never be to good looking or well equipped"

[Drew]

seems sensible enough: I have read through maybe the first 4 months worth of archives on his website (Slow days here at work... thank goodness) and more often than not he features his wife. I like that. I also like how he dogs on his coworkers/boss. It isn't mean spirited or jabbing, but it has that edge that makes it funny. In my mind, it already pretty much covers the "how-to's" of human relationships. Keep it up.

[Mike Peter Reed]

I'm sure Jack Trout, even David Ogilvy, would be proud.

[General Lethal]

I'm wondering what you think about the Perry Bible Fellowship. To me it's the funniest web comic, but I don't think it's been sold to many newspapers. Do you think it's because the subjects and styles are too varied?

[Gwen]

Well, I'm no expert - but the strips I showed my co-workers had nothing to do with relationships. I think mocking stupididty in general is funny enough to be its own category.

JMO

[squigs]

But what if it turns out people relate to something else?

I really like the (current) most recent - How to open a snack quietly. I can relate to that because I have a constant fear of upsetting other people. I also think it works because it is so incredibly mundane.

The relationship ones don't always work for me. Perhaps because I'm not in a relationship. He needs to see which ones people like and see if there's a pattern.

[Joe]

That's just it, though... it's already a relationship comic. You even said it yourself, if you think about it. Done. Don't change a thing.

[Cube Critter]

Once you have tenure you can write whatever you want, they can't get you. For Scott Meyer there must be some subject about which he has a nuanced point of view. Even better if he knows a lot about the subject. I would think he should devote 25% of his Strip to that. If i juust said the same thing Scott did i apologize but that was the first thing that came to me.

[obiDonWan]

In the past month or so, our local newspaper has moved Dilbert to what they call the "Business" page, which means it's not in the regular comics section. They did this after they dropped B.C. and that left them with a nice open strip across the top of the page where they could drop yet another ad.

[JShope]

In essence, you agree with your blog posters. Scott can pick a theme, like relationships, and go with that on your advice. But, if that's all the strip ever is, it will soon get old and worn out, like Family Circus.

Don't limit yourself unnecessarily.

[Steve]

[Pearls Before Swine: Stupidity]

Haha. I tried to think of a better description, but really couldn't. "Stupid Animals?" "talking animals?"

Hey, how about you ask Pastis and Conley to kick in their opinions? Sort of a "pay it forward" kinda thing. Or maybe more like a pyramid scheme.

Yes, I also agree with you (though really, who cares about my opinion on cartooning). A loose theme adds a lot of value. If nothing else, make the names of your characters a little more prominent.

Stephan King wrote a great intro to (I think) the second Far Side Gallery. It laid out 6ish general "types" of Far Side jokes and yes, I think 2 of them involved switching animal/human perspectives. But I don't really think that was a theme. If he had a one or two word theme, it would be "weirdness" though that seems woefully inadequate.

[jerry w.]

Two views for a Monday morning:

"Once he’s in 1,000 newspapers, he can do anything he wants."

Merv Griffin is in way over 1,000 newspapers this morning, and he can't do anything except lay there.

and,

"It’s much easier to sell a comic if you can describe what it’s about in a word or two."

Cathy: One psychotic woman.

http://boskolives.wordpress.com/

[Sean]

At one job I worked at I thought it would be great to pin up some of dogbert's tech support strips on my cube walls. I gave up before I found enough to make it worthwhile.

Those are almost always my favorites, and before said search I would have guessed you did at least two per month.

[mtty]

You have just written the textbook for "How to become a working cartoonist." You could sell it by direct mail. :-)