The newspaper I read, the East Valley Tribune, has a section called the Vent on the editorial page. You can call or email the vent and leave a short anonymous opinion about anything you want, and every day they print about fifteen of them. When people get to be anonymous, they get pretty brutal. Depending on the day, the Vent will make you laugh, cry, or want to evacuate the Earth and start over in a Mars Biosphere when you find out what people are really thinking.
For the last several days there has been a discussion about F Minus. It was sparked by a letter to the editor (an actual letter) praising F Minus. This is unheard of, because typically people don't express their opinion when they like something. The editorial page is mostly "I hate ____".
The very same day, a Vent comment was printed right beside the letter with the opposite opinion. It said that F Minus was the worst cartoon on the page, and didn't make sense 90% of the time.
As I've mentioned before, it's a pretty bold statement to say a comic strip doesn't make sense. If you get the joke but don't think it's funny, that's one thing. But to say it doesn't make sense assumes the problem lies with the cartoon rather than you. There is always a chance that the jokes are going over your head because you are "comically short". This has nothing to do with actual height, as we see in this comment response a few days later:
"Are you kidding? F Minus is one of the funniest cartoons! I am only 9 and I get it."
The debate continues today, both for and against F Minus, and I'm loving every minute of it. But the point I wanted to make is regarding one of the comments printed today:
"...F minus is more likely to be the grade point average of the cartoonist who draws it."
Since F Minus first started in my college paper back in January of 2003, I've been getting hate mail. Mostly good mail, but still lots of hate mail. The number one, most common hater comment is F Minus is an appropriate title, or this comic gets an F Minus, or the cartoonist deserves an F Minus, or some version of that. I am so tired of hearing the same old obvious insult. It is not original! It is not clever! Please haters, please come up with a new way to criticize my comic!
In a side note, my favorite comment in the paper so far: "Chuck Norris always gets F Minus. Always."
Vent comments: (480)898-8606 and vent.evtrib.com
6 comments:
well, even the negative comments will definitely cause some newbies to give you a shot.
for what it's worth, you're winning over my workplace.
and I'm realizing that it's your strips that contain either angry or surprised eyebrows that are the most well received.
Probably worth doing some market research on it at least.
Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer.
F Minus is bar none the best comic out there, and I get excited to read it everyday. Those haters are dumb holes. You should do a comic about them and see if they get it. Haha.
Well, Tony, the problem as I see it is that in order to 'get' F-, you have to 'have' a smidgen of intelligence. Just a smidgen.
And hate mail is fun mostly in the sense that it is usually written by authors with an abysmal grasp of the English language, usually good for hours of derisive laughter amongst friends. I say, tell 'em to Bring it On!
BTW, as far as not 'getting' comics, allow me, if you will to list a few comics that I have yet to 'get': 'The Lockhorns.' 'Diesel Sweeties'. 'Momma'. I don't 'get' the very fact of the existence of those comics to begin with. If I find myself lacking, in that train-wreck rubbernecker kind of way, the self-control to NOT LOOK AT THEM-DON'T EVEN GLANCE..and mistakenly read the damn things, well I am then stuck with the thoughts WHY?? WHY WHY WHY?? in my head for the rest of the day.
So, you know, thanks for being there for me, man.
I'm very confused by that last anonymous comment.
I never thought I'd enjoy a comic as much as I did The Far Side. I was wrong. F minus is consistently hilarious.
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