Yeah, and there would have been a bunch of punchlines throughout.
Storytelling of any kind is about setups and payoffs. The comic has two actual, decent setups and zero payoffs. In fact all of the praise for the comic comes from people (including you) who explicitly said what made them laugh was what they "imagined*.
It’s the creator’s job to actually provide a good payoff at the end. Yes, threads can be left hanging. Yes, things can be left to the imagination. But in this case specifically both of those strategies are abused to the point that the only way this comic is even passable is if readers are extremely charitable and provide their own ending.
I think you are wrong is all I can realistically come up with.
You don’t need a punchline and an author has no duty. I would also argue plenty of stuff from Monty Python (and we are referencing ancient classical stuff by the way) have no punchline and make the lack of a punchline part of the comical experience.
Just look at this thing, there’s a stern father reprimending Charlie saying “IT IS WONDERFUL AND YOU ARE GOING”. Granpa on the brick of death is staring into the void filled with the dream of visiting the turnip factory!
Here’s a joke for you: A man is ROWING down a RIVER. He gets to the waterfall, and when the goes over the edge he yells “RADIO!!!”
So did I just disrespect you and waste your time, or do I get a pass because it’s so random and it subverts your expectations of how a joke could be structured?
Being weird, or quirky, or SuBveRtInG eXpEcTatiONs doesn’t give anybody a pass for their creations not working on a basic level.
![Charlie and the Marvelous Turnip Factory [Hark A Vagrant]](https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/9cf0b760-23a0-482d-9a95-61454edd1ff9.png){kind=link}
Yeah, and there would have been a bunch of punchlines throughout.
Storytelling of any kind is about setups and payoffs. The comic has two actual, decent setups and zero payoffs. In fact all of the praise for the comic comes from people (including you) who explicitly said what made them laugh was what they "imagined*.
It’s the creator’s job to actually provide a good payoff at the end. Yes, threads can be left hanging. Yes, things can be left to the imagination. But in this case specifically both of those strategies are abused to the point that the only way this comic is even passable is if readers are extremely charitable and provide their own ending.
I think you are wrong is all I can realistically come up with.
You don’t need a punchline and an author has no duty. I would also argue plenty of stuff from Monty Python (and we are referencing ancient classical stuff by the way) have no punchline and make the lack of a punchline part of the comical experience.
Just look at this thing, there’s a stern father reprimending Charlie saying “IT IS WONDERFUL AND YOU ARE GOING”. Granpa on the brick of death is staring into the void filled with the dream of visiting the turnip factory!
You must laugh GODDAMNIT!
Here’s a joke for you: A man is ROWING down a RIVER. He gets to the waterfall, and when the goes over the edge he yells “RADIO!!!”
So did I just disrespect you and waste your time, or do I get a pass because it’s so random and it subverts your expectations of how a joke could be structured?
Being weird, or quirky, or SuBveRtInG eXpEcTatiONs doesn’t give anybody a pass for their creations not working on a basic level.