Etz Chaim He - Inside Jokes

Webcomics don't need to follow rules.

They are often created by one person and don't need to answer to editors, publishers or money-type-people. They can be made by just you, and can be made for an audience of just a couple friends or relatives…or just for yourself!

They need not aim for mainstream appeal - in fact, one of the cool things about them is their ability to be so unique and unusual.

For my part, the original idea for my comic Typical Strange (which still occasionally updates, I swear!), with its video store setting, was to reference movies all the time, both classics and more obscure ones, and be fully understandable by only the people who knew the same movies I do.

As the series has turned out, those references have only showed up once in awhile. And I usually set them up so most readers will know what's being referenced.

I don't do inside jokes, though. Well, not for friends and relatives from outside life. Most of them don't even know I do a comic.

Way back in the day, I wrote a screenplay and several rewrites featured a handful of inside jokes between friends and I - all of which were cut out before shooting. They didn't play, weren't funny, and just wasted time in the story.

I think inside jokes COULD work if done with skill, in the right kind of work. They could play as just idiosyncrasies of the characters, or amusing non sequitirs, Or humor that lets other readers IN to the inside joke.

The one group that I do like to share inside jokes with are my regular readers. Throwing in a reference to previous pages in my comic, or to characters or creators of other comics in the community is a lot of fun!

Do you sneak inside jokes into your comics for your friends or your dedicated readers?

Etz Chaim He, Dude, as the ex used to say…

Have a good one!

-Banes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZviNlneTPQc