I’ve come across a couple of really cool posts about Cock and Bull on other blogs/webcomic sites recently. They both comment, among other things, on the foul language in my strip and discuss how swearing is treated in webcomics in general.
Please go read what two very talented cartoonists have written at The Drunken Fools by Antoine Gagnon and at Tall Tale Features, written by Scott Metzger of MetzgerCartoons.com.
The really interesting, and if I may say so, satisfying thing about both of these posts, is that they GET what I’m trying to do. The characters of Cock and Bull aren’t swearing for the sake of swearing, they’re talking like a lot of friends talk to each other while hanging out.
I usually try to describe the strip as a sort of reality show. These to characters are like a couple of buddies hanging out on a street corner, talking about all the shit that goes on around them, observing, and making fun of their surroundings and its inhabitants. What I do, is point a “camera” at them, giving them a venue to express themselves.
This also, then, addresses the concern some may have with the strip in that the characters are pretty static and that we’re not seeing what goes on around them. But that’s a topic for another post.
Something very astute was pointed out in the Tall Tales thread, which is that I can sort of get away with this because the characters talked like this from the very first strip on. It wasn’t like they’d been puttering around on a fluffy cloud for a year, talking about sunshine and happines and then suddenly started yapping like a couple of sailors. It was a part of the feature from the get-go.
A little bit of personal background might be in order at this point: I grew up in a religious family, in a religious area (sort of the Norwegian equivalent of the Bible Belt). Swearing was very much frowned upon. I never swore, at the risk of ending up in hell. True Story. I still can’t bring myself to swear in Norwegian because it’s so ingrained in me. Somehow, English is a little bit different (perhaps because it’s my second language and I can detach myself from my guilt that way…). I don’t know. I also don’t swear a lot in English, though, because the threat of hellfire and damnation has a way of keeping you in line.
For years now, I’ve created comic strip concepts, one after the other, doing OK, but not great. They’ve all been printed and have brought in some money, but I’ve held back, not used bad words and I haven’t entered into any commentary that might come across as offensive or controversial.
When I came up with the concept for Cock and Bull around New Year’s, the characters just started talking to me. And they used foul language and they talked about abortion, sex, race and all sorts off no-no’s. I wasn’t trying to create a strip actually, it just sort of happened.
I couldn’t use the strip in Norway because it wouldn’t translate well. I couldn’t send it to syndicates because, well.. you know why. The only thing I could think to do with it was to put it online.
I thought the language of the strip would be mild in comparison to what’s out there and I was surprised when it got the little bit of attention it did. Some people will clearly not enjoy it and the great thing about the Internet is that they don’t have to navigate to the site. And I’m totally fine with that! Others have shown that they appreciate the strip and the language for being “real” and that makes me happy.
I was ready to have to defend myself, but instead others have done that for me! Both Scott and Antoine are saying exactly the things I was prepared to voice if there were complaints about the language.
Finally, I can’t tell you how nervous I was about showing the strip to friend and family and even to my wife because of the content. They’re not used to this side of me… But honestly, having these two characters speaking for me has been incredibly liberating. It has allowed me to vent in a non-violent manner… I hope it’s not coming across as gratuitous, because it honestly isn’t meant that way.
Thanks to Scott and Antoine and to all those commenting in their threads and thanks so much to everyone for reading the strip!
Now, go read the archives!
I love comics in general – still read the paper every day and start out my day with breakfast and the comics pages of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I really like this comic as well – I’ve ordered a print already, and I’ve only done that once before. The swearing isn’t an issue with me since it seems to fit. I think language shouldn’t be a point of contention in a webcomic. If it offends you, just move on. Noone’s feelings will be hurt.
I enjoy your strip and others as an adult, however, I choose carefully what I share publicly. I have 5 children. So – I tend not to RT/post stuff that exceeds a PG13 content. I will say I seriously LOL’d when Cock was trying to stop swearing. DID forward that one to my older kids & hubby! (btw, hubby is Danish/Norwegian – i’m 1/2 korean – my kids refer to themselves as Scandanasians or Norse Koreans. Thought you might grin at that. Eldest son is aspiring artist – check out ReanimationComic.com if you feel like it)
Thanks for the feedback, guys! Yofia, I’m completely with you about resending ad RTing. I know that the strip isn’t for everyone and it should be spread with caution. I don’t personally promote it in places that children and young teens frequent, as far as I can manage.
Scandanasians and Norse Koreans — those are fantastic words! Very clever!
And your son is well on his way. Keep encouraging him and he’ll have a lot of fun with his art!
New to the response group, but I have to say, this strip is now the first thing I read in the morning, and usually I end up grabbing the laptop up to the bedroom to wake up my wife. The really funny part is, when SHE reads it, she doesn’t get mad for waking her up before the alarm goes off.
Keep up the great work!
-Alex
Wow, that is one serious compliment, man! I appreciate that very much – that’s why I do this stuff, right there. And thank your wife from me, too. She must have good taste in men AND comics!
Hey Arnie!
Love the strip! Great characters!
I completely agree with your philosophy regarding swearing. It just seems more natural. I’ve been “working blue” in my webcomic Chippy and Loopus, myself. It’s not that I’m going out of my way to swear, in fact, a few of the characters in my strip don’t swear at all. It’s just that that is how they talk in my head. The only person who has ever complained is my Dad, who says my use of language is “gratuitous and unnecessary”. Heh! What are you going to do?
Anyway, your strip is awesome!
-John
pls could anyone send it me to my mail http://www.ogejoel@gmail.com plsssszzzz i mean the cock and bull
Along with fixing up the site, I’m working on setting up and email delivery system for the strip. So check back soon. There’s also the RSS at http://cocknbull.net/feed that you can use.
See, I know a kindred spirit when I read a comic about a cock and a bull that’s made by one! I can’t swear in Norwegian either!
Ok, so I can’t ANYTHING in Norwegian but still . . .
Keep doing what you do how you do it, cause you do it well.