One in Half a Million

This Sunday's Bizarro (April 3, 2011) is a desert island gag, one of the oldest cliche situations in a cartoonist's bag of tricks. A Google image search for desert island cartoon returns over 500,000 results.

Other reliable devices include a patient on a psychiatrist's couch, a visit from the Grim Reaper, a person on a doctor's examination table, and in/out boxes on an office desk.

We've all used them, and will surely continue to do so. Nickelodeon Magazine (1993-2009) used to run a desert island gag in nearly every issue. I know I did one for them, but I can't find it. Maybe the bottle containing it will wash ashore someday.

My concept sketch was very simple, and the idea could have been conveyed with nothing more than stick figures.

We tried several different lines before settling on the Facebook dialog. Earlier versions had a stunned/sad guy reacting as the woman said:

I've met someone else,

We should see other people, or

I need my space.

I like the final version, which adds a comment on technology-based communication replacing actual conversation, an idea we've touched on before.

Dan's commentary on the same strip can be seen at his blog.

Dan did a beautiful job of exploiting the extra space available in a Sunday page, placing the tiny island in an expanse of sea and sky. His waves are hypnotic, and I'll bet that drawing them was mind-clearing and therapeutic.

I don't know how the characters keep their phones charged. Perhaps the batteries run on the magic of comic-strip absurdity.

We have several more joint ventures in the pipeline over the next month, and beyond. Stay tuned, and enjoy our previous efforts here.