An Honorable Duel!

Date: March 04, 2005

Label: Deleted

Chapter: More One Shot Wonders

Characters: Ariana, Rob, Sporkman, The Spammer

As noted previously with the "Oedipus" strip, I was drawing these comics both during and immediately after my Theater 101 class at ASU West. I had that class in the morning, then had lunch and drew comics during the two hour break that followed. I scheduled my classes like that on purpose, mind you. I LOVED that giant break, as just loitering on campus there was incredibly relaxing. It was an awesome work environment.

In any event, this is relevant because I ended up drawing four strips I simply named "Hamlet" on paper, due to Theater 101 inspiration. This strip is actually the SECOND comic I drew, because the first comic... well, the first comic didn't work. "Hamlet 1" is, indeed, a deleted strip I'm incapable of restoring, because it has no script. Here, I'll show you:

That's the raw scan of Hamlet 1, also known in some of my files as "The Soliloquist." At the time I drew the comic - and I distinctly recall where and when this happened - I had some loose idea for a speech Sporkman could give, but nothing solid. I decided I'd just figure something out later. This was a REALLY STUPID PLAN. I penciled and inked the comic and yet words never came.

Actually, that's not entirely true. Blue penciled over the panels (which is how I scripted ALL my Sporkman comics back then) is a snippet for Panel 1 - "Oh, what cruel fate brings me to," and complete dialog for Panel 4 - Amanda: "Who's Sporkman talking to?" Ariana: "NO ONE. We saw HAMLET last night and now he won't shut up."

You know how some writers will say to start with the ending and work backwards? THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK. Anyway, as I said, I can't remaster the comic without words, so there it is. Raw and wordless. Granted, I could just make something up now, in 2013, but that'd break my vow of historical accuracy.

Remastered on July 30th, 2013

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About The Comic

Classic Sporkman is a comic by Jodie Troutman, beginning in 2004 as a throwaway reboot of the titular character she created in high school. It's extremely silly, frequently stupid, and the comic's creator absolutely loves it. She hopes you do too. For more comics by Jodie, visit longtalljodie.com!