You know, a lot of the things I write on this website are rather mean-spirited.  It's not something I really regret, to be honest.  It's my trade.  I make fun of people.  But not here.  This comic, as you'll see, is practically begging for some twentysomething Internet wiseass like me to chew it up and spit it out.  When I first happened across it, that's exactly what I planned to do.  I decided against it, and over the next few pages I'll attempt to explain to you why.

The protagonist of this comic is Rock, a veritable middle-aged Charlie Brown.  Here we see him featured in a "Distractions while flying" theme, one that ultimately lasted two installments.

There are a few things I'd like you to notice about this comic.  First, a considerable amount of time was spent creating this comic.  He likely drew this using an older version of MS Paint or something of the sort, as most of these comics appear to be drawn throughout the 90s.  Look at Rock's hair in particular.  He could have just drawn a hair-looking shape and paint-filled it, but he elected instead to draw each hair, one at a time.  He even took the time to draw a few tufts coming out the front of his hat.  There are things one could mock about this comic; the amount of dedication put toward it is not one of them. 

Second, this comic is certainly a niche comic.  It was written with the very specific audience of model-airplane enthusiasts in mind.  Since most of the jokes are hobby-centric, I, like many of you, have little hope of getting some of the jokes.  For example, the buddy's endless chit-chat in the background.  Regardless, this strip as a whole isn't any less relevant.  We all have a friend who just loves to talk, loves to hear themselves talk, and are under the illusion that you are hanging under their every next word.  They're true friends, and they're nice people, so you're never going to tell them to shut up.  You just pretend to listen, focus on the controls, and keep your eyes on your airplane.  Rock's sorrowful facial contortion absolutely makes the comic.

And I think this is noteworthy.  A lot of comedians or aspiring comedians, no matter what medium they work in, try to do too much.  They try to make their work as fantastically clever as they possibly can.  I do the same.  If I want to write about Barry Bonds and the video game Myst, I don't write about Barry Bonds one week and Myst the next.  I put together one giant ridiculous article that stretches the limits of what I've ever tried to do.  And sure, to that particular niche audience I catered to, it was great.  They liked it.  But I don't think anyone can give it a read and instantly find something that related to them, and whenever that's the case with something I write, I regret it.  By default, if you complicate things, you make them less accessible.  I think this comic has a good deal to teach us about this.  This is not to say that one shouldn't ever strive to make something spectacular.  Just don't ever forget the impressive effect of something simple and universally approachable.

Next