One of my back burner projects is The Komic, a graphic novel about the funniest comedian on the planet. I first thought about the idea while listening to a conversation between Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza in Seinfeld’s season five’s episode, The Stock Tip.
Jerry: I think Superman probably has a very good sense of humor.
George: I never heard him say anything really funny.
Jerry: But it’s common sense. He’s got super strength, super speed. I’m sure he’s got super humor.
George: You would think that, but either you’re born with a sense of humor, or you’re not. It’s not going to change even if you go from the red sun of Krypton all the way to the yellow sun of the Earth.
Jerry: Why? Why would that one area of his mind not be affected by the yellow sun of Earth?
George: I don’t know, but he ain’t funny.
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Superman may not have super humor, but The Komic does. The Komic is the funniest person on the planet, perhaps the funniest person in the universe. No one has a better sense of timing or a sense of the absurd or a better way with words than The Komic. Stand ups the world over study her segues, her turns of phrase, her jokes and her delivery technique, but none come close to making people laugh the way The Komic does. Nobody studies her punch lines, though, because anyone hearing one literally dies laughing.
She tries to control this awful power, tries to be dry and humorless, but sometimes she’s careless. Something as innocent as idle conversation in a checkout stand can result in a body count.
This is such a back burner project of mine that I’ve only drawn one sketch for it, but I do have some story outlines, including what all superheroes have: a compelling origin story.
That story and the one drawing tomorrow.