I wrote three versions of this comic before deciding on this version. Bud’s expression and little dance in the final frame makes it for me. The other versions were essentially following the guitar from manufacturing to several owners then to Bud, but I didn’t like the fact that the bass was not new and always Bud’s, and the second one was a different time period with Bud and his bass with his Mom watching him play or practice or whatever. The latter was a bit too sentimental for me, so I went with this one, where the bass sits for a long time waiting for Bud to arrive and take it home. Thus the title of “Long and Winding Road” even though I freakin’ loath that damn song. Mainly because I lived through it being number one on the charts and hearing it like every 5 damn minutes (it was the Beatles’ last album as they broke up officially by the time this song hit the airwaves… even though it had been recorded in 1968… yeah, go figure)
A little randomness this week to have a little fun before we return to the recording studio to see if Bud survived the construction or not.
🙂
Oh, some trivia… the t-shirt Bud is wearing was my original idea for the shirt he’d wear all the time, but getting the BTO logo right each time proved to be a pain, so I went with the baseball shirt concept. Glad I did…
Sitting in a window for three years is certainly a long road anyway. 😉
Agreement on the shirt. There’s a constant balancing act between clothing the character interestingly, and easily. Classic looks (like the baseball shirt) often capture both.
I agree, about the Beatles tune. I liked just about everything they did but “Long and Winding Road” was kind of a downer.
I really like that song, though I admit I’d get sick of it getting played half a dozen times a day every day for weeks on end.
There are very few Beatles songs I don’t like — “Here Comes the Sun King” was insipid, but I’d have to go through my albums and look at the track lists to find any others that got on my nerves. Nothing else springs to mind, though I’m sure there are more out there.
I really like this strip! Well done! Reading this, I looked back to a time during my own teenage years… thanks for the reminder!
Hey Carey! I have to agree, I REALLY like this one. One, it’s done with no dialog at all, which I like doing as it allows the characters to “speak” for themselves with expressions and actions. Two, I love how the Mom is reluctant to go in but caves in to make her son happy. Of course, as a 16 year old, Bud is oblivious to anything but his own feelings, but that’s okay, as he’s just a kid.
Having the bass sit in that window for so long also brought some sympathy to the instrument itself, even though it’s inanimate.
This also gives us a brief look into Bud’s relationship in his family. You may or may not have noticed, but we’ve never seen Bud’s father and at this point I have not plans to introduce him. Dad’s and sons sometimes don’t hit it off and you’ll find out that’s true with Bud and his Dad.
Spoiler alert! Oops, too late… 😀