September 3rd comic: Inspiration or re-creation?

[Passing By]

Hi John,

I was just curious to know if your September 3rd comic was inspired by a Calvin & Hobbes comic, or if it was an independent re-creation?

You can see the strip I'm talking about here: lauri.vox.com/library/post/calvin-and-hobbes.html (Note that the strip has been slightly edited; if I remember correctly, the authentic strip has "poop" instead of s***).

Please note, I love the strip and this is not, in any way, a criticism or accusation. I love C&H as well, and was just wondering, since the first three panels are oh so very similar, in the text and composition wise.

Dan.

[John Prengaman]

Wow, I didn't realize the first three panels were that similar!

To answer your question, yes, that strip was definitely an inspiration. It wasn't the primary inspiration, though. I actually left my own sprinkler on a couple of weeks back. I didn't realize it was still running until my two dogs came charging through the dog door soaking wet with their feet covered in mud. Fortunately, my living room is tiled - unlike Scott's hallway.

I'm obviously a huge Calvin and Hobbes fan, and I certainly remembered that particular strip. But I honestly hadn't read it in a few years. I guess it stuck in my head more than I'd realized. The general concept was there, but I revised the first three panels several times before settling on this version. Maybe I should have re-read Bill Watterson's strip before basically ending up with the exact same thing.

That's rather embarassing!

[Passing by]

Sept 5, 2010 15:03:54 GMT -7 John Prengaman said:

That's rather embarassing!

Yes, it might be embarassing, but if it were me, I'd feel really great that I would be taking the same decisions as Watterson ;D. That's not a bad lead to follow!