What's in a Name?

That's what I'm asking myself. See, people are starting to wonder about "our hero". Mostly they're asking "what's his friggin name."

I've said it before and I'll say it again, tune in to the fifth to last strip and you'll find out.

So the real question is, "what do we call this guy."

I'm pretty partial to "the dude" myself. It came to me by the way of a gentleman (I need to go into my e-mail to find his name because I cant bloody remember peoples names on my own) who wanted to use "the dude" in a cameo on a strip he was intending on publishing down the road.

And I LIKE "the dude." It's very...western. "The Man with No Name" meets the retro hippy culture of College. (Cues up "the good the bad and the ugly in his playlist." And it has the "Big Lobowski" referance to it as well. Since I'm an absolute SUCKER for Coen brothers flicks, that's a very good thing in my book.

But you know what, I'm NOT going to say "call him 'THE DUDE'". There's something about comics that I adore...well there are a LOT of things about comics that I adore, but what I LOVE is the need for the reader to "fill in the blanks".

There is MUCH in comics that requires the reader to process, interperate, and dig into. It's a shared experience, and to some part, while I like haveing complete control over the cannon, I also want to participate. Yes, I love being able to whip out a "NIGGA' what you smokin" and pimpslap some stupid idea down in favor of my own, much dumber idea. But I ALSO love that those who READ the strip contribute to it. They may not be dictating the overall story, but they add little details that make it grow, change, and seem more fleshed out. Moreso then I can do on my own.

So call him "the dude", call him "duke", call him "clint", "Boss", "Frodo", "Zipperneck", "Skippy", call him whatever you like. And eventually something will stick.

It's just a name, and the real fun won't begin till it all comes to an end anyway.

Cheers

-Jason