so, there's an old convention on this here site, wherein stripcreators make comics that impart their personal formulas for success. here's the oldest one, as far as i can tell:

The true formula for Lowpass comic success! by Lordfly 1-08-01

*Random topic* *non-witty response* *Violent and insepid cursing* *Off color insult* *Pointless statement and/or "punchline"* *Sexually malignant phrase*

how about you? here's mine:

the SoCratic method by habnem 11-03-01

[introduction: the statement that will be debated] [witty renunciation of that statement] [violent reaction to that renunciation, possibly with an ethnic slur; almost definitely implying homosexuality] [threat of serious physical harm to the genitalia] [non-sequitur, probably involving "ALL YOUR BASE" in some way] Wirthling sucks!

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- christ@myself.com - fuck a cat, kill yourself - my alter ego has five stars

Its uncanny.

All my comics are like that.

With the exception of all those that arent.

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"Life Sucks, Then you Die. The bit inbetween isnt very funny either"

What the hell, I've only posted this strip 74 times. But except the lack of Wirthling suckage, my formula is very close to those other two.

How I eat a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup by israphael 8-31-01

Exposition to set situation for comic strip. Observation based on expositional information. Question regarding last utterance. Cliched or politically incorrect assertion. Exclamation of suprise or disgust. Non sequitar in lieu of actual punchline.

Do old strips age like fine wine or dirty socks?

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"Nothing expresses the brutal grandeur of rectal polyps and anal fistulae quite like the mother-tongue of Goethe."

Lowpass... I keep seeing references to lowpass. Could someone enlighten me?

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...Trot and Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and care. Button-Bright never worried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars.

Well, I can't say that all of my strips fall into this format, but the majority of the ones in the Incredible Bulk series do seem to follow a pattern:

The Making of "The Incredible Bulk" by fuzzyman 11-04-01

[exposition to establish setting situation or prod response from second character] [further exposition, intruducing new element to the storyline] [unexpected response] [leading question or a statement guaranteed to elicit a response] [punchline] [CORNHOLE!!!]

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...Trot and Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and care. Button-Bright never worried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars.

The stripcreator was originally hosted at Lowpass.net, which no longer exists in any form that resembles it's humourous past.

As for the original topic of this thread, I don't think I've posted these enough:

Making a Lowpass Strip In Three Easy Steps by BigEvilDan 1-08-01

Step 1 - Add two completely unrelated characters. I'm a hideous freak! I'm Jesus! Step 2 - Use at least two of the following words: sex, gay, ass, shit, bastard. Gay. Ass. Bastard. Sex. Step 3 - Make sure the last panel has nothing to do with the previous two. I like chicken.

More tips on creating a Lowpass comic by BigEvilDan 1-08-01

Tip 1 - Grammar, spelling and capital letters are your enemy. Avoid them at all costs. hello yuo hot ladie ph3ar my l33t skills! Tip 2 - If a male and female character are in the same panel, they should have sex. lets have hot sex okay Tip 3 - The sex thing applies for just about any two characters. Crap!

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"Oh, look, a joke! How original! Thank you, but if I wanted my emotions stimulated pleasurably, I'd get a whore." - Donald B. Jones III

Strip Creator started off as a little hobby thing on a site called Low Pass Industries, run by Brad (though he went by the name "Johnny" at the time) and a friend. He had a falling out with that friend, and Low Pass died in the arse (as we say here in Oz) but Brad decided that the strip creator was worth keeping, and got it its own domain name and host.

Now you know the whole story.

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This signature has performed an illegal operation and has been shut down.

How to make a Kramer_vs_Kramer strip by kramer_vs_kramer 11-04-01

Help! I'm stuck down a hole and no doubt amusing hijinks will ensue! I am a small Chinese girl. If Kramer is low on bandwidth, myself and my friend will indulge in a scurrilous diatribe. [obscure musical reference] KER-TRANS-FORM! Decepticons! That's right! In the absense of any proper joke, I will appear, and demand alcohol. Easy, huh?

I'm pretty sure I don't remember any alcoholism in Transformers.

You obviously weren't paying close enough attention.

Anyone want me to post my whole Transformers series to the forum? They're not that easy to find in my list because of the stupid names.

Sure, I'd like to see 'em.

Didn't those energon cubes have a high alcohol content?

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...Trot and Cap'n Bill were free from anxiety and care. Button-Bright never worried about anything. The Scarecrow, not being able to sleep, looked out of the window and tried to count the stars.

Well you didn't think those transformations were real did you? The characters were simply hallucinating.

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"You'll burn for this. Burn in jail!"

User Formulas: Lemur by lemur68 11-04-01

(topical news item) (thoughtful observation) (choose one: set-up of punchline in dialogue, or dialogue-free pause for comic timing) (punchline consisting of comic twist on observation)

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"America loves its kings, from George III to Larry." --HJS