If you’re a regular reader of “Tina’s Groove” then you’re the perfect person to go to for questions about character. What I want to ask is, do you think Tina is too perfect? By “perfect” I mean flawless — lacking the types of imperfections that make characters, even cartoon ones, “human”. I’ve thought about this a lot and sometimes think that Tina’s imperfections, if she has any, are of the kind that are quirky, and therefore endearing. This is good for a cartoon character. I believe the main character of a comic strip should be one that’s likable. But does that mean the main character should be flawless? It’s the weaknesses, or fixations, that make characters interesting.
The other characters of the strip all have fixations that make them imperfect. Rob, the manager of Pepper’s Restaurant, is a misfit neat/control freak who hasn’t yet realized that it’s now cool to be a geek. Carlos is a sack of testosterone who must prove himself to be the manliest at any cost. Suzanne is a spoiled 30 something flake who has so many weaknesses she’s created a personality out of being less than perfect. And then there’s Monica. If you read the strip then I don’t have to waste my words on Monica.
Tina stands apart. One good reason for this is that Tina is what’s known in the comedy world as the “Straight Man”. She’s the only sane character in a world of insanity. In the strip she represents logic, the voice of reason, while every one else is crazy. This is where most of the humor comes from. But my question is this — can a “Straight Man” have flaws? If I were to give Tina a fundamental weakness (I’ve done this before during longer story lines, but only temporarily) would it make her an interesting, more relatable character? Do you think that she may already have a weakness, and I’m just not seeing it? Tell me what you think — I’d be interested to know your thoughts on this. I think your feedback may help me see things about my main character “Tina” that I’m much to close to discover on my own. Tell me what you think!
Well, you have Tina displaying one right now: She can’t say no, at least to a friend (or “friend”). Gets her into frustrating situations. Being “too perfect” can be an imperfection, you can make her insufferable about it, or you can manage this into a story situation in which Tina snaps and shows her teeth.
I do remember, when I was (told I was) in a position to help decide the comics lineup for the newspaper I worked for at the time, I argued for “Tina” to fill the editor’s desire for a female-demographic strip because Tina as a character coped and survived with humor instead of whining. Turned out the editor had already had his mind made up for him, so I was talking into the wind … but anyway, it would be interesting for the other characters to hear what Tina, who has heretofore kept her own counsel for the most part, thinks about her lot in life.
She’s also not the greatest judge of character when dating, either.
I see Tina with a pretty big flaw although it’s not as zany and as highly visible like the other character’s quirks. She seems to be the first to bend in most situations. Not that she isn’t strong but she’s very generous with the crazies/craziness around her…always giving the mental patients extra time outside on the lawn. Of course this extra rope always leads to awkward or disastrous situations which make for very funny comics! Good intentions that backfire are always funny…then it becomes who’s the crazy person here?
It’s always interesting to step back and try and see a character with fresh eyes. I think a character’s “voice” can become so automatic after awhile, that you don’t see how they have adapted and changed over time. Not sure if that’s your reason for this post but I just went through a “State of the Union” thing and was kind of surprised by what it opened up. Some character traits had developed into something very funny and others I felt had veered off course. I had to stop and write down what each of these characters were really about or fill in the gaps that had developed.
Thanks for these posts Rina! You always do a great job with these “cartoon mechanics” topics…be fun to hear what stuff you’ve been working on.
Don, Lee, and Jonathan make very good points. Personally, I like Tina as she is, “the only sane character in a world of insanity,,, she represents logic, the voice of reason, while everyone else is crazy.” She does have flaws — she lets herself be put upon, and she’s a poor judge of men to date. But she shows some backbone in today’s strip when she tells Suzanne, “Call me” after Suzanne points out that she can ignore Rob’s calls via caller ID.
Tina’s interactions with the goons she dates give me the creeps, but otherwise I love her as is. If I were a comic strip character myself, and single, I’d try to date her myself, and treat her right and appreciate her.
Rina, this is irrelevant to your question,m but since you’re on the line — as we in the United States celebrate our Independence Day today, I forgot to wish you Happy Canada Day on July 1. I hope you had a good celebration.
Thanks, Bill — and a happy belated July 4th to you!
Walt Kelly had Pogo.
The Muppets has Kermit. (“ME not crazy? I hired the OTHERS!!”)
Pepper’s has Tina. I think she works fine. You need that eye in the hurricane.
I think Tina is great the way she is , she balances out the other kooks .
Thanks so much for the input, guys! All good points, and some that I suspected but could not be sure of without an outside perspective (I really am too close to the character at times!).
And Jonathan, yes, it is sort of a “State of the Union” kind of thing. It could lead to a whole new layer of fodder for strip ideas, which is always a good thing.
And yes, as Don put it, perfection is itself an imperfection. Although I’ve played around with this idea in the past, maybe I haven’t fully mined it.
Thanks again to all of you for sharing your thoughts on this!
Rina, I think Tina is the sorta’ sane one needed to keep the others in line. She’s also needed for the gag “pay-offs”. I also see she’s weakest when dealing with personal matters. I believe you have created her personality to a perfect pitch for the needs of the strip. I like it when you do show her few weaknesses…it adds a more human touch to her personality.
Have to agree with most of the above, Tina’s good as a “straight girl”, putting up with all the offbeat people she deals with, maybe almost too patient, some people really are like that. There are people who can be like that, we think they’re being good listeners if they just say “Okay,” when we blather on and on; it’s probably common in the restaurant trade.
Also, Tina’s taste in men is all over the map, again, she is rather accommodating and thus draws some quirky dudes (my favorite was the one deep into corduroy). Tina strikes me as a rather low-key person, her personality has been coming out over the course of the strip, she’s doing fine.
The non-smile attitude sometimes makes Tina look like she’s in a depressive state. She smiles in the promo drawings but not in the strip. But why wouldn’t she smile at the party, greeting the occupiers, thanking for the Tupperware, the furniture delivery? It’s a curious lack of affect at the moments she does seem to be happy.
That’s interesting about the smiling. I should write a post about it!
But check out “Funky Winkerbean” where the characters smile constantly and can’t stop smiling!
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