Lynn Johnston on creating relatable characters

LYNN JOHNSTON: ...When you're doing a comic strip, people tend to assume the readers will instantly relate to their characters, but that's not true. It takes three years before Joe Blow the reader will say, "That character will always respond in this way." Over time people realized that Dagwood would always miss the bus. A new creator might do a strip about a farmer and his talking animal and have all kinds of gags about it, Meanwhile, the readers are saying, "Why does this animal talk? Is this guy married？ Why is this happening？" And they can't relate, because the cartoonist never gives the readers enough information, and for three years, every single day. you have to say, “Hi, my name is Jack and I have a talking moose." Every single day. And three years later, people are going to say, "Hey, did you read the strip about Jack and his talking moose?" People assume that because they know their characters intimately, their readers will. But the readers are skeptical. They want what they're used to.... To buck that attitude, you've got to be so appealing, so understandable, that the reader's going to say, "Well, that one's intriguing. I'll read it again tomorrow." And if they read it tomorrow, they have to find it equally intriguing. Often, new creators are so comfortable with their own stuff that they don't realize they have to spoon-feed the audience. It's one statement a day. In a sitcom, for example, you can have a full understanding of the characters in a half-hour, but in a comic strip, you've got to hook the reader a little bit, day by day. It's like fishing -ー you've got to use the right hook and the right bait, and you wait, wait, wait, wait.
TOM HEINTJES: And it's that patience that eventually leads to the readers' identification with the characters.
LYNN JOHNSTON: That's exactly right. And once your readers identify with your characters, you know they're going to look forward to seeing them every day, and that's the rewarding part -ー knowing that your characters are a part of your readers' lives, even if it's only fora few moments each day.