This originally was going to be bear#2 with the punchline, before Vachel was replaced and Ted became the solo bear.
I also just love how kids can get so caught up in the moment like that. I mean, try tickling an adult and you can often reach the same place, but perhaps with them being less amused. :)
Out of interest, did bear #2 ever have a name? Conversely, when in the development of the strip did Ted acquire his name?
I just looked at the unused development strips. Apparently his name was “Stan.”
I’m not sure exactly when naming came in, but Ted was easy, I liked it because of it being like “Teddy Bear” (closing the loop, since teddy bears were named after Ted Roosevelt).
Blake was actually originally “Fido,” but that was too generic for my taste, so I named him after the poet William Blake.
Dee, I don’t recall, but that was also her name in her previous comic appearance in Shappard and May.
Vachel, I don’t recall exactly, but I think it took a lot of searching and thinking and looking through “baby name” books. I think mostly I liked the alliteration, although it probably amused me that it meant “small cow.”
See, this is the gestalt of the comic that I love to read. The creative process, how thins come about, etc.
I’ll do my best to start commenting more on that. :)
Six years and two months, and no one yet pointed out:
Carnivore –> Carnivorous, not Carniverous
I am going to follow you with “Doh!” all day, aren’t I. :)