A Halloween joke comic

Every lesson

1. 

   Lesson 1 · 0:54

   What makes it funny

   Your turn: Find a setup and a surprise, and save the surprise for last.

   Watch lesson 1 ▶

   What the film says

   1. 0:00

      Want to make someone laugh? You only need four boxes. That's a comic strip!

   2. 0:06

      Every joke has two parts. First, the setup. Then, the surprise.

   3. 0:12

      The setup makes you think one thing will happen. The surprise is something else!

   4. 0:18

      Meet Tuck. Tuck builds a giant tower. Then he adds one more block. It wobbles!

   5. 0:26

      You think the tower will fall. But no! The tower stays up, and Tuck falls down!

   6. 0:34

      The surprise always comes last. Put it first, and the joke is gone.

   7. 0:40

      Your turn. Think of something funny that happened to you. Find the surprise. Say the setup, wait, then say the surprise. Then press Next.

2. 

   Lesson 2 · 0:57

   Four boxes

   Your turn: Plan your joke in four boxes with quick stick figures.

   Watch lesson 2 ▶

   What the film says

   1. 0:00

      Grab a four-box sheet, or draw four boxes yourself. One, two, three, four.

   2. 0:07

      Box one sets it up. Box two makes it bigger. Box three is a pause. Box four is the surprise!

   3. 0:16

      Plan it fast, with stick figures. Draw one moment in each box.

   4. 0:22

      Box one: Tuck and his tall tower. Box two: one more block. It wobbles!

   5. 0:30

      Box three: Tuck freezes. Box four: the tower stays up, and Tuck falls down!

   6. 0:37

      Now check. Where is the surprise? It has to be in box four, at the very end.

   7. 0:44

      Your turn. Draw four boxes. Sketch one moment in each. Check that the surprise is in box four. Then press Next.

3. 

   Lesson 3 · 0:55

   Words in bubbles

   Your turn: Write the words first, then draw the bubble around them.

   Watch lesson 3 ▶

   What the film says

   1. 0:00

      Now let's make Tuck talk! Words go in speech bubbles.

   2. 0:05

      Keep the words short. Eight words or fewer in each bubble.

   3. 0:10

      This is too long. This is the tallest tower I have ever built in my whole life! Try this. My tallest tower ever!

   4. 0:20

      We read from left to right. So put the first words on the left, near the top.

   5. 0:26

      Write the words first. Then draw the bubble around them. Then add a tail that points to who is talking.

   6. 0:34

      Box four gets the funny line. Still standing! And box three? No words at all. You'll see why next.

   7. 0:42

      Your turn. Write each line in eight words or fewer. Words first, then the bubble, then the tail. Then press Next.

4. 

   Lesson 4 · 0:54

   The pause

   Your turn: Leave box three quiet, ink your lines, and test it on a reader.

   Watch lesson 4 ▶

   What the film says

   1. 0:00

      Box three is the pause. Nobody talks. Why?

   2. 0:05

      A pause makes the reader wait. And waiting makes the surprise bigger!

   3. 0:11

      Listen. One more block. It wobbles. Still standing!

   4. 0:19

      So take the words out of box three. Draw a face that waits, or looks up.

   5. 0:25

      Then make it dark. Go over your pencil lines with a black marker.

   6. 0:30

      Now test it! Hand it to someone. Don't explain anything. Watch their face.

   7. 0:36

      No laugh at box four? Find the box that didn't work, and fix it.

   8. 0:42

      Your turn. Take the words out of box three. Ink your lines. Test it on someone. You made a comic strip!