Perspective Matters: Even In Comic Strips, Who Tells The Story Wins
Comic strips follow much of the same storytelling rules as other stories; there is some sort of conflict, be it between siblings, friends, co-workers, or one person and everyone around them. In the strips, the resolution usually happens in just a couple of panels, and usually with humor. However, who comes out on top with that humor depends on who is telling the story. In farm animal comic strips, the resolution of conflicts takes on some stark differences when the strip focuses on the animals versus the humans.
Focusing on the Humans
If the main characters of the strip are the humans, such as the farmer and nearby townsfolk, the strip will likely focus on bewilderment with the animals' behavior, problems with weather, financial issues, and family issues with the animals as part of the scenery. This can be humorous in the sense that readers understand most of the problems, and audiences can envision times in their lives when they went through similar issues. In the end, though, the humans are the smarter ones, and the animals may be smart, neutral, or even incomprehensible.
Focusing on the Animals
Strips that have the farm animals as the main characters can be a lot of fun as these animals are often used as stand-ins to make fun of human issues without outright insulting human readers. It is more of a wink-wink thing where readers can figure out in their heads who the strip's author might really be talking about. Anthropomorphizing animals allows for more creativity and humorous comparisons. Plus, if there is a major point the author wants to get across that humans do not already seem to get, using animals often makes that final connection.
Focusing on Both
Some comics focus on both humans and animals, switching perspectives. These let the artist comment on both sides of the farm story without fully limiting one or the other to the "weird other" that human-centric and animal-centric strips can sometimes do. The strip can also show the core emotional relationship between the farmer and the farm animals and how much care or resentment there is on either side.
Funny comic strips are meant mainly for entertainment, but that does not mean they do not have a certain perspective about life. Using farm animals as part of that storytelling lets readers think more about how humans may be perceived, both by things around them and themselves.
