The syndicators would make some sweeping changes to this strip to make it more "widely marketable." By the time they'd finished simplifying the jokes and dropping the potentially controversial elements (Pitr's politically incorrect "Slavic" accent wouldn't have a chance of appearing in a regular newspaper, for example), you'd end up with a cutesy strip starring AJ and the Dust Puppy that would look somewhat like a bland combination of "Dilbert" and "Garfield." (Hmm. AJ = Arbuckle, Jon?)
Dust Puppy: What are you doing here, AJ? Don't you have a date tonight?
AJ: I almost did, but it fell through at the last minute.
Dust Puppy: What happened?
AJ: I found one for sale on an Internet auction site, but I was outbid at the last minute.
Dust Puppy: Wow, don't you just hate Mondays?
(Okay, maybe it wouldn't be as bad as that, but it sure wouldn't be good.) |
