When I showed this one to Jenny, my girlfriend and de facto test audience, she laughed at my portrayal of a baby Nob mouse but she was also rather shocked at Frederick’s inclusion in this story. I was surprised by this but that’s probably because I, being the writer, already knew Frederick was going to make an appearance; so it never surprised me when he did.
The purpose of this particular episode is mostly to conclude the story by revealing a little more about Nob Mouse’s origins. As he says, what happened to turn Frederick into his current nutty self is another story; one that I may one day return to but which I have no plans to explain at the moment. I don’t think it’s important to know everything about a character’s past to appreciate the events of their present but I do think that a few little hints, as here, to their background are worthwhile, possible even a necessity, when rounding out the characters.
Next week’s Friday comic will be a return to the joke-a-day format. I’m going to leave the longer serials for the Monday strips for the time being, unless something really special comes to mind that I can do better in the three-panel format. Stay tuned and I’ll see you all next week!
