Why Some Punchlines Don’t Land

Comic Lab · Jul 9, 2026 · 1h 8m

Dave Kellett returns from his first-ever college reunion with a full heart — and a renewed appreciation for old friends, running jokes, and the occasional listener washing dishes through the cold open. From there, Brad and Dave dig into one of the trickiest parts of writing comics: how much work should the reader have to do to “get” the punchline?

Using Brad’s motorcycle-jump-over-a-ravine metaphor, they discuss why wider joke “canyons” can create bigger laughs, why shorter jumps can feel merely “technically funny,” and why the best cartoonists learn how to build strong launching ramps while…