Rat Retrospective: Honorable Mentions
OK, I said I was going to go through my favorite 10 strips over the next ten days and I’ve already changed my mind. Let’s bust out two a day, so the last Rat Tangent posts next Wednesday. I’ve always been a stickler for not missing a post… why start now?
The mathematically inclined among you will notice that leaves an extra day, so I guess I can tell you about a few strips that almost made the cut. Believe me… I wanted to put about 20 strips here, but I’ve narrowed it to just three worth a tip of the hat…

Honorable Mention #1:
September 26th, 2007 – “Epiphany-esque”
My first “Sunday Format” six-panel strip deserves some notice. Though certainly not the best I did, I think it was artistically ambitious. Dalton cemented his role as the conscience of the strip and occasional ranter-in-residence. Â I cemented my role as a writer who sometimes cannot resist saying in 20 words what someone else could say in 5.
Honorable Mention #2:
October 10th, 2007 – “At Least It Wasn’t Prince Valiant”
Not my best artistically, but I loved how Dalton broke the 4th wall and examined his surroundings, as if really on the funny pages. I also started to realize that a good comic title could serve as a set-up/second punch line. This is also the only strip for which I wrote a second dialogue. Â It ended up on a Zazzle mug.
Honorable Mention #3:
October 24th, 2007 – “Alma Matters”
October of 2007 must have been a good month for me. Just two weeks later I referenced Cal the Fightin’ Calorimeter, who would become a regular character. Lab Rats had always intended to be science heavy. Â It didn’t quite happen as much as I thought (hence the new strip title, Rat TANGENT), but I hope the strip remained intelligent, even if it wasn’t always about science.
So which strips made my top ten? Â Tune in tomorrow for #9 and #10!

)your tangents...