Style
The backgrounds were realistically drawn; the characters were originally cartoonish (Rick's nose was pure cartoon), but became more realistic over the years. There are surreal themes mixed in (such as the pun-laden names). The strip was originally a humor strip set in the present day West, but in 1969 the setting was changed to the year 1869. Strong elements of adventure, philosophy, morality and tragedy (such as Hipshot teetering on the brink of death following a gunfight) were then added to the storyline.
Breathtaking scenery is often shown in single panels in the Sunday strip, with an unusual slant. Hipshot is frequently referred to as an "outlaw," and in one strip he decided to regain his losses at poker by holding up the local bank. But sometimes in the Sunday strip he is shown alone, on horseback, in the Western background, speaking to his Maker, whom he addresses as "Boss." He does not attend church and prefers to recognize his God in a privately styled fashion.
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Famous quotes containing the word style:
“I might say that what amateurs call a style is usually only the unavoidable awkwardnesses in first trying to make something that has not heretofore been made.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)
“In comedy, the witty style wins out over every mishap of the plot.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“To translate, one must have a style of his own, for otherwise the translation will have no rhythm or nuance, which come from the process of artistically thinking through and molding the sentences; they cannot be reconstituted by piecemeal imitation. The problem of translation is to retreat to a simpler tenor of one’s own style and creatively adjust this to one’s author.”
—Paul Goodman (1911–1972)