Origins
Pibgorn slowly evolved over the years after McEldowney had begun 9 Chickweed Lane, wherein Edda would occasionally have flights of fancy where she appeared as a prototype Pibgorn on rare occasions. He finally started adapting the idea into a proposed spin-off entitled The Titans, which was rejected by syndicate editors, in 2000. These proposed strips and accompanying sketches were presented on the Pibgorn website in 2005 during one of McEldowney's hiatuses from the strip.
Titans would have been a gag-a-day format strip, in which Pibgorn (named Oola Inch here), disenchanted with her expected role as a fairy, usually would break away from her regular routine to wax philosophical. Unfortunately, Oola was also one of life's losers, her dialogues often resulting in misfortune, such as having a magic 8-ball roll over her, or nearly being eaten by whatever animal she's conversing with (a spider, a duckling, etc.). The strips also showed a darker side to her character, as in addition to managing dewdrops, her responsibilities include serving as the "voices-in-my-head" of disgruntled government employees, driving one to attempted homicide on at least one occasion.
The final set of proposal strips showed Oola running afoul of Prince Crewth and Gaggot, here named Prince Grabstein and Rhune, when she petitions to leave "dewdrop brigade" and become a stand-up comedian. Unable to tell if she's laughing with him or at him, Grabstein outlaws laughter altogether and sets Luciano after Oola, only for the fly to fall in love with her. These situations were later recycled as part of the early Pibgorn story arcs.
Read more about this topic: Pibgorn (webcomic)
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