Check Off Chekhov's Gun

Whenever people tell me that they have read my Pretty Vacant comic, I sometimes ask, “Who autographed the baseball?” The answer usually informs me if they actually read the story or are just being polite, but the baseball also serves another purpose.

Diane tells Gigi that she carries around her lucky baseball all the time on page four. When Diane is captured by The Still Life Corporation, her purse is left behind. What pops out of her purse? The baseball -- the same baseball that Diane mentioned on page four is used by Gigi as a projectile weapon on page eighteen! If you’re going to have a baseball in your story, please throw the ball.

Likewise, if you have to put a gun in your story, please fire the gun! Anton Chekhov was the first to discuss this technique, but it has been utilized by storytellers as early as Scheherazade in Arabian Nights. The Chekhov’s Gun principle is simple: do not include any unnecessary elements in a story. It’s especially true in a comic book format, where there are usually a set number of pages.

And if you’re astute and follow this blog closely, you’ll notice Gigi carries a gun on the cover of my next Pretty Vacant story. I just hope she uses it!