Ducks in a Row
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December 16th, 2009

Ducks in a Row

It occurs to me upon re-reading that this strip would have been a lot funnier if all of the word balloons just said ‘quack quack quack’.

-karl

87 Abominable Comments!

  1. Cheyne

    Oh god. First laugh of the day. Thanks. :D

  2. Jim

    Must be pretty hard to take a deep breath in his current condition.

  3. Wellington Srbek

    Children!

  4. scotticus fergisus

    Haha brilliant! Loved the last panel :)

  5. Jonboy

    Woohoo! I was so hoping for them to follow him in row!!

  6. as363

    That “scent” wisp coming up from the water in the last panel – WOW ! And the leader of the ducklings comment – Priceless ! Thanks for the giggles Karl – best way to start the day .

  7. Daniel

    It was nice seing you ink the page yesterday on-line, thanks for sharing!

  8. Adam Casalino

    awesome. this is wonderful.

  9. i-hate-socks

    I love these ducks! They sound so familiar. I love how you bring our everyday experiences to the strip each week – things we can hook onto and bring us back to our own memories…not that I’ve ever ordered a yeti to take a bath before…

  10. noah

    dude, I missed the live inking!? You gots to send out a Facebook alert if you’re going to be doing awesome stuff like that.

  11. AnotherKarl

    Brilliant.

  12. karl

    I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to send a Facebook announcement for the live stream. I always just use Twitter for that stuff.
    What’s the best way to do that? Group message? Wall post?

  13. Meredith Newcom

    I love this comic so much! This is my favorite part of a Wednesday.

  14. RAWLS

    haha, that’s great man!

  15. ramón

    QUACK!

  16. Dokeck

    So cute <3

  17. arkady62

    Karl – do both or call it an event on facebook. I wasn’t on twitter today as I am heading home for a visit, but the email from facebook brought me here earlier than I had expected – YAY! Do what feels comfortable :P Cowboy up Charles lol

  18. CanEmma

    Wonderful wake-up smile. Thanks Karl!

  19. Twilite

    KARL!! More cute comicy goodness! MARCH!! =D

  20. Matt

    So sweeeeeet! I love these little ducklings!

  21. rhys

    hooray! excellent.

  22. John

    I’ve been reading your strip for a few months now and this is my favorite so far! Well done sir

  23. John K

    Oh that’s how he is gonna get clean.

  24. E=MC_horse

    Gonna pollute the lake, though. Wonderful how Charles would simply follow the orders of a gaggle of ducklings. He just marches off like a private on the drill field.

    It’s the innocence of Charles that is so appealing, I believe.

    Still, CC is gonna leave a considerable oil slick. ;-)

  25. Johnny

    Those are some responsible ducklings…Just awesome!

  26. noah

    “What’s the best way to do that? Group message? Wall post?”

    Group message alerts are the best bet for me. I don’t always get around to the ACC Facebook page, but I check my inbox religiously.

  27. Kar

    I love how he’s being bossed around by creatures basically the size of snack food.

  28. Razor

    LOL I can just imagine a bunch of fish bobbing to the surface in CC’s wake X_X

    Why do I get the feeling that these ducklings have received the same lecture from Mama Duck a time or two? XD

  29. thisfox

    Quack quack quack…. I like the “quack only” version as well as the original. Charles looks like he has some relation to water-mammals, perhaps he can hold his breath for rather a while.

    Several times now my “friends” have organised and held parties which I never even knew about (until a week afterward) by only telling people about the party on Facebook. Not everyone watches Facebook. Not everyone agrees with or enjoys Facebook. I’m not the only person to find it unnecessary. Don’t rely on Facebook alone…

  30. JOJOFACE

    quack quack quack QUACK quack

  31. Usivius

    agreed. Fab! Especially the last panel. Would not have made me laugh out loud if it had been a simple “Quack”
    (although, a “quack” from Ramon is pretty amusing…)
    ;)

  32. fakewolf

    This is such a great strip! Even though I think that an all-quack strip would have been amusing, I agree with Usivius that it would not have been laugh out loud funny to me.

    As always, beautiful, wonderful work!

  33. Adriano1977

    Hi Karl,
    you needn’t worry. It was more than enough fun :-)
    First smile of the day and it doesn’t wear off!

  34. il biggo

    Quack.

  35. Mark

    AHHHHHHHHHH!!! THIS COMIC IS SO CUTE ALL THE TIME IT KILLS ME!

  36. sagosen

    il biggo: Thanks for that one, now I don’t have to do it myself. :D

  37. Jared

    The duck in panel 5 made my day. :D

  38. ayanna

    lol@ razor

    “you smell like a rotting bog – but worse!” i am SO going to share that with the world.

  39. Addam

    No, it’s definitely funnier that you comment, after the fact, that you’d prefer it all in quacks.

  40. Ra

    LOL
    You’re right. The quack only version would have been funnier, especially the last quack. It really cracked me up on a mental run through lol. With the words, it’s cuter. I guess it would boil down to if you’re going for cute or funny.

    still a fan,

    Ra

  41. Ra

    @ Addam

    that is funny

  42. Ruby

    haha It’s perfect as it is! quack.

  43. adexis

    It would be funny if the word balloons all said “quack”; it’d seem like the ducklings intimidated Charles into the lake xD intimi-duck.

  44. Wracky

    Masterful … :D

  45. james

    Karl, i think the best way to use facebook would be to do what you do to let us know when a new comic is up.

    or make a status update or wallpost

  46. james

    oh, also, please tell me you made a recording of the live drawing! someone had to! please!

  47. Steneub

    I couldn’t resist
    http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/8998/20091216quack.jpg

  48. oak

    I looked through the panels and inserted quacks with my mind, with one big QUAAAAAK! in place of the “I know its cold” line… Yeah, would have been funnier. But the last panel’s bubble could be kept and changed a little to make sense on its own? Just a suggestion.

  49. E=MC_horse

    Much better when the animals talk. After all, what fun would it have been if all Townsend ever did was say “YIP”, or the Crisp-Crab only sat there and waved a claw?

  50. Mr. Zed

    I just read through the archive, this is fantastic! A shame it’s a Thursday now, I can’t wait for the next one.

  51. ketsuo

    aww poor Charles =)

  52. kin

    love this comic.. so… freaking…much

  53. sco3tt

    Karl, you must speak duck. All I see is quack quack quack.

  54. E=MC_horse

    Is it just me, or does CC’s mustache resemble Paul Teutul Senior’s?

  55. Argent Stonecutter

    You can probably find a google wave widget mashup that lets you post the same message to twitter and facebook, using all the buzzwords you can stand.

  56. Luis Escorial

    sooooo cute :).
    I hope you ustream some of your next strips again.

  57. Max

    Hahaaaa, brilliant punchline :D

  58. Ai

    That last panel is HILARIOUS. XD

    AND LOL@the idea of them just saying “quack.”

  59. Redgryphon

    But the ducklings are so tiny, they wouldn’t say ‘quack.’

    “Peep peep peep. Peep PEEP!” would be pretty amusing though.

  60. Salas

    Well, I just found this comic through Dominic Deegan and read all the previous comics to get caught up, and I have to say, this comic is AMAZING. The style is great, the plot keeps you gripped even through the filler and side-adventures, and Charles is one of the most unique characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about. This got moved to the top of my list.

    P.S. I’m not ashamed to admit I almost cried when Townsen… My girlfriend was bawling. Just a little bit of proof on how great this comic is.

  61. Maku

    This makes me think of ‘over the hedge’ only its more amusing.

    I cried about Townsen…he reminds me too much of my little pembroke corgi pup. I’ll definiately add this to my reading list and tell others about it.

  62. Lita

    like Salas I stumbled upon this comic whilt reading Dominic Deegan. It has now kept me busy for half a day at work.
    I love your art, its absolutly beautiful!
    I do with Townsen wouldn’t have had to die though :(

    //Lita

  63. kc

    This is my first trip here and your strip is hilarious! And I love your art – I’m looking forward to reading the archive and keeping up with the comic.

    By the way, Mookie sent me (http://www.dominic-deegan.com/news.php). ;-)

  64. Miramae

    So I just found this comic today and…wow. I haven’t experienced such a whirlwind journey of emotions from a comic in I don’t know when. Can’t wait to see more!

  65. CyberSkull

    Mookie sent me. If you wish to alleviate these capacity problems you seem to be having, try installing WP Super Cache.

  66. LS

    This is my first time here and I love it. Just read through the whole archive. -bookmarks page-

    Also, as with the above, Mookie from the Dominic Deegan webcomic sent me because he wants to siphon your talent for his own nefarious purposes…I mean, be your friend. :P (link: http://www.dominic-deegan.com/)

  67. karl

    Hi everyone, and welcome to all of you new readers!
    As you might have experienced, the Dominic Deegan link has flooded my inadequate host with traffic, so the site may be temporarily unavailable at times.
    I apologize for the inconvenience.
    See you tomorrow for the new update!

    -karl

  68. Taekwondodo

    Just started reading today (yes, from DD as well!). Wow. That’s all that I can say. When we “lost” Townsen must be the first time I have ever cried at a webcomic… Excuse me, I have something in my eye…

    *sniff*

  69. Kai-chan

    Mookie sent me over. 83. And I see I was the cause for all the delays, I’m so mad at me!! I just did the entire archives in one sitting and I’m must say I’m truly impressed. The simplisticity of the dialogue but complexiness of the images themselves is breathtaking. And I cried a little for Townsen but am happy you reunited his family.

    I’m interested by the Spirits we’ve seen so far. I can’t wait to see more of this develope.

    ~*KA*~

  70. Lingenfizzle

    Well, Mookie sent me on over, and I owe him a beer for doing so. Your comic is absolutely fantastic, sir. You may count me among the many who were heartbroken when Townsen died. I’m also very interested in the Spirits. I love the theatre scenes too, and the birds. Keep it coming, man.

  71. Gimarie

    Mookie sent me over from Dominic Deegan! I’m glad I listened (like I always do when he has a suggestion), this definitely brightened my day! Great artwork!

    Oh message from Mookie: He wants to siphon your talent for his own nefarious purposes…er…wait I meant, be your friend!

  72. Kyphis

    We are the followers of Mookie, and we are invading your site.

    Hear the Call!

    (Absolutely awesome comic ^_^)

  73. Peltrunner

    First of all, I love this comic series so far! Second, Mookie sent me XD

  74. Etai

    Sent by Mookie. A wonderful read, I look forward to seeing more of your unique world.

  75. bryan cain

    honestly the ducklings are sweet to teach him to take a bath though also realized they may be in the serious problem now. also so far you have stunned me a being that doesn’t talk yet has such depth to the story. and the art is fantastic.

  76. bryan cain

    oh and i’m also sent by mookie who i have to admit can help people find good ones like this!

  77. Tarnagh

    Another Mookie referral. When he’s right, he’s right. Your comic is truly amazing :) Sorry about almost breaking it … I read it from the beginning last night. Glad you’re getting more traffic though, in spite of the current technical difficulties. This comic is a definite must-read.

  78. Ally

    Also from DD. Usually when a page doesn’t load for me, I chalk it up to my poor internet connection at home and stop trying. It didn’t stop me from reading through the archives today! :)

    I really love this–it makes me remember various things from my childhood. One of the more touching stories I’ve read in quite a while, on the Internet or not.

  79. Cemalidor

    hi there, another redirected from Mookie with greetings. ^^
    Bookmarked your side because i just love your style. :D

  80. A.L.

    Let it be known….I actually had this website found and bookmarked before Mookie graced it with his prestige back on his website.Even so,all should cower in his powahz.

  81. Suri

    New reader from Mookie.

    I love it.

    Keep it up. :)

  82. ravath

    Best Regards from Mookie, altough a little bit late !
    (Don’t believe in those saying he wants siphon Your’s talent for his own nefarious purposes… he really wants to be your friend. :P)
    Very nice comic. Bookmarked & RSSed.

  83. Francis Alma

    Also a referral from Mookie ‘of Dominic Deegan fame’. I actually went through all the archives yesterday, also in one sitting. In no time I developed a soft spot for everyone in the strip, especially Charles.

    My kudos to you. Keep up the excellent work, and warm regards from the Caribbean. :)

  84. Torrencore

    Another of Mookies Fans. Though to be honest you have also gained another fan. Your comic rocks.

  85. Esn

    Hah! I love this one!

  86. il biggo

    Erm.
    No idea what a Mookie or a Dominic Deegan is.
    Will jump to that website and -if it’s any good- maybe I’ll leave a message stating that mookie fans sent me there from the prestigious Abominable Charles Christopher site.

  87. katiebird

    dear god ducks are the kyootest.

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