Hi, I'm Ronald. I'm 15 and I live in Washington State, the rainy side. In the spring I sent my name in to the pen-pal list in Speed Lines, which is a photocopied newsletter for young cartoonists that my art teacher gets, and three people wrote back: Natalie, Clayton and Steven. All four of us are 14 to 16 and all four of us draw every single day, mostly when we're supposed to be doing something else.
At first we just e-mailed about pens. Then in June Clayton said, what if we drew a comic strip together, one panel each, but nobody's allowed to see anybody else's panel? So we did. It was a disaster. It was the best disaster ever. We've done one every week since July.
None of us has a scanner yet (Steven can use his dad's at work sometimes, but only after five o'clock, and only "if it's quick"), so for now every jam is typed up here panel by panel, with whoever drew it on top of their panel. You'll have to picture the drawings. Honestly, you might be picturing them better than I drew mine.
If you want to see a strip where one person plans every panel, so it actually makes sense, go read The Comic Strip Page. It's Danny's strip Cubicle & Cat, about a claims adjuster and his cat Ferdinand, and he describes it panel by panel too, until he can afford a scanner. I've read every strip on there. His timing is amazing. Ours is the opposite. The crash is the joke.
The Rules · The Jams · Hall of Fame · Characters Nobody Planned · The Artists
THE RULES
1. Every week a different person starts. We go Ronald, Natalie, Clayton, Steven, and around again.
2. The starter draws Panel 1 any way they want. Anything.
3. Then they e-mail the next person ONE LINE about the very last moment of their panel. Just the last moment. Not the joke, not the story, not who anybody is. Fifteen words, tops.
4. The next person draws Panel 2 from that one line, and e-mails one line to the next person, and so on.
5. Nobody sees anybody's drawing until Panel 4 is done. Then everybody types up their own panel and sends it to me, and I put it all together and e-mail it to everybody at once. Reading it the first time is the best part of the whole week.
6. Whoever draws Panel 4 names the strip.
7. You can't argue with a handoff. If it says whale, there's a whale.
8. Everything has to be ours. No characters from real comics or cartoons, no tracing, no copying. (We can bring back our OWN characters, which turned out to be a big deal. See Characters Nobody Planned.)
THE JAMS
Read left to right. Panel descriptions are in italics, the words in the balloons are next to the names. Under every strip are the handoffs, so you can see exactly where it went off the rails.
JAM #1: THE GRAVY SEA
Started by Ronald · finished Sat., July 3 · title by Steven
1 · RONALD
A throne room. Sir Russell, a knight, kneels in front of a very short king.
KING: Bring me the Golden Spork, and half the kingdom is yours.
SIR RUSSELL: Which half?
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2 · NATALIE
Sir Russell bursts through the doors into a school cafeteria. Everybody stares. A traffic cone in the corner.
KID: Is that the new gym teacher?
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3 · CLAYTON
The lunch line. Mrs. McGinnis leans over the counter with a giant ladle.
MRS. McGINNIS: Sporks are at the end, sweetie. Gravy or no gravy?
SIR RUSSELL: ...Gravy.
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4 · STEVEN
An ocean of brown gravy. A whale comes up out of it with a spork stuck on his head.
WHALE: Finally. Somebody said gravy.
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The handoffs: Ronald to Natalie: "A knight running full speed out through a big door." / Natalie to Clayton: "A knight standing in a lunch line holding a tray." / Clayton to Steven: "A huge ladle of gravy pouring like a waterfall."
Our very first one. We all agreed afterward that it should be against the rules to be this lucky on the first try.
JAM #2: SIR RUSSELL RETURNS
Started by Natalie · finished Sat., July 10 · title by Ronald
1 · NATALIE
A science fair. A girl stands next to her papier-mache volcano. The judge has a clipboard. Traffic cone by the exit.
JUDGE: And what does it do?
GIRL: Watch.
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2 · CLAYTON
A Texas barbecue. A mountain made of ketchup is erupting all over the picnic tables.
COWBOY: Somebody squeezed the mountain again.
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3 · STEVEN
An art museum. A cowboy is wiping red paint off his face with his hat. A guard runs over.
GUARD: Sir! You can't touch the paintings!
COWBOY: It touched me first.
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4 · RONALD
A castle hallway. The guard is chasing Sir Russell, who is running with his visor down.
SIR RUSSELL: I SAID I was looking for the restroom!
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The handoffs: Natalie to Clayton: "Something red erupting out of a mountain, everybody ducking." / Clayton to Steven: "A cowboy wiping red stuff off his face with his hat." / Steven to Ronald: "A security guard chasing somebody down a long hallway."
Ronald got a hallway, and you can't give Ronald a hallway, because he will put a knight in it.
JAM #3: JEROME LEARNS TO FLY
Started by Clayton · finished Sat., July 17 · title by Natalie
1 · CLAYTON
Two armadillos waiting at a stoplight on an empty highway.
ARMADILLO 1: Green means go.
ARMADILLO 2: Green means go FAST.
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2 · STEVEN
A bowling alley. Two bowling balls are rolling down one lane. The bowler is confused.
BOWLER: I only threw one.
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3 · RONALD
An airplane. Out the window, a bowling pin is spinning past.
WIFE: Look, honey, a bird.
HUSBAND: That is not a bird.
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4 · NATALIE
Outside the plane window: the whale from Jam #1, flying, with the bowling pin in his mouth. A traffic cone sits on the wing.
WHALE: Don't look at me. I don't know how I got up here either.
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The handoffs: Clayton to Steven: "Two round things rolling fast down a hill." / Steven to Ronald: "A bowling pin flying through the air, spinning." / Ronald to Natalie: "A man pointing out of an airplane window, shocked."
This is the one where Natalie named the whale Jerome. She says he looked like a Jerome. Nobody argued.
JAM #4: MRS. MCGINNIS SEES EVERYONE EVENTUALLY
Started by Steven · finished Sat., July 24 · title by Clayton
1 · STEVEN
Math class. A substitute, Ms. Horton, at the chalkboard. A kid in the back row is falling asleep.
MS. HORTON: Can anyone tell me what x equals?
KID: Zzzz.
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2 · RONALD
The kid's dream: Sir Russell taps him on the shoulder with a sword.
SIR RUSSELL: Arise, Sir Naps-a-Lot.
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3 · NATALIE
A magic show. A magician taps a man on the shoulder with a wand, and he's a rabbit now. Traffic cone by the stage.
MAGICIAN: Ta-da!
RABBIT: Put it back.
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4 · CLAYTON
The lunch line. The rabbit holds up a tray. Mrs. McGinnis holds up the ladle.
MRS. McGINNIS: Gravy or no gravy?
RABBIT: No gravy. NEVER gravy.
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The handoffs: Steven to Ronald: "A kid asleep with his face on his desk, dreaming." / Ronald to Natalie: "A sword touching somebody's shoulder." / Natalie to Clayton: "A rabbit hopping away really fast."
Clayton swears he didn't plan to bring back Mrs. McGinnis. Nobody believes Clayton.
JAM #5: THE FORECAST
Started by Ronald · finished Sat., July 31 · title by Steven
1 · RONALD
A bus stop in the rain. A kid's umbrella turns inside out.
KID: Just once I'd like to see the sun in July.
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2 · NATALIE
A cat floats down out of the clouds holding the umbrella like a parachute, into a maple tree. Traffic cone on the ground below.
CAT: I meant to do that.
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3 · CLAYTON
A fire truck ladder going up the tree. At the top it isn't a cat. It's the TV weather lady, Tiffany Wynne, with a microphone.
TIFFANY WYNNE: And from up here, folks, I can see... more rain.
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4 · STEVEN
The surface of the moon. An astronaut holds a microphone and waves.
ASTRONAUT: Clear skies up here. Back to you, Tiffany.
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The handoffs: Ronald to Natalie: "An umbrella flying up into the clouds." / Natalie to Clayton: "A cat stuck at the very top of a tree." / Clayton to Steven: "A TV reporter holding a microphone, way up high."
I started this one because it rained all week where I live, in July, which should be against the law. Steven ended it on the moon. That's Steven.
JAM #6: SIR RUSSELL GOES SWIMMING
Started by Natalie · finished Sat., Aug. 7 · title by Ronald
1 · NATALIE
A sugar house in the woods. A girl pours syrup on a stack of pancakes taller than her dad. Traffic cone out the window.
GIRL: Say when.
DAD: ...
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2 · CLAYTON
Shop class. A boy in a cowboy hat is stuck in a giant puddle of glue.
SHOP TEACHER: I said a DAB of glue.
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3 · STEVEN
A space station. An astronaut's magnetic boots are stuck flat to the floor.
ASTRONAUT: Okay. Who turned the boots up to ten?
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4 · RONALD
A swimming pool. Sir Russell floats upside down in full armor. A lifeguard blows a whistle.
LIFEGUARD: Sir, armor is NOT a swimsuit.
SIR RUSSELL: It's chain mail. It's very breathable.
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The handoffs: Natalie to Clayton: "Something sticky pouring and pouring and it won't stop." / Clayton to Steven: "A man stuck to the floor, only his feet showing." / Steven to Ronald: "Somebody in a big suit floating upside down."
Ronald is very proud of the chain mail joke. Natalie says he planned it for three weeks. He did not. (He did, a little.)
JAM #7: JEROME ORDERS IN
Started by Clayton · finished Sat., Aug. 14 · title by Natalie
1 · CLAYTON
A rodeo. A cowboy rides a bucking bull while the crowd cheers.
ANNOUNCER: Eight seconds!
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2 · STEVEN
A football game. The cowboy, flying through the air, catches a pass in the end zone.
REFEREE: ...Touchdown?
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3 · RONALD
A rainy street. A pizza delivery guy dives and catches a pizza box thrown out of a window, and lands in a puddle.
PIZZA GUY: Still hot.
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4 · NATALIE
The puddle is an ocean. Jerome is eating the pizza out of the box. The traffic cone floats by.
JEROME: Extra anchovies. You remembered.
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The handoffs: Clayton to Steven: "A cowboy flying through the air with his arms out." / Steven to Ronald: "Somebody catching something and landing hard." / Ronald to Natalie: "A pizza box sitting in a really big puddle."
The one with the most cheering when we all read it. Jerome is the most popular character on this page and he has said a total of four lines.
JAM #8: TUESDAY
Started by Steven · finished Sat., Aug. 21 · title by Clayton
1 · STEVEN
A garage at night. A boy works on a robot made of a trash can. Lightning outside.
BOY: One more wire and he's alive!
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2 · RONALD
A nest. A baby owl hatches and looks up at its mother.
BABY OWL: Who?
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3 · NATALIE
A little bird sits on a traffic cone, looking up at a huge billboard: BIRD SEED SALE.
BIRD: Finally. Somebody gets me.
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4 · CLAYTON
A hamster stares up at a giant cafeteria menu board: TODAY: MYSTERY LOAF. Mrs. McGinnis behind the counter.
HAMSTER: What's the mystery?
MRS. McGINNIS: It's Tuesday.
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The handoffs: Steven to Ronald: "Something's eyes opening for the very first time." / Ronald to Natalie: "A little bird looking up, confused." / Natalie to Clayton: "A huge sign, and a small animal staring at it."
The worst crash of the summer. Four completely different strips that happen to touch at the corners. We love it anyway.
JAM #9: EVERYBODY COMES BACK
Started by Ronald · finished Sat., Aug. 28 · title by Steven
1 · RONALD
A kid at his computer at 3 a.m. The screen says 1 NEW MESSAGE.
KID: Who would e-mail me at three in the morning?
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2 · NATALIE
A pirate ship. A pirate girl opens a treasure chest and golden light shines on her face. A traffic cone up in the crow's nest.
PIRATE GIRL: Arrr. It's... coupons.
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3 · CLAYTON
A long government office. A pirate holds a paper number. A clerk calls out.
CLERK: Now serving number four thousand.
PIRATE: I'm four thousand and one.
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4 · STEVEN
The line goes on forever and ends at the cafeteria. Mrs. McGinnis, Sir Russell and Jerome are all at the front.
MRS. McGINNIS: Gravy or no gravy?
EVERYBODY: GRAVY!
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The handoffs: Ronald to Natalie: "A bright light coming out of a box, lighting up somebody's face." / Natalie to Clayton: "A pirate looking disappointed, holding pieces of paper." / Clayton to Steven: "A long, long line of people waiting."
Steven got a long line and decided everybody we ever drew was in it. He had never drawn Sir Russell before. His Sir Russell has a mustache now. It's canon.
JAM #10: ICE KNIGHT
Started by Natalie · finished Sat., Sept. 4 · title by Ronald
1 · NATALIE
A frozen pond. A girl on skates goes into a spin. Traffic cone at the edge of the ice.
GIRL: Watch this triple!
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2 · CLAYTON
A cotton field. A dust devil spins through and takes a farmer's hat.
FARMER: Hey! Bring that back!
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3 · STEVEN
A snowy yard. The hat lands on a snowman.
SNOWMAN: Finally, some respect.
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4 · RONALD
A fancy party. An ice sculpture of Sir Russell is melting on the table. The real Sir Russell watches.
BUTLER: Sir, your statue is leaving.
SIR RUSSELL: He was always the brave one.
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The handoffs: Natalie to Clayton: "Somebody spinning so fast they're just a blur." / Clayton to Steven: "A hat floating away on the wind." / Steven to Ronald: "A snowman with a big smile, starting to melt."
It was 95 degrees at Clayton's on the day he drew the dust devil. He says he drew it to cool off. That's not how it works, Clayton.
JAM #11: GYM CLASS
Started by Clayton · finished Sat., Sept. 11 · title by Natalie
1 · CLAYTON
A station wagon on a flat highway. A kid in the back seat.
KID: Are we there yet?
DAD: We're not even out of Texas.
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2 · STEVEN
A toy race car on a living room carpet. A cat crouches behind the couch.
CAT: (thinking) Mine.
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3 · RONALD
A village. A giant paw comes down out of the sky. Sir Russell holds up his shield.
SIR RUSSELL: Not today, kitty.
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4 · NATALIE
Gym class. Sir Russell blocks a volleyball with his shield. Ms. Horton blows a whistle. The traffic cone holds up the net.
MS. HORTON: That is not how volleyball works.
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The handoffs: Clayton to Steven: "A car getting tiny, far away on a flat road." / Steven to Ronald: "A giant paw coming down from the sky." / Ronald to Natalie: "A knight holding up a shield and bracing."
Ms. Horton came back, and nobody was more surprised than Steven, who invented her in Jam #4 and forgot.
JAM #12: THE CONE SPEAKS
Started by Steven · finished Sat., Sept. 18 · title by Clayton
1 · STEVEN
Four kids at four computers in four different houses: rain, cows, cactus, snow globe on the desk.
ALL FOUR: SEND!
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2 · RONALD
A carrier pigeon with an envelope flies over a mountain covered in snow.
PIGEON: Four states. One pigeon. No raise.
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3 · NATALIE
The pigeon lands on the traffic cone, which talks for the first time.
CONE: I've been in every one of Natalie's panels since July.
PIGEON: Who's Natalie?
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4 · CLAYTON
A TV studio. Tiffany Wynne interviews the traffic cone.
TIFFANY WYNNE: So how does it feel to finally talk?
CONE: Honestly? Orange.
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The handoffs: Steven to Ronald: "An envelope with wings flying across the sky." / Ronald to Natalie: "A pigeon, very tired, landing on something." / Natalie to Clayton: "A traffic cone talking. Yes, talking."
Twelve weeks, twelve jams. Natalie finally let the Cone talk, and Clayton gave it the last word. Best ending we've had.
THE JAM HALL OF FAME
We voted by e-mail. Everybody got one vote per category and you couldn't vote for your own panel. (Steven tried.)
| Best Jam | #1, The Gravy Sea. It was the first one and it still works every time. |
| Best Ending | #12, The Cone Speaks, by Clayton. "Honestly? Orange." |
| Best Handoff | Clayton's "A huge ladle of gravy pouring like a waterfall," from Jam #1. Steven read "waterfall" and went straight to the ocean. |
| Best Single Panel | Ronald's Sir Russell floating upside down in the pool, Jam #6. (I didn't vote. That's the rule. I'm just reporting.) |
| Wildest Swerve | #8, Tuesday. A robot, an owl, a billboard and a hamster. It shouldn't work. It doesn't. We love it. |
| Most Moon | Steven, for Jam #5. He is the only one of us who has ever gone to the moon, and all he got was a line about a microphone way up high. |
CHARACTERS NOBODY PLANNED
Nobody was supposed to have recurring characters. You can't plan anything in a jam. But you can't stop people from bringing stuff back, either, so now we have a cast. Here they are, with who started them and every jam they've been in.
Sir Russell
a knight | Mine, from Panel 1 of Jam #1. Brave, polite, bad at directions. Keeps ending up places knights shouldn't be. Jams 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10 and 11. Has had a mustache since Steven drew him in Jam #9. |
Mrs. McGinnis
lunch lady | Clayton's, from Jam #1. Has a ladle. Asks everybody the same question. Jams 1, 4, 8 and 9. She is not based on Clayton's real lunch lady, who is very nice and reads this page. Hi! |
Jerome
a whale | Steven's, from Jam #1, named by Natalie in Jam #3. Turns up in any panel that has enough liquid in it, and one that didn't. Jams 1, 3, 7 and 9. Never the same size twice. |
The Cone
a traffic cone | Natalie's. She drew it in the background of her first panel because there was a road, and then she couldn't stop. It's somewhere in every single panel she has drawn: all twelve jams. It said its first words in Jam #12. |
Ms. Horton
substitute teacher | Steven's, from Jam #4. Substitutes for every class, including gym. Jams 4 and 11. |
Tiffany Wynne
TV weather lady | Clayton's, from Jam #5. Will report from anywhere: a tree, a TV studio, the moon (by satellite). Jams 5 and 12. |
Jam #13 is going right now. I started it Sunday, and it's at Natalie's. I know what my panel is. I have no idea what happens next. That's the whole point.
Want to start your own jam? Steal our rules! (That's the one thing on this page you're allowed to copy.) E-mail me and tell me how yours goes:
[email protected]
You are reader number
   
since July 1999. Last updated Sunday, September 19, 1999.
All strips and characters on this page belong to the four of us. Please ask before you borrow Jerome.
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