Comic for September 21st, 2016
09/21/2016
September 21st, 2016

Those of you more grammar nazish than myself will be able to tell me if the commas after those “that’s” are appropriate or not, but I wanted to emphasize the way it was said and that made the most sense to me.  Thoughts?


Discussion (16)¬

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  1. BrickVoid says:

    Well, ordinarily the comma is superfluous, but hey since it’s your webcomic, and you put them in there, it really makes sense when i read it! So I say ignore the grammar nazis and roll with it! 😀

  2. Mr. Speck says:

    Instead of the comma, I’d just bold the ‘that’ to indicate it’s being emphasized.

    Also, huh: from his wiki entry I was going to guess this guy *was* the mastermind, since I got the sense it was someone new (i.e., not the Sith or Kalybus).

  3. LordVargonius says:

    Last I checked, the final “rule” for comma use was, “and in any fashion that aid comprehension.” So, your call.

  4. maarvarq says:

    I presume that in both cases it is meant to signify “That” *slight pause, which seems fair enough.

  5. TeaAddict1 says:

    It’s technically incorrect, but it gets the point across and it is your comic. However, I did stumble over it on my first read through because of the punctuation. Personally, I’d go with Mr. Speck’s suggestion of changing the format of “That,” but I’d italicize it instead of making it bold. That’s personal preference, though. You could also write it in all caps.

    • CSBlakebrough says:

      To me all caps = shouting, so that changes the scene, he’s emphasising it not shouting it at them! 🙂

  6. Graham says:

    I’d use an ellipse…

    So, “That… is none of your concern.”

    And “thats” has no apostrophe.

    Well, you asked!

  7. Xander says:

    Ya know, I godda admit. I have a bituva fondness for ah, you know, screwing around with things text wise. I types how I speaks. Which is to say weird. And yanno what? It adds personality. So who cares about them grammar nazis and punctuation communists and whatever. Just types it how he sez it.

  8. Some Ron says:

    What about “That” followed by “…”? Maybe “That” can be emphasized by making it bold or italic, but I think the ellipsis is enough.
    The comma makes my inner grammar nazi cringe, even if this is not my mother tongue.

  9. gyffes says:

    I would have used italics or something like *That* is not your concern, but the latter might’ve looked as odd as the comma.

    The comma is, as others have noted, not correct, but it does serve to convey the em-phasis for which you were looking.

  10. CommanderBalok says:

    An ellipsis would also work, as “That… is not your concern.”

    • ladyblanc says:

      That…is probably the best suggestion so far. An ellipsis is correct, and easier to see in this format than bold or italics. The comma really does look weird for that particular use.

      • Xaran Alamas says:

        For me it would give it an entirely different emphasis, or specifically length of pause. To me the comma adds a slight pause whereas … adds a much more substantial pause which doesn’t flow as well. Same with bold or italics. They all (to me) give an entirely different tone to just the comma.

  11. Marcus OTerra says:

    As a BA in English I say it works. That, (with the comma) refers to the whole clause (who our employer is/ to whom are we employed) It’s been compacted.

    Plus, in a script “That,” would be read with the pause for emphasis.

  12. WJS says:

    Honestly, this may be one of the fishiest things to happen in the comic to date (and yes, that’s saying a lot). The Alliance hiring bounty hunters themselves? Not a big deal. The Alliance acting as a middleman like this? Very big deal.