Last Panel Syndrome

This is in no way a negative criticism. No, it is simply an observation. In almost every case, the strip has a problem in the last panel that prevents any given strip from being truly funny. With the one notable exception of the exploding kitten eyeballs, the strip falls down or stumbles in the last panel. Hey, falling down can be funny, you say. True enough, but the pratfalls should be intentional. Anyway, usually the last panel can be easily fixed, so that the strip is really funny. Take the June 24 daily, for example. The moralizing is so heavy-handed, that the humor lands with a thud. How to fix it? As they say in screenwriting, hang a lantern on the defect to make it into an asset. In this particular case, one tiny change could have saved the strip.

The anvil drops! Problem solved.