Broken Lines

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Broken Lines: An Illustrated Novel. —Page Title

Broken Lines is a hybrid of prose, spot illustration, and comic art by Tom Pappalardo. It is a comedy/non-adventure story about a cowboy, a spaceman, and a waitress travelling cross-country fighting evil in a stolen rental van. Pappalardo has been publishing the story a few chapters at a time in 8"x8" black & white comic book format since 2007, and online since 2010. Pappalardo is also the author of The Optimist, a weekly comic strip.

Tropes used in Broken Lines include:

• Amusing Injuries
• Beat Panel - An often-used device in the comic, as seen here,
• Bland-Name Product
• Character Overlap
• Comic Book Time - The timeline of events in the story are left intentionally vague.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Death Glare
• Double Entendre
• Eyes Always Shut - Cowboy is almost always scowling.
• Face Palm
• Four-Fingered Hands
• Homage - Scenes from several movies are referenced, quotes and reenacted throughout the story: Blade Runner, Magnificent Seven.
• Law of Disproportionate Response
• Lazy Artist - Artwork is often re-used with slight tweaks, for example, two panels on this page followed by this page. Or this series of pages: 1, 2, and 3
• Rubber Hose Limbs
• Self-Deprecation - The entirety of Chapter Seven.
• Series Hiatus - Broken Lines is published somewhat sporadically both in print and online.
• Strip Buffer - Pages currently being published online were originally published in print approximately three years earlier.
• Take That
• Unsound Effect - STRETCH, SIT!, and CENSURE!
• Unwanted Glasses Plot - Chapter Seven involves an unfortunate pair of eyewear.
• Vitriolic Best Buds - The cowboy and the spaceman are an ill-suited match for close-quarters travel.
• With Friends Like These...