If I recall correctly, not all papers would give Sunday comics their full space, so Watterson had to write his Sunday comics in such a way that the first two panels could be removed and the comic would still make sense. This was just one of the many ways that he got sick of getting screwed over by newspaper syndicates, and led to his retirement. That said, it also shows what a genius he is, because while the first two panels add to the strip, they aren’t essential, and the rest of the strip is still funny without them. If newspaper comics had a Mount Rushmore, Watterson would be on it.
If I recall correctly, not all papers would give Sunday comics their full space, so Watterson had to write his Sunday comics in such a way that the first two panels could be removed and the comic would still make sense. This was just one of the many ways that he got sick of getting screwed over by newspaper syndicates, and led to his retirement. That said, it also shows what a genius he is, because while the first two panels add to the strip, they aren’t essential, and the rest of the strip is still funny without them. If newspaper comics had a Mount Rushmore, Watterson would be on it.
You recall correctly! The first two panels are called the throwaway panels or throwaway joke.