As I was drawing this I was reminded of a book I read in elementary school. I don’t remember anything about it other than the protagonist wanted to be a stand-up comedian. I really wanted to be a comedian when I was a kid.

http://www.readinkbooks.com/shop_image/product/15901.jpg

I also wanted to play with the convention that in comics, like Garfield, the character talks to the reader through thought bubbles, meaning no one else in that reality can hear them.