Idea that’s been done before

Every now and then I’ll sketch a cartoon idea and immediately think, “This must’ve been done before.” That happened with the above cartoon. The phrase “nothin' but treble” struck me as funny, but also as something that another cartoonist must’ve already used.

Before coloring this cartoon, I Googled “nothing but treble” and braced myself for the worst, fully expecting dozens of cartoons with this phrase. The search results included Cornell University’s all-female a cappella group (founded in 1976),  Oberlin College's all-female a cappella group founded in 1985 (copycats!), and Villanova University's all-female cappella group founded in 2005 (you're a little late to the party, Villanova).

To my surprise, I could only find one cartoon that used “Nothing but treble.” It’s by Dan Reynolds. I was kind of relieved to see that Dan used the line in a completely different way.  Sure, Dan’s cartoon may have a triple joke (“You’re nothing but treble,” “All you do is bring us down,” and the tag line, “The Staff Meeting”) but does it have a surly, cigar-smoking treble clef standing next to a jukebox? I don't think so. Seriously, I admire Dan’s work and his cartoon is great.

A bit of trivia about my cartoon: the treble clef walking out of the restroom is a know-it-all windbag who annoys everyone in the bar. His name is....Clef Clavin.

I think I hear you groaning. 

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