"Barnaby The Scrivener"

Issue#16: "Barnaby The Scrivener"

Bancroft attempts to motivate his friend Barnaby but his cause and faith in humanity is about to be tested...  

Notes and References:

The title and story are a reference to "Bartleby, The Scrivener" written by Herman Melville in 1853. It tells the story of Bartleby, A weary and strange Scrivener who declines all actions and friendships with his stock response of "I would prefer not to" until it eventually leads to starvation and imprisonment. Upon hearing of his ultimate fate and gaining a unique insight to Bartleby's worldview, The Narrator painfully cries out "Ah, Bartleby! Ah, Humanity!"

The plot of the novel mirrors our Barnaby's own lack of drive or desire as well as the frustration of his friend Bancroft.

This is the third appearance of Bancroft and his first title appearance.

The issue also plays with the fact that several readers have accidentally called the strip Bartleby and Loaker.