Pictures for Sad Children was a webcomic created by John Campbell in 2007. The comic, first focusing on the adventures of Paul, "who is a ghost," later branched out to introduce other characters, such as Gary, whom Paul was forced to train at a call center after Paul initially lost his job because he was dead. Gary then became the main character and other characters were introduced including Gary's cousin Sara, her husband Afsheen, and their daughter Maddy. The Gary storyline was abandoned after strip 226 and the comic transitioned to stand-alone strips. Pictures for Sad Children also was a finalist in the 2008 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards (WCCA) as an Outstanding Newcomer. The style of humor in Pictures for Sad Children was mostly dark. The strip was largely story-driven, with most comics lacking a punchline—and, when a punchline was present, it was not usually a joke in the strictest sense, instead relying on absurd elements and improbable situations. Each comic also had alt-text.. …