When I first made this strip, the first draft had made-up names for the sandwich. Just, random dumb-sounding words I made up trying to sound like the types of things I remember being embarrassed to say outloud last time I was in Schlotzsky’s. Then, just for kicks (and help spelling their name, because, damn), I went to the real Schlotzsky’s website, and found that I was WAY off, their names were MUCH sillier than I even thought possible, so I worked some of those words in.

Then, having completed the strip, I re-read it, and the guy at the counter in the last panel saying “what?” struck me as being much different than I originally intended. When I first wrote it, I just thought he was confused by Bob asking for the coke. Like, this clerk was so used to hearing whatever the weird name for a Schlotzsky’s drink was, that hearing the term “coke” was just confusing to him, he didn’t even know what that meant. But when I went back a read it, my mind interpreted the “what” to have a very angry tone, like he just had to make Bob say it outloud. It was like when you talk to a large, gruff, overly-testosteroned man and you don’t call him “sir,” so he repeats the last thing you said adding the word “what” on the end.

To me it was much funnier that way, to see the Schlotzsky’s cashier get really, actually angry at people who don’t say those full names outloud.