The first cartoon came very slowly, and was less a story than a series of ideas.  I was really toying with different ways to show how Stitch might escape her cage - something she was very keen on doing in real life. 

At this point my skills as a cartoonist are largely absent.  Note my inability to draw any part of the human body, or imply movement.  In these early days I had a stab at providing some sort of background, which has ebbed and flowed ever since.

The Dervel in this first cartoon looks quite different to how he would appear in later strips.  His scruffy bit, rather than being on the top of his head, here appears on his neck.  His ears are small and point up, he has no throat and his rather shapeless body is more angular.  Likewise Snitch here has her differences - her nose is longer and thinner, she has no neck, her body is broad rather than tubby and her ears are quite small.  However, this is how I did want the character of Smurt to look, although I seemed to forget this in subsequent strips...

The final page of 4 strips wasn't added to this story for over 2 years, when I felt the story ending needed a tidier finish.