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One was the cover of this New Yorker magazine, and the fact that it reflected so aptly the way that my website co-creator and I felt about the practice of eating lobsters. Traditionally, lobsters are kept alive until just before they are cooked; they die while they are being boiled. Although I'm not a vegetarian, I find this tradition to be so upsetting that I won't eat lobster or eat in a seafood restaurant that serves lobster (and that is most seafood restaurants!) The weirdest part is that the lobsters are kept in tanks in the lobbies of restaurants where they are served. Patrons can view the lobsters, and I presume that the lobsters can see the people... some of whom are planning to eat them! I don't know if you can see the details of this scan, but there are people swimming in a tank behind the lobsters, and the people's hands are bound the way that captive lobsters' claws are bound.
Another source of inspiration for Detour was the Crabby series in Patrick McDonnell's comic Mutts.
In this series, which spanned three or four days, Earl and Mooch discover that their pal Crabby is being held captive in a tank in the local seafood store. They decide to liberate Crabby and save him from becoming someone's dinner.
Earl and Mooch manage to return Crabby to his home, the sea, and to his family.
