Sunday, May 29, 2005

A Month Of Sundays

Great song by a local band, but true today as the Sunday Funnies yielded serious gold!

"For Better Or For Worse" delivered another one of those "silent" movie strips, this one based on, of all things, fake boobs and hungry dogs. Man, what they can get away with in the papers these days.

In "Blondie", what husband or significant other hasn't been through that whole routine of "are you sure you don't need anything at the store?" The question that springs to mind at this point is, Blondie has gotten up to speed with the times, she owns a laptop that helps her with her catering business. Dagwood is a businessman, doesn't he own a cel phone? That always helps with those last minute "honey-do's", don't they?

Ever notice how Pancho from "Pooch Cafe" looks a little like Batman when he frowns? Just a thought.

I've come up with a name for the style of drawing that "The Boondocks" employs. I call it "Africanime." Like it?

As an owner of cats (as an ownee of cats), I have seen that crazy wild look in their eyes, and Mooch's perkiness in today's "Mutts" should be familiar to all cat-lovers. The funny thing about this strip is, Mooch doesn't even seem to realize it, which seems pretty much the case with real cats too!

"Opus", absolutely brilliant! From the drawing (the first panel is pure art, the beautiful businesswoman and Opus, face to beak over a coffee condiment counter with the foreground bookended by an arriving male foot and a departing female foot. Maybe I'm seeing too much here, but still - art, art, ART I tell you again, ART! The punchline is even better - Berke has his finger firmly on the pulsepoint of America with this one. I'd buy the whole damn book, just for this one!

So by now, I've nearly coughed up my bagel twice and have completely forgotten about my coffee, because page three is on a roll.

I'll say it again, the "cwockydiles" need their own spin-off from "Pearls Before Swine" - they're hysterical, especially as stand-up comics "ba dum bum KSSSH!"

And right smack dab in the middle of all the funny-ha-ha's, "Doonesbury" drops the reality bomb with six panels of the names of soldiers who have been killed in Iraq since 4/28/04. B.D. looks on in the final panel, which promises to be "continued next week." On this Memorial Day, Trudeau really manages to stop you in your tracks and keep you alert.

And with that - I'm on vacation, Key West ho!

Friday, May 27, 2005

The Tao Of Snoopy

Doesn't it seem like Charles Schulz had seemingly years worth of unpublished "Peanuts" strips? Since his untimely passing, though the moniker was changed to "Classic Peanuts", it appears as though every enusing edition has been something fresh and new, no re-runs. Did Schulz plan for his death by working overtime on creating strips to stretch forward into the future? Whatever the case, be it revisiting old storylines or mixing them up with updated glimpses into the backstories of cast, is there any doubt that "Peanuts" remains the greatest comic strip of all time?

The trials of lost kitty in "Sally Forth" have been suggesting a not-so-happy ending and today's entry is positively gulp-inducing. What's Hilary discovered that has her screaming "Oh, No! Mom! Dad! Come Quick!"? Methinks they'd better take her to Paris after this.

Deanna's mom is already raising hell in "For Better Or For Worse", sure to drive Michael past nuts, but if you've ever lived in an upper-floor apartment and had some downstairs neighbor take a broomstick to their ceiling/your floor, who hasn't responded back, at least once, with a mighty and gleeful leaping about to show them what noise really is? Anyone?

And I finally have to say it, though "Doonesbury" is typically pretty supportive of the military, Trudeau still finds many a way to skewer the armed services, including this ongoing tete-a-tete between Alex and her recruiter. Once the subject of assault/rape came up, Trudeau began to show some cracks in the windowpane of the reservist's reserve. The final frame today should be on a freaking t-shirt:

Alex: You know, for an army of one, you sure are needy.

Recruiter: I'm pre-army-of-one, I joined to be all I could be.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

"Zits" Brings It On

The past few days have been Madhouseland (to quote the late, great Falco) as my wife and I prepare for a weeklong trip to Key West, celebrating our one year anniversary. Time's been a precious commodity as I race against newspaper deadlines (Douglas Adams once said "I love deadlines. I like the sound they make as they go whooshing past.") and production obstacles.

But I did get a huge, satisfying larf out of "Zits" today, which actually plunges headlong into current world economic events in a profound way. The thing that's especially pleasing about "Zits" is that its treatment of adolescents in general is spot-on, not only how alien they are, but how amazingly intuitive and intelligent they can be. Jeremy asking for his allowance in Euros is timely as all get-out, given that the dollar market is stranger than a one-eyed optometrist.

Monday, May 23, 2005

Comic Explosion!

Man, you leave town for a little while and then BLAMMO!, the funny pages explode. Signs of the times, I guess.

Sunday's Sentinel was one of the better comics sections in ages, filled with imaginative stuff, colorful, goggle-eyed drawings and a healthy dose of snickers.

"For Better Or For Worse" featured another "silent-movie" strip with Edgar the sheepdog doing that thing that dogs do so well - wriggling on their backs and getting dirt everywhere. This strip is positioned top left of the comics page, so the first visual I got was the very familiar sight of a dog's paws flailing in the air. A good guffaw from the start!

Naked comics! "Beetle Bailey" gets nude, following Jeremy from "Zits" several weeks ago. I sense a disturbing trend.......

"Opus" was absolutely brilliant, tying in political current events with a simple dinner out for Bill and Opus (Bill's fourth panel dance is classic). Funny how the final panel leaves them at an alley table destined for hell when the very next strip below, "Get Fuzzy", deals with the concept of "Felinism" and Bucky's rise to and fall from grace. The look on his face during "The Fallen" panel is something you just never see on a falling cat. They're usually too quick and surprised for such expressions.

"Baldo" and "Hagar The Horrible" both featured epic drawings (at least for them), bold palettes and historical imagery, surrealism to underscore flashbacks. Speaking of flashbacks (and flashforwards) "The Family Circus" laid out a nice eyefull with the "Marriage Go Round", taking mother and father from newlyweds on into a future with an empty nest. "Rose Is Rose" had a likewise charming appeal as well. Just all kinds of warm fuzzies mixed in with the irreverence. Apparently Granddad from "The Boondocks" is okay, but the discussion of CPR seems to connect with that last Sunday strip where the boys refuse to go help their elder. An interesting switch-up from "help me boys" to "Resuscitatin' each other willy-nilly!"

The "Ordinary Basil" storyline seems to have slowed down to a crawl, gathering a huge chunk of exposition at the top of each strip now, to clue readers in to what's happening. This story has been going along for some time - it'll be unusual to see the strip self-contained again. At least Louise and Basil are reunited, for now.....

On to today:

What has been up with "Blondie" of late? She's been quite abrasive to Dagwood, whether it's shoving him out of the house or questioning why he's laying on his favorite couch. What's gotten into her anyway? Maybe it's the news.

"Fred Basset" elicited a rare laugh out loud for its simple-yet-effective treatment of Diane and her Tibetan Spaniel. I don't know what happened between those two and father and Fred, but the latter two aren't sticking around to find out!

Regarding the Kelpfroth's in "For Better Or For Worse" - down deep inside, I'm thinking they're probably not bad people and we may discover that in time, but right now, they are absolutely apalling! Just another life lesson waiting to be learned - because you don't have to like people to lovepeople, right?

Friday, May 20, 2005

And now for something completely different....

...a man with three buttocks! (Wait a sec......)

Well, now we've got Red Meat, which is printed in our "liberal" rag The Orlando Weekly and features a character named "Bug-Eyed Carl." Subversive, twisted strips like this take me back to growing up on The L.A. Weekly and comics like "Angriest Dog In The World" (by director David Lynch) and "Ernie Pook's Comeek" (Lynda Barry is so very #1 for my sweet bottom!), which I've now added to my blogroll here.

I love the sometimes innocent and only slightly subversive strips that appear in the mainstream papers and online, but like mainstream news, there is always something missing if you don't get the whole picture. These types of strips are in abundance all over the web, but few of them get much print publication, which is too bad. Sardonic and sick as some might be, it certainly balances the sugary sweetness of most funny page sections.

Though I just can't see Zippy The Pinheaded Clown sharing space with "The King Of Id." Then again......

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Nitpickin'

In "Luann" today, Miss Phelps is pouring a brown liquid into a mug, which has a tea-bag dangling out of it.

See what I'm talkin' about?

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

May The Farce Be With You

"Mother, Goose and Grimm" strike comedy gold on this, the sort-of opening day for "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith."

Funnily enough, I've thought before that C3PO borrowed some of his moves from the Tin Man in "The Wizard Of Oz." Nice.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

That's Just Wrong

But funny as hell......

The Never Ending Impending

Some years ago, I decided to start reading a "Dick Tracy" strip, one of those endless "to be continued" sort of affairs that had three panels, two of which were simply repeats from the previous week. But, bored in the breakroom at Knott's Berry Farm, I fell into the storyline and decided to stick it out, wondering how long it took this comic to resolve issues.

Well sir and well ma'am, don't you know that it took a full year to the day for Dick Tracy and Sam to get their man? It was seriously ingenious how the story was inched along, keeping you hooked. And the moment that everything fell into place, the final panel started a new mystery, at which point I averted my gaze and never looked at the strip again. Uh-uh, learned my lesson.

It seems to me that even some of the gag-laden comics are starting to serialize, putting characters into dire, life-changing/threatening circumstances, albeit with humor and charm. "Baldo" and friend are biking through dark streets in fear of Papi as well as what might be lurking in the shadows. Meredith has dramatically broken her arm in "For Better Or For Worse", Zonker is about to pull the mother of all job cessations in "Doonesbury" ("Look for it on the news," he tells B.D.) and Mr. Fogarty and Miss Phelps are being scrutinized for their carefree dancing in "Luann."

Reflections of our times, no? The Nuclear Family Age this is not!

Monday, May 16, 2005

Nuff Sed

"Dennis The Menace" scores a triple-play with a fridge-worthy panel today! (Did I mean to rhyme?)

Mom, dad and Dennis all gathered around the comic section of the newspaper with Dennis suggesting "when you're learnin' to read, it's best to start with the funny stuff."

I'd go so far as to say "even when you can read circles around anyone, it's probably still best to start with the funny stuff!"

Sunday, May 15, 2005

Real bloggers......

....blog every day, but my schedule says "hah!" to that.

"For Better Or For Worse" is just precious, isn't it? That's all I gotta say.

Maybe I wasn't looking very hard, but today, I swear it, is the first time that I ever saw Huey from "The Boondocks" look concerned. Usually, he's got that perma-frown working. Granted it was only for two panels, but still, shocking. Anyway, what I really want to know is what's granddaddy's deal and why is he hollerin' for help? (The suspense, is this gonna wrap up tomorrow or something? Don't leave me hangin'!)

Seriously, if "Pearls Before Swine" keeps up that anti-gator slant, there will be a gator-revolt and lots of painful political advertising, besides, gators are found mostly in Florida, and I live in Florida, so don't piss off the gators, Mr. Pastis!

And you know, "Non-Sequitur" is really quite intriguing in its unfolding storyline and today seems to be taking on a hint of social commentary. But I'm not the demographic that most papers cater to, so how's this story going down with the papers? In the economics-driven arena of mass media, who's got time for story development. The editors are probably hoping Wiley throws in some jokes and sight gags, and soon!

Friday, May 13, 2005

Smarter Than The Average......

Baldo and Gracie are two of the most precocious kids in the funnies today. Sort of like the kids that adorn the pages of Stephen King novels, you can see hints of King peeking out from between the lines of their precious observations. Most kids don't think or talk like that, but all's fair in ink and paint!

Baldo has one of the best lines ever today when his dad asks "How is this place ever going to be clean?" Baldo replies "Easy....broaden your definition of 'clean'."

Speaking of Ink and Paint, I've been known to "dabble in water colors" (okay, Roger Rabbit fans, who said it?) but sexy toons are a guilty pleasure for me. So today's "Blondie" was worth drooling over. I really need to go back into the archives to see what it is that Blondie sees in Dagwood. Ever hear that Sparks song "ugly guys with beautiful girls"? It springs to mind!

And speaking of love in the funny pages, for the past two days, it's been getting hot between "Phelps and Fog" as Tiffany has now dubbed them. Forget about Luann's problems of amour, this is the couple to watch. Don't bother crossing your fingers for Jon from "Garfield." This string of "Bad Date" strips is a nice roll - but it underlines the fact that, as I posted earlier, the world as we know it will simply end if Jon ever manages to score a girlfriend.

And speaking of abrupt endings.....

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Cartoon reality

I wonder what deciding factors are at play when a cartoonist decides to age their characters? Some characters are obviously ageless - the "Peanuts" gang, the folks from "Blondie", the grunts of "Beetle Bailey". Though they may stay the same in age, signs of progress begin to crop up in the panels, from Blondie's use of a laptop computer and getting her own catering business to new and diverse characters and technologies in Camp Swampy.

On the far side of the spectrum, we've got "For Better Or For Worse", which has compellingly moved the Patterson family forward in a way that encapsulates life and death all too convincingly. "Doonesbury" likewise has a definitive time line, albeit a slower-moving one. It's this bond with reality that allows us to become close with drawings, to feel for them in their times of desperation, and to laugh with them like old friends.

Somewhere in the middle are strips like "Rose Is Rose", which features a seemingly ageless Pasquale, who at one time was a gibberish-speaking toddler, but now thinks and speaks in astoundingly adult fashion. Compare that to Trixie in "Hi and Lois", who has always been a fairly well-spoken character (well-thought?) but who has not aged a day since she was first introduced.

I'd like to think that many strips remain stuck in one period of time because many of us would like to do the same. Face it, there are points in life that are so good, or so satisfying, that we long for them to last forever, or flashback to them when the present is kicking our asses. There's comfort in going through the angst of pre-teen life, familiarity in the situations that pepper long-time strips and satisfaction in having a vague notion of how it will all turn out. It's a theory anyway.

On another note, "Sally Forth" seems to embrace change and progress in a way, giving us satisfying glimpses of backstory and allowing Hilary to grow and emerge as her own identity. But for those of us who wonder if Sally can ever say anything without grabbing the last word, her hubby brought it into focus with today's strip which finishes:

Ted: "Y'know, I could make witty rejoinders, too, if I spoke second."
Sally: "Then you should have sat on this side of the couch."

Now that you think about it, given that we read strips from left to right in most cases, it makes sense that the arrangement of characters has a lot to do with how the flow of remarks will go. Now, flipping back through old "Sally Forth" comics, it seems that Sally is usually on the right - which may or may not shout volumes about her political leanings, one could surmise.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Naughty Nyuk-Nyuk's

As my wife pointed out this morning, there was a bit of subtle sexuality at hand in the funnies.

First, "Luann", which yesterday had Miss Phelps dolling up for a passing Mr. Fogarty. Today, she invites him in to her office, to which he responds "I feel I'm about to be scolded for doing something bad." Her reply? "Would you enjoy that?" Rowwwwl.

Then "For Better Or For Worse", dealing with Deanna and Michael's move into new digs, has them assembling their bed and discovering that it now makes an awful squeaking noise. Deanna: "Michael, we can't sleep on a bed that sounds like this!" Michael: "Sure we can. If we're not sleeping, it's a problem." Hooo! Let parents across the country explain that punchline to their kids! (Perhaps the kids already know....)

Monday, May 09, 2005

Pimpin' my blog

I think it's safe to say that the phrase "pimped my ride with Bronco parts" has never been uttered before in the history of mankind, but thanks to "Doonesbury", it will probably become part of the national, if not international, lexicon of language. That's from Saturday.

Sunday, at least to some comics. I'm guessing that "Baldo" is a sort of seven-day work week. Unlike most strips that accurately distinguish between weekdays and weekends, holidays and so forth, "Baldo" features school-day antics on the weekend. (I ordinarily wouldn't notice, but the phrase "thank goodness it's Friday" sounds a little odd when you're reading it on a Sunday. Especially when the follow-up joke is "it's only Thursday." Hello? Who swapped my chair for a time-machine?)

Haven't mentioned it in a while here, but "Non-Sequitur" seems to have slowed down its pace a bit while telling the story of "Ordinary Basil", which now has our reluctant hero skittering around in some sort of underground maze, covered in black soot.

Moving up to today - does anybody else feel that if Jon from "Garfield" were to get a honey, the world would end? He's sort of like Charlie Brown all grown up, but gratuitously laden with patheticism. (Is that a word? It is now.)

Friday, May 06, 2005

HAH!

Score a big one for "Hi and Lois", telling the truth about the music recording process - analog is much more authentic than digital, that's for sure! But what's up with the drummer in today's strip? He's got two sticks, but only a kick drum can be seen. (And that "computer program" looks like a goldarned Univac!)

Thursday, May 05, 2005

That's Whack

Wiggity-wiggity-whack, even. A quirky kind of day all around.

D'ya ever feel like you're eavesdropping on a toon? Toni and Luann are getting so detailed about the subject of love, I almost want to pardon myself.

I don't know of anyone else in the world who has so perfectly described a human state like "The Dungeon of Resentment" in "Rose Is Rose." We've all been there, and we all realize sometimes just how silly our pettiness can be, yet it doesn't make the resentment go away easily. Even after relinquishing the t.v. remote to Jimbo, Rose still sulks - but we all know there are quick exits avaiable from the dungeon!

Is it me, or did today's "Hi and Lois" make everyone look like they'd lost weight?

"Fred Basset", our British import with the odd humour pulled an existential trick today by making the second panel completely blank, causing a strolling Fred to remark "I like to keep you guessing!" Thatya do, pal, thatya do - was it not long ago that Fred broke the "Fourth wall" and peered over the newspaper into our faces?

Funniest image of the day, a puking pigeon in "Zits" - there's just something about the bird's posture in the final frame that clicked the joke for me. Now why does that little guy remind me of one of the Goodfeathers from "Animaniacs"?

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Who Was That Curly-Haired Girl?

In yesterday's "Classic Peanuts", Snoopy's dances for the first and second day of May were reflected upon by a little curly-haired girl who seemed to resemble the girl that always has the cat draped over her arm; the cat that Snoopy despises. I've forgotten her name and dang if I haven't had the time to do any research, or to see if it's even the same girl. These lesser-known "Peanuts" characters certainly do stir up a fuss.

A big ol' GOTCHA by "Mother Goose and Grimm" today, which at first, I thought was "Beetle Bailey." Then it dawned on me, the drawing was just a little different, the gag totally out-of-place for Mort Walker's strip, which actually hangs out just below MGAG. Mike Peters gets away with drawing other people's characters more than just about anyone else on the planet - how does he get away with it?

Monday, May 02, 2005

Laughing Into The Week

What a weekend - helping our drummer move, playing two fat sets with the band, waking up to a bright Sunday, too tired to move, but not too tired to laugh!

I added The Boondocks to the blogroll here because, love 'em or hate 'em, they do manage to bring some flava to the funny pages when they're not making like the Spike Lee of the comics ("no-one gives the black man any cred" - really? Is that why nine out of the top ten records on Billboard are by urban fellers? "The Urban Fellers", now that's a band waiting to be born....), but I digress with largesse.

What inspired this sudden move? Sunday's strip, which was fall-out funny, if you're into camera mugging. This is the fine art of directing a silent glance to the camera (ergo, the audience) in wordless response to some ridiculous or amazing situation. Now, I'm about to go off here, so please bear with me. Craig T. Nelson has one of the most amazing camera muggings in "Poltergeist", after Jobeth Williams shows him that the chair slides across the floor seemingly by itself. He goes to inspect the chair incredulously, then lets slip a little mug to the camera as if to say "WTF?" Probably the most famously known mug is Eddie Murphy's in "Trading Places" as the two old brothers are explaining "commodities" to him. When they point out the bacon, saying "pork-bellies, which you find in bacon, which you might find in a bacon, lettuce and tomatoe sandwich", Murphy, who has been smiling bigly the entire time, suddenly drops the smile and looks into the camera like "you have got to be kidding me", before returning to smiling. It's a classic.

Now add to that the camera (panel?) mugging in the last frame of Sunday's "The Boondocks" after a gratuitous shot of Condi Rice sporting a Darth Vader mask and a light saber. The final panel seems to say "I'm speechless", which is odd for the little dude with the big afro. Comic genius - I laughed til I farted.

"Rose Is Rose" reminded on Sunday how beautifully drawn it can be (Rose looking a little like Pibgorn there) while still remaining funny. Seafood chow mein, indeed.

"Opus" crossed the ever-lovin' line on Sunday and for that, I must bow with ultimate respect in acknowledgement of the disrespect that it showed. Pouring out of Opus' anxiety closet, a dysfunctional cast of Disney characters goes against type with Mary Poppins offering up a "Donald Duck foie gras" on a platter, Timon and Pumbaa contemplating the ingestion of a distressed Jiminy Cricket and Aladdin and Jasmine, respectively (disrespectively?) girded with rocket launcher, AK-47 and burka, exclaiming "back to Baghdad!" Hoo-hoo-boy, if Berke doesn't get some flak for this one, tha people just aren't paying attention!

I just have to mention that I love how the title panel of "Pearls Before Swine" often imitates famous album art (his take on U2's "The Joshua Tree" is my favorite.) I wonder if he'll ever do Roger Waters' "Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking"? In any case, the not-too-bright gators dominate Sunday's strip. These guys should get more panel-time, they're really quite funny, if not fodder for the Gator Anti-Defamation League.

Onto Monday - whoa, did Papi shave his 'stache? He looks ten or twenty years younger in today's "Baldo."

There was an interesting case of simul-comic-nicity in The Orlando Sentinel with juxtaposed strips "Classic Peanuts" (Snoopy talking about his "Second Day Of May Dance") and "Garfield" (the cat does a victory dance out-of-sight.) Maybe they met in the middle?

And with "Luann", ahh, the plot thickens. Luann AND Toni Daytona sitting on a porch talking for two hours. I'd say that Gunther and Brad better keep their eyes peeled, the ladies are on the move!