They are the very first thing that I read in the paper. Some days, it's the only thing that gets read in the paper.
(But, no matter how busy the day, the comics get read and the crossword gets done. )
It's the way that I was brought up, I guess. We all read the comics, and we actually talked about them at dinner. (When we weren't playing Jeopardy, but that's a story for another time.)
Turns out that's how my mom's family always did it, too. I come from a long line of comic strip readers. I guess I thought that absolutely everyone was that way - it wasn't until I went away to college that I realized that lots of people have no interest in the comics.
But not us - my parents sent me a subscription to my hometown newspaper for all four years of college, just so I could keep up with all "my" strips. To this day, they are still comic enablers - my dad cuts out my favorite strip* for me every day, since I don't get it in my newspaper. He sends them in a packet every two weeks like clockwork, and we (Bubba, Schecky and I) anxiously await their fortnightly arrival.**Anyway - I'm getting off topic here. What I am trying to get to is the fact that I love the comics; Bubba and Schecky love the comics; we all read them religiously and discuss them. I also enjoy reading critiques of the comics***, and getting additional commentary.
So - I occasionally visit the official site of "For Better or For Worse". This has long been my mother's favorite strip, but it wasn't until the last few years that I have come to appreciate it. Anyway, I went to the fborfw site yesterday, and realized that something just wasn't right. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but when I did, it kind of creeped me out...
What the heck am I talking about? Go see for yourself. Go visit this strip (or pretty much any strip in the archive)... Look at it for a minute or two. See if you can figure out what is just so, so wrong...
The answer will appear in the "Comments" section of this post. And tell me if you don't agree with me....
*This is the funniest strip I've read since "Calvin and Hobbes" and I just love it. Everyone should be reading it, and more papers should be carrying it. I think that the AJC Comic Page Editor has had my phone number blocked, because I've called and left him so many voice mails telling him so...
**Isn't this one of the sweetest things that you've ever heard? And yes, I know that I could just read the strip online, but he doesn't know that. And my dad and I, well - that's a tough relationship, always has been. This is the first father-daughter thing we've ever had. So there's no way I'm going to blow it by telling him about "the internets".
***My latest find, which delights me to no end, is The Comics Curmudgeon. Imagine Television Without Pity - except with snarky comic strip recaps. I'm in heaven...
6 comments:
Look. At. Their. Eyes.
If you read the strip online - they blink. It's subtle, to be sure, and they don't do it in every panel - but it's there.
Comic strip characters shouldn't blink.
I saw the blinking! Weird.
Holy crap! Demon comics! I thought I was seeing things at first! Ewwwww!
St.range. You're right. They should not blink. Ick.
Your story about dad made me think of my grandma. She cut out Calvin & Hobbes for me when I lived in London and then in India and mailed me the week's worth every Friday when she went to the beauty parlor to get her hair done. (The post office was next door.) How I miss her - and Calvin. Thanks igniting the memory.
I've visited the fborfw site everyday for over five years now, and the eye blinking TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY FREAKS ME OUT.
It started a few months ago. Can't stand it.
MAKE IT STOP.
The blinking didn't bug me at all, I must say. This reminds me of the people I work with who think that Wm Wegman's photos are creepy.*
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* these are the same people who think that all clowns are monstrous serial killers. wtf?
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