How They Are Funnies, or, I dont have a title for this so I am stealing one from Dave Eggers. (807 hits)
Category: SportsRating: 1.6 on 20 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by AsshOly (View user info) at 2007-06-10 06:22:31 EDT
If a picture is expected to be worth a thousand words, a comic strip has the potential to far exceed expectations or to absolutely fail. Some of these strips sink before leaving the dock; others shine so brightly they live on forever. Throughout human existence, the styles of creative expression have been in perpetual flux. The artistic and comedic styles that were popular last week will be supplanted by newer, trendier styles the next. Comic strips are unique in that if they are composed with precisely the right blend of comedy and poignancy, they become timeless and irreplaceable. The canonical Funnies over the past century show two common traits: satirical representations of widespread social constructs and protagonists without extraordinary strength or ability.
The quintessential comic strip is Charles M. Schulz' Peanuts. First printed in 1951, it drew the blueprint for success among syndicated strips. Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Snoopy were highly entertaining on the surface, but each of Schulz' individual characters served as an allegorical representation of one distinct underlying tension inherent in society, the most recognizable of which may have been Schulz' critical outlook on the educational system, gender roles in society, and the detriments of a gloomy perception of self. Though Schulz never overtly addressed these issues in publication, he believed the underlying themes to be implicit and self-evident.
Following Schulz' model, several of the next generation of comic strips achieved legendary status, the two paramount being Bill Amend's Foxtrot and Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes. Both strips emphasize critical outlooks on society's constraining conventions and roles within the family as seen through the scope of a unique but misunderstood protagonist; Amend's being a precocious math nerd and Watterson's being a hyperactive boy whose best and only friend is his anthropomorphic stuffed tiger. Both characters are frequently forced to alienate themselves from society when their core values are threatened by the extrinsic pressure of other children, educators, and parents to engage in activities considered "normal" for children their age.
Gary Larson strayed from the aesthetic model in drawing each of his The Far Side comics in a single frame, but in reflecting on the absurdity of common situations and conflicts he retained the same subtle but salient undertones which made Schulz' influence on society undeniable. Jim Davis has also attained success with the same model with his long-running comic Garfield, starring a fat, lazy tabby cat with a penchant for lasagna and a superiority complex. Davis, however, replaced the others' theme of family roles with the often unhealthy relationship between pet and owner. Even military practices have been satirized in similar fashion by Mort Walker in his ageless strip, Beetle Bailey.
Because human existence is constantly experiencing change, contemporary social conditions will always show negative aspects. The heuristic component of humanity affords us the ability to find ever more creative methods both for advancing and regressing as a world community. The well of absurd social practices available to be exposed by comic strip authors will never run dry, and modern history has shown that because the Funnies that follow Schulz' basic model capture the public's collective eye, they are the perfect vehicle in today's world with which to affect widespread amusement and yet instill a fervent drive for social change. The road to hell may be paved in gold, but the path to enlightenment is paved in clippings from Sunday's Tempo section.
User Reviews
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2007-06-14 04:46:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
see, there's the problem. i wasn't alive until half way through the eighties and my parents and grandparents never showed me any comics but peanuts and beetle bailey.
Submitted by congo (user info) at 2007-06-13 11:25:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Bloom county.... ya know... Opus the Penguin. Bill the Cat.
I can't imagine the 80's without it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_County
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2007-06-13 01:07:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
what in the hell is bloom county? if i have no idea what youre talking about it is hardly canonical.
ps - pearls before swine is excellent but 1) it's very new so i wouldnt consider it yet a classic, and 2) this had to be two pages or less and it was enough of a fucking pain to trim down what i had.
pps - ilikesteak: wah.
Submitted by Dexter-Brown (user info) at 2007-06-11 15:40:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by congo (user info) at 2007-06-11 08:56:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No mention of Bloom County?
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2007-06-11 01:00:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I was going to pick this apart and laugh at how inane it seems, but what's the point. It's not worth it, and you'll never get any better. I give up man. I tried.
Submitted by kuroneko_sama (user info) at 2007-06-11 00:21:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
get fuzzy rules...
you can verb anything
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2007-06-10 18:13:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"Ok Monkey, it's just you & me... I'll give you time to pray to your big, filthy Monkey God before I food you."
"AHA! Advancing on me only brings you closer to the cold wrath that is my spork!"
- - Bucky the Cat, from GET FUZZY by Darby Conley
Submitted by pandora (user info) at 2007-06-10 17:54:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Walt Kelly's "Pogo" strip, which ran from the '40's through the '60's, was another great one--very funny and well-drawn, with biting social and political satire. Check it out if you like that kind of stuff.
Submitted by Unabonger (user info) at 2007-06-10 17:41:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
who the fuck reads the serious strips?
Submitted by i_can_get_you_a_toe (user info) at 2007-06-10 17:18:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by donward2 (user info) at 2007-06-10 17:14:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Calvin and Hobbes auto +2
Superb!!
Submitted by beeltea (user info) at 2007-06-10 14:53:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
excellent work young assholy
Submitted by Lambchop (user info) at 2007-06-10 14:52:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Bohme (user info) at 2007-06-10 13:35:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Well done.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-06-10 12:01:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2007-06-10 08:27:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Out fucking standing.
Submitted by NotVoltron (user info) at 2007-06-10 06:25:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Actually, I found this to be enlightening.
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2007-06-10 06:23:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
the author of this post is a mental midget.
Submitted by AsshOly (user info) at 2007-06-10 06:22:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
lame