Black and White

Y'know, at first I was sorta disappointed that Boondocks was starting over from the first strips, right when the whole group was about to go out and start a revolution. I thought I had read all the early ones, but turns out I was very, very wrong. And that there is some funny stuff early on, with a little bit of a different tone, even. This one just cracks me up:
I'm not sure why, exactly I think this is so funny. I guess it's because it's got a lot going on for a three panel comic. First of all, he's just a gutsy kid, which is fun to watch. Then, there's her righteous indignation, which seems at first appropriate to whatever degree. And then, faced with his unflinching exposition of the problem, her avoidence strategy just seem so realistic.


Filed under:Comics as Life

DTWOF

Did I mention that you can view the new Dykes to Watch Out For online now? And she's still working out a way to make some money off of the online stuff, so go in and put your two cents (or a dollar a strip) in.


Filed under:Comics as Life and Pop Culture

How I Probably Sounded When I Was in Love at 19 Having Just Read Atlas Shrugged:

(And also, in retrospect, what the last anniversary card I might have received would have probably been like. Ah, love.)


Filed under:Comics as Life

Art as Argument

In response to a wee little disagreement about whether some new Frank Miller cover is sexist because of its objectifying nature (or whether it's, you know, the same for men and women in comics, because Superman's chest is often shown covering a whole panel)...

Karen at odditycollector gives us an artistic response that is as clinching (sorry) an argument as any that could be made:

Go to her site to see some more of these arguments.




Filed under:Comics as Life Feminism

Moving, Moving, Moving Right

I had a discussion over a year ago with a friend who was very worried about how far right the US might swing before it began to swing back--if ever it did--toward the left, and how much toward the right each subsequent swing was taking us in general. I think I was being optimistic and naive at the time, thinking that the pendulum had to swing back sometime soon. I still want to believe that, but I don't know about the evidence--it's a pretty jumbled bunch of stuff to look at. People are starting to call Bush Jr. on some of his shit, yes, but we still have new Abortion Bans; and the calling Bush Jr. on stuff really does feel like too little, too late, especially when any of the Democratic hopefulls (and the party in general) isn't offering us much in the way of truly liberal movement. Reading The End of Faith by Sam Harris makes things worse for me emotionally, because I get to read facts like 64% of Americans believe that there is a literal Satan and that we have to, as a country, fight him.

I'm not in the give-up-and-move-to-Canada mindset or anything (particularly since Canada just elected the most right-wing group of people it ever has, apparently); I think that the freedoms we have still lend themselves to some truly progressive possibilities, and the backlash against Bush Jr. doesn't mean nothing at all. Still, more and more I'm turning pessimistic as regards long-term prospects 'round here.

Which is why it's always nice to have somebody like Don Asmussen to give you a funny take on it all...



Filed under:Comics as Life and Politics

Now I Have to Stop Buying Certain Comics Because They Have Become Nike Ads

I know people will say it was bound to happen, but product placement in comics just makes me sad. And a little angry. I'm naive, what can I say. The interesting thing is that the Wall Street Journal article points out that 'this isn't new' and it's really 'not so bad':

Weaving products into comics is not entirely new. DC says in the 1960s it produced comic-book series based on toys such as Captain Action or Hot Wheels, in response to advertiser relationships. The new auto-maker ads will be less overt.

See, that's the thing. I think in this case, 'less overt' is worse. In part because 'less over' does NOT mean that I don't see the ads. And: I can clearly decide whether or not to buy a hot wheels comic, and I know what I'm getting. But if I go see a movie and there are lots of product placements, or if I buy a comic and the same thing happens, I didn't really have a good chance at having a choice in the matter. Instead, I'll have to start only buying comics which are made by companies that don't generally do product placement...for as long as such companies exist.

Blech.
Filed under:Comics as Life Pop Culture

Of Bathtubs and Racoons

But not at the same time.

I have to say that, thanks to being an 'honorary uncle', I do understand this strip better than if I weren't an uncle, even if that doesn't mean that I 'get' what it means to be a parent in that deep you-just-can't-know-what-it's-like-unless-you're-a-parent way that some people have intimated to me:


Also: A racoon in a suit with a briefcase. It's just funny.



Filed under:Comics as Life

Friday Morning Downer
It's all sunshine, puppy dogs and unicorns around here today, so I thought I'd bring it down a few notches (to the basement) and note that the number one cause of death of pregnant women in the US is homicide.

Gleaned from Nancy Goldstein's blog, where she has a conversation with Bill "Rape Isn't Cause for Abortion" Napoli:

Bill asked me if it wasn't time for a civilized nation like ours to end abortion. I countered that the US is almost entirely alone among so-called "first world" nations in its anti-choice fervor: that even France, a Catholic country, makes it easier for a woman to obtain a safe, legal abortion on demand. And then I reminded him that murder by a spouse or boyfriend is the #1 cause of death among pregnant women and asked him why he didn't express his concern for the lives of women and children by convening a task force on domestic violence.

Nancy got the idea to call Bill from this strip, by Stephanie MacMillan:


Filed under:Comics as Life, Feminism and Politics

Peanuts! Getcher Tasy Hot Peanuts!
See, this is the thing that I like about Peanuts--it is timeless, isn't it?

I mean, everybody still loves a good Casey Stengel joke, right?

Old Jokes

When I was in high school and first in college (and, sadly, for years after we were too old to be making such jokes, probably), my friend Dave and I would take this sort of joke to new depths:

You know, like, "For brother and sister, they sure are using a lot of tongue." That sorta thing. So yesterday I was Thomas and now I'm Monty? Sheesh.

That Marketing Shit? It Works (and I'm Not Helping the Cause)
Unfortunately, this otherwise charming F-Minus comic is also (accidentally?) a Microsoft ad:

Although, you know, dinosaurs in ties is still funny.


Filed under:Comics as Life

Today's Comics, Taken to Heart

I'm guessing this is some sort of baseball joke that I don't get, but I just like CB's big hat and look of defeat:


Also: Who would have thought, I'm Thomas from Boondocks:



Filed under: Comics as Life

Can Somebody, Anybody, Explain This Comic to Me?



Normally, this strip just cracks me up to no end. It's consistently one strip that still makes me laugh outloud sometimes. Like this one:


I mean, c'mon, he's eating crumbs in bed! What the hell is funnier than that. Well, maybe this:


Still, that first one up there? Don't get it. At all. Please 'splain.


Filed under: Comics as Life