Comics on Comics
Big thanks to Emily and John! Depending on their desires, you may be hearing more from them. We are going to tackle this crappy comic problem from all the angles.
Anyway, it turns out Sally reads the "soap opera" strips. She says, "I've put 15 years into this strip, Ted, and I want to see how this day finally ends."
Yep, I tried Rex Morgan, MD for about a month. Panel 1 would re-cap yesterday's "events" and set the scene. Panel 2 would move the action forward at a sloth-like pace. Panel 3 would set up the "hook" to get you to read the next day. Talk about slow-paced! Nomar Garciapparra settles into the batters' box faster! I gave up, and went back to skipping the soap comics. The only one I have to deal with now is Gil Thorpe, and I skip it with gusto!
Next, in B.C., the cavewomen are discussing a real old timey strip. From the late 19th Century. The Sunday strip is too large to include, so you can see it here. They are talking about Smokey Stover. I think they are meta-ing for Johnny Hart (B.C. author) here. They talk about all the great gags in the background, how the strips were larger, how there's no room these days.
I am no sort of comic strip expert. My sole experience is reading them every day in my paper, and now writing on this blog. I am willing to be educated, though, and I like that Hart is introducing some comic history. I'm not sure I agree with his analysis that the reason the comics aren't funny today is because they are so small. I don't doubt that with more space the artists could draw more sight gags and develop their punchlines. But since B.C. just pulled "if it ain't baroque don't fix it," I'm not willing to believe the ONLY problem is lack of space.
I looked up Smokey Stover. It's a strip about a fireman, Smokey Stover (imagine that. The main character is the name of the strip. I'm looking at you, Blondie). You can read about it here. I haven't perused it very thoroughly yet, but it does seem to be a vibrant, fun strip. I'm glad to learn more about it.
In 2 of Sunday's strips, the characters actually discuss the comics.
First, in Sally Forth, Sally and Ted discuss the joys of reading the Sunday paper (Oh, Sally and Ted, I hear ya! The Sunday paper on a leisurely Sunday morning is one of my greatest joys. Probably why I don't have kids.)
First, in Sally Forth, Sally and Ted discuss the joys of reading the Sunday paper (Oh, Sally and Ted, I hear ya! The Sunday paper on a leisurely Sunday morning is one of my greatest joys. Probably why I don't have kids.)
Anyway, it turns out Sally reads the "soap opera" strips. She says, "I've put 15 years into this strip, Ted, and I want to see how this day finally ends."
Yep, I tried Rex Morgan, MD for about a month. Panel 1 would re-cap yesterday's "events" and set the scene. Panel 2 would move the action forward at a sloth-like pace. Panel 3 would set up the "hook" to get you to read the next day. Talk about slow-paced! Nomar Garciapparra settles into the batters' box faster! I gave up, and went back to skipping the soap comics. The only one I have to deal with now is Gil Thorpe, and I skip it with gusto!
Next, in B.C., the cavewomen are discussing a real old timey strip. From the late 19th Century. The Sunday strip is too large to include, so you can see it here. They are talking about Smokey Stover. I think they are meta-ing for Johnny Hart (B.C. author) here. They talk about all the great gags in the background, how the strips were larger, how there's no room these days.
I am no sort of comic strip expert. My sole experience is reading them every day in my paper, and now writing on this blog. I am willing to be educated, though, and I like that Hart is introducing some comic history. I'm not sure I agree with his analysis that the reason the comics aren't funny today is because they are so small. I don't doubt that with more space the artists could draw more sight gags and develop their punchlines. But since B.C. just pulled "if it ain't baroque don't fix it," I'm not willing to believe the ONLY problem is lack of space.
I looked up Smokey Stover. It's a strip about a fireman, Smokey Stover (imagine that. The main character is the name of the strip. I'm looking at you, Blondie). You can read about it here. I haven't perused it very thoroughly yet, but it does seem to be a vibrant, fun strip. I'm glad to learn more about it.
posted by big al at 9:18 PM
3 Comments:
More on the title-character thing... in researching my posts for the weekend (yes, long and hard), I noted that it was Luann's 20th anniversary.
I don't think Luann was carried in my local paper (the Star-Ledger) when I was growing up (and reading the comics every day at my grandma's house at lunchtime), so I didn't know who Luann was... was she the mom or the daughter? was the girl in the pic Luann or Brian's (I think that's his name)girlfriend? since most of the recent strips were dealing with his firefighter-ness and not Luann's high-school whimsy/angst.
Like Alias, it does not invite new readership later in the game...
The brother is Brad. Luann is the daughter, not the mom.
I didn't catch Luann until I moved to DC, so it was late '90s. Once you figure out the characters, it's pretty good.
So, yeah, it's a bit like Alias, except they're not secret agent spies. Also, no Michael Vartan. Otherwise, pretty close.
Ugh, I hate Sally Forth. The characters always have the same dumb expression as if to say "I am saying something sly and witty right now!" but, unfortunately, they're not.
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