Tuba, Tuba, Tuba Chameleon
As we all know, there are a handful of comic truisms: teenagers borrow money, short order cooks make food that gives you indigestion, men like to golf when their wives think they should be doing chores, a mother-in-law visit is always a surprise and huge imposition. Any of those scenarios is not only true-to-life, but also hilarious, right?
So, imagine my surprise at today's Heathcliff:
And what's weird about this? Well, of course, in the comics, cats play the harpsichord, NOT the tuba! Duh. No, not really. What's weird is that Heathcliff actually wants to get in to see the vet. See, in the comics (and in real life, quite frankly) pets, and especially cats, DON'T like to see the vet. I'm not a regular Heathcliff follower. Is it possible that he likes the vet? I know Marmaduke, that big lovable lug, HATES the vet.
So, here's my theory on what's behind this one. The Heathcliff "writer"/"artist" was recently stuck waiting for the doctor. OK, that's true to life. You really do have to sit in the waiting room and read their magazines for a long time (but, where else are you going to keep up on the details of Nick and Jessica's divorce, huh? The grocery store line, duh). So, the Heathcliff guy, and it looks like his name is Gallagher, thought, how could I get in to see the doctor quicker? And, Gallagher thought, "I know! I will hammer some watermelons with a big wooden mallet!" HA HA HA! Nooooo . . . what he thought was "What if I happened to have a tuba, and I just went right up to the receptionist and started playing it?" Then, he chuckled to himself. Boy! What an idea for a strip, right? So, he just RUINS the whole concept of "pets hate the vet" and sticks Heathcliff in his spot. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
Surprisingly, Heathcliff looks to be a fairly decent tuba player. You can tell this because the musical notes coming out of it are straight and unbroken. The comic convention for bad music is broken, wavy notes. But, this strip here is messing with all kinds of comic conventions, so we really have no clue what goes on in Heathcliff world.
This may be the last post for awhile. I am leaving town soon, but am quite excited to see what wonderful comics the Orlando Sun Sentinel shares with its readers!
So, imagine my surprise at today's Heathcliff:
And what's weird about this? Well, of course, in the comics, cats play the harpsichord, NOT the tuba! Duh. No, not really. What's weird is that Heathcliff actually wants to get in to see the vet. See, in the comics (and in real life, quite frankly) pets, and especially cats, DON'T like to see the vet. I'm not a regular Heathcliff follower. Is it possible that he likes the vet? I know Marmaduke, that big lovable lug, HATES the vet.
So, here's my theory on what's behind this one. The Heathcliff "writer"/"artist" was recently stuck waiting for the doctor. OK, that's true to life. You really do have to sit in the waiting room and read their magazines for a long time (but, where else are you going to keep up on the details of Nick and Jessica's divorce, huh? The grocery store line, duh). So, the Heathcliff guy, and it looks like his name is Gallagher, thought, how could I get in to see the doctor quicker? And, Gallagher thought, "I know! I will hammer some watermelons with a big wooden mallet!" HA HA HA! Nooooo . . . what he thought was "What if I happened to have a tuba, and I just went right up to the receptionist and started playing it?" Then, he chuckled to himself. Boy! What an idea for a strip, right? So, he just RUINS the whole concept of "pets hate the vet" and sticks Heathcliff in his spot. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
Surprisingly, Heathcliff looks to be a fairly decent tuba player. You can tell this because the musical notes coming out of it are straight and unbroken. The comic convention for bad music is broken, wavy notes. But, this strip here is messing with all kinds of comic conventions, so we really have no clue what goes on in Heathcliff world.
This may be the last post for awhile. I am leaving town soon, but am quite excited to see what wonderful comics the Orlando Sun Sentinel shares with its readers!
posted by big al at 8:20 PM
3 Comments:
Heathcliff is working odd jobs around the office to encourage a more timely appointment. His tuba playing may be decent enough, but observe the clouds around each note: he's cleaning that instrument, not just playing it.
The joke is that cats are so fastidious! Ho ho!
(I can't help but think this strip isn't that funny. This opinion of mine is buttressed by the extremely cross look on the receptionist's face. What's wrong with the woman? She's got a tuba playing cat in front of her, blandly poomping out a few notes with great insouciance, and she's pretty danged peeved about the whole situation. She doesn't think it's funny.)
Palm Beach County Sun Sentinel comics section is in color!! Or at least the strips you care about...the ones that are boring, like Brevity and Pluggers is in black in white, because quite frankly those strips suck.
I want to know why Heathcliff isn't in a pet carrier. That's irresponsible. His family should be more concerned with his safety. That tuba won't be much protection when a German Shepherd comes charging his way.
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