Cartoon Stories: More from the Idea File

Cartoon Stories

More from the Idea File

Cartoons are sight gags, basically (unless they’re walk-and-talk strips, as much of Calvin and Hobbes). Below, like last week, whimsy, with a mini-sitcom, and a touch of existentialism.

Lobbying for a Special Interest. Who wouldn’t cheer the fighting spirit of the poor lobster about to be tossed in the pot? But a lobster is one of those cartoon characters that doesn’t have actual expressions, and needs an anthropomorphic face superimposed.

Bargain Booth. Gahan Wilson was one of my favorites growing up. He drew a cartoon with Santa in the chimney…or out of the chimney… At any rate, the punchline had a handyman telling a homeowner he’d found out what was clogging it. In this case, we’ll assume Clark Kent has survived his ordeal.

Alternative Realities. The cartoon world is very inclusive, with a large percentage of its population in the distorted cohort.

Going Through a Phase. Some puns, and then I wanted the car to be a cool, sixties model. So a tableau-style drawing, with fairly extensive background detail.

Electric Bitters. The old patent medicines (of which one was actually called Electric Bitters), promised unlimited vim and vigor.

Added Incentive. Everything has two acts, first as tragedy and then as sponsoring product.

Character Will Tell. As a child I watched the daytime talk shows: Dinah Shore, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas. Sometimes they had comedians, sometimes hipper ones than the Rat Pack fringers who guest-starred on The Lucy Show or I Dream of Jeannie. Kelly Monteith had a funny extended joke about the one shoe by the side of the road. And I saw David Brenner, doing a bit about his early job at an amusement park. Everyone, he said, when the ride started would say the same thing: “Here we go!”

So, added to a more eccentric variation, I gave this problematic first date a shoe-sock habit. (Because it’s perfectly true when you think about it: shoe-socks cover the feet and have treads on the bottom. How are they not shoes? But you suspect they’d still annoy people.)

More from the Idea File

See The Cartoon House

Side Glances

(2020, Stephanie Foster)