After seeing this cartoon for a few weeks now, this character is the one who most pointedly clarifies for us the intent of the title Adult Children.
And yielding to the impulse to be a language complainer, we are happy to note that here the writer has stuck to the traditional term and called this an invitation, not the ugly newer form an invite. Good on ya, Maritsa Patrinos!
And zbicyclist kicks off a little debate by saying: Since Bliss has many cartoons in the New Yorker, he’s probably frequently asked to explain OTHER obscure New Yorker cartoons — which would make the sitting, bearded guy some sort of stand-in for the cartoonist. But to our eyes, the standing guy with the red sweater looks like the figure who appears again and again in Bliss cartoons.
But then zbicyclist rebuts with this example of an apparent Bliss stand-in (or a comic artist at any rate) with a beard:
But we have to ask: OK, there’s a beard, but which of the guys in the upper cartoon does this guy most resemble, to you?
Comics I Don't Understand 
I’m not sure any two of the three figures are meant to be the same character at all. Actually, the seated man in “Do you get this cartoon?” appears to be drawn in a rather different, more realistic style overall.
Well, Bliss himself doesn’t seem to usually have a beard, for what that is worth in determining identity. But clearly in both comics the bearded man represents the/a cartoonist.
It’s the glasses that are a giveaway to me. Beards come and go, but usually, glasses are forever.
Exactly, Andréa, I was gonna say “Beards come and go”. OTOH I haven’t been clean-shaven in more than four decades, so what do I know?
I appreciate the Introvert Invite.
Ulp! Exxcuuuse me, the Introvert Invitation! I can take a hint!
Well, in theory it’s easier to get rid of a beard than get rid of one’s glasses. Hubby tried; when he had cataract surgery, he also had some other stuff done that was SUPPOSED to eliminate his need for glasses. Now, he needs two different pairs. He’s been bearded since 1980, but could, if so inclined, shave it off at any time. (He wouldn’t dare, tho.)
Unrelated question: how do you like a comment? I get notes that someone has “liked” my comment, but I cannot see how to do it. This is on a desktop browser and iOS.
I haven’t a ‘like’ button in my browser view either.
Targuman and Andréa, look at this screencap and see if you have in your browser that “Reader” button like the red arrow is pointing out.
(N.B. This is an aspect of Word Press, not Google’s or Chrome’s Reader mode.)
When you do that, you will be in Word Press’s Reader mode, which is quite different from the usual web view! For one thing, it is a little harder to find the WP blog (site) you want to view, and the particular post within it. Also, the various sites’ own Themes (what some call styles or templates) are over-ridden by a uniform look that comes from the Reader mode, and not the separate sites.
But once you get past that, one thing you can find is little clickable stars for posts and specific comments.
Also, they are promo’ing the WordPress.com app and Desktop App, which seem to provide an interface similar to the Reader View for WP sites you follow, and similar to the desktop browser admin interfaces for the WP blogs you manage.
I don’t think the second bearded guy is a cartoonist at all, but an author, and his editor/dog/best friend is reading his manuscript; it makes more sense to lose a cat as a character in a book than it does to lose a cat in a cartoon, where presumably every stroke counts, and casually losing a cat would probably totally ruin the gag, whereas losing a cat from a prolonged narrative might well be called for (or not — we don’t get to read the manuscript to see whether the dog is a reliable editor/friend, or just hopelessly biased…)
On the other hand, maybe it’s Jim Davis, and the dog has a point…
Love it – good selections, good comments, thank you all.
@Mitch4: I don’t see that reader option in Firefox or Chrome.
@chemgal, ah well, it may be more demanding than I was thinking. It may be that the Reader button (and AMP next to it in the picture, and My Sites) are only up there if you have a Word Press account and are signed-in. Which can be free, but still a big bother.
There is an option for turning on something like Likes available to all and visible to all visitors, throughout CIDU. We tested it out for like an hour , and many thought it really awful; and I say they were right. It made for an experience a little too social-media-ish.
Strangely, I read Claytoonz on WordPress, and there I DO have a like button. Go figure.
Good for you, Phil Smith III and Andréa’s hubby. My last shave was in 1972, when I acted in Death of a Salesman.
Mitch4: Thanks for explaining the “Reader” mode. I can’t imagine why WordPress has to make it so obscure.
Oh please, must we have likes* here too? This isn’t Facebook (or is that a Twitter “feature”?). Thank goodness CIDU is a blog. The last thing it needs is to be more like (anti-) social media.
*While we’re at it, can we please not crush more verbs into nouns? You know, as in “invites”?
By the way, thanks for alerting me to Adult Children. CIDU is now responsible for 4 additions to my regular comics repertoire.
The folks in this group should all know that verbing weirds language.
https://imgur.com/OdZpx
But what does nouning do?
Got it! Thank you. I never read in that view…
On what basis do we think the guy seated in the first Bliss panel is a cartoonist?
I’d assumed he was a co-worker who maybe enjoyed comics together, as my Boss and I did for 30+ years.
. . . and still do, albeit virtually. As in online.
“On what basis do we think the guy seated in the first Bliss panel is a cartoonist?”
A common error is to assume that anyone working in a field understands everything in it. I have a relative who’s a cartoonist (actually had a couple in the New Yorker) and so it’s assumed he can explain any cartoons. I’m a statistician, and people frequently ask me about statistical stuff which is outside the range of what I’m expert in. I would guess medical doctors get this all the time. So my first thought was that the guy seated was a cartoonist — a stand-in for Bliss himself.
There’s the converse, of course, with people of narrow expertise expounding about everything. If you’re articulate enough, this can get you on a 24 hour news channel.
“It’s the glasses that are a giveaway to me. Beards come and go, but usually, glasses are forever.”
Lots of people wear glasses part time. To me, the nose is a stronger indicator that I might be wrong that these are the same people. One guy has no visible nose — the other has enough nose for both of them.
Noses don’t come and go — noses just blow. 🙂
Yes! It’s the nose (along with the glasses) that makes me think the red=sweater guy in the first comic and the human guy in the bottom one could be based on the same model.
zbicyclist: I’ve seen several TV shows or movies where someone needs a doctor but all that’s available is a (perhaps retired) veterinarian. Or vice versa. And I love your “just blow” gag!
Boise Ed: One of the earliest is “Sons of the Desert” by Laurel & Hardy, 1933. The boys want to get away from their wives to their lodge’s national convention. Hardy pretends to be deathly ill and sends Laurel to find a doctor who will prescribe a vacation to cure him. Laurel comes back with Dr. Horace Meddick.
Dr. Horace MeddickAnd without having seen it, I’ll guess he’s a horse medic?
One of my favorite bits was from 30 Rock, when Tracy Morgan’s character says he has a medical excuse for something, and when asked who his doctor is he seems to pause and be making something up — Dr. Spaceman. Much later we see an office, and “Dr. Spaceman” on the door, and Chris Parnell with a nametag “Dr. Leo Spaceman” answers a phone and says his name as “spa-CHEM-in”.
I loved that Dr. Spaceman gag! 😀