Today is the third anniversary of Bill’s passing. The fact that it’s on a Saturday this year makes me want to say “OY” in a big way.
I expect I had much the same experience as y’all: there we were in the throes of pandemic lockdown, getting the idea that it wasn’t quite going to be piles of bodies in the streets but was still pretty bad, and one of our daily lifelines to sanity just…stopped for several days. I remember feeling vaguely irritated with Bill, while realizing that was unreasonable of me. Then after a few days I started to worry, and then we got the news.
It’s amazing and wonderful that this wee community has continued.
Saturday, July 8th, 2023 would have been Bill Bickel’s 68th birthday; therefore: in his absence, and in his honor: Mazel tov! (מזל טוב)
Bill’s own tradition for the occasion was to create an elaborate “24-Hour Project”, with a new CIDU post timed to appear every hour throughout the day. Partly because these birthday comics are not CIDUs, but mostly because it would have been far too much effort just for a little structural nostalgia, this entire collection has been gathered into a single list (but is divided into appropriate categories).
If you have a favorite birthday comic, please feel free to add it in a comment!
The “featured image” at the top of this post shows Albert, Porky Pine, Beauregard Bugleboy, Bun Rab, Pogo, and Howland Owl doing a “Birthday Dance”, but the anonymous bug appended to the right isn’t actually singing: he appeared in a series of memorial tributes that Walt Kelly drew in the 1950s for his daughter Kathryn Barbara, who died shortly before she would have had a chance to enjoy her first birthday cake. Given that we are celebrating the birthday of a dearly beloved, but departed friend, I thought the image was very appropriate. For more information, see the Daily Cartoonist’s article about the Day of the Little Angels.
P.S.I would like to thank all of the CIDU Editors for their input, assistance, and constructive suggestions, but especially Phil, who took my rough template and laid the foundation for a much better design (and he also documented all the author and strip names in the tags).
The first Peanuts strip in this collection doesn’t fit into any category, because it has a singular “birthday” significance; it was originally published on Friday, July 8th, 1955 (the day that Bill Bickel was born):
Schulz never depicted any adults (and only very rarely mentioned any of the parents) in Peanuts.
Remembering
With a few notable exceptions, this 1971 strip predates almost everything in this collection by more than two decades.
…even if he did rip the flower right out of her own garden.(Note: other than Stahler’s “pickleball” comic from 2023, this 2018 Marmaduke is the newest item in this entire collection.)
He should be comforted to learn just how much Rat thinks of him.
Cakes & Cards
That cake must have been pretty tough to hold together like that.
Snoopy suffered a whole series of cat attacks in the 1970s, but this was one of the best.
For Bill we would need a pair of 34s, or (more likely) a 50 and an 18.
Parties
Only the Peanuts and Doonesbury strips are older than this Calvin & Hobbes strip.
Does this mean that they would rather celebrate the day he got laid?
This Peanuts strip (from 1951) is the only one in this collection that predates Bill’s birth.
Presents
Apparently Andy had already quit smoking 20 years ago, but he and Flo were still indulging in violent spouse abuse.
Bill had trouble understanding feline behavior, so this might have been a CIDU for him.
Garfield only rarely acts like a real cat, so Bill wouldn’t have any trouble here.
After all that trouble to escape, even his visit is no longer a surprise.
Color might have made this “Liō” strip easier to understand (each stack should be a different pastel shade), but Tatulli may have been going for the “dawning realization” effect.
Geezerhood
If you cannot move the ball, just change the position of the goal posts.
One of the many running gags in Garfield is that he hates birthdays.
This appeared just in time to be included here; it’s also the only comic in this memorial collection that was published within the last three years (in other words: since Bill passed away).
Technology
This category seems more tragic than funny.
Mobile telephones can generate automatic reminders, so nobody really has to bother remembering birthdays any more.
This is the only Sunday strip in this collection.
This 2007 strip predates the widespread availability of 3D printing technology.
Several years ago, Bill commented upon the unusual frequency of “Grim Reaper” comics, and he even held a contest (called “Deathmatch!“) to prove his point.
For this reason, I suggested scheduling the following comic collection for today, the second anniversary of Bill’s extremely untimely passing, in memory of a dear friend whom we all miss terribly, and who (I believe) would have understood this rather unorthodox memorial presentation in the humorous and good-natured fashion in which it is sincerely intended.
It’s simply a real shame that Bill could not have had the chance to read and comment upon these comics with us all.
Kilby
This Strange Brew was contributed by Andréa, originally as an Oy:
Leigh Rubin keeps on returning to the Grim Reaper theme:
Many of you have already found out, via Facebook I assume, but for those who aren’t aware, my father Bill Bickel aka CIDU Bill passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday the 16th. The obituary and funeral page can be found here: https://normandean.com/tribute/details/10477/William-Bickel/obituary.html
We have been so impressed and touched to see how many CIDU readers have already found out and posted beautiful notes on the funeral page. It’s obvious that he had an impact on people through this site. It seems like such a lovely and supportive community. I can say that for me personally, both the March of Dimes and the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association fundraising drives have great personal meaning and I have been blown away every year to see how much the CIDU readers raise for these causes.
We are still sorting through my dad’s sizable digital trail. I’m not sure if there can be a future for CIDU but for those of you who are really involved in this community, please reach out to me via Facebook if you have any thoughts at all on what you think could or should come next.
Comics I Don't Understand 