Category / Vintage

by EditorM

“Papa Knows” at Obscurity of the Day

The estimable Allan Holtz, comic strip historian and proprietor of The Stripper’s Guide, has invited CIDU readers to join in trying to make sense of these example panels from the vintage series Papa Knows. He provides an historical deep-dive and some interpretive overview in last Friday’s blog column, in the Obscurity of the Day series, but leaves these four as examples where it seems no genuine attempt at a gag can be found. — What we like to call Comics I Don’t Understand!

(As Allan explains, “Obscurity of the Day is just posts about rare and overlooked newspaper comics; generally speaking if they’re hard to understand it’s because of the gulf between our time and theirs. Papa Knows, on the other hand, seems to be downright weird no matter when you might have read it!”)

by multipleciduers

Saturday Morning OYs – March 30th, 2024

I mistook those candles in the background for cat-hair rollers!

And the pun factor is: how about some gin or vodka?

I’m a little dubious how “went on the wagon” works out here. But let it be noted, there are probably several cities with drinking establishments called Crow-Bar or Cro-Bar.

by multipleciduers

Saturday Morning OYs – March 2nd, 2024

And another Argyle Sweater, this one from Targuman.

If you enjoyed that one, you may already know about the “Peccavi” incident.

The movie on which this joke is based was released in 1977: 47 years ago. Ordinarily, that would qualify for a Geezer tag.

by EditorM

Fresh

GoComics is running some vintage “B.C” under the title “Back to B.C.”. This strip is from 1966 and seems to be in sequence with others from that time.

But a previous strip already used up the pun on “fresh” to mean mildly impolite, sassy. So, what is this one getting at? Is “floating upside down” still a sign of “fresh” behavior? Or just avoiding being purchased?

CIDU QUEUE REMINDER

As always — but it needs saying explicitly again now and then — we like to think of this as a reader-participation site, and not just for your invaluable (or anyhow amusing) comments, but for suggestions of comics to run and discuss.

Please share your specific suggestions of panels or strips, in CIDU, LOL, and OY categories, either by direct email to

(that’s “CIDU dot Submissions” at gmail dot com) or by using the handy-dandy Suggest A CIDU form page!

by Kilby

Lincoln’s Birthday

Abraham Lincoln was one of H.T. Webster‘s personal heroes, and today would have been his 215th birthday. Whenever an appropriate weekday series was scheduled for February 12th, Webster occasionally took the opportunity to draw a birthday tribute. This example (taken from “The Best of H.T. Webster“, page 253) originally appeared in 1919 (on what would have been Lincoln’s 110th birthday):

This video from the Smithsonian Magazine shows a couple of alternate designs that were proposed for the Lincoln Memorial, along with five surprising facts:
1) Lincoln was an accomplished wrestler; and …
2) … is the only President to hold a patent for his own invention;
3) … stored papers in his top hat;
4) … attended seances in the White House; and
5) … established the Secret Service.

by multipleciduers

Saturday Morning OYs – February 3rd, 2024

Love that Monty Crisco! (But I don’t know what typo on Nesselrode Pie would be likely, or funny.)

Always go for consistency!

And a P.S. from B.C.

He tries just about every day, so why not give in and post one now and then.

Growing up, I knew only two pasta shapes: spaghetti, for spaghetti and meatballs, and macaroni, for macaroni and cheese. Imagine my surprise to find such an endless variety of shapes coming out of the extruder. And tortellini! And soba! And rice noodles! Now there’s chickpea pasta, etc. It’s a wide, wild world out there.

Just pasta these comics is a place to comment on your own favorite shape/type.

A synchronicity here, with two Dante-themed comics on the same day. What a Paradiso!