Tag / Maria Scrivan

by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies, LOLs – March 2, 2025

Background: Amazon, controlled by bald billionaire Jeff Bezos, now owns the Bond movie franchise.

This reminds me of this video from Dr. Glaucomflecken:

[Yes, he is actually a doctor licensed in the US, and has some serious YouTube videos related to his specialty (ophthalmology), but he has a bigger audience for his comedy.]

by Kilby

Would you like to look at my etchings?

Scott Adams was certainly not the first author to draw a comic featuring an Etch-A-Sketch, but this classic Dilbert strip (correction: from 1995) remains the standard against which all other attempts must be measured:

This Rose is Rose strip was published nine years earlier (in 1986), but to her credit, at least Rose can tell the difference between the devices:

As computer technology progressed, more recent comics were able to use tablets (instead of laptops), which made the misidentification more believable:

Here’s a handy guide to distinguish between the two:

Of all the strips showing kids using an Etch-A-Sketch as a “real” computer, this Jump Start is my favorite:

Not everyone is so pleased by the idea of image impermanence:

The Off the Mark at the top already appeared at CIDU (on May Day 2023) but Parisi also drew two other comics that are notable for incorporating pseudo-authentic Etch-A-Sketch artwork into the drawing. The first one is truly superb, especially for including the masterful meta-pun on “line”:

This final Off the Mark comic has a fatal flaw (morbid pun intended). The “sketchy” artwork is actually its best feature, but it would have been even better with a pair of round knobs on the monitor. The tragic defect is that the author did not bother to properly credit (or apologize to) André Cassagnes, who was still alive when this comic was published in 2008 (he died just five years later).

…
P.S. Today (23-Sep-2024) would have been the inventor’s 98th birthday.

May Day!
by Kilby

Bonus Post: So help me, it’s May Day!

There are a number of reasons (and ways) that May Day is celebrated around the world, as these comics demonstrate:

Of course, the “real” reason for the holiday is its significance for the labor movement, but that is precisely why it has a somewhat tarnished reputation in the United States…

… especially because of certain militaristic “celebrations” in other parts of the world:

Therefore, since today is not a holiday in the United States, it may be necessary to postpone the celebration:

by Kilby

How Much Ground…

…could a groundhog hog, if a groundhog could hog ground?

…unless of course Phil beats the believers to the punch:

Here are four different approaches to affecting the prediction:

by Kilby

Birthday Memorial for CIDU Bill

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.

Mortality

These three comics complement the previous memorial post (September 16th, 2022).


See also: https://cidu.info/2023/09/16/in-memoriam-bill-bickel/

P.P.S. Remember: if you have a favorite comic to help celebrate Bill’s birthday, please feel free to include it in a comment!

by EditorM

Just resting my eyes …

“It’s hard to know where to begin …” Actually, it’s easy to know where to begin: What species are being shown here? But then the not-understanding bifurcates into two paths.

If the equal overall sizes, and equal tail lengths, and similar footpad design, and similar whisker attachment, together mean they are the same kind of creature — which would have to be mice? — then is there a joke besides the domestic tradition of one family member nodding off upright in front of the tv, and the fillip of the disguising glasses?

But if the white belly pattern, and rounder head, mean that’s a cat on the left — despite the muse being the same size — does the mouse’s remark amount to a comment on why there is no cat-and-mouse fighting going on?