October 31, 2005

• Wow. I don't understand that at all, even trying logic. There's some Cinderella reference to the pumpkin turning into a carriage so the fleeing pumpkin/carriage is the devil that the King is trying to resist? My brain hurts! I think I'll keep an eye on the Comics Curmudgeon website to see if they discuss it there.
• Can't help you on this one, I'm just as confused.
• Yeah. You'd think that a comic as low-grade as Wizard of Id would be bleeding obvious. This one just hurts my head.
• I say, "whhaaaa?" as well.
• Come to think of it, this is something I would expect from "B. C." That's usually the religious, head-scratchin' comic strip.
• I wish I were taller.
• Okay, so the pumpkin is representative of halloween, as you are undoubtedly aware. As you are also aware, in Cinderella, she gets a carriage that was changed, by magic, from a pumpkin. All easy stuff, but seemingly unrelated. We start from the assumption that halloween is "of the devil" and that it attempts to infiltrate the Christians' lives through seemingly innocuous stuff, like, oh, pumpkins. Now, normally, christianity would take over these pagan holidays and make them their own (easter, christmas, etc), but in this case, either it was too overt or something happened along the time of witch trials or something. I'm not sure, but there's probably a story in there somewhere. So, the trojan horse, i.e. the pumpkin, is actually the devil in disguise. By reading the Bible, he causes the devil to flee from him, i.e. turn the pumpkin into a carriage and fly away. Now as to the wizard part, there may or may not be any internal justification, but I suspect when he was younger, he wasn't as fundamental in his Christianity, so made this wizardly comic. As he aged, he became less tolerant of other things, and consequently has to atone for his witchy ways by making these sorts of statements. Why not ditch the comic altogether and come up with something less religiously offensive to right thinking Christians? Well, I'm sure he likes the money. Alternate theories are that the original artist/writer died long ago, and the new artist/writer has the fundie bent. Or perhaps the wizard doesn't actually do any magic, maybe never did, and it's more the "wise man" style wizard, rather than magician wizard. Maybe the wizard uses good magic, and halloween is all eeeevil. Maybe he thinks it's okay for the comic to display magic, because, really, it's just a comic. Nobody *believes* in it. Anyways, most of this is speculation, but I'm fairly confident in my interpretation of the actual comic itself.
• I like cheese.
• Color me impressed, Sandspider! Now, how do you feel about having spent that much time dissecting a Wizard of Id comic?
• Excellent, well-thought out theory, Sandspider. However, I must counter with the observation that Harry Potter wizardry is evil, even though obviously not real, to the fundies. And, the comic artist for Wizrd of Id likes to show the wizard over a cauldron with a a vial of something or other. Although I will admit the amount of actual wizarding has diminished over the years . . .
• Un-funny. Sadly, the Comics Curmudgeon is no help, either.
• Oh, and for why the obtuseness, bear in mind that when comic writers go for these things, they generally go in the style of the biblical allegory. Those are allowed a certain level of obscurity, especially if the intent of the meaning is clear to people who are pre-disposed to believing what the message should be, but most of the people who "get it" probably wouldn't be able to explain why. Although I suspect most actual biblical allegories are far better written than most comic strip biblical allegories, they don't really have to make sense in a purely "sense making" way as long as they use a strong metaphor, are clear in basic meaning if not the details, and people can sit around and discuss it. Plus, doing a solid allegory in three panels is likely tough.
• Wizard of Id is a collaboration between Brant Parker and Johnny Hart, who also does B.C., and is a bit of a religious nut. Unless parker is also a fundie, I'm guessing this was Hart's influence, even though he wasn't credited on the page.
• And it still hurts my head.
• Thanks, fimbulvetr. But don't get me wrong, it's terribly hypocritical to promote magic for money and denounce a fun holiday (as well as a certain segment of the population's religious beliefs) if it's tied to magic. And kittenhead, I am pleased to have been able to spend so much time dissecting Wizard of Id. Any fool can dissect Shakespeare, but to get something sensical out of a syndicated comic takes some talent, I feel.
• Gah. I havn't read B.C. in years. I shouldn't have done so today. This one hurts my head as well. Nut, indeed. I'm not sure which side of the fence he is on.
• Or this.
• My coffee tastes like cabbage.
• My cat's breath smels like catfood.
• I have always wondered how Johnny Hart squares the fact that he's writing a comic strip starring CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST CAVEMEN. Anybody got ibuprofen?
• Oh, and the pumpkin comic makes no fuggin' sense. Besides, isn't the King supposed to be a fink?
• Oh you know he absolutely doesn't care. Praise Jebus!
• My pumpkin's breath smells like brimstone.
• i think the original artist is dead (and rotting in hell for being such an all around no-talent) and this strip is actually a profit-driven 'mash-up' of previous halloween strips...i think, these days, even the publishers are thinking 'who reads the wizard of id anymore, anyway?'
• I'll have what Sandspider is smoking.
• Wot, wot? 'Tis simple, oh ye of complex, deep and analytical intellect. The king is as mean as Scrooge McDuck (or any Highland Scot worth his Glen Morangie) so he's not about to give any of those Halloween door-bashers either a trick or a treat, hence his "get thee behind me Satan" thing. The crier in the tower twists the King's quote so that the pumpkin/carriage 'taking off' likens the King to 'the Devil.'
• Cheese likes you too, Captain.
• PS: In other words, the King is still a 'fink'! If one wishes to be more analytical on the subj', the King is also a hypocritical fink who is using the Bible to excuse his mean-ness. Perhaps more of a 'subtle dig' at the fundies than otherwise.
• Cheese is the cause of the world flatulence pandemic.
• Who uses the word "fink" anymore?
• The word 'fink' is used by superannuated Hells Angels and grizzled gold-mining experts.
• Consarn it!
• Now if you use "ratfink," it's a whole nother segment of the population entirely!
• I represent that remark, jereboam.
• i think the king's pumpkin is running from the king because he is evil.
• The original artist is not dead, he does B.C. the current artist took over from him, and they're both fundies.
• You're all wrong. The pumpkin is representative of the kings testicles. "Turned into a carriage" means the king has squeezed the formentioned testes with a pair of kitchen tongs. "Took off" means the twisting of the balls with the tongs. It's simple really. Knowing is half the battle.
• It certainly wouldn't be the first time Mr. Hart expressed negative views about non-Christian activities.
• Only one person I've met has used the word "ratfink" in my presence, he was a Hells Angel. (Do the HA's ever use the apostrophe I wonder?) He was a well mannered and erudite chap actually. I was depressed for weeks! Es El Queso, look for my book; "Flatulence! May The Cheese Be With You!" A work of profound philosophical significance, and a concrete syntheses of the historical dialectic.
• "(Do the HA's ever use the apostrophe I wonder?)" Sometimes.
• This is almost as surprising as the Family Circus strip they ran that featured necrophilia as its central premise.
• I notice my original link no longer goes to the cartoon in question, so here it is.
• so, i got to this thread tuesday morning, and didn't realize the strip auto updated. i was even more confused as to why why he was taking a dig at alcoholics. didn't seem terribly season-appropriate. come to think of it...i did drink my ass off this weekend past weekend.
• WRT: "Fink." There is a recurring character in the Wizard of Id, a vigilante what rides at night known as "The Lone Haranguer." His whole method of vigilatism involves riding his horse up to some spot or other, screeching to a halt, and shouting at the top of his lungs, "THE KING IS A FINK!" As a kid, I used to think that was pretty funny. I also laughed quite a bit at the "Clams got legs!" saga of B.C.
• And I still think it's odd he would put his "true" beliefs in the mouth of the king, who in the strip is uniformly a bad, cruel, stupid, self-centered, egotistical, and totally inept ruler. If it weren't for B.C. and its similarly fundie views, I'd agree with jeroboam that this might be a super-subtle dig. But things being as they are, I think Hart's just not thinking about the characters so much. Hey, anyone remember Tumbleweeds?
• > Now, normally, christianity would take over these pagan holidays and make them their own (easter, christmas, etc) halloween (october 31) -> all saints' day (november 01) a holy day of obligation in the catholic tradition. november 02 is all souls' day, aka the day of the dead. halloween derives from a harvest festival. a fairly concise description of samhain and oiche shamhna (halloween) at wikipedia.