Yeah, Billy, you’re getting cagier and cagier, just like your old man. How else could he keep these “educational” DVDs/VHS tapes/BETA tapes in the house?
One of the gripes aimed at “legacy” comic strips (or just ones that go on and on and on for years) is the repeated use of a figure, or figures, or whole panels by the cartoonist — yes, the dreaded “cut and paste.”
That’s very true (and it’s the only way I do my mashups — then again, I don’t get PAID for this). But I think sometimes we focus too much on the visual repetition and too little on the sterling dialog:
Remember: Without constant vigilance, it can happen here!
When close to a traced copy of a May 2010 panel is used for a February 2011 “joke,” Comics Curminions (like CC’s own Cooler King) take note. And then make uncanny links:
We make fun of Jeffy Keane (oh, come on…it’s not just me!) Maybe it isn’t all justified, since he’s supposed to be only three or four years old. I like to think that he’s merely an incredibly stupid three- or-four-year-old.
Still, there’s something poignant…
…and occasionally, he does show a flash of brillance (or at least, a tendency for self-preservation)…
Keep fighting the good fight, Jeffy!
…where zombie comic strips are unheard of…where mediocre ones fade once the original cartoonists retire…where there are no father-to-s0n “legacy” strips…
Nope! Christmas is for me! MINE MINE MINE!
And for good reason:
Billy Keane becomes self-aware!
