Nevarforgetathon, Part MMMDCL: The Funnies

September 10, 2011 10:43 AM

"Imagine a day where most newspaper comics are Funky Winkerbean. That’s what’s happening this Sunday." Tomorrow, the funnies will be anything but as 93 US newspaper comic strips will be devoted to remembrances of 9-11. Profound or profane?
posted by ocherdraco (123 comments total)

C) Irrelevant.
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:46 AM on September 10, 2011 [13 favorites]

So instead of not being funny they are going to put country first and not be funny.
That's admirable I suppose.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 10:50 AM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

The Beetle Bailey and Hagar examples Nowicki links to are...bad. Woof.
posted by everichon at 10:51 AM on September 10, 2011

D) Cynical.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:53 AM on September 10, 2011 [3 favorites]

"So instead of not being funny they are going to put country fear first and not be funny. " FTFY.

There is no "country first"; if there was, various groups would not still be using the event to try and garner more power for themselves (and succeeding, mostly).
posted by Old'n'Busted at 10:53 AM on September 10, 2011 [7 favorites]

I saw a commercial earlier this week for an MSNBC special that was outraged at people exploiting 9/11 for commercial gain.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:54 AM on September 10, 2011 [23 favorites]

I think the most important question is probably this:

Q: What would Bill Watterson do?

A: Nothing.
posted by ocherdraco at 10:57 AM on September 10, 2011 [41 favorites]

Hagar ain't no goddamned viking, that's for sure.
posted by Horselover Phattie at 10:58 AM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

GOOD GRIEF
posted by Hoopo at 10:58 AM on September 10, 2011 [27 favorites]

good thing no one reads newspapers anymore
posted by ReWayne at 10:59 AM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

In honor of what we have achieved since that fateful day, everyone should give themselves a good TSA grope and raise a toast of less than one ounce of their favorite beverage.
posted by maxwelton at 11:00 AM on September 10, 2011 [28 favorites]

I can't recall ever having laughed at The Beetle Bailey or Hagar so I don't see much difference here other than the unashamedly flinging of boogers through the fourth wall.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 11:00 AM on September 10, 2011

This is ridiculous, sorry. The mass media needs to calm down.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:00 AM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

Profound or profane?

How about "just annoying"? Human Interest stories count as anything but, IMO.

My daily commute has gone from "catching up on the news" to "well, I guess I can listen to this CD again, damn I really need to remember (this time) to switch it out when I get home"


/ Makes a mental note to go camping in the middle of nowhere for two weeks for the 10th anniversary of Katrina
posted by pla at 11:04 AM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

NEVAR FORGET
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:05 AM on September 10, 2011 [89 favorites]

Thirty-thirty-thirty-four hours to goooo.... I wanna be sedated.

(Thirty-seven hours if you're on Pacific Time, I'm afraid.)
posted by argonauta at 11:06 AM on September 10, 2011 [7 favorites]

The Bolling cartoon ocherdraco gave actually sums this all up rather elegantly.
posted by emjaybee at 11:06 AM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

"Readers look to the comics page to reflect the national conversation..." -- Brendan Burford, comics editor for King Features Syndicate

Wow, I had no idea that the guy in charge of the comics page actually has a sense of humor.
posted by Balonious Assault at 11:07 AM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

BitterOldPunk...wtf? That was some kind of epic kitsch car crash. All it needed was a crying eagle.
posted by emjaybee at 11:07 AM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Aaaaaaaaaack.
posted by Roachbeard at 11:08 AM on September 10, 2011 [3 favorites]

Can we forget 9-11 yet? I'm ready to move on.
posted by humanfont at 11:09 AM on September 10, 2011 [4 favorites]

NEVAR FORGET

Am I the only one who thought that was a disembodied elf head resting at the angel statue's feet at first?
posted by katillathehun at 11:11 AM on September 10, 2011 [9 favorites]

E) More of the pile on.
posted by lampshade at 11:12 AM on September 10, 2011

This really just reinforces the fact that newspaper comic strips haven't been comical for quite a while now, anyway.

I know September 11th touches many people very deeply, especially those who lost loved ones or family or friends on that day. And I get the need for a national remembrance ceremony and all that. I really do.

But I don't know that we are doing anyone a favor by continuing to saturate TV, radio and print in the U.S. with stories surrounding the events of that day. You cannot reasonably expect, as an American, to stay connected this weekend (online or through any media, really) without re-living 9/11.

It's not just the news shows and the newspapers, either, it's everywhere you look. Talk shows bring on guests who survived and wrote a book, or people who lost loved ones and wrote a book, or the grown children of parents who died at Ground Zero, for "personal interest" stories. We have security analysts explaining how we are "safer" today, or not, while politicians use 9/11 to convince us not to re-elect their opponents and elect them instead. Rudolph Giuliani recently said he would decide if he would run for president "After 9/11. I can't even think about it before then". Really, ten years later, and you haven't given this a thought?

Meanwhile, as the events of the day stay alive in our collective conscience, how are the people most directly and personally affected supposed to get closure and move on with their lives with these constant reminders in their faces every September?

I admit, I've reached saturation point with all the coverage. But I don't think I'm alone, and I imagine there are many who, while never forgetting what they've lost, would like to put those losses behind them and move on with what they have left instead of revisiting this tragedy year after year.

It's not like we don't have other crises to focus on. Our economy is broken--we owe money to everyone and the money we do have is overwhelmingly controlled by a tiny majority; drug and insurance companies have more say over public health policy than our doctors do; lobbyists control the politicians and keep them from enacting any meaningful policy changes; our kids are under-educated and our teachers are under-paid; and a strong contingent of fear-mongering anti-intellectualism is set on influencing the masses to disavow science and deny evolution, climate change and even vaccinations for their children's health.

Maybe, once the actual (over-priced, extortionate and over-budget) 9/11 Memorial is finally completed, we can stop obsessing, hand-wringing and limiting our own rights under the guise of protecting ourselves from terrorism, and start thinking rationally again about what to do about the problems facing us right now, rather than what happened a decade ago.
posted by misha at 11:15 AM on September 10, 2011 [30 favorites]

My daughter is six. Like most six-year-olds, she is obsessed with her birthday and talks constantly about possible themes for her next party and so forth. This starts within days of the previous birthday, and pops up any time she encounters the idea of birthdays, or commemorations, or themed anything really.

She's a fucking model of poise and maturity compared to the American media's sanctimonious, infantilizing response to this anniversary.

As the late, great Dr. Thompson so aptly put it, America didn't go to war on that day ten years ago. It had a national nervous breakdown. And it's still sitting in its room all fragile and self-pitying with its thumb in its mouth, waiting for someone to open the curtains.
posted by gompa at 11:16 AM on September 10, 2011 [32 favorites]

Is Hagar an American or are we Vikings? I never realized that when Hagar is off raiding some village/castle/whatever, it's actually hidden commentary on the American military...
posted by ennui.bz at 11:17 AM on September 10, 2011 [5 favorites]

Looking forward to seeing Billy, Jeffy and PJ blaming it all on Not Me.
posted by Mcable at 11:23 AM on September 10, 2011 [20 favorites]

For a minute, I thought the whole comics page was, literally, going to be Funky Winkerbean. Like, there was going to be one of those swaps where cartoonists draw each others' strips, but Winkerbean's author got into the meth and decided to draw all the strips. I'm not sure whether I'm disappointed or relieved that this is not what's happening.
posted by hattifattener at 11:23 AM on September 10, 2011 [13 favorites]

Profound or profane?

What's a word for the opposite of "profound" that begins with "pr", to keep up the alliteration? That.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:25 AM on September 10, 2011

Garfield: Jon, how about making me some lasgana?
Jon: Not now, Garfield... it's 9/11.
Garfield: A day that will live in infamy
Jon: Yes, but we remain strong
Garfield: We support the troops
Jon: That's right, Garfield
Garfield: Jon, is there such a thing as a heaven?
Jon: I hope so, little buddy
(Odie holds up flag)
Jon: Good dog
(all three characters hug, "Never Forget" is captioned at the bottom of the last panel)
posted by Greg Nog at 11:31 AM on September 10, 2011 [37 favorites]

How is that "Reply All" comic a real thing? Is it some meta-joke like pokey the penguin? Even the Website looks horrible. WTF...
posted by delmoi at 11:33 AM on September 10, 2011 [3 favorites]

I read this post, took a shower, and came up with a Beetle Bailey that's about 10,000 times better at ham-fisted patriotism than the one they're running and actually has a joke in it AND NOW I WILL SHARE IT WITH YOU

[FIRST PANEL]
close up on a wall clock showing quarter-past nine.
Sarge (offscreen): BAAAILEEEEEEY!

[SECOND PANEL]
a disheveled Beetle scurries up to the Sarge, who is glaring at him angrily. In the background are all the other soldiers at perfect attention.
Sarge: Drills started four minutes ago, soldier! Where were you?
Beetle: Sorry, Sarge, I forgot...
Sarge: That's not good enough, Bailey! You should be more like your fellow soldiers...

[THIRD PANEL, TOP]
background is a photo of the towers burning.
Sarge (offscreen, cntd): ...they NEVER forget.

[THIRD PANEL, BOTTOM]
background is a photo of the Pentagon burning.
Beetle (offscreen): It will never happen again, sir.

I think I missed my calling as a shameless fear profiteer.
posted by Riki tiki at 11:35 AM on September 10, 2011 [8 favorites]

I'm pissed off that we've allowed the idiot conservatives to own 9-11. 9-11 should have been moment of sober reflection and mourning, tinged with the resolve to understand the world better and promote peace and sustainability on a global scale. Instead, every time I see footage of the towers, I'm reminded of a bunch of flag-wavy bullshit, an electorate that willingly succumbed to media-induced schizophrenia, and at least one war that didn't need to be fought.

9-11 should have been a turning point. Instead, it was just another reminder that humans have a fascist streak that's easily exploited by cynical jingoists.
posted by Afroblanco at 11:36 AM on September 10, 2011 [28 favorites]

I'd rather re-read Get Your War On
posted by AdamFlybot at 11:39 AM on September 10, 2011 [14 favorites]

Idiot conservatives own fear. It's the bedrock of the conservative worldview...the fear of change, the fear of the other, the fear of progress and all the insecurities that it entails. That's why the old traditions need to be conserved, at all. Because they are assumed to have worked* and that any new innovations in society must be resisted for fear it may be our undoing.

Hence, anything that can be exploited for fear is naturally going to become the weapon/hallmark of the conservative movement. We only manage to progress as a civilization in spite of our fears.

Cynical plutocrats know they can exploit that to maintain a status quo that has made them rich. Fear is a much deeper instinct than hope, after all.



*For sufficiently small values of "worked", and applicable only to sufficiently small demographic groups.
posted by darkstar at 11:44 AM on September 10, 2011 [8 favorites]

I really liked that painting of Jusus and Santa Claus about to make sweet sweet love atop the 9/11 memorial. Love the fact that Santa is crying with happiness that Jesus shares his secret love. Any more where that came from? Maybe with the tooth fairy joining in?
posted by Ad hominem at 11:49 AM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Ten years ago, on September 11, 2001, I was in college. I had planned to spend most of that Tuesday sitting around and doing classwork, but a bunch of assholes had to go and ruin the day for everybody.

Ten years later, I'm now in graduate school. I'm going to commemorate the tenth anniversary of that day by doing what I had planned to do ten years ago, and sitting around and doing classwork.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:50 AM on September 10, 2011 [11 favorites]

I couldn't even listen to friggin TAL this morning because for me, invitations to remember 9/11 are like, "THINK ABOUT THAT DAY when 3k people across the river DIED PROBABLY HORRIBLY" and "REMEMBER THAT AWFUL FUCKING SMELL." It's like, 'oh, so sorry, but no thank you, and please go fuck yourself.'

This, however, w as brilliant:

Am I the only one who thought that was a disembodied elf head resting at the angel statue's feet at first?

I don't why. Because it made me think of Dobby in a really perverse way? At any rate, tx.
posted by angrycat at 11:52 AM on September 10, 2011

NEVAR FORGET

Is that an elf head sitting on the altar there?
posted by ook at 11:53 AM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

I FORGOT TO NEVAR FORGET TO READ THE THREAD BEFORE POSTING
posted by ook at 11:55 AM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

Is that really the entire Beetle Bailey strip?

I keep looking at it thinking that it has to be just a single frame of a larger comic.

The way things are going it won't be long before some studio or conglomerate buys the rights to "9/11" and "Never Forget" and starts licensing merch.
posted by davey_darling at 11:55 AM on September 10, 2011

This reminds me of Family Circus' first 9/11 anniversary comic, which when coupled with the previous day's panel, came off a little offensive.
posted by Faithless327 at 11:55 AM on September 10, 2011 [46 favorites]

I can't fucking wait for the zombie apocalypse, basically.
posted by elizardbits at 12:01 PM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

Oh man just imagine the memorial comics ten years after the zombie apocalypse.
posted by hattifattener at 12:07 PM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

Flag pin it and move on.
posted by MattMangels at 12:08 PM on September 10, 2011 [6 favorites]

Aren't a lot of these comic writers basically zombies to begin with? Did I miss something while I was never forgetting 9/11?
posted by gc at 12:09 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Tomorrow, the funnies will be anything but as 93 US newspaper comic strips will be devoted to remembrances of 9-11. Profound or profane?

I haven't read the comics since Bill Watterson retired (or maybe it was when Bill Schultz died). The funnies are anything but.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:11 PM on September 10, 2011

Oh man just imagine the memorial comics ten years after the zombie apocalypse

Don't give George Romero any ideas.
posted by localroger at 12:12 PM on September 10, 2011

wait, will they be written by human survivors or by the zombies themselves?
posted by elizardbits at 12:17 PM on September 10, 2011

I can't wait to see what environmentally sensitive 9/11 comment Mark Trail will have tomorrow. Maybe Andy the ageless saint bernard will scare up a zombie or two.
posted by Xurando at 12:20 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Ironically, I don't think I would have noticed 9/11 was coming up if it weren't for MeFi.

No judgement, just a reflection of the fact that when I get busy, other sources of newspertainment get jettisoned before MeFi does.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 12:22 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

I haven't read the comics since Bill Watterson retired (or maybe it was when Bill Schultz died). The funnies are anything but.

You mean Charles Schultz?
posted by Xurando at 12:23 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

How is that "Reply All" comic a real thing?

Sort of like a more badly drawn "Cathy", isn't it?
posted by donnagirl at 12:25 PM on September 10, 2011

holy shit that "Reply All" comic is on Universal's site, gocomics. Wtf. I thought that it was for people who were actually, you know, pros signed to Universal, but evidently now total amateurs can post stuff there too or something? Unless it's an attempt at a three-levels-of-irony-deep take on "Cathy" or something. I mean seriously wtf. The drawings appear to be cut-and-paste of stuff drawn in MSPaint with a trackpad. It might be sharply written, I really can't tell because all I can see is the complete and utter amateurishness of the art.

(Evidently it's actually syndicated by the Washington Post. What. The. Fuck.)

I enjoyed the occasional "Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff" interlude as much as the next Homestuck reader, but sheeeiiit.

what's next WaPo, are you gonna syndicate a Megaman sprite comic next? Geeze.
posted by egypturnash at 12:26 PM on September 10, 2011

Seriously, Jesus comforting a crying Santa Claus?

In what worldview does that make sense at all? The kitschy pathos of that tableau is really depressing, and not for the 9/11 aspect, either.
posted by darkstar at 12:27 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Jesus is the Reason for the Season.
posted by Horselover Phattie at 12:28 PM on September 10, 2011

It would probably be more respectful to replace all the comics with the 6-panel of Hullk Hogan destroying the towers. Which is saying something.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:29 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'd rather re-read Get Your War On

He quit almost 2 years ago.

I think an appropriate commemoration would be for every newspaper to run "When war drums roll" by Hunter Thompson. But his kind of satire is too subtle, and too prescient for the general public.

Just then I heard the lock on my gas tank rattling, so I rushed outside with a shotgun and fired both barrels into the darkness. Poachers! I thought. Blow their heads off! This is War! So I fired another blast in the general direction of the gas pump, then I went inside to reload.

"Why are you shooting?" my assistant Anita screamed at me. "What are you shooting at?"

"The enemy," I said gruffly. "He is down there stealing our gasoline."

"Nonsense," she said. "That tank has been empty since June. You probably killed a peacock."

At dawn I went down to the tank and found the gas hose shredded by birdshot and two peacocks dead.

So what? I thought. What is more important right now -- my precious gasoline or the lives of some silly birds?

.. I feel lucky, and I have plenty of ammunition. That is God's will, they say, and that is also why I shoot into the darkness at anything that moves. Sooner or later, I will hit something Evil, and feel no Guilt. It might be Osama Bin Laden. Who knows? And where is Adolf Hitler, now that we finally need him? It is bad business to go into War without a target.
posted by charlie don't surf at 12:50 PM on September 10, 2011 [8 favorites]

Idiot conservatives own fear.

Their fears are perfectly rational, it signals a recognition that the global system is unsustainable and terrorism is one of the symptoms. Conservatives that know radical change is necessary - their name for it is socialism - that is why they are afraid. Liberals like to comfort them by saying "Your fears are irrational! We liberals have no intention of making radical changes!"

But I do intend that, so I say let them cower and tremble.
posted by AlsoMike at 12:56 PM on September 10, 2011 [6 favorites]

How is that "Reply All" comic a real thing? Is it some meta-joke like pokey the penguin?

That'd be amazing. Can we make that happen?

Not likely
posted by gc at 12:57 PM on September 10, 2011

donnagirl: "Sort of like a more badly drawn "Cathy", isn't it?"

I didn't think that was even possible until now.
posted by brundlefly at 1:02 PM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

What's a word for the opposite of "profound" that begins with "pr", to keep up the alliteration? That.

Pretentious.

(I watched it from Jersey City. I'm in Seattle now. If I didn't have to go drum up some business tomorrow I'd be home, watching "Star Blazers" on Netflix and drinking root beer.)
posted by mephron at 1:08 PM on September 10, 2011

I wonder how Oglaf, my favorite Sundays only strip is going to handle it. Probably with fucking.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 1:11 PM on September 10, 2011 [10 favorites]

Does anyone have the 9/11 Nevar forget! image featuring an eagle, Dale Earnhardt, Challenger et al on hand?
posted by avocet at 1:11 PM on September 10, 2011

I haven't read the comics since Bill Watterson retired (or maybe it was when Bill Schultz died). The funnies are anything but.

I mostly agree with you, but you're missing out on Get Fuzzy. To your loss.
posted by A dead Quaker at 1:12 PM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'd like to change my answer to C) Pandering.
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:19 PM on September 10, 2011

9/11 should not be America's new religion.
posted by zardoz at 1:20 PM on September 10, 2011 [5 favorites]

Re Rill Never Forget
posted by whir at 1:21 PM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

Holy cow that Reply All is seriously worse than I imagined.

It really DOES look like someone with a surgically removed sense of humor got a copy of MS Paint.
posted by winna at 1:22 PM on September 10, 2011

I'm going to be spending all day tomorrow with a bucket on my head, banging the hell out of it with a spoon. Anyone care to join me?
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:43 PM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

Seriously, Jesus comforting a crying Santa Claus?

In what worldview does that make sense at all?

Dude...I bet Santa loved landing the sleigh and reindeer on that roof. It was probably the highlight of his whole night!
posted by Thorzdad at 1:46 PM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

Why are Santa's hands on fire?
posted by kirkaracha at 1:58 PM on September 10, 2011

I will be interested to see if any of the comics touch on what can happen when some people have an abject lack of regard and respect for other people's views and feelings.
posted by ambient2 at 2:03 PM on September 10, 2011

Well, I give them a pass on this. Any cartoonist who does their usual quasi-funny strip on 9/11 is going to get a lot of flak for it.

Seems like a better thing to do is maybe just not do a comics page on 9/11.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:04 PM on September 10, 2011

Terry is a good friend of mine, and we had a chat about this before he ran the comic+essay. I actually thought he was off the mark in his disdain for this 9/11 comics page stunt, and argued my point pretty well. But I was still wrong, and I'm glad he didn't listen to me.

That Beetle Bailey strip is terrible. Downright glib.
posted by Mikey-San at 2:12 PM on September 10, 2011

I plan to spend tomorrow in a state of righteous fury, battling in my mind every individual responsible for attacking my homeland all those years ago. But I understand that most people aren't in my D&D campaign.
posted by Navelgazer at 2:13 PM on September 10, 2011 [5 favorites]

Does anyone have the 9/11 Nevar forget! image featuring an eagle, Dale Earnhardt, Challenger et al on hand?

avocet -- Here you go.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 3:06 PM on September 10, 2011 [4 favorites]

Reply All is written and "drawn" by one Donna A. Lewis who, when she's not abusing MS Paint, works as an attorney for the Department of Homeland Security. (No kidding.)

My guess is she's got serious dirt on somebody at the Washington Post.
posted by Spatch at 3:20 PM on September 10, 2011 [8 favorites]

My guess is she's got serious dirt on somebody at the Washington Post.

That is the only theory I'm willing to entertain.

The alternatives are just too horrible.
posted by winna at 3:24 PM on September 10, 2011 [4 favorites]

In what worldview does that make sense at all?

Probably a worldview more like yours than you realize--my impression is that it's done in jest, savagely mocking contemporary American society. I think it's hilarious.
posted by Hoopo at 3:39 PM on September 10, 2011

What I would do if I had a comic strip tomorrow; has the advantage of working with any set of characters:

All 4 frames show the same group of characters standing around.

Frame 1: everyone looking up and to the left
Frame 2: everyone looking up and to the right
Frame 3: everyone looking down
Frame 4: snarkiest character says "something weird is going on here."
posted by localroger at 3:48 PM on September 10, 2011 [6 favorites]

Also, the cut-n-paste facebook tributes have already started.

I knew it couldn't be sustained indefinitely, but I always thought the twin light beams was the best memorial.
posted by triggerfinger at 4:08 PM on September 10, 2011 [4 favorites]

Obama Kills Osama Collectible Figurine
posted by homunculus at 4:18 PM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

evidently now total amateurs can post stuff there too or something? Unless it's an attempt at a three-levels-of-irony-deep take on "Cathy" or something.

There's a certain weird continuity to it all.

To her credit, she apparently reads and responds in non-insane-person fashion to her critical press, like when Scott Kurtz flat out tells her her art sucks.
posted by cortex at 4:21 PM on September 10, 2011

Cartoonists are joining the pile-on of the media's enormous Bacchanalia of grief and flag-waving? Whatever.

No, the important thing we can all learn from this thread is that holy shit, "Star Blazers" is available on Netflix!

mephron, you're my new BFF. Cheers.
posted by webmutant at 4:23 PM on September 10, 2011

Bah.

It's bad enough when Mutts runs those shelter ads or Baldo runs those "This issue is important to Latinos" story lines.

Sunday comics are supposed to be a light-hearted way to start your day. If you want to talk about Important Stuff(tm), get a blog, it's worked for Scott Adams.
posted by madajb at 4:29 PM on September 10, 2011

Also, the cut-n-paste facebook tributes have already started.

My local news station wants to interview parents whose children were born on 09/11/01, so they put a call out on Facebook. Of course, off topic commentary ensued, and the 9/11 grief-whores are out in full force, screaming that anyone making OT commentary was being disrespectful to the people the news station wants to talk to. Because having a rather common biological function occur on a day when 3000 people were murdered somewhere else makes you Speshul and Patriotic. If your kid was born on 9/12, fuck you, anyone can do that.

I knew it couldn't be sustained indefinitely, but I always thought the twin light beams was the best memorial.

I really wish they would just stick with the lights. Every year, light the beams. It's quiet, tasteful, simple, and does not suggest or require garish public displays of "sorrow".
posted by MissySedai at 4:42 PM on September 10, 2011

For the most part, I'm not going to have to deal with any of this today unless I turn on Discovery (all day marathon) or CNN. In Japan, the Japanese networks will all be talking about the six month anniversary of the earthquake, non-stop. Which is fine, because I'm going to a baseball game and getting drunk. Life moves on. Let it.

^{and the ten years after Katrina will get nowhere near as much coverage. Maybe an Anderson Cooper special (because that's where he got famous), and possibly some interesting academic studies on the effects of the diaspora and the spread of NOLA culture and cuisine.}
posted by Ghidorah at 5:05 PM on September 10, 2011 [5 favorites]

Metafilter: a fucking model of poise and maturity
posted by drowsy at 5:42 PM on September 10, 2011

Every year, light the beams. It's quiet, tasteful, simple, and does not suggest or require garish public displays of "sorrow".

Sorry, I don't know how you'd profit from that. Got any other ideas?

What I'm envisioning is a special three-panel Garfield. In the first panel, Jon puts out a pan of lasagna, but—here's the good part—the lasagna is in the shape of the two towers. In the next panel, Garfield is looking at it like he really wants it, because MAN that cat loves lasagna. But in the third panel—God, this is so good—we just show him walking away while thinking, "Not today."

Unless anyone wants to tweak, I'll send a memo over to the Garfield factory ASAP.
posted by Mikey-San at 5:45 PM on September 10, 2011 [7 favorites]

All I can come up with is, shit. I want to rage a bit or say something profound. But I have no more energy for this. So:

Shit.
posted by Splunge at 5:50 PM on September 10, 2011

I knew it couldn't be sustained indefinitely, but I always thought the twin light beams was the best memorial.

That's the Tribute in Light created by and executed by Creative Time, one of the oldest and best Public Art organizations in the country. It's up now, as it has been every year for the few days around 9/11 since 2002. If you love it, as it turns out, you can help make sure it continues to appear by buying one of these prints, the proceeds of which go to its continued funding. Full disclosure: I'm a proud Creative Time board member and helped put this project together (on the logistical side, not the artistic side).
posted by The Bellman at 5:54 PM on September 10, 2011 [5 favorites]

It is going to be difficult for cartoonists who don't buy into to the infinite NEVAR FORGET national fretting party to draw strips tomorrow. Comics readers don't want their perspectives challenged; if for reasons of conscience someone does that, it could end up being a career ender.

and the ten years after Katrina will get nowhere near as much coverage.

THIS.
posted by JHarris at 5:59 PM on September 10, 2011 [3 favorites]

Idiot conservatives own fear. It's the bedrock of the conservative worldview...

I beg to differ, liberals have a monopoly on fear of technology.
posted by shii at 6:34 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

9/11 should not be America's new religion.
posted by zardoz at 1:20 PM on September 10 [has favorites −] Favorite added! [!]

Eponysterical?
posted by brundlefly at 7:47 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Unless anyone wants to tweak, I'll send a memo over to the Garfield factory ASAP.

It's perfect. I love it, it's a jewel. I'm floored, baby. I just have a couple quick notes.

Lasagna idea is great, I see it, but let's go bigger. Let's have it be the actual twin towers. Spectacle. And we'll knock 'em down after all, it'll be a twist, audiences will talk about that shit like crazy. Viral. Project practically sells itself like that. We can have a tray of lasagna in the wreckage, hold on to that idea as well maybe, we'll see.

And, Garfield. Not sure that's the right direction, after the Murray vehicle he's on the outs, we need something a little more edgy. Garfield's an anti-hero, let's scale that up. Comic strips, comic books. Anti-hero, villain, six of one, half a dozen et cetera. I'm thinking...Dr. Doom? Yeah. But another big twist, he's not the villain here, he's as moved as anybody. Big tears.

Also, just an idea, hear me out on this because I don't want to step on your toes but I think this will really help the project, but, okay, let's have it actually be a thing that happened.
posted by cortex at 7:49 PM on September 10, 2011 [4 favorites]

Who's got two thumbs, traumatic memories, and no need to be reminded of 9/11 by media companies? EVERYONE I KNOW.
posted by peep at 9:27 PM on September 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

If anyone wants to purchase the Jesus-comforting-Santa picture for their very own, here's the artist's site. Self-taught, can you believe it?
posted by hypersloth at 10:04 PM on September 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

I beg to differ, liberals have a monopoly on fear of technology.

(guffaws) Yeah, liberals are so afraid of technology. A reluctance to consider new ideas is so liberal. Phooey.
posted by JHarris at 10:05 PM on September 10, 2011

Oh, sweet Santa comforting Jesus, that wasn't satire?
posted by Horselover Phattie at 10:06 PM on September 10, 2011

I beg to differ, liberals have a monopoly on fear of technology.

You think ABC News is a "liberal" news outlet? Really?

Do you think Fox News's viewpoint represents the opposite of "fear of technology"?

Your framing is a little off.
posted by blucevalo at 10:14 PM on September 10, 2011

So which strips didn't buy in to the hype? Foxtrot didn't.
posted by themanwho at 11:31 PM on September 10, 2011

In fact, none of the comics I read every morning at work (where I am now) mention 9/11 at all.

9 Chickweed Lane
Arlo and Janis
Dilbert
Cul De Sac

I wonder if this is going to be less widespread than people think. And I certainly hope they don't make a habit of it. In fact, I'll let Jeremy from Zits have the last word.
posted by themanwho at 12:23 AM on September 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

I beg to differ, liberals have a monopoly on fear of technology.

I'm a bit stumped; I never considered nuclear power to be an issue that fell along liberal/conservative lines. I'm pretty sure a lot of liberals support nuclear as an alternative to fossil fuels. I'm also a bit lost as to why a stories on ABC and Al-Jazeera are being used as an example of liberal sources, not to mention that it is indeed comparable in scale to the Chernobyl disaster according to most accounts I've heard.

Anyways, I'm probably missing something here. I'm tired, time for bed.
posted by Hoopo at 1:35 AM on September 11, 2011

"Also--the pencil sharpener has been driven mad by all the crayons that have been stuck in it and it'll bite your finger off!"

God I love Cul De Sac.
posted by JHarris at 1:37 AM on September 11, 2011

Participation was near 90% at King Features Syndicate (the only syndicate that doesn't participate the the GoComics megasite). Otherwise, just under 2/3, with the following strips among those not participating:
Adam @ Home
Andy Capp
Animal Crackers
The Argyle Sweater
Betty
Bizarro
Bob the Squirrel
Brevity
Broom Hilda
Close to Home
The Dinette Set
Drabble
F Minus
Flo and Friends
The Flying McCoys
Frank and Ernest
Frazz
Fred Basset
GARFIELD
Geech
Get Fuzzy
Herman
Jump Start
The Knight Life
Lola
Marmaduke
The Middletons
Monty
Non-Sequitur
Off the Mark
Overboard
PC and Pixel
Pearls Before Swine
Pickles
Reality Check
Rudy Park
Thatababy
Wee Pals
Working It Out
and ZIGGY.

And the usually ho-hum Shoe had a surprising side-reference to a part of the aftermath (about 'security obsessions').

Meanwhile, Candorville put a very different spin on the occasion. (Darrin Bell is gonna get letters!)

Interestingly, the comics least likely to do a 9/11 themed strip had main characters that were either old folks, black, British (no surprise), nerds, dogs or cats, or had no regular characters at all (surprising since The Argyle Sweater or Reality Check wouldn't have 'broken format' if they did).
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:37 AM on September 11, 2011 [7 favorites]

Wow, Candorville lives up to its name! I'd never heard of it before, but it seems like it might be awesome.
posted by JHarris at 3:30 AM on September 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Wait! What about these gems??

http://wonkette.com/402674/a-childrens-treasury-of-terrible-911-art-2

NEVAR FORGET THEM!
posted by jeanmari at 6:13 AM on September 11, 2011

If anyone wants to purchase the Jesus-comforting-Santa picture for their very own, here's the artist's site. Self-taught, can you believe it?

Thank you, hypersloth, for posting the source. I was resigned to Nevar kNowing but now I do! And it is a series no less:

The artist has been asked many times, "Why would Santa cry?" She has always left this "In the eye of the beholder," and she has been overwhelmed by the hundreds of cards and letters she has received in response to the print. She concludes the series with "Weep No More" because, "Only He can wipe our tears away!" She has dedicated this painting to her dad.

This is how you, the artist, make a buck in America; force the kitsch to the breaking point and then sell it straight up with overtones of Jesus "N Patriotism (or Jism as the cool kidz call it.)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:14 AM on September 11, 2011 [2 favorites]

well, doonesbury managed to say something intelligent about it

on the other hand, bc is just a dire little poem, isn't it?
posted by pyramid termite at 6:31 AM on September 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Against all odds, Family Circus is subtle and tasteful. Frankly, I'm shocked.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:37 AM on September 11, 2011 [7 favorites]

"Ia! Shub-Niggurath! Let the Old Ones take the souls of mommy, daddy... ah fuck it, may the whole earth be licked clean with tongues of flame."
posted by fleetmouse at 6:59 AM on September 11, 2011 [5 favorites]

So which strips didn't buy in to the hype? Foxtrot didn't.

Au contraire! Amend was merely obfuscatory in his presentation of what can only be considered an aggressive manifesto:

- The overarching narrative of the strip is the conflict between garrulous intellectualism (Peter's attempt to explain away a situation with an abundance of science-y wordage instead of confronting it directly) and steadfast force and will (Andy's piercing understanding of the situation and her desire to extract accountability in the wake of what has occurred).

- Peter's cry in the first panel, "It's not my fault!", has a double meaning: it both captures the grief and confusion of the American people in the aftermath of the attack, and emphasizes further the excuse-making nature of those too cowardly to confront the need to take swift retributive action.

- "I've only been doing physics for like 30 hours" is a direct attack on the incompetent armchair architect declarations of those willing to assert, despite a lack of any civil engineering qualifications, that they know for a fact that the towers weren't in fact brought down by a carefully concealed series of controlled explosions by factions within or parallel to the government architects of the whole attack.

- The principle being espoused in the strip, the 10,000 Hours rule, is from Outliers, a book by Malcolm Gladwell. Let's consider that name. Malcolm = Mal Come, badness is approaching. A prediction of the terror to come! Gladwell = Glad for well, with well meaning in this case a hole or depression. Happy to see a hole where something was once built! Malcolm Gladwell, an intellectualist "prophet", invoked as code for those in fact happy in their antipation of evil destroying the towers. Liberal sympathizers and apologists!

- Bottom center panel, two tall figures contraposed in upright position: the twin towers. There is a moment of silent cringing, of pregnant anticipation of retribution, presaging the violence and collapse to come.

- In the final panel, we have a visual callback to the previous panel but the figures this time presented as much shortened, Peter hunched over in a literalization of the crumbling of his previously tall figure.

Clearly, Bill Amend is saying what everyone else is afraid to. You just have to read between the lines.
posted by cortex at 8:18 AM on September 11, 2011 [6 favorites]

Against all odds, Family Circus is subtle and tasteful. Frankly, I'm shocked.

Of course, it's left ambiguous whether the kid is praying for protection or destruction.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:10 AM on September 11, 2011

He's praying for a new globe.
posted by Horselover Phattie at 9:25 AM on September 11, 2011

Mikey-San: That Beetle Bailey strip is terrible. Downright glib.

For a military-themed strip, it's odd that the Pentagon is completely ignored.
posted by dr_dank at 11:13 AM on September 11, 2011

I liked the overall theme of Doonesbury strip but didn't entirely get what was going on - I know B.D. is an Iraq War veteran but was he at the WTC?
posted by naoko at 11:48 AM on September 11, 2011

Here is Bizarro's Dan Piraro explaining his decision not to participate.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:50 AM on September 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

I know B.D. is an Iraq War veteran but was he at the WTC?

yes, afterwards
posted by pyramid termite at 2:17 PM on September 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Aha, thanks! I love Doonesbury but there is a lot of plot and character stuff to keep track of...
posted by naoko at 2:48 PM on September 11, 2011

I guess this settles the big question. 10 years exactly; that's how long you must wait after a tragedy until it's okay for comics to make funnies about it.
posted by BurnChao at 10:16 PM on September 11, 2011

on the other hand, bc is just a dire little poem, isn't it?

The ghost of Johnny Hart thinks cavemen are concerned with the fate of the United States.
posted by JHarris at 8:39 AM on September 12, 2011

"Get Fuzzy" and "Pearls Before Swine." That is all.
posted by Mental Wimp at 2:35 PM on September 12, 2011