Reading Between the Lines
Posted by Amy Lago on October 10, 2008
What's funny about comics is not just the punchline -- the strip on its simplest level. Test your subtext-reading skill:
Q: What's the funniest word in this Candorville strip?
A: "Nodung" River. Translated, the "No-shit" River. It's a deft allusion to the Straight Talk Express.
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Q: What is the best part of the homage in this Little Dog Lost strip, in which the Vulture tries impressing culture upon the Crow?
A: Check out the name of the diner.
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Q: Why is this strip from Sept. 14 so cool?
A: The strip coincided with the Harvest Moon, when the moon often looks bigger and brighter than it does the rest of the year.
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Q: What is the adroit word choice Brian Crane made in this Pickles strip?
A: Opal could have said "time just FLIES by." But "whizzes" is a much funnier-sounding word. It conjures "wizened" too, making it the perfect word choice.
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Q: Which is the most important color in this Watch Your Head strip by Cory Thomas?
A: The orange – as in a "jail-orange jumpsuit" – of the guy's shirt. It's a subtle clue that he's not on the up-and-up, before we even get to the part about him being a philanderer.
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Q: Why is the construction in this Home and Away strip by Steve Sicula interesting?
A: We never see Billy. Or his mom. Or the stain stick. All the action on the football field is left to the reader's imagination.
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Q: How does Tony Murphy improve the storytelling through his art choices in this It's All About You strip?
A: The monochromatic and silhouette panels provide clues to reading the dialogue. Blue and red (which together make purple) are cartoon colors of an angry face (panel 3). The silhouette (panel 5) pushes the characters back, a clue that what's said in this panel is something easily understood – clear even in the dark – but which will set up something inscrutable. It also breaks up the monotony of the talking heads . And the "beat" panel (6) in blue is the calm before the storm.
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Q: What is the biggest "nostalgia" clue – indicating the strip is set in the past – in this Red and Rover strip by Brian Basset?
A: No, it's not the antennas on their space helmets. It's the pink toilet.
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Q: How does Cory Thomas imply that Quincy is not telling the truth in this strip?
A: Quincy's face is cut off in the second panel, when he's saying he's "totally focused" on his future.
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The Fine Print:
The answers to these questions are solely the opinion of the author. If you disagree, it's a free country. So far. No cartoonists were harmed (or consulted) during the making of this quiz. |
