Classic comic strips

I first learned about Windsor McKay while writing a paper on early animation in high school. I was mostly fascinated by Gertie, something about her character was so appealing and timeless, like the land before time dinos I loved as a child. We discussed him more in my History of Animation class last year. Little Nemo in Slumberland was high quality character animation, I was astounded that it was one of the first ones ever.

I mentioned how striking of an experience reading graphic novels was after Understanding Comics in my last entry. This awareness of form and ahah moments continued into my reading of Peanuts. The four panel strip is a perfectly synthesized contained form of comics. A simple cause and effect with only images can be hilarious and ironic. The dialogue often opposes what's going on in frame.
This strip works on so many levels, and the first three panels basically show the same action.

I found my self laughing out loud, reading alone. The strips perfectly captured the nuances of personality I see in my family and friends thats I just couldn't quite put my finger on.
This one reminded me so much of my dog back at home. She loves to nuzzle her head on you and stare into your eyes, perfectly content. I screen-shotted it and sent it in a group chat with my family and they replied "Aww it's just like Poppy!" We found humor and comfort and saw ourselves and our lives in this little strip. I had a moment of epiphany. This is what families were doing in 1950! Flipping through the morning paper and finding a gem like this that speaks to you in a sweet way. Maybe if I saw this off at University that morning in 1950, it would make me miss my family a little special. I would cut it out and paste it onto a letter, sharing my love through someone else's work.


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