Thursday, June 20, 2013

Only Two Wishes? Damn Economy! A Warm and Fuzzy Caption!


No, I don't really take my coolant system for granted! Damn you blog spam!


Yeah, I run this blog without the CAPCHA control on comments because I know how hard it can be to try to say something on a Tablet or Smart Phone and you can't read it, so I just clear out my spam folder every day or two. When I just checked it now, the spam told me that I probably take my coolant system for granted. Well as someone that actually flushes their car twice a year, I certainly DO NOT take it for granted. I also have many more fans than I need in my computer set up. Oh well, at least its a break from all the "BALL BEARING" spam that I usually get. YES, MULTIPLE posts all talking about ball bearings!

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this cute little caption I made about 2 hours ago, after I got home from the gym. I think everyone should know the source material .. I mean, the last paragraph spells it out for those that weren't quite following. I was trying to build it up where people who knew the comic strip real well would catch on first, then progress onward until everyone was in on it at the end .. where the reveal would hopefully get a response of "Awww!" and warrant a reread for those who didn't quite get it until the end. I THINK I was able to flesh out 3 of the 4 wishes enough without leading people by the hand. Its so much better when your readers can catch on quickly. I never blame them though if they don't .. its my job to make sure they see what I want them to see!

All of this was borne out of seeing a Calvin and Hobbes book on the night stand. Most people would probably have to squint to see it but I certainly knew it was there. The look on her face screamed "JUST WOKE UP!" and she was so unkempt yet innocent, I pictured her as an older version of Calvin (she doesn't really look like Susie Derkins but I was trying to tie in as many references I could without making them a detriment to the storyline) so it wasn't too hard to craft a "wishing" story to wrap the picture around. Hell, I think everyone that is into TG stories and captions would love to own a device like Calvin's "Transmogrifier".

Other than Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes was my favorite comic strip when I was growing up. Hard to believe that they've both been gone for almost 20 years. Thank goddess that we still have them in compilation form. Sometimes I wonder if both creators have kept writing the strips, but just haven't put anything out, and became reclusive sort of like J.D. Salinger. Then after they pass on, the family puts out like a HUGE collection so everyone can see their genius. Sadly, it is most likely a daydream, though the sort that a little boy and his stuffed tiger might think up.


DISCUSSION QUESTION: What is your favorite comic book strip of all time? How about from the current strips that are available? Any of these lend themselves well to TG Captions?

6 comments:

  1. Oh Calvin, it builds character. Wonderfully silly cap, Dee.

    C&H and The Far Side were always my favorite strips growing up, but I also really liked an off-shoot of Wiley Miller's Non Sequitur about a soul getting reincarnated throughout history called Homer. The TG implications are obvious (and happened several times IIRC), but I had no idea of my interest in the subject at the time.

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    1. Never got to read that one. Perhaps I'll search it out when I get a chance.

      I pretty much stopped reading comic strips after Opus, Far Side, and C&H stopped publication, and once Robotman became "Monty" I didn't even bother to look in the Sunday papers either. I do still get Dilbert in my morning email.

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  2. Thanks for another cute cap and especially for the shoutout to Calvin and Hobbes. C and H was a terrific strip.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it. I was trying to get a feel for the original and how it would be written if Bill W. was a TG captioner.

      Looking back over some of the strips last night (after posting this one) I noticed something that had influenced me without even knowing it. This strip was the first time I really saw a parent(s) / child relationship from an adult standpoint, where parents can see that their child IS flawed and/or weird, but they still do love him, and even let him have his flights of fancy, hoping that he'll still turn out ok as an adult.

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  3. Great cap Dee!

    I love Calvin and Hobbes and not simply because I share a name with the main character. When I was younger it was one of the few comics that could make me genuinely laugh on a regular basis, but as I grew older I still loved it for its whimsy and its ability to look at adult life through the lens of a child.

    There are many MANY comics that I've enjoyed over the years and I'm not sure I could ever distil the list down to a single favorite. They all have their particular appeal. Bloom County, Opus, The Far Side, Beetle Bailey, Andy Capp, Hagar the Horrible, B.C., Garfield, Doonesbury, Non Sequitur, Get Fuzzy, Fox Trot, and the Born Loser are all ones that I read on a consistent basis.

    But one that really sticks out is For Better or Worse. While most comics are the same moment in time (could Garfield really be alive for decades? Could Calvin really stay a little boy for years and years?), For Better or Worse had their characters grow into adulthood and actually have children of their own. I mean I just found it interesting that the main character was roughly my age and as I grew up and experienced new things, so did that character. It actually felt a little odd when the comic character progressed further in life than I did by getting married and having children of his own.

    I'm not sure that any of these comics have a direct and easy TG caption potential. I mean who would want to be changed into Nermal?

    Thanks for the walk down memory lane Dee. I haven't read any comics for years now.

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    1. Its why I didn't put "Calvin" in the title, so people wouldn't think it was a caption for you!

      I've noticed that Archie Comics has always seemed to be THE comic for TG writers to use in their stories. I'm not sure if its the consistent artwork (Put long hair on Archie and he's a chick!) or the universe it inhabits (Serena the Teenage Witch) or maybe its longevity (over 50+ years in the public awareness) but there are MANY stories and rejiggered versions of Archie and the Gang's TG adventures!

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