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December 11, 2007
Tots Who Say "Trite"
Oh geez - a full week of this? Five days of Carmen and Winslow yelling at each other? Ugh.
My favorite part of this storyline is that it's always going to be neo-con Carmen saying "I'm tired of all the divisiveness." And in some ways she's right - the Republicans don't want to argue. They just want the Democrats to do everything King George wants them to do and shut up about it. The latest funding bill fight is evidence of that. But then of course a few panels later she's the one calling Winslow dumb.
It's amazing to me - the Republican candidates all want to act like President Bush doesn't exist. They don't talk about him in the debates, and they most definitely don't mention him in their stump speeches. The Greatest Warrior Evah is already in the history books in their minds, so let's not bring him up and all this messy stuff about Iraq and the economy. Oh, and it's always been a Democratic congress so let's blame them for everything that's wrong.
Yet they all basically side with W on the major issues. They want to stay in Iraq forever (except Ron Paul, the Dennis Kucinich of the right - translated to "the guy who will win the presidency right after I do"). More tax cuts for the rich. Illegally spying on us is a good thing. Torture is patriotic. And so on. Put them behind a screen and disguise their voices and they all sound like Bush when they talk (except when it comes to immigration, but most of them are coming around to his way of thinking now that they need those corporate dollars to be competitive).
Stantis is the same way. When was the last time he mentioned the Glorius Leader? When was the last time Carmen talked about how wonderful President Bush is and how if you don't support him, you don't support the troops, and you hate America? I'm just in awe of the Republican party, where only Karl Rove is talking about Bush - everybody else is acting like he's the crazy uncle nobody brings up unless he's done something so stupid they can't ignore it (like lying about the Iran NIE - but thanks to their buddies in the media they're doing a good job of ignoring that too).
Maybe this is Stantis' way of showing that it really is the Republican party that's causing all the problems in our political scene today. Maybe he finally realizes that while the conservatives like Carmen are always talking about wanting to work together and be "bipartisan" they're really the ones who yank the football away every time the Charlie Brown Democrats try to kick it, and insist that they do what President Bush wants if they ever want to kick it. Maybe Stantis is finally sitting down and thinking about his strips and in a clever, politically relevant way getting his message across.
Nah. Stantis thinks it's funny to have Carmen and Winslow yell at each other, and as long as he shows Carmen as the one who really wants to work things out he thinks he's painting the world in beautiful neo-con red. It's just how he is - untalented and unfunny.
Ahh - finally, something I think we can all agree on.
Comments
Has there ever been a Prickly City strip that has shown why Carmen and Winslow would be best friends, or any sort of friends in the first place? There is no good reason for it. I think that is at the very root of why Pricky City is so bad. (That, and the drawing... and the writing.)
Posted by: John at December 11, 2007 01:08 PM
Carmen and Winslow are frienemies, and given that that word has been slanged about for well over a year, I expect that Stantis will be aware of it in another six months.
Even though I am a liberal and I cannot draw, I'm thinking I should develop my own conservative comic strip. It can't be that hard.
Posted by: Annie at December 11, 2007 03:08 PM
John,
THe first week of "Prickly City" strips back in August '04 established Carmen and Winslow as friends. First we learn that Winslow doesn't fit in as a coyote. Then he meets Carmen and Carmen says that they aren't supposed to be friends, but because Winslow says that he likes her (in spite of their differences -- she likes Bush, he likes Kucinich; she likes rock, he likes rap) they stick together as friends.
From that point on there is absolutely no reason for them to be friends.
Posted by: Chris at December 11, 2007 06:24 PM
Thanks Chris, for the origin of their friendship (frienemyship?) Maybe I should pick up a used copy of "Greetings from Prickly City", now available "like new" for 10 cents on Amazon.
Posted by: John at December 12, 2007 09:07 AM
