« At, Not With | Main | Opening Days Ago »
April 20, 2008
Floater
The local newspaper doesn't carry Prickly City so I read it online. Today the syndicate was nice enough to display the strip as Stantis intended - even though there's no newspaper in the country that would rearrange their entire layout because Stantis wanted to try something different. I feel bad for the people who were forced to turn their papers sideways to read a strip that DOESN'T MAKE ANY DAMN SENSE.
I understand what Stantis was trying to do. Hope - and balloons - float (well, as long as the balloon is filled with helium). Coyotes don't - so they crash to the ground if they don't have enough balloons to hold them up. That's all fine and good - nothing all that terrible, but also nothing all that funny about it. Whatever - par for the course in PC.
Unfortunately what's also par for the course with Stantis is that his last panel makes absolutely no sense.
If Winslow's balloon isn't big enough to help him float, then:
1) Where's Winslow's body? Didn't he crash to the ground?
2) Why is the balloon on the ground instead of Winslow? It's obviously filled with helium, since it's floating an inch off the ground in the last panel. Why didn't it float away?
3) Why did the balloon deflate from panel 3 to panel 4?
4) Again, where the heck is Winslow???
I would have to think that a "professional" comic strip artist like Scott Stantis would know how to write a punchline for this joke. The last panel should have been something along the lines of Winslow smooshed on the ground, covered in bandages with little stars circling his head, while the balloon floats off in the distance. Is that so hard?
Apparently for Stantis, yes. He can't be bothered with little things like writing comic strips that are both funny and logical. Nope - he wants us to believe that WINSLOW DID FLOAT AWAY IN THAT LAST PANEL SINCE HE'S NOWHERE TO BE SEEN. Is that what you were going for, Stantis? I mean you draw Winslow's eyes to be all bugged out in the third panel as if he's about to crash to the ground, but Carmen is there to tell us that coyotes don't float - yet HE'S NOT ON THE GROUND. So, using simple logic, according to Scott Stantis coyotes do float. Is that what you were going for today Scotty?
Just when you think he can't get any worse, Scott Stantis proves you wrong. Very wrong.
Comments
Could this be an intricate allegory for the right-wing attack dogs trying to weigh down Obama's campaign, which like a balloon is light with hope but a bit insubstantial, and how they won't leave(as Winslow seemingly did between panels) until they've brought him down entirely and left him deflated? Nah, it's just badly done and nonsensical.
Posted by: Antenora at April 20, 2008 11:08 AM
So the aliens didn't get him? (Area 51 possible ref.?)
Truth IS indeed "out there" in Prickly City.
Posted by: Packerchu at April 25, 2008 01:01 AM
