If I didn't know better, I'd guess this is what passes for geo-political commentary in The Dinette Set. Burl and Joy are so concerned about escalating tensions and violence that they have taken to hoarding in anticipation of the pending apocalypse.
But the chances of The Dinette Set being topical are about as slim as the chances of it being coherent.
Besides, if you squint really hard, I think you can just make out a tornado on the televison screen. So what we have, then, is not cutting edge geo-political commentary, but a more general comment on how close we are to allowing free-floating terror to overtake our daily lives.
We're all just one more catastrophic weather event from casting aside all pretense to civilization and trampling loved ones in the rush to be first to the bomb shelter in our backyard. One more increase in the terror alert level and we will live the rest of our days in the company of canned food, defending our personal fiefdoms from armies of mutants attempting to eat our brains.
In a world such as this, it's nice to see that gentility will survive.
We may be forced to use our shotgun to splatter mutant brain matter onto the walls of the shelter. But we will have paper towels with which to clean up.
And, despite the havoc wreaked on our digestive system by a steady diet of Vienna Sausages, Hormel Chili, and SpaghettiO's, our asses will be clean and, apparently, smell of cinnamon buns.
On the other hand, we may actually just be looking at a second consecutive entry in the contest for the single most boring and pointless conversation ever published in comic form.
In the mutant margins:
- Would it have killed Ms. Larson to take her time and spell "hoarder" correctly? It might not bug me so much if it weren't for the fact that "Stock Hoarder" isn't a recognizeable phrase or pun.
- I find it very odd that Joy sits in a chair while doing inventory.
- Look at the logo on the Cinnabuns Toilet Tissue. I think that is a silhouette of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. I don't even want to begin speculating about that connection.
- Ms. Larson wrote out the name of the item on the top shelf 6 times (5 bottles on the shelf and at the bottom of Burl's list) and managed to make it illegible every single time. Congratulations.
- That closet door seems much too small for the opening. But then again, the sense of perspective in the entire panel is somewhat reminiscent of M. C. Escher, though probably not deliberately so.
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From her website:
When asked where Julie gets all of her ideas, she admits there is only one way to write a daily comic: write about what you know. "I make no bones about who's really talking in The Dinette Set," says Julie, who is writer, director and cast of The Dinette Set. "If we can't make fun of ourselves, who will?"
How sad, this is her life.
I think the shirt is supposed to read "Stock Harder" . . . which almost makes sense.
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