The Bendable Universe

See it here.

Once again, The Dinette Set bends its universe into an unrecognizable shape in service of The Joke.

How else to read this panel in which we are asked to believe either that Burl has bought a new car and is most interested in discussing the stretchy seat belts or that Burl has replaced the seat belts in his existing car with all new American car seat belts.

Neither explanation is believable. Nor is either explanation quite absurd enough to be funny unto itself, which is the typical stock-in-trade for the one-panel comic: frantically absurd set-up juxtaposed with diametrically serene text.

And herein lies the brilliance of The Dinette Set. Reinventing the one panel comic as an entirely new art form in which technique mirrors subject matter in perfectly flawed fashion. Weaving together elements which are executed in a fashion that is antithetical to the format, it can't even claim to aspire to mediocrity, like it's less-than-mundane subjects.

Too timid in composition and situation to cross the line into completely absurdity. And yet just strange enough to divert attention from whatever humor might be buried within its text. It's the perfect mirror image for its subjects who are themselves too timid to be truly objectionable and yet just strange enough to be utterly dislikeable.

30% stretchier marginalia:

• The driver's side glass is opaque while the passenger-side interior is some sort of eerie grey mist.
• Timmy has been oddly emphasized this week, appearing as the central character (at least visually) in two other panels.