23 May 2007

Shades of Gray

In today's Dinette Set, Burl and Joy split hairs over saccharin, leaving the larger questions unanswered:
  • What does Burl's extra large dialog balloon hide? It's utterly redundant to say "leave without paying" and "walked out and didn't pay" so that can only mean something is hidden behind the word balloon.
  • How can we save Timmy? Is it possible to reach into the panel and extract him, for his own well-being?

1 comment:

Eric said...

I think one of the problems I have with the strip is its total lack of attention to reality.

I know, big surprise.

But still. I can believe that the Pennies (Pennys?) are crazy, trashy, idiots. I can believe that they have Clown paintings all over their home, and that their home is full of ironic tchotchkes that seem to be placed in our view only fleetingly to emphasize some point before being whisked off to their storage room to gather dust.

What I can't believe is that any restaurant, anywhere, ever, would have so many security cameras. Sorry, I just can't suspend disbelief that much.

Perhaps the cameras are placed there by the artist to signify something. The very discomfort that their placement evokes in me was intentional, a commentary on our modern surveillance society. The one camera pointing straight out of the frame saying to the viewer: "We're watching you."

So: either delightful concept art or just plain overzealous ironic details.