The Dinette Set has a grand tradition of conceptual legerdemain in which the artist deftly pushes the reader's attention in one direction, tantalizing them with the lure of easy interpretation, while leaving the meatier explanations along the path less traveled. It is the equivalent of an Easter egg left for the devoted reader who is able to recognize the signs and follow that less traveled route.
Today's panel is just such a moment. The less careful reader will see naught but a fat joke. But, for those who understand The Dinette Set's sophisticated artistic vocabulary, the abundence of obesity symbolism is only the first indication that perhaps there is more here than meets the eye.
Note the careful juxtaposition within Burl's dialog of a moment of almost incomprehensible lack of perception (he hadn't noticed the bowls were smaller?) and a moment of utterly brilliant problem solving. Rather than overfilling his bowl with a mountain of ice cream or making two trips, Burl solves the problem of his personal Gordian Knot by simply walking 10 feet to grab the desired-sized bowl.
How is it possible for two moments of such diametrical opposition to live together in the same sentence and within the same person? Burl's shirt holds the final piece of the puzzle, hinting that things, such as a man's height, are not always what they seem. The entire panel, therefore, crystallizes into a coherent metaphor for Burl as idiot savant, rather than the boorish narcissist that he merely appears to be.
Soft-serve with free marginalia toppings:
- Do you think Joy's shirt deliberately leaves off the last 3 letters of "carnival" in order to make a meat-eating joke?
- I've gone cross-eyed trying to decipher the name on the soup kettle in the background. Anyone got sharper eyes than me?
1 comment:
some kind of barley. mm-mm.
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