May 13 2010
Laughing at Ourselves
It’s that time of year again! That time that creeps up on me when I least expect it, bowling me over (and straight toward the nearest armchair) with the desire to plunge into nostalgia, perspective, and humor.
Yes, it’s that time of year when I spend every evening for a week reading comic strip collections. Comics fascinate me. They are so simple, yet their combinations of pictures and words can be brilliantly expressive. They make me laugh, mostly at myself. They also, surprisingly often, make me think.
“Cathy” by Cathy Guisewite is one of my favourites (although I’ve never read past the year 2000, and it doesn’t interest me as much now that Cathy has married her long-time love interest Irving. For me a lot of the humour came from the perspectives on single life!). Years ago my sister printed out every Cathy strip from 1996-2000, and every other year or so I curl up and read through them. The older I get, the funnier they are. And now they’re also nostalgic, as the strips touch on current fads and events (Y2K, the rise of the Atkins’ Diet, various fashion trends).
My other favourites? Peanuts is number one. I’m also a fan of Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County, and Pogo. And yes, every one of my favourite strips has ceased running in newspapers. It makes me sad.
But nothing beats an evening in an armchair with a comics collection anyway :).
Your turn! Do you read comics? What are your favourites? And what other reading habits do you have that might surprise others?
P.S. You can read “Cathy” here, from ’96 to the present: www.gocomics.com/cathy/
I’m not much of a comics girl (it’s sad to admit, but I don’t think I have right sort of mind – I usually read comics dead-pan and spend ages trying to figure out what the funny bit was anyway! *Ahem!* Does The Family Circus count?), but I really admire the talent of the people who tell a little story in a handful of pictures and words – and, when I get the point of a comic, I like the prompt to laugh at myself … that’s a good thing to do from time to time! :)
Speaking of which, THIS home-school grad has always loved reading … get this … SCHOOL stories. And sometimes I re-read them for fun! :)
I’ve never found Family Circus very funny, actually — cute, yes, but especially funny, no.
Have you ever read Enid Blyton’s school stories?
Maybe it’s the English / American cultural thing – from my point of view, a lot of the Family Circus things are hilarious because they’re so-not-English! :)
Yes, Enid Blyton’s school stories are some of the stories I had in mind. Also the Chalet School series and the Abbey Girls series, plus the Jennings stories – which are actually about a school for boys, rather than a school for girls. And there are lots of other school stories that are not-so-famous. I’ve always appreciated the values of fair play (even – especially – when it hurts), commitment and loyalty – as well as generosity. Not so keen on the teasing. But some of my greatest ideals of self-denial and selfless-giving have been formed by those stories – espesially the Abbey Girls stories.
Have you ever read school stories ?
Speaking of English/American cultural things, America does not have the same tradition of “school stories” because we don’t have the same kind of boarding schools. The closest we come are stories involving one-room schoolhouses (“Understood Betsy,” “Anne of Green Gables,” etc). But my dad collected Enid Blyton books, so I read all the St. Clair books and I think another series as well. I loved them :).
Thanks for the commendation of the other books!
I read comics occasionally–usually when I’m too tired to ponder prose like Charles Dickens’! A strange fact about me: Comic rarely make me laugh out loud. They might make me chuckle; a particularly funny one will send me into a fit giggles, but that’s about it. Haven’t decided if I’m abnormal or simply prefer Charles Dickens’ irony!
P.S. I like Peanuts too!