Little Nemo,Terry and the Pirates, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes

I enjoy Little Nemo a ton. The world that McCay creates is so beautiful and unique. The comic seems to be almost just a way for McCay to show us this world he envisioned. There isn’t that strong of a plot, but it’s ok because the visuals are so fun and appealing. I love the absurdity of the comic. It really feels like a dream. It has those things in it that don’t really make sense but in the moment (like in a dream) you accept it; like how the ice palace was destroyed for money, or how it caught fire! I think the only real character with a personality in this excerpt is Flip. He is mischievous. It’s funny how awkward and not smooth the dialogue is in the comic. People are always saying “Um” and “Oh” and the characters seem to state one thing and the other character sort of repeats it back to them. It’s definitely not what I would consider to be realistic dialogue.

Terry and the Pirates is rather interesting. It’s bit too wordy for my taste, but they throw some pretty funny puns into the long streams of dialogue. It’s like a drama comedy sort of comic. It reminds me a bit of the old “Road to…” movies that stared Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. I think the biggest problem it has is that the large amounts of dialogue distract me from the pictures. 

Peanuts is quite different than Terry and the Pirates. It has very minimal dialogue and has a formulaic style of set ups and punch lines. I really enjoy it a lot. It was interesting to read some Peanuts from the 60’s and then some from the 80’s. You can tell that Charles Schulz has really honed in on what makes a good Peanuts strip. There is a lot less text in the 80’s comics and the punch lines are funnier. Charlie Browns character seems to have changed a lot as far as the drawings go. I kind of think the 60’s Charlie Brown is almost cuter than the iconic Charlie Brown as we know him today. I love how Schulz incorporates adult things into the Peanuts world. The Peanuts characters are always imitating what adults do (like the iconic psychiatrist booth that Lucy sets up) and I think this makes Peanuts into an ageless comic readable for both children and adults.

Calvin and Hobbes has been a love of mine since I was small. The art is so appealing and simple, and the puns are more of the “chuckle to myself” kind of puns rather than the “laugh out loud” kind. It really captures the mind of a kid and the drawings are so animated they come to life. I think my favorite strips are the ones that involve Calvin making snowmen. They are always morbid and hilarious. I could read Calvin and Hobbes all day.