Tag Archives: cartoons

Baseball

A Graduate of the WTF School of Art

I might be alone in this. Maybe no one else notices or cares. I am willing to accept that.

But is anyone else as disturbed by the Daily News’ sports cartoonist as I am?

nydn_cartoon.jpgI don’t even know why, but these cartoons terrify me. Maybe it’s the way they only vaguely resemble their subjects. I assume the Yankee is supposed to be AJ Burnett, but it could also be Woody Harrelson. Or Fred Astaire. Or a million other people who it sorta kinda but not really looks like.

Maybe it’s the art’s spiritual similarity to Six Flags caricatures. I’m surprised he didn’t paint Johan Santana on a skateboard.

Maybe it’s the weird kewpie doll cheeks and pouty lips. Painting grown men like this is weird enough. Painting muscly pro athletes like this brings it into the realm of nightmare fuel. I pray you never have to see this artist’s renderings of Alex Rodriguez. 

And to top it off, OH MY GOD, JOSH BECKETT HAS NO PUPILS! HE’S A DEMON!!!

Does anyone else feel the same way, or am I totally alone in this?

Boob Tubery, Parental Guidance, The Funny

Flippin’ for Flapjack

As a parent, I’m always on the lookout for something that may warp The Baby. Not so much to shield her from harm (apart from the obvious evils), but more to spot True Weirdness that may shape her in the future.

By True Weirdness, I don’t mean someone/something that tries real hard to be weird. Some Williamsburg hipster in a handlebar mustache and a Billy Jean pleather jacket does not have True Weirdness. I’m talking about a creative expression so undiluted and genuine that the practitioner has no idea (s)he is being weird. Like some guy who lives in the middle of nowhere and who’s never been to a gallery and has no artistic ambitions at all, yet feels compelled to make sculptures out of old mufflers and crankcases.

Sadly, most kiddie fare is devoid of True Weirdness, unless you consider the preternaturally wholesome world of Barney weird. (/thrusts hand up high) SpongeBob Square Pants can get completely insane at times (in a good way), and has plenty of jokes that go way over kids’ heads. SpongeBob makes me laugh on a consistent basis, and I like that it provides steady work to Mr. Show alum Tom Kenny. Still, it’s hard to call something as popular (and lucrative) as SpongeBob Truly Weird.

There’s Yo Gabba Gabba, which is complete audio/visual crack for parents who grew up with Nintendo. And I have to applaud any kids’ show that regularly features Rahzel, Biz Markie, and Mark Mothersbaugh. But it also tries very hard to be hip. It succeeds to be sure, but this self awareness keeps it from being Truly Weird.

I have only discovered one Truly Weird kids’ show, and it is as strange as anything I’ve ever seen on television: The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. It airs on Cartoon Network, and could totally be part of the Adult Swim lineup if it had more pottymouth. But unlike the Adult Swim shows, I don’t get the sense that it’s trying to be weird. Its simply dedicated to a bizarre mini-universe whose architect has no idea how weird his visions look to the rest of the world.

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