Last Daily Foxtrot
I have taken a particular liking for Foxtrot comics by Bill Amend (which started to appear on the newspaper just a few years ago) - it has precisely blend of humour and geekness - you may not understand some of his strips if you are insulated from online happenings - for example, you might not get World of Warquest. Some of the references in the strip are also slightly obscure - but it’s truly a great feeling to get the “AHA” moment as he parodies some events in the strips, when it seemed like being able to understand the references from his strip meant you’re perhaps more tuned than the rest.
The one above for example - you’d have to understand the context of the strip. This is the last daily strip to appear on newspapers (I cut only the last two of the three frames to fit into this blog) - he would switch to drawing only on weekends from now on. I guess 19 years of daily humor does take its toll. And the character’s conversation were simply a final tribute to his fans and readers. And if you didn’t know what “fourth wall” means, you might not get it completely either.
So, this is a tribute to Bill and Foxtrot - the strip will appear only on weekends - and that perhaps would again reduce the incentive to drop my eighty cents for a daily newspaper on the other days.
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Haha! I’m a big fan of foxtrot as well, since the 1990s. Back then I was more drawn to the characters, and because I was a kid back then, it was hard to grasp some of the concepts which Bill was putting forth. I probably wouldn’t get the “Fourth Wall” strip you’ve posted back then.
You mentioned something about the “AHA” moment. I’m not sure if you meant it as a reference to the pop/soft-rock/synth Norwegian band (A-ha) who made it big in the 80s and who recently made a comeback, or if you meant it as the revelation kinda “a ha!”… but now that you mentioned breaking the fourth wall and “AHA” in one breath, it only leads me to recall this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WayYcrx4Gv0
‘Take on Me’, by A-ha. Certainly lots of inferences to the ‘Fourth Wall’, which one commenter mentions the lead singer (also the protagonist in the video, Morten Harket) might have literally or figuratively ‘broken’. Excellent video, ranks as my top favourite music video of all time.
Great music, too. Makes you wanna travel back in time.
So yeah, back to Foxtrot. It’s high-level parody, of the same vein (but with probably more geek-appeal) as Dilbert.
Happy New Year, dear buddy.
Heh, trust me when I say I did not make the AHA reference. =) I’m just a geek.. not quite a John Carpenter yet. =)
And happy new year to you too! Have fun in the superficial land!