| an ending. |
Friday's comic wraps up the current storyline. Check it out BEFORE reading the post below (which contains spoilers). If you want to start from the beginning, you can do so here.
I doubt many will be shocked by the ending, given my penchant for dour things such as miscarriages and the soul wrenching aftermath, car crashes and near death experiences. On a side note, there was discussion on another site about how miscarriages in comic strips are a frequent and cheap gimmick. I don't know if Todd and Penguin was the first comic to tackle a miscarriage story (if not first, it was the first I knew of when I did it) however, I believe I handled it in a very realistic manner which had LONG lasting effects (though I still wish I had taken the time to write it better). The characters were NOT the same.
Sicily's story wasn't designed to shock or cement my status as the guy who kills off major characters and whips up weird storylines every two years. The Sicily storyline is in honor of Frank Frisina's dog, Sicily who died last year (on my birthday, oddly enough). Frank asked if I would do something in honor of his dog. I said yes, just give me some time to figure out HOW I wanted to do it. Well, I wrote out a storyline which began with Penguin running away last Halloween. The story which followed took MUCH longer than planned as the demands on my time became more and more and updates became less and less frequent. What results is a herky jerky story which takes longer than I would have liked and wasn't as well written as I'd planned. However, I think some parts worked well. I hope I did Sicily's memory justice.
Surprisingly, since introducing the dog, I've received a LOT of email from people saying how much they like Sicily. I considered keeping her around, because let's face it, nobody wants to see the dog die or to see Penguin's devastation. However, I always stay true to the story and the characters. I couldn't and wouldn't change the story. Hopefully readers will understand.
I'm glad the storyline is over after several months. I look forward to bringing Todd and Penguin back to its happy and whimsical roots and exploring the family dynamic with the baby.
as always, thanks for reading,
david |
|
|
|
| Update, Baby V. Cat |
The Wed. comic is now up. Don't miss Friday's conclusion to the storyline.
Baby Wright is starting to test his boundaries, it seems. He has taken to swatting at the cats. It started innocently enough as what appeared to be an attempt to pet the kitties many months ago. However, in his excitement, the petting became swats to the cats' heads. We directed him away from the cats, sometimes taking his hand and showing him the "correct" way to pet. However, he would just get excited and swat again. Our older female cat, Sweetie, loves any attention she gets, so she takes the abuse for a bit before running away. Our younger cat, Charlie, who is also known as Jerk Cat and Charlie Monster for his propensity to torment Sweetie, is a bit less tolerant of Baby. He kinda' looks at us as if to roll his eyes and say, "Hey, you do something with this kid, or I will."
Baby's swatting has now progressed to include pulling tails. To make matters worse, he knows he shouldn't be doing it. How do I know that he knows? Here's an example of what happens:
Baby runs to Charlie Cat with hands outstretched.
Daddy (from across the room): "No...."
Baby turns, looks at daddy, smiles, swats cat.
Daddy (still across the room) "No... (and then with as much enthusiasm as daddy can muster) hey, where's the ball? Ball? Ball? Where's the ball?"
Baby (not falling for the misdirection - daddy apparently didn't sell it enough) swats cat again. Cat's ears are pinned to his head as he swats back.
Daddy then bolts across the room to get Baby. Baby sees this, gets SUPER hyper (mouth open wide and smiling and laughing), and begins to swat cat faster and faster, in attempt to get in as many swats as possible before Daddy can reach him.
Well, Charlie ran out of patience today, grazing Baby's arm which required Mommy to break out the boo-boo kit. Still, Baby continued to go after both cats later in the evening. I'm fairly certain he is not intending to harm the cats. He is only 14 months old and an otherwise good baby. He seems to think they are playing a game of "Grab the Tail and Smack the Head (New, from Hasbro)".
I'm not sure what to do to resolve the issue. I don't want to overreact, especially when everything I've read says a baby his age doesn't understand consequences yet, so punishment has an adverse effect. Yet, we don't want him to torment the cats or to get hurt.
So, if any of you parents out there have any advice, feel free to email me or post a comment back.Labels: baby stuff, todd and penguin |
|
|
|
| An update |
George Carlin died last night. He is the only comic I can think of with such a long career who REMAINED at the top of his game and actually got better with age. Wow. That's two surprising deaths of people who I admired for different reasons (the other being Tim Russert). I will miss the work of both men.
I won't even bother with attempting a decent segue. The new Todd and Penguin is up. A GIANT comic-book sized page which kicks off the final week of the current storyline, a detour from normal, to say the least. As is oftentimes the case, my ambition failed to consider the reality of drawing this thing. Monday's strip took me more than five hours! |
|
|
|
|
Name: Blogger Dad
Home: Florida, United States
About Me: I was a reporter at a Florida newspaper, where I covered city politics and draw editorial comics. Now, I'm a Blogger Dad (click the link for my webpage - the blog on the bottom is for Todd and Penguin) in search of a job and attempting to write a book or four.
I'm also a cartoonist, how most of you know me, who draws Todd and Penguin, Taking Up Space and the occasional other titles, featured on KeenSpot.com.
I'm married (sorry, all you ladies interested in overweight guys who spend too much time drawing) and have a one year old son and two cats. Three of the above mentioned poop way too much!
See my profile...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to the feed
|
|
posted by Blogger Dad at 
