Monday, May 12, 2008

Cartoon 102

Caption: anon.

Your caption on the next cartoon! Link in sidebar.

30 comments:

Evil Editor said...

Unchosen captions:


"Holmes, come-- Sorry, wrong literary legend."--Julie Weathers

You want how much for your basement apartment?--Julie Weathers

Your guest room leaves a bit to be desired. --Julie Weathers

none said...

Of course the infestation isn't squirrels. Those squirrels aren't infesting, they're...

...er...

...recycling!

Julie Weathers said...

I'm not really so sure it isn't squirrels or at least one squirrel.

Funny, anon.

pacatrue said...

Can I confess to not getting the Mrs. Varmighan part?

none said...

The guy's coming out intact. It's not squirrels.

writtenwyrdd said...

Funny, my squirrel infestation (annual, in the soffits, the insidious little buggers) is above, not below.

I don't get the Mrs. Varmighan either.

Evil Editor said...

The man is entering Mrs. V's attic, and yelling down to her.

none said...

Oh.

But he's looking up, EE!

writtenwyrdd said...

Oh! *forehead slap* It's a matter of perspective shift, then.

Evil Editor said...

You've been hired to discover what creature is making those noises in the attic. Mr's V. is at the bottom of the stairs you're standing on. You open the trap door and spot the creature. Do you dare take your eyes off it to look at Mrs. V. while announcing you've found it? Would this not be dangerous? Can she not hear you even if you keep your eyes trained on your quarry? Would you be able to see her anyway, with the trap door almost totally blocked by your body?

Stacy said...

Ahhhhh. Hahahahaha! Now that is funny.

none said...

EE, interpretation of meaning relies more on body language than on words. We see the guy looking up; we assume he's speaking to the EE figure.

Is funnier your way tho'.

Evil Editor said...

The whole point of having him name the person he's speaking to, Mrs. Varmighan, is to make it clear that he's not speaking to EE.

pacatrue said...

It's even funnier this way, even after explanation. I thought that he was reporting to EE that there was an infestation of minions.

I like this version better.

Kiersten White said...

I understood it the first time I saw it and thought it was hilarious. I guess this makes up for my confusion on the "Depends" cartoon.

Mrs. V's a lucky, lucky woman.

Evil Editor said...

To make it clear which perspective to view it from, perhaps it needs to be two panels. Panel 1: Husband and wife on couch hearing noises from above. Panel 2: same as current cartoon, but husband speaks to "honey" instead of Mrs. V.

none said...

That's part of my point, EE--the inference made from the body language is so strong that the Mrs V reference is set aside as inconsistent with what's "obvious". Not by everyone, of course! but by more than just me :).

Evil Editor said...

Your point is understood. My point is that it doesn't matter if it takes a few extra seconds to get it as long as you get it. Your first thought is, Mrs. V? But that's EE! Either this guy thinks that's Mrs. V, or Mrs. V isn't on-screen. But wait, if he thinks that's Mrs. V, what's the joke? There is no joke. But if he's actually talking to someone we can't see, the joke is that EE is the infestation.

talpianna said...

It would work better with moles.

Everything else does.

Kiersten White said...

Man. I used to think this cartoon was funny, but this has pretty much killed it for me.

ril said...

I would delete "an infestation" personally, but that's me all over. Actually, I thought this one was hilarious right from the start.

I'm surprised it still makes sense without "Mrs. Varmighan". The power of a good editor, I guess.

Evil Editor said...

This was an experiment to see if I could make it clear he was looking at EE but not talking to him. If it's not working any better, I may as well return to Mrs. V.

ril said...

Sorry - I'm just chain-pulling. I liked the originally (naturally!), but if folks didn't get it, then the re-write helps.

And I'd only just stopped having nightmares over the "Depends" incident...

fairyhedgehog said...

Sorry, I'm one of the 'not gets'.

I had to read through a lot of comments before I got it, especially as Mrs Varmhigham had gone missing by the time I read it.

none said...

Just as Freud predicted, Kiersten! Sorry, though :).

Stacy said...

I actually think not having a first panel makes this funnier. It's like Doonesbury: you have to wait a few seconds to get it. Having to go through the thought process makes the payoff (the joke) that much funnier.

ril said...

I wonder if he should be saying your attic rather than the attic?

Evil Editor said...

Anything else? Would you like him better in a brown hat?

Anonymous said...

The usually get in somewhere around the eaves. You'll probably need to go up on the roof and look around the eaves with a ladder to see everything. Or you could spend some time watching the squirrels in your yard; they'll eventually show you their way in. But once you get them out you'll have to have those soffits seen to or the little buggers'll be back sure as sixpence.

ril said...

How about one of those hard hats with the light on it? I'd like to have one of those. Great for getting to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I wonder if the contractors are allowed to take those hats home with them. Almost worth a career change for that, don't you think?