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Newspaper comic strips once had a much larger influence on popular culture than they do today. I'm aware of at least five cartoonists whose work led to the creation of new idioms. Most recently there's been Gary Larson, whose term 'thagomizer' (the arrangement of spikes on the tail of a stegosaurid) has been used by actual paleontologists, but there's also Al Capp, whose strip "Li'l Abner" introduced the notion of "Sadie Hawkins dances" and, more indirectly, "Skunk Works". The concept of the Rube Goldberg machine is named in honor of the ridiculously overcomplicated devices that Goldberg portrayed. Arthur "Pop" Momand's strip "Keeping Up with the Joneses" is now the name of a societal phenomenon. And then there's HT Webster. Webster had a different daily strip for each day of the week - the collections I've found on archive.org mention his "The Thrill That Comes Once in a Lifetime / Life's Darkest Moment", and "Our Boyhood Ambitions / The Boy Who Made Good" and "How To Torture Your Wife/Husband" and an entire strip dedicated to cardplayer humor which was titled alternately "Bridge" and "Poker". But what he's most remembered for is The Timid Soul, which is about a man named Caspar Milquetoast. I've amassed a few hundred strips from various sources, which I'm not going to be posting in any sort of order, but that doesn't matter because Webster didn't really care about continuity. Caspar lives in (usually) a house, but sometimes an apartment, and is married to a dark-haired woman named 'Madge'- but it took Webster a while to decide on those details, so in earlier strips she may not be either. Webster usually put a ridiculous amount of detail into the art - look at the shadows, the reflections, and anything with visible mechanical parts. I'm fairly sure I have at least one "New Year's Resolution" strip, but this installment of The Timid Soul (November 11, 1935) is posted in honor of it also being Public Domain Day. "Oh Susanna" was published in 1848, 87 years before this strip. 
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Jan 1, 2021 22:15
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EasyEW posted:Thimble Theater (Elzie Segar) the beloved tale of a mutant sailor and his many hangers-on. Our current storyline is titled "A Sock For Susan's Sake". (August 3, 1937) to reiterate my guess from last thread, I think the question Popeye needs to ask is "is the man who claims to be Mr Brown, actually Mr Brown".
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Jan 1, 2021 23:45
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Johnny Walker posted:Didn't Susan see him? Hm, that's true. Perhaps the question Popeye should ask is, is the person in Mister Brown's body actually Mister Brown?
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Jan 2, 2021 01:11
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (December 11, 1933), look at the detail on that car. That is gorgeous. You can almost read the license plate. And look at all that garage equipment. (Do garages offer you the option of staying in your car during the process?) 
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Jan 3, 2021 01:21
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MariusLecter posted:He got laid. And, to be more clear, that's an edit: panels 1 and 2 are from different strips.
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Jan 3, 2021 01:40
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Slammy posted:And He Did! (December 20, 1917) Oh, that's an interesting detail - she wishes he'd have it shaved off, not shave it off.
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Jan 3, 2021 03:26
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (January 11, 1937), I admit I'd be nervous too.
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Jan 4, 2021 05:56
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (September 19, 1927), golf! Realize that Webster drew the pattern on Caspar's shirt and socks entirely by hand. 
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Jan 5, 2021 02:52
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catlord posted:Sudden shock, I think? I mean, I'm still It's 1917, sugar is being rationed.
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Jan 6, 2021 05:52
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but I think that's what the gravestone reads.
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in this installment of The Timid Soul (April 8, 1935), sometimes HT Webster liked to be experimental.
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Jan 6, 2021 06:21
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Johnny Walker posted:Anyone got a guess on this one? he's telling the children not to hide in the closet because their mother wouldn't appreciate their playing hide-and-seek in the closet. however, at that exact moment, their mother is playing hide-and-seek in the closet.
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Jan 6, 2021 18:03
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (July 6, 1931), notice the phone on the table, the laces on Caspar's shoes, the details on his bathrobe, the position of his feet as he walks.
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Jan 7, 2021 05:49
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Professor Wayne posted:The Far Side and Bill Holbrook paused while skimming through the comics page, one afternoon in 1992, and said "Hmmm."
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Jan 7, 2021 23:28
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (January 25, 1937), look at the buildings outside the window, look at the head of the match in Caspar's hand, and as always, look at the reflections beneath Caspar's feet. Also, the concept that the building's sprinkler system is new. When were they first introduced? By 1937, they were common enough that Webster could reasonably anticipate his readership to understand... 
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Jan 8, 2021 03:23
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The Bloop posted:I was also considering I Am A Strange Boop You are a strange Bloop.
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Jan 10, 2021 07:15
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (March 27, 1933), I'm not sure if Webster assumed that people would recognize the Duke of Wellington on sight, or wouldn't. Look at the detail on those costumes. 
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Jan 12, 2021 21:47
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Beagle quote:
Okay, 'is he a shapeshifter' was not a question I would have thought to ask the Jeep.
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Jan 13, 2021 00:48
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (August 2, 1937), I'm fairly sure an alcohol rub would be some kind of massage.
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Jan 14, 2021 06:48
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (July 5, 1937), look at the gorgeous detail on that wreckage.
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Jan 15, 2021 07:11
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (November 30, 1948), that's an absolutely amazing quilt. Realize that HT Webster had to draw each of those separate patterns by hand. I guess this strip pre-dates the introduction of a unified emergency phone number? I can appreciate why Caspar has the FBI's number there, but what the DA could do, I don't know. Feels a bit weird for Caspar to be sleeping alone here. 
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Jan 17, 2021 07:23
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (June 12, 1933), look at the pull-chain on the ceiling lamp, and the facial hair on the waiter, and the coathooks on the wall, and - as always - the reflections on the polished floor. $0.50 in 1933 would be about $10 now. 
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Jan 21, 2021 04:36
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EasyEW posted:9 Chickweed Lane ...oh, those are her knees. Okay. (It is way too easy to fall behind on this thread. The Timid Soul to resume soon.)
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Jan 30, 2021 07:39
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (July 12, 1937), Caspar is worried about breach of promise and alienation of affection.
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Jan 30, 2021 19:27
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in this installment of The Timid Soul (June 15, 1931), HT Webster didn't have to include any additional legible words, but he did: if you look at the full-size version, you can see that the second line says "positively" and the third line, I'm almost certain, says "prohibited".
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Jan 31, 2021 08:06
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (November 29, 1926), I wonder if the blush on the billboard model is meant to indicate anything about her relationship with the other billboard model.
Parahexavoctal fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Feb 5, 2021 |
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Feb 5, 2021 20:46
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (August 12, 1935), I'm really not sure what Caspar's putting on his feet. And I guess this was before the invention of anti-slip bathtub mats. Look at the the detail on the pipes behind the sink. The crinkling on the shower curtain where it passes above the curtain rod. The towel rack. The fringe on Caspar's towel. 
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Feb 6, 2021 17:23
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (December 6, 1937), I wouldn't be surprised if that's recognizable as a specific match trick.
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Feb 8, 2021 02:05
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (March 9, 1936), two details to notice. First, and more obviously, is the historical change towards what sort of discomfort would be expected from dentistry. But perhaps more interesting is the way that Webster chose to portray Caspar's conversation with his dentist. How long were telephones a common feature of everyday life before someone invented the "repeat what the other person just said for the benefit of the audience" technique? And in what medium would it have originated -- theater, or...? 
Parahexavoctal fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Feb 22, 2021 |
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Feb 9, 2021 23:23
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (February 20, 1933), it's interesting to realize that typewriters were once seen as decadent and modern. Look at the detail on that furniture - and the interplay between the shadows and the reflections. 
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Feb 12, 2021 06:46
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The_Other posted:I wonder if this is specifically referring to the Technocracy Movement or just technocracy in general. This installment of The Timid Soul, from January 30, 1933 (two weeks earlier), pretty clearly indicates that Webster is making GBS threads on the Technocracy Movement in specific. Bassett Jones was an electrical engineer who was mentioned in many Technocracy Movement contexts, but I'm not really sure who he was. 
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Feb 12, 2021 20:00
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Vargo posted:Curtis does not tell a joke or a fact. Sure it does. How common the term "hatiquette" is, I couldn't say, but Billingsley didn't just make it up.
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Feb 15, 2021 07:45
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Fibber McGee and Molly, brought to us by Johnson and Johnson. (July 18, 1937)
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Feb 19, 2021 04:23
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Howard Beale posted:Oh, wow! This is the first I've heard of any FM&M comic strip/ad series and it looks like one of the rare radio adaptations which keeps the feel of the show's characters and dialogue (that ad where Jack Benny pulls one over on Mary was pretty dire). If the Jordans and/or Don Quinn didn't actually write this stuff I'd love to know which house writer could. Of course there's a "Fibber McGee and Molly" expert on the forums.
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Feb 19, 2021 15:54
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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/magazine/garfield-twitter.html
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Feb 22, 2021 03:42
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This installment of The Timid Soul was published November 5, 1928 -- the day before the 1928 Presidential election (Al Smith vs Herbert Hoover). It's interesting to see such an obvious precursor to the bumper sticker being displayed on the windshield instead. I honestly can't tell if Caspar supporting Hoover meant that Webster supported Hoover too, or thought he was a worthless idiot - which was probably intentional. Don't want to piss off readers. Look at all that gorgeous detail on the car. You can even read the license plate. And there's no need to have a tree in the panel, much less a wire cage protecting the tree, but as I've said before: HT Webster absolutely loved to draw. 
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Feb 22, 2021 04:49
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Darthemed posted:Popular Comics YIPPITY DOODLE! Unmannered rogues run for shelter!
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Feb 22, 2021 19:24
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Transmodiar posted:Modesty Blaise I'm just amused by Modesty and Willie bringing only their small wedding arsenal.
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Feb 24, 2021 04:43
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In this installment of The Timid Soul (May 4, 1936), look at all those reflections and ripples. Caspar is trying to drive during the 1936 spring floods. "C.B.G." is presumably the person who gave Webster the idea for this strip. 
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Feb 24, 2021 19:22
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Technowolf posted:I'm surprised Caspar would even try to drive at all during a flood. He probably had some prior obligation, and it would have been rude to cancel.
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Feb 24, 2021 20:12
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Doomykins posted:I thought nerdy girl actually likes Rane and he calls her chest pimples to mock her so she's playing with it. No, she actually does like popping zits. And the stuff about "all those that happen to be on your neck" is him trying to threaten her with violence.
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Feb 24, 2021 21:36
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