So long Blinky.
After thirty years of living in hell, Matt Groening decides to give it up
and head to a cooler climate. His gain will be our
loss. On Friday, after the publication of his 1669th “Life
in Hell” comic strip came to an end. Groening, like Dante, gets to
escape hell, something other residents of the devil’s den only dream of.
But let's not talk theology.
Although many of us
probably think we know what it is to live a life in hell, but the strip is
different. It began as Groening’s way of describing life in his new
hometown, Los Angles. Groening is the creator of the
Simpsons. The strip was published, until yesterday, mostly in free
alternative newspapers that one finds in newspaper boxes on the corners of many
of our city streets (especially around universities), right next to the ads
taunting bargains from the seedier side of the city.
Sadly, I haven’t kept
up with the “Life in Hell” comic strip over the past couple of
decades. But when I was a student in Pittsburgh and later in San
Francisco, one of the things I enjoyed from those ad-filled alternative
newspapers was this strip with its rather plain looking bunnies as characters. Some
strips were funnier than others. Some strips made me mad, for I
didn’t agree with Groening’s point-of-view even though I would find myself
smirking. For years, I kept above my desk a copy of the
comic’s “forbidden words for the 90s” which included those slang words of the
80s that I had grown sick of hearing. Of course, the 90s brought its
own set of overused words, as have the other decades and Groening has done his
duty as keeping us apprised of new words and phrases that have been so overused
in media and along the sidewalks that they’ve become a cliché before even
having an opportunity to reach puberty. For his tireless efforts to
rid us of stale language, Groening should receive the Nobel Peace Prize or
maybe one of those the Presidential Freedom Awards.
Now that Groening has
retired, maybe Jerry Sandusky will want to revive the strip. I am sure he’s going to have plenty of time
on his hands.
it was a pretty cool strip...it was like bloom county to me....i read that growing up and got quite a few laughs off opus and bill the cat...and even though i may not agree either..its pretty funny at times and made you think a bit...smiles.
ReplyDeleteI saw someone's post the other day that was asking why all the good comic creators (or at least many of them) retire early. It is okay to laugh at what we don't agree with, it helps keep us from taking ourselves too seriously.
DeleteI've seen it but don't regularly peruse papers where it appears. I can't say I remember too much about it's content.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't make the NOLA campus papers?
DeleteSounds awesome! Jeff- That is Kerr Revoir and Dam--and I'm 99% sure that is the Yadkin River. We crossed over a bridge that said Yadkin Pee Dee Delta on the way up. That is pretty cool how they all fan out. Also we fish the New River also.
ReplyDeleteThe Kerr that I know is on the Roanoke River and straddles the VA border. I have paddled the New River many times.
DeleteGlad your daughter is playing and having fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting- you are welcome anytime
Have a GREAT Week
Aloha from Honolulu,
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >
I had no idea (but I can see it now) that this strip was done by the creator of The Simpsons...and like you, I'd lost track of it.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind knowing what those slang words of the 80s were.
I love those strips! not that one, because I never read it, but strips in general. When I was a kid ( and still now) that was/is the only page in the newspaper I paid attention to. When very young I couldnt understand most of them (still can't now) especially when the humor was political.
ReplyDeleteI used to love those things. Haven't seen it a long time though. I guess that's because I don't usually see newspapers of any kind anymore. When I subscribed, I looked at two sections. The comics and the sports page. I know, I've been called shallow before...
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this one. But I could probably use one of those forbidden words list. I tend to be behind the times on what's current and cool, so I'm sure I'm still using words and phrases that were "in" in the 90s. Or at least early 2000's.
ReplyDelete