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Home , Al Capp, Daily comic strip, Judge Parker, Kickapoo Joy Juice, Mary Worth, Pogo (comic strip)

DOCUMENT RESUME ED 024 682 TE 000 912 By- Suhor. Charles As Classics? Pub Date May 67 Note- Sp. Journal Cit- The Teachers Guide to Media & Methods: v3 n9 p26-9 May1967 EDRS Price MF- S0.25 HC-S0.35 Descriptors- *Cartoons. ContentAnalysis.CriticalReading. English Instruction. Graphic Arts, Literary Analysis. *Literary Conventions. Literary Discrimination, *Literary Genres.Literature Appreciation. *Mass Media. , Symbols (Literary) Comicsas a special literary genre--must be judged by special criteria.In fact, the four- daily must be judged by differentstandards from the full-length or the single- or double-frame comic.Among the four-panel strips are found comics that make a claim toliterary quality--"Lil Abner," "," and "." These comic strips are "uniquely expressive" andtranscend the severe limitations of their genre through a creative use of languageand symbolism. Charles Schultz's technique in "Peanuts" involves understatement andsymbolism through which adult personality types act inthe guise of children. 's "Pogo-lingo"--a purposeful. comic distortion of language employing manypuns--becomes part of the cartooning style and. thus, has graphic value.Like Kelly, is a satirist, and his Abner is in the American tradition of the innocent picarowhose responses reveal the shams of society. WS)

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THE TEACHERSmedia GUIDE TO &methods An Expansion of SCHOOL PAPERBACK JOURNAL

ISORY BOARD May, 1967 Val. 3, No, 9 arry K, Beyer EDITORIAL s't Prof. of Education State University SMILESTONE 3 ax Bogart st. Dir., Div. of Curriculum & Instruc. TEACHING AND THEORY te Dept. of Educ., Trenton, N. J. harlotte Brooke SUM'ER READING, SUM'ER NOT pervising Dir. of English Frank Ross sh., D. C. Public Schools COMICS AS CLASSICS? lexander M. BUtrillIn Charles Suhor 26 rector, Paperback Programs E.P., Middletown, Connecticut PAPERBACKS n Culkin, S.J. GOD'S JUNKYARD REVISITED rector, Center for Communications Patrick Hazard rdham University, New York City 21 IFrrsGOOD ENOUGH FOR MY FATHER... aniel Fader Fred Marcus 38 ject Dir., Dept. of English of Michigan at Ann Arbor NEWSWORTHY PAPERBACKS 45 idney Forman of. of Education and Librarian AND MED1A-MIX eachers College, Columbia U., N. T. GUTENBERG COMES TO tlorris Gall Louis Forsdale 6 cial Studies Dept. livid TEACHING DAVID AND LISA rwalk Public Schools, Conn. nald Klemer E. Putsch 16 on ULYSSES perintendent of Schools Barry Robinson stings.on.fludson, N. Y. 42 ter Kontos ir., Princeton Co.op. School Program inceton, N. J. MILLER'S THE CRUCIBLE ilip Lewis Ned Hoopes 35 esident, instructional TELELOG names, Inc., Chicago, Illinois 37 poseph Mersand Pim. of English Dept. RECORDS AND TAPES maica HS, New York City A CURE FOR CHRONIC 'COMPOSITIONITIS' rank E. Ross Peggy Hutchinson 30 soc. Prof. of English AUDIOFILE Mich. U., Ypsilanti, Michigan Kirby Judd 32 e rt r a m Siegel rem. of Science Dept. DEPARTMENTS dford Jr. HS, Westport, Conn. avid Sohn HAVE YOU DISCOVERED? 34 str. of English 16mm IN-SIGHTS iddlesex Jr. HS, Darien, Conn. William J. Sloan 40 . Jerry Weiss ANNUAL INDEX 44 nmn., English Dept. REPRINTS AVAILABLE 46 rsey State College. N.J.

k McLaughlin, Editor utgers University Culkin, S.J., Motion Pictures THIS MONTH'S COWER ordham University Hoopes, Television Mears fall Mots eel Hit the kaki This sow unter College H S, N. Y. sw tkeesenes of kids will ge Owe le Me see Judd, Records & Tapes again .. .1 beads, sr reel about it in Nu Disee's ong Meadow H 3, Mass. The females 1111 of Sallee (Salleetioe, 75e). Marcus, Paperbacks alifornia State College rt Parkinson, Materials Co-ord. vanston, Illinois, Public Schools The Teachers Guide to MEDIA & METHODS (formerly SCHOOL PAPERBACK JOURNAL) Ls published nine times per year September through May try Media & Methods n Rouse, AssoCiate Editor Institute, Inc., 124 East 40 Street, New York, N. Y. 10016. Phone; 212 MU 7.114511. mithtown, N. Y. Public Schools Subscription: $3 per year, $4 in Canada. $2 each for 20 or more to one school address. Single copy 40t. t Copyright, Media & Methods Institute, Inc., 1967. Printed in U.S.A. by Kos Faucher, Managing Editor World Color Press. Controlled circulation postage paid at Sparta, Illinois. Koeth, Art Editor West Coast : i E Publishers' Representative Co. IMO Melrose Ave., Los Simmons, Circulation Mgr. Angeles, California; 420 Market St., Sau Fianeiscu, California. es Burnett, Business Mgr. Manuscripts: M & M pays up to On fur arudes about creative and effective methods and media lit the classroom. A practisal, baw.tu approach is preferred, but there's always Laino, Advertising Manager a place in our pages for stimulating, challenging theory, lout Manuscripts should be triple. spaced, 50 characters wide-- HMO words is a comfortable length but shorter and longer r Oamio, Publisher pieces are acceptable. Authors may want to check article ideas with the Editor to avoid the possible frustration of duplication. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE

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TO ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE U.S. OFFICE 0! EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REOUIRp PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.' , - - Comics as Classics?by Charles Suhor

THE VALUE OF comtcs has been a subject of Comics must be judged by special criteria, debate in America for almost three decades. In since the 's skill is an essential part of the 1940's parents and teachers fretted over the the total impression created by any comic strip. degrading effects of comics on American youth. It is also evident that different kinds of comics In the 1950's psychologists and educators investi- are subject to different standards of criticism, gated the claim that comics might be related to because structural limitations differ greatly in the juvenile delinquency. More recently the comics case of the single frame comic, the 2-panel comic, have been viewed as a charming and highly re- the 4-panel , and the full length vealing expression of popular culture, and exe- comic book. getes of modern society like Marshall McLuhan The creative possibilities of the comics have and David Manning White have commented on not been, perhaps cannot be, realized in all of the role of the comics in shaping modern life. these comic forms. The single frame comic, for But the comics have seldom been considered example, is intrinsically limited by its rigid for- fron a purely literary point of view. "Literary" mat, which from The Yellow Kid (the first real evaluations of the comics Lava typically consisted comic) to Toonerville Folks to They'll Do It of irrelevant comparisons to more complex Every Time has consisted of a humorous action in genres, without reference to the structural quali- the foreground, commented on or complicated ties that are unique to comics. The practice of by one or more figures in the background. In the comparing comics to novels recalls the simplistic two-panel comic, the second panel simply exposes methods of many .critics in the 1940's who set the chicanery or hypocrisy of a character intro- out to demonstrate the inferiority of by duced in the first. The cluttered canvas of the comparing the form of a Beethoven symphony single frame comic and the pat formula of the to the Saint Louis Bluesinvariably to the dis- two-panel comic have produced little more than advantage of the latter. But a genre is not defined occasional witty satirical barbs. in terms of the characteristics of other genres. A The full length comic book, or "funny book," haiku is not accurately described as a bad sonnet, has given psychologists much to toy with, but nor can a sonnet be seen as a watered-down epic seldom has it produced anything "f literary value. poem. A genuine literary criticism of the comics The comic books of the Disney-Schlesinger-Lantz must begin with the comic genre itself. variety have been consistently wholesome since the early 1940's, but clearly they are lacking in literary interest. They have had considerable in- fluence on American culture,, but it is the airy Charles Suhor, presently on an Experienced Teach- and limited impact of a Hans Christian Ander- ers Fellowship at the University of Illinois, has con- sen tale or a Strauss waltza genuine but pro- tributed articles toDown Beat and Delta Review. foundly unprofound grass roots pop art. The few

26 full length adventure comicsthat offered, by "classics" of the comic worldfall intothis accident or design, a kid-sizedWeltanschauung category: , so true to American family (CaptainMarvel, ,The , life of the first haif of the century; those mis- ) might reveal somethingabout placedvaudevillians, ; Smoky popular fantasy-patterns and stereotypes, but Stover, overflowing with outrageous puns and this is hardly a literary perspective. zany irrelevancies; ,which It is in the four-panel daily comic stripthat turned the comic art onto the age-old problem most of the comics that can make anyclaim to of the uneven battle of the sexes. literary quality have appeared. The viability and But these famous comics, however quaint appeal of Li'l Abner, Pogo, and Peanuts may be and steeped in Americana, only fulfill the comic attributed to an instinctively creative response to genre. They do not rise above it, as LaAbner, the possibilities of an extremely confining genre. Pogo, and Peanuts do. How, then, do the best The limitations inherent in the four-panel comics transcend the limitations of the genre? comic are manifold. The four-panel comic de- mands a simplicity in form and content and PSYCHOLOGY AND SATIRE discourages extensive use of dialogue and vir- tuoso aft work. The comic is basically a visual First, they do excellently what all good com- art, an art of action in which the action itself ics do. The art work bears the unmistakable must stand out clearly against a simple, unclut- stamp of an original cartooning stylist, and it is tered landscape. Unless the cartoonist consciously uniquely expressive. The successful cartoonist uses these limitations as agimmick and an brings a sense of motion to every panel, drawing identifying aspect of his style(as in Smoky the reader actively into the four-panel sequence Stover), the use of excessive dialogue and over- with a remarkable sense of presence and imme- ambitious art work can destroy the clarity and diacy. Al Capp is superlative in this respect. pace of a comic strip. (Perhaps it was exces- Li'l Abner's huge feet seem almost three-dimen- sive dialoguethatkilled Crockett Johnson's sional as he struts good-naturedly through a brilliant Barnaby strip.) panel; Mammy Yokum's violently clairvoyant The limitations in content in the fotir-panel trances are as throbbingly alive as the heartbeat strip spring from the limitations in form. How of Poe's famous tale; the bizarre ingredients can the writer hope for any significant develop- that go into seem to evoke ment of character, plot and theme when work- visually a terrible stench as Hairless Joe and his ing with a minimum of dialogue?. Moreover, Indian pal stir the cauldron. attempts at subtle development of a character Charles Schulz's artistic technique in Peanuts or at introduction of a sub-plot are virtually is understatement. In his own way Capp's equal impossible when the artist must confront the in expressiveness, Schulz can portray a sheep- reader with such minute units of story each day. ish, guilt-ridden grin, a grimace of exaspera- Compression is necessary: characters must be tion or a bad attempt at suppressing hostilities utterly self-revealing. They must react in cari- with little or no overt action on the part of his catures of. human emotion if the story is not to characters. Schulz can, of course, depict motion be protracted to absurd lengtha practice which magnificently when the occasion calls forit. would run counter to the reader's desire to When motion comes, itis typically spasmodic enter into a world that is clear and highly ani- and consciously overstated, as in 's ebul- mated in content as well as in form. lient dances or Lucy's cyclonic shouts of anger The comic strip, then, is unsuitable for treat- that literally cause Charlie Brown to do a flip ment of "serious" themes and characters. Ad- backwards. But the basic artistic device em- venture ard humor, both of which are com- ployed in Peanuts is not gross physical action patible with stereotyped characters, are adapta- but an essentialrestraint brought hilariously ble to the comic page. Attempts at creating to life with a few economical strokes of the pen. "drania" (, , Rex Mor- Clever cartoon styles, however, are not rare gan, M.D.) result in a comic literature that in the world of the comics. The three comics makes look like high art. The gag, under analysis have, in varying degrees, two the quick quip set in motion in the first panel qualities that finally them to the sphere of and brought to a peewee crescendo of renewed art: they employ a creative use of language and, comic anticipation in the last,is the format most importantly, symbolic elements either in most natural to the comic strip. And indeed, the basic structure of the strip itself or in epi- a wide variety of comic charactersmany of the sodic materials. These symbolic elements are the 4:44,. 27 vehicle through which the comic artistexposes the style that uses in his book, In foibles and makes his comments on society. His Own Write. The freshest use of language appears in Walt Moreover, in Kelly the dialogue is part of Kelly's Pogo. While Capp is more faithful to the the cartooning style; it has graphic value. Kelly dialect of his characters than his predecessors makes extensive use of selected words and syl- were, Kelly's language goes far beyond relatively lables printed (or rather, "drawn") in boldface familiar dialects to a unique Pogo-lingo,an in- or smali print (a) to depict the vocal inflections genious, purposeful distortion of language for in his characters' speechin much thesame way comic effect. (E.g., Kelly's delightful Christmas as J. D. Salinger. Moreover, Kelly not only por- carol , "Deck Us All with Char- trays the dynamics of conversation moreex- lie," or a recent comment by a Pogofenokeean: pressively through the widerange of graphic In my country we leave no stone unthrown for techniques at his disposal (b), but he playfully justice.) This is not mere malapropism but a interweaves bogus dialect stresses (c) and sub- creative toying with sounds and words, much in merged puns (d). 28 foreign aid, dialogue with visual de- targetsVietniks, social workers, Kelly enlivens his television, the welfarestatethat he might well vices that comment onthe character ofthe be dampening theeffect of his morepenetrating speaker or the qualityof the utterance (e).At di- socialcriticism.Still,future scholars seeking other times thecartography of the dialogue mid- panel (f). out an index ofsocial problems of the rectly complementsthe action in the literature will find language, like his cartoon twentieth century in popular Schulz's use of few more thorough and moreamusing commen- style, takes a differentform from that ofKelly characters in Peanutsalternate tators than Capp. and Capp. The Capp's upbraiding ofmodern society has between kid talk andthe most improbableadult be taken many forms, buthis most memorable diction. Charlie Brown saysI don't pretend to propheticcontribution is theshmoo. of prophetic literature;Linus, watch- and most a student The , Cappfans will recall, is a pear- ing an ant,observes that Ile's grinningin a Why shaped animal that solvesall of humanity's prob- knowing way; Lutywon't stop crying: gives milk, tastes delicious, of an emotional out- lems. It lays eggs, should l deprive myself reproduces with incrediblerapidity, grows whis- let? Schulz did notinvent anti-climax, of course, toothpicks, and, best of all, able to use it sointegrally kers that serve as but who else has been loves to give itself tomankind. and persuasively in acomic strip? of the shmoo (when individuating device used But with the discovery The most brilliant Valley of the Shmoon) come artists is the manipulationof it escapes from the by great comic the problems that areinevitable when a society symbolic materials. WithSchulz a simple over. within is freed from the burdensof existencemillions riding devicethe playof adult psychology leisure begets who move about the are put outof work, excessive the winsome children indolence and self-indulgence,the economy is panelsis employed in avariety of situations as in chaos. Capp foresawand expressed through several adult personalitytypes act and react pitfalls of a prosperity guise of children. the comic medium the under the innocent that liberates manfrom the familiar worldof This unlikely device"comes off" in Peanuts in a vacuum of in- combination of the basic drudgery, only to place him because of the magical to cope with. the clever understate- activity which he has no resources child-adult masquerade, While the shmoo is certainly not asymbol of ment of Schulz's cartoonstyle, and the skill- Despite the wide automation and cybernetics,it created problems fully manipulated language. of abundance and leisurewhich automation and acclaim that the strip hasreceived as a percep- life, however, it is high cybernetics are posing forcontemporary society. tive critique of modern asking, when the Amer- its synthesis of formal What happens, Capp is comic art by virtue of ican Dream comes true and asociety accus- elements, and not by reasonof any striking with content. Schulz's tomed to toil findsitself at last provided originality in its iPtellectual its daily labor? itself carries no newinsight into daily breadbut robbed of material in Capp, Kelly and Schulzinherited the four- the nature of contemporaryanxiety. of Kelly and Capp, panel structure from theirpredecessors. Their The genius, like that of LouisArmstrong in jazz, like the dialect, is inthe Huckleberry Finn tra- inform an apparently literature. Pogo and Abner lay in their ability to dition in American static structure with abristling artistic energy. are innocents,lovable picaros whose spontane- comic light With Li'l Abner, Pogo,and Peanuts, the ous responses tosocial institutions throw maturity but a healthyado- evil and waste in contempo- genre achieves not on the pomposity, lescence: it is still "kidstuff" yet it is earnestly rary society.Kelly, of course, is theless inci- the adult His strip was at itsfunniest at war with thefraud and pretense of sive social critic. world. Perhaps it will never growto full size, and most popular in the1952 presidential cam- literary tradition is richin during which he good- but the American paign ("I Go Pogo"), examples of profoundjuvenilia, from Twain to naturedly and quitetransparently satirized the F. Scott Fitzgerald to J.D. &linger. Thecomic politicalscenewithaportablesmoke-filled democratic mirth, themirth Marxian is American mirth, room, two pinkocowbirds that spouted equality and self-improve- walking of a nation so bent on cliches, a clocktransformed into a its popular arts asmedia elephant and a donkey ment that it must use "political machine," an for education and as anoutlet for the creative who agree to take turnswinning at badminton The logic can be ex- balloons in their dialogue. energies of its people. and to share the same pressed in a paraphraseof Schulz's Lucy:why Capp's gift for satireis well known. Indeed, should we deprive ourselvesof an outlet? Capp hits so hard and sooften and at so many 29