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demiurgent
Dear Lord I love Flem. I mean, it's not for just anyone. It's raw as Hell, disturbing as Hell, and crosses the line for everyone -- everyone -- sooner or later. The Jay Storyline was evil distilled and poured out, and never ever ever let your kids walk within twenty miles of Flem. Never. Until they get old enough to say "screw you" and read it anyway.
Here's a note to my sister to make extra special sure my nieces don't read Flem. Ever. Lock them in the basement if need be.
If this doesn't have you reading, horrified at the sickness you're seeing and laughing your ass off by now, then by all means please enjoy finding a paper that carries Opus or something, and thinking there's something other than monumental money laundering and faux rebellion going on. I'm not saying you'll enjoy Flem. Most of you won't. But damn it, if you're not so desperately curious that you're running to check it out by now, there is nothing I can do for you.
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(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-24 12:45 pm (UTC)I need to find some new stuff though, as my current batch are starting to go stale. Both Sluggy Freelance and GPF are loosing punch, IMO.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-24 05:35 pm (UTC)I confound you!
Ahem.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-24 05:47 pm (UTC)Still, very funny one up there. I'll probably look at it, but I haven't been keeping up very well lately on my regular strips, so I doubt I'll be adding it anytime soon.
Flem
Date: 2003-11-26 07:54 am (UTC)Flem is dark and twisted all right, and funny when it's not reaching too far to offend. I don't see how you'd keep the kids away from it. At age 14, I would have loved this stuff. The one you posted above invokes "Lupo the Butcher (http://www.rdiv.com/pages/lupo.html)" flashbacks.
I was surprised and overjoyed to see Opus in the newspaper this week. Bloom County has a special place in my heart, while Outland has unfortunately settled in my lower intestines. Too early to tell yet whether Opus will be any good, but it's great to see Berke Breathed attempt a comeback. Here's hoping he inspires Gary Larson and Bill Watterson to take up their pens again as well.
--tem2
Re: Flem
Date: 2003-12-06 06:21 pm (UTC)First off, thanks for the props.
Secondly, I happen to like the HELL out of Bloom County, old school. That Breathed is trying again is at least proving interesting. I thought his "Outland" strips lacked punch, but we'll see what's up.
Thirdly, Watterson is a fucking god for one reason and one reason alone:
People sometimes ask cartoonists if they're in it for... heh eheh heh heh... in it for the... *snicker* MONEY.....
Watterson proved to the world that he was NOT. At the height of his popularity, he decided that although the strip was wildly successful, he wasn't up to doing it anymore. Boom, he quit.
That's the kind of moxy you don't see from Pete Abrams or the fucker who draws Marmaduke. I did the same thing with the Jay series. I was sick of it, and I quit. Did my unique IP hits suffer? Surely. Do I still get emails from people begging me to resume the strips? Every week. But when an artist is tired of something, it's not their prerogative to stop - it's what they absolutely SHOULD do, or the output suffers.
So raise ya glass to Watterson and Larson. Integrity in this day and age should be toasted no matter where you find it.
Re: Flem
Date: 2003-12-06 07:38 pm (UTC)Exactly. Ex-fucking-xactly.
Part of why I've gone gonzo for Flem is you didn't just do great stuff, when you were done with it, you were done, and went on to do what you had the bent to do now. Garfield is easy. Get your staff to churn out lasagna jokes and dork Jon jokes and abuse the dog jokes and collect the merchandising. Walking away from adulation because the art's done, damn it... that's balls.