Anyone living in the DC area recognize the joke behind the name "Otterloop" (at least I hope they do; it took me forever to get it myself). It's a play on "Outer Loop", the outside, counter-clockwise ring of DC's Beltway. You would most often hear it in a sentence with the word "delays", as in, "Delays on the Outer Loop start at the Springfield Interchange." If you don't live in DC and aren't familiar with the "Outer Loop" be glad, it's usually a nightmare. And the "Springfield Interchange" is even worse.
Looking at the map of the Beltway provided above and comparing it to Mr. Otterloop's head I see a resemblance, kinda. But mostly it looks like an upside-down cartoon dialog balloon.
Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop Otterloop. (My fingers are starting to hurt, but I hope that helped.)
ReplyDeleteFunny stuff! Why isn't the daily strip in The Washington Post?
ReplyDeleteRichard --
ReplyDeleteThe quality of my day is very closely tied to that of the outer loop and the Springfield interchange as I commute between Fredericksburg and USA TODAY headquarters in Tyson's Corner.
We've never met, but I occasionally go to some of the DC-area NCS get togethers, so maybe we will someday ... in the meantime, I can't emphasize enough how thrilled I am that the rest of America will now be getting a regular look at your work through Cul-De-Sac. I've followed your work for year in the WP and I think you're truly one of the great unique voices in comics today.
Casey Shaw
Creative Director
USA WEEKEND Magazine