The blog of Richard Thompson, caricaturist, creator of "Cul de Sac," and winner of the 2011 Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Skeletons

I'm forever on the lookout for the thinnest connection among old drawings that might lead to a blogpost and this time the theme is "skeletons."  It could just as easily have been "desperation" or "bottom of the barrel." But skeletons are a good theme; most people have at least one so it's relatable.

The first drawing is from an old Why Things Are column.         


 Ha ha ha! See, the skeleton's on a diet, and it's funny because diet jokes are always funny. Just because, OK? Here's another one from WTA-


This is a reference to Greek mythology; legendarily, Charon rowed the dead to Hades across the river Styx, and, though not actually a skeleton, I'll bet he got mad as hell at people who made fun of him for having a girl's name. Now here's an illustration from the Post Magazine-


The editor,  Tom Shroder, had to suggest a joke because I didn't know what BSOD was.  Finally, let's return to Why Things Are, the source of so much that was good , for an episode that promised more than it delivered-

I'd certainly like to hear more about the Black Death and Roger Mortis and their adventures. I find the way they're introduced then casually dropped a bit disappointing, and I'm sure I'm not alone.

2 comments:

pq said...

If it's any consolation, I just had to google "BSOD."

Unknown said...

Actually, Charon is still chuckling about your cartoon, and insist I snag a copy.

He is with me as Hermes, but is waiting with me to guide me across the styx.

My time is short, but he is patient.