155
votes
Snoopy can balance on an edge atop his doghouse. Is any reason given for this?
His brain sends a message to his ears, which lock him to the top of the doghouse.
Charles Schulz seems to have addressed this question only once, in the 25th anniversary book "The Peanuts Jubilee". I ...
- 1,409
73
votes
Accepted
What is Hobbes?
Bill Watterson has spoken about this on a number of occasions. The very short answer is that his strips obey the rule of funny, that Hobbes is a toy when it suits the story for him to be a toy and ...
- 4,723
50
votes
What is Hobbes?
It's intentionally ambiguous; we don't know.
In his book Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary, he says:
The so-called 'gimmick' of my strip - the two versions of Hobbes - is sometimes misunderstood. I ...
- 23.3k
45
votes
Accepted
Why does "Watchmen" use the 9-panel grid?
It was a decision by the artist, Dave Gibbons.
He has said so in his Twitter, in response to a thread discussing the origin of the 9-panel grid:
Actually, I chose the nine panel grid and sold it ...
- 8,365
39
votes
Accepted
Explain the 28 Feb 2022 Dilbert cartoon use of the phrase "sticking the landing"
'Stick the landing' is from gymnastics, when people pull off a tricky move and land neatly on both feet, properly balanced and with a flourish of the arms that communicates 'I did exactly what I ...
- 18.6k
28
votes
Does Dr. Manhattan have free will?
I think the answer is probably no.
The following is a quote by Alan Moore about his novel Jerusalem (emphasis mine):
I like that idea because when we talk about history we talk about the history ...
27
votes
Accepted
Does Dr. Manhattan have free will?
My answer is no by his own design.
My understanding is that he deliberately created a universe where all of his actions stay fixed, while other people have some free will. Note that my answer is ...
- 8,365
23
votes
Accepted
Why were these animals used to represent the different countries in Maus?
First of all, let me just point out two things which it may be useful to bear in mind when considering how seriously to take this answer: whether I'm overanalysing or underanalysing here.
Firstly, ...
- 71.1k
21
votes
Accepted
How are graphic novels different from comic books?
Graphic novel is a sub-category of comic books (which are, in turn, as subset of comics). For me (and hopefully for some other people out there), graphic novels represent a more coherent, complete, ...
- 8,365
19
votes
Accepted
Krazy language in Krazy Kat, 25 July 1936
As it has been suggested that it would be useful to identify all of the Allusions in the quoted piece, I've edited this answer to include further information. And made some discoveries along the way.
...
- 18.6k
17
votes
Accepted
Identification of an American comics strip about mathematically shaped pancakes
This is a Foxtrot strip from October 14, 2012.
Paige: Can you make my pancakes heart-shaped?
Roger: Not a problem!
Peter: Can you make my pancakes football-shaped?
Roger: You got it!
Jason: Can you ...
- 10.3k
14
votes
Why does Morpheus look like Neil Gaiman?
Because he doesn't.
Or maybe he does, just a little bit, because Gaiman sort of looks like a whole bunch of other dudes (and dudettes) who influenced Morpheus' looks.
Well, at least his face hasn't ...
- 8,365
13
votes
Accepted
When did the Rupert Bear stories start repeating themselves?
The first time the Rupert Annuals repeated a story was in 1953. But before the year I remember (2006), there were only seven years in which old stories were repeated (1953, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, ...
- 71.1k
13
votes
Why the smiling devils in Hergé's 'The Broken Ear'?
The last we saw of Ramón and Alonso is that they drowned each other under the mistaken belief that they were still fighting Tintin.
So the panel with the devils should be understood as symbolic or ...
- 53.5k
13
votes
Accepted
Why the smiling devils in Hergé's 'The Broken Ear'?
I am not aware that Hergé commented on this scene specifically, but its incongruity has been widely noted. In Tintin: The Complete Companion, Michael Farr notes that:
as The Broken Ear nears its ...
- 8,861
11
votes
Accepted
Trying to find a comic strip about "What your clothes say about you"
I found it:
Apparently this is from the book Build a Better Life by Stealing Office Supplies: Dogbert's Big Book of Business - many thanks to @Carmeister for knowing this!
How I found it: a Google ...
- 71.1k
10
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of "Director's Cut" in the context of comics?
It does apply to comics, although comics really have no direct correlation to a film director.
The term is applied to any comic that is a reprint of any particular issue with added commentary by the ...
- 6,198
10
votes
Accepted
Does V reference Stanislaw Lem's "His Master's Voice", and if so, why?
No, it has nothing to do with Lem's novel. It's a play on the famous trademark originated by the Gramophone Company (and later used by EMI) in the UK and used by Victor (and later RCA) in the USA. ...
- 1,883
10
votes
Accepted
What's up with the colors of Delirium's speech bubbles?
It was a decision by the letterer, Todd Klein. As he explains in The Sandman Companion, it was supposed to reflect her fluent, shifting nature:
Delirium was a different challenge. "Her lettering ...
- 8,365
10
votes
Accepted
Is the story of "Tales in the Sand" (or its form) faithful to traditional African stories?
Quite conveniently, Neil Gaiman answered this in his interview with Hy Bender for The Sandman Companion. In chapter 4, which is devoted to Doll's House, Hy asks Neil whether he was inspired by ...
- 8,365
9
votes
What were the original two results for 'died in a blogging accident'?
Probably some MySpace blog page(s) which are no longer available.
This comic was published on 11 January 2008. Unfortunately the Wayback Machine doesn't seem to list results of Google searches. I went ...
- 71.1k
9
votes
Are the Asterix comics about a drug culture?
No. Asterix is very far from any drug culture, and from methamphetamine usage during war.
Magic potions are older than print. They appear in Greek mythology, for example (Jason puts the dragon to ...
8
votes
Accepted
What does Dream's ruby represent?
You have seen that the viewers' perception of Endless is based on individual expectations.
For instance, Dream appears as a black short-haired man to Nada, while he usually looks like a pale white ...
- 8,365
8
votes
Why would one call a Japanese Jew "Sosumi"?
The pun plays on the negative stereotype that Jews are prone to using sharp business practices to take advantage of non-Jews, and that when confronted they respond by asserting that there is nothing ...
- 209
8
votes
Accepted
Finding comic referenced in semi-classic physics problem
This description, up to changes in the numbers involved, seems to be a common exercise set to physics students. I've found people asking for help with this problem or trivial variants at Yahoo Answers,...
- 71.1k
8
votes
Accepted
What’s up with the coal in “Asterix and the Chieftain’s Shield”?
The charcoal connection is found with the ‘Bougnats of Paris’. From France écotours:
in the 18th century, the agricultural crisis forced thousands of French countrymen to leave their homes in search ...
- 18.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Is there strong evidence that "room 5" in V for Vendetta was a conscious reference to Room 101?
I've just finished reading V for Vendetta in its collected trade paperback edition. At the end, there is a short essay by Alan Moore, titled "Behind the Painted Smile", which explains the creative ...
- 8,365
7
votes
Why were these animals used to represent the different countries in Maus?
I'd like to address the pig metaphor specifically, cause obviously (I'm Polish) it caused a lot of heated discussions in my country.
The book is largely about racism/nationalism so to the extent ...
- 279
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