CSotD: The Case of the Contumely Costume
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The Halloween cartoons have begun, and, so far, the most original story arc is coming from "Deflocked," where Mamet is offended by a dog in a sheep costume.
To properly appreciate this, you have to realize what an insensitive jerk Mamet is and how often he offends those around him. But I think Jeff Corriveau does a good job of making that clear in the fourth panel by deftly re-introducing a character we've seen before in a way that brings new readers immediately into (no pun intended) the fold.
I like Halloween strips because, aside from a few lame old "the parents eat the candy" chestnuts, it's a chance to show off the characters a bit and to be playful with their personnas, both in terms of the costumes they choose and the way they react to the holiday.
It's rare that you get many actual surprises in these strips, but you also don't get so many of the cliches of the other holidays, and I think it's because the idea of costumes and alternate identities plays right into the sweet spot of cartoonist talent.
There are even a few Halloween story lines that, like Charlie Brown's attempt to kick the football that always followed about a week later, become annual events we recognize and to which we look forward, enjoying finding out what the variation will be this year — and I'll flag "Frazz" here as soon as Caulfield's annual Halloween trivia puzzler begins, though you really ought to be watching out for it anyway. And "Heart" is already deeply into her annual Hollywood extravaganza.
But, Halloween aside, I like "Deflocked" because Jeff Corriveau, who has some solid comedy writing credits, has managed so far to keep the strip fresh and enjoyably insane.
This stands in contrast to a lot of the strips that have come into syndication under the "misanthropic wiseass" craze, in which the main humor comes from a grouchy character who says nasty things.
Several of them started very, very strong but have lost their punch and it's hard to pinpoint where they slipped from inventive to repetitive, but they just aren't funny anymore.
Let me suggest one possible explanation: There is no particular foil in "Deflocked." That is, the characters around Mamet are more or less aware of his personality and, while they often carry the burden of cleaning up after him, Corriveau has not created a kind, gentle character who is the repeated butt of Mamet's negativity.
Like Ralph Kramden, Mamet is surrounded by characters who are on to him — even Norton had a sense that Ralph was a blowhard, and if he often cooperated in a caper, he was rarely victimized by the disastrous outcome.
Ditto with Lucy and Ethel. Ethel was often a co-conspirator, but almost always with misgivings and, when things went bad, Lucy took the hit.
Similarly, Mamet isn't fooling his nearest and dearest, and so two saving factors come into play: One is that we don't feel pity for anyone in the strip, which matters because pity greatly dulls the edge of insult jokes, and the other is that the humor is not telegraphed.
We know the adventure will end badly, but we don't know who is going to end up on the short end except that Mamet, like Ralph and Lucy, will be brought back to earth at the end.
Meanwhile, he continues to say and do appalling things in a way that remains very funny. This may be the best strip nobody's ever heard of.
And speaking of Halloween traditions:
I'm so glad Snickers brought this commercial back this year. The response of a perfectly cast Mrs. Jensen makes it work, and, while the voice and the insane mask are inventive and necessary to the overall impact, the gloved hand caressing her face is absolutely brilliantly creepy and wierd. Every element of this piece is genius, down to the fact that it's also a pretty good candy bar!
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