(no subject)

[miko2]

It's hard to believe that Bill Keane is still alive. Hasn't Family Circus comics existed forever?

It's easy to make fun of Family Circus, it's simple style and lack of sophisticated humor (or humor of any kind, many would argue). What's more difficult is to make fun of the strip in such a way that people don't even realize you're making fun of the strip.

You can find quite a few attempts at this on Amazon.com, in reviews of his works. For example, a review of "Daddy's Cap Is On Backwards" entitled "Out of our Depth in an Empty Motel Pool" states:

It is always possible to (forgive the pun) read too much into any book. I believe Mr. Keane is attempting to poke fun at the fashion of wearing one's ball cap with the bill at the rear. In the traditional sense, this is, in fact, the "wrong" or "backward" way to wear such a cap. The children have become so accustomed to this convention that now it seems to them that Daddy's cap is being worn "wrongly" or "backwardly," when in point of fact, it is being worn "correctly" or "forwardly." Of course, from this perspective, the whole scenario comes off as an hilarious commentary on our society.

Followed by a comment from someone else:

Your analysis is of course correct on the face, but besides the contemporary commentary the title also contains an oblique reference to philosophy and struggle of Batko Makhno (as does much of of Keane's work), whose writings were often in in the form of parables or allegories, which were presented in that form in order to not arouse undue suspicion from the authorities. In Makhno's writings, A cap or hat often represented a rival political leader. Note the metaphor is further reinforced by the color (white) of the fathers shirt.

This commentary is likely far too subtle for many folk (there are other apparently sincere reviews that extol the genius of Bill Keane and his comic), but if the above is too clever to be clearly identified as satire, then try this review of "What Does This Say?" entitled "Proustian introspection with Munch's visual conundrums":

Keats once wrote, "None other knows what pleasures man/At table or in bed." Bil Keane, however, seems to have found in his latest 'Family Circus' opus a treasure-chest of pleasures for each and all of us.

There are some who chafe at the seeming repetitive themes within Keane's major works; I would respectfully submit that all great stories are about life and death, love and loss, fear and triumph. If not Keane, then so go Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz and Callimachus, too, for good measure. It is not originality that spawns thought and wonderment; it is the vessels of those themes (Billy, Grandma, Barfy, PJ) that inspire and enlighten.

Keane, as carrier of these vessels, reminds us of a truth so eloquently immortalized by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Some books leave us free and some books make us free." In 'What Does This Say', it is clear that the tome achieves the latter, with gusto and aplomb.

Any apparent satirical intent in this review must have gone over everyone's head... "145 of 149 people found the following review helpful".

Other reviews are similarly so obviously eloquent in their praise that, for anyone paying attention, their true intent should be clear:

If there is a finer piece of work every written in the history of comics, I have yet to see it! Once again Bil Keane has published an anthology just as sure to raise the bar for his peers in the comic industry as it is to delight his legions of fans. Though he utilizes only a single, circular panel in his art, time and time again Keane has proven that in no way does this format limit his genius of comic delievery. He consistantly produces panels of a dazzling scope and depth, which hide layers upon layers of humor that seem to demand multiple readings. Although enourmously complex and even at times displaying a dark sense of humor, Keane nevertheless is able to keep even the youngest of readers amused through his delightful art and the uplifting messages his panels hide. Sad to say, but since the death of Charles Shultz, Bil Keane has been left without a true peer in the world of comics. ...No, truly each period of human exsistence has produced a select few men whom society can look up to. Just as the Roman Historian Sallust could proudly say he lived in the Republic of Caesar and Cato, and past generations could say they lived in the days of Washington and Jefferson, so can we say we knew the time of Keane and Roy, and thus are we more fortunate than all others who came before.

And...

There is a certain sadness one feels in remembering happy times: turning over the last page of a good novel, and reflecting over the wonders we have just experienced, the characters who have become our friends; discovering old pictures, seeing ourselves in the halcyon throes of youth, silly smiles on our innocent faces; the plangent last notes of a Chopin nocturne, the theme, growing softer and softer now, floating across the room to rest against our face like the rhythmic breaths of a peaceful, sleeping lover.

I don't know how: but Keane captures this feeling, this happy sadness - "Oh heavy lightness," as Shakespeare put it. Billy romps around the yard. He runs all over town. His parents are in love. His family is love with itself, each unto each. Can our lives ever be like this? Perhaps not, but we can watch, watch ever single day, and wrap ourself in that happy sadness. And maybe forget, if only for a little while, the way our lives really are, the way they have to be: our heavy lightness. Thanks, Bil Keane, for that, and thanks to Amazon for letting people express themselves. Thank you all.

That last one is so subtle that it's hard to know if it's parody or not... except that references to Shakespeare and Chopin in a review of Family Circus seem more than a bit unlikely....

^_^