), it seems that perhaps my appreciation of it is part of a larger pattern, and it is not the only sign of senility in my 'mixtual proclivities. In fact, it was while reading Zits today that I realized just what was going on: I'm getting old. Here's today's strip:
And what was my one and only reaction to it? Did I laugh? No. My sole reaction was to ask, "Jeremy, why can't you be nicer to your parents?" Yes, though it pains me to admit it, I identified more with the parent than with the child. Look at mom's face in panel 2, filled with emotion, hope, the desire to bond with her child over matters of serious import. And in panel 3 all of her hopes are callously dashed against the rocks of adolescence.
Recently there has been a real vein of bittersweet emotion for me in the comics, ranging from the tenderness of Blondie's love for Dagwood (today was a wonderful example) to, of course, Peanuts ever-present melancholy streak. On this topic, though, I would like to introduce everyone (thanks go to the inimitable Jacob Sattinger for tunring me on to this) to the saddest, most touching thing going in comics today, maybe ever (certainly since the final strip of Bloom County all those years ago): Garfield without Garfield. I actually have very little to say about this, as I think it speaks wonderfully for itself, but my mind is certainly reeling, having seen the light of a whole new world. Garfield, and by extension our man Arbuckle, have been part of my life literally as long as I can remember, and now everything is different. Maybe this is just part of the same phenomenon. Maybe I'm just getting old and weak. But lord do I find it moving. Perhaps I identify too closely with Jon. I certainly feel like my appreciation of Elderberries and Jeremy's parents is a challenge from G-d. The big guy upstairs is laughing in my face, throwing my own waning years in my face. And I find myself both insulted and intrigued.
