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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

TAGS May 11 & 12, 1994

05/11: Hurry up and waiting.

05/12: Party for Edie.


May 11: Some where Murray (cheetah) is running the clock out in a diversionary tactic to keep Edie (squirrel) from suspecting that, meanwhile (it’s really missing a literal “meanwhile”), the gang is waiting for them.

This strip is a bridge from the last two strips to the next and last in the “Edie’s birthday” series. Even with purpose, I see that it’s terribly flawed. Like why is Murray taking Edie to a 6:30 movie when he knows that people are waiting at the restaurant? On the other hand, if the movie is just a diversion, and he’s actually dragging her to the restaurant, does how long does he think he can keep that up before she figures out that the theater is not their destination? Are both the movie theater and the restaurant at the same location? And what’s up with the rhinoceros waiter?

There are tiny bits of comedy at the restaurant with Michelle (weasel, 3), Monster (monster) and Carolyn (raccoon) finding more to do with breadsticks than be used as appetizers. The Rhinoceros, by the way, like all of the TAGS regulars is based on a crittacature used in the “Backstage” and “Stagelights” series, with the exception that he’s not a regular player.

May 12: Step 1, Murray (13) and Edie (12) arrive at restaurant.
Step 2, their friends are caught waiting with their mouths full of breadsticks.
Step 3, regardless, they leap out of their seats to loudly greet Edie.
Step 4, they were GARLIC breadsticks. Comedy. I guess you had to be there.

I criticize that panels 2 and 3 are drawn too busy. You never see that in “Peanuts.” And panel 4 should have had Edie passed out on the floor, or at least with a garlic breadstick facial.

Roll call: (Panel 2 L-R) Rodney (African Lion, 4), Carolyn (5), Heidi (Gopher, 6), and Checkov (dragon, 9); (Panel 3 L-R) Brenda (mongoose, 6), Polly (penguin, 19), Bill (turtle, 5) and Rudy (pig, 6).

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