Does anyone here actually find Family Circus funny?

[Blunt]

Originally posted by 1st timer@Mar 15 2004, 11:56 AM

Am I really super dense or what? But I don't 'get' the coaster so-called joke. Maybe it will come to me. And then I'll start laughing out loud, because it really will be funny for once?

The "punch-line" is that the drink is on an "CD"; CD's that were burnt badly/incorrectly are called "coasters". It's the author's lame effort of linking the two things together. It's been done before-very old.

I don't know if that what the author meant to say.
I can't even link up that it's a CD. It doesn't look like a CD.
The freeking Religious Free BIl Keane is probably to
old and decreped to know what a CD coaster is in the first place....

Please.. I need a better explaination than this..


I'll go back to my 2 vol Complete Edition of Far Side.
I wish Calvin and Hobbes would do that...
but I'm sure it won't... (Watterson quit cause
Calvin and Hobbes was getting too commericalized..)

[1st timer]

I dunno, I thought it was supposed to be computer related; if not, its got to be the unfunniest (if that's a word) ever.

[jory29]

You know, the more I look at that Family Circus coaster cartoon, I think the [so-called] joke just might be that their Dad actually used a regular household coaster. I think years ago someone must have pointed out to Bill just how 'funny' it was that these coasters lying around are hardly ever used, and he must have jumped all over that joke. Jokes should be funny though. Man, I really don't think it is a CD now, realizing how super religious the guy is - now I just think it's the most lame joke [joke? If you can even call it that] in history! :wacko:

[Hodge]

God, I hate Family Circus. Marmaduke is a close second.

Of course, there's always Disfunctional Family Circus

Warning - the above site may be offensive to some.

EDIT - okay, it will probably offend everyone, so I've removed the link..

[jory29]

Originally posted by Hodge@Mar 15 2004, 08:02 PM
God, I hate Family Circus. Marmaduke is a close second.

Of course, there's always Disfunctional Family Circus

Warning - the above site may be offensive to some.

EDIT - okay, it will probably offend everyone, so I've removed the link..

I looked up 'dysfunctional family circus' on google, and found some of the comics; some are totally offensive, you're right, but for the most part, it is hilarious to see these perfect angelic kids acting up and saying things you certainly wouldn't expect from a Bill K. Family Circus comic {which is why I must make it clear he did NOT write them, yes, it is a spoof.} But a funny one. Thanks for the laugh.

And yes, Marmaduke is very lame. VERY UN-funny.

[stevethewheel]

Family Circus can be funny if you are a little kid or have little kids around. You really have to look through the eyes of a child to get it and accept the simple, corny humour. Ever seen kids crack up by saying "poopie" over and over? Did you ever say something like that and crack up? How about when Eddie Murphy used the F word a million times in 48 hours?

Coasters are toys to very small kids. They will play with them if they get the chance, and are aware that Parents Get Upset When Coasters Are Abused. So what's funny here is that the kids don't realize what a coaster is really for and think their Dad is abusing it, the other half of funny is that kids really like to be able to give parents heck for a change. This kid gets in trouble for putting drinks down on top of books/games/etc and so he points out that Dad is wrecking something valuable which will surely get Dad in trouble...hahahaha.

Gad. Explaining a joke is so hard. Would you get a "Bush" joke if you didn't know who Bush was?

I am amazed that this guy can keep turning out this kind of joke considering his age and how far past his childhood is.

And no, I don't find most of them funny anymore because I have to work too hard at it.

[QBert]

Family Circus comes from a very different time where people were more conservative, and had a lower threshold for shocking or controversial topics. It's staying power is probably more attributed to people who still have those preferences, and most likely find the new comics to be too weird or offensive. One thing about Family Circus - it's not about the punchline.

Take into consideration The Far Side, where Larson has one panel to deliver a punch line. Some work, some don't, but it's usually fresh and interesting. Some say he has terrible drawing skills, but it was enough to convey the message.

Finally, consider Calvin and Hobbes, my favorite comic of all time. Watterson developed Calvin, Hobbes, and all of the other characters as multidimensional. For a comic strip ("low art" as once referred in the strip), it packs a lot of story and intrigue in its small space. You really need the collection books to truly appreciate how deep some story lines ran (and continuity too!). When I was a kid, there were strips that made me laugh because Calvin was doing something stupid (like flushing rolls of toilet paper down the toilet, but having the toilet pull the paper from the holder). But some of the more sophisticated jokes escaped me - his 6-year old vocabulary greatly exceeded mine. Growing up, I learned to appreciate the context better, and the clever stories, such as Spaceman Spiff and Tracer Bullet. Some stories are also really moving, like when Calvin discovers an injured raccoon, and Watterson doesn't pull out any stops - not everything ends happily all the time. Sometimes, C&H can be offensive - it's aethesist views may offend some, the crudeness may offend others. But when a comic does what C&H does, it becomes much more than some funnies printed in a few frames of a newspaper.

I consider C&H to be literary art.

[shumwun]

Ummm.... i used to have the full collection of Family Circus comics. and yes, I used to find them the best reads out there... granted, i was probably still in primary school. they were funny and I loved them.

i got rid of my collection some, err.... 10 years ago, cuz going thru them, nothing seemed funny or even made sense anymore.


throughout highschool, i loved FOX TROT... and still do. However, i find that it doesn't give me the same laff as it used to. Can't quite relate to the HS atmosphere as much anymore....prolli cuz i'm no longer there.

BTW, Dilbert is only funny if you've any experience working.... it CAN be kinda funny to those who haven't worked before, but the REAL laff so hard you can't breathe funny is onli for those who can relate to the dumbness of the situation (which sadly, is very often TRUE)

my mom loves for better or worse... cuz she relates to the ragged mother figure... and for us kids, we grow with the brats!!!

it's just phases of our lives that we can or cannot relate to certain humour.... just my thots on this issue...


BTW, Garfield is timeless and ageless. ^_^

[a3000]

Bump for another comic strip-related thread.

Family Circus reviews. NSFW

[Absolute]

No, I don't believe it's meant to be. Well... at least I hope they don't plan on it being funny!

[Blunt]

Thanks a3000!

I laughed so hard, people at work are looking at me funny now...

[Keyboard Cowboy]

i hate family circus. its religious propaganda that needs to be buried along with davey and goliath.

the printed comics have gone downhill. i like some online comics such as PvP, Sinfest, and Diesel Sweeties (humour is sometimes hit and miss but the drawing style is unique)

Sorry to go off topic, but did you happen to catch Wiley (from Non Sequiter) taking a shot at Scott Kurtz? Gabe and Tycho recently covered it in their rants as well. One posted a link to a review that basically points out how Wiley's afraid of the success of online comics in general, and thus has to take cheap shots at them. The other tears into Wiley for faling by the wayside when it comes to technology. Ah, the controversy of the comic strip industry.

[brownstein]

Maybe the coaster part means that you are supposed to cut out all of these stupid comics and use them as coasters.

[Headhunter]

I think it's funny that anyone enjoys that crap. Even as a kid, I hated it...at least Garfield is accidentally funny every few weeks, and spawned a lighthearted cartoon that I enjoyed.

[Headhunter]

Bump for another comic strip-related thread.

Family Circus reviews. NSFW

It's so true...