In "This Modern World," a pair of recurring major characters are —
Sparky the Wonder Penguin
Sparky can actually talk while wearing a pair of goggles to filter out the bat guano supplied by the Dumbos. Spark's first words in the strip are "George [H. W.] Bush is a wanker." A strong liberal advocate, he briefly became a Republican after being hit on the head with a random falling toilet. In today's strip, Sparky has become Sparkman and battles the Righty Masters of Deceit.
Blinky the Dog
A small dog (Boston Terrier) who shares some of Sparky's political sympathies. Normally very mellow, he briefly became a radical when steroids were put into his food when he was intended to replace the then-Republican Sparky. In today's strip, Blinky has become Sparkman's faithful companion, The Blinkster and together the fearless duo do battle with the False Narrative promoted by the Dumbos.
Last week (posted on 07/01/08), faithful readers were left in serial suspense as Sparkman and The Blinkster were confronted by the arch-villain, The Propagandist (aka William Kristol, token Righty on the NY Fiswrap's Op-Ed page). The previous episode began when The Propagandist took on the heavy-hitting, anti-Dumbo attack ad, "Not Alex." And in the time-honored tradition of the Saturday afternoon serials, we were left to stay tuned to "This Modern World." Would The Propagandist prevail or would Sparkman and The Blinkster vanquish the evil manipulator of words and images? Would Sparkman snap out of his funk in time?
This week, we meet the other members of The League Of Deceit. The Propagandist (William Kristol) is joined by The Disingenuous Dweeb (David Brooks, another token Righty on the NY Fishwrap's Op-Ed page) and Nobrainiac (Sean Hannity of Faux News). In the final panel, Truth and Justice prevail and the The League Of Deceit is vanquished. Or, are Kristol, Brooks, and Hannity truly rendered harmless? Stay tuned.
Fantasy is delicious. If this is (fair & balanced) agitation propaganda (agitprop), so be it.
[x Salon]
The Modern World
By Tom Tomorrow (Dan Perkins)
[Dan Perkins is an editorial cartoonist better known by the pen name "Tom Tomorrow". His weekly comic strip, "This Modern World," which comments on current events from a strong liberal perspective, appears regularly in approximately 150 papers across the U.S., as well as on Salon and Working for Change. The strip debuted in 1990 in SF Weekly.
Perkins, a long time resident of Brooklyn, New York, currently lives in Connecticut. He received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Excellence in Journalism in both 1998 and 2002.
When he is not working on projects related to his comic strip, Perkins writes a daily political weblog, also entitled "This Modern World," which he began in December 2001.]
Copyright © Salon Media Group, Inc.
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