Mac-Coleman

12 September 2011 –

Yesterday’s ceremonies commemorating the ten year anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 came and went. After church, I was not able to make it to the National Veterans’ Cemetery in North Houston. But, today, I did. The green grass, full trees, and quiet seemed to make the heat and humidity disappear. Thank you, fellow warriors. We can never repay you. We can only carry on in your stead.

The most interesting recognition and commentary on the day came from the Sunday comics. Their approach to the commentary was as individual and diverse as the creators of the strips. The Sunday Houston Chronicle published 36 strips in its comic section. Thirteen strip creators did not feature anything about 9/11, yet, twenty-three creators did. Mutts, by Patrick McDonnell, for example, was soft and touching. The dog on a leash and his owner were in the bottom middle of the large, one frame. The entire frame was a soft, blue hue with a New York city skyline in the upper left, a large gap in the top middle, and the rest of the skyline in the upper right. The dog turns his head to look back at his owner and says simply “Heal”. Such a juxtaposition, such a soft, yet resolute command was a good message to the nation.

What I found good was that the artists pretty much kept their strips in character as they commented on the day. For example, in Zits, Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman’s teenage boy was his typically cynical and snotty self. In the heartfelt embrace of both his parents, he cocked one eye and said “Seriously…Do we have to do this EVERY September 11^th?” Greg Evans’s Luann was a normal strip, except for a small frame at the end of the three-frame strip that contained two somber characters and the words “9-11 We all remember.” Greg and Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey was straightforward. All eighteen characters, from Beetle, to Sarge, to Cookie, to the General, to Otto the dog were crying. The caption under the famous shot of lower Manhattan with The Statue of Liberty on the front left and the burning towers still erect was as gentle as his approach to humor in the military: “All of us are suffering for the friends and families of those who were killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.” Other strips used the moment to express characters’ love sacrifice for those around them; even Mr. Wilson was nice to Dennis the Menace and his friends. The theme of the day being a national day of service and remembrance was prominent in Brian and Greg Walker’s Hi and Lois.

The funniest strip that addressed the day was Mother Goose and Grimm. Mike Peters kept his wicked dogs in full character in the single-frame strip. Firemen in full gear were ready to hook up a hose to a hydrant in the middle of a city. The yellow dog in front of the five dog pack stood on his hind legs, extended his paw in the direction of the hydrant and said “It’s the anniversary…please, you first.” Of all the thirty-six comic strips yesterday morning, this last one gave me great heart. Thank you, Mr. Peters. New York continues. America continues. Now, let’s go get the bad guys!!