City of Pricks

Anyone see today's Prickly City comic strip? Naturally, I wouldn't have, as I don't read nor have ever heard of Prickly City. But Atrios brought it to my attention, because today's item happens to be virulently anti-gay.

Without violating 100,000 copyrights and republishing the cartoon, I can link to it here and describe it to everyone...

So, these two poorly-rendered things - it looks like a little girl and a fox, but not reading the strip, I don't know if those are actually the characters - are standing in front of a theater showing Brokeback Mountain.

"Yeesh," says the little girl (for real!), "a kissin' cowboy movie."

Cartoonist Scott Stantis, by the way, who writes Prickly City, comes from California but writes out of Birmingham, Alabama...I'm just saying...

"Somewhere, John Wayne is crying," she continues.

Just remember that, gays. Every time boys kiss, it makes baby John Wayne cry.

"John Wayne cried?" asks the fox.

"Of course not," continues the little girl. "But if he did, he would."

Wooo-eeeee! That is some funny stuff! See, John Wayne doesn't cry! But if he ever did, it's because of fags! Stantis, you slay me.

Then, I thought...hang on...Maybe this little girl is evil, the Eric Cartman of Prickly City, and the comic strip's point of view actually counteracts her small-minded brand of intolerance.

Well, I was half-right. Looking through back comics, here's the set-up.

Imagine Calvin and Hobbes. But instead of Calvin being a free-spirited juvenile delinquent, he's a curmudgeonly little girl who sounds like Brit Hume. And instead of Hobbes being a gently pragmatic stuffed tiger come to life, he's a gently pragmatic stuffed fox come to life. Oh, and instead of being well-drawn, the art is crudely sketched.

And though the strip openly chides the main character, Carmen, for her curmudgeonly-ness, there aren't any other major viewpoints on display.

Check out this "gem," in which Carmen laments the lack of manners in society, and Winslow the Fox blames it on...get ready for this penetrating observation..."Beavis and Butthead" and Howard Stern. That strip was published last week, but it could have come out a decade ago and been identical. Way to go, Scott! You're an inspiration to hacks everywhere!