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The Wavy Rule, a Daily Comic by Paul Morris: Mitty and Bodwell Smackdown
Filed under: The Catbird Seat: Friends & Guests Tagged: cartoons, comics, contests, James Thurber, Paul Morris, The Wavy Rule, TV, Walter Mitty
Paul explains today’s inspired “Wavy Rule” (click to enlarge):
They’ve remade that jewel in the crown of our American heritage: American Gladiators, a show that fed the minds and muscles of countless kids from 1989 to 1996. I’m not sure what the point of that show was—maybe how to educate children on the proper use of skybikes and atlaspheres, or how to play Breakthrough & Conquer, a combination of football and freestyle wrestling. A veritable blast.
Here’s my own remake of the show, with James Thurber-like characters. Instead of Turbo and Nitro, I say we pit Walter Mitty and Bodwell (a character in Thurber’s story “The Night the Ghost Got In”) against one another. Thurber humor and Super Powerballs—who can say no to that?
More by Paul Morris: Our very own upside-down question-mark naming contest! Plus, “The Wavy Rule” archive; a very funny webcomic, “Arnjuice”; a motley Flickr page; various beautifully off-kilter cartoon collections for sale and free download at Lulu.
About us
Hello! We're a small band of media enthusiasts, culture addicts, and journalists based in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Emdashes, formerly a New Yorker fan site, is our collection of conversations—mostly civilized—about magazines, movies, politics, design, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
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Tell me more
Dashes, some say, “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like an em dash itself—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. All posts before October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.
The site was designed by House of Pretty with illustrations by Jesse R. Ewing.
Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (author of our web comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The Emdashes pencil logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Writing on theater: reviews (for Time Out Chicago; imperfect but workable search results)
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, bon vivant, New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Slide show: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (for NYCgo.com)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Homage: Celebrating lindy-hop legend Frankie Manning (for NYCgo.com)
- Inquiry: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Interviews: four up-and-coming designers under 30 (for Print)
- Profile: novelist and dance critic Laura Jacobs (for Newsday)
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- Box Office Boffo
- World of Pollux
- Jonathan Taylor
- Carolita Johnson
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