Has "Mutts" joined the Occupy movement?
A comic that largely hinges on the antics of a cat playing with a little pink sock has suddenly gone political, offering up a strip yesterday that makes no bones about who is at fault for the terrible financial ennui that has seized this great nation.
Gone from the comic - at least for a day - are ditzy feline Mooch and his canine companion Earl. In their place: a couple of ancillary squirrels (who do show up with great regularity) hurling a large box of candy at a woo-pitching couple named "Fanny" and "Freddy"- stand-ins, one might think, for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Could this be cartoonist Patrick McDonnell's attempt to establish blame for the country's mortgage crisis? And what is the reason for his pointed remarks? Is his home underwater? Have family or friends lost their home?
We ask these pointed questions because "Mutts" is not known for its social commentary. For the most part, it contents itself with depicting the heartwarming escapades of a dog and a cat who try to cadge meat snacks from the local butcher. Sometimes the story shifts to focus on a bunch of cats and dogs seeking escape from the kennel (and a new owner, of course). Once in a blue moon, McDonnell goes dark, pulling back the curtain on Mooch's harrowing meth addiction or exploring a desolate scenario of Armageddon.
Yesterday's comic moves beyond the agony of everyday life in favor of spurring the decision to fight back. What if we all pelted the fat cats around us with a box of candies or other hard missiles? Why, there wouldn't be any of them left, and we'd all be able to grab our fair share of our nation's massive wealth, that's what! Onward brothers and sisters! Let's take those millionaires and bash in their skulls!
Who would think that a couple of cartoon rodents would lead us on to the great socialist wave our homeland needs so badly?
To reach the Comics Examiner, email me at bristei@aol.com or follow me on Twitter @bristei
Comments