70 years of Desperate Dan

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

If she were still around, you could try telling my grandmother, [born 1894] who toiled in a SATANIC MILL in the 1900s for a few shillings a week ,[including working CHRISTMAS day] that SLAVERY never existed within these shores, and she may not have agreed it never happened here fairly recently, LEW!

I don't see enough of contemporary comics to be able to pass a rounded judgement, but I did notice the depiction of CANNIBALS in a 1972 'SPARKY' to be quite startling to my eyes now, so things have definately changed.

In the entertainment field, a lot of violence and prejudice today is taken out on 'hapless' ALIENS from other planets: in comics or films, the modern trend has been to BLAST them to kingdom come, 'coz it doesn't really offend anyone; HOLLYWOOD in particular is guilty of presenting this ad-nauseum; but it's STILL mindless violence and a bland repetitive formula that has even infiltrated kid's TV cartoons.

I draw a bit myself, but because I prefer out and out fantasy, I tend to do cartoons far removed from reality, miles removed from racial or social problems.....


----thanks for the advice on the image-serving host, LEW.

[Steve Bright]

In the entertainment field, a lot of violence and prejudice today is taken out on 'hapless' ALIENS from other planets: in comics or films, the modern trend has been to BLAST them to kingdom come, 'coz it doesn't really offend anyone; HOLLYWOOD in particular is guilty of presenting this ad-nauseum; but it's STILL mindless violence and a bland repetitive formula that has even infiltrated kid's TV cartoons.

You raise a fascinating question, Robert. When the friendly alien invasion eventually happens, and we are all forced to accept that they move among us as brothers of the Universe, will this herald the dawn of the new PC Age, when 90% of all sci-fi movies, books and TV series will be banned as racist?

Can't wait to find out.

[Lew Stringer]

In the entertainment field, a lot of violence and prejudice today is taken out on 'hapless' ALIENS from other planets: in comics or films, the modern trend has been to BLAST them to kingdom come, 'coz it doesn't really offend anyone; HOLLYWOOD in particular is guilty of presenting this ad-nauseum; but it's STILL mindless violence and a bland repetitive formula that has even infiltrated kid's TV cartoons.

I can't think of any recent or modern Hollywood film that's about blasting aliens or alien invasion. However, the "all aliens are evil" trend was hugely popular back in the 1950s, - long before the alleged "PC" infiltration!

Lew

[Peter Gray]

Desperate Dan is lot more fun now...he uses guns..there are Indians..Cowpie is back...wrestling bears...animal skins being worn...
the more cartoony version of Desperate Dan where the people look not real so doesn't matter if they get hurt...
helps the outragous humour...it is more like the old days..
Jamie has brought it back..

[Brendan McGuire]

Lew - Independence Day (gung-ho patriotism), Starship Troopers (gung-ho bugism), Mars Attacks! (gung-ho bubble gum cardism).

[Lew Stringer]

Lew - Independence Day (gung-ho patriotism), Starship Troopers (gung-ho bugism), Mars Attacks! (gung-ho bubble gum cardism).

Every one of those films is over ten years old! Hardly modern or recent.

Alien invasion movies are so last century.

Lew

[Brendan McGuire]

*Rasp!* When you get to my age they seem like they only came out last week

[Raven]

I can't think of any recent or modern Hollywood film that's about blasting aliens or alien invasion.
Lew

How about Spielberg's 2005 War of the Worlds or this years Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem? Got you there! (And coming very soon, a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.)

ISPYSHHHGUY, I'm not sure about the crippling effects of PC on modern TV comedy - if you tuned back in, you'd surely find the schedules full of things and people like Family Guy, Ricky Gervais, South Park, Catherine Tate, American Dad, Little Britain and plenty more comedy striving to be as un-PC as it can possibly be, which seems to have been the trend for 'hip' comedy for quite some time.

[Raven]

That new Desperate Dan is interesting - not based around Dan's super-strength at all.

[Lew Stringer]

How about Spielberg's 2005 War of the Worlds or this years Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem? Got you there! (And coming very soon, a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.)

Yes, fair point, - although Day the Earth Stood Still was about humanity's fear of outsiders, not about the aliens as the aggressors. (Hope the remake doesn't foul that up!)

However my point was that alien invasion films are hardly a "modern trend". Fifty years ago yes, but not today.

Lew

[Raven]

Yes, fair point, - although Day the Earth Stood Still was about humanity's fear of outsiders, not about the aliens as the aggressors. (Hope the remake doesn't foul that up!)



Lew

Think it still counts as alien invasion, as they come, shut everything down and promise to destroy us all if we don't do as they say.

And, indeed, when the spaceship initially lands, our military's first response, if I recall correctly, is to start firing at the occupants.

The new version stars Keanu Reeves as Klaatu - out in December. Not sure how different or similar it'll be yet.

But yes, the 50s was a good era for the aggressive aliens films - Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers perhaps being the prime example?

[Lew Stringer]

Think it still counts as alien invasion, as they come, shut everything down and promise to destroy us all if we don't do as they say.

Hmm, it was more about a superior being keeping primitive humanity in line than an "invasion". The military were the villains of the story.

And, indeed, when the spaceship initially lands, our military's first response, if I recall correctly, is to start firing at the occupants.

Klaatu offers a gift of peace and it's misinterpreted as a weapon. The military fire upon him, yes, and our sympathies are supposed to be with the alien.

Lew

[Raven]

Hmm, it was more about a superior being keeping primitive humanity in line than an "invasion".

Well, he wants us to stop being aggressive and testing bombs, and if we don't he'll - erm - blow us all up!

You have to bear in mind that the general public aren't responsible for the military's atomic bomb testing - yet, innocents, they'd all be destroyed too. So by punishing the military he'd be killing us all. The alien has to spend some time among us to get a more balanced view of humanity. His technology is superior but he becomes a better person after spending time with us.

Klaatu offers a gift of peace and it's misinterpreted as a weapon.

It does actually look like he's pulling a weapon, mind - I'm not sure how our leader would actually have been able to study lifeforms on other planets with that alien laser gun-lookalike device!

[felneymike]

Ooh i dunno, weed sprayers, hair dryers and (some) barcode readers are all "gun shaped" too, not just, er, guns...

Besides how do we know "how things ought to look" on other planets... like in Doctor Who where the intergalatic standard warning colour is actually "purple alert", or something.

Anyway, that modern dan strip is funny... but his face looks, er, wierd. A lot of (kid's! 2000AD has arguably gone the other way, and Commando is stuck in a permenant 1962 anyway) comic art these days seems "simplified", compare Doctor Who Adventures to TV21, for instance. But i'm sure that's a whole other area for discussion...

[Raven]

Ooh i dunno, weed sprayers, hair dryers and (some) barcode readers are all "gun shaped" too, not just, er, guns...

But if you were landing on an alien planet and walking out of your spaceship to face their military who all had their big weapons pointed at you, would you be crackers enough to provocatively pull out a hairdryer at them ... ?

And if, like Klatuu, you could speak their language, wouldn't you at least consider saying "oh, by the way, folks, just one thing - this isn't actually a weapon, you know," before whipping it out?

'course you would!

I like the fact that Jamie's stuff has a very distinctive, individual style that you can immediately recognise. Sausage and Carrots in the DFC must be the most extreme example of 'simplified' modern cartooning.