Reuben
Cidu Bill on Jun 3rd 2008
Pinny: How many readers do you think realized that this was a reference to Bizarro creator Dan Piraro & Speed Bump creator Dave Coverly being 2 of the 3 2008 nominees (together with Al Jaffee’s of MAD Magazine) for the National Cartoonists Society’s annual Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, which was awarded later that evening?BTW, Al Jaffee won. (http://www.reuben.org/ncs/news.asp)
Filed in Al Jaffe, Bill Bickel, Bizarro, Dan Piraro, Dave Coverly, Reuben Award, Speed Bump, comic strips, comics, humor | 11 responses so far
Kaitlyn Jun 3rd 2008 at 09:13 pm 1
I didn’t realize it until Pinny explained it.
BTW - Non Sequitor did an Al Jaffee tribute last Sunday.
It made me laugh, even though I didn’t know why there was a “congratulations” banner at the bottom/end of the comic.
I’ve got soooooo many MADs and a couple of Jaffee’s books. (can’t remember now if they appeared in MAD or were new material.)
heather Jun 3rd 2008 at 10:15 pm 2
Ahhhh I would never have known that.
And just to complete the thought, the kid’s “I wish I had a snappy answer” must be a reference to Jaffee’s “snappy answers to stupid questions” gags.
Antonio Jun 3rd 2008 at 11:03 pm 3
If you’re gonna make an inside joke cartoon, you should at least make it funny for the thousands of people who don’t know what you’re talking about. Or how about this: Don’t do inside joke cartoons.
bAT L. Jun 4th 2008 at 12:43 am 4
I spotted the words in bold and noticed the unique phrase “Snappy answers”, but I didn’t know the story behind it. Very nice reference, but just strange for the people who were unaware.
Pinny Jun 4th 2008 at 01:04 am 5
Thanks heather for completing the thought.
Here’s how I caught the reference:
When I first read this in my local paper, I IMMEDIATELY associated the word “Reuben” in the first panel with the Reuben Award (which is actually named for contraptionist Rube Goldberg!) but I did not expect that it was what the cartoonist actually meant. [I was was very into (mainstream) comics in the past and something must have stuck.]
It was only when I saw the bolded words in the fifth panel that I suspected that I was right about “Reuben” and they were all related, and it was only this afternoon that I remembered to check it up and see if I was right.
Which was when I sent it in as a “reverse” CIDU.
Dan Jun 4th 2008 at 02:23 pm 6
“This year’s winner of the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award is greetings card and licensing superstar Sandra Boynton.” (from the Reuben site)
Who the hidelyho is Sandra Boyton? And man, you can win a lifetime achievement award for greeting cards. Whoda thunk.
Kelly Jun 4th 2008 at 02:35 pm 7
Sandra Boyton draws cartoon-y hippos and sheep and whatnot.
Cidu Bill Jun 4th 2008 at 02:36 pm 8
Boyton is also the author of such children’s classics as “Moo, Baa, La La La.”
Seriously.
Her books have a simple, rhythmic quality, and my children enjoyed listening to them when they were just a few days old. They served, I suppose, the same purpose of lullabies (but my reading voice is much safer for young ears than my singing voice).
Mark in Boston Jun 4th 2008 at 03:24 pm 9
You’ve never seen Boynton’s birthday cards?
“Hippo Birdie Two Ewes
Hippo Birdie Two Ewes
Hippo Birdie Deer Ewe
Hippo Birdie Two Ewes”
Each word under a picture of the appropriate animal.
Julie Jun 4th 2008 at 04:33 pm 10
Actually I found this funny without knowing the reference, but only because it sorta sounds like me. My husband loves reubens and I’ll make them from time to time. But, my ‘reuben’ has turkey instead of corned beef, no sauerkraut, and no dressing.
Also, here is a link to the card that Mark is referring to.
http://www.sandraboynton.com/sboynton/hippobirdiecards.html
Cedar Jun 4th 2008 at 04:38 pm 11
I LOVE Sandra Boynton, and think she’s deserving of recognition. She has a great, droll sense of humor, and more or less started the “alternative” greeting card trend with her un-Hallmark style.