The Game is Afoot
Cidu Bill on Oct 31st 2008
First clue and Frazz has not only nailed it but declares it “easy”? Well, I guess he has an in with Jef Mallet…
I’m certainly stumped.
October 31 update: And the answer is…
Filed in Bill Bickel, CIDU, Frazz, Jef Mallet, comic strips, comics, humor | 53 responses so far
meep Oct 29th 2008 at 05:50 am 1
Obviously a character that likes to watch a lot of TV….and is unaware of the calendar/passage of time.
Doesn’t ring a bell.
Hockey Baby-Mama Oct 29th 2008 at 08:07 am 2
Joe Sixpack?
Nicole Oct 29th 2008 at 08:47 am 3
What is Frazz talking about — last year was a piece of cake
Adny Oct 29th 2008 at 08:48 am 4
Perhaps Frazz is just being a little cruel? Mrs Olsen has previously claimed that *this year* she will guess Caulfield’s character, so I reckon that Frazz is just teasing her and the actual character is not supposed to be even remotely obvious yet.
src Oct 29th 2008 at 10:48 am 5
Seems to be the personification of a Slacker so far. Unconcerned, unaware, unexcited, uninspired. Not ringing any bells for me, either.
furrykef Oct 29th 2008 at 10:57 am 6
OK, I’m stretching because I’ve never read the book nor even know much about what it’s like, but could it be a character from The Catcher in the Rye? That’d explain Frazz’s comment that it’s so easy even with so little information to go on, since Caulfield was named after that book’s main character.
- Kef
Cedar Oct 29th 2008 at 11:26 am 7
I found last year’s extremely easy, so I hope I get this one quickly as well.
James Oct 29th 2008 at 11:29 am 8
Mrs. Olsen’s comment that she’s worried about Caulfield sounded to me like Mrs. Cleaver’s “Ward, I’m worried about the Beaver,” but Beaver is not, strictly speaking, a literary character. Perhaps he’s going as Caulfield?
jayjaybear Oct 29th 2008 at 12:27 pm 9
Put me in as a vote for Holden Caulfield as well, though it’s not a solid vote.
Patrick Oct 29th 2008 at 12:33 pm 10
It’s been almost 30 years since I read “Catcher in the Rye” but I don’t recall Holden Caulfield watching a lot of TV. In fact, since the book was written in about 1950, I doubt TV is mentioned at all. I think Caulfield’s costume this year is definitely NOT Holden Caulfield.
Patrick Oct 29th 2008 at 12:37 pm 11
My vote - and I know it’s too early to be sure - is for Chauncey Gardener of “Being There.”
furrykef Oct 29th 2008 at 02:36 pm 12
Well, it being Holden Caulfield is the only thing I can imagine that would make it seem so obvious to Frazz with so little information. Though again I say this knowing nothing about the character.
I don’t think the TV thing has to be taken so literally. If it’s something the character would do if he were around today, I think it’d still count as being in character.
- Kef
Frank Oct 29th 2008 at 05:05 pm 13
OBVIOUSLY, it’s Drew Peterson (or Obama).
-Sven Oct 29th 2008 at 05:57 pm 14
I think Frank probably nailed it. Obama. -Sven
Neddo Oct 29th 2008 at 06:02 pm 15
What book was he from, again?
Taigan Oct 29th 2008 at 06:28 pm 16
“Patrick — October 29, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
My vote - and I know it’s too early to be sure - is for Chauncey Gardener of “Being There.””
That makes the most sense of anything else I’ve read. The problem is that if he’s supposed to already be in costume Chance never wore a hoodie.
Bill Zilch Oct 29th 2008 at 06:50 pm 17
My first guess was Holden Caulfield but now I’m think Mike Teevee
Patrick Oct 29th 2008 at 06:50 pm 18
That is a good point, Taigan. But I think he’s not supposed to be in costume yet. The teacher asking “How’s the costume coming?” indicates that it’s not yet Halloween. I think by Friday he’ll be wearing an overcoat and a Homburg and carrying an umbrella.
Patrick Oct 29th 2008 at 06:53 pm 19
Mike Teevee seems like a good guess at this point too.
Meg Oct 29th 2008 at 07:53 pm 20
How strictly is “literature” defined? Sounds a lot like Calvin from “Calvin and Hobbes”
dd Oct 29th 2008 at 10:29 pm 21
Mike Teevee! Great guess…
padraig Oct 29th 2008 at 11:37 pm 22
Dang it Pat, ya steal my name, ya steal my guess…
My money’s still on “Being There,” but I don’t know how Jef & Caulfield will finesse the “I like to watch” bit.
I must be out of touch, who’s Mike Teevee?
Calvin’s out, can’t imagine him not knowing Halloween’s coming, all those pumpkins to massacre!
furrykef Oct 30th 2008 at 12:40 am 23
Mike Teevee was the TV-obsessed guy from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, who ended up, naturally enough, being the guy who got stuck in the TV.
The new one’s up at comics.com. Now Caulfield’s listening to an iPod… that rules out Mike Teevee.
- Kef
Kevin Andresen Oct 30th 2008 at 01:07 am 24
Can anything by Cameron Crowe count as classic literature for Caulfield? Something about the Oct. 30 strip sent me there.
Richard Oct 30th 2008 at 01:24 am 25
There’s no way this is “Catcher In The Rye.” Holden Caufield couldn’t stand the phoniness of movies. There’s no way he’d watch television. In the 10/30 strip, Mrs. Olsen seems to stumble onto something when she says “Young Man.” At first I thought of Thomas Mann, but Caufield’s clueless loss of himelf in pop culture doesn’t seem to be similar to any Thomas Mann characters. Then I thought of James Joyce’s “Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man” and Hemingway’s “Nick Adams - Adventures of a Young Man” - but they don’t seem to have anything in common with the character Caufield is playing.
ElGeo Oct 30th 2008 at 06:39 am 26
How about Fahrenheit 451? The earbud and the giant TV screen walls would fit.
Another BF Oct 30th 2008 at 07:57 am 27
Horace Mann doesn’t fit….
Mark Jones Oct 30th 2008 at 09:54 am 28
I’m surprised there hasn’t been more talk about Frazz’s “easy” comments. There’s a few different ways it could be interpreted: (a) a clue that we’re completely missing, (b) a bit of misdirection, (c) making fun of the readers for not immediately nailing it, or…(d) a reminder that is really *is* easy and that there’s no need to over-think it.
My vote was for Mike Teevee (who would be “easy” because he’s a relatively well-known character), but I don’t see how the iPod fits into that one…
Lola Oct 30th 2008 at 11:20 am 29
Maybe it’s himself? No matter what he does, he’ll be in character.
Mark Jones Oct 30th 2008 at 11:43 am 30
@Lola - But watching TV and listening to iPods instead of working on his costume and paying attention to his teacher is out of character for Caulfield.
This would be easier if we’d had clues all week, instead of two days before Halloween. I guess Mallet doesn’t want to make it too easy, but still…
Dawn Oct 30th 2008 at 01:53 pm 31
Frazz also mentions that Caulfield’s dad bought a plasma TV. I’m guessing Caulfield’s character is numb/unthinking because of modern entertainment.
Has anyone read White Noise? I seem to recall it was about the malaise of modern times.
annon Oct 30th 2008 at 02:02 pm 32
Whatever it is this year, easy or not, he’s certainly laying out a series of unfortunate events as clues.
elg Oct 30th 2008 at 02:23 pm 33
Mildred Montage from Fahrenheit 451? But since Caulfield is male and Mildred is female, probably not.
elg Oct 30th 2008 at 02:34 pm 34
BTW, I just saw elgeo’s posting. I am not the same person.
Here is some web info on Mildred Montag (no e at the end as in my previous post.)
http://education.yahoo.com/homework_help/cliffsnotes/fahrenheit_451/35.html
“Completely immersed in an electronic world and growing more incompatible with Montag [her huband] with every electronic gadget that enters her house…”
“Her longing for a fourth wall of television suggests her capability of submerging in fantasy to withdraw from the roles of wife, mother, and whole human being…”
ddsassdd Oct 30th 2008 at 03:16 pm 35
One of the characters in The Grapes of Wrath was obsessed with the recent invention of televisio.
Norm Oct 30th 2008 at 06:54 pm 36
ddsassdd, wasn’t that Rose of Sharon’s husband? Pretty minor character but I’m not rejecting the idea out of hand.
ddsassdd Oct 30th 2008 at 06:58 pm 37
Do not read the spoiler in the next pargraph, Fahrenheit 451 is a classic.
Caufield’s use of a literary reference contradicts the idea that his costume is of Mrs. Montag. She hated and feared books. Guy, near the end, (spoiler: convinces her to read the collection of saved books and a strange sentence frightens her. She, soon, turns him in to the authorities.) She would not research literature.
furrykef Oct 30th 2008 at 07:50 pm 38
ddsassdd - you mean somebody choosing a costume of a character from literature can’t pick somebody who hates literature? That doesn’t really make any sense to me. There’s no rule that Caulfield has to agree with the character’s he’s portraying. (And if there were, he’d already be violating that rule big time.)
- Kef
KRW Oct 30th 2008 at 07:52 pm 39
I’m torn between Chauncey the Gardener and Fahrenheit 451, but whatever it is, it better be very funny or else it will have been very annoying.
Heath Oct 30th 2008 at 08:14 pm 40
1. In Monday’s strip, Mrs. Olsen talks about watching the library to see what books Caulfield checks out. Frazz mentioned triple digits, in reference to the books she would have to research. “451″ is triple digits.
2. Mildred Montag is alarmingly uncaring about what was going on around her, and she watches video screens and wears an earbud.
I think this is pretty strong evidence.
furrykef Oct 30th 2008 at 09:54 pm 41
I dunno about the “triple digits” thing. The clue makes enough sense, but why would Frazz already be in on it? I thought he had to guess like everyone else.
Patrick Oct 31st 2008 at 12:35 am 42
Way to go ElGeo - it is Mildred Montag. Nicely played. Congratulations.
furrykef Oct 31st 2008 at 02:23 am 43
So Mrs. Olsen actually got it? That’s amazing…
Still dunno how this was supposed to be so easy.
jayjaybear Oct 31st 2008 at 08:58 am 44
Is that Mrs. Olsen “getting it” or Mrs. Olsen just “guessing it”?
furrykef Oct 31st 2008 at 10:03 am 45
I’d think if she got it wrong, Frazz would hint it more obviously.
Cedar Oct 31st 2008 at 10:50 am 46
I’d glad Mrs. Olsen guessed it. It’s nice to see she’s not a complete idiot.
Powers Oct 31st 2008 at 11:57 am 47
Cedar, does that make the rest of us complete idiots?
Actually, I’m not convinced that it is Mildred Montag. Caulfield, in character, says he doesn’t recognize the name. If he was portraying her, wouldn’t his character recognize her own name?
Dawn Oct 31st 2008 at 02:08 pm 48
He doesn’t recognize the name “from TV”. He’s in character.
Cedar Oct 31st 2008 at 02:20 pm 49
Since the strip world is different from our world, I’d say, No, it doesn’t make us idiots.
I like it because normally Mrs. Olsen is just a static punchline about ignorance and refusal to better oneself. I like that she’s even heard of 451.
Cidu Bill Oct 31st 2008 at 04:16 pm 50
I’ve always chosen to believe, since clearly Mrs. Olsen has been to college and probably has some advanced degree in education, that she’s just messing with everybody’s heads. I can accept humorless, but not stupid.
Cedar Oct 31st 2008 at 05:08 pm 51
Bill–
Surely we’ve all known teachers who didn’t seem that smart or curious about the world. Heck, Liz Patterson from fborfw is a teacher, and she’s never come off as particularly smart or clever. I think Mrs. Olsen is a play on that. Also, at my HS, there were some older teachers (most definitely retired by now, I should hope) who didn’t have teaching degrees, but got the jobs as teachers when the school first opened and just never left. Granted, this was awhile ago, but I’m sure it still exists.
furrykef Oct 31st 2008 at 07:50 pm 52
Hmm. Yeah, upon thinking about it now, I think Caulfield’s “I don’t recognize that name from TV” is a strong hint that she actually got it wrong.
Setting aside whether Olsen should be an ignoramus or not, it would seem pretty odd for her to get it right. I mean, this is a comic strip. The way these things always work when they set up something (”I’m definitely gonna guess it this year”) is either it doesn’t happen or there’s some surprising twist on it. Her getting it right isn’t enough of a surprising twist; something’s going on here.
But then they only have one day to clear up what’s going on, so I’m kind of puzzled as to where Mallett could be going with this.
- Kef
Richard Oct 31st 2008 at 09:05 pm 53
I don’t think Caufield performed a very good impersonation of Mildred Montag - at least, not the way I remember Mildred as being portayed in the novel. I recall her as being manic depressive, either ethusiastically elated about her television shows, or so depressed that she attempts suicide. Caufield didn’t capture any of that.