Comics I Don’t Understand

By very popular demand, Sunday’s Brevity was pushed to the front of the queue

Cidu Bill on Mar 8th 2010

Filed in Bill Bickel, Brevity, CIDU, Guy & Rodd, comic strips, comics, humor | 29 responses so far

29 Responses to “By very popular demand, Sunday’s Brevity was pushed to the front of the queue”

Jessica Mar 8th 2010 at 12:05 am 1

I was hoping this one would make it to the site. I’m sure it has something to do with the second donkey’s having glasses on, but I have no idea why that’s supposed to be funny.
John Small Berries Mar 8th 2010 at 12:15 am 2

The second donkey’s front legs are also shaking, and its rider’s head is flinging drops of sweat. But I don’t know why that’s funny either.
Elyrest Mar 8th 2010 at 12:20 am 3

These are the donkeys that walk on narrow winding paths down into the Grand Canyon. Having a donkey that is near-sighted and trembley isn’t going to inspire confidence in his rider. It’s not really funny, but it is typical of Brevity.
Nicole Mar 8th 2010 at 01:05 am 4

I think Elyrest has it .. or as close to it as one can get. The question I have is why does the leader have ’stink lines’ coming off of him.
Jessica Mar 8th 2010 at 01:20 am 5

Yeah, the stink lines and the way the guy riding the second donkey is looking to the side made me think it might be a fart joke, but it just doesn’t seem very obvious.
Eric Mar 8th 2010 at 01:25 am 6

I’m pretty sure those are supposed to be some detail on the mountain side, not stink lines.
Elyrest Mar 8th 2010 at 01:27 am 7

“Stink lines” - I just love the way you turn a phrase Nicole. I’m pretty sure those “stink lines” are part of the pattern of the hillside/canyon. It is interesting though that wavy lines are used to express more than one thing - stinkiness, heat and aggravation are just a few.
Chuck Mar 8th 2010 at 03:00 am 8

I love donkeys. That is all I have to say.
Soup Dragon Mar 8th 2010 at 03:16 am 9

Technically, those are mules, I would believe. Donkeys are smaller that what these beasts appear to be.

I have no idea why this cartoon is funny.
Aelwr Mar 8th 2010 at 04:04 am 10

I could be that the second rider is looking ahead for a spot to pass but the path is to narrow and he is beginning to get road rage. I have no ideas about the glasses on the mule.
Igelino Mar 8th 2010 at 04:48 am 11

I thought maybe the donkey had stolen the kid’s glasses, or the kid thought the donkey needed them more. Now the kid is leaning away from the edge, and the donkey is having trouble seeing.

I must admit, I’m a little disappointed at Nicole’s response. I hoped she could point out something interesting in this one. Hee hee.
Stan Mar 8th 2010 at 05:45 am 12

In a weak attempt to make up for Nicole’s lack of luridish explanations, and in reference to the mule’s wobbly legs, could the boy be ’shaking his ass’ down the mountain?
Stan Mar 8th 2010 at 05:46 am 13

Sorry, I meant ‘lurid’ there.
Carl Mar 8th 2010 at 06:12 am 14

Um, it’s incredibly obvious to me that the second mule is blind. That’s why he’s wearing dark glasses. You don’t want to be riding a blind mule down a steep trail.

I don’t know if I’m right, just that it’s obvious to me.
furrykef Mar 8th 2010 at 06:32 am 15

The problem is, at this size, it’s not entirely clear whether the glasses are supposed to be dark. They didn’t look dark to me until you pointed it out.
Lola Mar 8th 2010 at 06:53 am 16

Not that I actually think this is it, but the glasses could be goggles to deal with the first mule’s gas which his rider would be obviously reacting to.
Powers Mar 8th 2010 at 07:29 am 17

The glasses aren’t dark at all; they’re colored blue (reflecting the sky) and show the mule’s pupils behind them.
meerkat Mar 8th 2010 at 08:07 am 18

My first thought was that it was a sendup of the saying “If you’re not the lead dog the view never changes” except with donkeys. The joke being that the second guy in line just needs to look sideways instead of forward because there is a fantastic view there. But then the comments pointed out that the second donkey has glasses, and also they are donkeys rather than dogs, so I don’t think it’s a valid interpretation at all. I agree the second donkey is supposed to be blind and feeling his way along with his forelegs, but I would never have figured it out on my own.

And by donkey I mean mule.
Heather D Mar 8th 2010 at 08:10 am 19

I’m with elyrest. The mule isn’t blind, the glasses would be BLACK, not just a darkish blue (with the pupils visible behind them), and there’d probably be some indication of the mule somehow using a cane…

Coke-bottle glasses and wobbly legs on a narrow winding switchback road, yeah I’d be nervous too.
Morris Keesan Mar 8th 2010 at 08:47 am 20

I think Elyrest has it, but having seen at least one post here (about a different comic) purportedly from Guy (of Guy and Rodd), I think there’s a non-zero chance that this comic was intentionally confusing, with the intent of having it posted on CIDU.
Jeff S. Mar 8th 2010 at 08:56 am 21

The second mule is old. Yeah, he’s made it down the Grand Canyon several times before, but that doesn’t help you when you are on his back the moment he finally slips off the edge.

It’s age discrimination, plain and simple.
padraig Mar 8th 2010 at 09:51 am 22

Well, at least he didn’t put a Toyota emblem on the mule’s forehead.
mkilby Mar 8th 2010 at 10:48 am 23

I have very unpleasant memories of a canyon tour on an old, decrepit mule that was so slow that there was no way that he could keep up with the pace, let alone stay in second place. I never heard a single word that the tour guide said for the whole trip. Forcing that mule to work was simple cruelty (both to the animal and to any tourist who had to ride it).
Cidu Bill Mar 8th 2010 at 11:28 am 24

padraig, that would have been the best Toyota gag of the month.
Another Josh Mar 8th 2010 at 11:37 am 25

Huh. When I did my Grand Canyon hike, they had suspended the mule tours due to accidents. They still used the mules to move supplies up and down the canyon, but no people other than the ranger guide. I hadn’t heard that they’d started them up again, but apparently they have.

Strangely, we were told that the mules prefer to be away from the canyon wall (and closer to the drop) and that mules get the right-of-way on the trail, so when the mules come by, stand against the canyon wall and let them pass. Then watch where you step.
paperboy Mar 8th 2010 at 03:07 pm 26

It’s possible that Jeff S. #21 got it, but that would mean it’s just not funny, and I prefer to give the pros the benefit of the doubt. We’re just not seeing something.
Keera Mar 8th 2010 at 03:13 pm 27

All I know about this is that they use mules/donkeys because horses are dumb enough to fall asleep on that trail, because horses are dumb enough to think the guy in the saddle is keeping track (no pun intended). Wait, I know one more thing: I doubt I would ever take this ride, me with my fear of heights.
The Bad Seed Mar 8th 2010 at 06:14 pm 28

Wow, Keera, you definitely got that biased information from a mule-lover. Horses aren’t “dumb enough” to fall asleep while walking a trail (wouldn’t we read news stories about them falling off mountains?), and donkeys aren’t any smarter than a horse. Horses and donkeys/mules/burros just generally have very different dispositions, and horses often tend to be more excitable and would be less suitable for greenhorn riders. In addition to being sure-footed, fairly strong for their size, and generally closer to the ground, donkeys et all tend to me more settled and stubborn, and will pretty-much follow the one in front of them no matter what the uneducated rider does or what else happens. But I rode the trails in the Smokies on an old trail horse, and - aside from being a smoother ride than a mule - he was as calm and stubborn as a mule. He insisted on walking along the very edge of all the trails, even though I had his head pulled away from the edge at an angle greater than 90 degrees, and flat-out refused to trot to catch up with the rest of the pack. They’re all creatures of habit and fairly easily trained, and neither species is consistently smarter than the other.
Keera Mar 9th 2010 at 02:13 am 29

Actually, I’ve been riding on rented horses, and they do have a tendency to, well, not GAF about the rider or the trail. They will doze off. The guy in front on one ride rode a mule because they keep a steady pace unlike horses, which tend to vary their speed (this from the mule guy himself); he also warned us to keep a check on our horses to keep them from dozing off. I guess they just got so used to the habit of the trail, they would tune out. Pretty dumb, if you ask me.

What do I know about the Grand Canyon? Nothing, but there’s got to be a reason they don’t let horses on those trails, and you do name several. (I’ve been told a horse doesn’t like going straight down hills (or stairs) because it can’t see its front feet properly.) And your experience with that donkey, I’ve had with a horse. It’s their way of rebelling against the situation, I think. Can’t say I blame them. Even humans sometimes get fed up with (certain) paying customers.