Kevin Siers: You Write The Caption

Your new challenge: Aug. 30, 2010

Welcome to You Write the Caption, the Charlotte Observer cartoon caption contest, an opportunity to test your wit and win a prize. Each Monday, Observer editorial cartoonist Kevin Siers will post a political cartoon that needs a caption and invite readers to write one.  To learn more about our contest and see our caption writing guidelines, please click here.

Submissions must reach us by noon, Wednesday, August 25.

Enter as many times as you wish.  To submit your caption on-line, just click here to e-mail us. (Or address your e-mail to caption@charlotteobserver.com)  Please include your mailing address and daytime phone number. To mail your caption to the Observer, address it to You Write the Caption, Editorial Department, The Charlotte Observer, P.O. Box 30308, Charlotte, NC 28230-0308.

For a discussion about last week's winners, please see the "Comments" section below the previous post.

This week's winner

The winner:

"Seeking wisdom and knowledge? Sorry, I’m a Republican."

-- Jackie Grunden of Kannapolis

The runners-up:

"A Guru? No, just unemployed."

-- Brent Sheppard, Morganton

"Sorry, but enlightenment and politics don't mix."

-- Richard Randall, Cherryville

"You're not going to have any better luck at this summit!"

-- Mic Elvenstar, Charlotte

"The answers and wisdom you seek are not here, for we have no teleprompters."

-- James Jones, McAdenville

"Eat, Pray, Love."
 
-- Kay Paul, Charlotte

"It's the economy, stupid."

-- From many readers

Thank you for all your entries. As usual, feel free to discuss any of this in our "Comments" section.  Just click the blue link below this post and add your observations or additional captions!

Here's a selection of some of the other better lines we received:

"Have you thought about being a Community Organizer?"

"You want advice?  Just listen to the American people."

"If I share truth with you, will you please pass it on to Fox News?"

"Your vacations are getting stranger and stranger..."

"My advice - you need to rethink all the exotic vacations."

"Enlightenment?  You must first give up all your earthly aspirations for achievement . . . OK, you're good!"

"If you've come seeking wisdom, you're waaaay too late."

“If I had all the answers, I would be President.”

“I’d love to give you advice, but it’s been outsourced to India!”

"No. I do not know where your birth certificate is."

"Did you bring my unemployment check?"

"I'm sorry, the mountain for Muhammad is over there."

"If it is wisdom you seek, watch the polls in November."

"Words of wisdom? Sure, just read this week's caption contest entries!"

'Dustin' moves in

Copyright 2010 Steve Kelley & Jeff Parker. Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

If you've been reading the Observer's comics pages this week, you've noticed a new name in the line-up.  Steve Kelly's and Jeff Parker's 'Dustin' debuted Monday, replacing the single panel 'F-minus'. Kelly, the editorial cartoonist for  the New Orleans Times-Picayune introduces his work this way:

TWO HETEROSEXUAL MALES START FAMILY TOGETHER.

Okay, now that I have your attention, let me explain.

Florida Today political cartoonist Jeff Parker and I are launching a comic strip, “Dustin,” that will appear in The Times-Picayune and more than 50 newspapers across the country starting today. At its heart is the Kudlick family: Ed and Helen and their two children, Dustin and Meg.

You must be thinking, whoa, Steve, that is such an original premise. Husband, wife, two kids — does your sizzling creativity know no bounds?

Again, let me explain.

Dustin is what trend-spotters call a “boomerang kid” — in his case, a 23-year-old college graduate who moves back in with his parents to save money until he is established in the workforce.

But as sociologists (and common sense) are quick to remind us, these arrangements seldom proceed as anticipated. Sometimes the temporary houseguest grows comfortable with the situation. As his stay extends beyond what anyone intended, nerves begin to fray and relationships are tested. The nest begins to feel crowded. . . .

Jeff told me that when he describes our comic strip to people, they often tell him, “Oh, I have a Dustin living at home.” He’s quick to remind them, “Yes, but ours is funny.”

Both Kelly and Parker are accomplished professional cartoonists.  In addition, Kelly moonlights as a stand-up comic.  So 'Dustin' promises to be a polished strip, consistently humorous, as opposed to 'F-minus',  whose amateurish look was considered part of its charm.

The most interesting thing to me about the new strip though, is how newspapers buy and syndicates market comic strips these days.  They're not talking art, but demographics.  The first concern seems to be not so much a product of the imagination as a product to be peddled to a specific readership niche.  Here's how King Features starts their 'Dustin' press release: " As the national unemployment rate for 20-24-year-olds soars, 80% of 2009 U.S. college graduates dubbed “boomerang kids” have returned to their parents’ homes after graduation according to CollegeGrad.com. A growing trend around the country, the Boomerang Generation is now taking center stage in the hilarious new comic . . . "

Newspapers have lots of 'family' and 'kid' strips on their pages already.  So that makes it harder for another in the genre to break into a paper, even if that strip is wonderfully drawn, creatively conceived, hilarious, and penned by a comic genius, Richard Thompson, one of the nicest guys in the cartooning industry.  Oh, yeah, it's also one of my favorite comic strips.  Thankfully, the Observer runs it on Sundays, but I'd love to see it on the daily pages:

©2010 Richard Thompson

So, in the meantime, the key to getting published is to think of a neglected demographic -- something that will ensure one's success as a comic strip artist.  Any suggestions?

Your new challenge: Aug. 23, 2010

Welcome to You Write the Caption, the Charlotte Observer cartoon caption contest, an opportunity to test your wit and win a prize. Each Monday, Observer editorial cartoonist Kevin Siers will post a political cartoon that needs a caption and invite readers to write one.  To learn more about our contest and see our caption writing guidelines, please click here.

Submissions must reach us by noon, Wednesday, August 25.

Enter as many times as you wish.  To submit your caption on-line, just click here to e-mail us.  (Or address your e-mail to caption@charlotteobserver.com)  Please include your mailing address and daytime phone number. To mail your caption to the Observer, address it to You Write the Caption, Editorial Department, The Charlotte Observer, P.O. Box 30308, Charlotte, NC 28230-0308. 

  For a discussion about last week's winners, please see the "Comments" section below the previous post.

The new winner!

The winner:

"Our economy is truly breaking new ground."

-- James Martone of Charlotte

The runners-up:

"You live by the Dow, you die by the Dow."

-- Suzanne Estro, Charlotte

"The buck literally does stop here."

-- David W. White, Charlotte

"Obama's approval rating just hit Ground Zero."

-- Douglas R. Cox, Albemarle

"Is it 2012 already?"

-- David Hylton, Charlotte

Thank you for all your entries. As usual, feel free to discuss any of this in our "Comments" section.  Just click the blue link below this post and add your observations or additional captions!

Here's a selection of some of the other better lines we received:

"I can't say the jobs are in a better place."

"This quarter struck him harder than you can imagine."

"Any further south and the Devil is going to be suffering cutbacks."

"Was that the stock market or Obama's popularity polls?"

" .... and in the end CD rates found their finally resting place."

"The Bush tax cuts just ended."

"Look at the bright side guys, the market can only go up from here."

"With God as my witness, I thought Obama could drive the Chevy Volt!"

"I'd hate to see a double-dip."

"Bush did it."

“Does this qualify as ‘shovel ready?’”

“Carolina Panthers playoff hopes!”

"Nascar Hall gets visit from Jack Roush."

Fine-tooning the message

Today's New York Times has a story about a new metaphor showing up in President's Obama's speeches recently:

In road-testing his stump speech for the midterm elections, President Obama would like American voters to think of a car that has been driven into a ditch. (Take a wild guess who was at the wheel.)

“You had a group of folks who drove the economy, drove the country, drove our car into the ditch,” Mr. Obama told some 200 party faithful sipping sauvignon blanc by the pool Monday night at a Los Angeles fund-raiser.

The president may change a word here or refer to a different member of Congress there, but the basic arc of the anecdote has been the same at his stops so far this week on a three-day, five-state swing.

The White House wants to frame the November elections as a clear choice between the Democrats who have put the country on the road to recovery, anemic though it may be, and the Republicans who, in the White House view, got the country into the economic mess to begin with.

“We put on our boots and walked into the ditch — it’s muddy and hot and dusty and bugs everywhere — and we’re pushing,” Mr. Obama said of the efforts of the White House and its Democratic partners in Congress.

“And we’re slipping and sliding and sweating, and the other side, the Republicans, they’re standing there with their Slurpees watching us,” Mr. Obama said, building up to the punch line, which he has been refining (minus the Slurpees) for several months. “Finally we get this car to level ground. Finally we’re ready to move forward, go down that road once again to American prosperity, and what happens? They want the keys back.”

“Well, you can’t have the keys back,” he said to cheers in Milwaukee on Monday. “You don’t know how to drive. You got us into the ditch."

The President could save a lot of time and words if he just showed everyone  Mike Luckovich's cartoon from last Wednesday (Aug. 11):

Of course, then the Republicans would just show today's from Mike Ramirez:

To be fair, Luckovich's cartoon isn't simply illustrating Obama's talking point -- it's adding the insight that despite what the Democrats see as their best efforts, they're still unappreciated, still catching grief from the electorate.

Your new challenge: Aug. 16, 2010

Welcome to You Write the Caption, the Charlotte Observer cartoon caption contest, an opportunity to test your wit and win a prize. Each Monday, Observer editorial cartoonist Kevin Siers will post a political cartoon that needs a caption and invite readers to write one.  To learn more about our contest and see our caption writing guidelines, please click here.

Submissions must reach us by noon, Wednesday, August 18.

Enter as many times as you wish.  To submit your caption on-line, just click here to e-mail us.  (Or address your e-mail to caption@charlotteobserver.com)  Please include your mailing address and daytime phone number. To mail your caption to the Observer, address it to You Write the Caption, Editorial Department, The Charlotte Observer, P.O. Box 30308, Charlotte, NC 28230-0308. 

  For a discussion about last week's winners, please see the "Comments" section below the previous post.

The new winner!

The winner:

"In hindsight, granting BP the nuclear power contract proved to be unwise."

-- Brandon Swann, Baltimore, Md.

The runners-up:

"Let me be clear.  I feel your pain."

-- Sandra Shober, Charlotte

"Things are going so well, I can hardly contain myself."

-- Dale Stout, Colorado Springs, Colo.

"We drained the swamp and found a superfund site."

-- Richard Collins, Waxhaw

"Now, moving on to the immigration question . . ."

-- Michael Higgs, Davidson

“I will engage the Republicans on their turf!”

-- David W. White, Charlotte

"Now, about the current political atmosphere . . ."

-- Lloyd Dillon, Charlotte

What a great bunch of captions this week! Thank you for all your entries. As usual, feel free to discuss any of this in our "Comments" section.  Just click the blue link below this post and add your observations or additional captions!

Here's a selection of some of the other better lines we received:

"I AM your fodder!"

"The gulf seafood is safe provided you take small precautions."

"I'm well-suited to lead our nation through these difficult times.  "

"I'm very sensitive to the wishes of the American people."

“I am not becoming increasingly isolated!”

"What do expect when you put Fox News in the front row?"

"No, I'm not bothered by my poll numbers."

"Do not be concerned, I'm only taking my girls to the Justin Beiber concert!"

"I couldn't take the heat."

"North Korea does not yet have nuclear war capability."

“Transparency?  You didn’t really believe that, did you?”

"This is my birthday suit!"

"No, I wouldn't exactly say the economy stinks . . . "

“I am fully prepared for the results of the midterm election and look forward to working with the new Congress.”

"Michelle went to Spain, I am going to the Gulf."

"After reflection on criticism of my family's travels, I've decided to give cocooning a shot."

"I see proud farmers are here with their home-grown tomatoes....."

"This letter, just in from Al Gore, warns us that..."

“Expansion of government is in no way harmful”

Obama Hazmat his match.

"2012 can't come soon enough!"

'Cathy' joins 'Calvin and Hobbes', moves to 'Bloom County'

Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite is retiring, ending the 'Cathy' comic strip:

'Cathy' comic strip to end after 34 years

By Leo Ebersole
Chicago Tribune

 Aack! After 34 years of bargain shopping, fretting and wisecracking, Cathy is walking into the sunset.

The comic strip "Cathy" will end its run in October, creator Cathy Guisewite said, having been a staple in newspapers since its debut in 1976. At its height, it appeared in 1,400 newspapers. Syndicator Universal Uclick said 700 newspapers, including the Observer, currently carry it. The last daily strip will appear Oct. 2, and the last Sunday strip on Oct. 3.

"The first day that 'Cathy' ran, I spent most of the day hiding in the ladies room of the advertising agency in Detroit where I worked praying that no one would read the newspaper," Guisewite said in a statement. "... (I) could never, ever have comprehended that Cathy would have so many biologically unrelated, deeply connected 'sisters.'"

Guisewite, 59, said she wanted time to care for her daughter, visit her parents more often and address "a creative biological clock, which is urging me to try something else while I can."

She wouldn't let on how the strip might end, quipping, "If I had the sort of brain capable of planning two weeks ahead I never would have been able to create this strip for the last 34 years."

Wiley Miller and the cartoonist's goal

Today's 'Non Sequitur' comic panel:

© '06 Wiley Ink, Inc.