Kevin Siers: You Write The Caption

Inbetweener post: "Lio's" creator animates "Pearls'"

 
Found this on the blog of Stephan Pastis, the cartoonist of "Pearls Before Swine."  I found the animations hilarious, in a weird way, and was intrigued to learn about the 'do-it-yourself', text-to-toon animation software.  Pastis writes:

"You know your friends have too much time on their hands when they start making animated shows about you.

"In this case, the friend is Mark Tatulli, creator of the comic strip “Lio.” And he has made me the star of my own animated series.

"In less than one day, he has produced four separate installments.  At this rate, he’ll have 1,200 by year-end.

"My character appears to have a singular obsession, which I’ll let you see for yourself.  I’d object, but it’s so accurate, I can only cry.

"To see all four parts, click HERE.

"By the way, he made the animations at this site that lets you create your own animated movies in a matter of minutes.  It’s www.xtranormal.com.  It’s very fun.  So if you want, please create your own movies about me and I will link to them here.   Extra points if you make fun of Mark or portray me in a more flattering light."

Your new challenge: Aug. 9, 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 11.

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 latest winner

The winner:

"Today's water sample from the gulf is showing improvement."

-- Kenneth Irving of Kannapolis

The runners-up:

"Your Change Elixir you ordered two years ago became mostly smoke, Mr. President."

-- Brandon Swann, Baltimore, Md.

"It's Rangel and Waters."

-- Billy Grooms, Davidson

"We have no idea what it is but it was created with stimulus money."

-- Charles Randall, Cherryville

"Red and Blue can be mixed!”

-- David W. White, 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:

“It’s the solution for the economy and it’s evaporating rapidly!”

“For cleaning the Gulf, it’s bismuth as usual!”

"What shall we concoct today?"

"Side effects may include Great Depression."

"Eureka! I’ve discovered that oil and politics don’t mix!"

"It's a dispersant we created to ward off your next disaster."

"It's a cure for socialism."

"It's a new, improved Kool-aid for the media."

"Don't worry, it's not a truth serum."

"Great news, Boss! The dispersants aren't anymore toxic or dangerous than the oil itself!!"

"Your ratings have fizzled."

"It's the results of your popularity polls - They stink."

"It's Bill Clinton's MoJo."

“It helps the voters forget.” 

Inbetweener post: Garfield minus Garfield

Here's a site I stumbled upon a few weeks ago and it's become one of my favorite online comics (I admit that's a very small group).  The premise is simple, in the words of creator Dan Walsh:

"Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb."

And it works!  The result is zany, beat, surreal, and, at least for me, provokes a lot more chuckles than the big orange cat does on a daily basis. 

Walsh says Garfield's creator, Jim Davis, has also seen the strip and approves, graciously calling the work “an inspired thing to do” and  thanking "Walsh for enabling him to see another side of 'Garfield.'"

Another web artist was inspired by this to create "Calvin minus Hobbes", where the toy stuffed tiger remains just that and we never see the full-sized companion of Calvin's imagination.  But he gave the strip up, saying the result was just too sad.

Your new challenge: August 2, 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 4.

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.