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FAMOUS MEME Comics

by Tom Tomorrow

Detail from THIS MODERN WORLD cartoon. FAMOUS MEME COMICS, part of two panels: man looking at new lady meme, and William Carlos Williams poem
Panel one: the top reads FAMOUS MEME COMICS, in a font meant to echo the old CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED comic books. It shows the distracted boyfriend meme, with the boyfriend labeled “exhausted political cartoonist,” the girlfriend looking at him aghast labeled “relentlessly bad news,” and the woman in the foreground labeled “literally any other topic. Panel two: caption at top reads THE WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS POEM. A bedraggled figure meant to represent the artist looks at a laptop, in a room with peeling walls and a bare light bulb. He is typing: “This is just to say/I have written another parody of that poem about the plums.” Panel three: Same visuals, but with the artist’s cat popping up in the background. The poem continues: “which has been done to death on social media/Forgive me/It was so easy/and so quick.” Panel four: caption reads THE PAGLIACCI JOKE.” A bald, goateed psychologist says, “My prescription for your melancholy is simple — go read that amusing comic strip featuring Sparky the penguin!” A voice off-panel replies: “But doctor — that strip is incredibly depressing!” Panel five: reverse camera angle reveals that the offscreen voice is Sparky, saying, “Also— how are you my shrink when you don’t even know my name? This joke doesn’t make any sense at all.” Panel six caption: THE SIX WORD STORY A man, woman and baby. The woman says “For sale — baby shoes, never worn!” Man: “Kid didn’t like them and we missed the return window!” Woman: “Why is everyone being so weird about this?”

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