This Modern World Explained

This Modern World
Creator:Tom Tomorrow
Status:Running
Syndicate:self-syndicated
Genre:Humor, Political comics, Satirical comics
First:April 1986 (in Processed World #16)

This Modern World is a weekly satirical comic strip by cartoonist and political commentator Tom Tomorrow (real name Dan Perkins) that covers current events from a left-wing point of view. Published continuously for more than 30 years, This Modern World appears regularly in more than 80 newspapers across the United States and Canada as of 2015,[1] as well as in The Nation,[2] The Nib,[3] Truthout,[4] and the Daily Kos.

This Modern World has won a number of awards, including the Society of Professional Journalists James Madison Freedom of Information Award[5] and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (twice);[6] [7] [8] the strip was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.[9] [10]

Overview

While This Modern World often ridicules those in power, the strip also focuses on the average American's support for contemporary leaders and their policies, as well as the popular media's role in shaping public perception.

The series has been through several incarnations through the years, the first of which appeared in the Suburban High Life comic books published by Slave Labor in the late 1980s. A recurring theme in the comic books (though far less so in subsequent comic strip) was that of "reality engineering", wherein "the very fabric of space and time" is mined for "the good of mankind". This periodically generates "reality discontinuities", where reality breaks down. These are (generally) resolved by reality engineers.[11]

Visually This Modern World draws inspiration from a retro, 1950s sensibility, with brightly colored illustrations that are also inspired by clip art. Initially, the strip was almost completely composed of actual vintage clip art and magazine cutouts, assembled collage-style and often manipulated and retouched. However, Tomorrow has gradually replaced cutouts with his own drawings, which merely mimic the clip art look. Usually drawn in four panels, it is not uncommon for all panels to be identical or nearly so, with only the dialogue and/or facial expressions changing.

The '50s theme extends to the typically verbose dialogue of the strip's human characters, which is often bubbly, over-enthusiastic, and naïve. The stupidity of the humans is countered by Sparky, a fast-talking penguin (although the strip occasionally postulates he is actually an auk) with a red visor, who provides much of the strip's political commentary.

Publication history

Perkins was first published in the Spring 1986 issue of Processed World.[12] He adopted the subject matter of the consumer culture and the drudgery of work, a theme shared by the magazine, and entitled his comic strip This Modern World. In 1990, the strip began to be run in the SF Weekly, before being picked up in the fall of 1991 by the San Francisco Examiner. As his audience expanded, Perkins shifted the focus of the strip to politics. Perkins added papers throughout the 1990s, distributing his comic via self-syndication, a practice he has continued throughout his career.[13] [14]

In 2009, Village Voice Media, publishers of 16 alternative weeklies, suspended all syndicated cartoons across their entire chain. Perkins thereby lost twelve client papers in cities, including Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle,[15] prompting his friend Eddie Vedder to post an open letter on the Pearl Jam website in support of the cartoonist.[16]

Characters

In addition to any politicians and celebrities depicted, the strip has several recurring characters:

Tom TomorrowTom occasionally appears in his own strips as himself, breaking the fourth wall.
Tom Tomorrow (fictional)In an "intermediate" version of the strip, a character named Tom Tomorrow was in the strip. He was a private investigator who was dressed in a radiation suit so his face was never seen. He was eventually phased out.
Dippy the Wonder-PenguinFictional Tom Tomorrow's sidekick. His vocabulary was limited to "wank".
Sparky the Wonder PenguinA sort of upgraded version of Dippy (who had been phased out by the time of Sparky's introduction), Sparky is a sunglasses-wearing penguin that can actually talk. Similar to Dippy, Sparky's first words in the strip are "George [H. W.] Bush is a wanker". A strong liberal advocate, he briefly became a Republican after being hit on the head with a random falling toilet.
Blinky the DogA small Boston Terrier who shares most of Sparky's political sympathies. Normally very mellow, he briefly became a radical when steroids were put into his food when he was intended to replace the then-Republican Sparky.
Bob FriendlyMr. Friendly is in charge of the advertising section of This Modern World (thus breaking the fourth wall). It was he who introduced Sparky the Penguin. He appears only occasionally.
Dr. Wilbur von PhilbertOne of the longest-running characters in the strip, Dr. von Philbert is the person who discovered how to mine reality for energy.
Biff and WandaTwo blow-dried news presenters of Action McNews, a newscast in which Tomorrow suggests that most TV news is little more than PR spin. A Biff and Wanda strip almost always ends with a cut to a commercial break ("Now, these messages!").
Biff and BettyBiff and Betty are two archetypes of 1950s people, who sometimes share their thoughts on the modern world. Biff often appears alone with Sparky, expressing a naive conservative opinion which invariably prompts an exasperated liberal rebuttal from the penguin.
Invisible Hand of the Free Market ManInvisible Hand of the Free Market Man (abbreviated I.H.O.T.F.M.-Man in dialog in the strip) is a superhero character, wearing what is basically a Superman costume, with an I.H.O.T.F.M.-Man logo (a hand with a letter of IHOTF on each finger, and M in the palm) where the Superman logo would be. I.H.O.T.F.M.-Man's head is a giant left hand with facial features in the palm. I.H.O.T.F.M.-Man is an ardent defender of Adam Smith's invisible hand metaphor, and usually intervenes in situations where the purity of free market economics is in jeopardy. His declarations are often based on principles of free-market economics taken to their logical extreme. The first panel of a comic featuring I.H.O.T.F.M-Man is usually a parody of the cover of Action Comics #1. Often, another character will point out that he is, in fact, not invisible.
Conservative Jones and Moonbat McWackyConservative Jones and Moonbat McWacky are two children used in the strip to satirize conservative talking points. Conservative is dressed as a boy detective and asks Moonbat questions about politics. Moonbat gives reasonable answers, which the Conservative turns into illogical statements about liberals.
Public figuresAll the presidents since Ronald Reagan have appeared, as well as other political and media figures. Rush Limbaugh is a favorite caricature subject, although he usually talks through a radio and is not personally shown. (He was once, however, depicted as a pig, in a strip parodying the film The Mask.) Conservative columnist Ann Coulter is often the target of particularly unflattering caricatures, usually popping up in the middle of a strip to make a typically inflammatory remark, ending with a guttural "Haw haw haw!" laugh. In a few strips, George W. Bush gets hold of what appears to be the DeLorean from Back to the Future and goes back in time to meet America's Founding Fathers. Karl Rove and Bill O'Reilly make frequent appearances.
Parallel EarthThe strip occasionally visits a parallel Earth, a deliberate parody of our own world. In some strips, Parallel Earth makes wacky political choices which are exaggerated versions of real-world events. In others, the inhabitants of Parallel Earth have made sensible political choices, in contrast to the people of our own world (but wear odd, brightly-colored clothing featuring polka dots).
Small Cute DogA small cute dog who was accidentally elected president of Parallel Earth in the year 2000 (and re-elected in 2004), and whose subsequent actions mirrored those of President George W. Bush.
Planet GloxA pair of tentacle-waving anchor-aliens host a newscast from Planet Glox, resembling Fox News. They report about news strikingly similar to that on Earth, but in factual scientific terminology (i.e., Coneheads-style), thereby making fun, for example, of the public obsession with the sexual activities of public figures, by referring to the global importance of touching reproductive organs.

Other recurring elements

Supergiant Conglomerated CorporationA fictitious, stereotypical big business or megacorporation in an unspecified industry, but appears to represent the military-industrial complex. This company has been portrayed as being unethical, manipulative, obsessed with spin, and environmentally unfriendly. Occasionally written as "Supergiant Amalgamated Corporation".
Action McNewsThe (presumably local) TV news program on which Biff and Wanda are anchors.

In other media

From 2000 to 2001, an animated This Modern World series was produced by Flickerlab for Mondo Media, with Bob Harris as the voice of Sparky.[17] The show was the top-billed attraction in Mondo Media's lineup of mini-shows; each episode was approximately five minutes long.

Crew

This Modern Life collections

References

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Tom Tomorrow's omnibus book tops $310,000 on Kickstarter. LA Times. 4 June 2017.
  2. Tom Tomorrow. The Nation. 2017-11-26.
  3. Web site: Tom Tomorrow. The Nib. 2017-11-26.
  4. Web site: Cartoons. Truthout. 2017-11-26.
  5. Web site: Freedom of Information Award Winners . Society of Professional Journalists . 2009-05-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090122155821/http://spjchapters.org/norcal/foiwinners.html . January 22, 2009 .
  6. Web site: 30th Annual Awards - 1998 (for 1997 coverage). Robert F. Kennedy Memorial. 2009-03-05. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090102072702/http://www.rfkmemorial.org/legacyinaction/1998/. 2009-01-02.
  7. Web site: 35th Annual Awards - 2003 (for 2002 coverage). Robert F. Kennedy Memorial. 2009-03-05. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090102070950/http://www.rfkmemorial.org/legacyinaction/2003/. 2009-01-02.
  8. "35th Annual Awards: 2003 (for 2002 coverage) ", Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.
  9. News: Cavna. Michael. What Does It Mean when a True Outlier is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist. The Washington Post. April 25, 2015. 4 June 2017.
  10. Ryce, Walter. "Tom Tomorrow's political cartoon strip This Modern World earns him a Pulitzer finalist spot," Monterey Country Weekly (Apr 21, 2015).
  11. Tomorrow, Tom. This Modern World. Self-Syndicated, 1988.
  12. Tomorrow . Tom . This Modern World . Processed World . San Francisco, CA . Spring 1986 . 16 . 13–17 . 0735-9381.
  13. Web site: Rhodes. Steve. Tomorrow Never Knows . Mediafile . 4 June 2017.
  14. Web site: Animated Series Based On Acclaimed Underground Comic Strip 'This Modern World' In Works . Lincoln . Ross A. . 2016-10-08 . Deadline. 2017-12-30.
  15. Web site: Oy . thismodernworld blog . 2009-05-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090413041100/http://www.thismodernworld.com/4657 . April 13, 2009 .
  16. Web site: This Modern World Needs Your Help. Pearl Jam website. 2017-06-05. bot: unknown. https://web.archive.org/web/20090715113202/https://pearljam.com/news/modern-world-needs-your-help. 2009-07-15.
  17. Web site: Let's Get Animated. Online Journalism Review. 2009-05-02. See http://thismodernworld.com/animation-and-film

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