PopTodd Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Bil Keane, creator of the mildly amusing daily comic strip is dead at 89. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 No need to be snarky Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Doug C Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Okay, I won't be snarky. Family Circus is one of the worst comics ever. Unfortunately, Keane's son will keep it going just like all of the other outdated pieces of shit that won't die. Not only was Charlie Brown an excellent comic, Charles Schultz refused to allow some hack to prop it up after his death. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ih8music Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Geez - his body isn't even cold yet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 What an angry, nasty turn this has taken... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Well it is a fairly awful comic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 My mom and dad read it - I always get a kick out it when they point out a panel to me. The comic makes them laugh, so it's good in my book. from the AP Although Keane drew the funnies, his work was not necessarily intended to be comical. His goal was this: "I would rather have the readers react with a warm smile, a tug at the heart or a lump in the throat as they recall doing the same things in their own families." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Doug C Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Geez - his body isn't even cold yet. Â It is cold and filled with embalming fluid, just like the Family Circus. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Who would miss the family circus? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sonicshoulder Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 It is cold and filled with embalming fluid, just like the Family Circus.Thats not funny...so it is a fitting tribute to Family Circus. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cam Jones Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 in high school, a friend of mine would always cut out Family Circus out from the newspaper in homeroom. We would tape it into a notebook and proceed to write funny and vulgar stuff underneath each comic. I found the notebook the other day, funny enough. But either way, the guys dead. RIP. You had good values that were easy to make fun of. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine, my favorite current comic strip) often had some great lines at the expense of the Family Circus. Â The fact that Family Circus characters were funnier in other strips than their own goes without saying. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Bil Keane seems to have been a genuinely nice guy. He seems to have had a lot in common with my grandfather and I'm sure I would have liked him a lot had I known him. RIP. It's not snark, however, to say that he wrote a mildly amusing comic strip - it's an out and out lie. I'm not sure I laughed or even chuckled unironically at a Family Circus panel since Billy (or maybe Jeffy. I think it was Jeffy) referred to the final game of some sports season as the "champion chip" back when I was about 7. Hoo boy did I laugh at that one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 Bil Keane seems to have been a genuinely nice guy. He seems to have had a lot in common with my grandfather and I'm sure I would have liked him a lot had I known him. RIP. It's not snark, however, to say that he wrote a mildly amusing comic strip - it's just the truth. Not trying to be snarky or nasty. By all accounts he was a very nice guy who will be missed by many, many people.Just happened to write the most whitebread strip this side of... anything. And did so by his own admission, saying that he would rather just bring a smile of recognition to your face than make you bust a gut laughing. Rest in peace, Bil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 Oh, and this site is brilliant:http://www.losanjealous.com/nfc/"Swallow your poison, for you need it badly." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Not trying to be snarky or nasty.I wasn't saying you were trying to be snarky. I was saying it is incorrect to suggest that Family Circus is even mildly amusing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A Radio Cure Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Every strip seemed to either be: Billy taking the long-cut home, Grandpa looking down from heaven, or the kids saying something cute. That was about it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 My mom always loved The Family Circus. And there was always a strip here and there that seemed to be modeled on our family in some way that brought a smile to her face and ours. For that, I will be grateful to a man I never knew and feel bad for the people that did know him and loved him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
choo-choo-charlie Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Calvin and Hobbes was, is and always will be my favorite. RIP Mr. Keane. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 At any rate, it was certainly better than Cathy. I enjoyed the strip when I was really little, though even then I think I preferred Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side. R.I.P. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RaspberryJam Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 The dog's name was 'Barfy." That's pretty funny. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Calvin and Hobbes was, is and always will be my favorite. RIP Mr. Keane. Calvin and Hobbes is definitely the greatest. I recently got out my 3-volume set and re-read the whole run. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 Calvin and Hobbes is definitely the greatest. I recently got out my 3-volume set and re-read the whole run.Easily the best.I stopped reading the comics when Watterson threw in the towel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tugmoose Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Whatever else one might think of what he created, Mr. Keane provided a safe, dependable place for children. Not a bad legacy, in my book. RIP. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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