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I spent all of my blogging time today on the previous post about Ash Wednesday, so this one is short.
I don't know how good this cartoon is (I'm sure the commentators will tell me in no uncertain terms) but I was thinking one day what conclusion you could draw after finding the Grim Reaper's dead body. If you can think of a better line for the cop to use, I'm all ears.
Maybe he committed suicide because he was tired of people cheating him.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletewhy the rib cage area of the cloak is so deflated?
ReplyDelete"Maybe my reverse mortgage wasn't such a hot idea after all."
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI think the comic is hilarious
ReplyDeleteHow about, "The funeral homes aren't gonna like this news one bit."
ReplyDeleteHere's a radical idea - think up the gag before you draw the panel. It really is painfully obvious at times that you are drawing a picture long before you try to write the comic.
ReplyDeleteI think it'd be funny if the bubble just read "Suicide?"
ReplyDeleteNow I'll NEVER get my mother in-law out of the house.
ReplyDeleteOsteoporosis: the other silent killer
ReplyDeleteDan,I can't believe I'm saying this, and anyone who knows anything about me, wouldn't believe it either. So let us package this as quietly as possible. Are you okay? You know how to tag if you need to.
ReplyDeleteKeep your chin up and never give up. I know, I know, this is not the form for personal mush-mush. I miss Franklin, the first thing I thought when I saw this strip in the paper was Franklin, lifting the robe up and looking for his butt plug.
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ReplyDeleteSometimes i think anonymous is the only genius on here .
ReplyDeleteI do like your caption, but here's an alternate that occured to me: "I'm not gonna say it's a bad thing, but 'Homocide detective' may not be the best line of work to be in right now."
ReplyDeleteOr shorter: "Nuts. Looks like we're out of a job."
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ReplyDeleteHe died the way he lived.
ReplyDelete-or-
At least he died doing what he loved.
Cop: Now that I'll be living forever, I'm bored.
ReplyDeleteI collect Death/Grim Reaper cartoons. This one made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteHow about the caption about how he was lately more of a glum reaper instead of a grim reaper?
"The prime suspect is Garry Kasparov" or something along those lines.
ReplyDeleteBecause... you know... death and chess... get it?
It's extremely funny!!! :))
ReplyDeleteCopy I think should be the same pun, but much shorter:
"Suicide?"
I'm guessing the cops don't see the dynamite.
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ReplyDeleteHow about "Weirdest farming accident I've ever seen."
ReplyDeleteOskar's comment gave me an idea.
ReplyDeleteHow about, "We'd better check on Taxes".
very funny HAHAHAHAHA
ReplyDelete"This kind of morbid, conceptual, ironic humor could only come from a cartoonist on Celexa."
ReplyDeleteNot funnier, but I thought you'd enjoy it. How about...
"Put out an APB on Keith Richards."
The ericmarcus reverse mortgage joke was excellent. As was the short version of Lockwood's.
To anonymous: what's wrong with coming up with the visual first? Who made you the boss of creativity?
ReplyDeleteOne more caption (if you want your inbox filled with angry "I don't get it" notes):
"Something about this crime scene doesn't make any sense."
Or to really push it -- no caption at all.
"Oh, Sickle cell anemia..."
ReplyDeleteCidecide, he commted cidecide.
ReplyDeleteEven Death has problems...Maybe it all got to be too much for him...
ReplyDelete*and I also wondered why his rib-cage was so flat...I was envisioning some big ol' tire tracks going over him, with a caption hinting about how dangerous it is in this part of town?*
Dave Stratton,
ReplyDeleteDrawing a visual with no idea of what your punchline is going to be is ass backwards. Figure out what the gag is going to be, visualize it and then put it to paper. What Piraro is doing here belongs in Highlights for Children magazine.
Anonymous,
ReplyDelete-- and yet Dan Piraro is a nationally-syndicated cartoonist, and you are not.
Bahahahaha! Too funny, idogcow! I was going to suggest, "Good news for us" but it didn't occur to me that these guys would be out of a job soon. Then again, they'll have plenty of time for retraining.
ReplyDelete>Drawing a visual with no idea of what your punchline is going to be is ass backwards.
ReplyDeleteIn this case I think the visual is far more powerful than "the" caption/gag... so many captions could fit here, hilarious or sublime in many different ways.
I like it the way it is... :-)
ReplyDelete"Well, at least we still have taxes"
ReplyDeleteAnon, wouldn't ass backwards imply that someone is walking forwards? A better term might be ass forwards.
ReplyDeleteYet Another Steve,
ReplyDeleteYou have no idea if I am or not. But a valiant attempt at writing a clever retort.
One reader sent this caption to me via email:
ReplyDelete"Quite honestly, death becomes him."
This gag was not drawn, then written, as one of the anonymous commentators suggested. In 25 years, I've never written a cartoon that way, it just isn't the way my mind works.
ReplyDeleteBut there is nothing "ass backwards" about doing it that way. There are many brilliant cartoonists who sometimes envision the picture and add a caption later.
There are no rules to the creative process. Cartooning isn't a military activity.
This is a test of the emergency broadcast system! In the event of a real emergency I’ll open a can of whipass.
ReplyDeleteDanny boy, Danny boy, Danny boy, did you think you could slip this one under the wire and the professor wouldn’t notice?
Let's look at those last two sentences, shall we.
“There are no rules to the creative process. Cartooning isn't a military activity.”
I believe, the verb ISN”T in the second sentence is applying a RULE to the creative process.
You've been a good student. So far, somewhat above average. But I'm going to take a full 10 points off your grade. Right now.
Now let's review other classroom members talking about cartoon strips, and the military. The satirist Harry Shearer in his syndicated public radio show ‘Le Show’ weekly two or three weeks ago, discussed cartoons in the military.
So, P, you brought me to the boiling point. And I'm going to take another 10 points off your grade. You're now in D territory.
Let's try not to make any more mistakes shell we.
In the binary world I’m somewhat constipated and cannot deliver a proper payload to a set of fairy tales and amphibians. Until I can pass as binary excrement everyone, be careful.
I'll call your bluff. Who are the "brilliant cartoonists who sometimes envision the picture and add a caption later", Dan?
ReplyDeleteI think this one's very funny! A similar idea, but perhaps sharper wording: "He did it!" (italicized "he"). Although, the "better check on taxes" is pretty good. The "sickle cell anemia" one is brilliant, especially for how you've drawn the cartoon, but perhaps too insensitive...maybe?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great gag.
I thought the punchline was perfect (although the "osteoporosis" line wasn't bad). Grim Reaper gags always crack me totally up for some reason. As for those who imbibed Haterade before they commented: I don't know about you but I can't imagine having to come up with a punchline and an image to match it seven days a week.
ReplyDeleteBaine Leopold,
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly does ‘imbibed Haterade before they commented’ mean to you. I actually opened a dictionary and look the words up.
I think you may have misspelled ‘Haterade’ but believe me I’m the last person you want to get spelling advice from.
Just curious if you have the time.
Haterade, Gatorade... no confusion to me.
ReplyDeleteHere's another caption that just came to mind: "Well, no point in rounding up the usual suspects."
This is a classic! I would have died laughing.
ReplyDelete• I think it would be funny if the name badge on one of the cops read "Tithonus."
• Death obviously turned vegan & thought he'd help the cause. His suicide note: "You'll eat meat over my dead body."
• Even though many of the other suggestions are a lot funnier than mine here, I'll offer "This joke has been done to death."
This is one of my favorites, Dan!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I must concur with Michael Tallon and filosofulupeste - One word, "suicide" would have been perfect!
Dan, given the comments on Death's 'flat' appearance... was that part of the idea for the drawing? Since they are under an overpass, did you intend for it to look clearly like Death had jumped from above? If so, suicide (or the appearance of it) would obviously be part of the gag.
ReplyDeleteStill, taxes, foul play, others... all fun and still appropriate too.
I don't think it needs a caption. The picture by itself is pretty funny.
ReplyDeleteNo one asked you, Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteOther caption ideas:
ReplyDelete"Just a sickle accident"
-or-
Cop 1: Suicide?
Cop 2: Most likely. That kind of job would make anyone depressed.
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On another note— You little petty arguers are quite entertaining. I feel like I'm listening to Mr. and Mrs. Costanza fighting. Please, continue.
Anyway, great cartoon Dan!