Memorial Day

Memorial Day

I was surprised by how many people hated today’s comic. It is arguably—at least so far—my most controversial comic.

I wasn’t trying to offend anyone. Instead, I was trying to make a point. Too many people regard Memorial Day as just a three-day weekend for having fun. They don’t want to think about the dead we’re supposed to be honoring.

Beyond that and on a personal note, I was also trying to highlight the absurdity of people who expect bereaved family members to quickly “snap out of it” and stop crying.

I know from personal experience that recovery is a long, slow process.

Unfortunately, those points don’t seem to have come through in the comic. (Or at least not in a humorous way.) And, for that, I’m sorry.

Art by Art Saaf & Mike Peppe from the story “Kiss and Run” from NEW ROMANCES #14, 1952.

Transcript:

SCENE: At a cemetery. Two men are covering up a grave in the background. In the foreground, a woman is crying and a man is trying to comfort her.

MAN: Cheer up! it’s a three-day weekend!

1952 Art: Art Saaf & Mike Peppe Color: Diego Jourdan Pereira

DJP.lk304

↓ Transcript
SCENE: At a cemetery. Two men are covering up a grave in the background. In the foreground, a woman is crying and a man is trying to comfort her.

MAN: Cheer up! it’s a three-day weekend!

1952 Art: Art Saaf & Mike Peppe Color: Diego Jourdan Pereira

DJP.lk304