Steve Vs. Bil -or- Broken Family Circus

This is one of my all-time favorite Family Circus cartoons. 

It’s also the image they use on TFC Wikipedia page, which is weird, because I don’t think the author of that page could have chosen a less representative example of the strip as a whole. 

It is, however, a great example of how good TFC used to be.  First of all, look at how adorable the kids are!  

Second of all, the joke is about boozing.  Secret boozing.  Around kids!  And then driving them home! It’s funny and cute in the same way that it’s funny and cute when an already flush-faced Don Draper gets lil Sally to fix him another Old Fashioned. 

Thirdly, and most importantly, this is NOT the same Daddy you see in later cartoons.  I’m not sure when the change was made (I haven’t reached that level of FC expertise yet) but the newer father has a full head of yellow hair and glasses with no visible eyes.  I know, sometimes illustrated characters slowly morph over time (see: Arthur the Aardvark’s slowly disappearing nose or the Simpson's wobbly lines), but these are two different dudes.  The Daddy in this early cartoon is named Steve, and the blond, bespectacled daddy is named Bil.    Steve has a grouchy, downtrodden countenance, while Bil has a constant expression of dull surprise. Steve is a gritty guys’ guy, a WWII vet, a true man of the 50s, grimly and drunkenly ushering his family into a turbulent new decade.  Bil is gentle, sensitive, sentimental, and a little clueless-- and more fitting for an increasingly progressive wife, audience, and world. Did Thel (aka Mommy) kick Steve to the curb for a more modern man?   

I’ll trust that Thel made the decision that was right for her, but when Steve disappeared, he took along the strip’s mild -- but genuinely funny  --irreverence.     

Billy's School Daze

 With the yin of Billy’s earlier mentioned sass comes the yang of world-weariness. Billy’s the only kid in the family who has real schoolwork to deal with, and the only one who can really appreciate the freedom of summer vacation.

Keane starts crankin’ out the vacation-fun comics in early June and, like clockwork, bums us all out three months later with back-to-school themed strips. Who are these for?  Would a 3^rd grader sigh “Aint that the truth” while reading this? Personally, this particular comic gives me both a sensation of mild relief – I never have to be in 2^nd grade again -- and dry bitterness – “Oh, you think that’s bad, you shortsighted brat?  Just wait till you grow up and bid adieu to summer vacation forever!”

I actually think Billy is at his best while school is in session.  His June-August Tom Sawyer-style swagger is pretty dull, but the rest of the year, Billy is made tolerable by the responsibilities he must bear.  And a lot of the time he’s drawn with dark circles under his eyes, and that’s just visual comedy gold.  Cracks me up every time.

If I had to introduce the Family Circus to someone who had never seen is before, this one, September 13th's daily, wouldn't be a bad place to start.

One of the enduring tenets of the Family Circus, one that Bil Keane revisits again and again and again, is that there is nothing funnier or more adorable than when the nuances of the English language cause misunderstandings between children and adults.  Now and then, Kean will devote an entire full-color Sunday comic to this concept, with four or five examples.  In one, Jeffy might overhear Mommy telling Daddy, "Mr. Smith's secretary is such a dear," and picture a doe sitting at a desk. Or Daddy might scold a confused Dolly for leaving the door ajar.

This cartoon takes that concept to another level, and hints at Billy's budding rebelliousness.  It's as if Billy knows about the cute misunderstanding cliche and is using it to his advantage. Billy is, by far, the "baddest" of the four kids.  Dolly's a whiny tattle tale, Jeffy's a wimp, and PJ's a mildly precocious-- if still bland --baby, but none of them have Billy's capacity for infuriating defiance. In a different world, Billy could be like those corner kids on The Wire, answering police questioning with "huh?"

In any case, Billy's got a good point here.  No wonder Mommy looks so pissed.

"It's Complicated" with The Family Circus

I loved the Family Circus when i was very young because, I think, I had a child's poor taste, and enjoyed anything i could actually read. One panel?  I could handle that, no sweat.  I might even cut it out if it tickled me enough. I can't pinpoint the exact moment i began to regard the comic with contempt ( i do remember unironically selecting "A Special Valentine with the Family Circus" to watch at my annual V-Day sleepover when i was 9, so it must have been after that)  Once that contempt appeared, though, my hate for Bil Keanes perfect family and their adorable interactions-- which weren't even jokes most of the time-- was matched by very little.

I guess its true what they say, hate is the closest thing to love, because all of a sudden, about 7 years ago, i started to secretly love the Family Circus.  Mostly it was just that i loved to hate those lil' dopes, but sometimes i  found myself LOVE loving them, and even becoming -- this is embarrassing -- a little jealous of their perfect lives.

So, what's this blog about, anyway?  I love talking about the Family Circus (i been know to use TFC antidotes to "break the ice" with friends of friends, new co-workers, etc), but most other people don't care, so i'm hoping to get all my comix talk out here. 

I'm not sure I've seen any serious explorations of TFC's divisiveness, though it seems most people feel either a strong warmth or disgust for the series.  With the exception of Nietzsche Family Circus, internet parodies are usually about as clever as a picture of a frazzled looking Mommy, surrounded  by children, asking Daddy, "Is it too late to have an abortion?"  Actually, that one isn't too bad. Usually they're worse.  But i digress. The point is, this is a place to discuss Mommy, Daddy, Billy, Jeffy, Dolly, P.J.-- and yes, even Barfy -- in all their terror and glory.