It’s one of my quirks. Instead of the headlines, it’s the comic strips that I turn to once I get my newspaper. For their entertaining characters provide much-needed respite from the daily staple of unsavoury happenings.
For me, there’s no better way to start the day than by chuckling over one of Beetle Bailey’s escapades that leaves Sarge fuming. Or the razor-sharp ripostes exchanged by the Lockhorns in their never-ending battle of wits. Or Hi and Lois’s amusing brushes with Chip, their rebellious teenaged son. There’s also “immortal” Phantom who epitomises the triumph of good over evil and Henry’s innovative antics.
Apart from the tyrannical Sarge, Beetle has several other sparring partners. There’s the dapper but confused General Halftrack, his shrewish wife who tends to turn up most inopportunely at his office, and his comely secretary Miss Buxley whom Beetle dates and unabashedly sponges on. Then there’s Cookie, the burly mess chef, who looks better fed than the skinny GIs and the moronic Zero who commits gaffes galore. There’s Otto too, Sarge’s suited and booted pug who has a mind of his own!
The aptly surnamed Lockhorns never tire of trading taunts over each other’s shortcomings. Biting sarcasm is their forte and their harassed marriage counsellor despairs of ever reconciling them. Predictably, Leroy invariably gives his visiting mother-in-law a frosty reception. Further, he has a roving eye while Loretta’s cooking isn’t exactly mouth-watering — foibles that only fuel the domestic crossfire. As an ever-feuding couple with whom others can easily relate, the Lockhorns generate much mirth.
Hi, Lois and their four ebullient kids exemplify the average American family, warts and all. Chip, their music-crazy teenager, is the lead guitarist in a rock band specialising in deafening music. Typically, he dates pretty girls and bickers with his parents over his inadequate allowance or use of the family car. Only his mother dares to enter his cluttered room which sports a skull-and-crossbones sign on the door and the warning “Keep Out!” Dot and Ditto, Chip’s twin siblings, are always squabbling while their infant sister Trixie likes to soliloquise. There’s also Dawg, a shaggy nondescript canine addicted to snoozing, and Mr Thurston, a beer-swilling and indolent neighbour.
Besides providing welcome escapist fare, these quirky characters serve as an antidote to the depressing news dished out daily. Further, they have all-too-common human failings with which one can easily identify. And all this is neatly packaged into a tiny comic strip — a measure of the cartoonist’s artistry.
Of course, Beetle Bailey — the spunky, lovable American GI whose resilience and resourcefulness are legendary — remains my favourite chuckle-generator. Over the years he’s endeared himself to his countless fans, unfailingly bringing laughter and cheer into their lives.