Monday, September 03, 2012

Let's play catch-up!

Wouldn't you know, just as I'm on the verge of posting a new Oz comic, my computer goes kablooey. It seems to have a power supply problem, and it's already in the shop, but that's put a crimp in my blogging. But I managed to dig out and dust off my old computer (the one that went out, causing my folks to give me their old one) and get it fired up enough to keep up and get a few things done. So, as I said in the title, let's catch up on some old business!

  • First, that Oz comic! Check out Strange brew for August 28. Definitely a few Oz references in that one! (I'm not sure witches would want it to be called a roast, however!) As a reminder I haven't reminded you about much lately, these links to syndicated comic strips tend to be up and active for only thirty days, so I hope you get to see it quick. And since this went up almost a week ago now, you have considerably fewer than thirty days now! (My apologies to those readers in the future who just can't see anything at all on my comics links, since you're trying to view them more than thirty days after publication.)
  • Next, this week's Oz comic, politics division! Maybe my all-time favorite political cartoonist is two-time Pulitzer winner David Horsey, formerly of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer — even though I was a devoted reader of the Seattle Times. Well, the P-I ceased paper publication and went to web only a few years ago, and so David eventually left for greener pastures, namely the Los Angeles Times. Thanks to the internet, however, I've still been able to enjoy his work (even though I live in neither Seattle anymore nor Los Angeles), such as this cartoon on the end of the Republican National Convention. Gee, Mitt Romney looks familiar there. (And I will add, as I frequently do, that all political cartoons presented on this blog are here for Oz content only. I do not claim to endorse or condone any views expressed by the cartoonists. Any comments anyone cares to make pertaining to said viewpoints will be completely ignored.) This is not Horsey's first brush with Oz, I might add. Check out the cover he drew for this collection of Ronald Reagan cartoons back in the '80s.
  • Finally, a surprise Oz-ish reference on Futurama, of all shows. Professor Farnsworth is finally persuaded to buy new uniforms for the Planet Express Delivery crew, and they go to a local tailor's shop to see what they have. Everything they try on comes from a classic science fiction movie or television show, as you can see here:
    Recognize what the Professor (on the left) is wearing? Here, does this refresh your memory?
    Yes, that's Sean Connery as Zed in Zardoz. For those who have seen Zardoz, you know the connection to The Wizard of Oz. If not, maybe you should try — if the image of Sean Connery above hasn't totally scared you off! In Futurama, the tailor (seen above on the right — no, that's not Dr. Zoidberg, just a member of the same species) says something along the lines of, "The Zardoz doesn't work for everybody, but you pull it off." To which Amy (sitting down) replied, "Eww, don't pull it off!" That line made Laura laugh very hard. (Incidentally, where does Amy's costume come from? It looks familiar, so I think I should know it, but I can't place the show.)
And good news, everybody! I started a new job a couple of weeks ago, so I should finally be getting to a comfortable place where I can really start expanding my Oz collection (among other things) soon. However, it also means less spare time, so I may be doing more catch up blog posts like this on weekends between now and summer. But fewer posts here doesn't mean I'm not an Oz fan any more. I think that's going to be with me until the day I die, and even that may stop me entirely.

2 comments:

Michael Jones said...

I got the Zardoz connection right away and Ewww.
Could Amy be a Mario Bros' Mushroom?

john said...

Amy's costume is the stewardess uniform from 2001, A Space Odyssey.