Neil Lisst political cartoon - after Katrina, time for a break

[Neil Lisst]

I know we have a number of readers at DU. For every person who posts on a thread about the cartoon, there are 100 who read it. During the holidays, I thought I would review some of the cartoons, and lay them out in easily digestable groups, so people don't have to go to the site to read them.

Our message is political, but we felt after the two weeks of very dark Katrina coverage, we needed to give readers a more rounded view of our protagonist, Neil Lisst, a decent but cynical young man not given to crowds.

Neil's character development - 9/12 - 9/18

After two weeks of cartoons about Katrina and the tragic aftermath, we wanted to lighten things up, so I wrote some cartoons about Neil and his personal relationships, using some science fiction movies as backdrops.

Monday, September 12th

Neil's Dad and New Technology
This one didn't quite do what we wanted. The man is Neil's dad and he's in the fetal position because he's faced with a new cell phone, which Neil is holding like a stick of kryptonite, with similar effect.


Tuesday, September 13th
Remember how the apes reacted to the obelisk in 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Neil's dad reacts similarly to a new cell phone.


Wednesday, September 14th
Everyone has a mother, and this one is Neil's.
How's my Boogie Bear?


Thursday, September 15th
Do you ever feel like your cell phone knows a little too much about you?
The Matrix


Friday, September 16th
Neil regrets giving his digits to a girl.
Vegan girl and Princess Leia


Saturday, September 17th
As a young adult, Neil is settling into his life.
One Small Step


Sunday, September 18th
Does any cell phone carrier really work right?
Neil tires of his cell phone's excuses

[DemInDistress]

1. Good work Neil Liist ... now what do we have on

Ch-impeachments ??

[Neil Lisst]

2. I'm working on storylines for the new year.

And there will be something on impeachment.

Don't know what yet. I sure would like to have a caricature of Bush as a chimp, something to use occasionally.

We're working on some new characters, familiar people with a new and lingering identity. Oh what the hell, I'm gonna make Rummy the Mad Hatter. That's one that will be coming in the new year.

[MissMarple]

4. Rummy really is a Mad Hatter.

He's been breathing the bad chemicals from a young age.

""In that direction," the Cat said, waving its right paw round, "lives a Hatter: and in that direction," waving the other paw, "lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they're both mad." "But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be, said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."



Hatters really did go mad. The chemicals used in hat-making included mercurous nitrate, used in curing felt. Prolonged exposure to the mercury vapors caused mercury poisoning. Victims developed severe and uncontrollable muscular tremors and twitching limbs, called "hatter's shakes"; other symptoms included distorted vision and confused speech. Advanced cases developed hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms."

http://www.hgtech.com/Information/Mad%20Hatter.htm

[Neil Lisst]

7. When I was researching lines, scenes, etc. I found that out ...

About the reality of Mad Hatters and why they went MAD.

Fascinating stuff.

I had to go back and look at the original illustrations used with the book. We're sticklers for quality!

How do like Joe Lieberman as the March Hare?

[MissMarple]

26. Interesting. Especially in the American McGee version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_McGee%27s_Alice

"The Mad Hatter, is now a mechanical contraption that's obsessed with robotising the inhabitants of Wonderland.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum, now a pair of sadistic henchmen who work for the Mad Hatter in an asylum.

The March Hare, experimented upon by The Mad Hatter and is now part hare/part machine and in a very tortured state."

It's amazing what one can find in the wikipedia.

And who might Tweedledee and Tweedledum be? Ari Fleischer and Scotty McClellen come first to mind, Douglas Feith and ...hmmmm...Larry Libby?

[DemInDistress]

5. I'd like to see cheney as "the wizard of oz" pay no attention

to that man behind the curtain ...lol

[Neil Lisst]

8. I'd like to do something re the Wizard of Oz, but

but we went with Darth Cheney as the incarnation of Mr. Evil

[citizen snips]

3. The first cartoon is true about my family.

[Neil Lisst]

9. That's why we did it! Universal appeal.

What parent of any 24 year old isn't flustered with new cell phones, new remote controls? They're the scourge of modern technology. Oh for the days of just plugging a TV in and turning it on.

I hire my son to pick mine, buy it, program it, and explain it to me.

[citizen snips]

21. my parents still ask me how to turn on and off the XBOX.

That tells how technologically challenged they are.

[Neil Lisst]

22. Dude, I'm worse than that.

Honest, I can't use an XBOX.

Being able to pay others to program things and set them up and such really has its down side. When something stops working, I'm virtually helpless. Imagine Baby Huey. If you don't know who he is, google a picture. It'll be worth the trip!

[EFerrari]

6. You could write a horror movie about my family and cell phones.

LOL!

Thank you, Neil! Merry Christmas.

Beth

[Neil Lisst]

10. Merry Christmas to you, too, Beth!

Isn't it the tale of every family?

The kids understand this stuff, and us? Not so much!!

I'd rather get a tooth pulled than have to get used to a new cell phone.

[EFerrari]

11. Share a funny: My mom is a 73 yr old tech wiz

She graduated high school in El Salvador.

Her attitude is, "Fuck you, I breath, you don't. Submit now or submit later. I can wait."

:rofl:

[Neil Lisst]

12. I do ok with computers, but phones and remotes? Oy vey!

It takes me months before I treat them as anything but an enemy!

[EFerrari]

13. My youngest set a wake up alarm on my cell phone a YEAR ago.

And it's still there, every day, although he decamped months ago.

:rofl:

[Neil Lisst]

14. A couple of weeks ago, I set my ringer as a cat meowing

Just to see people look around for the cat!!

Sometimes I don't even answer it. Just sit there like I have no idea where the cat sound is coming from.

[EFerrari]

15. LOL! That's CRUEL and hilarious. n/t

[Neil Lisst]

18. I wish I could give more details.

I don't answer my phone when I'm in restaurants. I usually have it on vibrate, but left it on meow a few times. Of course, I acted like I didn't hear anything, just kept reading my paper.

The intermittent kitten sound was hard for anyone to get a fix on, especially since it was in my coat pocket.

I am such an overgrown kid.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

16. I'm right at the edge of that age group...

We got lucky and had Apple2e's in the class room in JR High, so I learned Basic from the beginning. I'm 36, and it seems most people older than me have trouble with new technology, or at least, prefer not to have to learn it.

[Neil Lisst]

17. I'd say 40 is about the demarcation line.

PCs didn't hit the scene until the early 80s, so anyone over about 22 at the time missed the wave, except for secretaries.

[Blue_Tires]

19. brilliant n/t

[Neil Lisst]

20. Thanks. That week saw our first use of color.

We were just getting used to the cartoon, and decided to add a little basic color. The MATRIX and 2001: A Space Odyssey both needed it, we felt, to sell the picture. We knew Matrix would be identifed, but we were afraid the HAL business wouldn't be identifiable to anyone under 40 unless we were very obvious.

That's a direct quote from HAL when he realizes Dave has outsmarted him, and is disabling him.

[Blue_Tires]

24. "Daisy, Daisy......"

so how did things with that vegan girl turn out?

[Neil Lisst]

25. We left the vegan girl dangling, but she could reappear.

We thought about starting a relationship for Neil, but decided it was too early in his cartoon life to get involved. We didn't want to get bogged down in a personal side path.

[Neil Lisst]

23. Last call for the week of post Katrina slice of life

then we get back to some harsh judgments against Bush and Cheney