The Comics Curmudgeon

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Metapost: Pickled duck

Now, I don’t usually — or ever, really — comment on Mallard Fillmore on this blog. Partly it’s because it inspires the sort of pointless vitriol amongst commentors that will get folks banished to the Cockpit. Partly it’s because I already have an outlet for my political commentary. But mostly it’s because my comments would just be as foaming, angry, and unfunny as Mallard Fillmore itself. Not only do I disagree with pretty much every political opinion expressed therein, but the strip itself is a sham of a comic strip. There are plenty of conservative-themed strips (Prickly City and the online Day By Day come to mind) that actually have sequential action in panels and recurring characters; Mallard Fillmore is just a standard-issue editorial cartoon that happens to be drawn in a box that’s the same dimensions as a comic strip so that it can be printed on the comics pages.

See, I’m doing it already.

Anyway, I promise to pretty much never mention Mallard Fillmore again after today, but I feel compelled to point out that:

Bruce Tinsley, Mallard Fillmore’s creator, was arrested for DUI last week.
With his blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit.
For the second time in four months.
And you can read the story with its accompanying awesome mug shot.
And the story came out today (not sure why it took a week, though since Mallard himself is always late reacting to the news thanks to comics publication lead times, it’s strangely appropriate), which is the same day that the Mallard Fillmore published in papers across the land was this:

Now, a single DUI can reasonably be seen as an isolated, albeit asinine and irresponsible, act. Two in such a short period of time makes it much more likely that Tinsley is an alcoholic. In all seriousness, I’m glad that he didn’t hurt himself or anyone else, and I hope he gets some help.

But is it at least a little funny that this happened to the guy who wrote and drew this cartoon?

Yes. Yes it is. (Thanks to faithful reader Pelagius for finding this somewhere in the bowels of the MF archives.)

Anyway, no more duck talk from me, I promise (unless it’s about some freakishly huge waterfowl in Mark Trail). Commentors on this post (and this post only) may feel free to engage in heated, foaming political debates of the sort that would normally get you banned to the Cockpit. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Oops, actually his previous arrest was for public intoxication, not DUI. Apologies.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 06:32 pm and is filed under metaposts.

152 responses to “Metapost: Pickled duck”

Francis
December 12th, 2006 at 6:35 pm [Reply]

Why does eggnog hate America?
Mary Brandt
December 12th, 2006 at 6:36 pm [Reply]

What’s even better is the apparent mugshot of the conservative duck himself. He’s got that drown-your-sorrows look to him. Still looks like someone hasn’t had enough of the “holiday cheer” yet, if you know what I mean.

And I think you know what I mean.

-MB
Bill Peschel
December 12th, 2006 at 6:36 pm [Reply]

Speaking for myself, thank you for not talking about MF. Political diatribes in the CC are distasteful.

That said, let the schaudenfreud continue!
Basil Wrathbone
December 12th, 2006 at 6:45 pm [Reply]

To be fair, it wasn’t his second DUI in a matter of months, just his second alcohol-related arrest in a matter of a months. That said, let’s get to maligning and bashing post haste.
Jake
December 12th, 2006 at 6:47 pm [Reply]

To be fair, according to the story his first offense was just for public intoxication:

On Aug. 26, Tinsley was arrested on a charge of public intoxication, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

I like to be fair, even about things that I find repugnant.
Jake
December 12th, 2006 at 6:48 pm [Reply]

Damn you, Wrathbone. Couldn’t you have at least found another way to say “to be fair”?
NJP
December 12th, 2006 at 6:50 pm [Reply]

After seeing Tinsely’s mugshot, it’s pretty clear that he designed Mallard’s while looking in the mirror. He may even have been drunk at the time!
The Mighty Sam
December 12th, 2006 at 6:50 pm [Reply]

Wow, he blew a 0.14; I admire his committment to excellence.

Perhaps, Tinsley is always drunk, and that explains his awful strip.
Miss Jo
December 12th, 2006 at 6:50 pm [Reply]

Wait one cotton-pickin’ minute here! Columbus Indiana? He lives in Columbus?

That’s my hometown. This is absolutely mortifying. Pardon whilst I hang my head in shame.
Jack Roy
December 12th, 2006 at 6:54 pm [Reply]

At last! I’ve been waiting forever to say:

I voted.
Red Greenback
December 12th, 2006 at 6:57 pm [Reply]

Tinsley, while being booked, called a cop “Sweet Tits”. It was a male police officer.
MossMoses
December 12th, 2006 at 6:58 pm [Reply]

Poteet, are you named after the small town in Texas by any chance? My namesake is the Mark Trail neerdowell who injured the original Lucky (the goose) by shooting him and trying to catch him with a net. That’s how Lucky’s wingbone was crippled and why he is now a flightless bird and permanent LoFo resident. Hopefully Elrod will realize the enormity of the mistake and have Mark Trail advise Rusty that there is already a pet named Lucky and that he needs to rename his lucky beaver to avoid duplicates. Rusty seems to be learning disabled. He named Lucky the goose originally himself and lives with him yet wants to name a new pet by the same name. Iâ€™m not sure who Rustyâ€™s biological father was but maybe he was smart for ditching him.
Josh
December 12th, 2006 at 7:01 pm [Reply]

Gah, Basil and Jake (#5 and 6), you’re right. I added the update.

Josh
reader-who-posts
December 12th, 2006 at 7:01 pm [Reply]

Drink fake egg-nog, and the terrorists win!

I am relatively conservative, but I can’t stand Mallard Fillmore. Day-by-Day is usually just a bunch of suggestive drawings with the characters talking about something that almost never makes complete sense – and today’s talking-while-naked offering is a perfect example http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/2006/12/12/#a003921.

Prickly City, on the other hand, I like. Opus does better political commentary, even though it is literally a shell of it’s former Bloom County-self.
Randy
December 12th, 2006 at 7:03 pm [Reply]

Someone call Scaduto! This is a natural for TDIET:

“Howzzat? Buttbrain is quick to lambast liberals who have alcohol problems, but see the numbers when a cop makes him take a test . . . oh, yeah!”
Harmless Eccentric
December 12th, 2006 at 7:03 pm [Reply]

Mmmm… schadenfreude. It’s what’s for dinner.
Son of Slam
December 12th, 2006 at 7:04 pm [Reply]

This is the most Schadenfreudiest time of the year!
Bill Peschel
December 12th, 2006 at 7:06 pm [Reply]

Just in case this gets missed in all the Tinsley bashing, in the last thread, I loved Heckler123’s shot at the MF:

“As long as weâ€™re pining for all our comics to follow the lines of short literary masterpieces, may I suggest that Family Circus take a few tips from â€œA Modest Proposalâ€? ”

A COTW nominee, I say.
Mr. Oâ€™Malley
December 12th, 2006 at 7:08 pm [Reply]

I’m disappointed with the mug shot. I always imagined him with a bigger chin.
reader-who-posts
December 12th, 2006 at 7:12 pm [Reply]

If you put a mustache on him, Bruce Tinsley could be trying to have a 92 year old psychic woman thrown out of her home for running a business.
cheech wizard
December 12th, 2006 at 7:14 pm [Reply]

Reminds me of a W.C. Fields recording I used to have:

“My friends, if you set a bucket of beer in front of a pig, he’ll grunt and walk away–and so should you.

Or would you rather be a duck?”
Scott
December 12th, 2006 at 7:15 pm [Reply]

Wasn’t there a Mallard Fillmore a few months back where he poked fun at how people (i.e. liberals) were upset about Mel Gibson using racial slurs but not about him driving drunk?
Robert Whitaker Sirignano
December 12th, 2006 at 7:20 pm [Reply]

I used to wonder if the Tinsley was the same Tinsley who used to draw “Chester the Molester” for HUSTLER magazine. (Paul Krassner tipped me off to that).

Now seeing the first name of the Mallard Fillmore artist clears that up.

Still maybe the incoherence of drinking came when Bush got into office. It must be hard to be right wing and support the current idiot in office. You need to lie to yourself constantly over your own beliefs.

As for the cartoonist from HUSTLER, he was arrested for fooling around with under aged minors. It was “Chester Tinsley”.

Prophecy in action.
Eric the DiscoBoy.
December 12th, 2006 at 7:29 pm [Reply]

The War on Eggnog must be stopped!
comix
December 12th, 2006 at 7:31 pm [Reply]

Since we only have a few sentences for tonight’s blog entry, we’re just going to tell you which cartoonists weren’t arrested today. Funnier if you seen this
Citric
December 12th, 2006 at 7:33 pm [Reply]

It might be in bad taste, but I wish there were a few ultra convenient cliffs where he lives.
Pinback65
December 12th, 2006 at 7:37 pm [Reply]

I’m not going to defend Tinsley’s work, exactly, but I will say this: Mallard accomplishes what it sets out to do. True, he has no flare for layouts, but at least he can draw, and his strip is an effective delivery system for his views.

As a human being, of course, Tinsley’s an utter douchebag.
Bobdog
December 12th, 2006 at 7:42 pm [Reply]

I think we should get Ted Kennedy to send Tinsely a nice carton of fake egg nog.

Soy egg nog.

Also, I look forward to further advice from Mallard in regards to handling DUIs, now that Tinselys had some more experience in that area.
Trapper
December 12th, 2006 at 7:43 pm [Reply]

OK ok, I have to say this….everyone can send the flames my way…..

More information on weird “right wing” duck drawers who drink wayyyy to much (even for a frat boy) can be found on the internet…..
fishmorgjp
December 12th, 2006 at 7:44 pm [Reply]

Now it’s a much simpler task for artist-types to parodize MF — just leave the strip as it is, and just Photoshop a few large booze bottles under the duck’s arm, on his desk, etc.
Pelagius
December 12th, 2006 at 7:45 pm [Reply]

Thanks for the shout-out, Josh. It took three showers to wash the residue of the Mallard Fillmore Archives off, so glad to see it was worth it.

For anyone brave enough to venture therein, Tinsley archives stretching back to 1999(!) are hosted by the Jewish World Review, which is just so absolutely freaking ironic that it makes my Gen-X heart practically leap from my apathetic chest. I’m not going to venture back in to the crypt to pick out Tinsley’s most egregious anti-semitism, but will submit these cartoons that he shat out in the wake of the Mel Gibson arrest. Guess he saw a fellow-traveler there…

Ugh.
Kate
December 12th, 2006 at 7:48 pm [Reply]

I usually cross the street to avoid the staggering, slurring, stinky public drunks. Now I’m going to have to close the comic section too?!
cheech wizard
December 12th, 2006 at 7:51 pm [Reply]

If it walks like a drunk…
Alex Blase
December 12th, 2006 at 7:54 pm [Reply]

This really brightened up my day, especially since his Election Day comics upset me so much. Now I know how to interpret them: Don’t vote (hic) to stooooooooop (hic) lots of (hic) CONgreshy things!
Darth Paradox
December 12th, 2006 at 7:55 pm [Reply]

Over on LJ, nidrian has another example of Tinsley’s obsession with a thirty-year-old incident.

Tinsley sure seems obsessed with alcohol, alcoholism and drunk driving, doesn’t he? And then it turns out that he’s got a problem with alcohol abuse and drunk driving. I can’t help but be reminded of all those homophobes who rant and rail against the perversions of those God-forsaken gays, only to be discovered doing lines of something off the asses of male prostitutes half their age.

What I’d really like to see, though, is a cartoonist decide to pen a comic strip about Bruce Tinsley’s drunkenness and hypocrisy every month for the next thirty years. I’d read it.

(Hope this isn’t a double-post – I think my browser ate the first one, and I haven’t seen it show up yet, so I’m assuming it’s gone…)
Audible Sigh
December 12th, 2006 at 8:15 pm [Reply]

Was that MF on The Daily Show in John Oliver’s discourse on the term Lame Duck?
It’s at about 1:06.
Alex Blase
December 12th, 2006 at 8:20 pm [Reply]

If this had happened in the FBOFW universe, there would be a stuck-up 15-year-old newspaper editor crying in a bathroom right now… “How could one of my cartoonists be drunk?”
Jason
December 12th, 2006 at 8:23 pm [Reply]

Mallard accomplishes what it sets out to do

I don’t know … presumably, it sets out to be funny, a goal which it has never achieved as far as I know.

I mean really, I’m as far left as you can get, but that is just not funny, and I have to think that even if I was a dittohead whack-job, that shit would still not be even remotely funny.

I’ll give Mallard Fillmore this, though: at least it is usually coherent, which is more than you can say for Day By Day.

Speaking of Day By Day, what do you think the chances are that that guy doesn’t spank off to his own characters?
Canaduck
December 12th, 2006 at 8:29 pm [Reply]

I appreciate Josh’s commitment to keep politics out of CC, too–even though I probably share most of his political views. I don’t come here to debate.

That said, blech–I’ve always hated Mallard Fillmore. Sure, it’s conservative, so already it’s got two strikes against it as far as I’m concerned. More importantly, though, it contains a duck, so it should be funny…but it isn’t. Ducks are amusing by default, meaning that Tinsley really, really screwed up.
Poteet
December 12th, 2006 at 8:33 pm [Reply]

#12 — MossMoses, I’m named after Poteet Canyon, young cousin of Steve Canyon, protagonist of an old strip by Milt Caniff. She was named after the small Texas town, so the citizens erected a statue to her. Apparently there are a number of odd small-town monuments in Texas.

I had kind of envisioned MossMoses as a revered old denizen of an ancient forest, learned and wise. Now I find out that Elrod used that name for a loser goose-shooter. Geez. And Rusty can’t even remember the name of the goose. Maybe it’s time to find a nickname for Rusty, like Sieve-Brain.

As for Tinsley, to say it in the vernacular of Steve’s cousin, y’all are takin’ care of that matter bee-YOO-tifully.
Red Greenback
December 12th, 2006 at 8:36 pm [Reply]

BTW Josh, I just caught “heated” and “foaming” used in your lead-in.-Delightful!
Other Emily
December 12th, 2006 at 8:38 pm [Reply]

Best. Newstory. EVAR!
I am gasping for air, I laughed so hard.
Hysterical Woman
December 12th, 2006 at 8:38 pm [Reply]

I will agree with him on hating eggnog and liking fruitcake. Egg nog is some nasty stuff. Maybe it does taste better with booze. (This is my first Xmas where I’m legally able to drink)
Mr. Oâ€™Malley
December 12th, 2006 at 8:42 pm [Reply]

38 Mallard accomplishes what it sets out to do

I think that’s true. It exists solely to be the anti-Doonesbury. Its only value is to provide an easy out for newspapers when people complain about Doonesbury. In order to fill this niche, it doesn’t need to be funny or make sense, it just has to be consistently right-wing.

I think it pushes the envelope a bit too far by making most of the evil liberals look very Jewish, but so far that hasn’t seemed to have raised much concern.
Red Greenback
December 12th, 2006 at 8:45 pm [Reply]

Poteet, your comment about monuments just reminded me. The Dennis the menace statue that was swiped a while back was replaced with a copy owned by the Ketchum estate.
Mr. Oâ€™Malley
December 12th, 2006 at 8:49 pm [Reply]

Since it’s open season today, let me try and sneak this one in. Has anyone noticed that Michael Savage (scroll down to second picture) seems to be purposely making himself look like Molester Mole from Pogo?
Basil Wrathbone
December 12th, 2006 at 8:49 pm [Reply]

Jake, I probably could have if I had known the need. How about, “for veracity’s sake, it was really only his first DUI?” Or maybe, “Truthfully speaking, his first arrest was for public intox.” Another possibility is, “It was really only his first DUI, but he’s still a big immoral, inebriated, blowhard, hypocritical poopy head.” I’m fine with any of these, particularly the last one.
Red Greenback
December 12th, 2006 at 8:56 pm [Reply]

Sorry, I forgot to add this article from the Monterey Herald:
Soon after Dennis the Menace’s bronze stand-in made a cameo appearance for the 50th anniversary of Dennis the Menace Playground, he was whisked away for a more important job. Monterey Mayor Dan Albert announced during the celebration Friday that the original park statue, which was stolen from the playground on Oct. 25, will be replaced. A new version will be recast from the statue on loan.
Harold
December 12th, 2006 at 8:56 pm [Reply]

I think Mallard Fillmore is effective in its own way. It gets attention, it gets people talking. Short of blowng B.D.’s leg off, that’s something Doonesbury doesn’t do very often.

Not to say that MF is persuasive in any way, other than to persuade readers that it’s a waste of severely-limited comics page space that could be better filled with pretty much anything else. And to persuade readers that its creator is a total douchebag.

Did you hear Tinsley got arrested for DUI? And it’s his second alcohol-related arrest in the last four months? Yes, of course, we all did. I just like reading that. And writing it.
Chris
December 12th, 2006 at 9:01 pm [Reply]

Not joining in the Mallard hate.

Will abide by Josh’s wishes, but will just add that I do find Mallard amusing more often than not.

Wish OSHA Boy would make a reprise…was very, very amusing.
Scott Simmons
December 12th, 2006 at 9:05 pm [Reply]

Um, I hate to have to point this out, but that is not a real mugshot of Tinsley. It’s actually a vidcap of the scene in Trading Places where Dan Akroyd gets arrested.

Well, isn’t it?
cjcasa
December 12th, 2006 at 9:08 pm [Reply]

Well, I guess I’ll be the only one to admit: I read MF, and I find it amusing sometimes. Not my favorite, by any means, but I’d read it before I’d look at Marmaduke, or Dennis the Menace, Family Circus, or some others. Do you guys really hate this strip that much?
cjcasa
December 12th, 2006 at 9:09 pm [Reply]

Oops, second to admit it.
Red Greenback
December 12th, 2006 at 9:10 pm [Reply]

Alcoholic? I assumed Bruce Tinsley was an angry meth freak….who’dathunkit?
FredN.
December 12th, 2006 at 9:16 pm [Reply]

Prickly City is a horrible comic. Regardless of political leanings, it is never funny and often insulting. Cardinal sins for a strip in the supposed “funny pages”.

Check out http://www.shrubville.com, which deconstructs it much better than I ever could.
FredN.
December 12th, 2006 at 9:17 pm [Reply]

Oops, should be http://www.shrubville.com
(without the comma, I’m dumb)
SNF
December 12th, 2006 at 9:19 pm [Reply]

Well!

Clearly this augurs a new era in cartoon waterfowl, where artists will no longer throw the first stone at those they judge to be morally wanting; but rather recognize that since each of us is, without exception, all too human and inherently flawed, it is the apex of hypocrisy to lord another’s flaws over him knowing full well one’s own may be far more shameful. Indeed! Understanding and compassion will henceforth be the norm. Let us rejoice! Together we can build a new world, working as one towards the common good rather than the immediate gratification of humiliating those who disagree with us!

Huzzah! Huzzah!

…

PfffffffheeeheeheehahaHARHARsnort, nah, I’m just shittin ya, he’ll be back to simultaneously slamming vegetarians, native americans and reporters as soon as he makes bail.
Red Greenback
December 12th, 2006 at 9:26 pm [Reply]

Crisswell predicts!, the December 16th MF should prove interesting.
C-Town Steve
December 12th, 2006 at 9:28 pm [Reply]

Eggnog is disgusting anyway. There may be only one person on earth who would be able to stand the taste of it….with alcohol or not…’Cool Hand Luke’!
Anonymous
December 12th, 2006 at 9:29 pm [Reply]

While we are on the subject of reactionary cartoonists who will likely be recommended for inpatient care, anyone mind if I get on my BC high horse again? Yes. Well too bad.

So today’s BC is easily the most troubling I have encountered. No, its not because its not remotely funny, although, no, its not (”Leaves are pretty when they are dying. Get it? Heh”). Its not because the punch line is in the wrong place. If you can call it a punch line, it appears to be in the second panel. I guess. No, my friends, my concern is that day after day, Hart continues to draw things, which implies that he has access to pencils and pens and such. And need I remind you that these are SHARP OBJECTS.
HannahIndiana
December 12th, 2006 at 9:34 pm [Reply]

I’m wondering, what are Tinsleys first 32 “Worst Holiday Foods?”

I heard he went all medieval on his Aunt Myrtle last Christmas when she absent-mindedly left the rum out of the rum cake.
Pinback65
December 12th, 2006 at 9:35 pm [Reply]

38–Well, you’re right, Mallard isn’t funny at all. But is that its aim? It seems more like Tinsley’s going for a smirk of agreement from those who share his noxious views. In that sense, it’s no different from Michael Moore getting a cheap laugh simply by showing a clip of Bush saying something stupid–funny only if you agree with him.
Matt
December 12th, 2006 at 9:37 pm [Reply]

Help me out, Chris and cjcasa — what exactly amuses you about MF? Is it the talking duck? The unreadable footnotes (that one always gets me chuckling)? The vicious teacher-hatin’? Does its patent unfunniness somehow transcendentally, post-ironically, become amusing?

Do you laugh at cripples?
dimestore lipstick
December 12th, 2006 at 9:41 pm [Reply]

I really, really, really dislike Mallard Fillmore. But I’m not going to slam Tinsley for what seems to be an obvious alcohol abuse problem.

I will, however, be happy to slam him for being a moronic gasbag, a racist, a dreadfully un-funny cartoonist, and a fuck-brain who gets behind the wheel when under the influence.
cvk
December 12th, 2006 at 9:46 pm [Reply]

Oh, my, Josh. 1) thank you for eschewing politically inflammatory cartoons, it keeps Comics Curmudgeon fresh and funny. 2) thank you for making this exception, because it just about made my day.
Adam
December 12th, 2006 at 9:49 pm [Reply]

Nitpicker is running a Mallard Fillmore punchline contest related to this incident:

http://nitpicker.blogspot.com/2006/12/mock-mallard-contest.html
Sjofn
December 12th, 2006 at 9:51 pm [Reply]

Fuck, do I hate Mallard Fillmore.

Ah, that felt good to say.

For the record, I myself am drunk AS I TYPE THIS. Happy birthday to me!
Tukla in Iowa
December 12th, 2006 at 9:55 pm [Reply]

I used to read Prickly City, even though it could be offensive and obtuse at times. Unlike MF, Prickly City actually takes some shots against the neoconservatives, and some of the strips don’t involve politics at all.

Still, I did stop reading it after the recent manga-inspired sequence, where the characters destroyed a giant Pelosi head because it was…well, there, not because it was actually doing anything. That attitude just seemed so Rovian.

On the plus side, that decision also lead me to drop about a dozen other strips that I realized weren’t really entertaining me, like Baldo, Pickles, One Big Happy, 9 to 5, Compu-Toon, Elderberries, and others. Reading my daily comics doesn’t feel like a chore anymore. So thanks, Prickly City.
MonkeyHawk
December 12th, 2006 at 9:58 pm [Reply]

I don’t know about Columbus, Indiana, but in some jurisdictions a Drunk & Disorderly is charged in lieu of a DUI for offenders with political, financial, or social connections. It takes the motor vehicle out of the charge since many impaired driving laws are pretty draconian.

Even if the first alcohol-related arrest didn’t involve driving, two booze busts in the course of a couple of months indicates a problem and, likely, court-ordered rehab.

Which means we’ll see 30 days or so of “Best of MF” then be treated with obnoxious Reformed Drunk strips. It’ll be six months or so about how Tinsley invented sobriety…until he gets the next DUI.
Bobdog
December 12th, 2006 at 10:02 pm [Reply]

As Lisa Simpson explained, Moby Dick taught us that you can’t take revenge on an animal because animals don’t understand the concept, likewise you can’t hate Mallard Fillmore because it’s not funny. Funny doesn’t seem to enter in the equation at all with a Mallard Fillmore cartoon. It’s a rant — a rant by a troubled soul who’s purpose is not to persuade or amuse — but simply to rant. By means of a duck.
Gadge Cubic, Mole Preener
December 12th, 2006 at 10:10 pm [Reply]

Poteet noted that she’s “named after Poteet Canyon, young cousin of Steve Canyon, protagonist of an old strip by Milt Caniff. She was named after the small Texas town, so the citizens erected a statue to her.”

I certainly wouldn’t be one to write a comment in which I make a lewd joke about erecting a statue to her.
Tim Walters
December 12th, 2006 at 10:11 pm [Reply]

at least he can draw,

True. Whereas Prickly City looks like James Dobson threw up on the page.

(If you’re a David Mamet fan, feel free to add “and then the vomit drew the strip.”)
cjcasa
December 12th, 2006 at 10:20 pm [Reply]

Yes, #64, at the cripplingly liberal. Or conservative. Sometimes a person or group gets so self absorbed it deserves to be lampooned. I’m not sure the comics page is the place to do it, but MF is certainly not the first. I think #62 is right on the money regarding MF. Transcendentally, post-ironically correct. WTF.
dave3544
December 12th, 2006 at 10:23 pm [Reply]

Screw Tinsley.

Screw MF.

I know this adds nothing to the discussion, but it feels good to say.

My home paper published MF in the classified section with the Boondocks, but when that comic went away, MF was replaced with PC. I gotta say, if you tried hard enough, you could usually figure out whatever the hell MF was ranting about. With PC, I am just lost. Am told it is a right-wing comic, but 90% of the time I have no freakin’ idea what they’re talking about.
andreavis
December 12th, 2006 at 10:32 pm [Reply]

Well, I’ve always thought Mallard Fillmore sucked multi-dimensionally. The art stinks, his ‘jokes’ aren’t funny, and his critiques of liberals are based on faulty assumptions, thus rendering them meaningless. The strip Sucks. On. Toast.

Tinsley’s reprehensible behavior has only added a new strata of suckitude. I think I’ll keep reading it, though. I’m interested to see how he manages to make this the liberal’s fault. I hear Tom Delay is blaming Democrats for the failure in Iraq– Tinsley, get a copy of that script and sub out “DUI” for “War on Terror”, and you’re home free!

Josh, thanks for letting us rant in this thread. That duck really gets to me.
John C Fremont
December 12th, 2006 at 10:42 pm [Reply]

#71 – Huh-huh- you said “erecting” – uh, huh-huh…

Seriously, a belated congrats on COTW, Poteet!!

As for Tinsley and MF – What’s more to say about that gawdawful piece of crap? Thanks, Josh, for letting us rant a bit! It felt – right!.. so to speak.
cjcasa
December 12th, 2006 at 10:44 pm [Reply]

Well, I meant #63, not #64. It appears I am non-transcendentally unobservant. Also obsequious, purple and clairvoyant. Woo hoo!
Chromium
December 12th, 2006 at 10:46 pm [Reply]

Damn it. This takes all the mystery out of “Mallard Fillmore.” I always wanted to believe that Tinsley is actually a liberal, and his strip is a decades-long, postmodern joke, but no, turns out he’s just a raving drunk.
Concerned Citizen
December 12th, 2006 at 10:48 pm [Reply]

This whole issue has made my Christmas merry.
deleted
December 12th, 2006 at 11:05 pm [Reply]

PS
Mallard Fillmore is also idiocy.
Rusty
December 12th, 2006 at 11:13 pm [Reply]

The coolest thing about that newstory is that Tinsley is first described with the adjective “Hoosier”. WTF? You midwesterners keep it real.
Heckler123
December 12th, 2006 at 11:26 pm [Reply]

#18, Bill Peschel – Thanks for the reference to my comment. Even if I never make COTW or runner-up, I now officially feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Jackilope
December 12th, 2006 at 11:27 pm [Reply]

I raise a steaming, frothy Starbucks Eggnog Latte for the following cheers:

- to Poteet for COTW.
- to Karma, sweet, liberal Karma. (I just hope my cackle when reading this news on Tinsley doesn’t come back to kick me in the tail end later on.)
- For the freebie to have at it here regarding the absolute worst strip in any comics section.
skulking on the outskirts
December 13th, 2006 at 12:01 am [Reply]

There is a God. And He hates that (Margo)ing duck, too. My faith in the universe is restored. And my blood pressure is doing better, too.
(does happy dance)
Poteet
December 13th, 2006 at 12:05 am [Reply]

#71 — Thank you, Gadge, for having mercy on me. I left myself wide open on that one.

Oh (Margo), I just did it again.

#76 — Thank you, John. And I agree with you re Tinsley. I vowed earlier to lurk more and post less today, but it’s harder than I thought it would be.

(Margo), I did it AGAIN.

#83 — Thank you, Jackilope. And I clink my eggnog mug against yours.

(Margo), I give up.
Sara B.
December 13th, 2006 at 12:22 am [Reply]

I can’t believe no one has addressed the most egregious and offensive thing in that first MF comic, which is the misplacement of the quotation marks.

Wouldn’t it make a funny joke to put the quotes around the word “FOOD?” Implying that eggnog is so disgusting as to not even be a food product? But no. Let’s put it around “HOLIDAY,” finally daring to debunk the myth that people drink eggnog in December.

#81, Rusty–Indiana newspapers always ALWAYS point out hometown “heroes,” even if they’ve been arrested. We use the word Hoosier frequently in print, especially in the Indy Star. A headline the day after 9/11 was “Hoosiers Cry, Pray, Buy Guns,” and the article was about the spike in gun sales. I won’t say anything political about that. I love Indiana!
Alex
December 13th, 2006 at 12:29 am [Reply]

I remember when the Sacramento Bee began running “Prickly City” because they ran an article about it on its first day, maybe because the Bee has been constantly dogged over an alleged liberal bias and wanted to emphasize that it was picking up a conservative politically-themed comic. The article was the first thing I saw and I was ready to give the strip a chance; I thought that since the comics already had Doonesbury and The Boondocks it’d be interesting to see a conservative one that wasn’t Mallard Fillmore, and the author was also quoted as saying that character and story had to come before politics.

And then I turned to the comics page and read my first “Prickly,” in which the coyote tried to marry the little girl because animal/child marriages were legalized in Massachusetts, equating homosexuality with bestiality and pedophilia in one bold stroke.

Then there were the following week’s strips in which the battle over Terry Schaivo’s life support was compared with whether the little girl should be allowed to gorge herself on cookies when her favorite sports team lost.

While I suppose there’s something to be said for Scott Stantis’s efficiency, it immediately became clear that this wasn’t going to be the great bridge between the ideologies. The Schaivo strips were banned in some papers,
Alex
December 13th, 2006 at 12:32 am [Reply]

I remember when the Sacramento Bee began running “Prickly City” because they ran an article about it on its first day, maybe because the Bee has been constantly dogged over an alleged liberal bias and wanted to emphasize that it was picking up a conservative politically-themed comic. The article was the first thing I saw and I was ready to give the strip a chance; I thought that since the comics already had Doonesbury and The Boondocks it’d be interesting to see a conservative one that wasn’t Mallard Fillmore, and the author was also quoted as saying that character and story had to come before politics.

And then I turned to the comics page and read my first “Prickly,” in which the coyote tried to marry the little girl because animal/child marriages were legalized in Massachusetts, equating homosexuality with bestiality and pedophilia in one bold stroke.

Then there were the following week’s strips in which the battle over Terry Schaivo’s life support was compared with whether the little girl should be allowed to gorge herself on cookies when her favorite sports team lost.

While I suppose there’s something to be said for Scott Stantis’s efficiency, it immediately became clear that this wasn’t going to be the great bridge between the ideologies. The Schaivo strips were banned in some papers and Stantis was quoted as saying he thought he’d done a damn good job of covering the issue. Um, no.

(Apologies for the double-post)
TheYellowElephantBrigade
December 13th, 2006 at 12:37 am [Reply]

Well, Tinsley was my inspriation for doing a web comic, even though I can’t draw. But someone had to do something about that bad, bad strip.

Perhaps a pallet cleanser, perhaps not.

Taking Stock

Sometimes funny, sometimes not. Tinsley tribute coming soon.
John
December 13th, 2006 at 12:38 am [Reply]

Incredibly, Tinsley’s wife is the director of the Columbus Human Rights Commission:

http://www.columbus.in.gov/chrc-staff.html

Mallard Fillmore’s creator married to the director of an agency charged with enforcing human rights laws and reporting hate and bias crimes?!?!

Strange bedfellows indeed.
blessened
December 13th, 2006 at 12:45 am [Reply]

said it before and I’ll say it again, MF, I get the “joke”. conservatives are always right about everything and liberals are traitors who should be put in concentration camps if not shot in stadiums so everyone can enjoy it. every issue is black or white I GET IT.
jason
December 13th, 2006 at 12:49 am [Reply]

I love this so much, I re-wrote some Mallard Fillmores for the occasion.
Edda
December 13th, 2006 at 1:11 am [Reply]

I must laugh. I was so overcome with schadenfreude when I saw this metapost that I called in my husband, who is not a comics devotee and doesn’t know Mallard from Eno Camino (really, he’s lucky not to be acquainted with either). As I began to explain the background to him, I noticed his horrified expression. Long story short, it seems the estimable Mr. Tinsley is a cousin once removed, or something, of the mother of one of my husband’s old college friends from Indiana, and looks EXACTLY like said friend. Even worse, the MUG SHOT looks exactly like said friend. I have not met said friend, so I can’t comment…fortunately, perhaps.
Other_Sally
December 13th, 2006 at 1:40 am [Reply]

Haha. Personally, I was more bowled over by the fact that Tinsley could get so enraged about ready-made eggnog. I could understand complaining about soy eggnog if he really felt like it (I’m vegan, and even I’m amused at the idea of soy nog, though I’m happy it exists), but regular eggnog? To be honest, prior to reading his strip, I didn’t even know that homemade eggnog was any kind of tradition–I thought everybody bought it. Who has time to fuss with all those ingredients for a drink anymore?

Next on Tinsley’s agenda: exposing the evils of precut vegetable, instant rice, and the disgraceful shortcut of bouillion cubes.
Sjofn
December 13th, 2006 at 6:05 am [Reply]

My family makes “eggnog.” But really it’s basically a vanilla milkshake with a single egg thrown in for appearance’s sake. Really easy to make, quite tasty. But no alcohol.

My husband’s family also makes eggnog, but it’s ACTUAL eggnog, with alcohol in it. It is gross.
John C Fremont
December 13th, 2006 at 7:51 am [Reply]

It’s kinda late in the game, but as much as it pains me to say it (’cause I REALLY hate MF!) Ted Rall has a surprisingly charitable take on the Tinsley situation. I’d encourage people to check it out – but not until you’re finished giggling.
Calico
December 13th, 2006 at 8:40 am [Reply]

#12 – Sorta sounds like the George Foreman syndrome.

Box a lot, Rusty?
Lockestep
December 13th, 2006 at 9:04 am [Reply]

I’d take Day by Day over Doonesbury any day. Doones jumped the shark 20 years ago.
Boomer
December 13th, 2006 at 9:08 am [Reply]

“Bruce Tinsley, Mallard Fillmoreâ€™s creator, was arrested for DUI last week. ”

Did anybody else get an orgasm just by reading that?
King Folderol
December 13th, 2006 at 9:21 am [Reply]

America: The Book still has the definitive Mallard joke, which consists of Mallard ranting for two panels about some perceived liberal slight, and then in panel three exclaiming, “Oops, forget to tell a joke!”

As usual, Jon Stewart and company outdo anything I could say.
Scoopernicus
December 13th, 2006 at 9:29 am [Reply]

To be honest, prior to reading his strip, I didnâ€™t even know that homemade eggnog was any kind of traditionâ€“I thought everybody bought it. Who has time to fuss with all those ingredients for a drink anymore?

If you don’t mind the Salmonella.
Scoopernicus
December 13th, 2006 at 9:40 am [Reply]

America: The Book still has the definitive Mallard joke, which consists of Mallard ranting for two panels about some perceived liberal slight, and then in panel three exclaiming, â€œOops, forget to tell a joke!â€

And Tinsley threw a shit fit over that too. Was totally offended.

For the record ‘America the Book’ also did a parody of Doonesbury, that I found very very funny (and I’m a big Doonesbury fan)
Michael
December 13th, 2006 at 9:41 am [Reply]

Hoosier Bruce Tinsley, you probably neither know nor care, went to school at IU. This means that those of us in Bloomington have been putting up with his unfunny crap for far longer than you wusses.

Anyway. So a while ago (10 years, more or less), Bloomington used to have a free monthly paper that was nothing but comic strips. It was called The Quiver (some Robin Hood theme), and featured both local and syndicated strips.

Anyway. My favorite strip in The Quiver was a local parody of Teh Duck; the reporter had been changed from a duck to a slavering wolf, and the title of the strip…wait for it…

Aryan Furr.

Sadly, I can Google up nothing about the parody strip or the paper. But what I wouldn’t give to see those republished.
White Rabbit
December 13th, 2006 at 9:45 am [Reply]

This brings a whole new layer of meaning to the strip Tinsley drew not long ago, in which he apologized for forgetting about Veteran’s Day. Hard to read a calendar through the bottom of a highball glass, isn’t it?
Toni
December 13th, 2006 at 10:06 am [Reply]

De-lurking to say: all of this talk of eggnog is reminding me of the “Uncle Nog” run in John Allison’s old webcomic Bobbins- http://www.bobbins.org/d/20011105.html

Hilarious. Allison writes Scary-go-Round now, one of the best webcomics out there.
RentedMule
December 13th, 2006 at 10:08 am [Reply]

“Mallard accomplishes what it sets out to do”

So does my cat when she shits on the rug. However, like MF it a) adds nothing to the quality of life, and b) isn’t even remotely funny.
JB2
December 13th, 2006 at 10:46 am [Reply]

I’m a tree-hugging, Bush-hating, Kucinich-voting liberal, but I’ll admit that funny is funny.

Jonathan Swift: Very conservative and very funny.

H. L. Mencken: Many of his views on the issues of the day can be fairly described as conservative; also, very funny.

P. J. O’Rourke: Conservative and funny.

Mallard Fillmore: Has never, ever been funny; not in the slightest.
ewok
December 13th, 2006 at 11:05 am [Reply]

H.L. Mencken? A conservative? He would have had angry words for you, chum.
Woodrowfan
December 13th, 2006 at 11:47 am [Reply]

I dislike MF for the same reason I dislike Ted Rall, theyâ€™re shrill and angry and mean-spirited. (and I should like Rall, Iâ€™m on the same side of the political fence as he is). But MF is also hypocritical. How many Ted Kennedy is a drunk jokes has he done over the years? And then it turns out ol Tinsley lives in the glass saloon next to Tedâ€™s.

I wonâ€™t attack MFâ€™s art. There are worse drawn strips that I like. And itâ€™s ok that heâ€™s on the right. I heard Charles Schultz was conservative but I still think Peanuts is the best comic strip in history. But if youâ€™re going to attack half of your audience as traitors/weak-minded fools/etc as MF does every day then be prepared to have half your audience hate you right back. And be ready for them to laugh like crazy and high-five when you slip on a banana peel.

BTW, I sometimes like Prickly City. It makes me laugh when heâ€™s not being political or when he slams the right (as he does sometimes). The Schaivo strips were appalling, however. Day by Day is only work mocking for his lack of understanding of how female bodies actually look. And like Prickly, he makes his conservative a black character is if the Republican got more than 10% of the black vote every two years. And State of the Union. Oye. Almost makes MF look good.

Ok, ok, Iâ€™ll blast some lefty strips to get some balance here. Wiley is preachy as hell and his Homer the lost soul (or whatever they were called) strips on Sundays made me long for Garfield. Opus jumped not only the shark but the entire Sea World; sharks, Orcas, gift shop and all. And Ted Rall makes Day by Day look like classic Prince Valiant for artistic talent. It takes a very very bad cartoonist to make me feel sorry for Dubya.
Allie Cat
December 13th, 2006 at 11:54 am [Reply]

#102 – Such a Doonesbury-loving liberal am I that I’d never HEARD of Mallard Fillmore til I read America, The Book.

I thought the Doonesbury parody was hilarious, too though.

Also, I could really go for some eggnog – with or without alcohol. Have you ever had a milkshake made with eggnog ice cream and just a splash of good dark rum? Nice.
kingklash
December 13th, 2006 at 12:34 pm [Reply]

#29, Trapper- I tried wearing Duck Drawers once, but the bill caused an unsightly bulge and I got a rash from the pinfeathers.
bootsybooks
December 13th, 2006 at 12:42 pm [Reply]

People drink eggnog without alcohol? Geez louise, what for? I thought it was just a seasonal device for getting booze into partygoers, sorta like daquiris are in the summer. Shows what I know.

But at least I know enough to NOT drive when I’m drinking it.
Eric
December 13th, 2006 at 12:42 pm [Reply]

Politics, yadda. The real problem with Mallard Fillmore is that it is soul-crushingly dull.
Lefty
December 13th, 2006 at 12:46 pm [Reply]

“I was too drunk to walk, Osefer”.
Chromium
December 13th, 2006 at 12:47 pm [Reply]

And Tinsley threw a shit fit over that too. Was totally offended.

Tinsley threw a double whammy with that one. Not only did he draw one of his most offensive Jewish caricatures ever, but he also implied that Stewart is a, um, pedophile. Seriously.
ianscot
December 13th, 2006 at 1:02 pm [Reply]

The reason for which Mallard doesn’t get much attention here is because, like so many op-ed columists, it’s essentially a drawn-up “troll” in the internet parlance. Even if you try to keep your distance, there’s just no responding to a troll without feeding it. So here we are.

The truly staggering amounts of whining in the MF strip are breathtaking, too. It’s a special case for that. I think it was last year that my kids were thinking about whether to go trick or treating — were they too old now? There was Mallard in the paper, whinging about older kids who dared to go out for an entire week’s worth of strips. Way to try to spoil my 12-year-olds’ holiday, asshat. Now we find out he’s not just bitter: he’s a bitter drunk.

Also, for what it’s worth, I love egg nog. The reason for which fake egg nog (like “Holly Nog”) exists is because the real stuff is quite high in fat. These answers, I feel certain, are available on the internet for those of us who can’t see stuff that’s borderline self-evident.
Harold
December 13th, 2006 at 1:38 pm [Reply]

Is it true that Tinsley shouted “I own Columbus!” when he was arrested?
Socraticsilence
December 13th, 2006 at 1:45 pm [Reply]

Wow, the Stewart thing is horrible, the pedophilia thing is stupidly bad but I guess could be chalked up to being angry at the satire, the blatantly antisemitic caricature on the other hand, just wow (I mean honestly, I’ve done papers on Nazi Prop. and I half expected Mallard to call Stewart the Eternal Jon).
MJ1066
December 13th, 2006 at 2:23 pm [Reply]

I’ve been upset with Tinsley ever since the “Mallard Fillmore” strip a couple of weeks ago in which he excoriated people who hire a professional to put up their outside Christmas lights instead of doing it themselves. Tinsley said sternly that this is “surely a sign of the apocalypse.” Tinsley thought that people were hiring a company to do their outside decorations because they were just lazy. It never occurred to him that someone might hire a professional to do the outside lights because they didn’t want to fall and hurt themselves.

The same week that Tinsley’s tirade against professional Christmas decorating companies appeared, there were two stories in my hometown newspaper about men who were permanently paralyzed from falling off ladders while hanging outside Christmas lights. A few days later, a man in my hometown actually died after falling while hanging Christmas lights. I wanted to send an e-mail to Tinsley and tell him about the Christmas light accidents, but I decided not to. He would probably write back sternly, “This is an example of how modern people are much too soft. People should be willing to risk death or paralysis to hang their own Christmas lights.” Tinsley is one of those extreme-right people who think that this country has been going downhill ever since the invention of pasteurized milk.

By the way, I’m a Republican. It’s possible to be conservative and dislike Mallard Fillmore.
Eggnog Lover
December 13th, 2006 at 2:28 pm [Reply]

People, if the only egg nog you’ve ever had is store-bought stuff, it’s no wonder you hate it. 99% of store-bought egg nog is made with high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and guar gum. It’s vile.

Home made stuff is probably the best, but you don’t have to go that far if you want to try something good. Go pick up some organic egg nog (I like the stuff from Organic Valley the best). It’s awesome with or without a bit of rum, and really tastes nothing at all like the cheap stuff.
GWG
December 13th, 2006 at 2:32 pm [Reply]

Regarding post #90 – which I can’t believe isn’t being discussed more –

So, HALF of BT’s household income comes from the coffers of a liberal-policy-mandated government oversight agency?!?

sorta ’splains the drinking…

And, because I can: This strip has always sucked at the basest level. The guy can solely draw the single character he’s mastered – a “duck’, pretty much just an amalgam of previously classic renderings by Kelly, Jones, Barks and whoever did “Howard”.
Jason
December 13th, 2006 at 2:47 pm [Reply]

I wonâ€™t attack MFâ€™s art. There are worse drawn strips that I like.

Definitely true, but one annoying thing about Mallard Fillmore is that he’s not usually drawn to look like a mallard. In the first strip above he’s got a green head, but usually he just looks like Daffy Duck.
Larry
December 13th, 2006 at 2:47 pm [Reply]

Freakishly huge Mark Trail waterfowl! Were you by any chance a fan of the late, lamented “Funny Paper” in the Baltimore City Paper?

Oh yeah, and… Tinsley: not funny. Alcoholism: not funny. DUI: not funny. Tinsley DUI: funny! Such is the way of humor algebra.
Bitter Scribe
December 13th, 2006 at 2:48 pm [Reply]

MF illustrates one of life’s basic precepts: If you don’t have a sense of humor, don’t try to be funny.
Poteet
December 13th, 2006 at 2:50 pm [Reply]

# 106 — RentedMule — Bwahaha! However, I must admit that if someone else steps in the cat shit and screams, I do find it funny. Come to think of it, that’s the same feeling as seeing Tinsley’s mugshot. I have honestly tried to find humor in MF, feeling that I was being unfair, but as soon as I see that duck, my pupils contract so rapidly that everything goes dark. Unfair or not, I can’t stand him.

# 120 — Thanks, Eggnog Lover — if I’m gonna die from overeating, I might as well do it with the really good stuff.
Bud
December 13th, 2006 at 2:55 pm [Reply]

#28 – Soy egg nog makes you gay. Haven’t you heard?
Foobaphobe
December 13th, 2006 at 4:58 pm [Reply]

As a certified, right-wing, Reagan Republican, let me say GOOD! I hate MF and the moronic face it puts on conservatism. MF’s defense of the obscene war in
Iraq, the abuse of prisoners, our imbecile President, and an insane foreign policy in the mid-east isn’t conservatism, it’s stupidity. (They are not the same, though you wouldn’t know it from Limbaugh, O’Reilly, and the other cretins who purport to be conservatives.)
PInk Haired Girl
December 13th, 2006 at 6:03 pm [Reply]

I just laughed at the mug shot. Pretty awesome.

Also, blessed as I am not to get Millard Filmore in my paper, I have taken a solid oath never to read it. Even if I’m really, really bored.

Never. Ever.
SixFootJen
December 13th, 2006 at 6:31 pm [Reply]

I love eggnog. And the store-bought (high-quality) stuff is way better than homemade — because when you make it yourself, there is always a long gluey string of egg white albumen that snakes down your throat and makes you gag.
RaJ
December 13th, 2006 at 6:37 pm [Reply]

Beyond the horrible Jon Stewart caricature, isn’t Bruce Tinsley’s drawing of Hu Jintao something outta a John Hughes movie? I’m too lazy to find an example strip, but I recall coke-bottle specs and giant buck teeth… anyway, yeah. Epic douche.
library spy
December 13th, 2006 at 8:45 pm [Reply]

Perhaps the well-meaning folks at Charterstone could help Mr. Tinsley.
Mickey Dugan
December 13th, 2006 at 10:06 pm [Reply]

108 — Oh, yes. Mencken was a Nietzsche-soaked aristocrat who was bitterly opposed to democracy and socialism, and a staunch defender of eugenics and the death penalty. He’s still one of the funniest writers I know. In fact, I will need to reread “A Bum’s Christmas” very soon.

Tinsley’s humiliation brings me great joy. I hope he has to do some kind of community service. I bet he’d hate that more than anything.
kostia
December 13th, 2006 at 11:09 pm [Reply]

I’m pretty sure it pisses me off that he put “HOLIDAY” in quotes, because I’m pretty sure he did it in order to express annoyance that it isn’t PC to use the word “Christmas.”

Yep, it pisses me off.
Cafangdra
December 13th, 2006 at 11:51 pm [Reply]

I’m another leftie-commie who’s tried to look at MF with a degree of objectivity but I just can’t not hate it. Sure it’s unfunny (and unlike other arguably unfunny political strips like Prickly City et al it doesn’t even seem to be trying to be funny–smirk-inducing, at best) but I can forgive unfunny. Sure it’s lazy. Sure it’s full of hate. I’m capable of liking lazy, hate-full things.

But the artwork! It’s not so much that it’s bad; I guess Tinsley is technically competent, and there are plenty of not-terribly-well-drawn comics I like. But something about the Mallard Filmore “artwork” makes me uncomfortable. It makes me squirm in my seat and avert my eyes. I don’t know why. But that’s the main reason I can’t stand reading the strip.
Alex
December 14th, 2006 at 12:18 am [Reply]

Looking at Tinsley’s mug shot again I have to wonder why he was trying to grow muttonchops.

As far as drunken mug shots go this comes in second only to Nick Nolte.
Dadzilla
December 14th, 2006 at 1:32 am [Reply]

Dept. of Weird Statues Dept. – I once lived in the far SE corner of Alabama. In the town of Enterprise, Alabama there is, in the town square, a statue of a large boll weevil. I asked my native girlfriend about it, and the story goes that when the boll weevil arrived and ruined the cotton industry in Bama, they planted peanuts and soon found it much more profitable than cotton. Hence, the gratitude to the boll weevil. On a Tinsley related topic….Alabama outlawed only 3 years ago the practice of driving with an open container of alcohol. When I lived there I thought a can of Miller was necessary for the truck to start.
Manky
December 14th, 2006 at 4:45 pm [Reply]

Sure I’m a lefty and find MF to be offensive. Obviously I take issue with its politics, but what really frosts me is the profound lack of originality or funniness. If I was conservative I would be highly annoyed that this mean-spirited assembly-line trash was supposed to represent my views. Mallard is just Howard the Duck with a new name (which isn’t even original – see DC Comics’
Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew) endlessly pointing out the hypocrisy and/or idiocy of liberal ideology and political correctness (and then cocking his eyebrow to emphasize the irony).
treedweller
December 14th, 2006 at 8:27 pm [Reply]

You know, I sort of understand that fruitcake is almost universally reviled and becomes the butt of many jokes this time of year, but it still galls me that Tinsley defends fruitcake one week and proceeds to revile other holiday favorites the next. What, only drunk ducks get to decide which holiday food is passe? Feh! I like cream of mushroom soup in almost any casserole. I like jello salad, especially the white-trash kind with cottage cheese and canned pineapple. Screw you, Tinsley.
treedweller
December 14th, 2006 at 8:30 pm [Reply]

But, for the record, I was just making a point in 138. I find fruitcake, C-O-M soup, and jello salad equally disgusting. But my family does make a salad I enjoy that includes a can of (rinsed) Ranch Style beans, crunched-up Fritos, and Catalina dressing, so I’ve got no room to talk.
suziederkins
December 15th, 2006 at 1:37 am [Reply]

Just wanted to note here that Stephen Colbert covered this story this evening, also commenting on the gay agenda of Mark Trail. From this I choose to conclude that he logs on daily, thus solidifying his hero status in my mind and heart.
treedweller
December 15th, 2006 at 2:06 am [Reply]

BWAH! HAHA HAHAH! I hate this duck like Cancer! I hate it that this alcoholic idiot named his son Rush. Mallard Filmore is less funny than SIDS. Mallard Filmore makes Donald Duck seem judicious. He makes Howard the Duck (Lucasfilm) seem relevant and hip. I hate the way this jackass gets a free ride on the comics page as some sort of balance to Doonesbury, a strip that is actually often forced onto the editorial pages. Of course Mallard Filmore belongs in neither place. It is not funny, it is not a soap opera, and it has nothing insightful to add to our politics. In short, I hope this foul fucker gets bird flu and shot by Dick Cheney! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA! Impeach Bush! Ha!
iburl
December 15th, 2006 at 2:13 am [Reply]

Whoops, post # 141 was by me, iburl. The Name field autopopulated from the last person to use it. Sorry treedweller!
Mike
December 15th, 2006 at 5:08 am [Reply]

Pinback 65 said: â€™m not going to defend Tinsleyâ€™s work, exactly, but I will say this: Mallard accomplishes what it sets out to do. True, he has no flare for layouts, but at least he can draw, and his strip is an effective delivery system for his views.

I have to disagree, PB. Unless Mallard intends to sppout rhetoric and conclusions that often aren’t true and don’t make any sense. Well, I say often when i mean 99% of the time and I personally have never seen the 1% when thats not true.

Insely can draw, sure, but you’re right, he has no visible talent for layout. He apparently doesn’t know a thing about Humor either. Thats not just the shadenfreude talking, I have yet to meet a person in the flesh, or online that thought MF was funny, insightful or worth the few moments it took reading it.

I don’t know Tinsley personally. I don’t think anyone here on this blog does. But he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy I’d want to be around. I think its fair to say he’s offended more comics readers than he’s pleased. Even for a political comic strip I don’t think thats a mark a cartoonist should be shooting for.
insolenttomato
December 15th, 2006 at 11:13 am [Reply]

{warning — big rant ahead which I promise I will get out of my system here and now}

Re: Mallard Fillmore parody in America: The Book. Yet another instance of Bruce Tinsley’s (and many other uber-conservatives) blatant hypocracy. He is so exceedingly quick to gesture frantically at “liberal hypersensitivity” and how liberals “can’t take a joke” and are “soft” and “squishy” and a bunch of “big fags” (I’m gay, lest I be accused of homophobia) but the INSTANT Mallard Fillmore is OBVIOUSLY parodied alongside a bunch of OTHER COMICS (e.g. Doonsbury, Peanuts) in a HUMOUR BOOK written by PEOPLE WHO MAKE A LIVING BY MAKING JOKES, it is decried in Mallard Fillmore as a crime somewhere between murder and rape because Jon Stewart didn’t put a big flashing sign above the strip saying “THIS IS NOT ACTUALLY A GENUINE, BONA-FIDE MF CARTOON” (despite the fact that such a thing would be tantamount to a “This Coffee is Hot” warning on a coffee cup, which again Tinsley claims is a result of “liberal ~~litigousness~~ ~~letigosness~~ ~~fuckit~~ sue-i-ness”). Indeed, it’s evidently worthy of one of the most Jew-ey caricatures this side of a Leni Reinstadt film.

Whew! I feel so. Much. Better and ready to be snarky again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go have sex to the Tinsley arrest report read over Santurom’s concession speech.
Bat Guano
December 19th, 2006 at 1:06 am [Reply]

Actually, Colbert admitted that he wasn’t sure if it was a caricature of John Stewart or an illustration from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. All I can say is, Tinsley needs to freshen up that material.
Churchy LaFemme
December 23rd, 2006 at 3:39 am [Reply]

Why are you people so much funnier than MF? Shouldn’t you be paid for this?
Cory!! Strode
December 26th, 2006 at 12:20 am [Reply]

To those of you who are saying that the strip is drawn well at least…

What the flaming blue hell is wrong with you? Most fo the time it’s a photoshop drop in of the duck and tons of text. It doesn’t even qualify as drawing. I would imagine that before he had photoshop, he traced ten of Gene Colon’s “Howard the Duck” drawings, drew a few more lines in and photocopied them over and over again. I can’t draw and I could put together a better strip.
Gunsel Melonshorts
December 28th, 2006 at 2:58 pm [Reply]

I’ve enjoyed reading Mallard Fillmore since November. I laugh so hard now, picturing this drunken conservative a-hole, bile still spitting out of his mouth since the hosing the Republicans got in the mid-terms.

Today’s cartoon was Tinsely (or Mallard) trying to rewrite history by saying the the Republican party was “bipartisan” and trying to “reach out”. He’s one of the few remaining that cannot or will not admit that it was the GOPs extremist views towards immigration, science, and religion that also contributed to losing so many votes (in addition to the White House’s “pick and choose” method of evaluating intelligence data). They lost the latino vote completely, which are the largest group of (conservative AND catholic) US citizens that are also anti-abortion and also wants to take a hard line on illegal immigration.

Let’s hope that more GOP members agree with Tinsley. That’s a sure guarantee that their party will NEVER regain control of Congress.
Erik
February 4th, 2007 at 4:58 pm [Reply]

Hate MF, but:

1. Unlike Darrell K., Tinsley got arrested, which kinda proved his point doncha think.
2. Unlike Ted K. he got arrested, and no one died.

BTW guys, that’s hardly an anti-semitic caricature, it’s just a…caricature. If that’s the worst Jewish caricature you’ve ever seen, you must not go to too many Peace Rallies or read too many Arab newspapers.
john flory
April 4th, 2007 at 3:40 pm [Reply]

I LOVE IT!!

Lots of your posts made me laugh out loud! So satisfying to see Tinsley’s ugly mug at last…in a car-accident kind of way. I think I’ll capture it and put it in My Pictures, alongside Sheperd (Faux News) Smith’s mugshot.

This guy is such a tool; it’s great to see his feet of clay, alongside those of Limbaugh, Bennett, et al.
apotheusis
August 22nd, 2007 at 5:46 pm [Reply]

WE see the hate from the left goes on and on and on.
where is the good that WE have given to you
Lisa
February 25th, 2008 at 2:13 am [Reply]

Is it coincidence that MF also stands for something else besides Mallard Fillmore? I think not.

(not being more specific in case young children read this blog…. but they probably could teach me new words. Anyhow…..)

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