The Ephemerist

This august, the Lexington, KY Tates Creek High School Class of 1978 will be holding their reunion festivities (it being thirty years ago that they graduated, probably). This would be another fait divers, if one of the alumni weren’t Frank Cummings, since 2004 the assistant artist on the Blondie strip, one of the longest-running, most popular features in comic strip history.

Cummings placed his school’s logo on the cap of a kid passing by in a panel, but not before getting permission from King Features Syndicate, publishers of Blondie. In an interview with the Kentucky Leader-Herald, he said, “They’re very strict about any kind of promotion, and I was kind of afraid they wouldn’t let it go. But I told them it was my high school logo, and they said OK.”

It doesn’t get any more ephemeral than this, folks. So all hail Chris Pyle for spotting this one.

It would seem that Jim Davis’ Garfield is a real cornucopia for literary experimentation. Much more than any other popular comic, be it Peanuts or Calvin And Hobbes, Davis’ universe clos and iconic characters seem to lend themselves to postmodern repurposing and extistentialist critique.

Earlier we had Forever Garfield and Nothing Garfield, and now Garfield Minus Garfield presents Jon’s little world without his cat’s overwhelming presence. It’s as if Samuel Beckett is doing the funnies. And it even made USA Today’s Pop Candy blog.