Peter Bagge's libertarian comics for Reason

Posted by MacDood
link

Comment: Let's not forget to laugh---

I used to dislike Tom Tomorrow's comic strip, This Modern World. I'm not entirely sure why it didn't work for me, but I think it is because he would set up right-wing straw people to say exaggerated things to make them look bad. Lately, I've been enjoying his strip a lot more, and I think the reason is because the right-wing is now so outrageous, he doesn't need to exagerate to show how bad they are. The truth is funny without having to embellish it.To me, Peter Bagge is the opposite of Tom Tomorrow. I love the stuff he did for Weirdo, Neat Stuff, and Hate. Now he's doing a libertarian comic strip for Reason, and like a mirror-image Tom Tomorrow, he tries to make his point by exaggerating the kinds of things left-wingers say. And just as Tomorrow's early work wasn't funny, Bagge's recent Reason work doesn't make me laugh either. I did read Bagge's latest Hate Annual and thought he was in top form, so this criticism only applies to his Reason comics. Link

Brian Carnell sez: I thought it was unfair for you to pull that single strip out unqualified and claim that Bagge is just a right wing Tom Tomorrw.

Yes, that strip clearly exaggerates what the Left says for effect, but the difference between Bagge and Tom Tomorrow is that Bagge is an equal-opportunity exaggerator. For example, follow the link for a similar strip that is a caricature of the claims made by right wing supporters of the war on Iraq (I supported the war and I find it funny, but YMMV). He also lampooned libertarians.

The problem with Tom Tomorrow is that he's always caricaturing the Right, but never the Left (at least not that I can remember), unlike Bagge who skewers all sides.

(Mark sez: You're right, Brian!)

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