The Drabblecast

Charlie the Purple Giraffe Was Acting Strangely by David D. Levin



Charlie passed his cup from hand to hand. He stared fixedly at a point on the wall. It was as though he were staring out a window, but there wasn't even a painting there ‑‑ just the wallpaper, which was now patterned in pink and white polka‑dots. His expression was grim, almost angry. Finally he brought his head down to Jerry's level, cupped his glove to his mouth, and whispered "I wasn't talking to myself."

Drabble - "The Good Doctor" by Jake Webb

Drabble: predictable, but enjoyable.

Story: My only complaint is the fact that giraffes don't have pinkies, so Charlie couldn't have had his out when he picked up his cup.

Other than that one issues though, I liked this. It was nice and fun. Reminded me of Deadpool for some reason, and that's always a good thing.

Another fine Drabblecast. 'Charlie' reminded me of episode 31, but executed with more style. Mr. Levin's adept character reading was a definite plus!

Fan-freaking-tastic.

I've been expanding my podcast fiction listening recently, and I keep being disappointed. The drabblecast is hard to beat. No, really- my stick just breaks on Norm's tough hide.

Great artwork, Tweedy!!

Loved the main piece - a bit predictable, but very, very well executed. The author's reading of the main character was perfect for the piece, and I can't help wanting to read an actual comic of this... Also, the music was very well done throughout the whole episode - it really helped set the tone. Oh, and existential philosophy like this is awesome

Shakespeare first wrote this existential story angle (All the world's a stage). I find it strangely compelling that in this generation, the existential setting is a comic book rather than a stage, and the protagonist a purple giraffe rather than Hamlet.
Likewise, "To be or not to be..." has resolved into, "Clap your hands if you believe in fairies!"

Don't disturb me. I'm thinking.

The story was well written, and beautifully presented, but boring. I was only drawn inot it in the last few minutes. It was like a Sunday morning comic strip, made into a movie. But then, I didn't like 'Who shot Roger Rabbit' either.

Well, at least it wasn't written in first person present.

I did not like this story as much as I expected from the bizzaro setup at the beginning, although I did get a kick out of the manic narration by David and Norm, it played out a little predicably.

I think I was also distracted by the thought that I never found comic books funny as a kid. I vaguely recall reading Garfield, etc without cracking a smile. Am I weird, or are kids comic books not funny?

Phenopath wrote:I think I was also distracted by the thought that I never found comic books funny as a kid. I vaguely recall reading Garfield, etc without cracking a smile. Am I weird, or are kids comic books not funny?

I don't recall ever laughing at Garfield. I don't even roll my eyes at Garfield. There isn't anything about Garfield significant enough to inspire any reaction at all. Reading Garfield is like reading the manual that comes with a lava lamp. The cartoons I enjoyed as a child are the ones I still enjoy today, namely "Dilbert" and "Calvin and Hobbes". (I used to love "The Far Side" but I think I outgrew it. At any rate, now that I have The Drabblecast, there isn't any reason to care about The Far Side. Why eat a hot dog when you have steak?)

I felt kind of the same way about this story as Norvaljoe. The production was absolutely superb, and the premise was interesting, but the story was pretty predictable and tipped its hand near the beginning. Once Charlie revealed his awareness of the audience, everything else was more or less inevitable.

My big question is this: Is Charlie really having an existential crisis, or is he just saying the lines the cartoonist put in his word balloon? Is he a real person with real anxiety about the audience our is that just a gag the cartoonist made up? Would the answer really make any difference?

Mr. Tweedy wrote:I felt kind of the same way about this story as Norvaljoe. The production was absolutely superb, and the premise was interesting, but the story was pretty predictable and tipped its hand near the beginning. Once Charlie revealed his awareness of the audience, everything else was more or less inevitable.

I never expected a twist in the story, so I wasn't disappointed. Instead, I enjoyed it as being very well written and produced. I did like how he made the story less enjoyable towards the end, such that it mirrored the loss of interest inside the story. Very well done.

I agree that Garfield sucks, but you could write volumes of names of absolute rubbish that somehow become icons of popular culture in all mediums, music, film, literature. Just the way it is.

And yes, this story might have set a new bar for DC's renowned production standards. Just perfect.

Predictability doesn't bother me unless the story is trying to have a twist or something. In this story though, it never even crossed my mind to consider the outcome. I just really enjoyed the ride, and yah maybe I knew where it was going in the back of my mind, but that part was never engaged and certainly didn't diminish the whole of the story. Lines like "How ironic", when Charlie was being observed, really cracked me up. Great job all around, Drabblecast is surpassed by no other.

Mr. Tweedy wrote:

Phenopath wrote:I think I was also distracted by the thought that I never found comic books funny as a kid. I vaguely recall reading Garfield, etc without cracking a smile. Am I weird, or are kids comic books not funny?

I don't recall ever laughing at Garfield. I don't even roll my eyes at Garfield. There isn't anything about Garfield significant enough to inspire any reaction at all. Reading Garfield is like reading the manual that comes with a lava lamp. The cartoons I enjoyed as a child are the ones I still enjoy today, namely "Dilbert" and "Calvin and Hobbes". (I used to love "The Far Side" but I think I outgrew it. At any rate, now that I have The Drabblecast, there isn't any reason to care about The Far Side. Why eat a hot dog when you have steak?)

The confusion is due to the fact that term "Comic Book" is actually a misnomer. The first "comics" were humorous, but the form soon changed to adventure narratives; but the name stuck. It's interesting that comics are an intermediate step contemporaneous or slightly in advance of the the development of motion pictures. Just as a cartoon is a single panel, and the comic "strip" makes multiple panels to produce a story, the motion picture did the same thing with "stills". At one time, Hogan's Alley, the original star of comics, was so popular that it's star, the Yellow Kid, he was responsible for the term "yellow journalism".

By the way, the word cartoon originated centuries ago in the Renaisance drawings of artists, who used them as an intermediate step in frescoes. Michaelangelo used cartoons to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

strawman wrote:The confusion is due to the fact that term "Comic Book" is actually a misnomer. The first "comics" were humorous, but the form soon changed to adventure narratives; but the name stuck.

Hmm, yes that works. I guess that writing comics/cartoons/movies to make kids laugh is harder than telling a story (mind you toilet humour normally works).

For me this story was better in the first few minutes when I thought it was set in a type of Sims type setting.

The idea of the characters 'merely' being actual characters still worked but it felt more......real time, like as a listener I was really in the situation.

Once I realised it was set as a comic book, I agree with other posters I thought it would come down to whether the readers really kept reading.

Very good premise, and the music was pitch perfect.

tbaker2500 wrote:

Mr. Tweedy wrote:I felt kind of the same way about this story as Norvaljoe. The production was absolutely superb, and the premise was interesting, but the story was pretty predictable and tipped its hand near the beginning. Once Charlie revealed his awareness of the audience, everything else was more or less inevitable.

I never expected a twist in the story, so I wasn't disappointed. Instead, I enjoyed it as being very well written and produced. I did like how he made the story less enjoyable towards the end, such that it mirrored the loss of interest inside the story. Very well done.

I found it interesting and quirky. I had fun trying to imagine the colorful backgrounds. The production was great and really enhanced the story.

I liked the story. The presentation was perfect. Funny concept. Win.

Every Sunday and I look at the comics in the paper and cringe. Beetle Baily, Blondie and Dagwood, Garfield, Peanuts, Family Circus. All NOT FUNNY. Some of the newer 'toons are good but lets prune some of these dead branches folks.

Goldenrat wrote:I liked the story. The presentation was perfect. Funny concept. Win.

Every Sunday and I look at the comics in the paper and cringe. Beetle Baily, Blondie and Dagwood, Garfield, Peanuts, Family Circus. All NOT FUNNY. Some of the newer 'toons are good but lets prune some of these dead branches folks.

Yes, but that implies that there is funnier material out there. I don't think there are funnier general purpose comics out there. I mean, the venerated Far Side wasn't really general purpose family friendly, which is why I laughed at it.

Garfield can too be funny. This series of cartoons made the rounds a few months back, but just in case anyone missed it:

Garfield minus Garfield
http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/

(site is down as of this morning, but when it returns I promise itsa' pleaser)

WOW!
WinWinWin!
I absolutely LOVE this story! My favorite DC production so far, with Jelly Park as a close second.

Like Charlie the purple giraffe, I too think that laughing is the most important thing to do in life. Seriously. It's important, people. Laugh! And make lots of fun. We have to keep the readers interested.

This story is fun, makes me laugh, makes me think and immediately makes me laugh about my thinking about it. And of course, Norm gave the story great extra flavor. A truly excellent combination of great writing and great production. Thanks, guys! The smile on my face is huge.

I adored this story too. What a grand concept and IMHO so well executed. I've never read anything LIKE this, so it really tickled my fancy. Bravo! Bravissimo. Genuinely imaginative and playful.