• Tuesday, May 29, 2012
May 29, 2012, 11:30:48 AM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with your Chronicle username and password
News: Talk online about your experiences as an adjunct, visiting assistant professor, postdoc, or other contract faculty member.
 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Who was this "philosophical" cartoonist?  (Read 4199 times)
adjunctatlas
Member
***
Posts: 186


« on: January 19, 2012, 06:59:11 PM »

In the early 1980s I came across a book of one-panel cartoons in which people were engaged in apparently mundane doings under which would be a caption like "Biff finally grasps the meaning of being-towards-death," that is, allusions to philosophical doctrines.  They were not all that funny, and I only recalled them today because one of my colleagues was poking fun at the name "Biff," which definitely occurs in one of these cartoons.  Still, I'd like to try to find them again.  Any idea who the cartoonist was? Or is, if still active?  Or any idea where I might look on the web? "Intellectual cartoonists 1980s" got me a link to Trudeau, but nothing more.

Thanks!
Logged
jackit_n_tyy
Infamous
Senior member
****
Posts: 499


« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2012, 07:58:38 PM »

Type "philosophical cartoons" into google and then hit "images."

Can you see your cartoonist anywhere?
Logged

Manager for the Dead or Alive Iowans dot com.
elsie
Distinguished Senior Member
*****
Posts: 3,338


« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2012, 08:21:38 PM »

No idea of the answer, but I have the Nietzsche Family Circus to contribute: http://www.losanjealous.com/nfc/.
Logged

"People assume that time is a strict progression from cause to effect. But actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff." - the Doctor
voxprincipalis
Foxaliciously Cinnamon-Scented (and Most Poetic)
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
*****
Posts: 17,444

Has potentially infinite removable wallets


WWW
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2012, 10:21:10 PM »

Well, no captions on these, but they are one-panel, deal with philosophy/postmodernism/aesthetics/criticism/other-deep-stuff, and are authored by "Biff":

http://www.biffonline.co.uk/postcardthumbs.html

Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biff_(cartoon)

Possible?

VP
Logged

If you need me, I'll be hiding under a rock until mid-August. Try not to need me, unless you come bearing Chinese food.
adjunctatlas
Member
***
Posts: 186


« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2012, 09:45:45 AM »

Thanks for the suggestions! I had especially high hopes for the Biff, but theirs is not the series I remember, though I like them.  I haven't finished scrolling the pages under "philosophical cartoons," but I'll keep trying, and if I find him, I'll post the link.
Logged
glowdart
that's a thing that I keep in the back of my head
Distinguished Senior Member
*****
Posts: 4,798


« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2012, 10:48:12 AM »

Maybe Chris Hallbeck's The Book of Biff.  There's a series of them, and you can use the "look inside" to preview & see if the art matches. 
Logged
untenured
On far too many committees
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
*****
Posts: 5,626


« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2012, 09:09:36 AM »

Putting aside the name Biff, the cartoons sound like the work of Gary Larson's "The Far Side".  http://www.thefarside.com/
Logged

Quote from: kedves link=topic=56697.msg1152543#msg1152543
You are among the Pure and Truthful, however small their Number.
My goodness, that was an exceptionally good analysis of the forum.
galactic_hedgehog
Procrastinating, Python-quoting, Blue Blazer-drinking, chocolate-chip cookie-eating, Pastafarian, Not So
Distinguished Senior Member
*****
Posts: 18,564

Mind Ninja


WWW
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2012, 10:08:57 AM »

Sidney Harris does a lot of science (as well as other academic disciplines)-related, cartoons.
Logged

Your professors were probably afraid of your galactic genius and did everything they could (behind the scenes) to thwart your hedginess.

Hedgie loves to read.
jackit_n_tyy
Infamous
Senior member
****
Posts: 499


« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2012, 10:11:55 AM »

Sidney Harris does a lot of science (as well as other academic disciplines)-related, cartoons.

Oh, one of my favorites!  He said that when he would do a Physics Today cartoon, the editors wanted the equations to make sense, but when he did a New Yorker cartoon, the editors wanted to make sure the equations made no sense.
Logged

Manager for the Dead or Alive Iowans dot com.
galactic_hedgehog
Procrastinating, Python-quoting, Blue Blazer-drinking, chocolate-chip cookie-eating, Pastafarian, Not So
Distinguished Senior Member
*****
Posts: 18,564

Mind Ninja


WWW
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2012, 10:12:42 AM »

Sidney Harris does a lot of science (as well as other academic disciplines)-related, cartoons.

Oh, one of my favorites!  He said that when he would do a Physics Today cartoon, the editors wanted the equations to make sense, but when he did a New Yorker cartoon, the editors wanted to make sure the equations made no sense.

As if anyone could tell the difference.
Logged

Your professors were probably afraid of your galactic genius and did everything they could (behind the scenes) to thwart your hedginess.

Hedgie loves to read.
adjunctatlas
Member
***
Posts: 186


« Reply #10 on: January 23, 2012, 09:54:50 AM »

Maybe Chris Hallbeck's The Book of Biff.  There's a series of them, and you can use the "look inside" to preview & see if the art matches. 

No, the art doesn't match--my cartoonist's characters (of which Biff was only one) were ordinary people, and his panels were not in full color, but in sepia (or something like it) and black; and from the look of him, Hallbeck seems to have been born in 1980. 

Putting aside the name Biff, the cartoons sound like the work of Gary Larson's "The Far Side".  http://www.thefarside.com/

No, Larson is too well known, and he could be really funny.  I think this cartoonist's art was more interesting than his humor.

Sidney Harris does a lot of science (as well as other academic disciplines)-related, cartoons.

I really like the miracle cartoon--didn't know that the artist was well known for his science cartoons.  Thanks for the link.
Logged
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.9 | SMF © 2006-2008, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!