The Whims Of A Hoary Marmot Control Our Destiny In These Groundhog Day Comics

by Caleb Goellner

February 02, 2017

Punxsutawney Phil is at least 130 years old this year!*

That's older than most of the humans who routinely lie about their age for attention! Normal groundhogs barely live a tenth that long. Color us impressed.

Ever since Groundhog Day kicked off in 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, ol' Phil has been giving people an excuse to exercise magical thinking instead of listening to weather predictions based on scientific practices. And honestly? We prefer it. What's science done for us lately?

Like any good meteorologist of his approximate weight and volume, Phil is chill if the sky is cloudy. It puts him in the mood to bestow winter relief, with spring starting before March 20th. If it's sunny, he panics at the sight of his shadow -- Phil is wise and rejects the physical manifestation of his thinly suppressed dark nature -- and winter lasts six weeks longer than the calendar tells us it should. Seasonal affective? More like seasonal effective.

Come to think of it, this guy's got a lot of power for a hoary marmot. Perhaps he's an elemental in a furry, corporeal form? I mean, has anybody checked in on the Greek Horae lately? Hoary? Horae? We see what's going on here.

Ponder the Greek pantheon's evolution with these Groundhog Day strips. And may spring spring eternal.

Off the Mark by Mark Parisi Feb 2, 2009