The Argyle Sweater by Scott Hilburn for October 05, 2009

  1. Missing large
    Edcole1961  about 15 years ago

    That was in bad taste.

     •  Reply
  2. Emerald
    margueritem  about 15 years ago

    Oy….

     •  Reply
  3. 9429 103317166350261 100000159341811 89719 3006408 s
    reocares  about 15 years ago

    sick

     •  Reply
  4. Images
    JerryGorton  about 15 years ago

    Two thumbs down!!!

     •  Reply
  5. Globe eagle anchor
    ben_david  about 15 years ago

    It’s good to see that so many remember.

     •  Reply
  6. Missing large
    coreyflowers  about 15 years ago

    Meh, anorexia is a disease caused by vanity so I think this joke is in fine taste. Good stuff!

     •  Reply
  7. Missing large
    GergoE  about 15 years ago

    Very tasteless :(

     •  Reply
  8. 055 55
    myhaircut  about 15 years ago

    I usually like this strip, but that crossed the taste barrier. Not funny.

     •  Reply
  9. Jan252006
    suzanyh  about 15 years ago

    @coreyflowers: wrong on so many counts,

    ——————————–

    @all: Agreed; really bad taste this time.

     •  Reply
  10. Libraryscience
    LibrarianInTraining  about 15 years ago

    ooooh. Low blow.

     •  Reply
  11. Avatar led
    electricalchemy  about 15 years ago

    I can’t appreciate this joke. The circumstances of her death were tragic, no matter how precisely she died…the point it she is dead. There’s nothing to laugh about here.

     •  Reply
  12. Text if you d like to meet him
    Yukoneric  about 15 years ago

    Muy bado.

     •  Reply
  13. Sun faces
    brian46  about 15 years ago

    makes me laugh and cry

     •  Reply
  14. Ca  24 small
    Robert May Premium Member about 15 years ago

    Humor is best when an element of truth is entered. It may be in bad taste, but you get the joke.

     •  Reply
  15. Kitty at sunset
    wicky  about 15 years ago

    Ochemb xodacho!

     •  Reply
  16. Missing large
    prrdh  about 15 years ago

    She was a singer with (IMHO) a beautiful voice, very popular during the seventies, who died of complications of anorexia nervosa in 1983. With my Slavic ‘laughter through tears’ sense of humor, I think the panel is quite funny.

    Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto

    Publius Terentius Afer
     •  Reply
  17. Missing large
    tomfitzmorris  about 15 years ago

    It’s nice to see that lots of people had the same reaction. This really is tasteless.

    Tastefully yours, Tom Fitzmorris

     •  Reply
  18. Jaime
    jbellmyer Premium Member about 15 years ago

    I have to agree, this is a combination of outdated (she died over 25 years ago) and not in very good taste. I had to google her as well, and what I got was a string of disturbing images of a very sick woman.

    This might have been funny if she’d beaten anorexia, or at least died of something else. I usually love this comic though, and everybody makes mistakes.

     •  Reply
  19. Rg200
    CrouchingBruin  about 15 years ago

    This was great! All you critics need to stick with reading Ziggy or Love Is…

     •  Reply
  20. Avatar02
    jpozenel  about 15 years ago

    Boy am I old or what? I can’t believe that people had to “Google” Karen Carpenter. Oh well…I have to Google the new recording artists, so I guess it all evens out.

    (I do think that if they heard some of the old songs, they would recognize them.)

     •  Reply
  21. Tif whatifucan
    Ashrey  about 15 years ago

    If she was black how many of you would care?

     •  Reply
  22. Df944639 428f 476a 86b3 f5482f9d69e4
    dghughey  about 15 years ago

    The ants look like they want to be close to the people. For all of you who are offended, click away, curl up with Marmaduke and Garfield, and guffaw until tears flow.

     •  Reply
  23. Missing large
    chooker moderator about 15 years ago

    “The Argyle Sweater’s” creator, Scott Hilburn, has written an apology on his blog.

    http://theargylesweater.blogspot.com/

     •  Reply
  24. Missing large
    HARVIN  about 15 years ago

    On funny.

     •  Reply
  25. Baby angel with roses a
    Ushindi  about 15 years ago

    I just read Scott’s own words of regret at this cartoon (he also apologized to the Carpenter family). Per some of the comments, does that mean Scott should go read Ziggy or Love Is… instead of The Argyle Sweater?

     •  Reply
  26. Missing large
    Comicsexpert  about 15 years ago

    I recommend Ziggy to all.

     •  Reply
  27. Missing large
    C-RAM  about 15 years ago

    How or why would ANYONE think this is funny?

    Maybe the cartoonist enjoys pulling wings off of flies, too.

     •  Reply
  28. Missing large
    terrencestamp90346  about 15 years ago

    @C-RAM … ROFLMAO! I hate flies. They totally deserve that.

     •  Reply
  29. Starvalesnow401 copy t460
    RioBravo  about 15 years ago

    There’s always somebody who has to make something a race issue. Geez!!!!!!

     •  Reply
  30. Missing large
    eardroppings  about 15 years ago

    Yeah, bad one, but at least he recognized it. He won’t do it again, I’m sure. Give him a break.

     •  Reply
  31. F 22 raptor
    rainman5353  about 15 years ago

    I miss Karen the most at Christmastime.

     •  Reply
  32. Missing large
    jrwtoo  about 15 years ago

    Good wholesome joke.

     •  Reply
  33. Missing large
    93jayhawk  over 14 years ago

    So it’s 6 months after the fact. I don’t care, I just discovered this strip and saw this mess. There are problems with this strip, but it has nothing to do with a long passed-on and beloved by many singer. First, Karen Carpenter is simply the most universally known Carpenter the artist could have chosen to make the joke. The focus of the humor is on the fact that these are not regular carpenter ants. The next best option is probably the director, John Carpenter. Given the nature of his movies, however, it’s likely you would not want to be attacked by John Carpenter ants. Second, the implication is that Karen Carpenter ants are harmless, and should not be sprayed. If anything, wouldn’t a Karen Carpenter ant probably make soothing, perhaps romantic sounds to only enhance the picnic experience? Third, Carpenter ants are not going to “attack” picnickers. They live in dead trees and rotting floorboards and are nuisance to unlucky homeowners. Had the artist written, “Those are French Army ants, then we’re just poking fun at the notoriously wimpy French and everyone has a good laugh and gets on with it. Except for maybe a couple of Parisian immigrants who angrily hurl their croissants halfway across the bistro table.

    While I found the cartoon to be only mildly amusing, it is certainly not offensive to Karen Carpenter or her family. Perhaps the strong emotional reaction many have had are simply due to the depth of feeling you have for Ms. Carpenter and her music, and you feel any humorous reference to her is in poor taste. Or maybe if the “husband” in the cartoon had simply not yet sprayed, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal because then none of the Karen Carpenter ants would be killed.

    I’ll probably never post here again, but for anyone that reads this, I hope it makes sense.

     •  Reply
Sign in to comment

More From The Argyle Sweater