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No. 365: Irony Up Close

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Irony Up Close

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Permanent URL: https://mezzacotta.net/itoons/?comic=365

Strip by: KelpTheGreat

{Calvin's dad is in the panel, but the panel is zoomed in so only his entire head and part of his neck can be seen}
Calvin's Dad: Yikes! Not another extreme close-up on somebody's anguish and grief!
{The image zooms in slightly further, so not all of his head can be seen}
Calvin's Dad: Why do comics zoom in so close to people's faces that you can't even see their entire heads?! Do they think we can't read the person's expression from more than two inches away?!
{The image zooms in further, so only his eyes, nose, and mouth can be seen}
Calvin's Dad: What a violation of personal space! What a shameless intrusion! What a heartless assault on human dignity!
{Calvin's mom enters; Calvin's dad's face has been zoomed-in on to the extent that you can only see part of his eyes, nose, and mouth}
Calvin's mom: Why are you standing against the wall?
Calvin's dad: I'm reading comics.

The author writes:

I think this one is funnier if you assume that Calvin's dad has no idea how he's being portrayed in this strip; it's a normal day for him, and he's blissfully unaware of the cruel irony being perpetrated on him by his creator. This way, the comic shifts from being a commentary from the creator, as expressed by the characters in the strip, to a meta-commentary on the strip itself, using the characters in the strip.

Original Calvin and Hobbes: 1995-11-09.