Monday, March 23, 2015

The Funnies - Prodigal Son (1915)

The Prodigal Son Returns
(with his wife and five children)
Life Magazine, November 11, 1915

Another comic strip serving double-duty! Not being a member of the vaunted millennial brat-pack, I don't pretend to understand the complexities of entering adulthood in a world wracked with near-constant war, wage stagnation, and a congress that comes to heel whenever a multi-billionaire clears his throat. I've heard complaints that the youth of today expect everything to be give to them and I've heard they are creative geniuses less concerned with making money and more into self-fulfillment. Whatever the case, I can say every generation has seen the one that follows as lacking. As an illustration, take this hundred-year-old comic from the pages of Life Magazine.

Look familiar? The adult child coming home to live in mommy and daddy's basement, along with his wife and kids. Not only are there no new stories to be written, there are no new narratives. We are a species which repeats itself infinitely, each time thinking no other member of the race has been so clear-minded, creative, and enlightened. Ah, to be human!

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