This is Jeff’s Work
I’ve argued before that Jeff Keane’s growing involvement with writing, in addition to illustrating, the Family Circus as his father Bil prepares to hand over the reins makes for a fresh take on an old and fairly bland staple of the funny pages. And while I realize this sounds sort obsessive, I can usually tell the difference between a Bil panel and a Jeff panel: Bil tends toward chubbier kids, backs indistinguishable from bellies,
…while Jeff prefers to portray a more slender family: as the following comic also indicates, Jeff also augments the standard one-liner caption with word balloons.
What really marks Jeff’s work is his darker, often off-the-wall sense of humor, which still manages to adhere to the rigid parameters of the Family Circus’s long-standing reputation for inanity, while simultaneously subverting his father’s original vision.
Today’s strip only bolsters the case I have made in the past.
It’s as if, like the rest of us have done since sixth grade, Jeff has been crossing out his father’s captions and replacing them with his own.
Jeff Keane is going to be great for the Family Circus.
4 Responses to “This is Jeff’s Work”
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January 4th, 2007 at 8:15 am
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January 5th, 2007 at 2:45 am
Sunday’s follow-the-trail strip depicts kids on hide-and-seek path that leads to an old refrigerator in the yard.
Monday’s strip depicts Jeffy, Billy, and PJ peering in the door of said refrigerator. Caption: “Why is Dolly blue?”
Tuesday’s strip depicts Mommy wiping a tear for her eye in a church pew while Jeffy tugs at her sleeve. Caption: “Can I have Dolly’s bike?”
Man, I wish I still had a copy of that 5 Cent Cigar parody interview with Bil Keane penned by some nutbag Matt (last name escapes me) who did radio at WRIU in the late 80s/early 90s….
January 5th, 2007 at 4:27 am
Personally, I prefer Friedrich’s contributions: http://www.losanjealous.com/nfc/
January 5th, 2007 at 5:14 am
Hey Fred!
I blogged NFC a few months ago, sheer brilliance!