The Subtlety of Roger's Humour

[Mince]

I think readers often miss some of the subtlety in Roger's Beau Peep strip, and I would like to point out an example of one of his keen and often missed juxtapositions. Look at these two strips, which follow one after the other.





Notice that in the first strip, Beau Peep links the face of his Doris to the full moon, a comparison bursting with romance that Roger cleverly turns to humour in the last frame. The second strip has the Sergeant challenging Beau Peep with this very paradox, and again Roger delights us with Peep's response.

But the true humour lies in the background, almost unnoticed. If you look at the moon again, you will notice that it has in the space of a few minutes or hours of night-time guard duty turned from full moon to a crescent. The only conclusion is that a total eclipse of the moon is taking place. This second layer of humour, this irony that something so rare and wonderful is happening, unnoticed by Peep and the Sergeant and yet obvious to us, is a sad yet cutting indictment of the hard and brutal reality of the Foreign Legion, and how it can destroy a man's sense of wonder.

[The Peepmaster]

I think the second conversation was being held two weeks later.

[Mince]

I disagree, but Roger will put us right.

I also like the moon-coloured buttons: nice touch.

[Roger Kettle]

I remember this well. I was using the moon as a metaphor for love. One moment, we are radiant and complete, the next, cloaked in a shadow of doubt. The mirroring of the moon's colour on the tunic buttons was a simple device to transfer the emotional to the physical.

[The Peepmaster]

The mirroring of the moon's colour on the tunic buttons was a simple device to transfer the emotional to the physical.

And Andrew had lots of yellow for colouring-in.





I know this talk about the moon will remind Diane of my poem about the aforementioned satellite, so before she requests it, I reproduce it here:

Moon

Oh Moon!
Orbiting above,
Capital-lettered satellite
(As that is your actual name,
Unlike the encircling orbs of other planets
Such as Mars),
Phobos and Deimos are the moons of Mars. Correct!
How strange that you were not blessed with a name
At the font of Mother Nature - astronomy division.
Poets have used you in their poetry.
Writers, in their writing;
And oft you've been romantically linked,
Whether illuminating lust-filled romps in country fields,
Or the splendidly ornate bedrooms of royalty.
You know no boundaries of class
When maidens' breasts you shine upon.
Curved, heaving, passionate mounds.
For that you are to be admired,
Your globular shape brings carnal imagery
To the most creative of writers.
You truly are - as Showaddywaddy put it
"The Moon of Love".

[Colin]

Beautiful

[Roger Kettle]

Nige, I have yet to read one of your poems without bursting into tears.

[Mince]

I have also noticed that in the second strip the crescent moon changes shape, and I and some friends (my three singing potatoes) have been taking bets on the meaning behind this. I hope you can settle the bet.

MY THEORY: The eclipse of the moon is not a full eclipse and the Earth's shadow is merely creeping (albeit very fast) down the right-hand side.

SINGING POTATO 1'S THEORY: The shadow on the moon has not changed and instead Peep and the Sergeant are standing on a slope (or the fort is sinking into the ground) and the camera angle has compensated for this.

SINGING POTATO 2'S THEORY: Doris' ears are burning because of the conversation between Peep and the Sergeant and she has turned over in her sleep. This movement has altered the Earth's trajectory and thus the shadow's placement on the moon.

[Diane CBPFC]

This third singing potato - she sounds very sensible.

[Diane CBPFC]

Roger ? I knew of course you were a genius, but had no idea you were this deep ? I will have to go back and read your strips with an eye to the hidden meanings in the artwork and subtle wording. Kinda makes the Da Vinci Code look pretty lame in comparison.

[Roger Kettle]

Thank you, Diane.
As for Mince's query, Andrew ran out of yellow paint.

[Malc]

One subtle point you all missed was that the fort changed colour when the moon changed shape.

Do not underestimate the fort in all this. Too many people dismiss it as an inanimate pile, irrelevant, and bereft of personality. You will find when all's said and done it's the fort that counts.

[Colin]

One subtle point you all missed was that the fort changed colour when the moon changed shape.

Do not underestimate the fort in all this. Too many people dismiss it as an inanimate pile, irrelevant, and bereft of personality. You will find when all's said and done it's the fort that counts.

I agree.

If you look at frame 1, the sarges belt buckle is level with the top of the brickwork. By frames 2 & 4 the brickwork seems to be growing, threatening to overpower them both.
By frame 5, it starts to recede, obviously caught up in the moment.

[Roger Kettle]

"It's the fort that counts".
People have been shot for less.

[Colin]

"It's the fort that counts".
People have been shot for less.

I knew I'd seen that before.
It's on the Trading Post page on the website
tsk tsk Roger, using old jokes over and over again. 

 
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