We live in a dog eats dog world. So why not have a dog versus segment this week? Dogs are great, and are man’s best friend! Or are they? We have two very questionable dogs up for this “Versus” this time around. We have Marmaduke Vs Snoopy! Each of these dogs are cunning and smart in their own way. And we want to know who is the best in show. Here is a little about each dog, and then we want to know what you think. So vote at the end…
Marmaduke
Marmaduke is a newspaper comic strip drawn by Brad Anderson from 1954 to 2015. The strip was created by Anderson, with help from Phil Leeming (1955–1962) and later Dorothy Leeming (1963–1969), and (since August 2, 2004) Paul Anderson. The strip revolves around the Winslow family and their Great Dane, Marmaduke. The strip on Sundays also has a side feature called “Dog Gone Funny”, in which one or more panels are devoted to dog anecdotes submitted by the fans. Anderson, who says he draws on Laurel and Hardy routines for his ideas, received the National Cartoonists Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for the strip in 1978. Anderson died unexpectedly on August 30, 2015, leaving the long-term fate of the strip unknown; strips co-drawn with the help of his son, Paul Anderson, continue to be syndicated. Brad Anderson won the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award for Newspaper Panel Cartoon in 1978, and the George Arents Pioneer Medal for Syracuse University alumni in 1999.
Marmaduke continues to be widely syndicated, and is popular with readers: attempts to cancel Marmaduke have drawn protest, such as those by readers of The Toronto Star in 1999, of the Sarasota Herald Tribune in 2007, and of the Chicago Sun-Times in 1986. Despite this, its longevity and perceived monotony have been noted by satirical publications such as The Onion and have made it the butt of jokes. It has become “a hot source of retro-ironic-subversive humor.” For example, a blog called “Joe Mathlete Explains Today’s Marmaduke” deconstructs the strip to offer an alternative explanation for what’s happening in the drawing. Another blog called “Marmaduke Can Vote” gives each panel a political slant, while “The Marmaduke Project” re-imagines Marmaduke in other forms.
In his satirical analysis at The Comic Strip Doctor, David Malki of Wondermark ranked Marmaduke among “the worst newspaper comic strips” alongside Heathcliff, Family Circus and Dennis the Menace. In the “Mistakes Will Happen” episode of the animated television show “Garfield and Friends”, in which the cartoon purposely has many mistakes, at the end Garfield calls Odie, and Odie has been replaced by Marmaduke.
Snoopy
Snoopy is Charlie Brown’s pet dog in the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in Charlie Brown movies and television, like The Peanuts Movie. The original drawings of Snoopy were inspired by Spike, one of Schulz’s childhood dogs.
Snoopy is an innocent and good-natured beagle who is prone to imagining fantasy lives, including being an author, a college student known as “Joe Cool” and a World War One flying Ace. All of the character’s fantasies have a similar formula: Snoopy pretends to be something, and fails. His short “novels” are never published, and he is consistently shot down by his imaginary enemy. Schulz said of Snoopy’s character in a 1997 interview: “He has to retreat into his fanciful world in order to survive. Otherwise, he leads kind of a dull, miserable life. I don’t envy dogs the lives they have to live.”
Snoopy cannot talk, so his thoughts are shown in thought balloons. In the animated Peanuts films and television specials, Snoopy’s thoughts are not verbalized; his moods are instead conveyed through growls, sobs, laughter, and monosyllabic utterances such as “bleah” or “hey” as well as through pantomime. The only exceptions are in the animated adaptions of the musicals “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and “Snoopy!!! The Musical” in which Snoopy’s thoughts are verbalized by Robert Towers and Cameron Clarke respectively. Snoopy’s doghouse defies physics, and is shown to be bigger on the inside than the outside. As of the 2015 film The Peanuts Movie, Snoopy and Woodstock are on 20th Century Fox logo, and the “y” in Blue Sky Studios logo is printed on Snoopy’s body.
Snoopy appeared on the October 4, 1950 strip, two days after the first strip. On March 16, 1952, his thoughts were first shown in a thought balloon. Snoopy first appeared upright on his hind legs on January 9, 1956, when he was shown ice-skating across a frozen lake. Snoopy, and Charlie Brown were ranked by TV Guide as the 8th greatest cartoon characters of all time.
Some critics feel that, after the strip’s “Golden Age” in the 1960s, it suffered a decline in quality in the later years of its run. Writing in 2000, Christopher Caldwell argued that the character of Snoopy, and the strip’s increased focus on him in the 1970s, “went from being the strip’s besetting artistic weakness to ruining it altogether”. Caldwell felt that Snoopy “was never a full participant in the tangle of relationships that drove “Peanuts” in its Golden Age”, as he could not talk. He went on to say that Snoopy “was way too shallow for the strip as it developed in the 1960s, and the strips he featured in were anomalies.”
And there you have it folks – a little about each dog! So in your eyes, which dog is the better dog? Which one gets in trouble the moist, and which one is the smartest of the two? Which one saves the day, and which one would you like to have as a four-legged sidekick? We want to know what you think and whats on your mind. Your opinion counts, and we want to hear it. So vote below and also comment. We want to know what you think. Also, if you have a suggestion for us to do a certain “Versus”, let us know, and we’ll will do out best to pop one out!
Want to hear us talk about this versus segment? Jump on over to podcastunlimted.com and look in our archives section for episode 74, and either listen to, or download the episode! Did we agree or disagree over which is the best dog!
Till next time, “Woof Woof”
The Engineer!