But No One Ever Noticed the Walrusby Dani AtkinsonReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 8 I really enjoy Scott McCloud's Morning Improv series, and this comic in particular. I just wish I didn't get some song or another stuck in my head every time I read it. I don't know why, but it just sets off my mental musical cues. But that's my problem, not the comic's. I'll try to restrain myself while I write the review.If you're a webcomics reader, you probably already know about Scott McCloud's Morning Improv. If you're not or you don't (shame on you!): The Morning Improv is Scott's daily experiment, wherein he draws a panel or two everyday of a comic story whose title was chosen for him by the readers. This element of viewer participation creates an addictive pleasure all it's own. "That would make a good title for Scott McCloud!" has become a household phrase, in my household, anyway. Watching the daily rise and fall of a title in the polls has the same thrills as a horse race: "Go, Absolutely Nothing To Do With Lemons! You can do it!" And when the title is finally chosen, breathless speculation begins immediately regarding what he'll do with it. What he's done with But No One Ever Noticed the Walrus (title suggested by Sylvan Migdal, of Mnemesis fame) is create a sweet, funny, and rather surreal story with an incredibly sympathetic "Everyman" protagonist. Who happens to be a walrus. In a suit. And a bowler hat. And absolutely no one else in the comic thinks this is strange, or, indeed, notices it at all. That's the title and, basically, the plot. And it works, although it's kind of difficult to say much about such a simple story without spoiling it. It's ridiculously funny, and oddly poignant. Poor old walrus. You just feel so sorry for the guy, even as you're laughing. We've all been there. Stuck in the waiting room, hunting for a sales clerk, just feeling ignored and invisible. Walrus as everyman. There's got to be a thesis in there somewhere. I am the walrus. You are the walrus. They are the walrus. Goo goo ga choo. ... Aw, rats. Written: January 20, 2004
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