Ends of Ends

A solitary sojourn to the ethereal Corner of the World - a place ravaged by the bloody excesses of Man, celestial in its imposed peace yet a silent witness to the barbarism that has led it to its permanent state of ever-weary yet paradisiacal mourning. A refuge only in the same absolute way as Death itself, this corner goes nowhere, for there is nowhere beyond to go.

My Tandy has a tapeworm

Ziggy is so desperate for human interaction that he invents preposterous stories just to get somebody to cross the threshold of his Lair of Blue Shirts and Walls. But camaraderie and friendship cannot cross this turquoise void, for deception is the basis of many a broken - AGH! My mistake, Big Z. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, do you have anything to treat a laptop bite?

NOTE: For the purpose of this analysis you will need to imagine that this comic took place in the present, and that I was there. I know that's a stretch, but you wouldn't be reading a blog like this if you weren't ready for a bit of a stretch here or there.

Mr. Fix-it

Depressed repairpeople often lie to avoid unpleasant tasks. Mr. Fix-it here seems to be barely holding to life - perhaps every appliance reminds him of his failed marriage. "Libby and I used to have a toaster", he thinks glumly.

It's interesting for Ziggy to be so savvy, though (though I suspect this is just an accident), as the "Framistan" is a long-rumored Apple product that never saw the light of day (really). Considering that Ziggy uses his iPod to scrape snow off of his car I suspect this reference was unintentional.

Their mouths are cleaner than ours, you know. . .

Way to upset the established order, Ziggy; California oughta get a Proposition or three out of this.

And doesn't the couple on the left look like the same sort of smarmy happy couple you always see in places like this, particularly when you're single?

In Today's Strip We Learn that Ziggy Will Never Be Happy

Ziggy's dating woes are nigh-unparalleled among so-called "sentimental" strips. Though it's difficult to imagine a compatible match for a stumphigh, sausage-fingered gremlin who looks as if he was formed from Play-Dough, after treatment like this I wouldn't be surprised if Ziggy turned into some kind of frustrated rapist. I wouldn't even necessarily blame him, at least in a fictional context where the world really is as cold and unfair as frustrated rapists inevitably think it is.

Surreality: A Ziggy Retrospective

Ziggy's surreal adventures through the looking glass have led me to cobble together this little retrospective, which you should forthwith click to enlarge and possibly make into an illegal shirt:


Above Ziggy wrestles with right and wrong, correction and mistake, proving that the greatest battles are to fought within your own bulbous little mind.

Half-Dollar Hell

Things don't work the same in Purple World, giving Ziggy more than a second's pause. Yes, everything vended still runs you fifty cents, and the machine still leans intimidatingly, but these looming monoliths dispense items only as some sort of Monkey's Paw tradeoff, often taking your arm with it when you reach into the slot.

When the End of All Worlds comes a'tumbling down that chute, don't say I didn't warn ya.

Wash Your Hands First, Please

Cartoon characters with an oedipal abandonment complex are somewhat rare, but by no means nonexistent. Nevertheless, it's a matter of record that Ziggy has found a place where he is forced to take his medicine, and where the course order is determined by the server and not the customer. Exactly the way he likes it, it turns out.

This Macy's balloon of a matriarch is being a little too nice to Ziggy not to doubt her motives. And Ziggy's the only diner there - is he renting the place by the hour? And where does he get the money if he doesn't have a job? Gad, I love a strip that makes me think.

Friend in Need

Best strip since "DENTAL FLOSS MALFUNCTION!"

Clutch that beanie, Ziggy. Clutch it in desperation. Now how are you gonna pay off that bookie?"

Knowing Others is Wisdom, Knowing the Self is Enlightenment

This one makes me scream inside. On yet another wacky pilgrimage to the top of Mount Inner Peace, Ziggy encounters some homophonic topical humor, asking the guru what happened to the guru. America finds its "hip" consumer culture in a precarious position, and, on this tiny, isolated mountain in the middle of nowhere, it's no different.

Once again, we see evidence that this wise old mountain sage is leagues more wayward and lost than any of us, yet Ziggy still trusts in his wisdom. Perhaps he can't see past the beard and the robe to the confused, scared soul within, or maybe he has far too much invested in such an arduous journey to feel any well-justified disappointment. Either way, it's a long trek down. Ziggy might want to see to installing a ski lift for future fruitless hikes.

The upside? We've been right calling him "guru" all this time.

In the Wine of Love. . .

How sad - Ziggy is unable to hear the music of love. Consider the following: he was actually turned away from a dating service. Although it's possible that part of Ziggy's problem is an inability to tell how to visit websites. No, you don't always have to visit the company's HQ in Pittsburgh. No, the receptionist is not your only option. I'm sure that they have kiosks set up for just that purpose.

No, you'll have to brave it online, Ziggy. Let's see how the whole thing plays out. You'll have to click the following image to read it clearly:


Back to the parrot and the television set, my friend. It's for your own good. On a lighter note, look at his right foot in the image at the top.
Q: Doesn't he make suction cup sounds when he walks? A: He does.