Getting a smurf start.
So while I’m still taking your questions through the weekend (and doesn’t that sound pretentious?) and wasn’t really planning on beginning to address them ’til Monday, I thought I’d answer at least one today.
From P-TOR, longtime faithful reader of this site and proprietor of the Dr. Strange fan blog Sanctum Sanctorum Comix, has this to say:
“Do you love Peyo’s SMURFS or is that old photo of you (reading a Smurf comic) merely a mockery?
*Also, if you DO love Smurfs… who is your favorite?
** ALSO, also… which explanation for Gargamel’s desire to catch the Smurfs do you espouse:
– to make GOLD from them
– to EAT them
– to deflower Smurfette (as to which the many on-line spoofs allude).”
For the four of you who haven’t seen it, here’s the photo P-TOR is referring to:
That was taken by pal Sean, back when I had the full beard, and hair that was still mostly brown, before going gray over people who actually think comic book companies will actually do something like permanently kill off characters like Batman or Captain America.
Whoops, tangent there. Sorry about that.
Anyway, I do love the Smurfs, but alas, I haven’t been exposed to enough of their comics over the years (though I did borrow and read some of pal Dorian‘s hardcover albums several years ago). Thus, my primary exposure and memory of the Smurfs is, of course, the all-pervasive cartoon from the 1980s.
As I recall, when I decided to pose for this picture, I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into which comic I would be reading, beyond “hey, The Smurfs would be funny.” And that’s it. No mockery or anything intended. Just thought it would be amusing.
By the way, I also returned the favor by taking a picture of pal Sean at about the same time, give or take a day or two:
I know this photo doesn’t have much to do with P-TOR’s questions, but 1) that picture always makes me laugh, and 2) Sean wanted the picture for his band’s Myspace page, so there you go, Sean! Sure, I could have just e-mailed it to him, but this is sillier!
Anyway, back to P-TOR: my favorite Smurfs, eh? Well, my sympathies are with Brainy Smurf, since he tends to go on and on and on and on and on and on and on, annoying everyone around him and I sort of get the feeling that I do the same thing. But I think my favorite Smurf has to be Jokey Smurf. The guy gives out presents. To his fellow Smurfs. Who have the presents EXPLODE in their faces. …That utter bastard. Why the other Smurfs haven’t ganged up and beat the holy living smurf out of him, I have no idea. But I like the idea of little Anarchy Smurf running around and stirring up trouble in their mushroom village.
As to Gargamel’s motivation: now, I have heard of both of the reasons, re: making gold and just outright eating them. I think maybe we can reconcile these by saying that Gargamel wants to eat them, then use what’s left (the bones, the hats, the inedible gristly tail-nubbins) to perform his forbidden alchemy.
I hadn’t heard the…ahem, “Smurfette Theory,” but without getting into things like, er, relative sizes, or perhaps what that would imply about Gargamel’s…endowment…okay, I’m not going any farther with this. It’s all too icky. But I should add that it doesn’t surprise me that some people have put thought into this. And now I’m one of them. Great.
Speaking of thinking things best left unthought, here’s my old “Smurfs Life Cycle” post, since it seems a bit appropriate to the subject at hand.
By the way, later in the comments, reader Linus suggests that I use the Obamafy Me website to generate some images similar to that Obama poster we’ve all seen.
Sure…here you go:
Now that’s smurf you can smurf in!
