Well, That's Just Brilliant

I've been burning my way through the archive of an online comic called "Sheldon." It's been a SERIOUSLY enjoyable read, especially for those of us who embrace the geekier things in life (plenty of references to science fiction, computers, etc.) and I highly recommend it.

Tonight I came across my favorite thus far, May 25, 2007, which is surprisingly non-geeky. But in that one strip he manages to invoke classic Berke Breathed (mimes everywhere beware!) and the Brent Staples essay "Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space." Deep.

The only "main" character in the 5-25-07 strip is Sheldon's grandfather, so it doesn't give you a very good feel for the way the strip usually comes off. For instance, my favorite character is the talking duck Arthur who is wonderfully snarky and I think always gets the best lines. When he tried coffee he said "...it takes like bitter, boiled phone book." In this strip he remarks, "I thought the traditional Scottish birthday gift was loathing, wrapped up in grudging tolerance?" It almost makes me wish my heritage were Scottish instead of Irish.

Sheldon himself is very endearing, especially when something geeky sends him over the edge. Like the time that he documented the Star Wars plot holes, decided to fix the problem himself, and ran into problems.