Back in olden times I think it was a law that you could not operate a print shop without a copy of You Want It When? somewhere on the premises. It may have been optional for auto repair shops but it was mandatory for print shops. Nobody ever saw an original copy of it, just re-copied and re-drawn, messed up and cleaned up versions with inexplicable features like the vanishing left arm of the third from left guy, merging into the side of his head. A friend of mine researched and collected variants of this, but I can't remember if it was Kip or Dave. Maybe they will tell me.
Anyhow on Google+ today I encountered this little oddity. I thought it was one of the YWIW guys out of context but soon found it was not. I tentatively attribute it to the Master of YWIW. Note however the distinct difference in mood, joviality rather than hilarity, created by the lack of tongue.
What does it mean? I don't know. It's just a thing. Make note of it for future use. Just remember that somewhere out there may still live some old guy who one day created this proto-meme, waiting for a half-assed unnecessary documentary to be made about him.
INSTANT UPDATE!! This guy Mike Lynch posts information on a disputed claim to the origins of YWIW. I am willing to credit Henry Syverson as the source of the single figure below, and the inspiration for the amateur artist who created YWIW.
INSTANT UPDATE!! This guy Mike Lynch posts information on a disputed claim to the origins of YWIW. I am willing to credit Henry Syverson as the source of the single figure below, and the inspiration for the amateur artist who created YWIW.
1 comment:
Syverson's what I've been told. I went around thinking it was Walt Wetterburg, who drew somewhat similarly (he did masthead cartoons for "Post Scripts" and took over the Sunday "Out Our Way" from Neg Cochran one time in the 70s), but friends of mine who can tell the difference between John Langton and a John Langton impersonator say it's more likely Syverson than Wetterburg.
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