The Angriest Dog in the World
Encyclopedia
The Angriest Dog in the World is a comic strip
created by film director David Lynch
. The strip was conceived by Lynch in 1973 during a period when he was experiencing feelings of great anger. First published in the LA Reader
, the strip ran from 1983 until 1992.
The strip is introduced with a small caption:
Visually each strip is the same. The first three identical panels feature the black dog growling, tied to a post in a yard by a chain. He is between a tree on the left and one wall of a house with a window on the right. The fourth panel is the same, but at night with a circle of light coming from the house's window.
In a short essay on Lynch's Rabbits
, Objectif Cinema notes:
A word balloon appears in one or more of the panels, indicating speech from a member of one of the house's unseen family, either Bill, Sylvia, Pete or Billy, Jr. Usually the speech is in the form of an aphorism or a non sequitur
. Such sayings include: "If everything is real... then nothing is real as well." and "It doesn't get any better than this."
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
created by film director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
. The strip was conceived by Lynch in 1973 during a period when he was experiencing feelings of great anger. First published in the LA Reader
Los Angeles Reader
Los Angeles Reader was a weekly paper established in 1978 and distributed in Los Angeles, USA. It followed the format of the Chicago Reader. The paper was known for having lengthy, thoughtful reviews of movies, plays and concerts in the LA area. James Vowell was its founding editor...
, the strip ran from 1983 until 1992.
The strip is introduced with a small caption:
Visually each strip is the same. The first three identical panels feature the black dog growling, tied to a post in a yard by a chain. He is between a tree on the left and one wall of a house with a window on the right. The fourth panel is the same, but at night with a circle of light coming from the house's window.
In a short essay on Lynch's Rabbits
Rabbits (film)
Rabbits is a 2002 series of short video films written and directed by David Lynch. It depicts three humanoid rabbits in a room, played by Scott Coffey, Laura Elena Harring and Naomi Watts. Their disjointed conversations are interrupted by a random laugh track. Rabbits is presented with the tagline...
, Objectif Cinema notes:
- David Lynch has of course used animals within his back catalogue of work before. Dogs for instance feature in nearly every one of his movies usually as a visual prop: who could forget the scene in Wild at HeartWild at Heart (film)Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on Barry Gifford's 1989 novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula. Both the book and the film revolve around Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune , a young couple from Cape Fear, North Carolina who go on...
in which our canine friend scampers away with the Bank teller’s severed hand? Or the mewling pups in Mary X’s living room in EraserheadEraserheadEraserhead is a 1977 American surrealist film and the first feature film of David Lynch, who wrote, produced and directed. Lynch began working on the film at the AFI Conservatory, which gave him a $10,000 grant to make the film after he had begun working there following his 1971 move to Los Angeles...
? Indeed a dog, albeit in cartoon form, took centre stage in Lynch’s cartoon series for the LA Reader, The Angriest Dog In The World. But it is here on his website that Lynch seems to be opening up more to the wonders of nature: Bees, Coyotes and Dead Mice all have a part to play in various guises and manifestations within www.davidlynch.com, and as part of the pay-per-view series, the Rabbit has been given the starring role.
A word balloon appears in one or more of the panels, indicating speech from a member of one of the house's unseen family, either Bill, Sylvia, Pete or Billy, Jr. Usually the speech is in the form of an aphorism or a non sequitur
Non sequitur (absurdism)
A non sequitur is a conversational and literary device, often used for comedic purposes. It is a comment that, because of its apparent lack of meaning relative to what it follows, seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing....
. Such sayings include: "If everything is real... then nothing is real as well." and "It doesn't get any better than this."
Homages
- In 2003, the strip was parodied by cartoonist Ted RallTed RallTed Rall is an American columnist, syndicated editorial cartoonist, and author. His political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic-strip format and frequently blend comic-strip and editorial-cartoon conventions. The cartoons appear in approximately 100 newspapers around the United States...
with his comic The Angriest Liberal in the World. - In 2004, the clip-art comic Dinosaur ComicsDinosaur ComicsDinosaur Comics is a constrained webcomic by Canadian writer Ryan North. It is also known as "Qwantz", after the site's domain name, "qwantz.com". The first comic was posted on 1 February 2003, though there were earlier prototypes. Dinosaur Comics has also been printed in two collections and in a...
made a direct reference to the strip.
See also
- BizarroBizarro (comic strip)Bizarro is a single-panel cartoon written and drawn by cartoonist Dan Piraro. Launched January 22, 1985, the panel appears daily in 350 markets throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia...
- Zippy the PinheadZippy the PinheadZippy is an American comic strip created by Bill Griffith. The character of Zippy the Pinhead initially appeared in underground publications during the 1970s...