What Comets, Stars, and Moons are all about

In the early years of amazon.com I became privy to the amazingly wonderful review section’s of “The Family Circus” books. I’ve never been amused by “The Family Circus” and I always thought that one day I would wake up and realize just how funny it is, but nope, hasn’t happened yet, maybe I need to invest in kids. I would feel alone as I sat at the breakfast table trying to fool myself into laughing as I read Bill Keane’s daily soliloquy to a family that time forgot. Oh that Billy always running about. It wasn’t until amazon.com flickered to life that I realized I wasn’t alone. The best reviews ever written on that website were dedicated to “The Family Circus.” Amazon.com reviewers used to have contests to see who could heap the most absurd praise. But something has happened, nearly all of “The Family Circus” books have vanished from amazon.com and with that, nearly all of those clever reviews. The only one I could find that even vaguely fit the mold is pasted below. What happened to all of “The Family Circus” books? I tried to do some research to find out, but haven’t turned anything up (although, I did turn up a 60s era Family Circus strip on wikipedia where the father looks much different then he does now and is apparently an alcoholic, below).

From “momfy“:

Yeats once wrote, “None other knows what pleasures man/At table or in bed.” Bil Keane, however, seems to have found in his latest ‘Family Circus’ opus a treasure-chest of pleasures for each and all of us.

There are some who chafe at the seeming repetitive themes within Keane’s major works; I would respectfully submit that all great stories are about life and death, love and loss, fear and triumph. If not Keane, then so go Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz and Callimachus, too, for good measure. It is not originality that spawns thought and wonderment; it is the vessels of those themes (Billy, Grandma, Barfy, PJ) that inspire and enlighten.

Keane, as carrier of these vessels, reminds us of a truth so eloquently immortalized by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Some books leave us free and some books make us free.” In ‘What Does This Say’, it is clear that the tome achieves the latter, with gusto and aplomb.

Here is a bonus from “Brian“

WOW! I am brian 6 years old and family circis is my favorite cartoon strip. all the kids are funnie but pj never sais anything. Sitill he is the funniesty and littlest. but JEFFY is about 6 like me i think so i like him to. BILLY is a big meanie but he reminds me of my big brother who is always piking on BRIAN (thats me) so i like him because he is just like my brother and i love my broter. then i like DOLLY. DOLLY is a pretty girl and is also my favorite besides PJ. they are both pretty but DOLLY is prittyer. VERY GOOD BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well said, Brian. Well said.