#54: A lock, a lead

Hello adventurers,

You don’t need to be a cartoon lover to be here, but it sure helps.

This week we have security gone too far, and a stretch too far for space.

To infinity,
Chris

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Caption: N/A

Is this you? And, if so, would you open the door?

Anxiety is a horrible thing. It can be the thing that keeps you awake after everyone else is asleep. It can be the thing that makes you double check the door locks a hundred times before bed. And it can be the thing that encourages you to put a whole ton of locks on your front door, no matter how impractical they might be.

This is me. But with perhaps fewer locks.

A little artist’s note: This one looks simple. And when I started drawing it I assumed it would be simple. But then I realised it was anything but. Oh, sure, there is only one person there and one set of frightened eyes, but the thing that took the time and complexity was also what makes the joke work. It’s the infrastructure. It’s the details in the door, the locks, the doormat with the words that make the joke work (hopefully), and they all have to fit together.

Beyond this, a very quick note on the impracticality of this situation. Because, while it’s feasible that the key locks have locks on the other side, what’s less feasible is the bar at the top and the padlock at the bottom. How did he get it locked in the first place? That’s the real question.

Because anxiety almost always ignores practicality.

Caption: “Dang.”

Sometimes things just aren’t long enough.

You know how it is. You’re in space. You’ve got to connect a really long extension lead from Earth to your spacecraft, and it just doesn’t reach? Well, maybe you don’t know how it is, but I’m pretty sure this is how space travel works, right? Uh, right?

Astronauts, prove me wrong.

A little artist’s note: This is one from a New Yorker submission from all the way back in October 2023, and it has sort of lingered in my rejection pile for a while until I decided it deserved it’s own place in the light.

As you would expect for a cartoon about an astronaut connecting an extension lead, this one also started out fairly simply. The idea was simple, as was the placement and composition. The challenge was how to do Space. Because, you know, space is vast. Which begs the question: Is it just black space? Is there ‘something more’ out there? And how much of that ‘something more’ needs to appear in this cartoon to show the gag.

Hopefully, about this much.

Thanks for reading MiddleSquiggle!

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