Tuesday, June 30, 2009 Marmaduke Analyzed

Caught raiding the refrigerator, Marmaduke feigns a double leg injury.

Marmaduke has collapsed on the floor in front of the open refrigerator, and appears to be howling in agony. Most likely his anguish was caused by his discovering that the food in the refrigerator is secured in jars or bottles, and he has no opposable thumbs with which to open anything. Dottie, unable to comprehend that the ravenous beast is hungry, tells Phil that he must get Marmaduke's air conditioner fixed.

This brings up an interesting question. Which air conditioner is Marmaduke's? Does he have one in his dog house? He didn't in the strip from only two days ago, so unless he's stolen one recently, we must assume that he still doesn't. Therefore it seems that Marmaduke owns the air conditioner in his owner's house. This should really be no surprise as Marmaduke has shown over and over that he is the dominant one in that household.

But back to the matter at hand. Phil's expression shown true concern. He obviously doesn't know if the dog is hungry or overheated or afflicted by some other tribulation. All he know is that something is amiss, and unless he rectifies it, Marmaduke will kick his ass.

So what's the lesson here? Maybe it's that, just as Phil waits day after day for things to improve, so do we read these Marmaduke comics with the same unfulfilled expectations.