Monday, November 8, 1999: Freaks and mutants

[NonsenseWords]

In the O&M Discussion board, somebody noted that TVTropes has the comic linked under the "What Do You Mean It's Not For Kids?" trope, as an example of a cutsey webcomic that contains discussion of subjects that children (middle school and below, at best) would have no knowledge of.

I'm pretty sure kids wouldn't get this joke.

Frankly, I don't either.

[Cactus Jack]

Isn't the reform party the one that Ross Perot ran for?

[Bocaj Claw]

Ah, the sheer number of now-forgotten references in this strip. ... well, I guess the number is two. Ozy, of course, is dressed as Darth Maul from the first "Star Wars" prequel, and the punchline refers to the briefly notable Reform Party, which seemed to include a lot of weird public figures.

It's a cheap shot at an easy target, and now it's hopelessly dated; I wouldn't do this joke now.

[Tom_Radigan]

Isn't the reform party the one that Ross Perot ran for?

That's right. Jesse Ventura also ran under their banner when he became governor of Minnesota, and I assume the comic is a reference to him, as DCS has mocked Ventura previously. Although H. Ross Perot wasn't quite so wonderful himself.