Sandra and Woo in German/auf Deutsch | Gaia (our fantasy comic)
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![[0023] Coon Tools](http://www.sandraandwoo.com/comics/2009-01-08-[0023]-coon-tools.png "[0023] Coon Tools")
If this single panel strip leaves you behind in a mental state of total confusion, that’s not surprising since it’s a reference to a The Far Side strip which is infamous for the fact that absolutely nobody understood its meaning. If you want to know more about the backstory, you can read the following article.
- Caption: Coon tools
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Sandra and Woo by Oliver Knörzer is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. See the About page for details.
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I remember reading that article, I love the Chicago Columnist’s quote.
Yay for references to other comics.
one of Larson’s Farside strips was had the caption “cow tools,” with a cow standing in front of a table of odd utensils. I guess these things would come in handy for a raccoon?
Also they’re extremely professional and well-made, unlike the cow ones which are all lumpy and such?
I saw some of the “tools” as useful to a racoon. They like fish, so a net makes sense. There are two items that remind me of a hand (paw) held can opener, which has got to be like gold. And let’s not forget the keys; no doubt skeloton keys for entering whatever interest them. (My father collected such keys because of his job and drew a lot of interest from the local police when they saw them. My dad claimed he could enter ANY home that hadn’t changed its lock since it was built.) Naturally, no barn, but the tree is a natural habitat for a racoon.
Did think the expression way too serious.
I just happened across this comic today when I was going through referrals for my own comic. I do like it very much. Your art is clean and precise and you do wonderful things with nothing but stark black on white. I think I’ll link back to you, next time I update the links page over on AntiBunny.
So, are you saying that this panel isn’t leading up to something bigger. After all, it does feel like a jigsaw puzzle with every piece laid out, but very much out of position. Like, two week…then five months and another year afterwards, the “tools” on display are going to become useful in some way. Those kinds of long life threads that arc a story along, proving that there truly was a plan, instead of the daily thought for what would make a good, stand alone comic strip.
And, yea…raccoons sure do like the fish. Hadn’t seen on around my place in years…until the other week. My neighbor just put together a coy pond…of sorts. The raccoons homed right in on it in a matter of days. Do fish in water really make unique sounds or have a strong odor???
I’ll take the ‘coons hanging around. It’s nice to see them in the middle of the night. Far better then the possem that visits my doorstep each night for the cat’s dish. Well…I guess it was cute to watch the possem gaze up at me with a dumb founded look, eventually run off over the near by wire and change it’s mind from “flee the scene” to “Gee…what IS this that I’m trying to walk upon?”
I have to say, this is one tribute I never thought I’d see. Most cartoonists refer to “Cow Tools” as the pinnacle of the ungotten joke, not something to imitate. But this one comes out pretty nicely.
When I first saw “Cow Tools,” I didn’t feel that I missed the punchline. I just figured that Gary Larson was having a bad day and hoped that anything involving a cow would pass for funny. Kinda like how Frank Cho would think anything with a primate could pass for funny.
@Cairn: The serious expression is in imitation of the Far Side cow, altho I think the latter is more blank than serious.
*facepalm*
I read the article. I’ve got nothing.
a set of keys a butterfly net and two can openers…
is the answer “two can keep….” darnit what does the net stand for?
The articles are not ‘lumpy and such’ ’cause he stole them, methinks. Which makes it funny, as the cow made the things… I wish I could explain thinks better :/
This is absolutely amazing. This made me laugh incredibly hard, I’ve NEVER seen a reference played out this perfectly. Congratulations.
BenBen, the Cow Tools were meant to have been made by the cow. But a raccoon is known to pilfer things.. so Woo stole things and hid them in the hole in the tree in th background and is now displaying them. And looks displeased that his cache has been “found out”.
Great riff on a great (or at least classic) strip!
here’s late thought… Woo can key too fishy…
Everybody sing along, you know the words:
“One of these things is not like the others….”
….Make pirfect sense to me.
2:I like your way of drawing more than his
and 3: Isn’t that the tree from “The Forbiden Fruit”?
“One of these things just isn’t the same….”
More to the point, anyone who lives in a raccoon-infested area will tell, you those little bastards can get into anything. I would have included a hacksaw.
I remember Cow tools…
People did not get it…..
I first thought so yeah they are tools made by the cow….
so i ended up at the conclusion that the cow had shaped its Feces
into the shape of tools and let them harden..
Ahh, good ‘ol cow tools. Read that one in my copy of the complete Far Side collection.
Impressive – I saw the cartoon and new what the subtitle must be
Fabulous, thx
I thought that the joke of “cow tools” was that cows are NOT an animal that can use tools, so therefore their tools have no planned-out design and are obviously useless.
The whole point of the strip was that it had no point. I read a thing where Gary Larson was talking about it. He was just thinking about other creatures that made tools, like chimps and whatnot, and started thinking about what it would be like if cows made tools. He decided they’d be a few more notches down the “skill-o-meter” and so he created some crude “tools” for the cow to display. Then he went and made one look like a crude handsaw and screwed people over forever.
Thanks for this one! Being a long time Larson fan this one really gave me a good laugh.
Good homage for one of the all-time greats!
Ha! I got it immediately!
Hah! I picked up on the reference right away!
Had me laughing for a good while
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Dear everyone,
Those keys are not keys, they are lock picks, also known as jiggler picks. They are used to pick locks on cars.
*Thinks*
Hmm… “Coon Tools”… “Cow Tools”… Oh! I get it! ^.~
I really think you should have just published this one with no explanation. I really liked the Calvin and Hobbes reference in an earlier strip but loved this one! Great homage!
don’t know but it sounds racsist
Newbienice’s avatar is kool.
Anyway, I’ve been reading this and I LOVE it! I saw it advertised on Pokefarm.org, and after a while of seeing it’s advertisement, I decided to check it out. Now I’m hooked!
Keeping making them, and don’t disappoint me.
FYI – the link to the article is dead. I would’ve like to read it. Since you’re updating the archives anyway, I thought you should know so you can remove the link (and maybe add a synopsis).
I would’ve liked to read it – it’s possible I’ll be the only archives peruser who would, but just in case …
@ Scott: I found an article that links to the same dead link but in itself is very interesting and good at describing the Larson cartoon: http://agonist.org/jimbo92107/20080321/cow_tools_revisiting_a_comic_masterpiece
I have a few big books of Gary Larson’s comics.
I remember Cow Tools fondly. :3
Ah, Gary Larson.
I figured the purpose of the original “Cow Tools” cartoon was to demonstrate how poorly made and pointless the “tools” in question actually were… and essentially how ill-suited to anything of actual purpose a cow is, given that all they do is stand around and graze a lot.
As such, what strikes me as odd about this parody, and yet simultaneously somewhat apt… is that the tools are genuine (and presumably human-made) tools… It is quite clear what they are and what their purpose is. I might be going overanalytical on this… but taken in the context of the original, it speaks less of what a raccoon gets up to… but more the fact that this is just stuff that he stole, seeing as that is what raccoons have a reputation for.