Earth here

Here's another "You are here" gag. This one by Mark Lynch. It's got some depth to it.... or it makes no sense. Or both.

Pinned

This is a very clever take on map push pins. And I think there has been at least one, if not several, similar Far Side comics on this theme, but for entomologists rather than cartographers. This cartoon by Mike Twohy was in the New Yorker in 12-8-2003. 'Course cartographers don't tend to use physical push pins amynore.

Stans

Hi & Lois isn't a comic I thought would show up here. But this blatant shout-out to geography wins it a place here today.

For a more in-depth discussion of 'stans, see this.

Neighbor

Another episode of Wondermark by David Malki , this one includes a globe.

On the trail

Mark Trail. Good grief, but this strip has to have been in papers for a ridiculously long time. Who even reads this anymore? I mean besides the folks at The Comics Curmudgeon. But the big wall map certainly qualifies this episode for this blog.

Bad GPS

Buying a second-rate GPS seems to be a major theme for the new technology. Remember these?:

• http://blueskygis.blogspot.com/2009/11/marital-gps.html
• http://blueskygis.blogspot.com/2009/09/not-kansas.html

There'll be plenty more of these to be sure.

Tom Armstrong's Marvin comic strip is today's feature.

Zits-06

And scene. It's a little odd that the kid doesn't know what a GPS is. You'da thunk he woulda taught his 'rents about it long ago. Or is GPS an anomalous older-user technology that younger folk tend to care less about?

Zits-05

This one shold, however be second-to-last (just before the resolution. This one I think is genuinely funny. The others were good, but obviously just set-up. I wonder if the old lady is actually saying anything there.

Zits-04

Yeah, I do think I mixed up the order of the story arc. Doesn't really matter though... does it? Should the crazier desintations the Jeremy kid gets himself into later in the story arc really need the set-up?

Zits-03

Maybe I'm a little lost in the story arc. Maybe this one was supposed to come before the others... Maybe not. This is the first time the Dad promises to stay on the phone the entire time, as opposed to getting off the phone occasionally, and he's beginning to realize the depth of the situation.

Zits-02

Next post in the "Jeremey gets lost" story arc on "Zits" from a few weeks ago. It was a fun arc. And it's a pretty good strip.
I had a co-worker once who did this at work with his often-lost wife. Not good for the productivity.

Zits-01

A few weeks ago the comic strip "Zits" (by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman) did an entire week on a map-related story arc. Here it is again in case you missed it:

Rail prophesy

This is one from the ancient archives. I don't know how old it is, but it's almost certainly over 100 years old. And as a prophesy it rather failed to turn out this way. Roadways for automobiles may have reached this level of complexity in England, but the rail lines have certainly not. Here's a link to rail maps for England: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/tocs_maps/maps/
The cartoon does appear to show "The Chunnel", or rather several different iterations of it.

One question: Why did this cartoon stop at Scotland? Did the Scots not want rail? Were they not worthy of it?

The Knowledge

I can't believe I haven't done a Sheldon
yet. This is truly a magnificent webcomic. Certainly one of the best in the world. It's created by Dave Kellett. It's about a orphaned boy, raised by his grandfather, who became a billionaire by writing some piece of software. Then he uploaded an encyclopedia into a duck. And it's absolutely hilarious. Do go and enjoy!

Let there be...

This is a rather playful comic by Sam Gross published in The New Yorker in 7/16/2001. This was just after the dot-com bubble burst. I'm still liking the planet-making implications of this. A little reminiscent of THHGTTG.

Wild goose

I'm kind of surprised how many map-related comics Doonesbury has been producing. I hadn't expected that. This one is from a story arc where the Afghanistan CIA desk chief (in the hat) is trying to make sure the young, incompetent CIA agent here stays out of trouble.

Dork GPS

This is what the dialog says underneath the copyright stuff: "What does it say?" "There's bigger dorks than you ten feet ahead." Cartoon by Betsy Streeter. I like it. Could be a rather useful tool. Maybe it's already an ap?

Party

Published in the New Yorker in 10/29/1990 by Mort Gerberg. I've never been to a party this far out. Could be fun though.

Driving directions

It's rather embarrassing the number of times I have actually done this. Darn you Mapquest!
The webcomic, by the way, is called "Wondermark" by David Malki and they're all in this style of Victorian-era illustrations Photoshopped and arranged just-so to make the joke. Clever, but not entirely my cup of tea.

Marital GPS

This is what happens when the GPS unit gets involved in the stereotypical "spouse asking for directions" argument. The term "Sat Nav" and the placement of the steering wheel make this a comic of British origin. And it is by British cartoonist Anthony Hutchings.

Aardvark

I am utterly incapable of hearing or seeing the word "aardvark" without immediately hearing this (loudly) in my head, and it's everything I can do to prevent myself from singing along out loud.
Comic is from "Monty" by Jim Meddick

Easter Bunny Island

The first time I heard about that place called "Easter Island", an image vaguely similar to this popped into my head. It's as good an explanation as any for why those giant head things might be there. This is, of course, from Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller.

Speaking of Easter, please forgive the following:
Knock knock. Who's there? Ether. Ether who? Ether bunny.
Knock knock. Who's there? Samoa. Samoa who? Samoa ether bunnies.
Knock knock. Who's there? Estelle. Estelle who? Estelle Samoa ether bunnies.
Knock knock. Who's there? Consumption. Consumption who? Consumption be done about all these ether bunnies?

Sorry.