This strip was originally published 14 August, 1948. I have never cared for the caption of this one. I get that Addams was going for the opposite of "hug Daddy good night," but the added violence feels un-Addams to me. I do not know how I would improve this. Maybe change the caption to something with the pet alligator. "Now say goodnight to Daddy, and run along to bed, don't forget to take your pet alligator," which is getting too wordy.

However we do have a precedent for long captions:

Edit: it has been pointed out that it is a play on kiss Daddy good night. That makes more sense, but still not a fan of it.

I am still on a Thing kick, and you can see them peeking through the open door, down from their usual spot on the balcony.

More about Thing

Thing T. Thing, often referred to as just Thing, is a fictional character in The Addams Family series. The Addamses call it "Thing" because it is something that cannot be identified, being originally an unseen creature in the original cartoons. Starting with the live-action television series, it was settled to be a disembodied hand. It is known as "Mãozinha" (Little Hand) in Brazil, "Cosa" (Thing) in Spain, "Dedos" (Fingers) in Hispanic America, "Mano" (Hand) in Italy, "La Chose" (the Thing) in French-speaking countries, "eiskaltes Händchen" (icecold little hand) in German-speaking countries, "Rąsia" (Small hand) in Polish, and "Izé" (Whatchamacallit, Thingamajig) in Hungarian.

"The Thing is often observed watching the family through the balustrades of the balcony over the living room. We don't know quite who or what he is, but, whatever, he's the soul of good nature—at least, he grins perpetually and may occasionally whimper." — Charles Addams

Thing was usually a right hand, but [Ted] Cassidy sometimes played him as left, simply to see if anyone would notice. Thing is credited as "Itself" at the end of each episode.

The first appearance of Thing is this strip published 6 August 1938. It is also the first appearance of Morticia, and Lurch.

Previous Strips

Week 29

Week 28

Week 27

Week 26

Week 25

Week 24

Week 23

Week 22

Week 21

Week 20

Week 19

Week 18

Week 17

Week 16

Week 15

Week 14

Week 13

Week 12

Week 11

Week 10

Week 9

Week 8

Week 7

Week 6

Week 5

Week 4

Week 3

Week 2

Week 1

The Addams Family (1964) Rewatch

I have not found the time to do more write ups on the other episodes, i will try to get back to it in the weeks to come.

Season 1 Episode 1

Season 1 Episode 2

Season 1 Episode 3

The Addams Family by Charles Addams

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[–] 17 points 1 day ago

I think "kick daddy goodnight" works if the normalized version is "kiss daddy goodnight." Then the emphasis is not on the violence but the play on words.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 day ago (3 children)

    For the framing of the shot, the fireplace being center of the image makes sense, but if you move the scene around, that fireplace is tucked weirdly towards one corner, and Morticia's sofa is weirdly aligned to it.

    I guess part of the macabre charm?

    The Wes Anderson floorplan suggests that this is the main fireplace (or the guest fireplace), but the angles are all wrong there, so clearly they adapted it differently.

    floorplan

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  • [–] 5 points 1 day ago

    Like it or not, such things are just an age-old standard in comics, i.e. the balance between real-world representation and the need to frame shots for the reader, particularly single-panel shots like this. Sacrifices are always being made in the process...

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  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    The upper floor mezzanine is directly above the fireplace. It seems dangerous, but they would probably like it that way.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 day ago

    The second floor lines up weirdly -- I think the fireplace lines up with the upstairs sitting room, though that defintely does not excuse the mezzanine just floating there close to the flames

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  • 8 comments in c/comics@lemmy.blahaj.zone view that post
    [–] 5 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Thank you for posting these classics and providing commentaries. We really appreciate your passion.

    Also, I think it's simply a play on, "kiss daddy goodnight"

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  • [–] 3 points 2 days ago

    Love these, keep it up!

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  • [–] 3 points 1 day ago

    RIP Gomez' shins

    This one is definitely an odd one

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  • [–] 3 points 2 days ago (1 child)

    Isn't violence frequently implied and alluded to? Granted it never actually happens (either that or everybody in the Addams universe has ultra regenerative powers).

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 day ago

    The violence is always self inflicted, such as playing in the torture chambers, which I think actually only happens in the live action media, or between siblings.

    This is the only instance I am aware of child to parent call to violence. There is one strip where Gomez is taking Pugsley out back to whip him.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    There was a compilation book of old Addams comics around my house growing up, as i recall, the Addams family were kind of just a reoccurring joke for a while until he started to flesh them out more over time. Not suprised if a lot of the earlier panels aren't quite the dynamic we're familiar with now, especially the ones from before the tv show.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 1 day ago

    The first "Addams Family" strip included Morticia, Lurch, and The Thing.

    Granmama was the next to be added, then Gomez, the Children, and lastly Fester and Granny Frump.

    Fester was a character on his own, until he was added into the family with Granny Trump in 1950.

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