When you hear folks mention the Universal Press Syndicate classics of past and present, it's usually names like Doonesbury, Far Side, Boondocks, Calvin & Hobbes, Fox Trot, Ziggy, and so on. But buried in our roster are a few strips whose sheer innovation and cross-cultural appeal blow just about everything else out of the water.
Technically titled, "Pepe in Espanol," the pantomime strip chronicles the marital foibles and daily hijinks of our diminutive mustachioed hero.
To quote the Babelfish-translated description given on gocomics, Pepe is typical a Mexican who enjoys much the life. This great pantomima is very humorous, and through the years our enchantment with the protagonist continues growing.
None of us in the editorial department are entirely sure about Pepe's origins (the strips are uploaded to us not from Mexico, but an undisclosed location in Denmark), his creator (listed only as "Moco"), or why the strip is listed as a Spanish feature even though it never has any words. Not to worry, though. "Pepe in Espanol" more than speaks for itself. A few examples (click the image to enlarge):
Pepe's wandering eye often lands him in trouble with the wife
Not that this stops him from trying
Pepe has a knack for diffusing potentially dangerous situations
Although he sometimes can be the death of the party
He knows how to get a job done
He can pass into different historical eras with ease
and even traffic in the spirit world
No matter how much trouble he gets in, he keeps coming back for more
Even if Pepe hasn't hit big with the North American masses just yet, it's quietly becoming a cult sensation among sophisticated pantomime strip connoisseurs.
To pick your own favorites, visit www.gocomics.com/espanol/pepe/
Why wouldn't he show the ghosts eyes closed in the sleeping pills strip? And more importantly, is it OK to question Moco?
Posted by: John Glynn | November 25, 2008 at 01:01 PM