Transcript
Evil Inc by Brad Guigar
Jan. 21, 2025
Panel 1:
A building labeled "FNN" (Fairmount News Network) is shown with a banner displaying the network's logo. A yellow narration box reads:
Narration: "You’d never know it, but the Fairmount News Network is in chaos."
Panel 2:
Inside an office with multiple desks, workers look panicked and distressed. Some hold their heads, others gesture as if shouting, and a security guard seems trapped. Speech bubbles are empty.
Narration: "Inside: panic, pain, and pandemonium... without a peep!"
Narration: "Workers are trapped at their desks, unable to phone for help."
Narration: "Security guards are stuck inside invisible constraints."
Panel 3:
A dramatic reveal shows a mime in a black beret, striped shirt, and suspenders stepping forward with a menacing pose. A large caption introduces him:
Narration: "Presently, the menace behind the mayhem steps out of the shadows..."
Large Text: "The ANTI-VOXXER"
Footnote: "Note: 'Vox' is Latin for 'voice.'"
Panel 4:
The newsroom set is shown with anchors being blown away by a mysterious indoor wind, while the mime approaches.
Narration: "A mysterious indoor wind blows the anchors away from the news desk as he approaches!"
Narration: "He has the rapt attention of the city — and the nation!"
Panel 5:
The Anti-Voxxer gestures dramatically while holding a piece of paper. On-screen text identifies the situation.
Narration: "There have been better-thought-out schemes..."
Breaking News Caption: "BREAKING: EVIL MIME HIJACKS STUDIO - DELIVERS MANIFESTO ON AIR"
Time Stamp: "1:35 P.M."
The Mean Streets of Sesame
At first blush, it seems like one of those stories that makes people wax hysterical about that old boogey-man “Political Correctness.” From the Philadelphia Inkwaster…
[
Philadelphia Inquirer]
The gang at Sesame thought it would be a sunny day, and everything would be A-OK when they introduced Abby this month, complete with her poofy, sparkly pigtails, fluttery lavender wings, a magic wand, and a pretty chiffon frock.
But before any of them could spell Aloysius Snuffleupagus, the criticism began…
…Susan Linn, cofounder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, calls Abby’s introduction a blatant attempt to compete with the gigantic Disney princess market.
“The last thing little girls need is one more pink fairy,” she says. “My understanding is that she’s a little incompetent with her magic, too. I’m concerned that now even the Sesame Workshop has bought into the girly, girly commercialized image of what it is to be feminine…OK, apart from the people who are worried about Abby’s magic being a portrayal of witchcraft, some of these people have a point. It
does smack of the Disney Princess syndrome. We’ve got enough girl characters in pink, frilly dresses demonstrating a sort of “oopsie” incompetence. I think the anti-Abby lobby has a valid point.
For my money, I would have much rather seen the next Sesame Street character be based on
this little lady.
