Busker’s Christmas Carol: Miser Beware!
As mentioned in this prior post, I used to do a weekly strip about a street musician named Busker. I thought you might enjoy this one from December, 1996, inspired by Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Busker dates back to my pre-computer days. The strip was always published as a large single panel with two rows. Here’s the original in all it’s hand-drawn, hand-lettered glory.
Merry Christmas to all my friends, followers, visitors, and fellow bloggers!!
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What do you think? Have you read Dickens’ original story? Will you be more likely to toss a coin to a busker after reading this post?? Hope you’ll leave a comment.
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Nice vibe one A Christmas Carol, Mark. I like Buskers responce to old Scroogey!!
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Thank’ee, mate! Yeah, Busker don’t take no humbug from nobody, see?? He’s like that Murray chap: My hammer, s’il vous plaît– SLAM, BANG, PULP-aroonie!!
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Happy Christmas my friend! No misers allowed here either! woo woo!
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Thanks, Rumpy!! A belated Merry Christmas to you! I hope Santa brought you a new doggie dish filled with Hoo Hash– specially formulated for dogs, of course… : )
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Funny!!
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Now that’s the kind of one-word summation I can really dig– thank you!! : )
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I do like it Mark! This is the first year I watched Scrooge in it’s entirety, both the one with George C Scott and the one with Patrick Stewart and actually enjoyed them. When I was younger, the whole story always scared me, not because of the ghosts but because he was so alone and mean. Guess I’m grown up enough now to really get the gist of the story and enjoy:-) Loved your artwork, especially when the three ghosts show up and Busker is giving them the low down!
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Thanks, Tracey! Hope you had a blessed and very merry Christmas. And since it’s New Year’s Eve Day, I’m wishing you a Tremendous year ahead, filled with much happiness and success!!
FWIW: Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has always been a favorite of mine– I used to read it every year. My favorite movie version is Scrooge (1951), filmed in England with an all-British cast. The movie tweaks the book very slightly, filling in a few “holes,” but it’s done so subtly and discreetly, you’d swear they filmed the book verbatim. They don’t come much meaner than Alistair Sim as Scrooge, so brace yourself if you ever give it a try!!
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Scrooge has no ear for music. But I ‘ear ya loud and clear. Hope you and your family had a very Merry Christmas, and that you’ll have a prosperous and bright Happy New Year, Mark.
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‘Ear, ‘ear!! That lovely comment is music to my ears– thanks, Judy! Drove to good ol’ Rochester, NY, for Christmas, and I thought of you as we passed the Lights On The (Onondaga) Lake. I tooted the horn and cried: “That’s for Judy!!” Wishing you and yours a wonderfully Happy New Year! : )
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Thank you for that. Our two girls (now grown) can’t believe that on New Year’s Eve I went out on the back porch and banged pots and pans together, saying: “That’s for my Mom.”
So, Mark, your tribute gave me a warm, fuzzy glow and a nostalgic look back at my old stomping grounds.
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Haha! I absolutely love this so much! It’s great seeing your old works Mark. Reviving them back to all their glory : ) And Scrooge’s nose certainly cracked me up! Great stuff ^^
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“… all their glory…” I love it! It’s kind, it’s wunnerful, it’s totally outrageous– and I’m lovin’ it here!! Thank you, dear Sabine!!
Scrooge’s nose… ha!! It is rather prominent, isn’t it?? I drew some incredibly large, thoroughly absurd noses back then. Guess I figured if the gag itself didn’t get a laugh, maybe the nose would!! : P
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Hahahaha … Busker! He’s so great. Do I see an earring on him? is there any backstory on him other than that he is a street musician? I never knew Charles Dickens left out such an important element/character of the story. 😉
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Yes indeed, Busker always sported an earring. It’s one of those little devices cartoonists use to show a guy is “cool.” There’s no backstory, probably because the strip only ran for about three years! Rumor has it a stork delivered Baby Busker in a saxophone and dropped him on a street corner. Poor Chuck Dickens!– I think he rolled over in his grave when I sketched out that particular strip!! : )
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hahahhaahahahahaahahahahaha!
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