Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Case Study No. 1895: Unnamed Female Librarian (Animaniacs)

Librarians in Comic Books... The Animaniacs!
1:03
From: Animaniacs (1999) #49
Tags: librarians comic books animaniacs warner brothers and sister yakko wakko dot
Added: 11 months ago
From: ComixLibrary
Views: 154

[the first panel shows the three Animaniacs walking into a giant library filed with shelves upon shelves of books, as the elderly librarian (white hair in a bun, glasses, long green dress) at the front desk puts a finger to her lips and shushes them]
YAKKO: This, sibs, is what movies are befoe they're born.
DOT: Wo-o-oah!
WAKKO: Wow, lookit all the square things with paper!
LIBRARIAN: Shhhh!
[the second panel shows the Animaniacs examining one of the bookshelves (as Wakko takes a bite out of one of the books), while the librarian can be seen angrily staring at them in the background]
YAKKO: So, what looks good, Wakko?
WAKKO: Silas Marner's a bit dry. Needs ketchup.
LIBRARIAN: Shhhh!
[the third panel shows the Animaniacs standing around the librarian's desk, as she folds her arms and looks down her nose at them]
WAKKO: So, where are the books with pictures?
LIBRARIAN: Comic books? No no no! We only have high literature here.
YAKKO: Hey, watch it. Remember who signs your paycheck.
[the fourth panel shows the librarian rolling her eyes at them]
LIBRARIAN: Literature does not have silly cartoons. That's so juvenile.
YAKKO: Woah! Big words ... brain hurts ...
DOT: What do you mean? Comics can be classics, too. We'll show you!
[the fifth panel shows the Animaniacs breaking the fourth wall, peeking out from behind the pages of the comic book to speak directly to the reader]
WAKKO: Since you're from the MTV generation, we kept 'em short!

[...]

[the first panel shows the librarian standing up from her desk with a big smile on her face, as the Animaniacs stand around her]
YAKKO: Well, we hope you learned a lot and had some fun!
LIBRARIAN: Oh yes! Comics are incredible! I never realized how expressive they could be!
[the second panel shows the librarian pointing into the air and launching into a big speech ... which is obscured by the word balloons of Yakko and Dot whispering in the foreground]
LIBRARIAN: Remarkable how the ... pictures play off ... be telling as ... prose. My word ... the art if Hemingway ... I've ... my ...
YAKKO: Is it just me or does this feel like blatant self-promotion?
DOT: Well, it was either that or another "Wheel of Morality."
[the third panel shows Wakko carrying a huge pile of books]
YAKKO: Wakko, you're going to read all those books?
WAKKO: No, these are the ones I'm not taking. I'd like to check out the rest of the library, please!
[the fourth panel shows the three Animaniacs talking amongst themselves]
DOT: I didn't know you were so into reading!
WAKKO: Oh, I learned it from that kid out there.
YAKKO: What kid?
[the fifth panel shows the Animaniacs speaking directly to the reader again]
WAKKO: That one ... the one who can't stop reading us!
DOT: Book-worm!
YAKKO: 'Night folks! Don't forget to subscribe!
NARRATOR: The end!

---

From wordpress.com:

Suess, Jeff. "The Lit-Wit Issue" Animaniacs #49 June 1999.

The Animaniacs are in a library: "This, sibs, is what movies are before they're born." "Wow, lookit all the square things with paper!" The stereotypical, bunned, elderly, grim-looking woman librarian shushes them. "So, where are the books with pictures?" "Comic books? No No No! We only have high literature here . . . Literature does not have silly cartoons. That's so juvenile." Final page: Smiling librarian: "Oh yes! Comics are incredible! I never realized how expressive they could be!" Her next word balloon is written over by the word balloons of 2 of the Warners, but we can make out certain words and phrases: "remarkable how the . . . and pictures play off . . . be telling as . . . prose. My word, imagine the art if Hemingway . . . I've completely . . . my opinion . . . "

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