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See You in the Funny Papers by Matt McHugh



She's not bad. She's just drawn that way.


"See You in the Funny Papers" was originally published in the Spring 2005 issue of The First Line, a magazine specializing in short fiction where all stories in the issue must begin with the same opening line.

An audio version of the story was also published by The First Line as a reading in their TFL on Tape program.





EXCERPT FROM
See You in the Funny Papers


     Life would be so much easier if I were a cartoon character. Like the ones you find in those single-panel cartoons in men's sex magazines. You know the kind, where you see two people in bed and one says something funny like "Hey, where's the beef!" or "Well, OK, but I think your vase might break if I sit on it." Or there's two seedy-looking guys in trench coats watching a farmer's truck full of sheep drive down the road. One turns to the other and says, "I didn't know they delivered!" There's one where a guy on a street corner is staring at a car with this stunned expression. Inside, you can see a woman in heels and fishnet stockings, holding a wad of bills in her hand, with a guy in front and a guy behind. The woman calls out "It's not what it looks like, honey!"

     Things are funny there, in that cartoon sex world. Cheating husbands and nymphomaniac wives. Perverts and molesters. Mistresses and hookers. They're all funny when drawn inside a box on a page.


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See You in the Funny Papers

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"See You in the Funny Papers" Copyright © 2005 The First Line. Reprinted here by permission.
Individuals may distribute this story freely for private, non-commercial use provided all author and copyright information remain intact on each copy.