View source for This Modern World

{{Short description|American comic strip by Tom Tomorrow}}
{{about|the comic strip|the album by Stan Kenton|This Modern World (album)}}
{{Infobox Comic strip
|title=This Modern World
|image=[[File:This Modern World cast.jpg|220px]]
|caption= Several of the main characters in ''This Modern World.'' From left to right: Sparky, Biff, and Blinky.
|creator=[[Tom Tomorrow]]
|current=
|status=Running
|syndicate=self-syndicated
|genre= Humor, Political comics, Satirical comics
|first=April 1986 (in ''Processed World #16'')
|last=
}}
'''''This Modern World''''' is a weekly [[satire|satirical]] [[comic strip]] by [[cartoonist]] and political commentator [[Tom Tomorrow]] (real name Dan Perkins) that covers current events from a left-wing point of view. Published continuously for more than 30 years, ''This Modern World'' appears regularly in more than 80 newspapers across the United States and Canada as of 2015,<ref name="kickstarter">{{cite news|title=Tom Tomorrow's omnibus book tops $310,000 on Kickstarter|url=https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-tom-tomorrow-kickstarter-book-300000-20150804-story.html|newspaper=LA Times|accessdate=4 June 2017}}</ref> as well as in ''[[The Nation]]'',<ref name="thenation">{{cite magazine|title=Tom Tomorrow|magazine=[[The Nation]]|url=https://www.thenation.com/authors/tom-tomorrow/|accessdate=2017-11-26}}</ref> ''[[The Nib]]'',<ref name="thenib">{{cite web|title=Tom Tomorrow|publisher=[[The Nib]]|url=https://thenib.com/tom-tomorrow|accessdate=2017-11-26}}</ref> ''[[Truthout]]'',<ref name="Truthout">{{cite web|title=Cartoons|publisher=[[Truthout]]|url=http://www.truth-out.org/art/cartoons|accessdate=2017-11-26}}</ref> and the ''[[Daily Kos]]''.

''This Modern World'' has won a number of awards, including the [[Society of Professional Journalists]] James Madison Freedom of Information Award<ref name="SPJ">{{cite web|url=http://www.spjchapters.org/norcal/foiwinners.html |title=Freedom of Information Award Winners |publisher=Society of Professional Journalists |accessdate=2009-05-04 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122155821/http://spjchapters.org/norcal/foiwinners.html |archivedate=January 22, 2009 }}</ref> and the [[Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award]] (twice);<ref name="RFK1998">{{cite web|url=http://www.rfkmemorial.org/legacyinaction/1998/|title=30th Annual Awards - 1998 (for 1997 coverage)|publisher=Robert F. Kennedy Memorial|accessdate=2009-03-05|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102072702/http://www.rfkmemorial.org/legacyinaction/1998/|archivedate=2009-01-02}}</ref><ref name="RFK2003">{{cite web|url=http://www.rfkmemorial.org/legacyinaction/2003/|title=35th Annual Awards - 2003 (for 2002 coverage)|publisher=Robert F. Kennedy Memorial|accessdate=2009-03-05|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102070950/http://www.rfkmemorial.org/legacyinaction/2003/|archivedate=2009-01-02}}</ref><ref>"[http://www.rfkcenter.org/node/113 35th Annual Awards: 2003 (for 2002 coverage)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727215818/http://www.rfkcenter.org/node/113 |date=2011-07-27 }}", Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.</ref> the strip was a finalist for the 2015 [[Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cavna|first1=Michael|title=What Does It Mean when a True Outlier is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/04/25/tom-tomorrow-what-does-it-mean-when-a-true-outlier-is-a-pulitzer-prize-finalist/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 25, 2015|accessdate=4 June 2017}}</ref><ref>Ryce, Walter. [http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/arts_culture_blog/tom-tomorrow-s-political-cartoon-strip-this-modern-world-earns/article_8ccfd680-e88c-11e4-bfe3-9b049faf2861.html "Tom Tomorrow's political cartoon strip This Modern World earns him a Pulitzer finalist spot,"] ''Monterey Country Weekly'' (Apr 21, 2015).</ref>

== Overview ==
While ''This Modern World'' often ridicules those in power, the strip also focuses on the average American's support for contemporary leaders and their policies, as well as the popular media's role in shaping public perception.

The series has been through several incarnations through the years, the first of which appeared in the ''Suburban High Life'' comic books published by [[Slave Labor Graphics|Slave Labor]] in the late 1980s. A recurring theme in the comic books (though far less so in subsequent comic strip) was that of "reality engineering", wherein "the very fabric of space and time" is mined for "the good of mankind". This periodically generates "reality discontinuities", where reality breaks down. These are (generally) resolved by reality engineers.<ref>Tomorrow, Tom. ''This Modern World.'' Self-Syndicated, 1988.</ref>

Visually ''This Modern World'' draws inspiration from a [[retro]], 1950s sensibility, with brightly colored illustrations that are also inspired by [[clip art]]. Initially, the strip was almost completely composed of actual vintage clip art and magazine cutouts, assembled collage-style and often manipulated and retouched. However, Tomorrow has gradually replaced cutouts with his own drawings, which merely mimic the clip art look. Usually drawn in four panels, it is not uncommon for all panels to be identical or nearly so, with only the dialogue and/or facial expressions changing.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

The '50s theme extends to the typically verbose dialogue of the strip's human characters, which is often bubbly, over-enthusiastic, and naïve. The stupidity of the humans is countered by Sparky, a fast-talking penguin (although the strip occasionally postulates he is actually an [[auk]]) with a red visor, who provides much of the strip's political commentary.

== Publication history ==
Perkins was first published in the Spring 1986 issue of ''[[Processed World (magazine)|Processed World]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tomorrow |first=Tom |title=This Modern World |url=https://archive.org/details/processedworld16proc/page/13/mode/1up |journal=Processed World |location=San Francisco, CA |publication-date=Spring 1986 |issue=16 |pages=13–17 |issn=0735-9381}}</ref> He adopted the subject matter of the consumer culture and the drudgery of work, a theme shared by the magazine, and entitled his comic strip ''This Modern World''. In 1990, the strip began to be run in the ''[[SF Weekly]]'', before being picked up in the fall of 1991 by the ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]''. As his audience expanded, Perkins shifted the focus of the strip to politics. Perkins added papers throughout the 1990s, distributing his comic via self-syndication, a practice he has continued throughout his career.<ref name="TNK_interview">{{cite web|last1=Rhodes|first1=Steve|title=Tomorrow Never Knows | url = http://www.thismodernworld.com/pages/int1/int_bMFprofile.htm | publisher=Mediafile | accessdate=4 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2016/10/film-roman-working-on-animated-series-based-on-this-modern-world-1201833138/ |title=Animated Series Based On Acclaimed Underground Comic Strip 'This Modern World' In Works |last=Lincoln |first=Ross A. |date=2016-10-08 |website=Deadline|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref>

In 2009, [[Village Voice Media]], publishers of 16 [[Alternative weekly|alternative weeklies]], suspended all syndicated cartoons across their entire chain. Perkins thereby lost twelve client papers in cities, including [[Los Angeles]], [[Minneapolis]], New York, and [[Seattle]],<ref name="TMW-VVM">{{cite web|url=http://thismodernworld.com/4657 |title=Oy |publisher=thismodernworld blog |accessdate=2009-05-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413041100/http://www.thismodernworld.com/4657 |archivedate=April 13, 2009 }}</ref> prompting his friend [[Eddie Vedder]] to post an open letter on the [[Pearl Jam]] website in support of the cartoonist.<ref name="Pearl Jam">{{cite web|url=https://pearljam.com/news/modern-world-needs-your-help|title=This Modern World Needs Your Help|publisher=Pearl Jam website|accessdate=2017-06-05|url-status=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715113202/https://pearljam.com/news/modern-world-needs-your-help|archivedate=2009-07-15}}</ref>

==Characters==
In addition to any politicians and celebrities depicted, the strip has several recurring characters:

;Tom Tomorrow
Tom occasionally appears in his own strips as himself, breaking the [[fourth wall]].

;Tom Tomorrow (fictional)
In an "intermediate" version of the strip, a character ''named'' Tom Tomorrow was in the strip. He was a [[private investigator]] who was dressed in a [[radiation suit]] so his face was never seen. He was eventually phased out.

;Dippy the Wonder-Penguin
Fictional Tom Tomorrow's sidekick. His vocabulary was limited to "wank".

;Sparky the Wonder Penguin
A sort of upgraded version of Dippy (who had been phased out by the time of Sparky's introduction), Sparky is a sunglasses-wearing penguin that can actually talk. Similar to Dippy, Sparky's first words in the strip are "George [H. W.] Bush is a '''wanker'''".  A strong liberal advocate, he briefly became a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] after being hit on the head with a random falling toilet.

;Blinky the Dog
A small [[Boston Terrier]] who shares most of Sparky's political sympathies. Normally very mellow, he briefly became a radical when steroids were put into his food when he was intended to replace the then-Republican Sparky.

;Bob Friendly
Mr. Friendly is in charge of the advertising section of ''This Modern World'' (thus breaking the [[fourth wall]]). It was he who introduced Sparky the Penguin. He appears only occasionally.

;Dr. Wilbur von Philbert
One of the longest-running characters in the strip, Dr. von Philbert is the person who discovered how to mine reality for energy.

;Biff and Wanda
Two blow-dried [[news presenters]] of ''Action McNews'', a newscast in which Tomorrow suggests that most [[News program|TV news]] is little more than PR spin. A Biff and Wanda strip almost always ends with a cut to a commercial break ("Now, these messages!").

;Biff and Betty
Biff and Betty are two [[archetype]]s of 1950s people, who sometimes share their thoughts on the modern world. Biff often appears alone with Sparky, expressing a naive conservative opinion which invariably prompts an exasperated liberal rebuttal from the penguin.

;Invisible Hand of the Free Market Man
Invisible Hand of the Free Market Man (abbreviated I.H.O.T.F.M.-Man in dialog in the strip) is a [[superhero]] character, wearing what is basically a [[Superman]] costume, with an I.H.O.T.F.M.-Man logo (a hand with a letter of IHOTF on each finger, and M in the palm) where the Superman logo would be.  I.H.O.T.F.M.-Man's head is a giant left hand with facial features in the palm.  I.H.O.T.F.M.-Man is an ardent defender of [[Adam Smith]]'s [[invisible hand]] metaphor, and usually intervenes in situations where the purity of [[free market]] economics is in jeopardy.  His declarations are often based on principles of free-market economics taken to their logical extreme.  The first panel of a comic featuring I.H.O.T.F.M-Man is usually a parody of the cover of [[Action Comics 1|''Action Comics'' #1]]. Often, another character will point out that he is, in fact, not invisible.

;Conservative Jones and Moonbat McWacky
Conservative Jones and Moonbat McWacky are two children used in the strip to satirize conservative talking points. Conservative is dressed as a [[Encyclopedia Brown|boy detective]] and asks Moonbat questions about politics. Moonbat gives reasonable answers, which the Conservative turns into illogical statements about liberals.

;Public figures
All the presidents since [[Ronald Reagan]] have appeared, as well as other political and media figures. [[Rush Limbaugh]] is a favorite caricature subject, although he usually talks through a radio and is not personally shown. (He was once, however, depicted as a pig, in a strip parodying the film ''[[The Mask (1994 film)|The Mask]]''.) Conservative columnist [[Ann Coulter]] is often the target of particularly unflattering caricatures, usually popping up in the middle of a strip to make a typically inflammatory remark, ending with a guttural "Haw haw haw!" laugh. In a few strips, [[George W. Bush]] gets hold of what appears to be the [[DeLorean time machine|DeLorean]] from ''[[Back to the Future]]'' and goes back in time to meet America's [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]]. [[Karl Rove]] and [[Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]] make frequent appearances.

;Parallel Earth
The strip occasionally visits a [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel Earth]], a deliberate parody of our own world. In some strips, Parallel Earth makes wacky political choices which are exaggerated versions of real-world events. In others, the inhabitants of Parallel Earth have made sensible political choices, in contrast to the people of our own world (but wear odd, brightly-colored clothing featuring [[polka dots]]).

;Small Cute Dog
A small cute dog who was accidentally elected president of Parallel Earth in the year 2000 (and re-elected in 2004), and whose subsequent actions mirrored those of President [[George W. Bush]].

;Planet Glox
A pair of tentacle-waving anchor-aliens host a newscast from Planet Glox, resembling Fox News. They report about news strikingly similar to that on Earth, but in factual scientific terminology (i.e., [[Coneheads]]-style), thereby making fun, for example, of the public obsession with the sexual activities of public figures, by referring to the global importance of touching reproductive organs.

===Other recurring elements===

; Supergiant Conglomerated Corporation
A fictitious, stereotypical [[big business]] or [[megacorporation]] in an unspecified industry, but appears to represent the [[military-industrial complex]]. This company has been portrayed as being unethical, [[Psychological manipulation|manipulative]], obsessed with [[spin (public relations)|spin]], and environmentally unfriendly. Occasionally written as "Supergiant Amalgamated Corporation".

; ''Action McNews''
The (presumably local) TV news program on which Biff and Wanda are anchors.

==In other media==
From 2000 to 2001, an animated ''This Modern World'' series was produced by Flickerlab for [[Mondo Media]], with [[Bob Harris (writer)|Bob Harris]] as the voice of Sparky.<ref name="OJR">{{cite web|url=http://www.ojr.org/ojr/lasica/1021401053.php|title=Let's Get Animated|publisher=Online Journalism Review|accessdate=2009-05-02}} See http://thismodernworld.com/animation-and-film</ref> The show was the top-billed attraction in Mondo Media's lineup of mini-shows; each episode was approximately five minutes long.

===Crew===
*'''Directed by''' [[Harold Moss (filmmaker)|Harold Moss]]
*'''Writers''': [[Harold Moss (filmmaker)|Harold Moss]], Tom Tomorrow, Bob Harris
*'''Executive Producer for Mondo Media''': Jan Mallis
*'''Produced by''' Angela Webb
*'''Producer for Mondo Media''': Eileen McKee
*'''Animation Director''': Miguel Hernandez
*'''Animation''': Matthew Benton, Anand Nunnally, Kareem Thompson, Angela Moy, Antonio Jimenez
*'''Assistant Animators''': Bill Stout, Matt Bookbinder, D.A. Strawder, Johanna Bystrom
*'''Illustrations & Backgrounds''': Antonio Jimenez
*'''Sound Record & Mix''': Tom Lino

== ''This Modern Life'' collections ==
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|last2=Griffith|first2=Bill (Introduction by)|title=Greetings from This Modern World|date=1992|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-08203-1|oclc=903699001}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|title=Tune in Tomorrow|date=1994|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-11344-5|oclc=30594550|url=https://archive.org/details/tuneintomorrow0000tomo}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|title=The Wrath of Sparky|date=1996|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-13753-3|oclc=34356174|url=https://archive.org/details/wrathofsparky00tomo}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|last2=Hitchens|first2=Christopher (Foreword by)|title=Penguin Soup for the Soul|date=1998|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-19316-4|oclc=39339312|url=https://archive.org/details/penguinsoupforso00tomo}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|last2=Eggers|first2=Dave (Introduction by)|title=When Penguins Attack!|date=2000|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-20974-2|oclc=44132892|url=https://archive.org/details/whenpenguinsatta00tomo}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|title=The Great Big Book of Tomorrow: a Treasury of Cartoons|date=2003|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-30177-4|url=https://archive.org/details/greatbigbookofto00tomo|oclc=52086366}} – a large omnibus of early work and selected strips
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|title=Hell in a Handbasket: Dispatches from the Country Formerly Known As America|date=2006|publisher=J.P. Tarcher/Penguin|location=New York|isbn=978-1-585-42458-0|oclc=61229839}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|title=The Future so Bright: I Can't Bear to Look|date=2008|publisher=Nation Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1-568-58402-7|oclc=608483309|url=https://archive.org/details/futuresobrightic0000tomo}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|last2=Moore|first2=Michael (Foreword by)|title=Too Much Crazy|date=2011|publisher=Soft Skull Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-593-76410-4|oclc=658117509}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|last2=Vedder|first2=Eddie (Foreword by)|title=The World of Tomorrow|date=2012|publisher=Topataco|location=Easthampton, MA|isbn=978-1-936-56173-5|oclc=903701151}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|title=25 Years of Tomorrow|date=2016|publisher=Tomorrowco Industries|location=Easthampton, MA|isbn=978-1-936-56133-9|oclc=926736906}} – includes pre-''Modern World'' material
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|title=Crazy Is the New Normal|date=2016|publisher=IDW Publishing|location=San Diego, CA|isbn=978-1-631-40700-0|oclc=948562092}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tomorrow|first1=Tom|title= Life in the Stupidverse |date=2020|publisher=IDW Publishing|location=San Diego, CA|isbn= 978-1684056972}}
* Tomorrow, Tom (2025). ''Our Long National Nightmare.'' Self-published through Kickstarter and Aperiodical Publishing Co. (aperiodical.net). No ISBN.

==References==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* Tomorrow, Tom (2003). ''The Great Big Book of Tomorrow: a Treasury of Cartoons''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. {{ISBN|978-0-312-30177-4}} — a collection of the cartoons from 1992 to 2002

==External links==
* {{official|http://thismodernworld.com}}
*[http://thismodernworld.com/comic-archive/ ''This Modern World'' comic archive]
* [https://thenib.com/author/tom-tomorrow/ ''This Modern World'' at ''The Nib'']
* [https://www.dailykos.com/blog/Tom%20Tomorrow/ ''This Modern World'' at the ''Daily Kos'']

[[Category:Alternative Comics titles]]
[[Category:1988 comics debuts]]
[[Category:American comic strips]]
[[Category:American comedy webcomics]]
[[Category:Satirical webcomics]]
[[Category:Political webcomics]]
[[Category:Comics adapted into animated series]]
[[Category:Comics set in the United States]]
[[Category:American political satire]]
[[Category:Political satire comics]]