# Comic: Love Is... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936 "2009-09-05T03:01:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/1 "2009-09-05T03:01:01Z")
I came across [this](http://www.comicstripnation.com/love-is/love-is-20090831.html)from a _Pearls Before Swine comic._ But he has no…nor does she have…Whats going on? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/2 "2009-09-05T03:02:15Z")
It must be Love, because it obviously isn’t Sex. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/3 "2009-09-05T03:06:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > It must be Love, because it obviously isn’t Sex. Ah! ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/4 "2009-09-05T03:08:33Z")
It’s not for you. It’s for your grandmother, the same one who loves the Family Circus. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/5 "2009-09-05T03:25:41Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > It’s not for you. It’s for your grandmother, the same one who loves the Family Circus. **SIR,** my **Grandmother** does **NOT** view nipples, even though they be dots on a cartoon character’s chest! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/6 "2009-09-05T03:31:40Z")
Those things have been around for years. It’s okay they’re naked, because they’re widdle kiddies. (Obviously this started before pedophilia became a Big Issue.) They’re intentionally sentimental, sometimes saccharine, sometimes just the right amount of kitsch. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/7 "2009-09-05T03:49:05Z")
Aren’t they about overdue for an x-rated spoof? Come on, there’s gotta be one, right? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/8 "2009-09-05T04:16:13Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Aren’t they about overdue for an x-rated spoof? Come on, there’s gotta be one, right? I have no doubts that rule 34 has been applied to them, but I think that just changing the captions will do: [http://www.comicstripnation.com/love-is/love-is-20090903.html](http://www.comicstripnation.com/love-is/love-is-20090903.html) I came with a very naughty caption for that, but I decided not to post it when I wondered: has it been established that they are cute naked cartoon versions of a married couple or are they supposed to be little naked kids? The one that shows to me that the characters are not really kids is this one: [http://www.comicstripnation.com/love-is/love-is-20090901.html](http://www.comicstripnation.com/love-is/love-is-20090901.html) That shows the male character lustfully looking at the girl on the beach… Wearing a bikini! One of the rare occasions the characters are not naked. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/9 "2009-09-05T08:37:27Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I came with a very naughty caption for that, but I decided not to post it when I wondered: has it been established that they are cute naked cartoon versions of a married couple or are they supposed to be little naked kids? Adults, though not necessarily married. This cartoon has been around for ages (I remember seeing it in the Boston _Globe_ when I was a toddler) and children (basically smaller [versions](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Is...) of the main characters) have appeared occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/10 "2009-09-05T09:35:05Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Those things have been around for years… Yeah. Since before I could talk. So the writer must be about to croak…Really. Why doesn’t she croak already? [QUOTE=GIGObuster] That shows the male character lustfully looking at the girl on the beach…Wearing a bikini! One of the rare occasions the characters are not naked. [/QUOTE] Normally I ignore the thing, but when I saw that one I thought someone had slipped me some kind of hallucinogenic mickey. These two have been running around naked for several decades at least and suddenly they get modest when they go to the beach? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/11 "2009-09-05T12:13:49Z")
ObSimpsons: “It’s about two naked 8-year olds who are married.” ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/12 "2009-09-05T13:14:54Z")
_ **Love is…** _ > [@GIGObuster](#): > > I came with a very naughty caption for that, _…not making the obvious joke here._ ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/13 "2009-09-05T13:51:04Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Yeah. Since before I could talk. So the writer must be about to croak…Really. Why doesn’t she croak already? She did. Twelve years ago. Since when does that make a difference in the world of comics? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/14 "2009-09-05T13:57:26Z")
I dunno, but the anatomically correct, presumably nude, dude to the right with ‘the next creatine’ is freaking me out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/15 "2009-09-05T14:17:07Z")
Wow, when I was a kid my parents had a “Love Is…” mug, and I always thought the characters were confined to gift shop junk. I had no idea it had been a daily panel for the last ~40 years. Writing it must be mind-numbing. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/16 "2009-09-05T19:54:40Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Aren’t they about overdue for an x-rated spoof? Come on, there’s gotta be one, right? RK Milholland did one in his webcomic, _Something Positive_, but his archive goes back to 2001, and I’ll be damned if I can find it. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/17 "2009-09-05T20:06:38Z")
> [@The\_Shroud](#): > > Wow, when I was a kid my parents had a “Love Is…” mug, and I always thought the characters were confined to gift shop junk. I had no idea it had been a daily panel for the last ~40 years. Writing it must be mind-numbing. Whoever writes it has to do some kind of dirty or cynical version for each saccharine one. Because otherwise you’d go mad. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/18 "2009-09-06T00:27:36Z")
It’s really easy to come up with alternate captions for Love Is…strips. The one I came up with for the one posted in the OP was “Love is…giving Sarah Palin a backrub.” I actually did a bit of research on _Love Is…_- The characters are meant to represent the creator, Kim Casali, and her husband (who passed away a few years after the strip started.) The strip is currently written by one of Casali’s three sons- the other two sons design maps for games such as Doom, Quake, and Half-Life. (That last one really surprised me.) > [@lissener](#): > > Aren’t they about overdue for an x-rated spoof? Come on, there’s gotta be one, right? One webcomic (I think it was PVP, but I’m not 100% certain) did a spoof of _Watchmen_ with comic strip characters called “Ombudsmen” poking fun at a few famous moments in the graphic novel. The rogue superhero\*'s evil plan is not to create a giant squid, but to put the f-word in a syndicated comic strip, causing chaos. The final panel of the spoof shows his result- which is partially obscured, but from what we can see, reads “Love is…fucking.” \*That may be a redundant phrase when referring to _Watchmen_- all of the characters are rogues in one way or another, but Ozymandias was the only one on the side of evil. ---
**Author:** ![Jerseyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Jerseyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerseyman)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/19 "2009-09-06T00:38:30Z")
Is it still going? It can be OTT but I’ve always liked it and always felt it ‘true’. I had no idea it was by a woman though. I thought it was a French man. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936/20 "2009-09-06T00:49:04Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Aren’t they about overdue for an x-rated spoof? Come on, there’s gotta be one, right? Ok, now that we established that they are adults drawn in a cute style: [http://www.comicstripnation.com/love-is/love-is-20090903.html](http://www.comicstripnation.com/love-is/love-is-20090903.html) My alternative caption was: **She** : “Yes honey, it is the butt of my girlfriend! Keep unwrapping the rest of her, me and her are giving you the threesome that I promised you!” 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comic-love-is/508936.md?page=2)