Comic Transcripts

WINSTON: “He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake.
“He knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be GOOD FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE!”
“For goodness’ sake” is an expression of exasperation.

WINSTON: Is the narrator FED UP with the subject’s behavior? If so, the whole song’s an admission of IMPOTENCE.
“I can’t do anything to stop you, but for crying out loud, SANTA’S gonna getcha! So shape up!”
This is a sad plea! And it makes SANTA into a BOGEYMAN.

WINSTON: Or, are we meant to take “for goodness’ sake” LITERALLY? In that case, the song is a CONTRADICTION.
We are NOT urged to be good for GOODNESS’ OWN SAKE, but rather to escape JUDGMENT.
No mention of HONESTY or CHARITY. Morality is simply a TACTIC to AVOID SANTA’S WRATH!
SARAH: Well, maybe that’s an overriding concern for some reason.

CAPTION: ELSEWHERE
[[SANTA cocks a lever-action rifle.]]
<>

{{Header: do it for WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{Alt-text: Hunting season’s only open one night a year.}}

#474; In which you better Watch Out transcribed by in

WINSTON: “He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake.
“He knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be GOOD FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE!”
“For goodness’ sake” is an expression of exasperation.

WINSTON: Is the narrator FED UP with the subject’s behavior? If so, the whole song’s an admission of IMPOTENCE.
“I can’t do anything to stop you, but for crying out loud, SANTA’S gonna getcha! So shape up!”
This is a sad plea! And it makes SANTA into a BOGEYMAN.

WINSTON: Or, are we meant to take “for goodness’ sake” LITERALLY? In that case, the song is a CONTRADICTION.
We are NOT urged to be good for GOODNESS’ OWN SAKE, but rather to escape JUDGMENT.
No mention of HONESTY or CHARITY. Morality is simply a TACTIC to AVOID SANTA’S WRATH!
SARAH: Well, maybe that’s an overriding concern for some reason.

CAPTION: ELSEWHERE
[[SANTA cocks a lever-action rifle.]]
<>

{{Header: do it for WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{Alt-text: Hunting season’s only open one night a year.}}

#474; In which you better Watch Out transcribed by in

WINSTON: "He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake.
"He knows when you've been bad or good, so be GOOD FOR GOODNESS' SAKE!"
"For goodness' sake" is an expression of exasperation.

WINSTON: Is the narrator FED UP with the subject's behavior? If so, the whole song's an admission of IMPOTENCE.
"I can't do anything to stop you, but for crying out loud, SANTA'S gonna getcha! So shape up!"
This is a sad plea! And it makes SANTA into a BOGEYMAN.

WINSTON: Or, are we meant to take "for goodness' sake" LITERALLY? In that case, the song is a CONTRADICTION.
We are NOT urged to be good for GOODNESS' OWN SAKE, but rather to escape JUDGMENT.
No mention of HONESTY or CHARITY. Morality is simply a TACTIC to AVOID SANTA'S WRATH!
SARAH: Well, maybe that's an overriding concern for some reason.

CAPTION: ELSEWHERE
[[SANTA cocks a lever-action rifle.]]
<>

{{Header: do it for WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{Alt-text: Hunting season's only open one night a year.}}

Hunting season's only open one night a year.

#474; In which you better Watch Out

  — December 23rd, 2008

[ Tags: , , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/474/

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20 years ago (in photocomic form)

June 9, 2026 by David Malki !
A young David Malki !, Steve Carey, and Ryan North, June 2006.

The computers tell me it was 20 years ago, June 9, 2006, that I arrived in New York for my first-ever comic convention as an exhibitor, MoCCA.

It was an important trip for me, a milestone in what would go on to become my career.

I wrote a little reminiscence on Patreon (free/unlocked) — including a first-since-then reprint of the photocomics I made at the time, documenting the trip!

Read the rest here: [ 20 Years Ago (In Photocomic Form) ]


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