Religion, Politics and the Great Pumpkin

So it’s not quite Halloween, but it’s our last full week before the holiday so we’re going for it. And while some may argue the mythicality of said beast, I think it’s got some serious potential. For those not in the know, the Great Pumpkin was an unseen holiday spirit in the Charles Shulz comic Peanuts. While he shared the title slot on occasion with Mr Brown, he was really a Linus story arch.

 

Every year on Halloween Linus, or Mr van Pelt, would wait in the pumpkin patch, blanket in hand and occasionally with signage, waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. Invariably Linus would fall asleep or the legendary beast would not materialize and Linus would curse the gods and vow to wait to see him the following year.

 

Now I don’t really recall there being a solid reasoning for needing to see him nor magical powers mentioned. And the best i have to offer you in the ways of a description are that he was “great” and probably at least some part pumpkin. I’m almost positive Robot Chicken did a murderous hell pumpkin but as far as i know this beast has remained entirely unseen. So i leave it to you, your imagination and your licit and illicit substances to create. I just ask that you make him festive!

 

Our judge this week is going to be Mike Small, who recently escaped the exciting world of consulting to work full time with his camera. “I photograph buildings for the money and recapture my childhood by playing with Legos and candy to create the art side of my photography.” Click here to check out his work, it’s fun and reminds me that I miss Ken’s box of always delicious Swedish Fish.

 

 

Please feel free to include your own caption or text with your entry, I may add a snippet here or there but I’ll try to stay true to your original intent. On your marks, get set, draw!

 

 

 

 

Judges Commentary Maybe the gang was oblivious to the obvious, but the Great Pumpkin was about much bigger things! It is about believing in something like Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny...blah, blah, blah. I just love the hopeful Linus in this drawing. And bonus points for including Charlie Brown in his ghost with extra eyes costume. Keep waiting Linus! Submitted by Colette

 

One of the problems I had with the Peanuts was their apparent lack of problem solving, I mean sure they seemed to survive, but just a little less emotive posturing and a little more turning around would have saved years of waiting.

 

 

Judges Commentary Even though the Great Pumpkin was always Linus' thing, I have to admire a little revenge. Especially when Charlie Brown gets to enact it on Lucy. I always wanted her to get was coming to her. And the look on her face is priceless. Submitted by Big Black

 

God i love those beetle buggie kits, though how you get side pipes on one is a magical halloween mystery! And here's hoping he catches her cause I've never really been a huge Lucy fan... being a tricky witch and all!

 

 

Judges Commentary This one makes the cut because I find it such an unexpected take on the Great Pumpkin, but a great pumpkin nevertheless. Plus it is just well done! Submitted by Kim C

 

Man first pumpkin boobs and now pumpkin butt! I'm kinda glad the pants aren't exposing the mouth cause i've got one of those puking pumpkin carving images in my mind and I dont want to see that from a butt. Great pointy hoody btw!

 

 

 

So how's he gonna get that much tubby Linus past that adorable skinny gullet? Is the Great Pumpkin part snake? Expandable Neck bones? What i wouldn't have thought until now is how cool it is that Linus comes with his own napkin!

 

 

 

Such a gloriously heavy piece... you can almost taste the loss! This is the second version with added CMYK noise for a solid reference to reality, I think I'm a fan of it pre noise which you can see here . Whichever you prefer it's pretty damn good!

 

 

 

Having never watched said show I can't really comment on the reference ... so I'll just love that it looks like the mom has a pumpkin stalk handle on the top of her head, and to note that fat kids are always funny... unless you're the fat kid.

 

 

 

Careful, you'll squash them... Yessss... Slutty pumpkins, what will they think of next?

 

 

 

Here's a rare snapshot of the mythical Great Pumpkin, also known as Sasquash Yes! more wordplay, and you know I'm a sucker for all things squatchy, you can almost smell his hairy pendulous breasts!

 

 

 

Yes! a good solid judge pandering! That my friends is a great (big Lego) pumpkin! And entertainingly Lego folk, like people folk, seem to get poorly formed joints once they grow to excessive size! Great grabby hands too!

 

 

 

Yes finally a good pumpkin humping entry! and kinda nice that a caption done thusly sort of nullifies the need for motion lines, which saves ink for the precious leaky ectoplasmic goo, or is that pumpkin? ewwww.

 

 

 

Yes a magical pumpkin capable of breaking arms and shrinking knife wielding fingers by thoughts alone! Almost a scanners pumpkin! And how long are those sleeves that they can get such a complete cuff that far down the arm!

 

 

 

Well that's adorable, or really sad, kind of hard to tell what with the white sheet covering our ghostly candy donator... but the bats look happy so I'm saying its like the turning point in one of those feed a giant beast become best friends movies

 

 

 

Egads combining Count Chocula, Oreos Kit Kats and what is that candy corn? nachos? All in one sitting? Man that's a feast! No wonder he's mythical... And dammit do i love a partially erased mystery caption... feed me? need me?

 

 

 

Right on an old timey original South Park style cut paper project! Given the medium I'm pretty impressed with the result though your pumpkin looks a hell of a lot like Kool Aid... and is he stealing little Linus' binky?

 

 

 

That thing is HUGE! It puzzles me that the dots work just as well to represent Fall wind refuse as they do swarming blackbirds. And that adorable little pumpkin trellis... if you looked real close there's probably a tiny mouse under it.