Working Too Hard Will Give You A Heart Attack! Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack! 

So, is Cathy getting married? That's what everyone who loves the Cathy comic strip desperately wants to know! And, outside of those three or four people, others are mildly interested. UPI's announced that Irving will propose on Valentine's Day. No word on what the outcome will be.
However, UPI promises the result will be "a comic and societal milestone."
So, what's going to happen?
Well, if she gets married, that could be considered a comic strip milestone, in that it would probably be the first major character marriage in a non-continuity strip. It happens all the time in strips like Doonesbury and For Better Or For Worse, but I don't remember it happening in a "static" strip.
But, a societal milestone? Single Cathy was kind of a societal milestone, in that it was an early strip to depict a woman on her own, showing that she didn't need a man, but could be perfectly succesful on her own leading life as a fat, bland, anxious, often-depressed wreck--a veritable feminist icon.
So, is it a societal milestone for her to get married? It's not like she be the first married female character in comics.
So, here's my guess--and this would be a milestone: Irving's proposal finally provides the impetus for Cathy to come out. I don't think any central characters in mainstream comics are gay, currently. You've got bit players in ensemble strips like Mark Slackmeyer and that guy in FBOFW, but no leads.
When you think about it, all the pieces fit. Maybe there even will be a wedding after all.
(Man, this is way more about Cathy than I ever thought I would write on my blog)

:: :: 11:22 :: David :: [permalink] ::