When the great unwashed list the most important fantasy character of all time , they often leave out a few classic that just find to be off the beaten racetrack . Like Asterix . But also , Archy and Mehitabel , the roach and alley cat who captured the imaginations of a whole coevals .
Asterix : The Great Unsung Fantasy Hero
Newspaper editorialist Don Marquis came up with Archy and Mehitabel while he was writing a column for the New York Sun near 100 years ago , in 1916 . He concocteda weird yarn about a roach who keeps sneaking into the newspaper officesand type on the typewriter by jump out around on the keys — and it turns out Archy , the roach , is the reincarnation ( or trapped soul , or something ) of a free - rhyme poet . Not only that , but Archy ’s former nemesis , a “ punk poet ” who used to disparage Archy ’s free verse , has come back as a mean rat . ( And yes , seemingly they said “ thug poet ” in 1916 . )
Mehitabel is an alley African tea who claims that she used to be Cleopatra — at first Archy and Mehitabel are curse , but soon they become the best of friends , and Archy catalog her adventures as well as his own . Archy ’s disdain for punctuation comes from his poetic setting , but also his inability to obligate down the shift keystone or reach most of the punctuation keys . Although at one gunpoint , he make do to get to the cap - lock , and becomes VERY EXCITED .
So admittedly , Archy and Mehitabel do n’t spend a lot of time musing about the exact mechanism by which their souls were migrate into cockroach and cat bodies . Nor is there a phantasy secret plan , in the traditional sense .
What there is , though , is an epic ( and epically weird ) friendship — and also , a mountain of really excellent reflexion about the nature of existence , from a duad of beings who have seen a mint of life from both human and non - human view . “ the human race little make love / all the sadness it / causes in the dirt ball world , ” writes Archy in between deplore the being of terminator and begging the newspaper publisher staff to leave more sandwich so-and-so around .
Archy is alwayscoming out with bon mot , too , like “ shillyshally is the / art of keeping / up with yesterday . ” Meanwhile , Mehitabel does nothing but bewail her decline from greatness , and how she continue “ toujours gai ” and still a free - spirited alleyway cat , beholden to no - one , despite the punishing times she is faced with .
Not only that , but the original editions are illustrate by George Herriman , Jehovah of Krazy Kat — another animal who deserves more mention among the all - fourth dimension most original illusion part .
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