Lio by Mark Tatulli for May 22, 2012

I’m a bit confused. This seems out of character for Lio.

He’s bidding goodbye to Maurice Sendak, the great creator of monsters for children. It’s Max in the boat from “Where the Wild Things Are.”

(deep sigh)

Nice tribute

Awww! He did draw something! I was hoping he would.

It was a major theatrical film in 2009 - I think a few heard of it then

Brings back memories from my childhood. But strangely, my father has no recollection of the book.

Excellent homage!

For a second, i thought i had read “Robin”, instead of “Maurice”… RIP… Robin Gibb..Join your brothers in Heaven… :-(

Bon Voyage, Maurice, and thanks.

A sincere thank you to Maurice.

Awwwww.

Very much in character for Lio, and very much appreciated. Lio’s affinity for all creatures, large or small, alive or undead or mechanical, and his sense of respect (witness his visits to his mother’s grave) make it entirely appropriate that he should offer a Last Farewell to Maurice Sendak, a kindred soul.

Agreed.

Very nice Sendoff for Sendak… We’ll miss him!

Nicely done, Mark.

I didn’t get this one either, but then, I grew up in the Dr. Suess era, Mr. Sendak didn’t come along until much later.

Awww! Goodbye to the guy who gave all us “wild child” kids a place of refuge from trying to “Behave, ferpetessake!” and never quite understanding why we weren’t…

sniff Thanks for the tribute. Very touching.

My favorite book of all time. It was a sad day when I heard he had died, like a piece of my childhood had died. Thanks Maurice for a great memory and to you too Mark for the great tribute.

One from the heart. (Perhaps Max is on his way to a reunion with Jennie.) Thank you Mark – and especially you Maurice.

Thank you, Mark, from one of the original Wild Things. Maurice Sendak shaped my imagination, right from his Little Bear illustrations.

There was a cartoon based on some Sendak’s work that came out a few years ago, ‘Really Rosie’. Defintely worth a look, if you can find it. Carole King did the voice of Rosie and the music, and the artwork was spot on.

@Dogsniffthere can’t be many. when i first looked at it i thought Tatulli’s cat had died (i currently have a cat wasting away from cancer, if that explains my state of mind), until i paid more attention to the name on the boat. then the light came on.

Thanks for the tribute, Mark! Wonderful.

Oh, Mark … this is outstanding. Just … wow … outstanding.

(sniff)

Time and again Mark conveys so much in such a simple and unassuming way.

There was another sweet tribute to Maurice Sendak in yesterday’s Barney & Clyde strip.

I thought it was Maurice Gibb escorting his brother Robin to the Great Beyond…….

I was hoping to see something like this. Very, very well done.

I never read any Sendak, but my impression of him was that he lived in a mean and nasty universe. Then the other day I saw a TV interview with him by Steven Colbert (playing it amazingly straight). The interview showed me that Sendak was himself a mean and nasty man. I don’t understand his appeal to so many.

Godspeed Mr. Sendak…and thank-you for all the wild things.Great tribute, Mark!!

Took me a minute to put the peices together. Background jungle didn’t look like a usual Lio strip but put the boat and Maurice and you get “Where the Wild Things Are”.Farewell little Maurice, till we meet again.

Beautiful tribute!

One of my favorite books a a kid some 30 odd years ago – wonderful dedication

Nice Tribute. Maurice is gone to where the wild things are.

Where The Wild Things Are, was also a broadway play. Then there was, Where The Wild Things Are on Ice.

Everyone on the planet has read or seen “where the wild things are”……………….EVERYONE!!!!!!

Loved the book. The movie was different.

Very touching. Thank you, MT, for giving him this loving send off.

Most people with children know the name Maurice Sendak, or should. Many cartoonists, including Charles Schulz, were not affable people pleasers. This does not negate the great gifts they gave us. I will always treasure our copies of Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen., and the wildly funny but lesser known The Miami Giants. I have to go find the wolf suit to put on Max.

Awesome tribute!

click my name link for a classic Cul de Sac with the kid that looks like he’s from Where The Wild Things Are, and Dill concurs.

All it needs is an owl…

Lovely! Such a wonderful farewell to an awesome author.

Lio is a wild thing!

@Nightgaunt49, dukedoug. I never heard about conservatives attacking the film. I liked it. Basically, the monsters all represented a side of Max’s personality, so he was able to learn from them. If they had just followed the book page-by-page, honestly nothing would have happened.

Born just a bit too soon for this.

To those who think Maurice was a grumpy misanthrope—Indeed, but he was the sweetest, wisest, and most interesting grumpy misanthope there ever was.

Please listen to his interviews with Terry Gross on “Fresh Air.” Google “Maurice Sendak Fresh Air” (without the quotes). The first result is a tribute show that includes highlights of past interviews, and further down on the page are links to all the complete interviews—five of them from 1989 to last fall.

Growing up, I somehow missed Where the Wild Things Are, but I have fond memories of the (slightly creepy) Bumble Ardy animated short from 70s-era Sesame Street. Available on YouTube by searching “Bumble Ardy.”

Sigh… Jim Henson. There’s another genius for ya.

Lovely. I hope Mr. Sendak (who did not believe in an afterlife) was wrong and is in the middle of a fabulous wild rumpus.

And Where the Wild Things Are was released in 1964 or thereabouts. I remember it from my childhood and it’s my three year old son’s favorite book, along with In the Night Kitchen. I can’t believe how many people don’t know about it – truly one of the great classics of children’s literature.

Where the Wild Things Are: ClassicMr. Tatulli: Class

Ask my other half about me: one can be a grumpy “old” man and still be lovable. Our experiences make us grumpy. Our friends help us to be amiable. Just because we’re grumpy, it doesn’t mean we don’t care about others.

Thanks for the tribute to M. Sendak……… always a favorite.

very kewl lio

..A tad late,but still nice..

very touching

The creator of Little Bear will be missed.

Beautiful tribute.

My kids loved Where the Wild Things Are so much we wore it out and had to buy another.

There’s a profile of a smiling man in the clouds to the left of the boat. I wonder whom that might be… :)