No, no, no, this cartoon is wildly inappropriate, unless tomorrow’s follow-up is a bloody scene of vengeance as Lio turns his giant spider (with three body segments? Come on, Mr Tatulli) loose upon the exterminators.
It’s something of a peeve of mine when exterminators try to advertise in something like #spidertwitter, for instance, especially when they frequently categorize spiders as pests. I don’t even like to see insecticides sprayed on other arthropod targets — leave the bugs alone, they have a right to live, too.
I’m fairly certain the intended meaning here is that the spider is being offered for employment as an exterminator.
We had a beautiful spider by our front door for a couple of weeks. Occasionally it got in the way of the door, and we diligently moved it. Then a few days ago, it disappeared after a delivery person dropped a package, so there’s suspicion that the person did something to the spider as a presumed favor. I’ve been looking for a sign that says something like “Spider Friendly Zone” or “Don’t Mess With Our Spiders.” Not easy to find. Internet searches are overwhelmed by the other sort of spider signs.
Looks like an experienced killer of medium to large size neighborhood pe(s)ts.
The giant anteater from Kingdom Hospital might be a good supplemental bug killer. Can anteaters be housebroken, btw?
And the three body segments make the spider look like an extra from ‘Them!’
OT
God Awful Movies just dug up a Christian film that got 3% approval at Rotten Tomatoes. I mention this as it must be some kind of record.
Re: birgerjhansson @ #4…
The thing I remember about “Them!” was the (mechanically impossible) giant ants coming out of the storm drains that feed into the Los Angeles River.
whheydt @ #5 — “…feed into the Los Angeles
RiverDitch”. Seems more appropriate.well he got the number of legs right at least
The L A river only looks like a ditch mist of the time when it rain heavy the volume is truly surprising helps to explain the fact that large parts of the southern basin were historically vernal marshes now long gone thanks to the numerous storm drains that prevent the flooding.
I was thinking Lio was helping Giant Arthropod Friend[1] to get a job. After all, predation is all-natural pest control.
[1] Is it an insect? Is it a spider? Well, it’s certainly violating the square-cube law, so classifying based on extant groups might be silly.
I second Nemo @ #1.
Re: Becca Stareyes @ #8…
That’s like the old joke about knowing what a ball bearing mousetrap is.
Ummm, termites? Eating through the wooden underpinnings of one’s house? Nope. I call the exterminator. Sorry.
Would HG Wells’ martians fit the bill of ‘pest control’? Or would they just replace a bipedal pest with a tripedal one?
Where do triffids fit in? Harmful invasive species or blessing in disguise?
@12 I have always suspected that John Wyndham ,the bloke wot wrote the novel ,based the triffids on the Giant Hogweed plant .