Launch Pad

Background
I was mulling over in my head several different ideas about the Star Wars...er uh...National Missle Defense plan that Bush and Rumsfeld have on the table, and this idea just popped into my head. As soon as I thought of it, I figured it was probably already done, but I decided to go for it anyway.

Original Sketch
Once I could see the missles fly in my mind, I quickly jotted them down. The final cartoon doesn't really convey the nastiness that I was hoping it would.

Inking
The hardest part was trying to decide how to do the shield. I had several different ideas (as you can see from the sketch), but none of them seemed really right. Once I put a target on the USA, it became clearer that I should make a dome-like shield. It was difficult to determine how to illustrate a transparent lie...I mean shield. I'm not at all happy with how it came out.

Ultimately
I guess if you haven't seen the movie Field of Dreams, then this joke may be lost on you.

Terrific idea...
"Missile" is missing its second i.

Part of me wasn't crazy about the "uh-oh," wanted either nothing or something sharper. But then part of me thought it was just right. So there.

Looks a lot like a turtle.

And is that how W. would reward Florida for its loyal service, by leaving it unshielded?

I think most people will get it without having seen "Field of Dreams."

Metyko sez:

"shield of dreams" cute.. esp. that you left palm springs out of it, but just managed to cover talahassy. i kind'a wonder why you shaded in alternating latitudinal bands. i like the bottom panel: reads nicely, has lots of motion and a sprig of tension. the faces on the missles is the best nuance.