Today’s Wayno / Piraro Bizarro brings us a gigantic terrifying fish that flies underwater and, in their telling, repeats a meditative formula while doing so:
(#1) With mantra ‘a word or sound [in this case, the classic syllable om] repeated to aid concentration in meditation’ (NOAD) punning on manta (ray), the name of the fish (if you’re puzzled by the odd symbols in the cartoon — Dan Piraro says there are 4 in this strip — see this Page)
mantra ray is one of those puns that are just lying around waiting, begging, to be exploited for a cartoon, so it’s no surprise that others have taken advantage of this comic resource before Wayno got to it; I’ll look at three of them below (one from a famous print cartoonist, two from webcomics).
Mantras and mantas. On the meditative formulas, see the Page on this blog about my postings on chants, cheers, mantras, and onomatomania.
And then from Wikipedia:
(#2) The Atlantic manta M. birostris (photo from Britannica)Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus Mobula (formerly its own genus Manta). The larger species, M. birostris, reaches 7 m (23 ft) in width, while the smaller, M. alfredi, reaches 5.5 m (18 ft). Both have triangular pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic [that is, head] fins and large, forward-facing mouths. They are classified among the Myliobatiformes (stingrays and relatives) and are placed in the family Myliobatidae (eagle rays). They have the largest brains and brain to body ratio of all fish, and can pass the mirror test [recognizing themselves in a mirror].
… The name manta is Portuguese and Spanish for mantle (cloak or blanket) … Mantas are known as devilfish because of their horn-shaped cephalic fins, which are imagined to give them an “evil” appearance.
Three mantra ray cartoons. First, from the notable New Yorker cartoonist Leo Cullum (there is a Page on this blog with links to my postings on Cullum cartoons). The full cartoon requires a license for reproduction, so here I give you only the mantra:
(#3) The full chant om shanti
Then, from Lisa Slavid (in Santa Barbara CA), who is an artist and organizational consultant as well as a cartoonist, whose manta chants the Little Engine That Could’s mantra:
(#4) LS is the creator of the webcomic Peadoodles, devoted primarily to endless food puns, as here:
(#5) A Peadoodles sampler
Finally, Derek Brettle (in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England), in his webcomic The Last Laugh:
(#6) Again, the full cartoon requires a license for reproduction, so here I give you only the mantra; I don’t recognize the model quotation for it, but it certainly suits a manta ray
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