And They Will Behold Him, and They Will Know Him Not

Brad Anderson, the 85-year-old creator of Marmaduke, and the mysterious "Paul," presumably some kind of Anderson Spawn,* are becoming less and less careful about their references--originally at least slightly veiled--to the rise of the Antichrist and the hideous death and pain that will accompany his appearance. In today's comic, Marmaduke, a.k.a. the Damned Child of Eternal Perdition, is demonstrating, in full daylight, his command of the Satanic powers of magic.

The funny-looking people peering at him over the fence can be interpreted in two ways. They may simply be in denial; they refuse to believe that they are living in the Last Days and are about to see a possessed Great Dane levitate on a rug. However, they may actually be discussing the more subtle implications of Marmaduke's coming flight. The woman could easily be remarking that the carpet is not, in fact, magical; it is instead miraculous. Marmaduke is here playing out the bit of the Antichrist's story where he convinces the people that he is truly the Saviour and can use the powers of God to perform miracles. You wait: in tomorrow's panel, Marmaduke is going to pretend to raise a neighbourhood urchin from the dead.**

Flee, funny-looking people. The Big Dog is coming. He is coming for you. He will devour you and cast you into eternal fire. That is not a baseball in the yard; it is a symbolic representation of the planet, and Marmaduke is about to bury it. Run away now. You cannot escape your eventual fate, but you can be elsewhere when the excrement hits the whirly-blades.




*Conspiracy theories are fun. Do you know that though every Marmaduke panel is now signed "Paul & Brad Anderson," it is nigh on impossible to find any information about Paul online? The demon Wikipedia insists that Brad is still the sole creator of the strip. Even the official United Features Syndicate Marmaduke blurb neglects to mention Paul. I think it is possible that Paul is the devil. It would certainly explain where Brad gets his inspiration.
**Actually, though, he is going to feast on the souls of the damned.