Boner's Ark is a newspaper comic started by Mort Walker (of Beetle Bailey fame) under the pseudonym Addison on 11 March 1968. It depicts a menagerie of animals trapped on a boat (the "Ark") in search of land. Frank Johnson took over the drawing in 1982. The comic ended on 27 May 2000, with the final strip depicting the Ark finally reaching dry land.
It appeared as a B-side comic in the Hi and Lois comic books published by Charlton from 1969 to 1971.
This comic includes examples of:
- Aardvark Trunks: Arnie has a mouth behind his pig-like nose.
- Bigger on the Inside: The Ark. Even though it looks small on the outside, it somehow has enough room for sleeping quarters for all the animals, a cinema, a restaurant run by a hippo, a hospital, a pub and a golf course.
- The Ditz: Dum-Dum the stupid gorilla.
- Have a Gay Old Time: The name of the strip. In the early 20th century, a "boner" was just a silly mistake. Nowadays it always means "erect penis".
- Love Triangle: Dum-Dum loves Priscilla. Priscilla is willing to go out with him for lack of better suitors, but she treats him with complete contempt and is pining for Duke. Duke, however, is completely uninterested.
- Meaningful Name:
- Dum-Dum the gorilla is The Ditz.
- Lookout the giraffe searches for land.
- The Mutiny: Played for Laughs. The Hyena frequently rebels against Captain Boner and forces him to Walk the Plank. This being a silly strip, Boner always ends up fine.
- No Name Given: The koala cub went unnamed for a while until the strip asked readers to suggest names for him. "Cubcake" was the winning entry.
- Penguins Are Ducks: The character Duke has a broad, flat bill like a duck. His beak in fact looks a lot like that of Dr. Quack, who is a duck.
- Punny Name: Dr. Quack's name is a reference to both his species and a fraudulent or incompetent doctor.
- Vehicle Title
- Walk the Plank: In his frequent mutinies, the Hyena often forces Captain Boner to walk the plank.
