Comics by morphmaker

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Pfaff’s

Written by

morphmaker

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A fan comic featuring Emily Dickinson (as portrayed by Hailee Steinfeld) and Walt Whitman (as portrayed by Billy Eichner) at Pfaff’s bar in the scene from the fourth episode of the third season of Apple TV+’s Dickinson. Everything is kind of brown and orange except for Emily’s blue dress. Panel 1: Emily asks, “What’s that other part of Pfaff’s?” Walt looks to his left and replies, “Oh that’s where Mr. Clapp and his Bohemians sit.” Panel 2: Emily is not contained in a panel here, she’s outside the panels with a confused look on her face. “Bohemians?” she asks. Panel 3: Walt stands with his hands on his hips yelling down at some silhouetted figures at a table. Emily pokes her head behind him. Walt yells, “Listen up, fives! A 10 is speaking.”
Panel 4: Walt gestures to Emily next to him with both hands. Emily waves. He says, “This is the poet Emily Dickinson. Emily Dickinson, this is…” Panel 5: “Henry Clapp Jr., Editor of the Saturday Press.” A white man with thinning dark hair on top and a big beard and a pipe in his mouth smiles and raises a mug of beer. He says, “La vie bohème!” Panel 6: “Columnist and actress Ada Clare” A young white woman with short light hair smiles up at Emily with two hands tucked beneath her chin. Panel 7: Emily stares at her and says, “Ada Clare… like the character in Bleak House?” Panel 8: Ada winks at Emily and says, “Better than Bleak House.”
Panel 9: “Fitz Hugh Ludlow, author of The Hasheesh Eater.” A young-ish white man with round glasses and dark brown hair and a big beard and mustache sits with a mug of something alcoholic. He says, “Yes I was tripping balls for research purposes. Ether, chloroform, uppers, downers, psychedelics - it’s all available at your local pharmacy.” Panel 10: “Artemus Ward, America’s first stand-up comedian!” A young white man with curly dark hair and a big nose and a huge dark mustache is smiling and shrugging with both hands. He says, “What is the deal with Brigham Young? That guy is the most married man in America! He’s dreadfully married.”
Panel 11: “Adah Isaacs Menken, the first American international star best known for her role in Mazeppa, where she strips down to a body stocking that leaves nothing to the imagination and rides a live horse around the stage!” A beautiful young woman with dark short hair and big dark eyes and full lips turns to look at Emily. Panel 12: Adah looks away grumpily, head in hand. “I’m also a poet, not that anyone cares…” Panel 13: Adah looks back at everyone, gesturing to her bosom emphatically. “Everyone just wants to talk about my smokin’ hot bod!!!” Ada Clare is sitting next to Adah Menken and is staring at Menken’s chest.
Panel 14: “Thomas Nast, political cartoonist. What’s your latest cartoon, Mr. Nast?” A very young white man, barely out of his teens with dark hair and wearing a dark suit holds up a cartoon in a magazine. The cartoon is one of Nast’s actual cartoons from this time period, showing a bunch of stampeding animals including the Republican elephant. He says, “All these disgusting animals represent American political parties.” Walt asks, “And what’s that on the next page?” Panel 15: A close-up of the next page in my style of drawing. It is a cartoon of a shirtless and really buff Abraham Lincoln carrying Nast and Whitman in his arms away from a burning cabin. Nast says, “I drew the President saving us from a burning building.” Whitman replies: “Now that’s a poem.”
Panel 16: “And Edwin Booth, the Shakespearean actor.” A young white man with shoulder-length dark wavy hair is sitting at the table. He is holding a pipe in one hand, and in the other is a framed portrait, except the portrait is a screenshot of Edgar Allan Poe as portrayed by Nick Kroll in the second season of Dickinson. Booth says with a smile, “Actors are sensitive to all the arts, but our obligation is deepest to the art of the poet.” Panel 17: Emily points down at the portrait and asks, “Is that…? A portrait of Edgar Allan Poe?” Panel 18: Fitz Hugh Ludlow slides in next to Edwin Booth and replies, “Yes, he’s our patron saint.” Panel 19: Ada Clare flaps her hand with a smile and says, “Oh we worship him. But like, ironically.” Adah Isaacs Menken leans in next to Ada Clare and says, “Wait you were doing it ironically?”
Panel 20: Henry Clapp Jr. looks up at Emily disdainfully and says, “The Bohemian lifestyle is more than just drinking and dancing with mermaids, Emily Dickinson.” Panel 21: Emily looks confused and weirded out and says, “Oh…kay?” Panel 22 through 27: The rest of the Bohemians are each in their own small panel, two rows of six. Ada Clare: “It’s cynical, it’s counterculture,” Edwin Booth: “It’s about going against the grain” Thomas Nast: “Hating convention” Artemus Ward: “Hating pretension!” Fitz Hugh Ludlow: “No day but today!” Adah Isaacs Menken, raising a mug in a mock toast: “Live fast die young”
Panel 28: Henry Clapp Jr.’s leg breaks out of the panels to stomp on the table with a TMP! Panel 29: Henry Clapp Jr. is standing heroically with one foot on the table as the Bohemians look on. He points towards Boston, yelling, “It’s about telling the editors of The Atlantic to go fuck themselves!!!” Panel 30: Walt and Emily stand next to each other watching this unfold. Emily looks freaked out, her eyes are really huge. Panel 31: Emily turns to Walt and says, “I want to go back to the dance party.” Panel 32: Back in the greenhouse, just like in the show. The colors are different. Emily is sitting with Walt’s book clutched in her hands, but she looks really put out. She says, “Wow that really killed the mood.”

A sitcom like Cheers but it’s called Pfaff’s and most of the characters die in the first six episodes and the final scene is Billy Eichner singing “Seasons of Love” alone in the bar.

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