The Giant seems to like Joyce Kilmer

[Asarlai]

Every once in a while, I notice a Joyce Kilmer "Trees" reference in the comic. For example, Comic 150 is named "A Comic as Lovely as a Tree," in relation with Durkon's tree hate/fear. In Comic 348, Belkar comments on the animated trees beating up V with "I think that I shall never see a beating as lovely as that handed out by a tree."

Am I missing any? Has anyone else noticed?

Here's the text of the short poem. (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=173758)

Is this a running gag that I'm just picking up on, or has it gone largely unnoticed?

[Raging Gene Ray]

Is this a running gag that I'm just picking up on, or has it gone largely unnoticed?

It's probably unnoticed because it's a very common quote. Many people know of that "I think I shall never see...." line but don't know that the poem or author ever existed.

So it's not a running gag...More of a by-product of the "Dwarves are scared of trees" running gag.

[Zevox]

It's probably unnoticed because it's a very common quote. Many people know of that "I think I shall never see...." line but don't know that the poem or author ever existed.

So it's not a running gag...More of a by-product of the "Dwarves are scared of trees" running gag.
This. I recognize those lines as adaptations of a famous one, but have never heard of Joyce Kilmer or the original work the famous line comes from.

Zevox

[HappyBlanket]

Not sure if he's a particular fan, but I'm sure he knows of Kilmer and the poem.
Nice little observation regardless.

[Asarlai]

Hm, okay. I had never heard the line until I read the poem, so I hadn't thought of the possibility that people might recognize the line without knowing the poem.

[Dr.Epic]

I don't think two references count as a running gag or whatever. I'm sure Rich has made more references to other things.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Although I’ve seen the occasional reference to it, the only one that ever really stuck was Miss Tessmacher telling Lex she liked the poem.

But then again, so does the average cocker spaniel.

[Dvandemon]

That's only two examples, not exactly a running gag when they are 195 strips apart. It's a commonly quoted line

[Ron Miel]

I prefer Ogden Nash's version

"I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree.
Indeed, unless the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all."

[MoonCat]

It's a quite common quote, so I doubt it.