Mr Logic

Mr Logic is a fictional character in the British comedy magazine Viz who is portrayed as being humourless, friendless and emotionless. He takes everything said to him totally literally and is entirely unaware of what is intended when a metaphorical statement is made. He also is unable to understand puns, for example he reads a joke from a Christmas cracker which says 'what is the difference between a buffalo and a bison? (you can't wash your hands in a buffalo)', to which he replies 'you can't wash your hands in a bison either'. His only purpose in life is to correct people in their grammar, knowledge or intention when they speak, often resulting in a violent reaction.

Here is an example; Mr Logic is in charge of the till at the local off-licence

Armed Robber: No nonsense. Just give me all your money.

Mr Logic: I shall commence by pointing out to you that my demeanour is not one which could be described as nonsensical. Consequently I can attest you have no cause to reprimand me on your first point. On to your second point: Bearing in mind the potentially lethal situation in which I find myself, to wit: your presence in conjunction with the presumably loaded firearm which is presently levelled at my cranium, I will comply with your request comprehensively, albeit reluctantly. Here, twenty-seven pence.

Armed Robber: Twenty-seven pence? Fuck off. There's more than that in the till.

Mr Logic: Indeed, undoubtedly so. However your request was for *my* money. The currency in the till belongs to a third party and is therefore not "my money" However, if you are still desirous of said money I would suggest that you re-phrase your original statement to recognise and incorporate this important distinction.

In a similar episode, Mr Logic visits a post office and asks if they sell postage stamps. When the woman working there answers, "Of course, how many would you like?", Mr Logic corrects her by informing her that he only wants to know if they sell stamps, and that a purchase does not have to follow. He then proceeds with telling her that he does "at present require a First Class stamp."

In another episode Mr Logic was on board a flight where the Captain announced that "If you look out (the window) to the left, the Swiss Alps are 5 miles below us." Mr Logic responded by pressing the attendant call button and informing the stewardess that "The physical presence, or indeed absence of a mountain range is not ipso facto dependent on whether or not I look out of the window." As a result, the pilot jumps out of the plane rather than having Mr Logic point out another inaccuracy in his diction ^[1]

In another episode Mr. Logic, having moved to a new house, visits his new next door neighbours regarding house plans. However, due to his emotionless demeanour, he ignores the fact that they are trying to get to the hospital as the lady of the house is in labour. He also follows them there, still droning on about the plans in the delivery room, and subsequently to the newborn child (oblivious to the fact that no-one really cares).

He lives at the Fulchester Community Housing For The Differently Tempered, and has had various housemates, all of whom have had severe anger management problems. For instance, one of his housemates threatened to "break every bone in [his] body", causing Mr. Logic to point out that given the number of bones in the Human body, it would be impossible for the housemate to carry out his threat. The housemate then proceeded to prove him wrong. Another strip saw him go on a date with one of the female residents of the facility. Inevitably Mr. Logic managed to set her violent tendencies off with his behaviour, resulting in her murdering him (though it wasn't the first or last time he was killed at the end of a strip).

Mr. Logic was inspired by Chris Donald's own brother, Keith, who was much later diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. His first name was also given as Steven in an early strip, though it later changed to Lawrence.

The first few strips were drawn by Chris Donald, and most of the subsequent ones were done by Simon Donald until his departure from the comic, after which Paul Palmer became the strip's artist.

References

1. ^ Viz: The Bag of Slugs, Issues, 100-105, London: IFG Publishing, 2002, ISBN 0-75 2215-06-X