I love cartoons. I love books. I love when these two vices come together. Since June 2010, when I noticed a Shirley Jackson nod in an episode of South Park, I’ve become sensitive to other literary references in pop-culture, specifically cartoons. These past few months have been strong for my Unexpected Literary References series. South Park, American Dad, Looney Tunes, Conan O'Brien, and The Simpsons all delivered. But what makes this blog post worthy is a comment on a recent-ish blog post (about Neil Gaiman’s appearance on The Simpsons): “why are they ‘unexpected’? Especially in the programs you tend to feature (especially in the Looney Toons!–not to mention Hannah and Barbara stuff, not that you’ve mention that, yet) it is actually quite expected and part of the draw of the programs.” What do you think? Am I jaded? Are references to literature in pop culture more common than I give…