The Comics Curmudgeon

281 responses to “Metapost: The out-of-towners”

1. HBGlord
   June 26th, 2007 at 3:13 pm [Reply]

   Sorry, girls — i’m married!

2. thomas
   June 26th, 2007 at 3:18 pm [Reply]

   nice

3. Poppinjay
   June 26th, 2007 at 3:18 pm [Reply]

   Thank you for displaying your Elect Mary Washington bumper sticker. It’s a wonderful university in a heck of a town.

4. The Avocado Avenger
   June 26th, 2007 at 3:23 pm [Reply]

   Terrific recap. Francis has the best shirt ‘n’ tie combo ever! The ridiculousness of trying to retrieve a car that’s been towed knows no bounds. It probably doesn’t help you to know that it sucks just as bad here in Kansas as it does there on the East Coast, which has a slightly larger population than Kansas. Or so I’m told.

   And HPGlord has already dashed my romantic hopes. That’s cold, man.

5. Josh
   June 26th, 2007 at 3:26 pm [Reply]

   Heh heh Poppinjay #3 — she’s also an aweseome local Baltimore community activist (and our neighbor) who should have been elected to the state legislature last November, darn it, but was unable to overcome the power of the local party machine. She came darn close, though.

   I was convinced that one insurmountable problem she faced was that there was no way she’d ever be able to bump the university out of the top Google search spot result for her name.

   Fortunately, if election laws area modified to allow universities to run for office and U. of Mary Washington chooses to campaign, we already have a bumper sticker ready.

   Josh

6. edgeways
   June 26th, 2007 at 3:30 pm [Reply]

   I find it metaphysical that the post redemption shirt is white, while the pre redemption shirt is multicolor (NOT COLORIST)

7. Audient
   June 26th, 2007 at 3:40 pm [Reply]

   Great post. Lorinne is a cutie.

8. Bootsy
   June 26th, 2007 at 3:45 pm [Reply]

   I love the Smarties t shirt that fan Lorinne is wearing! My sister Amy is obsessed with Smarties. They are made by some small candy maker, not one of the huge conglomerates, and once she wrote them a fan letter, and they sent a nice letter back, as well as a gross of Smarties necklaces, which she gave out to everyone whenever there was a party at her house. So you’d see lots of people walking around with colored spots on their necks, as if you don’t eat them fast enough they get on your neck.

   Thanks for the report. You get an A for spelling and composition.

9. Bootsy
   June 26th, 2007 at 3:46 pm [Reply]

   Also, HBGlord looks like he’s throwing a Mary Worth gang sign.

10. Kronkina
    June 26th, 2007 at 3:52 pm [Reply]

    #144 Yesterthread
    I listened to the spot. So, yeah, I don’t get what all the damn dots in Shannon’s speech are supposed to mean. Anyway, Lynn looks fat in that picture. Can someone get that message to her for me, please? I’m sure she’d want to know.

11. indrifan
    June 26th, 2007 at 3:53 pm [Reply]

    Are you the guy who was heading up to the 7th floor and saw me with a Fart Party shirt on and asked me where Julia was? If so, I swear, she was at the table with Sarah Glidden and Laura Park shortly before you talked to me. And I’m bummed that I didn’t notice the finger-quotin’ Margo shirt and introduce myself. If you weren’t that guy, then someone else couldn’t find her either.

    I’m going to pretend it was you, and put in my diary that I met another of my comic-related heroes. Thanks for the site (I just started reading fairly recently – I might have even found out about it through Fart party). Sorry about your car. I’m still practicing my snark in front of the mirror – I’ve been too shy so far to post to the comics threads.

12. King Folderol
    June 26th, 2007 at 3:53 pm [Reply]

    I’m kicking myself that I couldn’t make the 100 mile drive up the N.J. Turnpike to go…and I suspect that Philadelphia just isn’t ever going to be hip enough to host you doing anything cool.

    Sniff.

13. Islamorada Girl
    June 26th, 2007 at 3:53 pm [Reply]

    You and Amber look great, in spite of your experiences in the Big Apple. Nice photos!

    And HBGlord. . . married or not, rrrrrrrooooow!

    Welcome back to Murlun’, Pope and Madame Pope. Come across the bridge and eat crabs soon!

14. Josh
    June 26th, 2007 at 3:56 pm [Reply]

    indrifan #11 — Sadly, that was not me … in fact, while I was wandering around aimlessly and asking people if they knew where she was, a passerby told me specifically that she was not there, so I stopped looking. WAAAHHH! Now I’m super bummed.

    Josh

15. GotFuzzy
    June 26th, 2007 at 3:57 pm [Reply]

    I love stories with a happy ending, and getting your car redeemed is one of the happiest. The Chinatown bus is looking a lot better, isn’t it?

    So was it Shannon and…her…aunt…that were…looking…for you…at…MoCCA?

16. Mamzelle Hepzibah
    June 26th, 2007 at 3:57 pm [Reply]

    Oh my gosh, I feel famous. For the record, Josh in person is–did you doubt it?–funny, modest, and, even in the midst of a lost-auto crisis, unfailingly nice. I’d like to add, beyond platonically, that photos don’t really do him justice. It was great meeting other CC readers at the show, and great to know that on the internet, everybody knows you’re a Josh. Or something like that.

17. Cornwhacker
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:02 pm [Reply]

    Nice recap, Josh, and I’m glad you got your car back! I’m one of the forgotten many at MoCCA who recognized the Finger Quotin’ Margo shirt. Looking over the pictures, I also recognize Francis and Lorinne’s shirts (I was selling comics all weekend, and after awhile passers-by turn into a big blur of interesting shirts; which is really embarassing when I don’t recognize someone who came to my table the day before because they changed clothes).

    Anyway, I had a nice long weekend (even visited the World Famous New York Public Library!), got home this morning, and am more than happy to let Josh read the comics because I’m too exhausted to. No way am I going to read all the comments I missed, but looks like a good time was had by all…

18. HBGlord
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:06 pm [Reply]

    #9 — As a full-fledged member of the Charterstone Blips (or is it the Cruds), i can reveal that particular gang sign means “Anyone who ain’t down with tuna casserole gets a cap popped in their ass!”

19. Just_human
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:08 pm [Reply]

    Wow.. It’s so weird to see a mere 10 comments on a single entry. I just finished reading the whole archive (worth it, if you have the time), and now am fully caught up.

    It’s obviously not your fault that many links that worked in the past no longer work, but it’s going to be great knowing that things you link to will still be around hours later when I’m reading it.

20. Yeti
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:09 pm [Reply]

    Josh – who is the Earlhamite, you or your wife? You’ve got a following here on campus!

21. The Spectacular Spider-Brick
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:09 pm [Reply]

    Josh: How many times do I have to tell you? She’s not “the car.” Her name is Gretchen. As in, “I need my” or “Find my”. Don’t let me catch you treating her like an object again.

22. True Fable
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:09 pm [Reply]

    The best pics of all:

    3. HBGlord and Josh looking like someone just told them they were at the Charterstone Pool Party. Cheer up, guys! You look great!

    2. The sign that says “Redemption” is pointing right at Amber. Yes, indeed, you know you are in heaven with a lovely lady like that in your corner.

    1. The last picture, where Josh is so happy to get Gretchen back he’s actually humping his car.

23. HBGlord
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:20 pm [Reply]

    #22 — Like i said a few days ago, real-life Josh is so much raunchier than the sanitized version he presents to us. He’s practically a two-legged satyr. I’m surprised i didn’t become preggers myself just by being in the same audience as him.

24. Francis
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:20 pm [Reply]

    Hey, Avocado Avenger, thanks! If you like that shirt and tie combo, wait till you see how far down the rabbit hole goes.

    It was great to meet you, Josh! The other highlight of MOCCA was getting introduced to R. Sikoryak, my favorite purveyor of comics pastiches. And Lorinne and I are proud to have been the only fans of yours vain enough to insist on getting our pictures taken with you.

25. Francis
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:21 pm [Reply]

    Oh, and a bald guy who goes by the name cowboy is possibly my friend David Dickerson, aka Bourbon Cowboy. (Another puzzle writer, incidentally.)

26. Mushuweasel
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:22 pm [Reply]

    Good god, man. What are you doing to that gas tank?!

27. Josh
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:26 pm [Reply]

    Yeti #20 — That would be Amber, class of ‘93. Go Hustling Quakers!

    Josh

28. Rusty
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:26 pm [Reply]

    Josh, it looks like you too failed to get a picture of Bechdel smiling. i’m pretty certain every shot of her on her excellent blog is sans smile.

29. Dennis Jimenez
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:26 pm [Reply]

    I was going to suggest Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis portray you in the movie version – but Jack Lemmon is dead and Sandy Dennis is like 70 and never really was as hot as Amber. Anyway, good story and welcome back. Now more comic snarking mule!

30. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:28 pm [Reply]

    Gee, Josh, you really did miss that Toyota, didn’t you? Get a room, will ya?

31. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:31 pm [Reply]

    Josh,I’m so relieved you beat the evil forces of Phantom of Krankor…I kicked another nineteen bucks into the tip jar. I like you VERY MUCH!

32. SecretMargo
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:31 pm [Reply]

    Yes, but the real question: is Amber’s brother-in-law taken? I remember y’all putting him up for auction a while back, but I can’t believe he’d still be “on the block.”

    [cue creepy animalistic growling noises] [okay, that's enough][I said: enough!][all right, just a little more]

    and awwwww, Alison Bechdel! Everyone should buy and read Fun Home. Don’t ask why, just do it. It is as great as everyone says.

33. HBGlord
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:38 pm [Reply]

    #13 — Isla, i never said happily married. (Honey, please put down that skillet…)

34. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:39 pm [Reply]

    Great URL, Red! I made it a favorite.

35. TargemQ8
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:44 pm [Reply]

    HOLY CRAP!
    I’m the MYSTERIOUS crane lady!
    Margaret’s the name, and I apologise for not making it to MoCCA until the last hour on Sunday. I looked for but did not see you.
    If my bird failed to give you luck, at least it gave you comfort.
    Or just a weird anecdote.
    ALSO! I made a new friend in Dave, who randomly say next to me at ROFL, but turned out to be there for the Curmudgeoning.
    AND! the lovely Lorinne and I have been in shows together, and I was unaware that she was in the Finger Quotin’ cult. Neat!

    Great to meet you, and congratulations on having the classic New York City vacation: 50% awesome, 50% disaster.

36. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:47 pm [Reply]

    PeterMoss, was this the one? http://www.ebolamonkeyman.com/tola.htm

37. Desmond
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:49 pm [Reply]

    FOOB: Shannon doesn’t realize how lucky she’s had it; she lives in Canada and only had to wait four years for a medical procedure? What is she, the Prime Minister’s niece or something?

38. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:55 pm [Reply]

    36 Thanks, Red. Now I’m off my feed.

39. Kip W
    June 26th, 2007 at 4:56 pm [Reply]

    During my long weekend of single daddyness, I found a few minutes lying about unattended and used them to experiment with some lolfoobs. I don’t see a way to post pictures here (probably a good thing), so I’ll just describe the first one: Shannon, holding an egg, saying, “I… CA…N… H… AZ…”

    Anyway, welcome back.

40. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:00 pm [Reply]

    Do they sell t-shirts in Baltimore that say, “My (spouse) went to Baltimore but all I got was crabs.”

41. ed, edd, eddie n edda
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:06 pm [Reply]

    What? TJ in Luann is giving cooking lessions to Jeremy in Zits? What kind of teenagers are these guys?

42. D.A.Pennington
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:06 pm [Reply]

    I was there the day Shannon gave her “I am not an animal” speech in the cafeteria.

    Let me just say I will not be eating there again after she had her dirty tard feet all over that table.

    BTW, I had the Chicken ala king with mushrooms wrapped in back bacon and a Molsen to wash it all down with.

43. SecretMargo
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:09 pm [Reply]

    41: The same kind of teenageer I was in high school. You know, a gay teenager.

44. Charlotte
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:10 pm [Reply]

    thanks for the story and all of the pics
    my car (looked exactly the same as yours) was totaled a few weeks ago
    if it were possible, i too would be giving my Toyota the affectionate reunion hug
    ahhhhh . . . bittersweet memories

45. Vince M.
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:15 pm [Reply]

    Nice essay, Josh – glad to hear you had some fun and met some neat people. Your account sounds a lot less Kafkaesque than it had been suggested here.
    I drive a ‘94 Toyota truck, so I can relate. Don’t love it quite as much as you apparently do yours but…

46. Charlotte
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:17 pm [Reply]

    Also, I am sure this has been mentioned many times already (I have been negligent in my comment reading duties as of late) . . . but I must thank Sunday’s Zippy for calling out the hideousness of the man/woman statue in front of the train station. I mean no offense to those who love this piece of public art. But, I really really really really hate it! I just think it detracts from the beautiful restoration work. If only I were a criminal . . .

47. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:19 pm [Reply]

    Josh, I hope you and your Corolla share a “safe word” for when it gets out-of-hand.

48. ed, edd, eddie n edda
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:21 pm [Reply]

    If I played baseball, I’d want one of those magical gloves Milford catchers have. It’s got either one of three things:

    1. a strong built-in flash to blind the batter.
    2. a supermagnet to pull the bat out of the hitter’s hands.
    3. an internal airhorn to complety distract the batter.

49. hypolchrismutreefuzz
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:26 pm [Reply]

    Nice pictures. As Hazel Motes put it in Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood: “I reckon you think you been *redeemed”. And I reckon you were.

50. Andrea D and the Grandstanding Oddballs
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:31 pm [Reply]

    Uh. Yeah. The brother-in-law. NOT that I am interested at all. Just, you know wondering. If, you know, he’s like, taken or something.

51. Josh
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:34 pm [Reply]

    #49 hypolchrismutreefuzz — Hazel also posits that “Nobody with a good car needs to be justified.” I’m not sure how this relates to our situation, but I feel it must somehow.

52. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:36 pm [Reply]

    Tuesday: Man! Sodoku and Dilbert and Dagwood and Love Is all in one day? HRUMPPH!….. DOUBLE HRUMMPHS!!

53. jeff
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:38 pm [Reply]

    I don’t usually comment, bieng a lurker, But I must say that shirt your wearing is very funny!

54. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:39 pm [Reply]

    I need a klaxon defroster…STAT!

55. Dean Booth
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:43 pm [Reply]

    Welcome back Josh. Great story, nicely told. I’m thinking about using it to create a soap strip — it’s at least two years of material. As I imagine it, there will be lots of pointing and people turning yellow in the panels covering the Navy Yard visit.

56. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:44 pm [Reply]

    I believe Shan..non speaks for all of us, Ms Lynn Johnston, if that’s your real name. Quit treating us like a bunch of ‘tards! Graphic novel my irritable bowel! By the way, all us cleft palated readers want to know – what do you do for a real job, anyway?

57. Uncle Lumpy
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:46 pm [Reply]

    #55 Dean –

    Hey, that idea has legs! A comic strip about Josh, and then Brooke McEldowney starts a site where Tom Batiuk, Lynn Johnston and Jef Keane write in and ridicule it/him!

    Stop the presses!

58. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:47 pm [Reply]

    Love is…
    Letting her redeem the Corolla.

59. Bobbie Sterne Built My Hot Rod
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:48 pm [Reply]

    #20 and #27 — Wow, more Earlhamites! My dad is class of ‘68.

60. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:49 pm [Reply]

    #55 Dean –Totally gammable!

61. True Fable
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:50 pm [Reply]

    JP Let’s speculate a little here, since it will take all week for Trudi to get to the [margo]ing point as usual.

    Trudi doesn’t want to buy Sam & Abbey’s shares of the winery. Of course not. She won’t get to freely gossip with Abbey over the phone and write it off as a business expense, and she won’t get to shampoo and fluff Sam’s chest hair and write it off as business entertainment expense.

    And as usual, Keith is the heavy here, since he’s the one who’s so hot to trot on buying the shares so he can go into partnership with Mr. Caesar, whoever he is. Keith is expecting Sam to just sign over his interests, take the money and run.

    But what Keith doesn’t realize is that Sam is still smarting from Abbey’s dropping at $2.5 MILLION for a flat that technically she shouldn’t have had to buy. He won’t want to rush into anything (at least I hope not) and will need to show Abbey that it’s a good thing to ask why and what and where and who and especially, HOW MUCH before signing on the dotted line, no matter if they need the money. They need it for horse feed; for paying for another set of expensive books for Neddy since she never did go back to get the ones she chunked at the punk; because Abbey is still in Paris with the checkbook; to pay for Sophie’s hormone treatment since she’s 14 and flat as a board. And Sam will need a little ready cash, all in one’s, for when he and Trudi play “The Lap Dancer and The Generous Customer” later tonight when Sophie passes out from wine tasting all day.

    They have matching sunglasses. In comicdom that’s foreshadowing a hot lusty affair. Or, just Sam’s attempt to see what living without a tie is like.

62. Jobiska
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:52 pm [Reply]

    My sister just IMed me to hurry up and look at the picture of your car with its sticker. I thought she meant a big ol’ tow sticker or some such, and was amazed to see the Earlham College sticker. Hi to Yeti and Amber (via Josh)–I’m class of ‘82 (25th reunion coming up in October–yikes!).

    Topic? Um…when I was at Earlham I actually cut out FBOFW strips that caught my fancy. Because they were, y’know, funny then.

    And I’m glad you got redeemed and all that!

63. Josh
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:55 pm [Reply]

    #53 Jeff — if you’re talking about the Finger Quotin’ Margo shirt, it can be yours!

    #61 True Fable:

    He won’t want to rush into anything (at least I hope not)…

    This is Judge Parker. There’s no such thing as “rush”.

    Josh

64. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 5:58 pm [Reply]

    #56 PeyoteMoss-Although I normally disagree with yer ultra right wing views, I gotta Bro-up w/ yer take on LJ.

65. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:07 pm [Reply]

    64 Red,

    It’s a travesty of mamallian porportions and even a pro-pork, anti-waterslide anarchist-from-the-Muppet-camp-of-political-thought like you has to admit it. Margo, it just burns my toaster strudel. When will LJ care as much as we do?

66. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:09 pm [Reply]

    Strate Outta Clompton.True Clam!

67. MossMoses
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:10 pm [Reply]

    56. PM, great post! There’s hope for irritable bowel syndrome (with side effects), you know

    The…treatment…may…make…you…talk…slowly…out …your…ass…

    http://www.grandtimes.com/Treatment_of_Irritable.html

68. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:22 pm [Reply]

    I thought it was VEAL…Who are the Brain Police?

69. Squid Countess
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:22 pm [Reply]

    Josh – Your “redemption” pictures reminded me of a time I had a Eurail pass. The instructions went on and on about how you must have it validated or it would be confiscated, but I couldn’t find a conductor in France or Germany or Austria who gave a frick about validating it. “Will you for God’s sake shut up about that pass?!” my friend said, after three countries. “I just want to be validated,” I bleated. That was 14 years ago, but “I just want to be validated”, is still our shorthand for wanting anything – dentist appointment, hot date, second mortgage – we can’t get. “I just want to be redeemed”, seems like it might be good code for something.

70. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:25 pm [Reply]

    67 MossMoses, it is a functional gut disorder, so I am able to operate normally with certain accomodations. For instance, I cannot be exposed to too much Cathy or Celine Dione recordings. There’s also the prescription socks and the llama assistant. Other than that, life is fairly normal.

71. The Divine O’F
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:31 pm [Reply]

    Great post, Josh! HBGlord, nice to see what you look like! Ditto, Lorrine and Francis! And also the paper swan!

    130 Aackthhpht (approximately): I get so annoyed when people tell me that brussels sprouts are delicious. Why would they deliberately lie like that? I’m fairly neutral about pineapple, but I HATE HATE HATE it on pizza.

72. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:32 pm [Reply]

    Love is…
    Laughing in public at all his “dick” jokes.

73. The Divine O’F
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:33 pm [Reply]

    Pardon moi; that missive to Aack was from yesterthread.

74. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:34 pm [Reply]

    I first saw the title as “The Out-Of-Boners” and thought…’Damn, More spam!” VealWaitressTipsSaladbarCompedQuesadillasAdNausiumChaChaCha.

75. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:35 pm [Reply]

    Ms O’F, you spoke French. You know that drives me crazy! xxxxxxxooooooooxxxxxxxxooooo!!

76. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:36 pm [Reply]

    I…am…Shgannacus!

77. Squid Countess
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:38 pm [Reply]

    The Scene : An English pub. Filled with Vikings.

    All: squid, squid, squid, squid,
    squid, squid, squid, squid

    SQUIDIDDY-SQUID, SQUIDIDDY-SQUID!

    Waitress: Stop that, stop that! Bloody Vikings!

    TDIET mentions squid today. 2007 squid count advances to 4! Oh -h Yee-e-aah!

78. Kronkina
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:39 pm [Reply]

    Uh-oh. I’m a pepperoni and pineapple pizza afficionado……….

79. Kronkina
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:41 pm [Reply]

    Can I still play blog wit’ y’all?

80. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:42 pm [Reply]

    Crap!…Shannocus! Thanks 4 teh tomatoes! Im preparing a nice Niçoise and they’ll come in Jack handy-dandy

81. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:42 pm [Reply]

    Pepperoni, pineapple, ham chunks, squid, poi. Goat cheese. Now there’s a pizza!

82. The Divine O’F
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:46 pm [Reply]

    75 Pete Moss: Ooh, la la! I did not mean to make you fou; my French is better reading than writing, alas.

    78 Kronkina: just so you don’t eat pizza with pineapple and brussels sprouts you should be okay.

    Otherwise… I’m outta here till tomorrow. Play nice, kids!

83. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:49 pm [Reply]

    Mark Trail knows that “a visit to the wildlife people” means one thing: Free coffee & conversation with a combover.

84. True Fable
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:51 pm [Reply]

    …and then I did something dangerous. I went from the lushness of Barreto’s orgasmic artwork, straight into the stark lifeless world of Mark Trail, where people would rather sit on the edge of a desk rather than use a chair.

    Ow, I got whiplash from snapping back in fear and horror so quickly.

    But while I’m snarking on the Trailster…

    What the hell is it with leaning on desks and stuff in this strip? Is it in the bylaws? Last month, Cherry and some guy were having a slut-off trying to out-lean the other for Mark’s benefit.

    Well, Okay, to be fair Cherry’s leaning against a rock, but it sets a precedence just the same: You either make her hot or dizzy, Mark.
    Then there’s the classic front lean
    Now he’s just showing off. It’s the classic front lean, back view!
    Even the frogs get into the leaning thing in the last panel but I digress.
    Here we go, right after the frightening Rusty close up so I suppose we can forgive him for being a little weak
    and the next day, a little more leaning action; the day after THAT, the rare but still viable lean back in the chair maneuver.
    Now we have the counterpoint to Cherry’s come-hither rock lean, only it’s an old guy so it’s plenty creepy; then after that was a dry spell in which we amused ourselves with speculation about Sam Hill. In fact, it was so long that Jack Elrod had to ease back into it by making the guy lean only his arms against the desk. A few days later, we were strong enough to handle a one arm lean. The next day – here ya go, a two armed- frontal desk lean! And so it goes. Later – leaning everywhere! show offs.
    Mark shows how it’s done, and now everyone’s an expert.

    Now remember this. Don’t make me send them after you. (couldn’t resist, I just love that picture.)

85. Kronkina
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:52 pm [Reply]

    82 O’F *whew* I was worried there for a minute. No worries that I may eat brussel sprouts, though. I’m on the anti-brussel sprout bandwagon.

86. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:57 pm [Reply]

    Here in America, We call ‘em “Freedom Sprouts”

87. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 6:59 pm [Reply]

    targemq8 can fold paper swans for me anytime! Hoo!

88. Virginia
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:02 pm [Reply]

    EEE! I love Alison Bechdal! Wish I could have seen you in NY (we got inthursday, and already had dinner plans), but it sounds like evil car toting gremlins aside, your trip was fantastic!

    and yay! New Margo shirts! Now I can join the craze!

89. True Fable
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:04 pm [Reply]

    #63 Josh – you’re right; what was I thinking?

    This is Judge Parker’s Sam Driver. I should have said, “He won’t have to slowly, agonizingly, achingly limp forward like a punch-drunk boxer, or like the closing months of Foobocalypse.”

90. Flummoxen
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:05 pm [Reply]

    STOP THE PRESSES!!!

    Aldo has been reincarnated!

    “You’ll see me around! I guarantee it!”

91. PeteMoss
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:06 pm [Reply]

    Love is…
    Only 3 mimosas and a cab fare away.

92. Flummoxen
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:07 pm [Reply]

    Hmmm… link above doesn’t work for some reason. So…sigh…let’s try this: http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2007/06/26/699681.html&cvqh=itn_hippo

93. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:09 pm [Reply]

    #90 Flummoxen-Your ideas are intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

94. Cornwhacker
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:14 pm [Reply]

    Josh, is this the one I gave you?

    (Warning: contains dick joke.)

95. Iris
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:14 pm [Reply]

    One night I parked in the lot owned by my friend’s landlord, where he rents a space. I got a weird (FORESHADOWING) feeling when I saw that no other cars were parked there. But I was thrilled to have overnight parking so I left it. The next day, I went back, and not only was my car gone… the entire parking lot was gone! Just a patch of dirt and some bulldozers. It’s pretty funny looking back on it, but believe me, it most definitely was not amusing at the time.

    Also, Josh, I have a request about the merch- in your descriptions of the items, could you please provide a link to the posts they reference for the benefit of newbies like me? I want to get the Finger Quotin’ Margo joke, but alas, I cannot.

96. Dean Booth
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:18 pm [Reply]

    Here’s a Sunday preview from my new soap strip, JRCB: Josh Reeds: Comic Blogger

97. AhClem
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:25 pm [Reply]

    JP – Sam sits in his office, trying to figure out how to raise some extra cash for the family, Abbey having blown their last $2.5 mil on a cheesy Paris flat. “But what?” he thinks as he wipes the dust off of his desk. “Maybe I could sell stuff on eBay” he mutters as he returns some law books to their spot in the massive bookcase. “We could sell our share of the winery,” he ponders as he accidentally knocks a pile of pending case files onto the floor. “We could also sell the mansion and move into a condo” he says, straightening the diplomas and law licenses hanging on his wall. “What to do, what to do…”

98. AhClem
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:29 pm [Reply]

    #96 Dean Booth -
    I am in awe. I may be a slightly overweight bearded guy a few years north of 50, but I want to have your baby!

99. Red Greenback
    June 26th, 2007 at 7:29 pm [Reply]

    Cornwhacker-Bufferin Fuccotash?! Bufferin /Fuccotash?!You complete me, Hermano!

100. Red Greenback
     June 26th, 2007 at 7:34 pm [Reply]

     Deen Boots-Mere words fail like so many Freedom Fries smothered in two weeks o’ Mayo…Dang, you’re GOOD!

101. That's The Spirit
     June 26th, 2007 at 7:34 pm [Reply]

     96 Dean: That’s excellent.

102. True Fable
     June 26th, 2007 at 7:40 pm [Reply]

     I just want to be validated by Squid Countess.

103. Red Greenback
     June 26th, 2007 at 7:49 pm [Reply]

     I♥True Fable! Not in a gay way, eventhough there’s nothing wrong with that.

104. True Fable
     June 26th, 2007 at 7:57 pm [Reply]

     #103 Red Greenback – You’re making me blush; gorshk! I don’t know what I did but if it made you happy, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

     # 96 Dean Booth, God of Pixels, strikes again! He shoots! He SCOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRES!

105. Ryan Wyatt
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:04 pm [Reply]

     Re: Comment 25. I was thinking the same thing as Francis, and believe me, if I hadn’t moved from Manhattan to San Francisco, I would have been right there by Cowboy Dave’s side… And standing doe-eyed in awe behind you and Allison Bechdel, whom I adore and admire.

     Alas, my adulation remains virtual.

106. NotThatGuy
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:10 pm [Reply]

     WOW, you met a lot of folks on your trip! Who ever would have thought there were so many people in New York City?

107. Islamorada Girl
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:17 pm [Reply]

     The proposal still stands, Dean Booth! Excellent!

108. Red Greenback
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:17 pm [Reply]

     “Noodlefoot” shalt herein be refered to as “Snake”

109. HBGlord
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:19 pm [Reply]

     #96 — The new ranking of Deans is out:

     5. James Dean
     4. Dean Acheson
     3. Dizzy Dean
     2. Dean Martin

     and at Number One

     Dean Booth!

     (sorry to John Dean, Dean Koontz, Howard Dean and Dean Wormer)

110. Dean Booth
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:22 pm [Reply]

     *blushes*

     Thanks all. HBGlord, I should have put you in the strip!

111. Gadge Cubic, Mole Preener
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:23 pm [Reply]

     A new feature, wherein I demonstrate that I haven’t been able to read the most recent 5,372 comments by repeating other people’s insights without looking!

     Luann: It’s so sweet to see this Felix/Oscar nascent gay relationship finally getting underway in earnest. Just as TJ’s about to leave, I’m sure, Toni will call: “Oh I’m so sorry Brad – something’s come up [muffled background: "it sure has, baby - and I know just where to put it"] and I can’t come over tonight.” Brad and TJ look at each other – “oh, what will we do with this lovely romantic meal we’ve prepared together?” holding each other’s gazes for just a bit longer than either of them intended…and, we’re off!

     FOOB: LJ’s abandoned all subtlety in her message-mongering, and has resorted to literally having a character harangue people from atop a table. I will not torture my soul by going into the archives and comparing how relatively well she handled the whole Lawrence-coming-out thing – but I’m pretty sure he didn’t commandeer the top of a bar, lecture the attending drinkers on tolerance and rights, then strip down to his tiny, tight, leather underpants.

     (There seems to be a gay theme in these comments tonight. Must be the phase of the moon or something.)

     9CL: All the dramatic tension and whiplash action of RMMD; all the coherence of (DT)GT; all the subtlety of the aforementioned FOOB. Plus, he only has to draw a single panel each day! Labor-saving!

     F-Minus: Guest artist Damien Hirst.

     FW: Can someone explain to me why the late Elliott Smith is doing a cameo here?

     Back into the rabbithole…

112. HBGlord
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:24 pm [Reply]

     #107 — I feel like Popeye being cast aside for Bluto and his well-developed Photoshop muskles. (It seems as if comment #13 was a million years ago.) [sob, sniff]

113. Gadge Cubic, Mole Preener
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:30 pm [Reply]

     Okay, this is weird: first, I used the word “rabbithole” above…reading the earlier posts, I see someone else used the same word (or two words) – and that someone is the “Francis” with the incredible shirt/tie combos pictured above (and the very cute female accompanist). But – following the link on his name – I see his name is “Francis Heaney” – which rang a little bell (ding ding ding). Sure enough: courtesy of my bitchen music database, I discovered that, some years ago, I’d downloaded a brilliant Elvis Costello impersonation called “It Loves Cellos” (anagram: I believe there were many more of those) by…Francis Heaney. So, Mr. Heaney: is that you? Small world…

114. CrabbyGenes
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:36 pm [Reply]

     My favorite photos are the 5th and 6th into the post. You’re cute, Josh!

115. HBGlord
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:37 pm [Reply]

     #110 — I’m flattered that you would even think to do such a thing. Which brings this up:

     Now that the CC Cabal knows what i look like, i can reveal a bit more about myself: Last year i finally realized my lifelong dream of being captured in comic strip form, thanks to Adrian Tomine. (Click on my newly linked handle above, then onto the graphic link above the caption “larger image” to get, yes, a larger image.) It will probably pose more questions than it answers (sorry, Squid Countess).

116. Red Greenback
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:41 pm [Reply]

     Gadge:-Is that a big QLUNQ on the fez or what?

117. Cornwhacker
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:44 pm [Reply]

     115 HBGlord: Cool! Another fond memory of my NY trip was waking up with WFMU on the clock radio.

     99: Thanks, Red! I always wanted a brother.

118. Skullturf Q. Beavispants
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:45 pm [Reply]

     113 GCMP — I had a similar thought. It’s always fascinating to see pictures of the people who post here, and when I saw the shirt/tie combo that Francis was wearing, I was like “OMG! Francis is Francis Heaney, the puzzle constructor!” (I was a GAMES Magazine reader going way back.)

     There are a few other sites on the WWW, or “web sites” as I like to call them, that I also visit. And yes Josh, none of them can quite compare with this one, but I spend a lot of time at the Onion AV Club, and at the blog of Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings, and sometimes I’ll see a commentor name at one of these places that I recognize from another one of those places. It’s a strange experience, kind of like accidentally running into your grade 5 teacher at the grocery store.

119. Non Compost Mentos
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:47 pm [Reply]

     Rolly Church of Crete! (Am I using that correctly?) It just hit me–that furshlugginer sports car that Trudi’s driving…it looks a lot like…a MORGAN! (OK, the fenders aren’t quite right, but it looks as much like a Morgan as Sam’s car looks like a Probe…)

     I’d prefer to think that this is a deliberate soap-comics visual pun, and not a coincidence. Be on the lookout for June Morgan to sign something with a Parker pen.

120. Josh
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:51 pm [Reply]

     #94 Cornwhacker — That’s the one! Link going up shortly! It was awesome to meet you!

     Also, for those who asked: Yes, Amber’s brother is single. (He likes the ladies, though — sorry SecretMargo.)

     Josh

121. Gadge Cubic, Mole Preener
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:52 pm [Reply]

     A puzzle constructor? So that’s what you do with an advanced degree in the liberal arts! (Yes, I’m having ideas. Don’t disturb me.)

     Or, you know, you could be the person who puts together feather boas…which would make you – that’s right – a [CONTENT REMOVED UNDER HOMELAND SECURITY REGULATION SEC. 14136(B)(d)(1)(i), PUNS HARMFUL TO THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE].

122. Skullturf Q. Beavispants
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:53 pm [Reply]

     In fact, Josh, I remember noticing that one “jfruh” posted over at http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com (a funny site that I just discovered recently and recommend).

123. Harold
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:55 pm [Reply]

     Yayy for the squid count incrementation!

     Today’s Slylock Fox appears to have crossed into Lio territory.

     I just sent in my first Pluggers submission! Willie Thompson knows what it is, if he remembers…

124. Skullturf Q. Beavispants
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:55 pm [Reply]

     or “commented”, I guess I should say

125. JAMBONAY
     June 26th, 2007 at 8:57 pm [Reply]

     119: Jaguar XK120

126. The Avocado Avenger
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:00 pm [Reply]

     Skullturf – I still have my Games Magazines from the ’80s. Got a Games t-shirt, too. Oh my yes.

     LuAnn’s gone in a direction that bores me beyond belief. Why doesn’t TJ have eyes? My god, WHY DOESN’T HE HAVE EYES?!

127. stinky pete
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:02 pm [Reply]

     Well, I was supposed to be on a margoing plane to margoing Boston right now, but margoing American Airlines cancelled the margoing flight. Boxcar! Anyway…

     119 NCM: There are no uses of “Rolly Church of Crete” which are incorrect. It is the all purpose interjection.

     109 HBG: Chicagoans would place Dean’s Ice Cream at number 2, but all in all your list is a good one.

     84 TF: There isn’t a man, woman or child in America that don’t love a picture of baby goats.

     Red (everywhere): Don’t ever change, big fella.

     77 SqC: I prefer baked beans and squid.

     Off till Friday night assuming margoing AA can get it right tomorrow margoing morning at 6 margoing AM. ASSHATS!!!!!(yeah, hide the kids, I’m working blue here myself). Anyway, play nice while I’m gone.

128. PeteMoss
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:25 pm [Reply]

     108 Red

     “Snake” Pliskin? I thought you were dead.

129. fizzy logic
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:25 pm [Reply]

     Josh, I really think you and Amber should consider a US (and Canadian) tour. Think about it! You’d announce where you’d be – suspiciously close to mealtime, and wait for the adoring crowd to show up and fight over who would be buying you lunch/dinner/drinks. For example, at your Seattle stop, I’d show up and take you and Amber to dinner at the Space Needle – or if you prefer, some place with good food. And if you weren’t picky about where you stayed at night, you could really do it on the cheap, I’m sure, staying on couches and spare rooms. How are you with camping? Gretchen would have fun!

     You’d just need to figure out a way to keep posting from the road. Because we wouldn’t let you be gone for longer than a couple of days. So think Wi-Fi, laptops, public libraries, internet cafes, etc. And how not to get your car impounded, because if you did that in each city, that would add considerable time to the process.

     Think of the stories you could tell! And the pictures you would take! Because you would take pictures. And get names. And tell the funny stories, much like this one, only slightly less tragic.

130. Poteet
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:25 pm [Reply]

     Foob — AAAAAAAGGGHHH! Sorry if this has been said, because I haven’t had time to read comments, but I just checked out the Lizard birthday illustration on the main page of the Foobsite and it has scarred my very soul.

131. Citric
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:25 pm [Reply]

     119: Jag XK120, not a Morgan. Car geek? Guilty as charged (note the car based ‘blog’ of sorts, as well), though at least this is a nice car, unlike Vera’s 90’s Chrysler LeBaron.

132. Artist formerly known as Ben
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:27 pm [Reply]

     Gneiss pictures. I particularly like how close HGBLord comes to the “Live long and prosper” gesture.

133. Dean Booth
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:29 pm [Reply]

     #115. You’re in there HGB.

134. Trish
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:45 pm [Reply]

     After years of faithful reading, I’ve finally found something important enough to comment on:

     Josh’s nose is adorable.

135. SecretMargo
     June 26th, 2007 at 9:49 pm [Reply]

     Awwww, thanks for the thought Josh. But it was always only speculation anyway — I have my Lawrence already (and he’s even from Arabia!). I’ll just be content to enjoy my heart skipping a beat whenever bro-in-law’s T-shirt advert bubbles up like an auspicious 8-Ball fortune foretelling cute.

136. HBGlord
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:01 pm [Reply]

     #133 — It’s like we did it together (well, in that you created it and i sat back and admired it). Words cannot express my jjjdlskj wsonmk hedsajsywos.

     #135 — SecretMargo, being that you’re a gay, Canadian comic strip fan, it behooves me to ask: Is your romantic involvement with a swarthy man named Lawrence influenced by Foob?

137. Brown-eyed Girl
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:05 pm [Reply]

     133 — Dean Booth. I love it! (see post 96 for a very, very good time)

138. Francis
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:08 pm [Reply]

     Gadge Cubic: Yep, I’m the same Francis Heaney who recorded “It Loves Cellos”, as an audio side project to my book of poetry and drama pastiches, Holy Tango of Literature. Glad to know you liked it! That song is still available as a free download (along with four other songs) here.

     Ryan Wyatt: Wait, I’m not the only person here who knows David? Also, it sounds like he may have been the person sitting next to Margaret. Craaaazy.

139. Non Compost Mentos
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:14 pm [Reply]

     125 & 131–dag, it’s a Jag. I bow to your superior and manly automotive knowledge. My testicles are shrivelling as I speak.

     Ah well…maybe Bill Griffith will draw another Nash Metropolitan soon.

140. Lorinne
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:17 pm [Reply]

     #7 Audient: Thank you!!!

     #8 Bootsy: Glad you like the shirt. Got any candy necklaces left?

141. Red Greenback
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:23 pm [Reply]

     Rolly Church of Hughes Imagineered Brazyeers! ….Noithing? Peggy thought that was the bomb w/ a cherry on top!

142. SecretMargo
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:26 pm [Reply]

     HBG: It’s the other way around: I call my swarthy boy toy Lawrence (note: not actually his name, though he really is of Arabic descent) because my mom always parallelled me with Michael, whom my age and career trajectory (sort of, kind of) mirrored (I’m still waiting for the book deal). Little did she know that she should have been paying more attention to Michael’s fetching friend. And, though we both live in Canada, neither of I nor my “Lawrence” grew up here; we are dirty foreigners on the Foobish frontier.

     Your question made me contemplate a whole new romantic trajectory for myself, though: haunting all the gay bars from Vancouver to Halifax, telling crestfallen hopefuls, “Sorry … ‘Larry’ just isn’t close enough,” preparing landscaping quizzes to “weed out” the poseurs…

143. reader-who-posts
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:26 pm [Reply]

     A3G: We can only hope that Blaze is arrested for attempted murder.

     FBOFW: Shannon’s got a great point…after all, Johnston can’t help the fact that she’s become such a crappy writer, so maybe we shouldn’t make fun of her! Aw, f*$& it, it’s too much fun to stop.

     FW: I can only hope ‘future cancer boy’ was being sarcastic, because there was nothing cute about that lame-ass joke.

     MW: Young Dr. Cory’s about to head for the strip club…little pony-tailed girl better sashay her ass out there soon.

     GT: They don’t have basepaths in Goshen?

144. Red Greenback
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:35 pm [Reply]

     Let it be written, let it be said: Henceforth you Mudges shallt address me as “The Philharmonica Of Phoob”…KIDDING!, Red.

145. Wordboy Dave
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:47 pm [Reply]

     25 and 105–Francis and Ryan are correct, as is Margaret (#35), who I think might know a friend of mine from FSU named Charles. It’s a really really tiny fucking world.

     It was a real pleasure to meet you, and I’m sorry I didn’t step right up to identify myself. Apparently, I blog as “Wordboy Dave” not “Bourbon Cowboy,” which is my usual pseudonym elsewhere. So your confusion is understandable. And while I assumed you were talking about me, there are a lot of bald people around and it would have seemed presumptuous to claim ownership of that brief moment of meeting. If you were raised a fundamentalist you’d understand self-assassinating modesty.

146. HBGlord
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:52 pm [Reply]

     #142 — SM: Your true-life version is much sweeter (and saner), i admit. But what did you ever do to your mom to be cursed with such a horrible fate as to spend a lifetime being measured against Michael Patterfoob?

     Please tell me you migrated to the Great White North just to give Lynn Johnston a “Boy Named Sue”-style beatdown, only to reconcile afterward — just so you could kick her back bacon all the way from Windsor to Yellowknife a second time!

147. HBGlord
     June 26th, 2007 at 10:58 pm [Reply]

     #145 — You ain’t kiddin’, bub! At ROFL, not only did i have the connection with Josh and the impresario who presented it as well as another contestant, i’m also friends with two other would-be contestants who dropped out last-minute (probably once they heard there’d be a boner show-and-tell). And i also had a happy email reunion with Josh’s friend and mine Mamzelle Hepzibah, whom i had lost touch with.

148. Red Greenback
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:02 pm [Reply]

     I feel kinda like Leslie Nielsen ducking into the cockpit but, Happy Birthday Glord!

149. digamma
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:05 pm [Reply]

     I think I might be the “nice young man with a blue shirt and glasses”.

150. SecretMargo
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:10 pm [Reply]

     146: HBG — Well, at least I don’t have to compete with Liz. And, being a volunteer firewoman, I think mom lost her faith in Michael’s brains during the whole “ignore family — must save book” spectacular.

     “Promise me you’d never do something that stupid, SecretMargo!”

     “Okay, moooom.”

     Besides, I’ve always been cuter. The current homepage shows how low the bar is set, but still, it’s gotta count for something.

     And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who felt/was explicitly told that s/he had saintly, sock-shuffling shadows on the funny pages. Am I right, ‘Mudgie Nation?

151. HBGlord
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:10 pm [Reply]

     #148: Thanks, Red, for remembering (well, not when my birthday is — it’s the day after the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch’s — but what the HB stands for in my nom de snark).

     And you be certain to steer clear of those dye packs those tellers hide amongst the bank notes.

152. CrabbyGenes
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:13 pm [Reply]

     The Wednesday FOOB: Choose one:

     a. groan
     b. curse
     c. sigh, with eyes rolling up
     d. expression of utter disgust
     e. all of the above

     And I don’t remember who, but I think that more than one Mudgie predicted this. Though I don’t know if it’s a SLOW clap or not.

153. SecretMargo
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:24 pm [Reply]

     152: You mean someone sleeps with Shannon?

     (apologies to SSB, who first made this sublimely appalling joke. I simply couldn’t resist)

154. Red Greenback
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:30 pm [Reply]

     HBGlord- Done and done…Good Lookin’ Out, Hermano!

155. That Nice Young Man\’s Girlfriend
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:30 pm [Reply]

     Dear Josh,

     I am the girlfriend of the nice young man in the blue shirt and the glasses, who has never commented although he reads your blog every day. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the show. I’m also sorry that he apparently failed to convey the most directly relevant piece of information, which is that we live in Apartment 3-G of our building, so we get a lot of mileage out of Apartment 3-G jokes and thus appreciate yours very much, so, thanks for that. And for the rest of it as well!

156. AAckTTpth
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:36 pm [Reply]

     OK – who is less in touch with reality?

     Brooke McEldowney’s halucenogenic unicorns. Edda must be a real ballerina – the starvation diet and meth binge has her thinking that ballet is more important than an economy where people can make the money needed to support the arts. Seriously – I have most of a Fine Art degree, but the reality is that business – that Brooke so hates – is the patron to the arts. Bad times for the economy = no support of the arts (and no wool guild = no bapistry doors). Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, buddy.

     Lynn Johnson’s Norma Rae speech. This shows what happens when a sactimonious 60-year-old tries to draw teenagers. Shan…non will be ridiculed more, not less, than before. Has this ever worked in any high school in the history of ever? Gaaah.

     GAAH! calm blue ocean calm blue ocean calm blue oce – nope, stroke…

157. Trotzenbonnie
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:43 pm [Reply]

     #150 – SecretMargo
     I, too, have a son who is about the same age as Michael and has gone through certain life experiences at the same time as his comic strip counterpart. Believe me, when St. Michael got married there was hell to pay. And I never miss an opportunity to point out to my kid how pitiful it is to have only cartoon grandchildren to bounce on my knee. From now on, I’m going to call him Drew Corey.

158. That's The Spirit
     June 26th, 2007 at 11:53 pm [Reply]

     Did anyone else throw up in their mouth a little bit when they read Monday’s (and Tuesday’s) FBOFW?

     Ick.

159. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 12:01 am [Reply]

     Number

     Number
     Nine

     Chickweed Lane
     :Brooke MackleJacuzzi, Come Fukkin’ Correct ands chex out the Lyrics of the Mighty, mighty X-CLAN….SISSY!

     by Red Greenback

     Number
     Nine

     Chickweed Lane
     :Brooke MackleJacuzzi, Come Fukkin’ Sorrect ands chex out the Lyrics of the Mighty, mighty X-CLAN….SISSY!

160. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 12:03 am [Reply]

     Oopsy Daisy!

161. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 12:25 am [Reply]

     Stinkypete- Why, I have more changes than a Chinese phonebook!

162. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 12:34 am [Reply]

     Red @#161 That was my second NYer comic caption entry…
     it didn’t stick! Elitist Phoobs!

163. Moon Mullins
     June 27th, 2007 at 12:35 am [Reply]

     Wednesday Foob:

     If only Lynn had followed Spider-Brick’s advice, and had one of those kids soak a sourdough roll in a glass of milk, then toss it at Shannon so it smacked her hard right on the side of the head. Then instead of the slow-clap all the kids would have burst in to a roar and started a massive food fight. Farfetched, but still more likely than this.

     And wait a second, it’s almost July! What are these kids doing in high school anyway? Don’t their Ontarian parents need them to plow fields during the fortnight-long planting season? Do they not get summer break in Canada?

164. kurt
     June 27th, 2007 at 12:56 am [Reply]

     Thank you for the photos! I will definitely look them over tomorrow.

     Meanwhile…I hope you get to check out POPEYE tomorrow, for today’s strip had Olive Oyl pointing a GUN to her head!
     I’ve heard of “shooting up”, but that is ridiculous!

165. Liosliath
     June 27th, 2007 at 12:58 am [Reply]

     Earlham : I was there from 91-92. Wannabe punk anarchists do not mix well with Quakers….even though they were still the “Fightin’ Quakers” then!

166. MDV
     June 27th, 2007 at 12:58 am [Reply]

     The ‘Spider-Man gets molested’ magnum-opus? That wouldn’t be this one, by any chance, would it?

     http://bitrot.emuchrist.org/comics/spider01.html

167. The Spectacular Spider-Brick
     June 27th, 2007 at 1:13 am [Reply]

     SecretMargo @ 153: I’m tempted to change my name to The Sublimely Appalling Spider-Brick. But, naah.

     Red Greenback @ 159: For a while there, I thought you were returning to lucidity. Glad to see I was mistaken.

     Onward to Wednesday!

     9CL: Good news: The unicorn saga is over. Bad news: Edda is not the most detestable character in this strip.

     A3G: Looks like Blaze took the opportunity of being at Large City Hospital to avail himself of one of their famous 5-Minute Rhinoplasty deals. In his previous appearances, I mentally followed each of his lines with a breathy, “Oh, God! I need this job!”

     C’Shaft: Who talks like “And that’s how much I’ll be making a week at Channel One”? It seems like a ridiculously circuitous way to get around using an actual dollar amount in the strip. Either Batiuk is trying to make the strip re-usable without modifications in zombie reruns 50 years from now, or he’s too lazy to research what teenage gofers make at TV stations. I’m guessing a little of both.

     DT: Red Aurora… shouldn’t he be off putting out an oil well fire somewhere? No, wait, that’s Red Adair. Anyway, I think it’s time we started taking bets on what possibly name-related way our villain will be killed. Since an aurora is a flash of light, I’m guessing an explosion. Or maybe he’ll crash his Oldsmobile. Or both! My money is on an Aldo-style exit during a high-speed chase.

     FC: KILL KILL DEATH KILL MAIM HARM KILL VOMIT BLOOD FIRE KILL

     FBOFW: Shannon Lake? I’d hit that… WITH A TWO-BY-FOUR. Gakh! Bring back the Anthogeddon!

     GF: Ah, the hate is ebbing away. Thank you, Satchel, bringer of perspective.

     (DT)GT: Clambake = Obi-Wan.

     Momma: How old is Francis? I thought he lived in a place of his own. Why doesn’t he tell Momma to go Margo her hateful, wizened old self?

     Popeye: I don’t care how evil Olive’s “city cousin” Sweet Oyl is supposed to be… nobody would act so openly gleeful at the prospect of someone blowing their brains out in front of her. This strip must be written by an 8-year-old.

     RMMD to you, buddy: Keep guessing, Hugh… though I don’t know if he’ll figure it out in under the alloted 20 questions. Maybe he should just start pointing at people and things randomly while Heather says, “Warmer! You’re getting warmer! Ooh, no, colder!”

     SFx: I am disturbed by the inclusion of clearly non-sentient cats in a strip that also includes the felicitously felonious Cassandra Cat. Why didn’t Weber illustrate these fun facts with a pinup of everyone’s favorite feline felon? “In relation to her body size, Cassandra Cat has the largest bust-to-waist ratio of any mammal in Slylock Fox.” Now there’s news you can use.

     Zits: Check out the flexibility on Jeremy! He should try out for the Milford team. I bet he has some mad barky-stick skillz.

168. The Spectacular Spider-Brick
     June 27th, 2007 at 1:31 am [Reply]

     ATTENTION! TO THE ONES CALLED DINGO AND DEAN BOOTH! THE BRICK SPEAKS!

     One of you needs to make a “punchin’ Vera” variation where you can click a button to make Vera (or Mark Trail, or Super Cedric, or… anyone, really, I’m not picky) punch Shannon’s pusillanimous puss from Wednesday’s FOOB Panel 2. I’d wear out my mouse button clicking that mother. Hmmm… mother…? Hey! How about having Bruce Willis do it? “Yippee-ki-yi-HOOO, motherfoober!”

169. TB Tabby
     June 27th, 2007 at 2:11 am [Reply]

     Today’s New Adventures of Queen Victoria reveals the horrifying truth behind the current sorry state of the funnies: A GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY.

170. Other Josh
     June 27th, 2007 at 2:32 am [Reply]

     Holy cow – is that an Earlham sticker on your car? My entire family (except me, of course), went there. How come you’re funny and they aren’t?

171. Mibbitmaker
     June 27th, 2007 at 2:52 am [Reply]

     Josh, did my reference to the Jack Lemon/Sandy Dennis (One of Mort Drucker’s best caricatures) movie in question a couple threads ago inspire the metapost heading above? If so, I’m flattered. If not, great minds think yadda yadda yadda… and I’m still flattered.

172. Gojira
     June 27th, 2007 at 2:53 am [Reply]

     To give FBoFW the benefit of a doubt, transcribed Shannon’s full speech, ellipses and all, to see if it comes across any better:

     That’s E…NOUGH!!! [April: Are you gonna stand on the table?] YES! I’m…gon…na…stand…up…for…ALL…of us!

     I…want….to say…STOP!….Stop…ma…king…fun of us!…..We’re dif’rent from….you….but,….SO WHAT?!! Don’t …give…us a….hard…time…..Give us….a CHANCE!

     You…tease…me about…the…way….I….talk!….I…was…born…with a…cleft….palate!….They couldn’t…fix…it….until….I…was…four! I…had…to learn…how to…speak…all…over again…and….that…is…why…I…talk like…this. I can’t…..change…the way….I….talk….But….you….can change….the….way….you….LISTEN!!

     Kids…with….special needs are…people…too!…We….have a…lot…to…offer! Get…to know…us!…Don’t tease…us! PLEASE!…E..NOUGH..IS..E..NOUGH!

     [As Glenda Jackson put it in "Elizabeth R," EEE-NOUGH!! of this stupid arc, already. Or should I be quoting Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand instead?]

173. Trilobite
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:04 am [Reply]

     There’s a lot of unexpected realism on Wednesday’s comics page:

     Dick Tracy: I haven’t been reading this strip for very long, but if you told me that this was the very first time any characters have ever held a phone with all their fingers and an opposable thumb, I would totally believe you. I kept going back to look at this one because, god damn, they’re actually holding the phone properly! Usually they just glue the handset to the tips of their index and middle fingers and leave the rest of their freakish tiny hand out of it.

     Gil Thorp: Another unexpected visual on the comics page! Contrary to all my expectations of a Gil Thorp sports scene, the first panel shows two people obviously playing baseball! It’s downright uncanny!

     Mary Worth: Again, behind his blandly cheerful Ken-doll face is an actual human being who is rightfully appalled at how dreary a Charterstone party is. Unfortunately for the plot, anyone who read the last story arc knows that Vera’s basically the most boring person ever. The only way she’s going to hold Drew “Hit It and Quit It” Corey’s attention is by chaining him up somewhere.

174. Mibbitmaker
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:06 am [Reply]

     Wed.:

     FOOB: I’m speechless. I only wish Shan…non were, too.

     9CL: “….Bitch!” – Trish in missing last panel, channeling Emily Litella

     MW: If I ever feel depressed and low, I just have to think of DREW COREY, Curmudgeon Insider and all the blues just melt away.

     FW: Well, I…um… (fighting inner Ralph Kramden! Fighting…. aw, hell!…) WILLYOUGETONWIDDITNORTON!!!!!!?! (Think Drew Corey! Think DREW COREY!……) (that’s better!)

175. Brown-eyed Girl
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:20 am [Reply]

     Musings on “Shannon Takes a Stand”

     Unlike many of the mudges, I am not particularly upset by this storyline. I have always viewed Shannon as a Blatant Piece of Manipulation, not a real character, so I feel more amused contempt than outrage at this ridiculous, self-serving nonsense. It is sad that Lynn no longer makes an effort to portray her secondary characters as real people; something she used to do with great skill. With characters like the Kleproths (sp?), her absurd caricatures are aggravating but unimportant. However, since Lynn still has a readership that views her work favorably and uncritically, her absurd caricature of someone like Shannon is offensive.

     Several mudges have commented that, in real life, special needs students would not be mocked to their faces. If that’s the case, then things have changed since I was in high school in the seventies (thank God). The very, very few special needs students who were mainstreamed in my school were ridiculed, but any “normal” student who associated with them was ridiculed even more. That’s one of the reasons I avoided the special needs kids; another reason is that their difference made me uncomfortable. I’m not proud of it, but I also can’t deny it. It was an unenlightened time, and I would like to believe that things have truly changed for the better. Lynn may be showing her age here, but she’s not completely wrong.

     However, the denouement in Wednesday’s FBOFW is completely off the deep-end. Even in my red-neck high school, most students would have felt embarrassed for Shannon; they certainly wouldn’t have felt shamed or inspired by her. Below is Shannon’s speech, without ellipses. Does this make you want to stand up and cheer?
     I want to say STOP! Stop making fun of us! We’re dif’rent from you but, SO WHAT?!! Don’t give us a hard time give us a CHANCE! You tease me about the way I talk! I was born with a cleft palate! They couldn’t fix it until I was four! I had to learn how to speak all over again and that is why I talk like this. I can’t change the way I talk but you can change the way you LISTEN!! Kids with special needs are people too! We have a lot to offer! Get to know us! Don’t tease us! PLEASE! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

176. Mibbitmaker
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:24 am [Reply]

     Okay, I’m no longer speechless…..

     FOOB: This is the Michael-Patterson’s-Book-Deal of Speeches!

177. Brown-eyed Girl
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:25 am [Reply]

     Gojira – Your version of Shannon’s speech with ellipses shows why embarrassed silence is a more likely reaction than cheering.

178. Jack Parsons
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:29 am [Reply]

     New Yorker cartoon caption:

     Mel Gibson was right: you people DO own everything!

179. True Fable
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:34 am [Reply]

     ahem! *chonk chonk chonk* is this thing on? okay.

     FBoFW WHAT THE [MARGO] IS THIS BOXCAR?!?

     Oh now Lynn Johnston, you have got to be getting digs in on the CC community, because this scene just isn’t happening anywhere but your lil’ fantasyland. If these kids were so supportive of Shannon and her peers, why hasn’t someone told Jermy to STFU this past week? Regular kids would have jumped his ass already for picking on the short-bus kids. They might make private comments about the SN kids amongst themselves, but most teens use peer pressure to ‘nad punch an asshat who makes fun of people who can’t help be different. Lynn, you’re not giving teenagers any credit whatsoever, are you, but then you wouldn’t I suppose. April Patterson can’t be the ONLY regular kid who has been their champion this whole time.

     By that same token, Lil Miss Heroine on the tabletop today – oh my gawd, did you have to go for the heartwarming wooo hooo here? And did you HAVE to make that Striesand/Summers song roll around in my head, dammit? “I can’t go on, I can’t go on much longer, enough is enough, is enough…” SHIT! Arrgh!

     Of course, you did give me something other than a headache today. It’s that huge looming blackshadow in the third panel. The All-Seeing, All-Knowing Noble TURFS Wunderkind, Shannon Say-It-All, is watching over you like one of the Tomatoes in “The Big O” (anime reference, sorry) because OH, it’s never occurred to regular kids before that Kids with Special Needs are people too, or that they have a lot to offer, and to get to know them, and don’t tease them.

     No, only Saint April knew this, and empowered her acolyte Shannon to “take a stand” and fight for right and might and all that horseshit.

     Lynn Johnston, I’m calling you out. Meet me halfway, say in Baltimore, where Josh can be our observer as we toss ink bottles at each other from ten paces. It will make a much better use of ink than your stupid ass Self-Congratulatory drawings. (”ooh, I’m so empathetic! I’m so compassionate! I’m so aware of people outside my own white-bread world!”)

     You’re so full of SHIT, Lynn.
     /rant

180. Jack Parsons
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:34 am [Reply]

     I’m pretty sure that’s spelled ‘Soumana’, pronounced su-ma-na.

181. Jack Parsons
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:35 am [Reply]

     Margo – it is Sumana.

182. Frank Parsnip
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:48 am [Reply]

     Foob: The problem with Shannon’s speech is that the reaction of the other students in a normal school would have been utter and complete silence. Kids are easily embarrassed and Johnston’s work today just doesn’t feel real here. To make up for this blatant manipulation, I hope she’ll bring back Farley.

     GT: By the way, from the looks of the third panel I would imagine that Mike Bouchard would have a lot of pressure if he’s pitching from inside one of the dugouts. I thought the pitcher had to use the actual mound.

     MW: Judging from the son’s reactions to the lameass Charterstone party, I can tell I’m going to like him a lot. Now, if he can administer a good beat-down to Prof. Ahab, I think we can all rest easy that the strip is in good hands.

183. Gojira
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:49 am [Reply]

     #175 Wow. Without the ellipses, I’d be clapping and cheering for the first student who knocked her off the table. An exercise in self-abuse: Try saying the non-ellipse speech out loud. Try it with the ellipses.

     Never mind being embarrassed for Shannon, I’m embarrassed for Lynn.

184. True Fable
     June 27th, 2007 at 3:59 am [Reply]

     Hey kids, it’s time as usual for True Fable snarkin’. Snark early and get ignored often, that’s my motto.

     A3G Blaze ol’ buddy, Luanne’s brain is not up to code either. Don’t worry about it.
     JP I love this artwork; Barreto has single-handedly saved this strip from merciless snarking by me. yeah, like he was worried, huh. And it’s so nice of SuperCedric to stand in for Sam today, don’t you think?
     MT Let’s get together with a bunch of birds for cocktails, Wa HA!
     MW YAWNFEST?! Don’t you ever change, Drew Corey. You’re a winner in that crowd of losers.
     RMMD I guess once he heard Rex was a doctor, Hugh must have decided to protect himself from Sudden Midnight Kidney Removal since he’s dropped the attacks on the good doctor. Or Rex.
     Luann Hey, Idiot, you trusted him again. You get what you deserve if Toni decides to date TJ instead of you.
     Phantom What’s going on, who is thata speaking in the starburst in panel two? God calls Ghost-Who-Sculls a “girlie”? Heh.
     H&L And here come The Twins now to scold you, Trixie.

185. True Fable
     June 27th, 2007 at 4:16 am [Reply]

     SFx I’m a big fan of cats, it’s true, but I really like the trio of mousehead trophies on the top of her door.

     DT It’s The Hunt for Red Aurora!

     FW Refresh my memory, someone. Lisa put a copy of the adoption info release forms on the front of her fridge with magnets, right?

186. True Fable
     June 27th, 2007 at 4:23 am [Reply]

     9CL Thank you, Brooke. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Back to your usual nifty work, and – whoa! Way to beat da bitch down, Juliette!
     To this day, I still call my old math teacher “Mr. Wright” rather than “Johnnie” because it’s instilled in my brain. I doubt he would mind one way or the other, but it would be like calling my grandmother “Mary Lou”. Of course, Grandmother Mary Lou would have beaten the crap out of me with her umbrella for it, so that’s not really a comparison.

187. papa
     June 27th, 2007 at 4:32 am [Reply]

     Step with me into the Way-Back machine to two posts ago:

     #23: Kerry commented:

     FW: Have you all seen this article in last week’s Cleveland free Times? http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/7/a-funkier-winkerbean It just makes me want to bitchslap Batiuk even more.

     Hmmm. While my opinion of FW as entertainment (not very) is unchanged, and the article’s characterization of Our Beloved Curmudgeon as a Batuik hater was extreme and unfair, knowing that Batuik is writing about his own experience with cancer gives me more appreciation for what he’s trying to do as an artist. Perhaps he’s treating his characters no more harshly than life has treated with him.

     Is it ironic, or merely predictable that a man who thinks of pizza and comics as the best he can expect out of life writes the bleakest strip in the funny papers?

188. benro
     June 27th, 2007 at 4:46 am [Reply]

     I really wanted to make it to Joe’s Pub for the ROFL event (I even purchased a finger quotin’ Margo shirt for the occasion), but alas the 11:30 start time was way too late for me (NYC may be the city that never sleeps, but Long Island does sleep, and the last train home was 12:39). Nevertheless, it is somewhat comforting to know that if I had gone and met you, you wouldn’t have remembered my name or taken a picture of me anyway..

189. papa
     June 27th, 2007 at 4:56 am [Reply]

     I think Batuik should invite benro to take over FW when he retires.

190. True Fable
     June 27th, 2007 at 5:16 am [Reply]

     #187 papa – I respect your opinion but I don’t quite agree with you on all points. I’m a cancer survivor too but I didn’t go around whining about it with every single sentence I spoke, the way Lisa is depicted. I know it’s scary, I know it’s painful and I know harsh. I know all about the weird feeling of impending doom, but good God! Plopped down in the midst of a comic strip that already does nothing but relentlessly chronicle the misery of every single character in it is de-freakin’-pressing.

     I mean, I get what he’s trying to do, which is raise awareness and hey, I’m all for that. But I think that he’s turned Lisa into one of the least admirable protagonists in his stable. When she just sat back and allowed the med center to laugh off the “mistake” they made concerning her tests, that was the last straw and I really cut loose with a rabid rant. No wonder he had her give up her law practice if she won’t even defend herself against such travesty. I know the strip said she wants to save her energy or direct her focus or something like that, but it just made me mad. The impression to me was, “if you have cancer, give up.” Still pisses me off.

     The only awareness that gave me, was to hope my own lawyer never gets cancer, and I doubt that’s the message Batiuk wanted to get across.

     Peace, bro. :)

191. TB Tabby
     June 27th, 2007 at 5:36 am [Reply]

     190 True Fable: A-flippin’-men to that.

192. Trilobite
     June 27th, 2007 at 5:40 am [Reply]

     #185 True Fable — As far as I can remember, Lisa did not put a copy of the adoption papers up anywhere….although I must confess that I wasn’t really paying that much attention, so maybe she did.

     I really doubt it, though. Considering what Funky Winkerbean has become recently, does anyone think Batiuk would leave even a hint that this loose end could be tied up so quickly? No, he’s going to drag this out into a series of veiled hints that Lisa is Darrin’s mom, punctuated by smirking and lousy puns. The whole thing’s going to end up getting resolved at her grave, for maximum bathos. I can already see the silhouetted Darrin kneeling next to the headstone, can’t you?

193. Chat Noir
     June 27th, 2007 at 6:26 am [Reply]

     FOOB: It’s taken four days for Shannon to spit out that speech, the students probably all got to miss science class and now they get fresh fodder for their mockery. Of course they’re cheering!

194. smacky
     June 27th, 2007 at 6:28 am [Reply]

     GA: Clovia’s hint of buttcrack in panel 1 is the first thing worth commenting on in this strip in months.

     I also find it kind of sexy when she does the big bug-eye thing, but I’m not going to stand on a table and make a speech about it.

195. whoamItoday?
     June 27th, 2007 at 6:33 am [Reply]

     hello all,

     just stopped by to catch up on the actual blog parts and track the travels and travails of our Josh. if it wern’t for metaposts, I’d never get to read any snark. but things are getting better here. the little darlin’ boy is beginning to seperate his days into sleeping, being awake but not demanding food, and, of course, being awake and demanding food. My sweaterpuppies are, in his opinion, representative of all that is good and tasty in this world.

     I watch a lot of telly while feeding him, and discovered there is actually a show called “Holy @#%*” here. I naturally read this as Holy Margo, Boxcar, Saturn when I came across it on the on-screen schedule. I actually clicked the info button so I could tell you what it was about, but that was evidently more information than my sleep addled brain could retain overnight. Sorry

     glad josh returned safe and sound.

196. Moon Mullins
     June 27th, 2007 at 6:36 am [Reply]

     192 Trilobite said: I can already see the silhouetted Darrin kneeling next to the headstone, can’t you?

     Yes, and I also see his damned needle-nose casting its shadow across the engraving of Lisa’s name.

197. TB Tabby
     June 27th, 2007 at 6:41 am [Reply]

     195: I was able to find “Holy @#$%” on my channel listings. It’s one of those “shocking video” shows. The description: “A fisherman’s battle with a shark; extreme-skiing accidents; paragliding adventures; an ambushed soccer referee.”

198. Tracer Bullet
     June 27th, 2007 at 6:43 am [Reply]

     FOOB: So Shan-non has finally finished her speech after three days. So Johnston portrayed this in real time.

     GF: Darby’s gonna get letters, but I laughed.

     (DT)GT: Clambake should have warned you about that brain-eating zombie sneaking up on you, Jim.

     RMMD: “Nannies do not plot corporate takeovers.” I don’t know how, but I’m going to be working that into every conversation I have from now on.

     TDIET: Is Scaduto taking a shot at the cartoon-drawing monkees he keeps chained in his basement?

199. True Fable
     June 27th, 2007 at 6:54 am [Reply]

     # 192 Trilobite – LOL, no, I don’t think she did either; I was just making a smartass comment, hoping against hope that it COULD be resolved so quickly.

     There’s no such thing as a Mark Trailian eyehook in Cancerbean, so Darin will find out he’s Lisa’s boy only days or perhaps hours before she dies. Irony, irony!

     What’s that old Herman’s Hermits song? It goes like:

     “wish that I could be the knave
     Whose silhouette’s on your grave…”

     hmm. gotta work on that.

200. Vince M.
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:02 am [Reply]

     119: Many others have pointed out the make of car; I’m just saying it would be neat if they accommodated us and retitled the strip ‘Rex Jaguar, MD’.

     I always hear ‘Rolly Church of Crete’ as if exclaimed by Hermes Conrad in ‘Futurama’.

201. willethompson
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:12 am [Reply]

     RMMD: “Peter did as he was told – Your father left instructions!”

     Peter again scrutinized the checklist that had been left for him by Milton. The scratchy handwriting was somewhat blotted – couldn’t the old fart have written in an ink that didn’t clot? And tanned human skin was an unusual medium for correspondence, but his boss was an unusual man.

     Still, once he had translated the Latin, his orders were pretty clear. Peter opened the lock of the trunk with key in the shape of a human skull and sifted thru the contents: candles, medallion, daggers, jars of unguents and powders, a quarto-sized Necronomicon. The Venus-Saturn conjunction was nigh and the Elder Gods would appreciate the sacrifice of Hugh, the first born fop.

     Meanwhile, it seems that Heather had been promised as chattel to an old cohort from his opium-smoking days in Shanghai who now resided in Ulan Bator. Mrs. Morgan was being most cooperative in supplying an oaky merlot laced with Rohypnol. A jealous woman, June tired of having to walk around with her chest pushed out to try and keep up with Heather’s sweaterpuppies. After dinner, there would be no more competition.

202. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:13 am [Reply]

     “Mister Honcho”!!!!! Al Scaduto strikes again! I was leaning for Hilllary in ‘08 but I gottatellya You my write-in for USandA prez! (Geddy Lee in the VP slot, of course)….Yours in Dragbuttyness,RedGB.

203. Whippersnapper
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:13 am [Reply]

     FOOB: Most unlikely response to an impassioned cafeteria speech ever. Also, I have a terrible sense of dread that when Shan…non finally climbs down off that table, she’s going to tell April that she never could’ve been so brave without her friendship and support. Because of course nothing good happens unless it’s because of a Pattersaint.

     I feel the bile rising in my throat already.

204. AhClem
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:31 am [Reply]

     FOOB:
     Monday: Threw up in my mouth a little.
     Tuesday: Projectile vomiting.
     Wednesday: High-velocity, forehead-vein-busting, window-shattering magmacannon puking.

     A3G: Where is Luanne? This storyline was so boring, she got up, got dressed and went back to her CO-filled studio. Hell, anything is better than listening to this drivel for weeks on end.

     MT: The bad guy lit a cigarette. Punching begins in 3 … 2 … 1 …

205. Old Bean
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:36 am [Reply]

     Josh, hope you had a blast and glad you found redemption.

     #158 That’s The Spirit: “Did anyone else throw up in their mouth a little bit when they read Monday’s (and Tuesday’s) FBOFW?”

     If by ‘a little bit ‘ you mean copiously, then hell yes. But Wednesday’s FOOB is the final straw. It’s worse than I feared. It’s completely bloody gaga. I’m hoping Dean Booth will be along to properly crucify this story arc, but in the meantime I had to make these just to stay sane:

     Shannon takes a stand!

206. Old Bean
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:42 am [Reply]

     #204 AhClem – Visions of Curmudgeonites crouched over toilet bowls across the planet in solidarity. Lynn unites us.

207. Tweeks_Coffee
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:42 am [Reply]

     6/27

     A3G: Wow, what’re the chances of long lost triplets meeting up at a random hospital?

     DT: Okay, I must be missing something here. Exactly why is the CIA going to cough up this Baron, who apparently holds all kinds of secrets, for this woman? That seems like a horrible trade.

     FOOB: Egads, could we end this arc already? At least the speech finally ended, but now we get to deal with the aftermath for the next couple weeks. Not to mention the fact that we’ll probably have to tolerate the telethon, or whatever. The possibility of another one of April’s “songs” being put onto the FOOB site makes this all the more horrifying.

     GA: Hmmm….junkies…basketball… I like where this arc is going.

     JP: Is there some kind of government ruling that all cars must be painted blue? Unless of course you’re driving a classic Jaguar.

     MW: Wow, so even the writer realizes that the pool parties are mind-numbing. Though the visualization of that “kid” doing a cannonball is quite entertaining.

     Popeye: Today we learn about suicide and the joy devastation it brings to family members. Remember, nobody everybody wants to see you live.

     SM: Actually, I’m surprised they didn’t use the whole phone trace thing to create some drama. It could be as effective as a brick to the head.

208. John C Fremont
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:45 am [Reply]

     MT – That’s not our beloved doughy guy in the last panel. That’s clearly an older Mark Trail with a moustache and Leslie Nielsen hair. But what would elder Mark Trail want with another bunch of birds?

     A3G – “Where in ‘Blazes’ is Lu Ann? Ha, ha. I made a funny. Oh, I crack me up! But seriously, where is she?”

     JP – Peter Fonda thinks Trudi is pretty groovy. She’s doing her own thing in her own time.

209. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:45 am [Reply]

     And Tony Snow will still be Press Secretary General…Thanks for your support!…Bartles and Jaymes.

210. JudeMorrigan
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:54 am [Reply]

     So the Unicorn Saga in 9CWL really is over. On one hand, yay! On the other hand, so the point of the story really *was* that the barbaric hoi polloi is unworthy of Edda’s delicate genius?

     When did Mike Patterson take over that comic strip again anyways?

211. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:55 am [Reply]

     Looks like I picked a helluva week to quit snarking!

212. SecretMargo
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:57 am [Reply]

     Ballard Street: Something tells me I was the only one who misread the caption as “The community pederasts are citizens who could use a little boost.” What pretty worlds you all live in.

     Popeye: What would possess a cartoonist to draw a beloved character with a gun to her head and another character yelling “Do it! Do it!”?

     a) He’s nostalgic for when parents’ groups used to protest heavy metal concerts and he wanted a little of that glory for himself. If you read this strip backward, it’s Herb and Jamaal talking about Christ.

     b) He’s jealous of FW and FBoFW and is angling for a commendation from the Hemlock Society and/or the NRA.

     c) Took a bet that he couldn’t make Popeye “edgy.” Mistook “edgy” for “psychotic” (see also: Mike Gravel).

     d) In the previous, unseen panel, Olive Oyl just finished reading Shan…non’s speech. She’s simply offering her own version of a “realistic” reaction.

     e) Jeffy Keane is guesting for this arc.

213. andreavis
     June 27th, 2007 at 7:59 am [Reply]

     Archie: so Moose wears size 15 shoes? Gee, what is it they say about a fellow with big feet? Hmm… interesting…(Moose, give me a call)

214. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:01 am [Reply]

     Mutts: Lassie was actually portrayed by a male canine. His name was “Pal”…Weatherwax!

215. aquagirl2
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:06 am [Reply]

     #207: I’m so glad someone else mentioned that cannonball! That is the funniest thing ever. Look at the pointed toes, the gay beam on his face (I mean gay in the carefree, mothers-lock-up-your-daughters, Smithers-is-on-the-loose type of way!)

216. Islamorada Girl
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:06 am [Reply]

     FOOB: If I were the producer of Norma Rae, I’d be speed dialing my lawyers right about now.

217. Calico
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:11 am [Reply]

     Great Photos, Mr. and Mrs. Curmudgeon!
     It looks like the weekend was so much fun, even with the adventures of the morphing, shape-shifting Bus Stop.

     FOOB – Shannon’s speech reminds me a little bit of Mr. Hankey’s SP Christmas/Holiday/Peace/Love speech at the end of “Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo.”

     Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention that Mr. Hankey’s speech was waaaayyyy better?

218. aquagirl2
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:11 am [Reply]

     Challenge to readers: Work the following sentence into your conversations today.
     “Let’s walk over to the flowerbeds so I can show off my handiwork!”

219. Tracer Bullet
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:12 am [Reply]

     My sweaterpuppies are, in his opinion, representative of all that is good and tasty in this world.
     — WhoamItoday?

     Well, yes, obviously. And, just for the record, that kind of is pretty much permanent.

220. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:12 am [Reply]

     Ouchiewowwow! I’ve not been this embarassed since I woke up in a trailer in Parker, Arizona to discover all my shoes were bronzed!

221. migellito
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:12 am [Reply]

     201 williethompson – my compliments! i will forever see Rex Morgan MD as a combination of The Shadow and the Cthulhu Mythos.

222. Keg of Curd
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:15 am [Reply]

     OK, I’ve never been able to even care one way or the other about FBOFW, but as of this morning I officially loathe, detest, and despise it. Also refuse, reject, repudiate, and spurn it. Possibly despise twice.

223. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:16 am [Reply]

     Sorry, I’ll go eat some cottage cheese now.

224. Rocky Jones
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:21 am [Reply]

     Wednesday comics and Wednesday comments!

     9CL Oh thank god, back to a less obnoxious format. Now if the actual content could follow suit…

     FOOB Okay, who was it who called it? Slow clap? You get a great big prize. And that prize is… this stinker of a strip. Really, what is this, ABC television in the 80s?

     FW Oh, thank you, Yakov. In Soviet Russia, chores take over YOU!

     MT Buzzard: “No bucks, no ducks!”

     SF I think we’re done with Cassandra Cat for good. I doubt Weber can draw her without feeling vaguely dirty.

225. Sheilagh
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:23 am [Reply]

     FOOB: Yeah, right. Anyone who’s ever dealt with human teenagers, especially in large groups, knows this is about the most unlikely scenario imaginable. They’d all be hollering “Hoo!” and throwing their food at Shan…non. AND YOU KNOW IT, Lynn Johnston!!! What the hell are you trying to prove here anyway.

     NOT to mention that retardation generally affects abstract reasoning, about things like, say, justice. Or does old Shan…non ONLY have a cleft palate? If so, what on earth is she doing in Special Ed?

226. teenchy
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:26 am [Reply]

     Great to see some of the faces here and put names to them.

     HBGlord: I listen to WFMU whenever I’m within its signal; are you a regular there?

     Love the Amber/Redemption sign photo.

     targemq8: Wow. Just wow.

227. Old Bean
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:27 am [Reply]

     Added a couple more. Man, this is therapeutic.

     More likely Shannon scenarios

228. boxjam
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:28 am [Reply]

     Yeah, it’s all sweet looking at pictures of people that read this blog, but WE NEED SNARK ON FOOB.

     I came here to buy a t-shirt that uses the word “Winkies” in an ironic, clever way. It never occurred to me that it wouldn’t EXIST YET.

229. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:28 am [Reply]

     Hey! didja ever see the one where the two scientologist guys put Mentos into the bottles of Diet Pepsi? In yer face, Xenu, ya psychiatry lovin’ Wombat!

230. teenchy
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:28 am [Reply]

     Oh, and #190: excellent post, True Fable.

231. Dennis Jimenez
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:29 am [Reply]

     MT – Facial hair AND SMOKING – these fiends absolutely seethe with evil.

     MW – Yawn fest? A hand job from Mary behind the flower beds!

     RMMD – Is June in some sort of trance? I will do your bidding mistress….

     JP – Sophie must be secured in her child safety seat – and locked in the trunk.

     FC – The turn on their emergency flashers when they are suffocating, too.

232. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:33 am [Reply]

     Am I alone here, or did any of you Mudges check out Sha…non’s fine caboose?

233. Mel
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:38 am [Reply]

     What I am trying to figure out is how this school operates. Has anyone seen a teacher, cafeteria monitor, or any adult? Do they just put all the students into the lunchroom with a trough of slop and lock the door for an hour?
     It’s like Lord of the Flies in there…and apparently Shan…non has…the…conch.

234. MonkeyHawk
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:41 am [Reply]

     #232 — Red Greenback:

     In the name of all that’s holy I certainly hope you’re alone here.

235. MonkeyHawk
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:41 am [Reply]

     #232 — Red Greenback:

     In the name of all that’s holy I certainly hope you’re alone here.

236. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:44 am [Reply]

     Peggy just dangled my life before my feeble earther eyeballs aboot that Sha…non remark! Sheesh! talk about “special needs” Hey Chennux, did she come with a warrenty, because she’s getting all Pluggery on my sorry earther ass. Your pal in Chennux…RGB.

237. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:47 am [Reply]

     MonkeyHawk…10-4 Good Buddy, Message recieved
     MonkeyHawk…10-4 Good Buddy, Message recieved

238. Matt Ramone
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:50 am [Reply]

     Josh, please tell me you read Wednesday Popeye and are as aghast as I. SHE HAS A LOADED GUN TO HER HEAD AND THEY’RE ALL LAUGHING!

239. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:00 am [Reply]

     MonkyHawk- Got your ears on?

240. Mr. Coffee Nerves
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:05 am [Reply]

     Tracer Bullet FOOB: So Shan-non has finally finished her speech after three days. So Johnston portrayed this in real time.

     Now THAT deserves a slow clap into full-blown cheering.

     And put me down fully with the camp that says Shan…non’s speech would have gotten about three words deep before she fell under a hail of rolls and tater tots.

     I’m sure the end of this arc will include Saint Apwil will do a song that is so “inspiring” it will lead to — at the telethon itself:
     – the special ed kids suddenly being cured
     – Gerald to profess his sex-free love
     – The “bad girl” singer (can’t remember her name) killer herself in shame
     – Liz and Granthony simultaneously asking each other to marry
     – St. Mike offered a 40 million dollar book contract
     – John’s trains instantly filled with pie
     – Farley returns from beyond the grave, pisses on the “HOO” guy

241. smacky
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:07 am [Reply]

     #227: Old Bean,

     more, more, more please!

242. Little Guy
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:08 am [Reply]

     FOOB: This is how plausibility dies…. to thunderous applause.

243. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:09 am [Reply]

     MonkeyHawk- You Magnificent AvioSimian Bastard! I just cain’t hep myself with the CB Speak. “We gotta little convoy, rollin’ thru the night” chacha!

244. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:12 am [Reply]

     I plead “vapors”

245. Jamus The Bartender
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:13 am [Reply]

     FOOB:That’ll do, Shannon. That’ll do.
     Now….set yourself on fire.

246. ed, edd, eddie n edda
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:18 am [Reply]

     F00B : Jeez, who’d thunk it? Didn’t see that coming!

     9CL : I love Dr. Burbur! She’d make a great curmudgeon.

     Get Fuzzy: Keep your head down for awhile Darby.

     Judge Parker: Wonderful use of stock photography, did you pay for it or swipe it off of Google?

     MW: Put a goatee on Drew and call him Josh!

     Spiderman: More MJ/Marvella mule!

247. The Spectacular Spider-Brick
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:19 am [Reply]

     True Fable @ 184: “Ghost-Who-Sculls”? Excellent.

     Old Bean @ 205: “Shannon Takes a Stand” is also brilliant!

248. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:24 am [Reply]

     Long Live Gil Thorp! :I just figured this shit out. Clambake is like the Negro Leagues equivalent of Mister Miyage.

249. Little Guy
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:26 am [Reply]

     Okay, I screwed up the SW quote.

     Here’s Shannon’s speech in French. It reads better.

     Je veux dire l’ARRÊT ! Cessez la fabrication de l’amusement de nous ! Nous sommes dif’rent de vous mais, AINSI CE QUI ? ! ! Ne nous donnez pas que un moment difficile nous donnent une CHANCE ! Vous me taquinez au sujet de la manière que je parle ! J’ai été soutenu avec un palais de fissure ! Ils ne pourraient pas le fixer jusqu’à ce que j’aie eu quatre ans ! J’ai dû apprendre comment parler encore une fois et c’est pourquoi je parle comme ceci. Je ne peux pas changer la manière que je parle mais vous pouvez changer la manière vous ÉCOUTEZ ! ! Les gosses avec les besoins spéciaux sont les gens aussi ! Nous avons beaucoup pour offrir ! Finissez par nous connaître ! Ne nous taquinez pas ! SVP ! ASSE’EST ASSEZ !

250. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:28 am [Reply]

     Thorpe, Miyagi…whatevs

251. Wellsey
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:29 am [Reply]

     Hey! Cornered features a Saturn today! Cool! It’s a really dumb usage, but still.

252. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:40 am [Reply]

     “The Vapors” sounded like a pretty good deal at first, but lemme tellya sumthin’ *beat, beat* It’s got nothin’ on “The Divinyls” …Thank you!

253. The Spectacular Spider-Brick
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:46 am [Reply]

     Someone who knows where Red Greenback lives needs to send the cops around to check on him. He’s going on hour 28 of this meth binge, and I fear his heart might explode soon.

     Dude, try to sleep it off, okay?

254. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:47 am [Reply]

     I blame Poteet with her “Rusty Trombones” and those fine, upstanding Nigerian gentlemen and their “Cat”…

255. PixelFish
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:49 am [Reply]

     Random question: Is the nice young man who writes YA novels and his Australian wife Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier? Because that would be a confluence between my blog reading, and that would be TEH AWESOME.

256. Maughta
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:51 am [Reply]

     Barreto is really rockin’ my world with the Judge Parker artwork. It is really above par. Now if only he could do something about the storyline!

257. Paperback Rifler
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:55 am [Reply]

     249. C’est magnifique! Et, creme brulet! Et . . . yeah, so that’s pretty much depleted my French vocabulary. C’est la guerre.

     248. “Long Live Gil Thorp! :I just figured this shit out. Clambake is like the Negro Leagues equivalent of Mister Miyage.”
     Well, I say, “Nuts to Thorp!” Since the strip has had 100% less Gil recently anyway, I say that the strip should be all about Clambake all the time! Just think of the possibilities:

     — Clambake uses his unverifiable personal history to insinuate himself into giving coaching advice in other high school sports (”Gee, Clambake! Were you really in the Negro Hockey League?”)
     — Clambake gives vaguely obscene sounding advice to a girls’ sports team (”I have a ‘home remedy’ that’ll help you firm up your ball-handling skills, lickety-split!”)
     — Clambake keeps putting his claw-like hand on young people’s shoulders (”Um, Clambake — where’s your other hand?”)
     — Clambake teaches that violence is never the answer except for those occasions when it is (”Let’s just say that we let our bats speak for us. And what our bats said was, ‘Smashy-smash-smash!’”)
     — Clambake gives advice on love (”Lock your eyes on one hole, get set, and swing!”)

258. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:59 am [Reply]

     Mr.Brick-I do sleep and have regular bowel movements. Thank you for yer concerns. AAMOF, I drink decaf cause caffiene would put me into El Outer Space. If I was ever to dabble in this “meth” thing, I wouldn’t be here today. Much Love, RedGB.

259. Squawk
     June 27th, 2007 at 10:06 am [Reply]

     FOOB: Wait a minute, maybe this is an April dream sequence. Tomorrow she’ll wake up and, inspired by Shannon’s courage in her dream, realize how important it is to support her disabled friends by participating in the telethon, where she’ll of course she’ll make up with Gerald and Becky and they’ll play a bang-up set which will culminate in reams of local press and the ever-elusive record deal.

     God, that would be just as bad, wouldn’t it?

260. Dean Booth
     June 27th, 2007 at 10:25 am [Reply]

     #205. I can’t do better than that, Old Bean.

261. Red Greenback
     June 27th, 2007 at 10:28 am [Reply]

     Paperback Rifler-Damn, you’re GOOD!

262. True Fable
     June 27th, 2007 at 10:32 am [Reply]

     #248 Red Greenback – “Wax on, Wax Off!”

     #249 Little A – I’m from Roopville so I don’t speek no Frinch, so let me ask you: Is the last thing Shannon says is, “You are all Asshats! Asshats!” ?

     It would make all the difference in the world, then.

263. Mibbitmaker
     June 27th, 2007 at 10:36 am [Reply]

     #249 (Little Guy): Okay, now put elipses in the French version. That ought to be interesting.

     S-M: And, once again, a potentially interesting plotline is foiled. Great work, Spidey!

     GF: Who’ll take offense at this? The PETA people won’t like Bucky’s strawman, and right-wingers won’t like Darby’s strawman. And both groups have a point!

     Adam: This week’s Adams are being ghost-written by “Box Office Poison”’s Alex Robinson!

     S4th: WHICH DOES THE ENDING CONVERSATION PAY HOMAGE TO?
     a) Cheers bar talk
     b) Shooting the breeze on Seinfeld
     c) Either of the above

     I vote ‘c’, myself.

264. commodorejohn
     June 27th, 2007 at 10:50 am [Reply]

     A3G – Next: the thrilling Alan/Blaze fist-fight! Also, if the whole thing was Luann hallucinating that Albert Pinkham Ryder was making her paint flowers and trying to get her to jump out a window, what was with all the “haunted studio” crap way back when?

     Archie – The ALGJU3K has discovered MacGyver.

     Crankshaft – Nice way to avoid researching television producer salaries there, Batiuk.

     Crock – Wow, this kind of makes sense. It’s not terribly funny, but it kind of makes sense.

     DT – Okay, they both have impossibly craggy faces and tiny, squinty eyes, but are they really going to try and disguise Tracy as the Baron?

     FC – I’m reasonably sure this strip has already been done about a dozen times prior in the history of The Family Circus.

     FOOB – Tonight, on Things That Would Never Happen In A Million Years…

     GF – Satchel nails it.

     GT – You’ve got to give Frank McLaughlin credit. This strip stands head and shoulders above even Apartment 3-G’s “Luann hits her head on the windowsill” scene for completely static action panels. Just check out that first panel for a prime example of “still life.”

     JP – What’s with the perspective in panel one? Are they driving Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang?

     MT – The bird pusher has hooked them. They have to pay whatever he asks to get their fix.

     MW – What are Beavis and Butthead doing in the pool?

     OBH – Most awesomely overextended metaphor ever.

     PBS – Quite possibly the first reference to lucha libre in an American newspaper comic, although Zippy The Pinhead might very well have made one already.

     SFx – More fun facts about cats:

     1. Female cats are very, very sexy.
     2. Cats are criminals. Period.
     3. Cats are good liars, but foxes are better detectives. (Cold earrings, people. Cold earrings.)
     4. Cats change color on Sundays.

     Edison Lee – makes a political reference only seven years out of date.

265. HBGlord
     June 27th, 2007 at 11:13 am [Reply]

     #226 — Yes.

266. Dean Booth
     June 27th, 2007 at 11:19 am [Reply]

     MW: Boring? Join in the fun, Drew!

     …now, must do some real work to avoid poverty!

267. Mamzelle Hepzibah
     June 27th, 2007 at 11:40 am [Reply]

     #147 — HBGlord, I always knew you had great taste, and now it’s been re-confirmed. So nice to reunite at Club Curmudgeon, and see you soon!

268. Tag
     June 27th, 2007 at 4:39 pm [Reply]

     Ack, I wish I’d known you were going to be at MoCCA, Josh, so I could have sought you out. By any chance, did you pick up a freebie by the front door titled “Angstrom Sneak Preview”? That’s mine.

     Do you expect to be back next year or, even sooner, appearing at the Small Press Expo in MD in Oct?

269. ddimuro
     June 27th, 2007 at 5:01 pm [Reply]

     Lorinne is absolutely stunning!

     So… she’s seeing that guy in the glasses, or what?

270. aquagirl2
     June 27th, 2007 at 6:03 pm [Reply]

     224: SLOW CLAP was all mine, baby. Everyone else was Norma-Raeing all over the comments page.

271. Cerulean Pointing Hand of Doom!
     June 27th, 2007 at 6:08 pm [Reply]

     I nominate 242 for COTW. Graceful, yet so very full of snark.

272. wwbd
     June 27th, 2007 at 8:49 pm [Reply]

     You must have been funnier than Cintra! I have known her family forever and have always found her to be quite pretentious and overly impressed with herself. I think she’d just like to forget that she grew up a typical Marin suburbanite.

273. teddytoad
     June 27th, 2007 at 9:15 pm [Reply]

     Josh, you forgot to mention the most awesome part of the mysterious origami crane lady’s speech, which was her crack about not wearing underwear. If only I remembered how it went! I laughed harder at that than at the push-ups guy.

     - the Dr. Troy Impersonator

274. Anonymous
     June 28th, 2007 at 7:59 am [Reply]

     HEY HEY! I voted for Mary Washington Too!

275. Vincent
     June 28th, 2007 at 9:10 am [Reply]

     Hey! An Earlhamite! I grew up in Richmond and took a half a dozen classes there while I was a teenager. When were you/your wife/the former owner of your car who attaches stickers with super glue there?

276. John
     June 28th, 2007 at 5:27 pm [Reply]

     Sigh- it wouldnt be comics curmudgeon if it wasnt occassionally interrupted with vacation photos and pictures of crap we would buy if we really, really loved Josh.

     Spare me the “oh here’s another troll,” lackeys. I’m just writing what plenty of you drooling bootlickers are thinking.

277. Lorinne
     June 28th, 2007 at 10:37 pm [Reply]

     More information about Lorinne Lampert can be found on the Internet.

278. Cintra Wilson
     June 29th, 2007 at 11:55 am [Reply]

     People: I was Josh’s competitor and let me just say he was ROBBED at ROFL because he was so danged funny it was like to put your eye out. Nice comic stylings as well. Pure Pro.

     Next time, Mr. Fruhlinger, one can only hope the vehicle is equal to your talents. Love, Cintra

279. Jejune
     July 2nd, 2007 at 2:38 am [Reply]

     I (well, actually my husband) have (has) a Spiderman gets molested comic as well, and I’m glad to see it mentioned by someone else just so that I know it’s not a figment of my imagination. That’s one of the creepiest things out there, but I think our old educational comic in which Rex Morgan explains about fetal alcohol syndrome to the woman celebrating her pregnancy with a few drinks is creepier yet. We may need to dig up the box of comics and a scanner.

280. SuzanneTangerine
     July 3rd, 2007 at 12:57 pm [Reply]

     Hey, Amber has great style. Really love the cute top she’s wearing in the Redemption photo, and I’m pretty sure I’d love the bag, though I can only see the strap.

281. julia wertz
     July 3rd, 2007 at 8:49 pm [Reply]

     well color me retarded for having missed you. Im horrible to locate at cons,since im like a child who cant sit still for more than 5 mintues so I run around trying to not make eye contact with anyone and spending far too much time in the ladies room doing absolutely nothing. i’m no good at cons, but hopefully nex time? i am moving to brookly next month so hopefully more opportunities can repsent themselves, just dont let me run with scissors!

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