The Comics Curmudgeon

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Football strategery

Gil Thorp, 11/8/07

“Gentlemen, I’ve just heard from the athletic director. It seems that in this so-called sport of ‘football’, you’re supposed to accumulate more points than the opposite team, and your quarterback isn’t supposed to wildly hurl the ball in the direction of the opposing players. We’ve been doing this all wrong, apparently. Who knew?”

I’m not sure where Cully and his thuggish friends are stopping for a snack. It appears to be a bookstore of some sort, albeit one with a sliding glass door. Perhaps they plan to show their hatred for learning and knowledge of all kinds by eating the books rather than reading them.

Also of note today are a pair of classic Gil Thorp back-of-the-head oh-my-God-I-don’t-think-those-people-have-any-faces shots of dudes with wildly inappropriate earrings.

Mark Trail, 11/8/07

Hey, Johnny, maybe if you had gone and helped your son rather than spending the afternoon carefully waxing your mustache out to Kaiser Wilhelm-esque proportions, he wouldn’t be in this mess. Presumably Malotte père plans to punish the boy by tying him to a set of railroad tracks.

Family Circus, 11/8/07

From: The Comics Curmudgeon
To: The Family Circus
Re: Today’s cartoon

Here is a (non-comprehensive) list of things I do not want to see or see discussed in any future installments of your feature:

Spanking
Ass-padding that mitigates the discomfort of spanking
Edible ass-padding that mitigates the discomfort of spanking
Little Jeffy attempting to eat an enormous marshmallow that is larger than his mouth

I thank you for your time.

Marvin, 11/8/07

So, we can make jokes in the newspaper about babies urinating on people’s faces now? For real? Mavin’s smug facial expression really pushes this one over the edge for me. It’s like he’s saying “Oh yeah, dad, I’m going to piss all over your face. Yeah. It’s gonna be awesome.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 8, 2007 at 03:29 pm and is filed under Family Circus, Gil Thorp, Mark Trail, Marvin.

169 responses to “Football strategery”

zenvelo
November 8th, 2007 at 3:37 pm [Reply]

Is Jeffy’s marshmallow the one Marvin’s dad just used to wipe Marvin’s ass?
Tweeks_Coffee
November 8th, 2007 at 3:38 pm [Reply]

Johnny goes through mustache wax like it’s going out of style. Which, coincidentally, it did about 125 years ago.
Carface Capone
November 8th, 2007 at 3:39 pm [Reply]

Actually, Marvin looks like he’s enjoying the thought of pissing on faces a little TOO much
Wonder Boy
November 8th, 2007 at 3:40 pm [Reply]

You know, if there was a god I’d be interested in, he’d make Marvin’s stream strong enough to reach all the way up the page to Jeffy’s open mouth.
Krohmdohm
November 8th, 2007 at 3:42 pm [Reply]

FC: To me it looks like the tykes are celebrating the successful murder of Bil and Thel by toasting the occassion with shots of Tequila.
True Fable
November 8th, 2007 at 3:44 pm [Reply]

Marshmellows fresh from the back pocket, mmm yum! And their body heat will melt them to the degree they will be flat, sticky, and covered with pocket lint. Lint is like candy sprinkles to a Keane kid.
SolidJim
November 8th, 2007 at 3:46 pm [Reply]

“If” you were “ever” spanked? So this is just a hypothetical scenario with no realistic likelihood of ever taking place? Damn it, I want those children to be taught the rights and wrongs of life through the medium of physical pain, but the forces of political correctness are doing their best to make sure I am forever disappointed. Thanks for nothing, forces of political correctness.
Anna
November 8th, 2007 at 3:47 pm [Reply]

What I don’t get is why Marvin’s mom (don’t know her name, don’t care) looks equally smug. I mean, it’s not like they went to the baby depot and her husband insisted that they get the boy model. Actually, that scenario is plausible, because it explains why Marvin is so unlike all biologically-reproduced human babies, but that smirk is clearly hereditary.
AhClem
November 8th, 2007 at 3:53 pm [Reply]

I’ll avoid making a crude joke about how Marvin’s mom is hoping that the kid’s pee stream will finally convince dad that golden showers are something they could enjoy together.

Oops, I guess I did anyway.
Mushuweasel
November 8th, 2007 at 3:53 pm [Reply]

I think it’s more that Marvin’s mom is trying to hint no-so-subtly that she’s really tired of her husband’s efforts to get her to try waterspor…. I’m going to stop that thought right there.
Chupper
November 8th, 2007 at 3:53 pm [Reply]

How did Chuck Norris get into that first panel of Gil Thorp? And who did he kill to get that Milford letter jacket?
Mushuweasel
November 8th, 2007 at 3:55 pm [Reply]

Dammit… I’m always just a bit too slow.
Pozzo
November 8th, 2007 at 3:56 pm [Reply]

“iPod?” Did he say “iPod?” First Google and now iPods. Gil Thorp — boldly going where no strip starring a guy with a crew-cut has gone before!
D. E. I.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:56 pm [Reply]

Marshmallows in your back pocket. In case you were ever spanked. Think about it.
AhClem
November 8th, 2007 at 3:56 pm [Reply]

#10 Mushuweasel

~~Great~~ Sick minds think alike.
Lord Byron III
November 8th, 2007 at 3:57 pm [Reply]

Re: Gil Thorp, panel 1
They left out a really important bit of dialogue there. The text should read “Gentlemen, we are doing this all wrong. This revolving door my entire right forearm is stuck in must be meant to turn in the other direction.”
Pozzo
November 8th, 2007 at 3:59 pm [Reply]

FC: “And they make more comfortable butt-plugs, too!”

MT: Is that Shirley the duck from the last arc?
fishmorgjp
November 8th, 2007 at 4:05 pm [Reply]

Quick! Drive a stake through Marvin’s heart (or the left side of his chest, anyway) while he’s lying there, all smug and smirking!
Gal Friday
November 8th, 2007 at 4:08 pm [Reply]

Uh, maybe Milford’s problem is that their games last several days–sometimes all week. They’re plum exhausted.
Francis
November 8th, 2007 at 4:09 pm [Reply]

Re Marvin: “I was also the one who wanted a son whose hair color matched one of his parents’, but I don’t point that out every time we’re watching a movie whose plot hinges on marital infidelity, do I?”
Gal Friday
November 8th, 2007 at 4:10 pm [Reply]

S-M: Krandis’s diabolical plot seems to be having The Persuader rough up every newspaper vendor in New York City. Brilliant! He’ll have control of The Daily Snore by 2012!
Nightingale
November 8th, 2007 at 4:10 pm [Reply]

FW: Ok, now I’m confused. Who is the older girl the daughter of? If lil’ wally is ten, which makes (sort of ) sense, then the older girl would be….thirteen? Fifteen? And she’s the kid of who? John had a love child by an anonymous Comic’s Con Leia that no one knew about, but who showed up on his doorstep a year after he married the Widow Becky, post Wally sr’s demise? Or something?
Nil Zed
November 8th, 2007 at 4:12 pm [Reply]

I dunno guys, Marvin today just rang true. Too true. We haven’t tried an umbrella yet to protect us from Baby Zed’s impressive waterworks display’s. But I wouldn’t rule it out now that I’ve seen the idea.
Darkefang
November 8th, 2007 at 4:18 pm [Reply]

A3G: “Over My Dead Body!”

And by “my dead body,” I mean, of course, your dead body. If you question my work ethic again, remember that I know how to kill a man using just this thumb!

DT: Sorry ghost, if you want justice, you’re barking up the wrong tree. If you want someone killed in the most gruesome possible manner, that’s when you give Dick Tracy a call.

FC: Dolly’s just a little bit too happy about eating Billy’s pocket marshmallows.

FW: So American servicemen are bringing back Iraqi kids as souvenirs? How sad that Rana escaped the brutal civil war and terrorism in Iraq only to inevitably succumb to cancer before she graduates high school.

GT: After six consecutive losses, it finally dawns on Gil that maybe he needs to change the game plan? I guess slamming his arm in the doors of the school bus was just what he needed to get the juices in that tiny mass of atrophied grey matter located somewhere under nearly a foot of solid bone and greasy hair moving again.

JP: Chateau St. James Spring Water: You’ll Taste a Mullet With Every Sip!

MF: What the hell are “designer dogs,” and how are they the fault of liberals?

MT: All Johnny Malotte needs is a top hat, a tied up damsel and some railroad tracks, and Bull Malone wouldn’t dare mess with him again.

MW: There goes Mary butchering quotes again. I’m not real informed about Mary Worth’s back story, but does she have a son? Is his name Otto by any chance? Does he claim that the overriding principle of Buddhism is “every man for himself”?

RMMD: That’s a bad sign when the entire floor is covered with that school janitor’s sawdust.

S-M: Ok, “The Persuader” is kind of a misnomer. I’d expect a persuader to have some kind of mental abilities. “Punchy McGee” or “The Slapinator” really seems more appropriate based on what we’ve seen of this guy so far.

TDIET: Was there ever a time little kids weren’t antsy and bored in church? Or adults, for that matter?
Loopina
November 8th, 2007 at 4:18 pm [Reply]

Marvin: I’m just glad it wasn’t a solid week of Asian Baby. That thing freaks me out.
audient
November 8th, 2007 at 4:20 pm [Reply]

Marvin’s mom better watch out — no umbrella in the bedroom tonite!
Darkefang
November 8th, 2007 at 4:20 pm [Reply]

Doh, I resnarked the railroad track comment.
MS
November 8th, 2007 at 4:21 pm [Reply]

Oh, great! Thanks to Marvin, I’ve got that Chapelle song running through my head….

Haters want to hate
Lovers want to love
I don’t even want
none of the above
I want to pi$$ on you…..
bats :[
November 8th, 2007 at 4:21 pm [Reply]

5. Krohmdom: I hate reposting my own stuff, but GMTA, or close enough!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9545446@N07/1920885910/
Gustav Mahler
November 8th, 2007 at 4:21 pm [Reply]

You people are talknig about pee play as if it’s a bad thing. You don’t want to know what the umbrella is for, though. Nosirree.
Korvo
November 8th, 2007 at 4:23 pm [Reply]

9CL: I haven’t read many of this strips, but today’s strip horrified me. Does that guy (I’m only assuming he’s male; actually, they’re nearly identical) even know what comes next on the wedding night?

A3G: Margo, Margo. A tigress cannot change her stripes. Be who you are! Also, Eric, exactly how much commitment does one *need* to co-run a fricking _art gallery_?! Dude. It’s not rocket science or the Korean military.

MW: Does Mary ever pass up a chance to spout self-congratulatory, superlame and pithy remarks? Geez. It’s just a dog, Mary. You’re not Mother Teresa!
Dingo
November 8th, 2007 at 4:29 pm [Reply]

The reason that Mother Teresa killed herself is that she knew she’d never match up to Mary Worth. Pious? Check. Self-righteous? Check. Right-hand side of God? Sorry, Terry. Saved for Miss Worth.
Loopina
November 8th, 2007 at 4:29 pm [Reply]

Lockhorns: Loretta’s cleaning the garage by herself, because Leroy is scared to go in the old mansion.
Freezair
November 8th, 2007 at 4:33 pm [Reply]

[b]Big Dog:[/b] HOVERCA–er, HOVERDOG! This one eeriely syncs up with today’s Agnes, it seems.

[b]9CL:[/b] The tell-tale sigh of “I’m never getting laid, am I?”

[b]LH:[/b] …The frig? There’s not even a joke here!

[b]Archie:[/b] Because heaven forbid that Jughead ever be anything but suspiciously mellow.

[b]Pluggers[/b]: Pluggers are so incredibly parsimonious that they can’t even bear the thought of wasting two perfectly good quarters on a roll of candy.

[b]Momma:[/b] Ha ha, it’s funny because Momma is threatening suicide! …Wait, what?

[b]RMMD:[/b] Little does Niki know that, for Rex, the party has yet to begin.

Still warming up, but I think I’m beginning to get this. *cracks knuckles*
Freezair
November 8th, 2007 at 4:34 pm [Reply]

Awww, crud, I’m still in BBCode mode from the forum I was just at! Dag nabbit, now I look like an idiot.
prunes
November 8th, 2007 at 4:40 pm [Reply]

No doubt it’s been mentioned before, but that panel reminds me: is Marvin just a huge rip-off of Garfield that’s been turned into a baby, or what?

It’s like he just erased the ears and whiskers.
McManx
November 8th, 2007 at 4:49 pm [Reply]

FC- Spankings and ass-marshmallows… there’s a dominatrix dream combination if ever there was one.

MT – In panel 2, one of the giant duck monsters comments that it is their customers that Bull has taken. Is the Malotte family merely servants to a race of huge avian gods who have been cheated of their sacrifice?

MW – Panel 2, to the Doctor we reply: Of course we know what would have happened if Mary had left the little dog in the road: 1. Beagle Buzzard Bait and 2. fewer billable hours for you, you quack bastard.

GA – Leave it to the writers of the dying Gasoline Alley strip to make a cynical attempt to save the comic with its latest storyline … wet pussy, indeed, gentlemen!

GT – Headline: “Milford trustees today fired coach Gil Thorpe for his perpetually losing record; it was also announced that former Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione will lead the program next season.”
Laura c
November 8th, 2007 at 4:50 pm [Reply]

#31. Brooke McEldowney likes old movies. He should have just given us a closed bedroom door and a fade-out.
McManx
November 8th, 2007 at 4:55 pm [Reply]

#35 [b] No Freezair [/b] we don’t think you’re an idiot at all.
[b] We [/b] can relate…
Gal Friday
November 8th, 2007 at 4:57 pm [Reply]

McManx?! Are you an Aggie? I wouldn’t wish Coach Fran on anyone–except Margo McGee, maybe.
en_dash
November 8th, 2007 at 5:00 pm [Reply]

Is the i on that iPod the first lower-case letter ever written in Gil Thorp? Not to mention it looks like the tittle was added as an afterthought.
Sans Sense
November 8th, 2007 at 5:09 pm [Reply]

GT: It doesn’t say “ipod” it says “pod” with Spanish punctuation. I knew the Milf’s were pod people. And to think, only newcomer footballer/murderer Cully Vale can tell… Next panel he says, “And so I ran. I ran! I ran! I ran! I ran as little Jimmy Grimaldi ran the other day.”
King Folderol
November 8th, 2007 at 5:09 pm [Reply]

FC – Dude, what is Jeffy doing to that marshmallow? Practicing to be a gay male porn star???

Marvin – As someone with an 11-month old (albeit a girl) daughter, I can say that you need both hands to not only put the diaper on, but to keep the kid from rolling/flailing/squirming off of the damn changing table. I guess if you got especially frustrated with trying to fight your child’s efforts not to wear a covering to protect her from getting soiled you could use the umbrella to jab yourself in the chest and try to puncture all the way to your heart, but that’s not going to get that diaper on any faster.
King Folderol
November 8th, 2007 at 5:09 pm [Reply]

FC – Dude, what is Jeffy doing to that marshmallow? Practicing to be a gay male porn star???

Marvin – As someone with an 11-month old (albeit a girl), I can say that you need both hands to not only put the diaper on, but to keep the kid from rolling/flailing/squirming off of the damn changing table. I guess if you got especially frustrated with trying to fight your child’s efforts not to wear a covering to protect her from getting soiled you could use the umbrella to jab yourself in the chest and try to puncture all the way to your heart, but that’s not going to get that diaper on any faster.
McManx
November 8th, 2007 at 5:09 pm [Reply]

#40 Actually no, Gal Friday. I’m from the cross-state rival of Fran’s former SEC employer. And I agree with your estimation of Fran!
Nightingale
November 8th, 2007 at 5:11 pm [Reply]

Re#24: Darkefang, did you watch House this week? The thumb thing….
Flealick
November 8th, 2007 at 5:23 pm [Reply]

Judging from the way the children are holding their single, shotglass-sized marshmallows, while standing in their familiar cocktail-party-mingling circle, I assumed the Family Circus caption was going to involve some childish misunderstanding of the concept of “toasting” marshmallows. Instead the kids decided to discuss physical violence upon the ass during their snack time. Didn’t see that one coming.
Sans Sense
November 8th, 2007 at 5:25 pm [Reply]

A3G: Ok Mudges, don’t get it. Admittedly I’ve only been following Margo for about 4 months but I haven’t seen the “Shehound From Hell” everyone seems to be anticipating. Sure she’s cranky and bitchy but she seems just as meandering and pandering as her roommates. What am I missing? Anyone have some back story?
Sans Sense
November 8th, 2007 at 5:28 pm [Reply]

GT: More on the pod connection, “There’s no emotion. None. Just the pretense of it. The words, the gesture, the tone of voice, everything else is the same, but not the feeling.”

Whoa, is that everyone in GT or what?
Cheap Cynicism
November 8th, 2007 at 5:45 pm [Reply]

If I were accused of stealing an iPod, I would not react in the same manner as I do when someone tells me that they really enjoyed a movie that I did not enjoy too much.
True Fable
November 8th, 2007 at 5:45 pm [Reply]

#48 Sans Sense – Given the comics practice of everything else being so Hi & Lois passive aggressive, and Dennis Mitchell is supposed to represent Menacing at its finest (a claim that MenaceWatch2007 hotly contests), then Margo Magee is downright homicidal. Margo has been known to insult people to their faces, run roughshod over their feelings and generally bully and roar to get her own way, and she’s been that way for YEARS. Sort of like Ed Crankshaft, only Margo does occasionally glean a little pleasure from life by banging her bland-New-Yorker-of-the-week and anticipating the payoff, a Monied Boyfriend/ Potential Mate.
Gold-Digging Nanny
November 8th, 2007 at 5:49 pm [Reply]

DT — I love the fact that the ghost says “DDDDDICK TRACY,” not “DIIIIIICK TRAAAACY.” Generally your long, low, ghostly moans draw out the vowels. This sounds more like the ghost of Max Headroom.
Dean Booth
November 8th, 2007 at 5:52 pm [Reply]

Marvin: If only the colorists had made Marvin’s diaper pink, it would have been a much more interesting strip.
No Boxcar, Slylock
November 8th, 2007 at 5:56 pm [Reply]

When Mary Worth says “A kind and compassionate act is its own reward,” she’s not referring to her own act. What she’s confident the line-drawing x-ray vet will glean is, “I would consider it the height of ill manners for you to actually present me with a bill for your veterinary kindness and compassion.”
Gal Friday
November 8th, 2007 at 5:56 pm [Reply]

#48 Margo’s in looooooovvvvve, so she’s retracted her claws a bit.
Gal Friday
November 8th, 2007 at 5:57 pm [Reply]

#48 Also, there’s a bit of “Waiting for Magee” [sic] here. She’s never actually killed anyone, but one day she will. Probably just by a Medusa-like stare.
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 5:58 pm [Reply]

Marvin’s Pink Diaper: Dag! that’s a fantastic name 4 a band! I’m selling all my badass musical equipment, but I still have a tambourine, and I know how to use it, Jimmy Carl Black-style.
Dean Booth
November 8th, 2007 at 5:58 pm [Reply]

#53, Me: Ok, Here it is
Poison Ivory
November 8th, 2007 at 5:59 pm [Reply]

Marvin: Oh, the baby-peeing-in-your-face thing is totally mainstream now. Hasbro even has a doll that does it. I’m not kidding. If you click on the video link, you can see Wets and Wiggles (and what a classy name that) in action.

However, it looks like both the girl and the boy dolls have this projectile action going on, so Marvin wins for anatomical accuracy, I guess. The fact that I had to type that sentence horrifies me.
Sans Sense
November 8th, 2007 at 6:01 pm [Reply]

#51 True Fable: So she’s like Holly Golightly without the charm?
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 6:02 pm [Reply]

Jimmy Carl Black is the indian of the group…Quack!…AAaaahhh.
Sans Sense
November 8th, 2007 at 6:03 pm [Reply]

#56. Gal Friday – Well if I can wait however many years it’s been for Rex and Niki to “get to the river” I guess I can go “Waiting for Magee”.
Lou Shumaker
November 8th, 2007 at 6:12 pm [Reply]

After watching Sally and her mother all these times, I realize why we’ve never seen her father. After Sally’s birth, her mother celebrated by eating him. And Sally helped.
PepperjackCandy
November 8th, 2007 at 6:15 pm [Reply]

#59 Poison Ivory — If the URL of that site wasn’t hasbro.com, I would’ve been sure the “Wets and Wiggles” doll was a parody.

Not to mention that you don’t take the diaper *off* when the baby shows signs of being about to eliminate. That negates the whole purpose of the diaper. “She’s about to pee. I’d better take the diaper off now.”

This doesn’t happen.
Chesnut
November 8th, 2007 at 6:18 pm [Reply]

At first glance, I thought the Family Circus kids were taking shots. Maybe they’ve invented some new drinking game where every time one of the kids says something banally funny you take a shot…or 12 depending on how much it hurts your soul.
KT
November 8th, 2007 at 6:20 pm [Reply]

Re Black Thursday from a few threads ago:

I’m saddened that the Chronicle dropped My Cage but kept The Banal-Political-Joke-Making Mind of Edison Lee. What’s especially galling is that if they’d dropped the friggin’ horoscope, they could have dropped three fewer strips.

Now I’m happier than ever that I’m a DailyInk subscriber.
Loopina
November 8th, 2007 at 6:20 pm [Reply]

#59 – Both weird and disturbing – thanks! That made my day. Best part is the way everyone laughs when they get peed on. Just like real life!
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 6:22 pm [Reply]

DT: Dizzum Trizzum? D-Diggety Dogg™? Trace??Traceo?? MC Dikk Tracers do it.com? Lord Richard Snubnose? Milbourne O’Shaunessy? Viper Medallion X? Sir Richard pumpaloaf????Ray Tray?…Big Dick Menudo??? Squarenose McCaliber.????Shorty “fingers” McWhatever????
ScienceGiant
November 8th, 2007 at 6:22 pm [Reply]

Mary Worth: AUGH! It’s worse than I thought! In the span of a single conversation Mary has flown from opposite the table, then moved to stand behind the vet looking at the x-ray, which is hung on the wall opposite the window. In the next sentence (panel) Mary is standing behind his right shoulder, but behind the table. Today’s she’s opposite the table again, almost out the door — no! Next panel, she’s standing next to the vet again on the same side of the table. She must be literally be running around in the circles in that room. Teh fcuk!!!
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 6:23 pm [Reply]

Gahhhhhhh
Spunky N. Tadpole
November 8th, 2007 at 6:30 pm [Reply]

Whatever Johnny Malotte has being doing to his mustache, waxing seems to be the least of it: apparently, since he dispatched p’tit Paul on his fruitless errand across the lake, his ’stache has grown from a thin pencil confined to his upper lip into a Snidely Whiplash-length face-snake. In about 2(?) hours. Freaky. No wonder these people have moved off to live in the “Lost Forest”.
True Fable
November 8th, 2007 at 6:31 pm [Reply]

#60 Sans Sense – mmmm, yeah; only I’d let Audrey Hepburn chat on her phone all day long as long as I could stand by and admire her. Margo, no.

#59 Poison Ivory – oh my GOD! Baby Alive POOPS? “Hey kids! Not enough shit to deal with in your life? Play with this doll and WIPE HER ASS for amusement!”

I just don’t want to know any more than that. Thank God my daughter played with Barbies, at least Barbie only changed clothes and bent at the waist, elbows, knees hips. Barbie’s Penthouse Bathroom had a toilet in it, sure, but Jesus! She didn’t graphically USE the damn thing.
Joe Blevins
November 8th, 2007 at 6:32 pm [Reply]

I’m still convinced that Marvin is what you get if you shave Garfield. But today’s strip shows why “Garfield” is a multi-media crossover sensation and “Marvin” remains inert on the comics page. They’re basically the same character, except they have different sublimation strategies. Garfield numbs himself with salt, fat, and empty calories (a socially acceptable coping method), while the more avant garde Marvin is apparently what is called a “watersport” enthusiast (socially unacceptable coping method).
Artist formerly known as Ben
November 8th, 2007 at 6:33 pm [Reply]

You know, up til now I had managed to repress that Marvin.
Joe Blevins
November 8th, 2007 at 6:42 pm [Reply]

FC: Judging from her beatific smile, Dolly is doing an impression of Pope John Paul II, which leads me to believe that she and her siblings are using those marshmallows as mock Communion wafers. I’m not sure what religion these kids are, but this is a time-honored Catholic kid game. We used chocolate Necco wafers as our ersatz Eucharist.
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 6:43 pm [Reply]

Ya know, if we took all the comic strips today and made a big soup, it would taste a little “off”
Artist formerly known as Ben
November 8th, 2007 at 6:46 pm [Reply]

#24 Darkefang,
It’s been a while since I’ve seen A Fish Called Wanda, but the Mary-Otto link sounds frighteningly plausible.
Chet McCord, Wildlife Defender
November 8th, 2007 at 6:47 pm [Reply]

Has anyone called their father “Pop” in the last 50 years?

Has there ever been a protagonist named “Bull”?
AppleGirl
November 8th, 2007 at 6:54 pm [Reply]

Have they featured iPods in Mark Trail yet?
jules
November 8th, 2007 at 7:01 pm [Reply]

Johnny: You must pay the rent!
Paul: I can’t pay the rent!
Johnny: You must pay the rent!
Paul: I can’t pay the rent!
Mark Trail: I’ll pay the rent!
Johnny: Curses! Foiled again!

(Bow, and curtain)
Jamus The Bartender
November 8th, 2007 at 7:04 pm [Reply]

59. Hm. Wets and Wiggles. I had a couple of girlfriends who did that* drumshot*.
Jamus The Bartender
November 8th, 2007 at 7:13 pm [Reply]

Dick Tracy’s Crimestopper’s Textbook
Haunted HouseWatch 2007-2008
Nov 8, 2007.
“Gov and Mayor finally nodded off to sleep. The business end of .45 insured that. Even managed to quietly rub one out while the kids were asleep. Not the mayor or gov. This is the OTHER “rub one out”.
“Anyway, was awoken by a soft female hand demanding justice. Dammit. No rest, even during a goddamned charity event. Time was you knew what went into this fucking whiskey. Jamus will hear of this, believe you me. Let’s see how Lady Ghostie reacts to some hot .45 slugs….”
End of entry.
Zamboni_Rodeo
November 8th, 2007 at 7:22 pm [Reply]

It seems to me Marvin’s folks ought to get this little gadget.

For those who asked, it’s been covered in a previous thread, but Rana is Afghani. Wally and Becky adopted her from Afghanistan and brought her back to Winkerville as a toddler (although the details of that particular adventure escape me at the moment.)
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 7:25 pm [Reply]

Yesterthread— #27 AppleGirl—-Turn up the neighbors, the Eagles are listening.
Sans Sense
November 8th, 2007 at 7:26 pm [Reply]

#83. Zamboni_Rodeo –

Keep your fancy gadgets, as the father of two notorious squirters the name of the game is speed and climate control. I had a diaper change down to 3 seconds flat. But if you are hampered by Tracy-esque phalanges, by all means get the gadget.
Uncle Lumpy
November 8th, 2007 at 7:27 pm [Reply]

#83 Zamboni –

Killed by a carbomb. Or cholera. Wait — stoning?

It’s all a blur.
Sans Sense
November 8th, 2007 at 7:28 pm [Reply]

Editors stand down, I know my second sentence is incomplete dammitall!
Tweeks_Coffee
November 8th, 2007 at 7:28 pm [Reply]

#69 – ScienceGiant Trying to piece together can be either the funniest thing in Mary Worth or dive you completely insane. I generally find it’s easier to just assume that Mary actually controls the world around her and bends it to her desire.
Tweeks_Coffee
November 8th, 2007 at 7:29 pm [Reply]

#88 – me: *Piece together the action, that is.
Darkefang
November 8th, 2007 at 7:40 pm [Reply]

#46 Nightingale –

“Re#24: Darkefang, did you watch House this week? The thumb thing….”

No, and something tells me I’m glad.
Poteet
November 8th, 2007 at 7:51 pm [Reply]

(DT)GT — Per the Pope’s comment, I only WISH those people didn’t have any faces.

# 80 — Yay! Thanks for the memories, Jules! My memory of my summer camp’s version (from when I was nature counselor) is as follows:

***

(fake paper moustache/bow held beneath nose); You must pay the rent, you must pay the rent, you must pay the rent today!

(fake m/b held on top of head to symbolize hairbow): I can’t pay the rent, I can’t pay the rent, I can’t pay the rent today!

(nose) You must!

(head) I can’t!

(nose) You must!

(head) I can’t!

(fake m/b held at throat to indicate bowtie): I’LL pay the rent!

(head) My hero!

(nose) Curses, foiled again!

***

Jules’ version is far more merciful to the audience, of course.
Poteet
November 8th, 2007 at 8:04 pm [Reply]

# 72 — Sir Fable MTK, me too. A doll that poops? What’s the point? I’ve got four pooping cats, and that’s plenty of adorable pooping for me, though I give them props for covering the evidence.

Actually, as CrabbyGenes could testify, I was never much of a doll person even as a child. My dolls led dismal lives compared to most. However, a doll that would do my taxes, clean out the gutters, or say what I’d really like to say to certain people while I stood hidden in the background and giggled to myself…THAT’S a doll I might request from Santa..
Sheilagh
November 8th, 2007 at 8:16 pm [Reply]

“If you were ever spanked.” Sounds like the little horrors never DO get spanked. That explains quite a lot, I think.
LTBF
November 8th, 2007 at 8:35 pm [Reply]

Not that long ago the line in FC would have been “When you get spanked”.

Times have changed.
BlinkAndItsOver
November 8th, 2007 at 8:37 pm [Reply]

FC Happy Hour.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15388287@N02/1925298173/
Luprand
November 8th, 2007 at 8:39 pm [Reply]

So first off, why is Coach Thorp smiling so much? “Gentlemen, we are doing this all wrong. Just like I showed you! Next week, we’re going to try doing even worse. So remember to bring your dog costumes!”

Also, what is Dolly doing with her right hand? It shows her right arm reaching out, but the marshmallow is in her left hand. I think that smile on her face is actually her look of concentration as she re-forms her hand into a mass of tendrils, which she is sliding into Jeffy’s left ear as a rather unsubtle way of controlling his brain.

I think a lot of Family Circus could be explained by realizing that the children are actually alien parasites bent on world exasperation.
AppleGirl
November 8th, 2007 at 8:48 pm [Reply]

84 – Red Greenback – They stab it with their steely knives, but they just can’t kill the beast.
Katerina
November 8th, 2007 at 8:53 pm [Reply]

“Back pocket”. Heh.
Razmytaz
November 8th, 2007 at 8:54 pm [Reply]

I know that there has been the idea that A3G and MW both seem to be trapped in some fifties/sixties fixed parallel universe (though with some technological oddities like the MW dog/Cat scan and even GT has an !pod).

Still if I might cross blog (Warning: Do NOT imbibe beverages while perusing) I think I can safely say, we won’t have completely reached the Charterstone Pool Party of the Damned until they start buying from the J.C. Penny catalogue of the seventies.
The Grandstanding Oddball
November 8th, 2007 at 9:00 pm [Reply]

For a second there, I thought that the quotation marks at the end of Mary’s “well-known” “quote” were actually a trademark TM. And I was terrified that anyone would have trademarked such an awkward and horrifically uninteresting quote.

As it turns out, only one person in the history of the world has ever said this, and they were just quoting Mary.
Ryl
November 8th, 2007 at 9:09 pm [Reply]

#99–Now I know where the Generic Interchangeable Men in A3G get their clothes. Can’t you just see Blaze and Alan in those matching chemical-mint suits?
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 9:38 pm [Reply]

#97- AppleGirl- If I were capapable of love, I’d be in it! Are you me?
Perky Bird
November 8th, 2007 at 9:39 pm [Reply]

It seems that some DC-area Mudges over on the Forum want to arrange a meeting soon. Just wanted to say, I’m up for that! I’m in NoVa, but would be up to meet in DC or Maryland (MoCounty). I’m waiting for Josh to set me up in the forum, and I’ll join the discussion.
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 9:47 pm [Reply]

Am I blue?
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 9:49 pm [Reply]

How about now?
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 9:56 pm [Reply]

Doonsbury: Boy Cock, Girl Cock, Eeyi, eeyi, yo!
Buck Ripsnort
November 8th, 2007 at 9:57 pm [Reply]

“[. . . .]if you ever got spanked.” IF. I thought this was a house w/ strong Christian morals, but they’re just spare-the-rod namby-pambiests. You know what happens when you spare the rod? HUH? YOU GET MARVIN SMIRKING WHILE HE PEES ON YOU, THAT’S WHAT!
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 9:59 pm [Reply]

Spotted HØrse- Ya see what I did there? If you do, let me know, ’cause i’m all at sea.
ScienceGiant
November 8th, 2007 at 10:02 pm [Reply]

#88 – Tweeks_CoffeeOh, jeez. That makes it worse — bad enough I thought Mary was tapdancing around the examination room. Now I realize she’s teleporting!
aleksmakk
November 8th, 2007 at 10:04 pm [Reply]

Has anyone noticed that today’s Slylock Fox is a ripoff of Mark Trail? Today Slylock attempts to save a duck and its offspring from forces beyond his control and doesn’t care which of his former allies he has to step on to do it! The only difference is the look of slowly dawning horror on the face of the duck as it realizes the price it may have to pay for this favor. The duck in MT was more accepting of this fate.
Hysterical Woman
November 8th, 2007 at 10:11 pm [Reply]

Aren’t spankings usually bare bottomed? Marshmallows won’t help then! (I never got spanked as a kid and I’m fine. I think spanking is kinda creepy actually.)
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 10:17 pm [Reply]

Yesterthread-Spotted HØrse: It looked like you said “My best friend Aldo said….” Man oh Maneshewiitz, talk about your six degrees of seperation…and whatnot. I was at Fred Segal a while back with my bud Aldo (not his real name, btw) and Mr. Will Smith of “Big Willie Style” was shopping in the same venue….Well, slap my face and call me late for dinner! ….and…life goes on, I guess…
Godzooky
November 8th, 2007 at 10:23 pm [Reply]

A3G: Is Margo living up to her rep? I agree with juggernaut yesterthread: It’s all hype. commodorejohn and others feel otherwise. One way to settle this: If it’s no trouble, que pensez-vous, SecretMargo?
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 10:26 pm [Reply]

#111 Hysterical Woman- The word Marshmallow is creepy in any context.
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 10:31 pm [Reply]

Unless it involves the ingredients in s’mores…especially when Rex an’ Niki do it in a campfire context.
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 10:34 pm [Reply]

Sheesh! Just calll me Blabby McJawflapper! No, please don’t.
Weaselboy
November 8th, 2007 at 10:34 pm [Reply]

Are those marshmallows in your back pocket or did you just crap your pants?
Jamus The Bartender
November 8th, 2007 at 10:37 pm [Reply]

FC: I’m sure those marshmallows in your back pockets could block a spanking, but how well do they guard against five upside the head?
sonneta
November 8th, 2007 at 10:38 pm [Reply]

48/Sans sense: Thank you! I tried to ask that lo these several threads ago, but no one answered. Thanks also for the explanation, True Fable et al.

75/Joe Blevins: Bil Keane is Catholic, and therefore I believe (along with other evidence- the kids saying the rosary, crucifixes) the comics Keanes are Catholic as well.
Jabby McHoleflaffer
November 8th, 2007 at 10:41 pm [Reply]

My shit’s gonna be shut down at any minute, so’s im going for the Pewter! Yay me!….RGB Red Greenback
Jabby McHoleflaffer
November 8th, 2007 at 10:43 pm [Reply]

The dog’s not for sale
Jabby McHoleflaffer
November 8th, 2007 at 10:52 pm [Reply]

Or would you rather be a mule?

A mule is an animal that gets zippers, true
She throws up some fingerquotes boo hoo
Her back is brawny but her brain is weak
She’s just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
And by the way, if you hate to go to school
You may grow up to be a mule
Moon Mullins
November 8th, 2007 at 11:01 pm [Reply]

Our emergency room got a free subscription to Highlights magazine today, which is kinda screwy in that we only see adults. I took a look, and sure enough, the same comics are in there from when all of us were little: Timbertoes, The Bear Family, and, of course, Goofus and Gallant!

Today’s Goofus and Gallant:
Goofus wipes his mouth on his shirt sleeve.
Gallant says, “May I have a napkin, please?”

Meh.

What I was hoping for:
Goofus gets all the hot chicks who are into to his bad-boy rebel image.
Goody two-shoes Gallant has to take his fat cousin to the prom.
Will work for IROC
November 8th, 2007 at 11:02 pm [Reply]

Candy apple Red (Greenback)
AhClem
November 8th, 2007 at 11:04 pm [Reply]

#99 Razmytaz -
Those guys in the mint green suits need to form a bluegrass band. The mandolin player can start with one of these.
Paul Revere
November 8th, 2007 at 11:06 pm [Reply]

And though I wear a shirt and tie
I’m still a red man deep inside…Tee hee! Red Greenback here!!!!
Spotted HØrse
November 8th, 2007 at 11:09 pm [Reply]

#112 Red Greenback: Wow, you went with “Aldo” to Fred Segal’s, where you saw Will Smith? Hi falutin’, I dare say! I’m grateful if I get to go to the Men’s Wearhouse, and excited if I bump into local notables such as Stan “Afghanistan Stan” Atkinson.
Robert Goulet from beyond the grave
November 8th, 2007 at 11:18 pm [Reply]

My esteamed clammy collleague, Red Greenback, has some totally bitchen items for sale…classic Velzy balsa baby-gun. Sick Eddie Aikau memorobelia. Shirts up the wazoo that I tried to purchace from the bruttha when I walked the earth….WoooEEEooo… fading….fading….talk to….Vera….she’ll hook yer sorry asses…WhoooEEE…..up
Red Greenback almost from the grave
November 8th, 2007 at 11:26 pm [Reply]

Spotted HØrse-
Poetry:
I saw Pauly Shore/
At Virgin Megastore
And I shook hands with Rosanna Arquette/
When she was pregnette
Anonymous
November 8th, 2007 at 11:28 pm [Reply]

Note to Marvin’s parents: More information can be found on the internet.
http://www.bippityboppitybaby.com/peepeeteepee.htm
“For the sprinkling wee-wee makes diaper changing a boy dryer!”
Red Greenback almost from the grave
November 8th, 2007 at 11:31 pm [Reply]

I’ve seen fire and i’ve seen rain…shit, who the hell hasn’t? Am i right?
Muffaroo [aka Kip W]
November 8th, 2007 at 11:33 pm [Reply]

MT – Now we have white ducks with green heads and bands around the necks. I’m guessing these are just some sort of accessory that can be purchased by any duck, and possibly even by interested coots, grebes, herons, terns, or pigeons, as long as they have the necessary chicken feed. Soon, we’ll see people wearing them. Maybe.
alamo
November 8th, 2007 at 11:34 pm [Reply]

does anyone else see le diable in pere malotte”s cheveux?
The Spectacular Spider-Brick
November 8th, 2007 at 11:39 pm [Reply]

I’ll have what Red’s having.
Red Greenback almost from the grave
November 8th, 2007 at 11:42 pm [Reply]

MT:
Bienvenue to our humble chapeau.
SecretMargo
November 8th, 2007 at 11:45 pm [Reply]

113: Holy [margo]! Paged! En francais!

Unsurprisingly, I have been thinking about this. What is up with Margo’s sudden milquetoasting? And I think it comes down to one factor: Eric. Margo’s Kryptonite.

We like to think that all the men in A3G are interchangeable, but to misquote Jessica Rabbit, they’re just drawn that way. The writers seem to be going out of their way to match the girls with men who mirror their heroines rather than complement them: Alan is just as spacey, dim-witted, and brain damaged from prolonged exposure to mind-altering toxins as Lu Ann, Tommie’s IT tech/backstage hand suitor is so hesitant and bland I can’t remember his name and neither can Tommie, and, lest we forget, Eric is a cad of somewhat epic proportions, shady about “China,” possibly in love with Nora but nevertheless definitely mercenary in his regard for Margo: she’s a hot piece of ass, much like a steak straight off the grill.

Margo’s badassery is less about her capacity for actual violence and more about her incapacity to feel empathy, warmth, or tenderness. Even when she acts in ways that simulate these emotions, we’re given cues to read them as elaborate performances. She is always telling either the reader, via thought balloons, or her bobbling roommates about what she’s going to get out of whatever scheme she’s brewing. Before Eric, things seemed to be about money, prestige, attention, or (heavily coded) sex. With Eric, she wants something more complex: marriage, which translates in her mind into a perfect storm of everything on the previous list. The problem is: she has to pretend not to want those things, but rather to selflessly love Eric in hopes he will give them to her. So she gives up the cell phone: a battle thrown to win the war.

The problem is that Eric won’t fall for this (I’m suspecting), because he’s almost exactly like her. And he’s getting what he wants from her already, hence the creepy “tonight is for pleasure” stuff. So he’ll keep asking her for more and more, since he seems to be nearly as sociopathically self-centered as she is, until either he tires of her and dumps her/leaves the country, or Margo realizes that he’s never going to give her what she wants and she washes her hands of him in his own blood. Until that crisis point is reached, though, I think this storyline is going to keep revving around like this, which might be a little painful, since it’ll be scene after scene of The Self-Abnegation of Margo. But I still would contend that she hasn’t “lost it” and become a simp like Rusty, but rather her Machiavellian plans have hit a snag. I still have faith.

For now, the real fireworks will keep coming in the form of her taking her frustrations out on unrelated proxies like Lu Ann, Ruby (though they seem to have reached a détente), Sam The Assistant, Alan, Nora….well, basically the rest of the cast. But soon, I think, something is going to give. The writers are attacking her from two fronts right now: Eric and Sam, a.k.a. love and career, and it looks like they’re going to force a decision. Since they’ve also gone out of their way to make Eric really unlikeable and shady, I think she’s going to choose career again in the end, like she always has before. I’m also predicting a few more Art of War bubblebaths before we’re through, and maybe a shopping spree.

Wow. Even I didn’t realize I’d thought about it this much. Am I losing my mind? Um…don’t answer.
Red Greenback almost from the grave
November 8th, 2007 at 11:50 pm [Reply]

#134- Spectacular Masonry- I haven’t imbibed in spirits as of late, but if i rummage around, i may find some Mescal worms around casa de Redback.
Red Greenback almost from the grave
November 8th, 2007 at 11:54 pm [Reply]

See what I did there? LOLLSMFT.
Red Greenback
November 8th, 2007 at 11:58 pm [Reply]

How Stella got her Green back…,Stone Season!
The Avocado Avenger
November 9th, 2007 at 12:02 am [Reply]

Yay! He’s back from the almost grave!
Moon Mullins
November 9th, 2007 at 12:10 am [Reply]

Thurs Mary Worth:

Ay-yi-yi! All that talk the other day of that dog being made into a casserole must have gotten to Moy and Giella! A delicious beagle melt served in an Italian tablecloth basket!

In panel two, Dr. Fleafactory plays “got your nose!” with Mary. Meanwhile, he spouts psalmish wisdom that was trite 35 years ago, when fellow vet James Herriot published a sappy book by that title.
SecretMargo
November 9th, 2007 at 12:11 am [Reply]

Red! Back slaps and belly laughs! Glad to see ya back! and as for #114: Word.
Kaitlyn
November 9th, 2007 at 12:12 am [Reply]

One thing – the some thing that dragged me out of lurkerdom – I keep pronouncing it fute-boll because I keep thinking of stratEgery.

Damn all of you that made that happen!
Red Greenback
November 9th, 2007 at 12:13 am [Reply]

You know about how everyone’s dissing Rosie O’Donnell? Well. i’d just like to say if i knew Rosie, i’d love for her to help me formulate thoughts about the comics, and if i were the king of world, i’m sure Donald Trump would have something FABULOUS to add.
bats :[
November 9th, 2007 at 12:23 am [Reply]

TGIF (or nearly so), if for no other reason than the funnies!

A3G: oh, fine…Marvin’s dad is hawking umbrellas now. And a lovely lime/barf green they are, too!

FC: the dirty little secret of Susie Homemaker (and Mommy):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9545446@N07/1928659016/
(Whatever the reason, Mommy Thel is way to amused by her own wit.)

FW: okay, we all know that Batiuiuik has a website and know who all the “new characters” or new situations are llikely to be. Can you imagine someone who just reads this on a clueless, daily basis. The reeling! The astonishment! The reeling!

MW: wow, that look of Mary’s in Panel 2. I think she’s been out-platitudinized by the vet! (Either that, or she’s confused by that framed exterior window…it’s. so. real!)

Mutts: oh, my. Eddie-do got adopted. That is so cool.
Moon Mullins
November 9th, 2007 at 12:30 am [Reply]

141 (me)
Dang, tomorrow’s Friday, isn’t it. Sorry to misidentify you, Mary, Doc and cooked beagle.
Godzooky
November 9th, 2007 at 12:35 am [Reply]

#136 SecretMargo: Wow. Any response would have been fine, this one was great. Excellent analysis, does a better job of explaining why Eric is still in one piece after dissing Margo the night before and today than the actual strip does. (Though I still think any New York woman worth her salt would have shown him what else could be hung up instead of a phone.)
Ed Power, writer of \'My Cage\
November 9th, 2007 at 12:37 am [Reply]

Tweeks_Coffee, Niall, KT, and anyone I may have missed:

Thanks for the nice words in the face of us getting dropped form the Chron on ‘Black Thursday’. At least we’re still on their web-site, so most of you guys can still get us.

Still the Sunday drop mean you won’t be able to see the 12/23/07 conclusion of our team up with a certain other ‘Mudgeon friendly comic. ;)

Many of our myspace buddies are from the Houston area though, so I’m not sure how that’ll effect us. I’m going to beat the drum over there to see if we can get some support going.

BTW, if you do have a myspace page, and don’t have us on your buddy list, you may want to click the link in my name. We’ll be announcing shortly a contest for our myspace friends with a prize I think is pretty cool. Not ‘cold hard cash’ cool, but pretty cool none-the-less. :)

Later!
-Ed
dreadedcandiru2
November 9th, 2007 at 12:46 am [Reply]

(TIHTI)FBoFW: More of Mike’s wonderful wondrousness today as we find out at a young age, he knew a second language: Profanity. Liz is far too easy to impress (just look at how she fawns over Assthony) because she conflates pwning the stupid with being a genius.
Kaitlyn
November 9th, 2007 at 12:47 am [Reply]

As soon as I read the description of ‘My Cage’, I knew I had to read it. Stephen Colbear got me hooked, but the platypus star? Gold.

Little known – very little known – fact – I love platypii. I have a big one – named Puffy that I’ve had since Italy (1 or 2?) and a new one that I got at some antique/junk/Goodwill store that’s a former Beanie Baby. It’s nameless.

Both came with me to college, along with a little Buddha statue and Johnny Depp posters.

Back to My Cage – great, the creator has a myspace, great he knows what the CC is – his comic isn’t awesomely bad! We need Bruce Tinsley, the Keanes, whoever’s doing BC and BB over here.

Hmmph.
Kaitlyn
November 9th, 2007 at 12:48 am [Reply]

You can still get Sunday comics on the Chron page by putting in the right date.

And My Cage is at the Seattle PI as well.

I have no physical paper anymore. :(
Josh
November 9th, 2007 at 12:59 am [Reply]

#136 Brilliant as ever, SecretMargo. I’d just like to add that I find the phrase “backstage hand suitor” to be unspeakably filthy, even though I’m not entirely sure what it’s supposed to mean.

Josh
Charlene
November 9th, 2007 at 1:04 am [Reply]

How did Chuck Norris get into that first panel of Gil Thorp?

He’s lying in wait.
Little Red-haired Girl
November 9th, 2007 at 1:04 am [Reply]

#24 Darkefang Re: Mallard Fillmore’s obsession with fancy dog breeds, National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week is Nov. 4-10. So far I’ve only seen MF and Mutts mentioning it. Of course, McDonnell does his shelter stories every year at this time. I just can’t believe Bruce Tinsley said something with which I agree.
Poteet
November 9th, 2007 at 1:19 am [Reply]

DT — I don’t know which enthralls me most, the Linda-Blair head-swivel of the phantom, her dramatic Fabio hair, or Dick’s bulging terrorized eyeballs. I’m so happy *sniff*
Angry Beaver
November 9th, 2007 at 1:32 am [Reply]

S-M: I’m sorry but the “Persuader” is nothing more than a big bully with a little ego. l’ll Kathy Griffin his butt and tell him where he can stick it. (I wanted to say more but then I’d be censored!)
Poteet
November 9th, 2007 at 1:35 am [Reply]

RMMD — I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed the lovely almost-matching blue caps on Rex and Malotte fils. I hope other strips will join in — I’d love to see one on Margo.

GA — I usually don’t mind that cat-carrying guy being an utter dimwit, but his not even having the brains to put out a second food bowl for the new cat does irrationally cheese me off.

JP — But what about testing? What about withdrawal permits? What about…oh, what’s the use. Let’s get back to Abbey and her robust mammary glands.
Burning Prairie
November 9th, 2007 at 1:49 am [Reply]

Marvin-my oldest child is a boy, he had fantastic aim, and he wore a wicked smile when he let fly. Still, the umbrella is better than the little pee-pee tent that parents can position just so to keep from being sprayed.
True Fable
November 9th, 2007 at 2:03 am [Reply]

BB well, FINALLY! Someone at Camp Swampy has reached the same conclusion as the average ‘Mudge.
Cathy (Must Die) Is it wrong of me to take an especially gleeful satisfaction in the totally freaked out way irving looks today? Well, then I’m wrong, I don’t care. Maybe he’s also reaching the same conclusion as the average Fable: Cathy must indeed die.
C’haft Poor little confused old lady. I’m probably supposed to smirk over this strip but it’s made me sad instead. *serious Fable moment* It reminds me how many sweet folks are taken in by hard-sell tactics simply because they do not have the defensive mechanism to ignore the hucksters. And as astonishing as I find myself saying it, I’d feel the same way if it was Cranky himself who will end up ordering 15 books, 14 of them unnecessary, by day’s end.
DtM Yeah, well, Margaret obviously knows what that is on your hands.
DT Dick Does Mushrooms.
FC No, sweetie; it’s hard to be humorous if you are a Keane.
FBoFW As Liz STILL fondly reminisces about her genius brother, we learn that there is still nothing the least bit admirable about the lying, sneaky, scheming little monster. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is the Smart, Sensitive, Theatrical Michael, evidently serving up some really good cursing in the park.
Poor Lawrence. Evidently he was too slow in getting away yesterday after he finished his lemonade, and now he has to play with Mike.
FW You know, Batiuk, this would have been much more gasp-worthy if you had not spilled the beans months ago about Comic Book John and Becky. Or, gasp-worthy at all.
(DT)GT Lesson: You can get away with all sorts of things if you look like Liza Minnelli & David Gest’s spawn. Out of revulsion, I imagine.
H&L That’s not her cell phone, Trixie. And Mommy likes it, too.
JP Keith’s one way out, as far as I can see, is that it is only a verbal agreement and he doesn’t even have a limp and unenforcable Letter of Intent to make him adhere to the arrangement. But he’ll be too stupid to realize that.
Lockhorns Awww. Loretta has a new pet name for Leroy’s penis, “Quark”.
MT So, Johnny Malone is going to bring out the Fist O’Justice, only it will more likely be a “Gighook O’Justice”. Mark will not stop him only because that moustache is such a thin, weak, sad little example of facial hair.
MW “…pick you up at eight?”
Momma Yeah, fuck you too, Momma.
PBS I’ll consider this a shoutout to me. Hiya, Pastis!
RMMD I love fly fishing. I just don’t see why Rex thinks a kid who lost his home in the Katrina flood, is going to think wading around all day in water up to his ass is going to be any different with a fly rod in his hand.
S4th *sigh* THROW THE BITCH OUT.
Tiger Tiger is like the poor man’s Dennis the Menace, even down to the lightweight tagalong best friend with sexually confused overtones. He’s even asking Tiger out. MenaceWatch2007 does not consider this strip an insult to the poor; they deserve better.
Skullturf Q. Beavispants
November 9th, 2007 at 2:29 am [Reply]

Friday 11/09/07:

BBailey. Okay, the Walkers must know that we all perceive a romantic subtext, and now they’re just messing with us.

Blondie. So when Mr. Dithers reprimands his employee, he hands him something that he refers to as a “ticket”, for the sole purpose of setting up a punchline.

Dilbert. Ah, recursion.

Get Fuzzy. Has it been pointed out that Rob looks like a more haggard John Krasinski?

Jumble. An alternate, more surreal answer is TAILED PRICKS.

The HateEachOthers. Wow, a subatomic physics reference! Cool!

Big Dog. A lambada reference, only 17 years too late.

P.S. After previewing, I see Fable anticipated my BB comment and also out-funnied me re the Lockhorns.
Tats
November 9th, 2007 at 2:36 am [Reply]

MW: Great look of apprehension from Mary in the final panel, as if she finally realizes how she’s come off all the years and wants desperately to make amends to Chinbeard, Toby, Dr. Jeff and the gang. Of course, it’s more likely that she’s worried the doctor will discover the chronic Munchhausen’s-by-proxy that leads her to worsen the problems of those who surround her, only to “solve” them with rudimentary advice and meaningless platitudes.

TDIET: I’ve gotta say, the sudden spurt of TDIET submissions based around the hospital leads me to hypothesize three equally depressing, yet equally likely theories: 1) the readership of the strip has a collective perpetual foot in the grave, 2) lonely, miserable, bedridden hospital patients have no better way to wile away their hours than to doodle comic strip ideas on the back of their napkins and sigh about lost time, or 3) the readership of TDIET frequently find themselves in the hospital due to the high blood pressure brought on by complaining about every last damn thing.
Motown
November 9th, 2007 at 9:24 am [Reply]

Sorry, but am I the only one to notice that the back of the head in panel one of Gil Thorpe belongs to a WOMAN? Perhaps it’s Lisa Olsen of the Boston Herald, rebuffed by the New England Patriots, reduced to covering Milford High School football.

She’s clearly gotten older since reporting on those Patriot Missiles, as well.
Melissa
November 9th, 2007 at 11:57 am [Reply]

Of course Cully’s (and friends’) snack shop looks like a bookstore because Rubin & McLaughlin can’t draw food. They have a hard time drawing anything of an organic nature.
kingklash
November 9th, 2007 at 2:20 pm [Reply]

Ugh, I’ve got unhealthy visiions of a Stay-Puft Ass Marshmallow Man now. Thanks a heap, guys!
Buck Remus
November 10th, 2007 at 10:17 am [Reply]

GIL THORP: BOOKENDS OF FACELESS HORROR!!!
Anonymous
November 10th, 2007 at 2:05 pm [Reply]

#65: That was exactly my thought, and I find it much more appetizing to read that little teardrop as an accidentally spilled drop of water-or-vodka-or-whatever than an emphatic projection of saliva.
Foobar
November 11th, 2007 at 11:14 pm [Reply]

This is the problem with making your children only as tall as the average person’s knee:it becomes incredibly absurd when they are compared to things which really ought to be small. Keane had better pull back with a trip to the zoo (lions, rhinos, elephants) or risk having to render individual atoms next time they examine “the dot family” (ant hill).
tibet tour
February 19th, 2009 at 1:50 am [Reply]

Want to go to tibet tour?
????
November 9th, 2009 at 3:44 am [Reply]

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Football strategery

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