The Comics Curmudgeon

Main content:

“Plugger repeats” involve gas, no doubt

Curtis, 1/28/08

Continuing on my residual fumes of Curtis-directed niceness, I have to say that I find Chutney’s exaggerated body posture in panel two really adorable. Panel four, on the other hand, disturbs and horrifies me: Curtis’ mouth appears to be sliding around the side of his uncannily ovoid head! Perhaps his mind and heart have finally opened up to the possibility of smooches from Chutney, but his mouth still won’t have any of it and is trying to escape.

Gasoline Alley, 1/28/08

The current Gasoline Alley plot, involving people who have never appeared in the strip before, surreptitious phone camera photography, and numerous end-runs around the grievance procedure laid out in the collective bargaining agreement between the U.S. Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union, is, as you might expect, meandering and dull. But I have to admit that I love love love the exchange in panel one today. Any and all questions lobbed at me that are even vaguely along the line of “You know what your trouble is?” will be met with “The system” — though ending not with some lily-livered question mark but a defiant exclamation point.

Mark Trail, 1/28/08

Mark Trail’s nemeses are in fact just flying around to get a better shot; the fact that Mark is severely overthinking their motivation just goes to show how dumb Mark Trail villains are. Mark’s contingency plan is of course foolproof, since any jurisdiction that would release a suspect with overwhelming evidence damning him as murderer based on outrageously unlikely hearsay from Mark would of course do the same if said outrageously unlikely hearsay was scrawled on a piece of paper attached to a dog that wandered into the police station.

Anyway, I’m mostly posting this because I wanted to share a couple funny graphics sent by faithful readers. First up is this note from faithful reader Daniel:

While my wife asked ‘What are you planning to do today?’ I came up with this. I think it’s the most productive ten minutes I’ve spent since getting laid off last week. I figured people could print this sign out, and place it in their car windows, or at least xerox a dozen fliers and post them in their neighborhood. People need to know the facts!

Ha ha, all fun and games — or so you think. But this note and pic, from faithful reader Gal Friday, will blow your mind!

As seen at Sundance!!! What does it mean?!

It means that folks on future Wes Anderson productions need to watch their backs, that’s what.

Mary Worth, 1/28/08

So it turns out that maybe Vera didn’t summon her ex-boyfriend to this hell cafe for the sole purpose of having her new boyfriend beat him up; rather, she’s just too lazy to make dates in separate restaurants with her various bits of emotional baggage. She also appears to have planned a two-plus hour lunch or something — I’m sure that goes over well with the head honchos at Disturbing Lack Of Affect Ad Agency. Anyway, Ryan’s bizarre way-too-early appearance, combined with his weird neck fondle in panel one, spells C-R-E-E-P-S-T-E-R to me. Or maybe V-A-M-P-I-R-E.

Of course, I’m less and less concerned about these boring humans and more and more interested in the bizarre series of identical bright orange donuts/bagels/round whatevers behind them. When we first saw these sweet (or possibly savory) treats, they at least had shelves to sit on. Today they appear to be simply glued to the back of the display case, or possibly nailed there.

Family Circus, 1/28/08

Dolly’s ultra-smug facial expression shows that she’s feeling that deep sense of self-satisfaction that only reinforcing traditional societal gender constructs can provide.

Pluggers, 1/28/08

I was going to accuse Pluggers of just slapping a new caption on art first drawn for a submission from faithful reader gh, but a quick trip to my archives revealed that said panel actually featured an entirely different drawing of an entirely different human-animal hybrid species, albeit one also featuring polka-dot boxers and obesity. Turns out that the Pluggers creative team just likes drawing huge-gutted furries in their underwear. Who are we to judge?

This entry was posted on Monday, January 28, 2008 at 05:28 pm and is filed under Curtis, Family Circus, Gasoline Alley, Mark Trail, Mary Worth, Pluggers.

132 responses to ““Plugger repeats” involve gas, no doubt”

Jamus Of The Jungle Patrol
January 28th, 2008 at 5:38 pm [Reply]

MW: I like the way Drew’s left fist is drawn. Like he’s going to use his chi in order to rip out Ryan’s eyeballs.
Actually, Ryan looks a lot like John Constantine, but without the smoking, the British accent, and all the swearing and bitching about Maggie Thatcher.
Zaq
January 28th, 2008 at 5:39 pm [Reply]

I’d love to see someone pitch “Huge-Gutted Furries in their Underwear” to a syndicate and have it appear in newspapers. Seriously. No named characters, no plot, no captions, no dialogue: just furries, adipose, and undershirts. That’s gold, I’m telling you.
Non-Shannon (of Jungle Patrol fame)
January 28th, 2008 at 5:40 pm [Reply]

Killer or not, Luke Wilson is hot.
Reedzilla
January 28th, 2008 at 5:42 pm [Reply]

Can anyone explain what’s going on with the back of Vera’s coat in panel2?
Biff Haffcock
January 28th, 2008 at 5:42 pm [Reply]

I understand PLUGGERS panels that show us “plugger” versions of non-plugger experiences, such as “plugger” sushi (bait!), “plugger” text messaging (note from mom in the lunchbox!), or “plugger” heroin (insulin!). But aren’t blind spots universal to us all, plugger and non-plugger alike? In fact, the pluggerier you are, the more likely you are to be hampered by a blind spot while driving, because expensive cars have great visibility and collision detection tech. The least pluggeriest have chauffers, anyways.
commodorejohn
January 28th, 2008 at 5:43 pm [Reply]

#2 Zaq – You may think it’s “gold,” but I’m willing to bet that’s just because you’re only familiar with the concept from Pluggers. Believe me, in your internet wanderings you will one day come across things that will make you regret that statement. Severely.
Daktari
January 28th, 2008 at 5:44 pm [Reply]

Seems old Plugger there has the “dick-do” syndrome.
His belly sticks out farther than his “dick-do”.
Skullturf Q. Beavispants
January 28th, 2008 at 5:45 pm [Reply]

Panel 1 of Mary Worth proves once again that the artist cannot draw human affection. Or else Ryan and Vera are a couple of Stiffy Stiffersons.

He looks like he wants to bite or break her neck or something. It’s creeping me out.
Weaselboy
January 28th, 2008 at 5:48 pm [Reply]

MT: At first glance, Mark’s balloon in the final panel looks as though he’s saying it in panel two. Thus, in panel three Mark looks like he’s got a really bad case of writer’s block.
bats, Avian Division of the Jungle Patrol :[
January 28th, 2008 at 5:49 pm [Reply]

I think the two Plugger strips would be a fine addition to the Slylock Fox “find six differences.”
Mel
January 28th, 2008 at 5:49 pm [Reply]

MW: Oh man. Unfunny and wrong wrong wrong. I really thought for sure it was Von or Ben Frank. Who the hell is Ryan? No fair bringing in vague sartorially-challenged blonde men we have never met when there already are vague sartorially-challenged blonde ones we have. What is this A3G?

Is this going to end like the dog plot — with Drew saying “Oh, you’re seeing someone? Well, I wish you the best — and the donuts are on me!” ? Bah. I want to see stalking at least. Clumsy, obvious stalking.

I bust myself down to KP duty for Jungle Patrol — peeling coconuts with my tiny, tiny hands.
Hasty Penguin
January 28th, 2008 at 5:50 pm [Reply]

It finally struck me that Drew is (visually) a cross between Sherlock Holmes, early Bruce Wayne from Batman’s Detective comics days, James Bond (smugness value) and Joshua Jackson. With that in mind, you’d think he’d be able to do something more than clench his jaw and do his darndest to see up Vera’s nostrils when upsetted.

Vera also spends an immense amount of time at the coffee shop for Alan to think “Oh, I’m done my errands. I guess I’ll show up two hours early at the meeting point and surprise her!” and not be at all surprised to see her already there.
Baka Gaijin Kusamuru Keiei
January 28th, 2008 at 5:53 pm [Reply]

Beetle Bailey: You’re playing coy now Beetle, aren’t you? Don’t deny it. You know you’ll caress Sarge’s “blister” later tonight in the private bivouac that only you two are assigned to.

Sally Forth: Cathy, get out of the last panel! And you don’t have to trip the fuse on your way in. The Forths’ll feed you. If we were lucky, they’d feed you to Marmaduke.

Doonesbury: Reliably keeping the plight of the fallen soldier in the public eye without pity or sappiness. Good on you, mate!
Steve S
January 28th, 2008 at 5:53 pm [Reply]

Billy’s facial expression, on the other hand, suggests that even a Keane family member can eventually pick up on how terrible this comic is.
Hasty Penguin
January 28th, 2008 at 5:54 pm [Reply]

Drats! My above post should read Ryan instead of Alan. I confused him with the similar fellow from A3G.
doug rogers
January 28th, 2008 at 5:54 pm [Reply]

I knew it. Dr. Drew should’a stuck with the teen-aged horsey set.
Baka Gaijin Kusamuru Keiei
January 28th, 2008 at 5:56 pm [Reply]

#13 Me: I just reread my Beetle Bailey comment. Boy, if THAT’s not going to cause nightmares tonight.
Brent
January 28th, 2008 at 5:59 pm [Reply]

Actually, pink used to be a boy’s colour and blue a girl’s (in particular, Virgin Mary blue). At some point they got reversed… similarly, there was a switch from men being the passionate emotional sex (associated with red) to men being the more stoic emotionless sex (associated with blue). In fact, part of the reason men used to portray female parts in the theater is because it was believed that women didn’t have the passion to convey emotion. Now days the sexist arguments tend to be how women shouldn’t be allowed positions of power because they’re too emotional.
True Fable of the Roopville Jungle
January 28th, 2008 at 5:59 pm [Reply]

I always thought a Plugger’s blind spot was the fact that he didn’t know he was a Plugger until some asshat named Brookins pointed at him and laughed.
gh
January 28th, 2008 at 6:00 pm [Reply]

Josh –

I was actually disappointed I didn’t get the rhino for my Pluggers and said so at the time. It’s much more hideous. And, um, I predicted yesterthread the nailed/glued donut comment. Can I go home now?
Matt Algren
January 28th, 2008 at 6:02 pm [Reply]

I’d imagine that today’s Gasoline Alley would work better if they had room for panel 2.5, in which “Mac” stands there in confused silence because he doesn’t know what impetuous means.
flimflam
January 28th, 2008 at 6:03 pm [Reply]

Vera needed those two hours to talk Drew into a two guys and a girl threesome. Aslo known as “The Devil’s Pitchfork.”

She needed the vertical bagels for help spell it out for him.
cheech wizard
January 28th, 2008 at 6:07 pm [Reply]

Curtis is just being nice to Chutney because she has cancer, all her hair fell out and she’s only got six weeks to live. Also, so he can stake a claim to one of the first spots in the buffet line at her funeral.
odinthor
January 28th, 2008 at 6:13 pm [Reply]

NYer Caption Contest —

1. Far be it from me to nag, Herbert, but mother agrees that it’s time for you to get a real job!

2. Seppuku workshop today, honey?

3. I get nice new pajamas for my little samurai warrior, but do I get a single word of thanks?

4. You’ll have to do more than putting on a silly hat and holding a sword to convince me you don’t need a shave and haircut, Barry!

5. Yes, dear–you know, I have strong feelings about whole wheat bread too!
Sans Sense
January 28th, 2008 at 6:15 pm [Reply]

NYCC:

Some husbands just put up emotional walls…
yerwoodman
January 28th, 2008 at 6:18 pm [Reply]

I’m thinking that their identical colors mean there’s camel hair/wool donuts in the display case, but it’s possible that Ryan could be rockin’ a donut suit and overcoat…perhaps he has the most exciting job in the Worthiverse–Hostess sales rep.
chiliman96b
January 28th, 2008 at 6:19 pm [Reply]

this is my first time posting here, but I couldn’t let today’s RMMD pass by… That smug jerk is actually gloating about a dude going thru withdrawals!!! Hippocratic Oath my foot!

Oh, and does Mark Trail not notice his canoe floating away in panel two???
Donald The Anarchist
January 28th, 2008 at 6:21 pm [Reply]

MT Ya think Andy can be trusted not to drool on the missive, or eat it? Maybe Mark should put it in a capsule and have Andy swallow it. I can just see his wife, thinking, “Mark always said if he went missing to keep an eye on Andy’s poop. I’m not sure why, but I’m not about to let him down now!”
Francis
January 28th, 2008 at 6:23 pm [Reply]

If you completely ignore the caption (always good advice where Family Circus is concerned), Dolly looks like a tiny little real estate agent.
bats, Avian Division of the Jungle Patrol :[
January 28th, 2008 at 6:24 pm [Reply]

To answer your question, gh, it is an odd mixture of having Too Much Free Time, and having No Life. Yet I persevere for the amusement of folks (and me, too):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9545446@N07/2227312980/
Thursdaynext
January 28th, 2008 at 6:25 pm [Reply]

Here’s another question about Mary Worth. Did Ryan do a little coat dance on arriving at the restaurant? He took off his coat yesterday, revealing that he is a Century 21 Real Estate guy, since the only reason humans wear that color suit coat is if they are paid.
But today, which occurs in Worthtime seconds after yesterday, he shrugs it back on, tickles Vera under the chin and pretty much recycles panel 7 from yesterday, only this time he’s turned ready for a full monty.
He’s clearly too sexy for his coat-Take it off! Take it off! Put it on and take it off again!
UncleJeffoftheJunglePatrol
January 28th, 2008 at 6:29 pm [Reply]

Doonesbury — Isn’t it amazing what Trudeau has done with “BD”? Over the past two years, he’s added heroism and humanity without eliminating his old sourness towards characters like “Zonker.”
You can see it in the little interchanges with the sexual assault survivor or having BD just be there when a guy he hardly knew came back from the war zone.
This strip tells me the author has more “support for the troops” than any of those political types who slam magnetic-backed yellow ribbons on their SUVs.
kitty
January 28th, 2008 at 6:30 pm [Reply]

Though Ryan is sketchy as all get out, the sheer terror of Vera’s expression belies something worse. Something really bad. Like, Mary Worth floating ominously above her, chanting passages out of Emily Post…”It is improper to sit with two paramours in a public setting, Vera.”
kitty
January 28th, 2008 at 6:30 pm [Reply]

Though Ryan is sketchy as all get out, the sheer terror of Vera’s expression belies something worse. Something really bad. Like, Mary Worth floating ominously above her, chanting passages out of Emily Post…”It is improper to sit with two paramours in a public setting, Vera.”
Hank
January 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm [Reply]

RE: Family Circus: I think you missed the real problem with Dolly, Josh. If, as Dolly claims, the Pink Panther is a girl, then why does Dolly still refer to the Panther as a “he”, instead of a “she”?
JonboyDC
January 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm [Reply]

I’m sure you’ll be hearing from the attorneys for the National Association of Letter Carriers before too long. Whatever you do, don’t accept any invitations to meet them at a loading dock.

I’m not saying they’ll kill you. I’m just saying they’ll make you pick up several years’ worth of undelivered mail. Which is always a drag.
Schorsch
January 28th, 2008 at 6:32 pm [Reply]

Wow. Luke Wilson went from “heartthrob” to “high school math teacher” with the addition of a few ounces of hair. A chilling cautionary tale.
UncleJeffoftheJunglePatrol
January 28th, 2008 at 6:32 pm [Reply]

#30 — Bats — count me among the “amused.”
Thank you.
cheech wizard
January 28th, 2008 at 6:32 pm [Reply]

NY caption contest: “So, what are your plans for the day?”
DAS
January 28th, 2008 at 6:35 pm [Reply]

Any and all questions lobbed at me that are even vaguely along the line of “You know what your trouble is?” will be met with “The system” — though ending not with some lily-livered question mark but a defiant exclamation point.

After which time you’d stomp out of the room to go join the jungle patrol?
Joe Blevins
January 28th, 2008 at 6:45 pm [Reply]

“You know what will will make Drew super-jealous? If we re-enact scenes from Sweeney Todd right in front of him!”
Sans Sense
January 28th, 2008 at 6:53 pm [Reply]

If Dolly’s logic were carried through then she would be an old lady and Billy would be a damned Commie.
Spectrum Rider
January 28th, 2008 at 6:54 pm [Reply]

MARY WORTH: Ryan showed up two hours early for a date and expected Vera to be there already? That’s not only stalkerish, it’s (usually) stalkerish and ineffective.

FAMILY CIRCUS: If Dolly really believed her proclamation, she would surely add “If SHE were a boy….” I think she’s just trying to mess with Billy’s head, in the hopes of getting to watch a sibling go through the pain of dealing with gender identity dysphoria.
Sans Sense
January 28th, 2008 at 6:59 pm [Reply]

Bats:

manshebear-beater shirt… BWAH HAH HAH HAH
sf_reader
January 28th, 2008 at 7:02 pm [Reply]

MW – Actually Ryan looks like Mary Martin wearing mens clothing.
So Vera, while working her way up the clerk typist ladder has discovered that she’s really into butch, cross dressing women. That at least explains the neck attack.
Rotten Arsenal
January 28th, 2008 at 7:07 pm [Reply]

3 Things:

1) MT – Is Jack Elrod running for President or some other public office? The Floating Signature Hell Sphere looks very much like a campaign button pinned to Mark’s shirt.

2) FC – I wish Dolly would take down her pony tail. I’m betting that her face, like her hair, is being pulled back tightly by the scrunchie thing. Perhaps she normally looks like a Shar Pei.

3) Pluggers – Odd that this particular escapee from the Island of Dr. Moreau should have such an emormous gut and a out of proportion rhino head.
Poteet
January 28th, 2008 at 7:09 pm [Reply]

I don’t know Chutney at all, but something about her face and words in that last panel remind me disturbingly of Margo about to lunge at Erik. I think Erik is his name — my brain keeps refusing to even try to remember which bland man is which in A3G.
AhClem
January 28th, 2008 at 7:12 pm [Reply]

MW – It appears that those donut-like objects are available in a limited selection of frostings: Chocolate, maple, coconut, and hideous-orange-topcoat flavor.
Poewar
January 28th, 2008 at 7:12 pm [Reply]

Andy, I think I’ll write a note and tie it to your collar, if I don’t get to the police, maybe you can.

Mark, I’m going to sit around licking myself, and if you really do take a bullet, I’m going to gnaw on your remains for the better part of a day.
Poteet
January 28th, 2008 at 7:12 pm [Reply]

Thank you for featuring GA today, Pope Josh. I hate to suffer alone.
kippetje2000soughtbyTheJunglePatrol
January 28th, 2008 at 7:13 pm [Reply]

Alright, I’ve had about enough of Curtis. How old are these characters anyway? Shouldn’t they be beyond the smooches stage and into the dirty pillows? In this day and age of ‘babies havin’ babies’, Curtis should be a granddad already. Michelle would be baby’s momma and has yet to lose those hip-bearing pounds and Chutney (a pungent relish made of fruits, spices, and herbs?) would be the on-the-side-ho’ Curtis turns to when he needs to get a taste. Smoochin’? If this were reality, somebody’d be tossing chairs around the Jerry Springer set, while Curtis’ babies take up smoking blunts from great-grandad.
Mik Holmes
January 28th, 2008 at 7:14 pm [Reply]

#4: In actuality, Vera shaved her head a while ago. What you’re seeing in the bottom on panel two is a man with the head of a banana, wearing a jacket the same colour as Vera’s.
Reynard Noir.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:16 pm [Reply]

Unless he’s gay, Dolly. Unless he’s gay.
cheech wizard
January 28th, 2008 at 7:19 pm [Reply]

Well, we all know why Chutney likes Curtis. Lookit the size of the sneakers on that boy.
Williams
January 28th, 2008 at 7:21 pm [Reply]

Drew: “Must… control… fist… of… death…”

Also, Vera apparently not being pregnant is probably the best thing that ever happened to that child…
Skullturf Q. Beavispants
January 28th, 2008 at 7:24 pm [Reply]

NYerCC:

“Shall I put on more coffee, hun?”
Team MP
January 28th, 2008 at 7:33 pm [Reply]

SM- does sniffing “spider glue” give you a better high than sniffing regular glue? I have to believe it does. I’ve got to get my hands on some of that.
FSogol
January 28th, 2008 at 7:46 pm [Reply]

MW: Interesting. Vera’s new boyfriend seems to be a cross between Sweeney Todd and A Flock of Seagull’s Mike Score. Drew is looking better all the time.

Curtis: Is it my imagination or is Chutney getting shorter as her forehead is expanding? Some gamma radiation experiment perhaps?
Kathy
January 28th, 2008 at 7:47 pm [Reply]

Maybe those aren’t donuts in a case (MW). Maybe its an aquarium with strange fish?
Christopher
January 28th, 2008 at 7:55 pm [Reply]

Reedzilla: I think Vera is wearing two identically colored jackets, just like Ryan.

A3G: How bad is it? Well, that depends, Allan, on whether or not that’s your lipstick.

Incidentally, who’s Allan, again?

Funky Winkerbean: Old guy’s expression is very odd-looking to me. It simultaneously says “Oh god, I just realized I have no responsibilities… I’m just a worthless old man.” and “Wait, I have no responsibilities and no ties to the community. I’m finally free to go on that cross-country killing spree.”

The Lockhorns: Is Leroy using a spoon to eat potato chips directly out of the bag?

Angry Duck: Has anybody ever been fired for liking a Republican too much? I seem to recall some love for John McCain, back in the day.

Mary Worth: This is so totally going to be a stalking plot-line. Who the hell shows up two hours early for a date in what looks like a garishly lit donut shop in the middle of a strip-mall somewhere?

It’s not like it would be a nice place to spend two hours sipping coffee and writing. Ryan either followed Vera here, or his life is so incredibly empty that she’s the only thing he has going for him. Neither is a good sign.

Slylock Fox: Slick Smitty is an idiot, as usual, but there’s something more sinister here. I think somebody in the mob sent him there to surreptitiously get some message to Reeky Rat.

I don’t know what Reeky’s doing in the holding tank when he should be doing hard time for attempted robbery and counterfeiting, but the police chief is a Dog. It’s impressive enough he manages to wear clothes and refrain from eating his own vomit while on duty.

You have to have reasonable expectations.

Spider-Man: Spider Glue! With the proportional stickiness of a spider!

Seriously, Spidey, you need to get out more. You’ve been spending so much time vegging out in front of the TV that your bantering ability is starting to slip.
ArbuckleLovesLyman
January 28th, 2008 at 7:59 pm [Reply]

Based on that picture of the mustachioed and aviator-ed Luke Wilson, I’m going to guess that he recently accepted an offer to play the part of a creepy pedophile. Either that, or he has actually become one.
Tabby Lavalamp
January 28th, 2008 at 8:01 pm [Reply]

The reason Dolly still refers to the Pink Panther as “he” despite firmly believing the Panther’s gender to be female is because of her confusion over Daddy Keane’s gradual sex reassignment.
http://joshreads.com/?p=864
Mibbitmaker
January 28th, 2008 at 8:06 pm [Reply]

MW: Those aren’t donuts. They’re tiny gold records. Apparently they make those CD-sized now, especially in the boringest Hard Rock Cafe ever.

Dr. Drew (thinking): “Damn, I wanted to be the one to feel her glands! I‘m the damn doctor here! JEEZ!!!”
PunchMonkey
January 28th, 2008 at 8:14 pm [Reply]

OK. I just checked. This bloody Mark Trail story has been going on since Oct 28th. ‘fer christ’s sake, that’s before Halloween!!! For the love of Jim Nabors, DO SOMETHING.
Sans Sense
January 28th, 2008 at 8:14 pm [Reply]

Boyfriend “Ryan” straight from central casting. Vera, stop the childish games and let Drew off the hook. You’ve had your revenge, this is just expensive and creepy.
Gold-Digging, Jungle-Patrolling Nanny
January 28th, 2008 at 8:19 pm [Reply]

bats — I heartily approve of your Plugger Six Differences and the latest Charterstone Fashion spread! Can’t wait for business attire, or whatever’s next. Feel free to use my “Charterstone Fashion Watch” comment from yesterthread if you find it worthy.
Uncle Lumpy
January 28th, 2008 at 8:20 pm [Reply]

GA — Say what you will about the Invasion of the Creepy Photorealistic Bores, panel three’s framed jalopy-stamp poster is pretty cute.

Rock-solid draftsmanship aside, GA has always been a little nuts. Not Gil Thorp nuts, mind you — and certainly not Dick Tracy nuts — but nuts nonetheless.
Skullturf Q. Beavispants
January 28th, 2008 at 8:21 pm [Reply]

By the way, perhaps the Pink Panther is genderless. I didn’t read too closely, but I didn’t notice any use of pronouns like “her” or “him” in the Wikipedia article, until they get to the point where they discuss a fall 2008 offshoot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Panther_%28character%29

However, in cartoons where the Panther spoke, it looks like the voice actor was always male.
Ukulele Ike
January 28th, 2008 at 8:31 pm [Reply]

Poteet @ 47: No, I think Eric of A3G is “Eric.” “Erik” is the Phantom of the Opera. And if you dropped a chandelier on Margo, she’d just spit it back at you.
Jungle Patrolman Moss_Moses
January 28th, 2008 at 8:32 pm [Reply]

Everyone else is joining the JP and my job sucks so…

Apparently the original Phatom came from a very technologically advanced culture, where form fitting lycra spandex bikini briefs had been invented over 300 years ago! How did that pimply Jimmy Olsen punk ever get into the Jungle Patrol in the first place? You’d think Coronel Worobu would have screened him out right away. I guess good help is hard to find so maybe they’ll hire ex waitresses just because there are no other applicants for the job.
Gold-Digging, Jungle-Patrolling Nanny
January 28th, 2008 at 8:39 pm [Reply]

8 SQB — “Panel 1 of Mary Worth proves once again that the artist cannot draw human affection.”

That’s okay. The writer can’t depict it, either.
Citric
January 28th, 2008 at 8:40 pm [Reply]

How many bright orange suit jackets is Vera’s man wearing anyway? I’ve seen him take off at least two so far.
Gold-Digging, Jungle-Patrolling Nanny
January 28th, 2008 at 8:41 pm [Reply]

Uncle Lumpy, re: the King Canute comment in yesterthread: Thanks, I think. :)
Sans Sense
January 28th, 2008 at 8:42 pm [Reply]

Apparently part of being in the Jungle Patrol is buying into the fantasy that the Phantom is “Unknown”. The Unknown Commander, Ghost-who-walks, Man-who-cannot-die. Hell, Diana tells the Koffee Klatch at the local diner that he’s her husband. Dude, I saw your poster on the wall, I met your lawyer wife and your poison pygmie people owe me money! Give up the ghost!
Sans Sense
January 28th, 2008 at 8:43 pm [Reply]

72. Citric

Perhaps Vera is dating the human equivalent of a Kuchina Doll. By the time he finishes taking off all his coats he will be a toddler.
Poteet
January 28th, 2008 at 8:44 pm [Reply]

# 69 — Thanks, Ukulele Ike. I’ll work harder on my A3G Male Identification Skills. The Margo-love-object is Eric. The Margo-love-object is Eric. The Margo-love-object is Eric. God only knows why.
Sans Sense
January 28th, 2008 at 8:45 pm [Reply]

#76. Poteet -

She loves him as much as a stack of Benjamins…which is a lot.
AhClem
January 28th, 2008 at 8:45 pm [Reply]

MW – If “Ryan” is really a stalker, has the middle name “Aldo” and resembles Bob Keeshan’s son, we may be onto something here.

In the words of the classic “Far Side” dog and dryer cartoon, “Oh Pleez! Oh Pleez!”
Lt. Deena, of the Jungle Patrol
January 28th, 2008 at 8:51 pm [Reply]

51. I get that it’s satire…at least I hope it was. But even satirically, I wouldn’t have gone there. Just sayin’…
Kathy
January 28th, 2008 at 8:56 pm [Reply]

MW: Vera’s expression is really horrified-terrified in the first frame. As if she expects to be throttled. Though Ryan looks more like he is ‘adjusting’ her. the way my 10-year old adjusts her Barbie doll heads.
alamo
January 28th, 2008 at 9:07 pm [Reply]

rmmd – maybe if they get bored after they warm up they can do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnHHIEL9DUw
The Jungle-Patrolling Oddball
January 28th, 2008 at 9:08 pm [Reply]

Oh, man. I have a real dislike of my ears being kissed or nuzzled or licked, and today’s Mary Worth, in which Alan/Ryan deep-throats Vera’s Eustachian tube, has the hairs on the back of my neck standing at attention.
Christopher
January 28th, 2008 at 9:12 pm [Reply]

75. Sans Sense: I believe you mean a Matryoshka doll. Those are the Russian nesting dolls.

Kuchina dolls are the well-known Hopi figurines that represent, um, Kachinas. Sort of gods or spirits or something.

They’re both neat dolls, but I hope Ryan’s not any kind of deity. That would be depressing as hell.

Your comment did make me laugh, though. Maybe he’ll keep taking off all his coats and get smaller and smaller until it turns out he’s just a dead rat.
The Jungle-Patrolling Oddball
January 28th, 2008 at 9:12 pm [Reply]

#80 – Maybe he’s just an overzealous chiropractor, then?
Zeussical
January 28th, 2008 at 9:14 pm [Reply]

FC: So what does that make Black Panther?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_%28comics%29

Ohhhhh…

MW: The cafe must’ve ran out of shelves and had to borrow cases from the owner’s insect collection.
indichik
January 28th, 2008 at 9:17 pm [Reply]

Perhaps Dolly is aware that in the early ’90s, “The Pink Panthers” were a radical group of New York gay-rights activists.
Hank
January 28th, 2008 at 9:18 pm [Reply]

RE: #60, Christopher, Mallard Fillmore: I’m not aware of anyone in the news business ever been fired for liking a Republican too much but I would note that the many on the left have been up in arms over the NY Times hiring conservative Bill Kristol as a columnist, with some leftish blogs and groups actively demanding he be fired.
http://act.credomobile.com/campaign/kristol_1_08

As for McCain, the amount of love the media showed him was proportional to the amount of trouble he gave Bush at any given moment. If McCain wins the nomination expect that eight year honeymoon to (as Dan Rather might say) evaporate faster that a fart in a forest fire.

Okay, I’ll stop now. But since someone brought up the topic…
Lt. Deena, of the Jungle Patrol
January 28th, 2008 at 9:19 pm [Reply]

86. I’d forgotten that! Thanks for the reminder ;)
Skullturf Q. Beavispants
January 28th, 2008 at 9:26 pm [Reply]

I like big cats and I cannot lie.

Speaking of panthers, did you know that in a sense, there’s no such thing as a panther? What I mean by that is that the term “panther” refers to three different species of big cats, depending on where you are (Puma concolor in North America, Panthera onca in South/Central America, and Panthera pardus in Africa/Asia).

A black panther is just an individual belonging to any of the above species who happens to be black.
Les
January 28th, 2008 at 9:29 pm [Reply]

#41 stole my snark!
All Margo'd Up
January 28th, 2008 at 9:30 pm [Reply]

For some reason, when I saw the ‘Pluggers’ cartoon at the top of the page, my twisted mind somehow interpreted it as the rhino’s blind spot was the urinal he couldn’t find due to his gut being in the way and wondered how the heck that was allowed in the comics… damn I need sleep… or coffee. ;)
Spotted HØrse, Noble Steed of the Jungle Patrol
January 28th, 2008 at 9:30 pm [Reply]

GA: May I just say that in panel 2, that’s one helluva log of a finger snausage that Mr. Boss is sportin’ there.
Thank you.
Alan Vanneman
January 28th, 2008 at 9:39 pm [Reply]

Unfortunately, Bill Keane cut away from Dolly before Her Adorableness got to the punch line. Dolly’s full statement is as follows: “The Pink Panther is a girl. If he was a boy he’d be the Blue Panther. Either that or a fuckin’ homo.”
DancesAboutArchitecture
January 28th, 2008 at 9:43 pm [Reply]

#18 Brent,

…and in ancient Greece, yellow was the color for girls, and women were supposed to be the sex-mad uh, sex. That’s what made Lysistrata so funny to ancient audiences – the idea of women going on a sex strike for any reason was completely ludicrous.

OK, I’m an ancient history nerd.
Cafangdra
January 28th, 2008 at 9:43 pm [Reply]

I prefer to think of Pluggers not as furries but as man-animals in an almost-Battlefield Earth sort of way.

…which makes me remember that the Pluggersiest members of my extended family are, in fact, Scientologists. Aw.
GJ
January 28th, 2008 at 9:51 pm [Reply]

Is it just me, or does Vera’s new boyfriend look a lot like Rick Astley?

I can see why she would be interested in someone who’s never gonna give her up, never gonna let her down, and never gonna run around and desert her, because Drew Cory is obviously none of these things.
Ukulele Ike
January 28th, 2008 at 9:56 pm [Reply]

Citric @72: It’s clear to me that Vera’s new amour is The Baker.

“….The loss of his clothes hardly mattered, because
He had seven coats on when he came,
With three pairs of boots–but the worst of it was,
He had wholly forgotten his name…”

The Baker is one of the intrepid sportsmen of Lewis Carroll’s great epic poem, The Hunting of the Snark.

Snark. Hee hee hee. Moy’s doing a shout-out to us, the coy bitch.
Buck Ripsnort
January 28th, 2008 at 10:03 pm [Reply]

GA: Does it bother anybody else that Martin Luther King Jr is alive and well and working at a desk?
Muffaroo
January 28th, 2008 at 10:14 pm [Reply]

Blondie – Dagwood had to work extra long on that sign. He went to extra trouble to avoid the phrase “Bell Out of Order: Please Knock” and seem to be paying tribute to The Wizard of Oz.

Curtis – Curtis is so shallow, but maybe he’s finally going to drop his insistence on a girlfriend who’s apparently at least near puberty.

DT – I’m trying to figure out what emergency Dick is being summoned for, and what the hell he’s supposed to do.

Chief: Tracy, I want you to provide some new art for this museum. Something that doesn’t stink!
Tracy: But I don’t know anything about design or composition!
Chief: Well, can’t you just, you know, trace something?

(”What else do police have, Chief?” Not sure, Tracy, but whatever it is makes them cross their arms as if they were trying to hide their breasts.)

FOOB – I snickered. Not at, but with. John even got the punch line. Maybe Lynn’s giving him a moment of happiness before the tragic HO scale accident.

GA – The strange realism of this new character makes him seem like one of those times when a real person (probably a friend of the writer) shows up in “Blondie” for a day. Only this time, he just won’t leave. His problem isn’t that he’s impetuous, it’s that he can’t take a hint.
Muffaroo
January 28th, 2008 at 10:14 pm [Reply]

H&L – Lois has that “he just ate the last Christmas ornament” look on her face again.

MF – Now I’m wondering if Tinsley produces the lousy caricatures with the use of Silly Putty, same as the way he writes.

Marmaduke – “Do we have to nurse his sniffles in our bed?” If they’re going to call him “His Sniffles,” they should capitalize it. I sure am glad he drew Mrs. Winslow from behind this time.

MW – Vera’s boy toy gives her such an intense noogie in the first panel that her body is all scrunched up behind itself in the second. Apparently her face is so botoxed, she can only express her feelings through extreme body language.

RM – Adversity can bring out your true character. Apparently Rex and Niki’s true characters are Cap’n Easy and Mortimer Snerd.

S-M – We continue our exciting adventure, “Waiting for Goderot.”
anonymous
January 28th, 2008 at 10:18 pm [Reply]

#2 – Zaq – I, too, would like to see that. But I think you mean furries, adipose, and underPANTS? No?
(If that’s the case, I take it back!)

Curtis – Chutney’s haid in today’s strip, covered by a pink prickly hat, looked like she shaved it and it’s growing in. Gross!

#32 – re: Doonesbury – AMEN! I’ve thought that, too. Amazing how long Doonesbury has been around. Of course, having a war as inspiration helped, unfortunately, but really, Trudeau’s doing his best work this past year or two.
Yahtzee
January 28th, 2008 at 10:23 pm [Reply]

MW: I admire Ryan’s commitment to color coordination. Seriously, not many people could exactly match their hair, suit and coat to the only flavor of doughnuts offered at the coffee shop.
Artist formerly known as Ben
January 28th, 2008 at 10:29 pm [Reply]

Aiiieee! Having read “Curtis” offline, I had no idea Chutney’s outfit was so very pink. She’s confirming all of Dolly Keane’s prejudices. Can’t say I blame Curtis’ mouth, under the circumstances.
queek
January 28th, 2008 at 10:36 pm [Reply]

22: “fingercuffs” Vera?
Artist formerly known as Ben
January 28th, 2008 at 10:47 pm [Reply]

NY’er CC:
Husband: You’re sure we don’t have any clean butterknives?

(BTW, that really doesn’t look like a sword a viking would be using.)
CrazyEskimo
January 28th, 2008 at 11:11 pm [Reply]

I realize Josh is more entranced with the orange donuts, but I’m somewhat intrigued by Vera’s jacket, which has reappeared after going missing on the 26th. Did it need to go to the bathroom? Does it get weekends off? Was it trying to escape an outfit that involved an identical jacket being worn beneath it, but was foiled by a disapproving Mary who feels jackets should not stand up their fellow accouterments, no matter how incestuous the color scheme?
Chocohol
January 28th, 2008 at 11:17 pm [Reply]

Why is it ‘Plugger blind spot’ and not ‘The Plugger blind spot?’ ‘Plugger blind spot’ is nothing, it’s not even a complete headline. It sounds like something you’d say when you’re drunk. I mean, I know Pluggers are just about the laziest man-beasts on the planet, but is it too much to ask for the Rhino Man to put down his pizza for a minute and write in ‘The?’
brb
January 28th, 2008 at 11:27 pm [Reply]

#83 Christopher Wayside School reference rocks!
manzanita
January 28th, 2008 at 11:45 pm [Reply]

I felt bad for John when reading todays FOOB, and then even sadder for Lyn Johnson as she based Ellie’s character on herself. So much self-loathing is depressing.
Cami
January 29th, 2008 at 12:37 am [Reply]

I agree that those aren’t donuts at all. They are a modern art representation of just how abundant and repetitious men like Ryan are in comic strips. This also explains why Vera spends all her free time in Cafe Obscure.
Freedumb
January 29th, 2008 at 1:04 am [Reply]

At first I thought the “plugger blindspot” was the rhino’s inability to see its private bits. For the sake of my peace of mind, I’ve decided it’s about not seeing the scale’s display. The idea of plugger genitalia nearly shattered what little sanity I have left.
stanaconda
January 29th, 2008 at 1:07 am [Reply]

I finished my errands early and I thought I’d stop by “to see if the hickeys on your neck cleared up…”
PeterW
January 29th, 2008 at 2:32 am [Reply]

Curtis: don’t get your hopes up, Chutney. This is the way the past five “Curtis tries to hit up Michelle” storylines have ended.
PeterW
January 29th, 2008 at 2:37 am [Reply]

113: Me.

Curtis continuum: eventually, Chutney, Curtis will go back to his rap music, and his brain will reset to the status quo.

How else do you think Curtis still keeps coming back to Michelle after seven thousand put-downs?
Hobbes Fan
January 29th, 2008 at 3:29 am [Reply]

1/29

Popeye: So that’s why they picked this tedious, frustrating storyline to rerun, a tenuous connection to striking, just like them fancy writers up there in Holl-ee-wood!

FOOB: We’re only four months into the zombie strips, and we’re already reminiscing about…washing dishes? Either Lynn’s helper monkeys are still going through a ton of ’80s strips to add to her one-touch searchable database, or this comic really did suck after all.

And I’m sorry, but I laughed at “Beetle Bailey” yesterday, dammit!
msisaac
January 29th, 2008 at 7:34 am [Reply]

Didn’t Ryan take his coat off yesterday when he first walked in to the shop? And now he’s taking it off again? Is this just faulty continuity on the part of the artist, or does Ryan wear coats under his coats in some kind of twisted “Rex-Kramer-pulling-off-his-sunglasses-to-reveal-another-pair-of-sunglasses-in-the-movie-Airplane!” way?

Ryan, you ever been in a Turkish prison?
lis
January 29th, 2008 at 8:01 am [Reply]

Luann:
“I’m going to save Toni a seat”??? What the hell is this, junior high? Clearly Brad is as socially and emotionally stunted as his sister always says he is. For Christ’s sake, save us from this storyline already.
Rotten Arsenal
January 29th, 2008 at 8:21 am [Reply]

#114 – Don’t you mean “rap” music (as Curtis’ unhip pop would say)?
Never teh Bride
January 29th, 2008 at 8:22 am [Reply]

Is it just me or does Ryan kind of look like Voldemort in panel two?
Ward Cleaver
January 29th, 2008 at 9:07 am [Reply]

Judge Parker: Steve Shannon is takes care of his mother and feeds the pigeons. What a guy. No wonder Gloria is smitten.

Rex Morgan: The smoke is billowing out of the chimney, saying to the robber chasing them: “Here we are!”
Key Lime Pie
January 29th, 2008 at 9:32 am [Reply]

Uh, let’s see…Let me get this straight…NOW Vera has a vampiric stalker (who at first, to me, looked suspiciously like her brother, Vaughn) whose layer-upon-layer look looks suspiciously like the floating donuts behind him.
Tonio
January 29th, 2008 at 10:11 am [Reply]

JP: I thought Steve Shannon had lost his legs or was else unable to walk. I don’t see a wheelchair anywhere near that bench.
RichterCa
January 29th, 2008 at 12:35 pm [Reply]

Josh: I will also point you here:
http://joshreads.com/?p=1257
where you will find even more evidence of not-entirely-reused-Plugger-panels.

I guess you’re a Plugger if you wear polka-dot boxers and refuse to admit to yourself how fat you really are?

Or maybe you’re a Plugger if any submission related to being overweight causes you to draw a morbidly obese anthropomorphic animal in polka-dot boxers staring in disbelief at a bathroom scale.
frumpiefox
January 29th, 2008 at 2:36 pm [Reply]

Yestertherad’s “Mystery sign” in MW: It’s “Adds #s.” Cause pie makes you fat. Just ask Mr. Polka-dot Drawers.
Brick Bradford of the Space Jungle Patrol
January 29th, 2008 at 3:09 pm [Reply]

I think the donuts in Mary Worth look like creepy alien eyes, staring uncomprehendingly at the banal spectacle unfolding before them.
teddytoad
January 29th, 2008 at 8:48 pm [Reply]

Dolly, continuing her Keane-style indoctrination of Billy: “Snagglepuss is a whorish sodomite. If he was a God-fearing heterosexual, he would play football and not lisp.”
Marquis de Chocula
January 29th, 2008 at 9:46 pm [Reply]

I think that’s one of those mirrored display cases, where the objects (donuts, bagels, alien orange toroid artifacts) are on a horizontal shelf under an angled mirror for easy viewing.
Colonel O'Popcorn of the Jungle Patrol
February 1st, 2008 at 9:58 am [Reply]

#21 Matt Algren -

Mac is trying to work it out in panel 3, as his expression of befuddled incomprehension shows. The boss will spend the next week or so trying to explain in words of one or two syllables.
Nikolaos
June 11th, 2008 at 5:02 am [Reply]

hello, your site is lucky.
stafford loan calculator motorcycle loan values eagel star car insurance best mortgage rate leicester ivy league mortgage clarendon insurance san diego aig credit card
[url=http://rfakvv.easyfreehosting.com/mezannin79/clarendon-insurance-san-diego.html] clarendon insurance san diego [/url][url=http://rfakvv.easyfreehosting.com/mezannin79/mortgage-nunavut.html] mortgage nunavut [/url][url=http://rfakvv.easyfreehosting.com/mezannin79/tucson-mortgage-lenders.html] tucson mortgage lenders [/url][url=http://rfakvv.easyfreehosting.com/mezannin79/acs-financial-student-loan.html] acs financial student loan [/url][url=http://rfakvv.easyfreehosting.com/mezannin79/student-loan-settlement-cosign.html] student loan settlement cosign [/url][url=http://rfakvv.easyfreehosting.com/mezannin79/broker-carolina-hickory-mortgage-north.html] broker carolina hickory mortgage north [/url][url=http://rfakvv.easyfreehosting.com/mezannin79/glossery-of-insurance-terms.html] glossery of insurance terms [/url]
Crist
June 16th, 2008 at 5:06 pm [Reply]

thanks for letting me view your guest book and giving me all the information
briana banks porn hustler greenguy porn links best newsgroups for taboo porn movies jade east porn star bio dwarf gay porn porn indictment kiko gay porn star porn oscars free porn no credit card required neteller hardcord porn
[url=http://ali-landry-porn.superwhole.net/magna-porn.html] magna porn [/url][url=http://ali-landry-porn.superwhole.net/lorena-herrera-porn.html] lorena herrera porn [/url][url=http://ali-landry-porn.superwhole.net/mallika-sherawat-porn.html] mallika sherawat porn [/url][url=http://ali-landry-porn.superwhole.net/wetting-porn.html] wetting porn [/url][url=http://ali-landry-porn.superwhole.net/lilo-stitch-porn.html] lilo stitch porn [/url][url=http://ali-landry-porn.superwhole.net/porn-newcomers.html] porn newcomers [/url]
Athan
July 1st, 2008 at 4:32 am [Reply]

Your site has very much liked me. I shall necessarily tell about him to the friends.
pavarroti cruthfield misa hylton brim freshloads egept jamaicagleaner larosas emancipation proclomation craigslistseattle fcatexplore
[url=http://hornyduck.iteminter.com/bernie-and-phyls-furniture.html] bernie and phyls furniture [/url][url=http://hornyduck.iteminter.com/dishnewbies.html] dishnewbies [/url][url=http://hornyduck.iteminter.com/nisfu-syaaban.html] nisfu syaaban [/url][url=http://hornyduck.iteminter.com/fortunoffs.html] fortunoffs [/url][url=http://hornyduck.iteminter.com/googloe.html] googloe [/url][url=http://hornyduck.iteminter.com/firstinmath.html] firstinmath [/url][url=http://hornyduck.iteminter.com/pcrichards.html] pcrichards [/url]
site for Jovan
June 14th, 2009 at 5:57 pm [Reply]

[url=http://home.no/bonkara/index.html]Complete Professional Whitening Kits[/url] [url=http://home.no/bonkara/amaryl.html]Amaryl[/url] [url=http://home.no/bonkara/baclofen.html]Baclofen[/url] [url=http://home.no/bonkara/capoten.html]Capoten[/url]

Please read the posting and discussion policies before posting. You are not required to supply an e-mail address to comment; however, doing so decreases the likelihood of your comment being flagged as spam. E-mail addresses will never be made public or seen by anyone but the site writers, who may use them to communicate with commentors.

Archives:

Comment of the week:

Main navigation:

Main content:

“Plugger repeats” involve gas, no doubt

132 responses to ““Plugger repeats” involve gas, no doubt”

Leave a Reply

All the cool kids…

Randomly Selected Post O’ Mystery