Modern Medicine
Rex Morgan, M.D., 2/5/08
In Rex Morgan, M.D., clueless yuppies Rex and June Morgan wait in lines, drive in circles, play golf and natter on about ice cream. Meanwhile, all the interesting people they meet in their pointless existence get shot, kidnapped, lost at sea or incinerated, to the reader’s great loss. Sufferin’ Lee here will soon join their ranks — the only suspense is the nature of his demise. But before he goes, I want to thank him for proving that Rex Morgan, M.D. will practice medicine, although only when threatened at gunpoint.
Judge Parker, 2/5/08
What appears to be a modest flirtation between Hero Steve and “Get Me a Sandwich” Fake Law Partner Gloria thinly masks Gloria’s desperate search for a surgeon to correct her failing eyesight. If she doesn’t get those lids up soon, it’ll be the blind leading the lame all the way to the bus stop.
Apartment 3G, 2/5/08
OK, this has nothing to do with medicine, except that Alan’s gonna need some if he keeps up this guff. Great to see Margo back on her game after her brief dark night of the soul. And while it’s common for Apartment 3G to introduce a guy who looks like every other guy in this strip, this is the first mop that looks like every other guy in the strip.
P.S. In case you missed this post by faithful reader name (yes, that’s right), the Sunday Toronto Star carried this thoughtful article about both comic strip mockery and why tired strips survive. The article quotes Josh, and offers links to This Week in Milford, Reynard Noir, and several other local favorites. Worth a look!
Uncle Lumpy
February 5th, 2008 at 3:04 am
Jugs of Diner Coffee Parker: Steve’s so (insert “handsome” or “noble in his quiet suffering”) that it physically hurts Gloria to even look at him.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:11 am
Apartment 3-G – She forgot to say, “MULE!” Didn’t her stint as a garment worker teach her anything?
February 5th, 2008 at 3:30 am
I think “Curate THIS!” needs to be a T-shirt.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:34 am
Super-Duper-Pooper-Scooper Tuesday:
Garfield: That spider sure knows what it’s like to get “illegal operation”ed in the middle of posting a comment, only to have a new thread start at the same time, doesn’t he? (all metajokes aside, I was able to get it in there: Yesterthread, #85)
Curtis: “Hey, Barry! Curate this!”
RMMD: Yep — sensible planning in a tough situation, criminal-style.
JP: Suddenly, Gloria’s in Steve’s cup!
February 5th, 2008 at 3:55 am
Has anyone noticed that Michael Patterson is reading the Toronto Star? If his obnoxious badly disciplined children shut up for a minute or two, he might read that article about those websites that poke fun at comics!
I would have picked him as a National Post reader.
It’s the eve of Super Tuesday. Obama and Clinton are neck and neck with 370 delegates up for grabs in California alone. Twenty-two states will vote, allocating about 45 per cent of the delegates.
What is the lead world news story in prominent newspapers?
San Francisco Chronicle: Record Turnout Expected
New York Times: Grab for Votes, Delegates and Momentum
Sydney Morning Herald: Obama has California on knife-edge
The Guardian: Clinton and Obama neck and neck
Le Monde: Super Tuesday : l’écart se resserre entre Barack Obama et Hillary Clinton
Corriere della Sera: Obama-Hillary, oggi il verdetto: E la Clinton piange ancora
The Independent (South Africa): The game of numbers begins
Die Welt: Super-Tuesday: McCain wirbt mit Weltmacht, Hillary mit Tränen
And in Canada:
Toronto Star: The battle of the talk shows
Globe & Mail: Candidates in final push for Super Tuesday
Winnipeg Free Press: Candidates scurry for last-minute votes before Super Tuesday
Ottawa Citizen: Super Tuesday unlikely to solve Democratic battle
And what is the lead story in the National Post?
Paul eyes pivotal role with Alaska win
February 5th, 2008 at 4:06 am
That’s it, Margo…pour soothing oil on the internal fires of Alan’s insecurity. Nice, soothing, flammable oil. ;)
(OK…I am no longer allowed to steal and mangle Terry Pratchett jokes after midnight.)
February 5th, 2008 at 4:25 am
=3= A3G (Freezair): I dunno. I’ll bet “Curate This!” makes Josh feel all squirmy inside, and a T-shirt would just compound the problem.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:05 am
That’s the dippiest-looking coffee mug I’ve ever seen. I think he picked up the creamer by mistake.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:06 am
7. Jym. My mother spent some time working as a librarian in a major museum, so I got to hang around behind the scenes as a youngster. For someone who is a history and science nerd it was heaven.
3. Freezair. “Curate This!” could become rather popular among museum and art people.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:09 am
I’m just now getting caught up on all of Monday’s comments, so, in response to yerwoodman at 54 two threads ago: this might be the link you were describing, with the Calvin and Hobbes snow art:
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/zzaran/calvin.html
And if not, it’s a great page anyway. Someone posted it here a long while back, and I still had it in my saved outgoing email from forwarding it around at the time. Technology is grand.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:30 am
A3G: “And don’t try and pull any of that ‘found object’ crap with the mop! You didn’t find it; I gave it to you!”
Steve ‘n’ Gloria: Ask him about how he holds his coffee cup in that awkward way.
Mark: A beaver den as a safe house? That’s just planning, man.
Mary: “Why did you kiss me? It’s like you have an outside audience who you wanted to mislead.”
Phantom: “Now leave, ladies, so I can trim my beard.”
Rex: She knows how a new felony always cheers Lee up.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:39 am
It’s also worth mentioning here that most of the girls in A3G look like every other guy in the strip. The obvious exception being Margo, who in the last panel eerily reminds me of Mrs. Hathaway from The Beverly Hillbillies. Only, you know. Eviler.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Mutts made me happy today. Now I want to stop by the In & Out Burger after work and have a couple of White Russians when I get home. Is “Branded” out on DVD?
February 5th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Re: Yesterthread from Jamus the Bartender:
“MC: My guess is Maureen’s gonna meet some guy who still lives in his mom’s basement, making less than 10K a year”
Not a bad prediction. Talk to me next week.
“Then Maureen will get all upset, and wonder why she can’t find a “nice guy” .like Norm”
Maureen isn’t looking for ‘nice’. She’s looking for rich, hot, and “whipped” (no. not that kind of whipped), and Norm couldn’t get someone as hot a Maureen.
Plus, Norm isn’t interested in a shallow girlfriend and Maureen isn’t interested in a non-shallow boyfriend.
Also, they’re both kinda whiny, so all they would do if they did hook-up is complain about each other. :)
“and wind up dating a kind-of cool biker guy … but who makes one hell of an omlette and is really good with her kid, and calls him “Uncle Snake”.”
Only if Uncle Snake was rich, hot, and completely spineless.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Okay, how exactly do you steal a car from the highway? Aren’t they all going 60+ MPH. Or are they counting there to be gridlock at first light? But if that’s the case, they won’t exactly be able to make quick getaway. No, better to just stay there and let him die.
February 5th, 2008 at 7:00 am
Oops. Must’ve missed an ‘end itialics’ tag somewhere. Sorry Jamus.
February 5th, 2008 at 7:11 am
geeb
A magnificent quip! I bow to your brilliance. Just don’t hit me with the mop…
February 5th, 2008 at 7:12 am
JP: I still say eye-closing Gloria is channeling Mariah Carey in “Glitter.”
February 5th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Hey, welcome back, Uncle Lumpy! I hope your tenure this time is calm and pleasant. Don’t take any guff!
February 5th, 2008 at 7:45 am
RMMD: UL notes that Rex Morgan needs to be prodded with a weapon to actually practice medicine. That’s only because the local HMO adheres to the federally-mandated five day waiting period before you can legally purchase a diagnosis. If it’s an emergency, Rex will write a ’scrip if you mutter veiled threats.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:01 am
MW — Panel #1 sounds a bit like a commercial for an unidentified product “Frseh Start”. Laundry detergent? Feminie hygiene? .
February 5th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Sorry if someone already posted this, but according to Ambit’s Today in History site on this date in 1922 “They’ll Do It Every Time” debuted in newspapers!
February 5th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Anybody else notice that today’s Frank and Ernest is really, really dirty? I just don’t think of those guys that way….
February 5th, 2008 at 8:24 am
FOOB: Is the politician on the front page of the newspaper in panel four flipping the reader off? Is that what passes for “metaphor” in Foobland?
February 5th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Excellent Star article! Thanks for linking.
MW – Drew, it would be best to get your elbow out of that guy’s crotch. He’ll think you’re related to Larry Craig, or George Michael.
RM – Lee just finished reading FW-look at that grimace!
Sorry, Lee, there is no pain pill to relieve that discomfort.
FOOB – Mike really has a “hands-on” approach to parenting. First he puts the starving girl on a wobbly stool with a unfamiliar sharp object in her grubby, unwashed, snotty mitts, then sets a timer for their game and goes off to read his skanky local rag.
Whatever happened to playing WITH the kids, Mike? Oh, right, April is the only one with any ability or brains to pull that off.
The only way this guy can interact with his spawn is to show them pictures of-who else?-and prattle on endlessly about himself.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Rex: You know, the cartoon Emo Phillips looks significantly better than the real thing.
Judge: “Anything? How’s your foam rubber hair coming along?”
Apt. 3-G: The uncensored version’s last panel has her holding a plunger and wearing an NYPD uniform. And him in a gimp mask.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Luann: What a great idea… a cooking story line in Luann! What with TJ cooking a romantic dinner for Brad and Toni, Luann and Bernice baking Ben salty cookies. and TJ and Tiffany’s Feed the Fireman scam, I just can’t get enough of that hot DeGroot kitchen action!
February 5th, 2008 at 8:31 am
3G – AM with Margo!
She will bring out the riding crop next, and if that doesn’t work, the cat-o-nine-tails, and finally the cattle prod, along with a taze or two.
Now THAT’S proper management!
February 5th, 2008 at 8:33 am
#24 – I think it’s simply Lynn saying hello to all her faithful readers and cawfee tawk fans, avian-style.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:36 am
FOOB: Aw, hell, Meredith, you coulda shivved that little rat bastard Wobbin yesterday, and you blew your chance. Just wait for a chance to grab that vegetable peeler and go to work.
The Foob politician has Ziggy fingers. Just thought I’d point that out.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Can’t you just feel the incipient wacky hijinx in Funky Winkerbean? I’m thinking two severed limbs and a polio outbreak at a bare minimum.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:39 am
JP – Panel 3 Steve looks EXACTLY like my childhood G.I. Joe…except for the kung fu grip…and legs…
February 5th, 2008 at 8:54 am
A3G: I can only assume that a forceful “curation” is about to take place.
Archie: Ha ha! It’s funny because cows are sacred to Hindus. Frankly I’m too concerned with the fact that Hot Dog is apparently trained to carry food trays to worry about the joke.
CtH: This would be much more amusing if this was the most ridiculous travel pillow I’ve seen. Sadly, it isn’t: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=96981577&c=
Crock: I do love how she’s wearing camo in the desert as if it’s going to any good. Definitely a Jungle Patrol reject.
FC: “Didja ever notice…” You’re a poor Scaduto replacement Bil/Jeff Keane.
FW: If this was any other strip, I’d assume this was about to dissolve into an I Love Lucy style escapade. Since it’s FW though, I assume it’ll only end in disaster with the reporter giving a bad review and everyone involved having a bout of cancer.
GA: You know it’s some dark days when Gasoline Alley has one of the more sensical plots going on.
MT: No, no, no. Now why the hell would Andy know to go the community and not home? Because Mark said so?
MW: Where did that counter in the second panel come from? And what is that bottle on it? Ketchup? Malt vinegar? Liquor?
Mutts: Holy sheep, a Big Lebowski spoof? I liked McDonnell before, this is an all new level here.
Pluggers: Oh great, now I have to start going to the barber again.
Shoe: Today Shoe tackles the issue of prescription drug abuse. How poignant.
SFx: Why, the dog is grabbing that man’s sau… I can’t finish that thought. Nice to see that even the non-anthro animals get in on the crime in this world. Though what appears to be a mugging is far more sinister than the normal fare around here.
Zits: Why? MTV is garbage and really isn’t all that edgey. More than likely she saw one of the two dozen or so reruns of Viva La Bam.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:01 am
(WT)DT: This kidnapper moves wicked fast. We’re either dealing with an organized kidnapping ring, or Count Weirdly with his Tele-Portrait-Abduct-O-Ma-Tron.
FC: “Mommy! I learned a new game! It’s called ‘boo-cocky’!”
GA: “It says here the CIA has been called in to investigate Mr. Thompson’s drunken driving! And would you look at that! The Secret Service is on the case of locating Mrs. Johnson’s missing puppy!”
GT: Andrew’s house didn’t move all night? The house didn’t move? You’re sure about that? It might have snuck off to meet that cute little bridge abutment down on Front Street when you dozed off around 3 a.m. Better keep an eye on it again tonight.
H&J: Oh, no! Looks like the vandal stole the passenger compartment and replaced it with one from a Barbie Dream Convertible!
JP: “And how about you, Gloria? Still getting used to your glass eyes, I see?”
MW: I’ve been wondering that myself. I’m starting to think MW is like those stories you write in grade-school English, where each student adds another sentence, usually ignoring what came before, and instead doing his best to screw over the guy who had to come up with the next sentence.
MC: What a coincidence. Violet found Rex through a dating service profile that read, “I love being in pain.”
RMMBLA: Faith, as lovely and inviting as your upturned face looks when you kneel on the floor like that, I don’t think Lee’s going to be using his right arm for a while. Might as well settle in for the night.
Shoe: Geezer’s going to find out just how deep the rabbit hole goes.
S-M: Dude. You’re still in the prison van. You could have opened the door. Oh, and good job smashing open the air vent that you just finished webbing closed.
Zits: Has the writer of this strip seen MTV in the past, I dunno, 15 years? Jeremy’s mom probably saw “Cribs,” “Pimp My Ride,” or (shudder) “Making Menudo.”
February 5th, 2008 at 9:06 am
14–I know a hot successful woman somewhere around here that I could set her up with…too bad Maureen doesn’t swing that way. :)
February 5th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Dang, you all are a sick sick bunch…and I love it! ; )
February 5th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Curtis: OH MY GOD HOW MANY TIMES IS HE GOING TO MAKE ME READ THIS SAME F***ING STRIP OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:12 am
#33 Re: 3G – Margo is a huge fan of Dr. John Kellogg.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:16 am
That mop looks more like a toupee on a pitchfork which symbolizes…uh, modern society and junk. Alan should totally curate that.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:19 am
RMMD: So, Lee’s pain pills are already wearing off. It seems like it was just nine days ago that Rex said this would happen.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Speaking of the Toronto Star, check out the edition that Mike Patterson is reading, with some guy in a suit giving the finger to the camera on page one. If you ever think US politics is hostile, check out the the Canadian alternative through the prism of Lynn J.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am
I bet he could hang it up on the wall with some goofy title like ‘Abrius II’ and sell it for a million bucks, then he could look at margo and say; “see!…huh!…See! huh! Huh!”
At least, that’s what I do. Yeah and then I’d have a million bucks!
February 5th, 2008 at 9:29 am
RMMD – I’m not sure Lee’s pain is due to the gun shot or if he suffering (in panel 3) from the sudden onset of TMJ.
MT – Amazing. Even immersed in freezing water, all Mark can think of is getting some beaver. So much for the cold shower theory.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Finger aside, the man shown on the front page of the Star looks remarkably like Alberta premier Ed Stelmach, whose sunny face doesn’t usually grace the front pages of Toronto newspapers. Today is an exception, though; Stelmach called an election yesterday, and his photo is on the front page of one edition of the Star.
Which makes me wonder if Lynn Johnston is controlling the Alberta government, or possibly the Toronto Star, via secret mind rays. We can only hope.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:37 am
A3G – Alan’s only option here is to tell Margo, “I quit – I’m joining the Jungle Patrol.” Or, he could take the mop and get to cleaning. Either way would work.
Mutts – Big Lebowski…that’s cute, albeit a little odd.
FOOB – Here’s a thought, Michael – why don’t you pay some effing attention to your kids. You’re not fooling anyone with that newspaper – we all know you read Cosmo when there’s no one around. Your kids are only going to get dumber by playing electronic games. Take their rowdy asses to a playground.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Mary Worth – gobsmacked am I ! I had hoped so badly that this was a lame set up designed to show Dr Drew how Vera felt. But it isn’t. It’s closure. Vera could not move on until she humiliated Drew by showing him how happy she is without him. Classy.
Well, Drew, I hope you have learned from this. Now that you know how Dawn feels, you should realize that you have nothing to apologize for. It was only closure and it’s what you both needed.
Oh, and about this garbage of Affect Advertising being “enlightened”, that’s a lawsuit in the wings. What happens if Affect lays Vera off right after a fight with her lover/boss? You think that will go down well? Or if the boss cheats on her with another clerk/typist and then gives her a poor performance review? How “enlightened” will you be then?
Oh, good Lord, I can’t believe I am actually upset about this.
FooB – Does the author know that real children are not actually obnoxious 24/7? That you can distract them and even guide them in how to play? Did she ever even visit her children?
February 5th, 2008 at 9:45 am
A3G: Luann and Eric are both going to be really disappointed when they find out that Alan has been “curating” Margo in the lobby. My only question is what they’re going to use that mop for.
February 5th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Don’t get on her bad side, Alan! Margo’s just murdered a priest and taken his Lenten vestments.
February 5th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Thanks for the link, Lumpy and name!
February 5th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Wow, Uncle Lumpy! I read the above and forgot until the last paragraph that it wasn’t Josh. Keeping concise does you good. :)
Tuesday stuff
A3G: Margo Magee, Slave driver! We all knew that already.
Archie: the Indian artistic subroutine has been plugged in, and avoids major typecasting. Good point. Then it shows Jughead as fat. Bewildering point.
EC: That was pretty much the worst question to ask – rhetorical for him, non-rhetorical and rather exhaustive for her. (And this is due to personalities, not genders.) Someone’s sleeping on the couch tonight.
FC: Once again, Billy is more menacing and uses proper reverse psychology than Dennis ever has. Frightening thought, that.
Garfield: The flashes of quality seen recently are fading again. Sunday’s was the brightest in a while.
GT: …if Maureen Monte expected the house to move… good lord, she’s dumber than even most regular GT characters. Also a frightening thought, that. Plus, her friends are tattletales.
H&L: continues on its goal to squick and depress everyone. Today: ouch ouch ouch ouchie time.
JP: Should we start keeping track of orgasms Gloria has had talking to Steve? I think today is number 5.
MT: Beaver Time for Mark Trail! Also, Andy does acrobatics.
MW: Drew elbows a passer-by in the crotch! Will we see him apply first-aid?
MC: Having tried the online dating scene, I fully agree with Norm here. The clichés are thick.
SlyFx: The six differences are getting worse and worse – animals in revolt! Humans being aggressed! And none of the victims ever approach Slylock! Do they think they won’t get proper justice just because he’s also an animal?
February 5th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Regarding the article.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
WAIT.
Slow down.
Marmaduke has two jokes?
February 5th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Regarding the article.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
WAIT.
Slow down.
Marmaduke has two jokes?
February 5th, 2008 at 10:37 am
MW: Unpublished panel 3: Vera: “Because I’m very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very stupid.”
GA: The FBI? What did the house contain, Area 51?
GT: If Maureen was alone, how did Andrew Gregory hear that she was watching him? Did he hire a stalker to stalk her as she’s stalking him? And when are they just going to do it so we can introduce a tragic abortion subplot?
MT: Is it just me, or is this the first time that nature has been used as a significant plot point? Oh, wait, it’s just me. Nothing in Mark Trail counts as significant.
February 5th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Archie – “Hi! You may not know me, but I’m Shutaro Mendo of Urusei Yatsura. Despite being the son of one of the richest families in Japan, I’ve apparently been put in a witness protection program and forced to move to this town full of badly-drawn numbskulls.”
Blondie – actually made me laugh out loud today.
FOOB – Wow, look at Saint Michael! Isn’t he just the grandest father, ignoring his children at every opportunity? Also, Lynn hasn’t the damnedest idea what game consoles actually look like.
FW – Even success is miserable in Winkerworld.
GA – And now he’s turning back into Don Knotts.
H&L – The only navel ring joke that’s ever made me chuckle.
Luann – Well, it looks like Evans has finally abandoned any pretense of subtlety.
MT – Well, it’s nice to know Andy’s been trained to abandon his master at the drop of a hat. Also, why exactly is the widow Malone so concerned? It’s not like Luke confessed about her involvement in the murder.
MW – Is that Tweaker Tommie in panel two?
Momma – There’s something profoundly wrong with this strip. For starters, why does she want him to “visit” more often when he lives with her? And that smirk can only mean one thing: she does have a website (gophermatronsgonewild.com? oedipus101.com? The mind boggles,) and he’s found it already – the smirk is his way of saying “I know what you’ve been up to!”
OBH – Are there any normal kids in Ruthie’s neighborhood?
Popeye – You know, I honestly like the intermediate second panel, though I can’t say why.
RMMD – Panels I Will Use For Album Covers, part x: the third panel of today’s Rex Morgan, M.D.
February 5th, 2008 at 10:45 am
37: If you have nothing better to that read Curtis, Madeline, you can mop the bathroom floor.
FOOB: “How can I inspire my muse with all this mundane parenting?”
February 5th, 2008 at 10:57 am
5. Mr. O’Malley: actually, the lead story (above the fold) in the National Post, discounting the gruesome German fire photo, is a commentary on Stelmach opening the polls in Alberta. (For the Post, commentary and news are the same – they frequently mix both.)
14. Ed Power: Hmm, your “not that kind of whipped” comment of course made me try to visualise it – and I couldn’t. Chalk one up to your characterisation skills that while Ashley might happily wield (or want to wield) certain implements of adult fun, Maureen wouldn’t – and not just because of her single motherhood. (And now I must resist picturing Asley in leather…)
22. Mr Coffee Nerves: Really?? That’s an amazing fact! So with the last one next Sunday, we can say it lasted 86 years!
33. Tweeks: I didn’t even clue in to the “sacred cow” portion. The image of Judhead fat, laden with burgers, with the tray and everything, was enough to make it look bizarre enough to make anyone ask what planet he’s from. Because, really, Hindus who will not eat cows because they’re sacred still know of the existence of american hamburgers…
Also, that travel pillow is not that silly, when you consider a definite number of people can’t sleep with their heads tilted backwards. In fact, it looks downright comfortable…
34. Brick: A much better riff on GT. I need to get my snark up a level or two in imagery.
44. Charlene: Johnston controlling Alberta politicians is the most chilling (and realistic) thought I have seen in ages.
February 5th, 2008 at 11:01 am
#10 Dub: Not the same, but better! Thanks for the link–
February 5th, 2008 at 11:14 am
JP – “…ask me anything!”
“um, Steve…you only lost your legs, right? Not, er…EVERYTHING below the waist…”
February 5th, 2008 at 11:17 am
#50-Re: FC-next, Billy will come back from a romp in the town dump or on the freeway, exclaiming, “Well, that’s because you didn’t let me trash anything at home lately.”
#56 – Could TDIET have been the second longest-lived comic ever? I believe GA is a little older. Popeye and Nancy are oldies as well.
February 5th, 2008 at 11:21 am
#56 – Niall: Oh, I’m sure plenty in people of India are aware of the burger. I’m also sure the joke in Archie is merely the amount he’s consuming and it just happens to be the standard burger. I just find it amusing that he would be forwarding on a video of a person basically consuming an entire cow in one sitting to his (presumably) Hindu friends.
Sure, the pillow looks comfortable and all. What on Earth do you do with it when you have to get up, though? Throw it into the aisle? Have the people in front of you hold it? It takes up all the space between you and the front seats. So anytime you have to go to the bathroom you have to deflate and reinflate this massive thing?
February 5th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Luann: Instead of discussing dinner and how Bernice feels shouldn’t Luann’s mother be pointing out that 15 year old girls dating men in their 20’s can be just a tad problematic?
Zits: This strip demonstrates an awareness of pop culture that one can usually only find in “Pluggers” and TDIET. This might have been relevant in, oh, I don’t know, 1983? Oh those kids and their music videos!
February 5th, 2008 at 11:34 am
14, 16. That’s okay, Ed. Looking forward to it.
Oh, guess what Mudges. Jamus turns forty today. Not forty years old….forty years young, dammit. :)
February 5th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Great post, Uncle Lumpy! And with regard to A3G, I wouldn’t be surprised if that mop turns out to have more personality than Alan and ultimately steals Lu Ann away from him. (Potential self-pitying line for Alan — “Lu Ann’s fallen in love with my old mop; but I’m the one who feels like he’s been put through the wringer!”)
Sorry folks; I’m afraid it only gets worse:
Mark Trail: “And Andy, after reaching shore and not seeing his master, speeds toward the community.”
Apparently, Andy’s going to run all the way there while balanced on just his front paws. Why? Because he’s “hot-dogging!” Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!
Shoe: Deleted third panel — The pill-popping vulture man is lying on the bar. The Perfesser is bent over him administering CPR, but he still manages to look at us with his typical, heavy-lidded, wryly weary expression.
Phantom: Colonel Worubu’s a little bit of a jerk, but it’s probably better that he’s only slightly jerky and not an extreme jerk who would throw out our disillusioned lady cop and our discontented waitress without even pretending to consider their petition to join the Jungle Patrol. Still, I sort of wish that he were the kind of jerk who would propose to our lissome Jungle Patrol wannabes a test that would make the patented Phantom “Next!” box read, “Next: The sexiest test EVER!”
Family Circus: Well, maybe your folks won’t let you play with your Xbox, Billy; but that’s no excuse for defecating in your pants, letting fecal matter run out your pant legs, and then smearing offal all over yourself. Your parents might expect that sort of behavior from Jeffy; but honestly, you should know better.
On the other hand, maybe that’s how all those dotted lines come about, in which case it’s no wonder that we rarely see any visitors to the Keane household.
February 5th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I(?)GT —
You people are missing the point. Clearly, moving buildings are a common occurrence in this strip. That’s why panel one may be in the school cafeteria and panel two at, say, The Bucket, and panel three in Gil’s office. It makes it very hard to get a handle on real estate values [location? location? location?] Maureen is, in fact, surprised that the house didn’t move. Obviously, there’s something fishy going on.
February 5th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Dear God, Margo. STOP! You aren’t allowed to choke out your hapless henchmen whilst screaming art exhibit-related one-liners, no matter how much insubordination they show!
February 5th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Uncle Lumpy, just in case Josh forgot to tell you —
He let’s us stay up as late as we want to read scary strips and eat chocolate cake for breakfast.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
See what I mean about being laughless.
Chuckle-less.
Suicide inducing.
Josh, please, turn the site dark next time you have to leave for any length of time.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
#59 Calico –
“Could TDIET have been the second longest-lived comic ever? I believe GA is a little older. Popeye and Nancy are oldies as well.”
Blondie is right around that same age also.
#61 Brick Bradford of the Space Jungle Patrol -
“Luann: Instead of discussing dinner and how Bernice feels shouldn’t Luann’s mother be pointing out that 15 year old girls dating men in their 20’s can be just a tad problematic?”
Does Jerry Lee Lewis write Luann?
February 5th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
#67 Anon
Oh, after you, please.
Wasn’t Anon banned a couple weeks back? I can’t for the life of me think why.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
60. Tweeks: actually, I can see that pillow being turned sideways to get up, left in the seat, and picked up rather easily.
Jamus: Happy bithday! Dammit, you’re younger than me and have lived twice as much as I have…
67. Anon: If you don’t like it, don’t read it. Same as everything on the net.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Judge Parker: Steve’s look in panel 3 — suggesting that he is just as likely to suggestively lick his cup of coffee as he is to take a sip — goes well beyond “modest flirting.” I wish I could flirt with creepy, pedophile-esque expressions like Steve’s and get away with it.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Seconding motion for a “Curate This” T-Shirt two timers up the bum
February 5th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
#67 Anon. HEY! I’ve got the Patterson Peeler in my hand. DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Dear Anon,
Lick me.
signed Jesus.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
JP: Being an attorney, I try to emulate the lawyers in this strip by rocking the loosened tie look whenever possible. And I believe the secretary’s closed-eye look is supposed to represent “demure”, except she seems to be reflecting that quality 90% of the time.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
My only question is, why does the lobby need mopping? Has Margo’s fury already been unleashed once today, explaining her attitude towards Alan as the angry adrenaline still circulating through her system?
February 5th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Sunday Toronto Star carried this thoughtful article about both comic strip mockery and why tired strips survive.
I sometimes wonder if many of these “tired strips” now have just gone completely over the top in an effort not to hold onto their readership, but to actually appeal to those of us who read comics to laugh at them rather than their jokes/humor.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
34 The Spectacular Spider-Brick
Thanks for saying that about Gasoline Alley. I have been wondering what the hells is going on with this story. I would think, instead of just sitting there, he would be leaping up, and giving the information about the suspect to someone. (I guess the FBI is bored, and that’s why they are investigating. Perhaps the Willets are secret agents themselves. Who knows).
Sounds like a much more interesting police blotter then we get in our paper. It is usually Meth and drunk drivers, or neighbors cutting down trees that aren’t theirs.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
#76 Cami –
Exactly. When Margo enters a room, sooner or later there’s blood on the floor.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Kudos, Josh, for observing how RMMD depends on members of the underclass to make life interesting. It’s like the strip is some weird post-Marxist critique of bourgeois culture: The middle-class Morgans endure lives of safety, but also tedium and repression. Only the lower classes experience the full range of drama and passion that life has to offer.
And, oh yeah, “Curate this!” rules.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
#67 Anon — and the name of the widely read humorous blog where you occasionally guest post is…?
February 5th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
The toupee on the pitchfork symbolizes what happened to the last guy who dared to defy Margo Magee.
February 5th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
#43 McManx -
“…Amazing. Even immersed in freezing water, all Mark can think of is getting some beaver…”
Wait a minute — since WHEN?
February 5th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
#81 I don’t post.
I am not funny.
I am not Josh or even remotely like him.
All I am saying is that Josh is funny, nobody else on this site really is and needs to take a break.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Regarding the Toronto Star article, we mock because we love. Mockery is the sincerest form of flattery.
LuAnn — Luann, when you go out with ben just don’t confues your IUD for an IED.
A3G — Don’t worry Alan. To Margo, this is just foreplay.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
#84 Anon – Then stop reading the guest posts already.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Some fine finger-quotin’ (paw-quotin’?) in today’s Strange Brew .
#64gh Absolutely right. Also, GT is full of examples of individual buildings suddenly deciding to tilt at odd angles. Today may indeed be the first time a building has ever sat still throughout the entire strip.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
True Fable, ya got a couple of Billy Goats Gruff that we could borrow to take care of the troll problem?
February 5th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
70. Thanks Niall.
Damn those Christian chicks look really hot. Thing is, they look like they might belong to some kind of cult, where the leader would allow them to pleasure him with their tounges because “the leader needs rest”. They don’t look like any Christian chicks i’ve met.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I know this has probably been said before, but, doesn’t someone (like an editor, maybe) read the comics before they go to print?
I mean a house moving, the FBI investigating a routine break-in at a house, introducing an Indian character and having him watch someone eating beef. Not to mention the stilted dialog, and/or typos. If I was an editor I would be thinking, the house didn’t move, what??
Oh well, just had to get that off my chest.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
69, 70, 73, 74, 81, 86, 88, how hard can it be to just ignore Anon and his/her obvious attempt to get you to not ignore him/her? By reacting to his/her posts, you’re just encouraging more of the same, no? (But by reacting to the reactions, am I encouraging more reactions….?? This is so confusing.)
February 5th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Thank you happy camper.
Please ignore this post.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
MW – Closure? “Then why did you kiss me?” “To open you up a little. I really like my closure to slam.”
84: “I don’t post.” If only.
Now curate this! I’m joining the Jungle Patrol!
February 5th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Calling Mr. Bob Weber, Jr!
I would like to congratulate you on the timeliness and accuracy of your little Slylock Fox Mysteries. Your research allows children to be educated on the dangers of wrong behaviour, such as Reeky Rat’s recent scheme to get rich quick through security personnel impersonation.
As it turns out, this example is actually taken from reality. Realistic dangers from a cartoon fox!
Well done!
February 5th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
MW : Vera, you are such a bitch. If I’m Dr. Drew, I’m dumping my coffee right in your lap.
Closure, indeed.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Shoe : Vulture Man must be on the Judy Garland Diet(tm).
February 5th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Poll for anyone who cares to answer:
Which ostensibly family-themed comic storyline is more disturbingly incestuous – Preteena’s mom and teen sister competing to look sexy for daddy, or Luann’s competing for an older man against his own sister?
Preteena certainly made it more blatantly obvious in a shorter time, what with the mom and teen arguing over which of them was hotter and then getting angry when the dad preferred the hot babe from next door. On the other hand, the storyline was over in about a week.
Luann, on the other hand, keeps returning to the notion that it’s right and natural to be upset when your sibling develops romantic interests in someone else, especially when it’s a friend of yours. It’s particularly disturbing that Luann’s mom seems to have gotten in on the act, like it’s an unspoken rule her daughter should know, that friends can’t date each other’s siblings.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
I’d say this is one of UL’s better guest posts, and probably better than some of Josh’s worst posts (hey, we can’t all be super funny every time). So I don’t get complaining just becuase it has a different name on it. I’d wager had he not signed it, you wouldn’t even realize it wasn’t a missive from the emperor.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Actually, upon reflection, I’ll have a different tack on Anon. Whoever they are, they have every right to not find Uncle Lumpy or the rest of us as funny as Josh – humour is subjective, after all.
Myself, I’m always reading Josh’s and any guests’ main posts to see if I agree or disagree with the often sarcastic humour presented there. But if I do disagree, I try to explain why and how it has failed to entertain me; we have had examples of people thinking they were funny when they were actually more offensive, and upon simple explanation of the differences in interpretation, everyone was enlightened.
This repeating Anon, however, simply states without supporting. Worse, they say that nothing other than Josh’s posts visible from the main blog site interests them. To comment to say so is somewhat self-defeating – but as with anyone else, they do have the right as much of any of us to say it. There’s just nothing much to reply to, however.
(The argument that if they don’t enjoy the comments, they shouldn’t read them, is veering close to a double-standard as many of us read strips we don’t like and spout vitriol about it – which is what Anon is doing. :))
February 5th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
91. Happy Camper. Well, every once in a while I like to get in touch with my Inner Margo and threaten someone with a potato peeler. Very cathartic.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Kumquat: I can’t find a link anymore, but someone posted in here a study that found relatives who met family members later in life they never knew (like Bernice and her brother) have a strong desire to have sex with them.
Put in THAT context, Luann is way creepier.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
#97, something similar actually happened in our family. Our daughter’s best friend’s older sister married our son, and little sis would hardly speak to big sis for months thereafter.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Luaan: Do the world a favor, just kill Bernice.
SFx: Why does every other day revolve around a bunch of animals gang-banging a human for food??
Cathy (must die): Cathy must die!
FC: Same boring old shit, same boring stupid-ass kids making observations and asking questions about things they don’t understand, this comic is the same waste of ink it’s been since 1962.
Baby Blues: “On second thought, let’s drown them all in the bathtub!”
Mary Worth: She wants you to go away! Suprise, dickhead!
FOOB: Time to beat some children…….get the knives and peelers ready…..
February 5th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
99 I would comment but that might offend some people.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
#91 happy camper –
I was going to respond to you, but realized it would just play into your twisted Möbius strip scheme to pull us deeper into the Twilight Zone. Ha! Too clever by half!
Wait . . .
February 5th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
#103 Joe.
Wow.
Scintillating comments.
Did you write them all your self or did your mommy help?
Just saying.
99.9999% of the comments are like this.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Why do tired, crappy strips survive? Well, why do weeds survive? Why do tumors survive? (Rhetorical question.)
February 5th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Great article from the Toronto Star, although I wish it had addressed the longevity of the soap-opera strips. Surely there must be comic page editors who see Judge Parker and Mary Worth as unintentional parody.
#44 – Most Americans probably don’t know that Johnston is Canadian. The only time I’ve seen anything obviously Canadian was a reference on November 11 to “Remembrance Day.”
February 5th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I for one love tired crappy strips. They have the staying power that new crappy strips just don’t have.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
#108 Tonio.
Lynn Johnston is CANADIAN!
Wow.
Thanks for the update.
And trust me, I am NOT be snarky.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
109 Anon: I for one love tired crappy strips.
Well, that sure explains a lot!
February 5th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
2/10 Troll Job. Not impressed.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
#110 – Sorry, I should have phrased my sentence this way: “The fact that Johnston is Canadian is probably not known to most American readers.” By contrast, even a casual American reader notices that Andy Capp is a British strip. Is there an equivalent of Can-Con for that country’s newspapers?
February 5th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Today’s My Cage: Norm has never heard of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Alan had better watch himself around that mop. It’s a little known fact that Margo taught the NYPD everything they know about interrogation techniques…
February 5th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
And of course even then the patient dies. Guess he has to practice a little more before he’s really warmed up.
Nice post, Uncle L.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Curtis:
Time to hang it up.
I’m sure Lynne Johnson would remind us how many times her old pal Sparky had Charlie Brown try to kick a football, but that was still always good for a chuckle.
Curtis and Barry doing this same routine for the 1,324th time, however, is not funny. Nor is the endlessly reiterated scene of Curtis hounding Michelle or ignoring Chutney.
Maybe talented cartoonists who’ve reached the point of endless reruns should, if they won’t/can’t retire, try a different time frame or a different set of characters altogether. Couldn’t we see a Curtis in college/Barry in high school strip? Or Dilbert could leave the pointy haired boss and get a job in the White House. I think these cartoonists are talented and funny, but desperately need a change of scene.
Now FBOFW could be improved by shifting the emphasis from the tedious Patterson family to the now disabled Kelpfroths and their struggle to recover from the hideous burns they sustained when Michael went back in to save his crappy novel instead of to help them. I’d like to see a storyline where their drug-addled son, age 45 and long out of work, moves back in with them and falls for Liz. He’ll beat up Anthony and take his home and woman and I’ll be happy.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
You don’t have to worry in Rexland.
Abby always saves the day.
BARK! BARK! BARK!
February 5th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
#117 – I wish I had the original source for this, because I miss the absurdities that Adams used to highlight outside the office setting.
Chatalogical Humor
Years ago Scott Adams revised Dilbert to fit the response he was getting. The cubicle-oriented strips were getting the most attention, so to capitalize on that, he made Dilbert much more office oriented. We stopped seeing Dilbert (the character) go out on dates. We stopped seeing Bob the dinosaur and the genius garbageman. Dilbert became much more marketable — and bland, though it picked up again after a few years.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Mark Trail: I can’t believe Mark is shoving his head into a beaver hole!
February 5th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
#117 – Foobaphobe – I like it a lot. I’d read that strip religiously – especially the strips featuring the Son of Kelpfroth and Liz…
Over on the FOOB Coffee Talk today, they’re giving her hell for letting the kids play with a veggie peeler.
Also, I hope everyone is having a good Tuesday – be it Fat, Super, or Super Fat.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Abby the Wonderdog, where have you been? It’s been ages. And I’m not talking dog years.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
56. Niall. I did say lead world news story, because naturally all those papers run local and national news. But last night the on-line version of the NP was running that Ron Paul story at #1 above the Alberta election.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Six Differences with the Gold-Digging Nanny
Sunday’s SFx will do damn near anything for a carrot.
http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20080203&name=Slylock
1) As Josh noted on Sunday, the rabbits are taking their moves straight from Sleepy Hollow. http://joshreads.com/?p=1425
But their motives are different. The rabbit in panel one plans to raid the boy’s fridge for delicious, delicious carrots, while the rabbit in panel two plans to follow in Brom Bones’ footsteps more closely, marrying the boy’s girlfriend and spawning several hybrid rabbit-human progeny, like this one:
http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2008/1/24&name=Pluggers.
2) The little boy’s face in panel two will, in fact, stay that way.
3) On the side of the house in panel one, there’s a rain gutter badly in need of repair. In panel two, it’s a rare tree-eating albino boa constrictor sneaking up on its prey.
4) In panel one, it’s not actually snow on the roof; it was craft time and God spilled his glue again.
5) After horrifying the boy by removing the snowman’s head, the rabbit in the bottom panel will pretend to commit hara-kiri with the carrot.
6) The really sad part about all this is the hat in the top panel is a magical hat, and Frosty was just coming to life when the rabbit began burrowing up into him and pulled off his head and nose. It probably feels kind of like having an alien explode out of your stomach.
This episode of Six Differences with the Gold-Digging Nanny was brought to you by Elmer’s Glue-All.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Well done, Uncle L!
February 5th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Kumquat: I can’t find a link anymore, but someone posted in here a study that found relatives who met family members later in life they never knew (like Bernice and her brother) have a strong desire to have sex with them. – Gabe
I think I saw this in an opera once. ;)
February 5th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
FOOB – Love this quote from “coffee talk” regarding St Michael’s parenting skill. is somebody here “anonymous in southern New Brunswick?”
“…What this tells me is that this is a man who should not be in close contact with children. This is as funny as a nursing home fire because he’s as smart as a sack of hair.”
February 5th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
#126 DAS – That, or it was on Lifetime.
February 5th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Did anyone read the article on TheStar.com? Andrew Gregory is people!
February 5th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
#101 – Maybe Robert Heinlein had read such a study before writing “Time Enough for Love.”
February 5th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
126. Anyone else remember Anna Russell on the Ring Cycle? “She’s his aunt, by the way.” She also points out that Gutrune is first woman Siegfried’s ever met who *wasn’t* his aunt.
FBoFW: Just a crappy parent today instead of being a criminally negligent one.
Blondie: “Sting operation?” What is this, the 1970s?
Zits: Okay, it’s a rerun. Was it actually current the first time.
PBS: Nice coverlet.
Anybody here read “Evil Inc.?”
February 5th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
64 gh
You mean GT wasn’t trying to make a joke? Here I though there was finally humor in the strip. Little did I know all the buildings walked around at night.
February 5th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Wobbin: “I’ll cut you, bee-yotch!”
Meredith: “Bring it, Mo-fo!”
Mike: “Don’t get any blood on the floor, your mom will kick my ass!”
February 5th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Niall #94
Thanks for your kind words! I’ve actually had some “adult” readers complain that Slylock Fox instructs kids on how to committ crimes.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
#75 Rusty:
“except she seems to be reflecting that quality 90% of the time.”
Maybe she’s just one of those people who always blink when the camera goes off. Or just as the artist paints her eyes.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Notice to all PBS readers: Pastis is going to be on CNBC tomorrow at 10/1 eastern.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
#134 Bob Weber Jr. –
All I said was there has been a marked increase in exploding test tube sleeping potion skating rink “incidents” around here since yesterday. Look in the mirror, Bob.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Six Differences with the Gold-Digging Nanny
Tuesday’s SFx is experiencing deja vu.
http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20080205&name=Slylock
Tuesday’s SFx is experiencing deja vu.
http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComick.mpl?date=20080202&name=Slylock
1) The duck in panel two is the Quackston Strangler. This man is his 18th victim.
2) The sign in panel one originally said “Sots’ Pub.” The pub burned to the ground years ago, and punks have rearranged the letters. Fortunately, the owners of the old pub were able to open up a new branch in Id.
3) The cat in panel two is fond of sitting in stew pots.
4) Panel one, in which the sun is much larger than panel two, suggests Mallard Fillmore may be right: The evil sun is coming to destroy us all!
http://duckcover.blogspot.com/2007/04/that-damned-sun.html
http://duckcover.blogspot.com/2007/04/those-damned-danes.html
http://duckcover.blogspot.com/2007/04/that-damned-evil-sun.html
5) The mouse in panel two is throwing up his arms in terror as that tomato lunges for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36NgK-vJc1M
6) The cat who has batted off the man’s hat in panel two is in the animal gang, doing his part to humiliate, steal from and slaughter the man. The cat in panel one merely wants to sell him a lovely toupee.
This episode of Six Differences with the Gold-Digging Nanny has been brought to you by Finletter’s Pizza Palace.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
134. Bob Weber, Jr.: oh, yeahhh…you teach kids how to commit crimes. It’s so much better to give small children with dubious hand-eye motor skills vegetable peelers.
Heh. Guess it depends on the kids.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
134 Bob Weber Jr.
Speak of the devil….
I was just in the middle of trying to find your Six Differences when you posted. Bob, I think you underestimate your strip’s powers of suggestion. I’ve already put link sausages on my grocery list twice.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Haven’t been here in a while, but I had to come to see what people make of the whole “hypnotic repetition of ‘community’” trend in Mark Trail.
The use of the term has risen to an Orwellian standard by now, hasn’t it? Nobody ever heads toward town, or to the village, or to a named location. Always to, or toward, the “community.”
Also, today’s “Archie” seems to have given Dilton a minor role as an exchange student from India. (Dark hair == Indian.) He’s sending videos back to his home community.
February 5th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Agnes: If a talking dog might be Satan, might a dog that spells things out on the ground be a lesser demon?
February 5th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
#97 Kumquat— I think the Bernice-Luann-Ben triangle is more disturbing, which means it has more potential to provide amusement and witty snarks for the Mudges. (Besides, does anyone else read Preteena?) In a couple of previous threads, I have commented on how a story line featuring the ravenously incestuous Bernice would relieve the tedium of recent Luanns. I can only hope that Greg Evans is up to the task.
February 5th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
134: Somehow, I figure there are certain cable networks and broadcast “news programs” which would have more impact on our youth in that regard than our dear Slylock.
February 5th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
And now, in MW, watch Dr. Drew put the moves on his erstwhile teen queen Dawn Weston, who will also smack him upside the head. O karma, thy name is Mary Worth! Hmmm, she does look like one of the Furies, if the Furies shopped at WalMart and made tuna casserole.
February 5th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Steve: It’s all right, Gloria. I enjoy talking to you … ask me anything!
Gloria: Okay, Steve. Why are you drinking out of an Honorable Mention loving cup?
February 5th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
I know I’m critically wounded and escape is the only way I could possibly survive, but I simply have to go kill the guy who saved my life and then ran off. After all, his taking the car made it marginally more difficult for me to escape. Besides, that kid stole the money I tried to give him. He’s got to be punished. You understand, don’t you honey?
February 5th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
MT — I’m no expert on the water-dwelling mammal whose name begins with a “b” and about whom so many jokes and websites have been created. But I do know that said mammals build their lodges in ways that are intended to exclude other mammals that might cause trouble. I truly sympathize with this “b” clan — nothing they’ve ever done, including the occasional instance of incest known in this species, could make them deserve Mark lurching up into into their lives.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
FOOB yesterday: “Deanna ‘oopsed’ me…well, I’ll just ‘oops’ her right back!”
February 5th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
# 9 — Mr. O’Malley, I see that you, in the last thread, already made the point about b-mammals that I just made. I wonder if we’ll get to see Mark’s head appearing in the lodge by itself.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Great post, Uncle Lumpy!
February 5th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Is the girl in Rex Morgan saying that you can just go to the highway and steal a car? Is she unaware that they are moving?
February 5th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
And may I add my voice to the chorus. Thank you, Uncle Lumpy, and nice work!
February 5th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Paperback Rifler @ 63: I’m hoping the Colonel is going to suggest that he Bangalla the waitress and lady cop both at the same time.
(Got damn! They ARE wearing matching hot-pants [see 2/4 strip]. How did somebody know that a week ago? I swear yesterday was the first time we saw either one of them below the waist.)
February 5th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Mop? MOP? That’s not a mop! It’s fairly obviously the impaled and shrunken head of the last person to claim to be a curator when Margo needs some GODDAM DOMESTIC HELP AROUND THIS PLACE!!!
February 5th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Oh, and Uncle Lumpy? Your commentary was funny as hell today; thank you so much for filling in for Vacation Boy!
February 5th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
148, 150 Poteet
Beluga whales have lodges?
With initiation rituals and secret flipper shakes?
I don’t blame them for trying to keep humanoid life forms out.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
some notes from the comics syndicate
FUNKY WINKERBEAN CLIENTS
01/30 – There is a correction for Funky Winkerbean for Thursday, Jan. 31. In the first panel, the spelling of the word “hotel” has been corrected.
FUNKY WINKERBEAN CLIENTS
02.01 – A correction for Funky Winkerbean for Saturday, Feb. 2. The extra “but” has been removed from the first panel.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Anytime that a plan includes the phrase “we’ll walk to the highway and steal a car,” it’s going to be a long, long day.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
152 Foolkiller and 159 Hot to Trotsky and some other people who said the same thing. Didn’t any of you see It Happened One Night?
If your answer was no, well I don’t know what this world is coming to. Go watch it. It is on every list of The Best Films Ever Made.
Any children listening? [Silence] Good. Here is how to steal a car on a highway, if you have an attractive accomplice available..
Faith attires herself as alluringly as she can and starts hitchhiking while Lee conceals himself in the shrubbery. As soon as some gullible male stops, Lee forces him out of the car at gunpoint. Carjacking complete.
That’s not exactly what went on in It Happened One Night, but you should watch it anyway.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
#160 Mr. O’Malley -
I have seen “It Happened One Night” and I must say sir, that Faith is no Claudette Colbert.
February 5th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
MT: In tomorrow’s strip, Jack Elrod channels his inner Frank Zappa and we see “Beavers ripped my flesh”.
Well, I can dream, can’t I?
February 5th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Dennis the Menace – Sadly, talking with his mouth full is the most menacing thing he’s done in a long time.
Popeye – Popeye’s house is Bug No. 7? So there are six other people higher up on Sea Hag’s list than him? I want to know who these people are!
You know, sometimes I have that feeling of being watched, too. What if…
No, that’s just crazy.
Isn’t it?
Or is it?
Excuse me; I have to go look for something.
February 5th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
MT – Things worked out surprisingly well for Mark. He soon learned the ways of the beavers, who accepted him as one of their own. His teeth quickly adapted to the daily chores of gnawing on tree bark, and he came to love the life of dam building and slapping the water surface to warn his new family of the occasional approaching moose. Life was good, until that sad day when he carelessly strayed into a trap and was collected by the indigenous people of The Community, skinned, and exchanged at the local Hudson’s Bay Company trading post for a case of Screech.
As for Andy? The sweet joy of freedom!
February 5th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
And thanks, Uncle Lumpy!
February 5th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
# 157 dale — HAR! And bats, bears, and bison could have been added to the list. It’s just that the last time I tried to find out more about the lodge-building flat-tailed mammal by googling its name, I was inundated with information of a kind I hadn’t expected, and most of it was kinda repetitious from my point of view.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:12 am
New DTWOF is up, for anyone interested :)
February 6th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Oh, and there’s Alison news on the blog, too!!
February 6th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Wow, my snarky-sense is failing. Can’t really find much in the Hump-day funnies.
FC: oh, shut up!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9545446@N07/2245269123/
February 6th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Apt. 3-G:
Curate THIS!
February 6th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Well done, Uncle Lumpy! Fabulous dahling, simply fabulous!
(and to a certain lame-ass you-know-who…get bent, my sweet.)
#101 Gabe: your comment made me think of a beautiful song written by my favorite Scottish songwriter, Andy M. Stewart. It’s called “The Orphan’s Wedding” and is based on a true story of a man and woman who met, fell in love and married after having both been orphaned in the First World War. Of course, they turned out to be brother and sister. :( Anyway, it’s a simply amazing song, and is sung gorgeously both by Andy and by my favorite Irish songstress, Niamh Parsons. Check it out, y’all. :D
February 6th, 2008 at 1:15 am
#3: “Curate THIS!” “I gotcher xhibit RIGHT HERE BABEEEE!”
“It’s all right, Gloria… Ask me anything”
Ok. I know I’ve got this Latino name, but… do I look spicky to you? Because they’ll write me out of the strip if they figure it out.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Judge Parker How about a game of Truth or Dare between Steve Shannon and Gorgeous Gloria?
http://flickr.com/photos/altcomix/2245343341/
February 6th, 2008 at 1:34 am
171. mollificent. That is a nice song. There was also another case just like that a month or so ago. Also in Scotland, I believe.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Mary Worth Insults are no flying back and forth…. Vera has broken his heart…. and now he’s acting like a child.
http://flickr.com/photos/altcomix/2246151466/
February 6th, 2008 at 2:04 am
#171 mollificent & #174 Mr. O’Malley—
Scotland sounds like the perfect honeymoon destination for Ben and Bernice.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:06 am
It’s time for the Roopville Kid to go a-snarkin’!
A3G Margo’s smart, focused idea is to reveal the gallery’s featured artist as a first-class loon. Yeah, that’ll bring customers in.
Ballard Street Today’s was a good one.
Beetle Bailey I am more fascinated by Killer’s tiny little shoulder and arm in panel one, than I am in Miss Buxley’s classic Ooooh Snap!
Cathy (Must Die) What? Only one skyward pointing finger? eh, who cares.
DtM Damn, man; those are some Ginormous Snowflakes ya got there.
FC What, after all these years, Jeff FINALLY gave himself two nostrils? Break out the good stuff, it’s time to celebrate! Grapette for EVERYBODY!
FBoFW No, Michael; WE are the ones who deserve to slap our palms against our foreheads. They’re YOUR spawn, Michael. Feel shame.
Fred Bassett DAMN, this is the absolutely biggest waste of comic strip space in the history of Ever. Is this like, the Teletubbies of the comic strip world?
FW Funky has no clue about the concept of atmosphere!
(DT)GT Wha – where’d the kid in the tree come from?!?! And where did he go?!?
HotC God-points. Heh. Yep, Tatulli has us good little Catholics pegged, all right.
Scenes from Suburban hell Trixie and her play date get loaded. Ah, suburbia: they start alcoholism early there.
JP OKAY OKAY! These two can’t bear to look at each other at the same time and he’s a fucking SAINT, we get it! Could we just move along to a zoned-out Abbey in Daisy Dukes, or see Sam get wasted on some brownies, or see if it was just a fluke that Sophie looked closer to her age last time we saw her? When was that, over a month ago??
Luann I still don’t get why Luann’s mother isn’t wondering what this older army guy is doing hanging around with her teenage daughter. The kid’s not Priscilla Presley, for pete’s sake.
MT “The Community”. I guess he just didn’t want to come right out and say “Roopville”.
MW She’s a tease, Drew. Like you, only with boobs.
MC I’m telling you, Ed, Maureen needs to hook up with Truman Eagle.
PBS Still #1.
Phantom Ladies, if you can’t detect derision and contempt by now, you sure as hell don’t need to be in the Jungle Patrol.
RMMD Buddy, you’d better hope they don’t get hold of June. She will tear your sickly ass UP.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:44 am
#174 Mr. O’M: Why did I just know you would have heard of that song? ;) By the way, I got to host Niamh Parsons in concert at the music store where I work a few years ago. Best. Night. EVER. :D
#176 Alfred: I think it’d be a nice place for MY honeymoon! Oh, er, but, not in that sense. OK, furiously backpedaling now…
Alt Comix: stop…too…much…bwahahahahaha!!!
February 6th, 2008 at 3:09 am
I foresee a 3G/Dr Rex crossover soon. ‘How did this mop get so far up there, Alan?’
‘Uh…’ (looks at Margo in terror) ‘I fell on it’.
Rex claps him on the shoulder…’I know how that can happen, my brother. The best thing to do is learn to enjoy it. Tell me, do you like “golf”, if you know what I mean?’
February 6th, 2008 at 3:16 am
MW: I would never have pegged Dr. Cory the Younger as a Time Lord, but I can’t think of another explanation for the older comb-over walking by in the first panel. No one rocks the pout like he does. It’s unmistakable.
February 6th, 2008 at 3:29 am
You beat me to it True Fable. I just saw Fred Basset today and thought “Now this is the poster child of why some strips should be retired”. I don’t know if the original artist still does FB but I do know its been in the papers since I was a kid which makes it at least 40 years old. Thats not a bad run, and if you’re down to doing extremely stupid, waste of space nonsense like “now you see me, now you don’t” jokes its time to consider bowing out. Seriously. If I were an editor I’d refuse to run that strip on principle.
February 6th, 2008 at 3:37 am
MT: This is getting irritating. Elrod is writing a nature-based strip and he doesn’t even know that beavers live in a lodge. When I Googled “beaver lodge” yesterday it took probably less than a minute to find a nice illustration of one which I posted yesterday. (That was what you should have done, Poteet.) If you Google “beaver house” you mostly get information about historical buildings built by people by the name of Beaver. This must be what Elrod did because what he has drawn looks nothing like a beaver lodge. It’s not an “air chamber”, the interior is above the water level and it’s on the bank, not out in the middle of a lake. Only the entrance is below the water and it’s a beaver-sized tunnel.
I feel like yelling out “Hey! Look over here behind the beaver lodge!”. Then maybe the strip could turn into The Adventures of Small Cigar Man and his Sultry Wife Whatshername, famed arrangers of fishing holidays and smugglers of endangered species or whatever it is that they do.
MW: Somebody bought one of those orange things! It looks much smaller outside the case. Maybe the helium is leaking out. She’s showing it to the man she’s with.
SFx: Bob Weber Jr knows his monotremes. But dragonflies the size of pigeons? Pigeons aren’t all that large. Isn’t that only about twice the size of the ones we have now? It’s drawn Elrod-style as a nice touch. Even has kind of a ball in it. Were these somewhat large dragonflies contemporaneous with homo habilis? The T-Rex—so that would be 450 half-pound burgers. Why that would be about 100 kilograms of meat!
TDIET: They’ve taken the Sunday strip down.
GT: She didn’t say that. Maybe someone dropped a week’s worth of strips on the floor and they got out of order? Reminds me of the time Wrestling Women vs The Aztec Mummy was on TV and the reels were shown out of order. Didn’t really make too much difference.
FBOFW and BB: Two strips about small children fighting. One is amusing to the reader and one is highly irritating. Why? Can a lesson be learned about how to write comics with children in them? Advanced topic: lighten up the violence in your strip by giving your children absurdly large heads. Sack of hair. Heh heh. Still laughing about that. They don’t mince words in New Brunswick.
Doonesbury: So—that invasion of Cuba didn’t turn out so great. And all those “advisors” in Vietnam? Maybe not such a good idea. Encouraging Mobuto to overthrow the Lumumba government in the Congo? Didn’t work out well for many people other than Pat Robertson. Space program? Von Braun in second place behind Korolyov for a few more years, but the spy satellites were useful for showing the non-existence of the “missile gap”. Cuban missile crisis? Thumbs up.
Actually, I’m interested to see which direction Trudeau is going to take this. Kennedy was in office for a bit less than 3 years. That’s not all that long. It was a time of great optimism, but a lot of what people think of as the Kennedy legacy, such as civil rights, was really pushed through by Johnson after his death. Johnson also warned Kennedy that civil rights would cost the Democrats the South for a generation, a prediction that was right on the money.
February 6th, 2008 at 3:48 am
New Pibgorn!
February 6th, 2008 at 3:53 am
183. He must have recovered from his surgery.
February 6th, 2008 at 7:50 am
#172 Jack Parsons: And, in memory of Earl Butz, we get a comment whose possible point about the lack of racial/ethnic diversity in comic strips is lost by the use of a nasty, derogatory slur. (Jeez, when Josh takes a break, these bad boys pop out of the woodwork.)
February 6th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
I think Margo was requesting Alan to curate Andy Warhol’s wig on a stick.