The Comics Curmudgeon

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Metapost: TUCSON MEETUPMANIA!

This past Friday, I had a very agreeable meetup at Tucson’s Kon Tiki with a slew of Comics Curmudgeon readers! A fun time was most definitely had by all, as the following photos should demonstrate beyond a doubt. Let’s start with the big group shot:

Up front, you have Trilobite, me, and my lovely wife Amber; in the row behind that you have Bob Weber, Jr., The Divine O’F, KT, Mr. Bats :[, Fran Ledue Page, Bats :[, and Mountain Momma; and behind them you have The Divine O’F’s husband Rocko (face sadly obscured by overhanging tiki ambience), Mooncattie, Jimmy, Garrett, and Wood.

KT here is looking happy in his Cassandra Cat shirt and holding his book of his own cartoons. He drove all the way from Houston to attend, and shockingly he wasn’t even the one who came the furthest!

That honor goes to Mooncattie, seen here with his video camera, who flew all the way down from Toronto, Foobonia, to spend a week in the Arizona sun. Will the video of me giving a little speech in a Family Circus vest (more on which momentarily) hit YouTube? Only time will tell!

Mooncattie also brought Canada’s greatest literary product, Michael Patterson’s Stone Season, as a gift. Actually, this was much, much better than the actual Stone Season, since it was mostly blank — except for individual Comments of the Week from last year pasted on each page!

So, about that vest … Bats :[ discovered some fabric emblazoned with classic religiously themed Family Circus cartoons. Naturally, she turned into a vest that she presented to me as a gift. The best of the cartoons features Dolly declaring that “Heaven is a great big hug that lasts forever.” It was determined that, as per this classic Dinosaur Comics, this sounds unspeakably creepy when you whisper it.

I tried my best to get around and chat with everybody. I thought this was a good pic of Fran and Trilobite; the latter looks kind of pensive, even though I’m pretty sure that at this point he’s telling me about his storied history of consuming alcohol at the Kon Tiki. (Unlike KT and Mooncattie (and everyone else, really) Trilobite was actually able to walk to the bar from his house.)

Here’s a nice pic of the Divine O’F chatting with Bob Weber, while the latter’s wife looks on affectionately. Bob was obviously much beloved by all in attendance, and naturally turned out to be a superstar of friendliness! He even brought super-cool original Slylock Fox art for everyone who came! Ms. O’F is holding hers in this picture, and here’s a photomontage of others of us and ours:

Bats :[ scored a Count Weirdly cartoon; I got one featuring Reeky Rat, whose virtues I had been extolling mere moments before Bob revealed the goodies he had brought for us; and KT ended up with a Cassandra Cat number — appropriate, since he was the crazed genius behind a certain bit of Slylock/Cassandra bootleg art you might remember.

I loved hanging out with all of you! A few folks had to leave early, but here’s a great picture of the rest of us worshipping the tiki god, or at least grinning in front of it. Thanks to everyone who came! I will definitely be planning more events like this in the future, I think.

Anyway, due to the travel and the guest-blogging and the hey hey, I’m going to let Darkefang’s reign of COTW terror continue for another week. But still, we must, as is our practice, give thanks to our advertisers:

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 10, 2008 at 07:51 pm and is filed under metaposts.

188 responses to “Metapost: TUCSON MEETUPMANIA!”

kippetje2000
March 10th, 2008 at 8:01 pm [Reply]

You should make Uncle Lumpy choose COTW!
The Spectacular Spider-Brick
March 10th, 2008 at 8:01 pm [Reply]

What?! No COTW? Ah, well, I should have expected that… after all, I was pretty funny this week, and the cosmos would crack open like a soft-boiled egg were I to actually win said honor. So thank you, Josh, for preserving the firmament of existence for us all. Again.
kippetje2000
March 10th, 2008 at 8:01 pm [Reply]

Chicago should be your next stop!
criminallyinane
March 10th, 2008 at 8:01 pm [Reply]

Trilobite is positively rocking that Scary-Go-Round shirt.
The Spectacular Spider-Brick
March 10th, 2008 at 8:02 pm [Reply]

I second kippetje2000’s idea! (Now watch Josh schedule it for July, while I’m in L.A. on business…)
Jenny
March 10th, 2008 at 8:03 pm [Reply]

Has anyone told ya that you resemble David Foley a little?
kippetje2000
March 10th, 2008 at 8:06 pm [Reply]

You know what else is scarier when you whisper it? Margo Saturn Boxcar!
SecretMargo
March 10th, 2008 at 8:08 pm [Reply]

So. Jealous.

That is all.
Islamorada Girl
March 10th, 2008 at 8:08 pm [Reply]

Well, that’s two threads I’ve ended in one day. Well worth it to see everyone, though!
Cyhip
March 10th, 2008 at 8:19 pm [Reply]

I highly resent you calling my country Foobonia!
Team MP
March 10th, 2008 at 8:43 pm [Reply]

Looks like good times had by all.

I also cannot wait to creep people out by whispering everything. That will go over well while I’m interviewing folks for a new position at work.

In whisper voice- “How do you manage your stress? You read? Me too. I read the Comics Curmudgeon.”
Old School Allie Cat
March 10th, 2008 at 8:46 pm [Reply]

The way the page is formatted, Nation of Whores looks like the title of the Meetup Photo.

I too am jealous. If anyone ever heads thru Nashville…no? Well, ok…
Zaq
March 10th, 2008 at 8:55 pm [Reply]

Man, I wish I could have gone to that. I’m in Tempe, just a little ways (relatively speaking) from Tucson, and I still couldn’t come (what with that whole “not having a car” thing)… but it sounds like a grand time was had by all. I think that means we only have one thing to say…

More meetups, mule!
Cheeky Wee Monkeys
March 10th, 2008 at 9:03 pm [Reply]

Oooh, I wish I were in Arizona, rather than practically crotch-high in snow.

Perhaps I should build a 1000 foot snow Larry King with all this snow.
Zaq
March 10th, 2008 at 9:22 pm [Reply]

Dude, I haven’t seen snow that’s strong enough to make a single snowball in over six years. This is after living in Alaska for five years. I’d totally trade you.
Fran Ledue Page
March 10th, 2008 at 9:23 pm [Reply]

13, Zaq: I took the Greyhound from Phoenix. It wasn’t bad; no cages full of live chickens or anything. And I’m disappointed you didn’t come, since I know you’re a Gil Thorp fan, too. You missed out on a bunch of very entertaining people.

As for the rest of the readership, start petitioning Josh for a meetup in your area. You won’t regret it!
Niall
March 10th, 2008 at 9:29 pm [Reply]

Such a great-looking bunch of people! And Bob Weber is nothing but class, indeed. KT fully deserved that strip. :)
commodorejohn
March 10th, 2008 at 9:43 pm [Reply]

#75 Huntch (yesterthread) – Hoo boy. Time to break out the ol’ MST3K treatment:

During the past couple of weeks, there have been newspaper and blog reports implying that the old/new “For Better or For Worse” hybrid may go completely into reruns later this year.
If we were lucky this would happen; we’d be spared more of Johnston’s public meltdown at her inability to control the people around her and her controlling-in-effigy with their avatars in the strip and get to see whatever it was that gained it the residual goodwill some people still display for the horrid master-of-pupets fantasy it is today. As is, the reruns we’ve been getting have plainly showed that Lynn believes her good old strips to be bad and vice versa, so hybrid-versus-reruns is pretty much a hemlock-or-the-chair question.

That isn’t true, said “FBorFW” creator Lynn Johnston. “I’m not quitting,” she declared, when reached today by E&P. “I don’t want to quit. I plan to keep working on the strip. I love what I do.”
Translation: “I was considering exiting the industry with a modicum of tact and grace, but then I realized that there are still people out there who don’t worship the ground Anthony and the Pattersons walk on.”

But Johnston has been making adjustments since starting the hybrid version of her comic last year. For instance, the original plan was to frame earlier “FBorFW” content by having the Michael Patterson character look back from the present day. But Johnston said some readers found that confusing, so she’s dropping it.
Instead of “confusing,” how ’bout we try “poorly-executed and blatantly revisionist?”

The current plan: Continue tying up loose ends with various “FBorFW” characters (a process that’s taking longer than Johnston expected). Then, no later than this September, freeze all these cast members in time. After that, the 1979-launched comic will focus on the younger versions of the characters.
No later than September, and she really means it this time. Honest. Really, really, really no later than September.

But that doesn’t mean the post-September strips will consist entirely of rerun material. Johnston plans to change various elements of the comics, create new story lines, etc. — but do all that in the drawing style she used to have.
Translation: “I’m going to blatantly retcon everything to try and make the Pattersons holy and perfect and make everybody who opposes them burst into flames on the spot, but if I try for a poor imitation of my old style, maybe people will buy it.”

“I’ve become more of an illustrator,” said the Canadian cartoonist. “My old drawing style is a lot less complicated, but it’s more lively and free and joyful.” Johnston might even make the younger Elly Patterson’s nose bigger. “Large ‘honkers’ are funny,” she laughed.
By “I’ve become more of an illustrator,” she of course means “my new style is as constipated, narrow, and stuffy as I am, in addition to being absolutely drenched in halftone.” And…so…she thinks that large noses are automatically funny? Try “repulsive,” lady.

Discussing her desire to tweak some content, Johnston recalled Charles M. Schulz remarking that he would have “liked to get a chance to fix things” in some of his past “Peanuts” comics. “This gives me that opportunity in ‘For Better or For Worse,’” she said.
BY THE WAY GUYS DID I MENTION THAT I KNEW CHARLES SCHULTZ?

Johnston intends to do the part-old/part-new “FBorFW” strips chronologically, and also create some completely new Sunday strips in the old drawing style. Reconfigured past story lines may even delve more into things like divorce, which Johnston is now experiencing in real life. But, if that happens, it will not be a divorce between the characters of Elly (partly based on Lynn) and John Patterson.
You can, however, bet your life savings that she will continue to make John look like an assclown.

How will readers know that the strips drawn in the older style include new material? When “FBorFW” transitions no later than this September, Johnston plans to explain that transition in the comic itself.
Translation: “I’m going to pretend that no changes have been made and hope nobody notices.”

Not all the post-September strips will have new content. “I don’t want to quit entirely, but I do want to take some time off,” said Johnston. She has already stopped working on her comic most holidays and weekends, and stopped putting in extra “FBorFW” hours before and after taking vacations. “It’s been a blessing,” she said.
“I’m getting old, and old people get tired when doing things, and I can’t be bothered to actually do a full job of comic-stripping in spite of my age like my oft-mentioned ‘mentor’ CHARLES SCHULTZ I CALL HIM SPARKY did, but I can’t just give up that guaranteed spot in the paper and its associated income to one of those young heathens like Stephen Pastis or Ed Power.”

Her new schedule is not only allowing Johnston more time to travel, but to do other projects. For instance, a children’s book is in the works starring the late and beloved “FBorFW” character of Farley the dog. And Johnston said there might be a book showing what various “FBorFW” cast members are doing in their future lives.
I don’t really want to know the depths of Johnston’s obsession with a cartoon dog, but if it’s anywhere near the extent of her fans’, then I suspect more information can be found on the Internet.

In the present, the “FBorFW” client list has remained fairly steady since the hybrid began. Johnston said some newspapers have dropped the strip, but others have picked it up. It still runs in more than 2,000 papers via Universal Press Syndicate.
Look for a sharp drop in circulation once the proposal takes place and newspapers are turning up back at the office, soaked in reader vomit.

Johnston concluded that she’d like to continue doing “FBorFW” as long as her health allows.
She was, of course, kidding about that whole “knock me off the page” thing. She fully intends to milk this cash cow for all it’s worth.
Artist formerly known as Ben
March 10th, 2008 at 9:44 pm [Reply]

When I first saw the second picture down from the top, I thought KT was holding a big-ass hunting knife. Needless to say, I’m a little less freaked now that I know it’s a spiral-bound book.
Big Sims
March 10th, 2008 at 10:01 pm [Reply]

#8 Secret Morgo
Ditto.
Anna Nimity
March 10th, 2008 at 10:11 pm [Reply]

Fatty Winkerbean: Hot lesbian lust on the basketball court! Number 42 is tickling Summer and making her go “Grrrr!” She’s an aaaaanimal!
Cheeky Wee Monkeys
March 10th, 2008 at 10:31 pm [Reply]

Well, it’s powdery last I checked…

No Giant Town-Crushing Larry for me.
Ed Minchau
March 10th, 2008 at 10:36 pm [Reply]

#22, You could make a whole bunch of teeny tiny Larry King snow effigies. Maybe start your very own Larry King Cargo Cult.
Mibbitmaker
March 10th, 2008 at 10:41 pm [Reply]

#18: Excellent MST3K-ing, SB! (though, worse than just hoping nobody notices the re-hybriding: she’ll probably make the “explanations” all clunky, gooey, self-serving and intrusive — and not in a cool meta way, either)

Yes, in a perfect world, Lynn would just let her past-due saga die, and make those other works about wholy new characters.

But, in a perfect world: John Lennon and George Harrison would still be alive, Bob Ross would still be alive, Aldo would still be alive, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy would never have been shot, and the latter would’ve won the White House in 1968 (though we’d still have to have Nixon and Watergate somehow… I love Watergate humor), Osama bin-Laden and his henchmen would be dead (preferably before they could carry out 9/11), Arrested Development, Joan of Arcadia, Veronica Mars, and other worthy shows would be allowed their full runs, Jack Elrod would learn how to draw, zombie strips (for the most part) would go away, this comment would be shorter, FW would be the same in quality and continuity as in the ’70s and ’80s, Reagan wouldn’t ever be president, there’d be even more cheesecake shots of Abbey (JP) and June (RMMD), Curtis would finally get rid of the Michelle obsession already!, Mary Worth would mind her own damn business, Woody Wilson’s two best artists would draw every soap/adventure strip — and some of the humor ones too, Bill Watterson would get back into cartooning (on his own terms), we’d actually see KT’s own cartoons in the picture, and we’d all be able to get one of our comments into the COTW runners-up every few weeks including mine!…..

FOOB limits, in a perfect world.
…of Ulm.
The Spectacular Spider-Brick, Decreer of Things (Self-Appointed)
March 10th, 2008 at 10:48 pm [Reply]

In my official capacity as Self-Appointed Decreer of Things, I hereby decree that since this is the second ‘Mudgeon Meetup in Tucson, this meeting shall henceforth be known as “Twocson.”

By the way, I also decree that post #18 was by commodorejohn, not me nor anyone else with the initials SB.

Carry on. I decree it!
Mibbitmaker
March 10th, 2008 at 10:49 pm [Reply]

#21 (Anna…): 42 tickling Summer. Hmmmm…. Summer of 42? Naw, that’s been done…
Mibbitmaker
March 10th, 2008 at 10:50 pm [Reply]

#25: Whoops!

In a perfect world, I would’ve….. oh, nevermind!
Artist formerly known as Ben
March 10th, 2008 at 11:30 pm [Reply]

New Yorker Caption Contest

“I’m more of a smoke signals man, but it looks to me like you’ve made a breakthrough.”
Poteet
March 10th, 2008 at 11:34 pm [Reply]

I’m back from London. What a wonderful city. I was able to indulge my manias for botany and the Tudor era, sometimes in the same locations. Now the challenge will be trying to catch up on your brilliant comments and recent insane comic plot developments to whatever extent I can while also trying to catch up on real life and recover from jetlag. Meanwhile, the Tucson meetup photos look beamingly wonderful. Congrats to all involved!
Mr. O'Malley
March 10th, 2008 at 11:43 pm [Reply]

http://www.dieselsweeties.com/blog/?p=283/

By my calculations, DS is going to hit 2000 comics in a little under two months. April is Clango’s 8th birthday. I’d like to celebrate by releasing the entire webcomic archive for free in ten volumes. It worked for Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead- not bad company to try and keep!

These files will be in PDF form, available one per week for ten weeks. You can donate if so inclined, or take advantage of ten classic shirt designs @$10.99. At the end of ten weeks, I plan to release a special anniversary art book.
ChattyGenes
March 10th, 2008 at 11:48 pm [Reply]

#29 Poteet.

Good God, I learn that you, my real-life sister, are finally back from London from COMICS CURMUDGEON?

Oh well, Welcome back!:-)

And have fun with the jet-lag. I know all about THAT!:-) (heh heh heh!)
Uncle Lumpy
March 10th, 2008 at 11:52 pm [Reply]

3/11 Mary Worth — OH FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST, OUT WITH IT!

Ahem.

Excuse me.
Francis
March 10th, 2008 at 11:56 pm [Reply]

The more I hear about Bob Weber, the more I love him. Original art?!?!? Amazingly cool.
j
March 11th, 2008 at 12:13 am [Reply]

When I was a child with dreams of becoming a cartoonist Bob Weber jr. came to the public library in my town to teach a cartooning class.
Unfortunately his strip wasn’t carried by any of the local papers, so none of us knew who he was.
Never the less, he was very cordial and gave me some encouragement as well as a signed slylock poster that hung on my wall for years.

I’m surprised to see how young he looks, given that he was presumably and adult when I last saw him almost 17 years ago.
bats, Aviation Division of the Jungle Patrol :[
March 11th, 2008 at 12:13 am [Reply]

Tuesday observations:

FC: what you really need, Jeffy, is a good swift kick, but that’s beside the point.

JP: Abbey, maybe it’s Oompa Loompas helping the Dickens run the chicken ranch.
Hmmm…maybe it’s one of those Nevada-style “chicken ranches,” come to think of it. (And Elvira’s got her eye on a certain red-headed neighbor…)

MW: good lord! Mary used to be a man, baby!

RMMD: the oldest one in the book (Grey’s Anatomy, that is):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9545446@N07/2325436735/

FOOB: I have seen the future, and it is stultifyingly boring…
Certified Christian
March 11th, 2008 at 12:23 am [Reply]

Zits: Oh … my … God …

Why? Why? Why did it have to be the mom in Zits, and not Blondie?

I was not ready to be brain raped this evening.
bats, Aviation Division of the Jungle Patrol :[
March 11th, 2008 at 12:42 am [Reply]

36. Certified Christian:
Take a few deep breaths.
Think calm thoughts.
Thank God that is wasn’t Elly Patterson.
(The nose! THE NOSE!)
True Fable
March 11th, 2008 at 12:43 am [Reply]

Toosdee Snarkin!

DtM Hey hey hey, Alice baby!
FBoFW Liz saw the strangely enlarged head in panel four and got the wrong impression that the lower one enlarged as well; THAT explains the blissful look of Patterfoobsmugness in panel five!
Scenes from Suburban Hell I need to buy stock in razors.
JP Abbey, don’t you have something better to do than worry about that damn chicken farm? At least Biff isn’t buzzing your horses any more. You haven’t seen Sophie for days and Sam just MIGHT be in the mood when he gets home from work. HA HA, just kidding on that last one. But you know what I mean.
Luann Well hooray, Brad actually grew some BALLS! There’s hope for the boy yet.
MT Well good for Mark and Doc, they know how to do dishes! Say what you will about the Honeycomb Hideout, but at least there appears to be equity in the chores as long as people aren’t, like, shooting at them and stuff.
MW Just start the damn flashback already.
MC Yep; My Life in four panels.
Phantom Next time someone pisses me off for any reason, I think I’ll tie them up, have someone call the police and leave, and expect the cops to just take their word for it without further explanation. Yeah, right.
RMMD “Now…pull my finger.”
Zits zounds! Multiplyin’ tits! I kind of side with Jeremy on this one. Geez, that looks downright ALIEN.
kippetje2000
March 11th, 2008 at 12:46 am [Reply]

Mary Worth’s eyes are looking right at me. Must turn away,….falling…. into the blackness of eternal… helllllllpppp!
Trilobite
March 11th, 2008 at 12:56 am [Reply]

I had lots of fun at the big meetup, and the first thing I did when I got home was get my Slylock Fox artwork framed and hung in a place of honor in my living room. (It’s the mystery panel from 12/23/2007, complete with octopus, spider, snake, and eyeballs! Who can resist eyeballs?)

I’m already looking forward to doing this again! (Even though I’m still horrified at seeing pictures of myself. Man, I look weird.)
.

Anyway, daylight savings time means that I can now see Tuesday’s comics an hour earlier:

Dick Tracy: This might be the most boring villain’s exposition yet, and it doesn’t help to know that by the end of the week, we’ll probably be reminded AGAIN that the bad guy kidnapped these important people after having hideous portraits painted of them. I almost wish that we could cut right to the part where Dick and the villain have a pointless chase scene ending in the villain’s terribly gory death.

Mark Trail: It would be more fun to watch Mark Trail judge an essay contest than it will be to watch him hand out an award for one. Would he give first place to the essay with the most stilted wording? To the most boring essay? Or would he award the grand prize to the essayist who punched the most people? What kind of essay most appeals to Mark’s cold, robotic heart?

Mary Worth: “I’m not changeless, Toby. Why, when I was a girl, I still had a tail. And gills! It wasn’t until I was a young woman that I grew lungs and began to walk on the land. And later on came the discovery of fire…”
Pepperoni Détournées (formerly Herro!)
March 11th, 2008 at 12:58 am [Reply]

MW Tues: Yes, Toeby, things are not always as they seem. For example, I appear to have my sensible salmon colored blazer zipped up to my neck, which I have wrapped in a lovely coordinating ascot, but–voila!–presto-chango, as you can see, my blazer has lapels, and doesn’t even have a zipper! How does she do it, you ask? I’ll never tell, ha-ha! I am Mary Worth, woman of mystery!
Mibbitmaker
March 11th, 2008 at 1:07 am [Reply]

3/11:

FOOB: There’s Blanthony, being completely reasonable. Hey, Blandie — STOP DOING THAT!!!

FW: “…And the BALL WENT STRAIGHT OUT OF THE PANEL INTO THE READER’S FACE! OOH, THE READER’S BLEEDING THROUGH THE NOSE! Could be a foul there, folks!”

MT: “This one reads: ‘Dear Incongruint Nature Aventures Mazagine, I’m just a tiny, stowt chiLd with a giant, roWnd hed, an mi brothers and sister and me realy want to have a pet of our owne. This is because we don’t hav oNe anymor, on akount of, all our old peTs are burrried in our yArd, on accoWnt of, we keep killing them. Siened, Billi Keene, Aged 48 — I mEEn, 5.’ Cherry, what’s the child welfare number again?”

MW: Ageless? Constant? CamelToby, you should see how they drew her a few decades ago! And by constant, you must mean constantly butting into everyone’s affairs. And Mare — WILLYOUPLEASEGET ONWITHIT???. Thanx.

RMMD: And while Mary W. won’t start her story, Rex, here, won’t finish his.
Mr. O'Malley
March 11th, 2008 at 1:43 am [Reply]

Crossovers today:

Non Sequitur Michael Patterson’s book signing—the real story!

Preteena an art show—in New York City!

I looked up “Zumba” and among other things it said: they do a lot of latin dance, but occasionally throw in some belly dance, flamingo, its just everything.

I thought flamingos just stood around on one leg.
Alfred E. Neuman
March 11th, 2008 at 1:52 am [Reply]

March 11 fulminations
Dennis the Menace— If he does this again, they should beat the SON up.

Mary Worth— Even Toby is getting pissed at Mary’s prolonged obfuscation. Maybe Giella and Moy have had a falling-out. If Moy isn’t writing, (is there a writer’s strike in the comics?) Giella’s having to tread water by drawing a slightly different version of the same strip every day. Giella may be showing his displeasure via Toby’s facial expression.

Luann— This story arc is so wrong, I don’t know where to begin. I consulted for two years with a large suburban fire department, helping them with their civil service exams, so I know a bit about the fire service. 1. Employees in government uniform services are restricted as to what they can and cannot wear on their uniforms. Even someone who did not know what a Girl Scout badge was would know not to wear it on their uniform. 2. If someone did wear such a badge to work they would be ribbed immediately and unmercifully by their co-workers, and/or severely reprimanded by their superiors. 3. It is highly improbable that anyone as dumb as Brad could make it though selection and training in a professional fire department.
Now Evans, let’s drop this boring Brad and Toni crap, and get back to the really fun Luann stuff, featuring its most interesting character, the ravenously incestuous bisexual Bernice.

Phantom— Excellent police procedure. Leave the perps alone, walk out of the building, and ask a complete stranger to phone the police. Such clear-headed thinking is a sure ticket to Jungle Patrol employment.

Zits— If this strip continues with its current two-day theme, it should be renamed “Tits”.

The Chronicle has yet to post FOOB (it’s after 1:30 CST), and it’s usually up by now. Have we finally bludgeoned it into submission? If so, will we become the Bludges?
Alfred E. Neuman
March 11th, 2008 at 2:11 am [Reply]

#44 Me— That’s CDT. No wonder I’ve been consistently an hour late for everything this week. Well, not to worry.
In Light Syrup
March 11th, 2008 at 2:46 am [Reply]

Here’s my vote for a CC meet-up in Portland, OR:

Vote!

Haven’t read Tuesday’s comics, yet, and Mondays were apparently not too memorable. Did read some FOOB, though. The Chron has FOOB strips back to 2001 on their site and I started as far back as it would let me.

I read until I realized I should be doing something more productive… like continuing the wait on a phone call that will tell me I’ve been hired to do my dream job.
Arglebargle
March 11th, 2008 at 2:52 am [Reply]

Luann: I think T. J., Toni, and Captain Nerdlinger may be spending March working together to set up the worst April Fools’ Joke ever. Nobody else works at the fire station, obviously, or else the Girl Scout “medal” would have Brad running home in tears within ten minutes of punching in.

RMMD: Tuesday, panels two and three, soulful eyes and meaningful gazes; okay, wow–the artist is clearly working on a romance strip here, regardless of the writer’s intent.

I can’t wait to see how Rex’s “anonymous” gift backfires–spoiled by the free income, Niki becomes an even bigger basket-case, and when he finally figures out where it came from, he starts demanding more–finally resorting to blackmail, then murder.

Monty: Wow, I miss Robotman. I miss Fleshy’s half-alien son and the talking chimp, too–whatever happened to them?
gleeb
March 11th, 2008 at 5:40 am [Reply]

Buckles: If you make a joke like that, you should really work it into a strip where the more common meaning is also used, i.e., where the annoying dog does not actually crap on the rug, but somehow is made to look as if he did by his fleas.

’shaft: By “not hear the end of it,” I assume she means “not hear them pronounce me DOA.”

Dick: If college presidents really controlled minds, there’d be a lot less moronic student behavior.

FBoFW: I’ll give Anthony this: he knows that correctly using the objective case is the way into a dull woman’s pants.

H&J: At this rate, by the end of the decade, H&J will be making bold jokes about woman’s sufferage.

Mark: “And if they didn’t have a pet and didn’t want one, they were to write on centrally-planned industry, like the commies they are!”

Pardon My Planet: Actually, the earlier episodes of Johnny Quest did not include Hadji. A better caption would have been “Lesser Adventures”, or maybe to have not done the comic in the first place.

Phantom: The doorman is confused, know th hotel dick was kicked out of the Pinkertons when he couldn’t bash the head of a striking miner suffering from black lung.
Godzooky
March 11th, 2008 at 6:04 am [Reply]

3/7 MW: “But when I look back on my past, I know it’s more than that…”
3/8 MW: “Something happened in my past! Something I’ve never forgotten!”
3/9 MW: “Something happened in my childhood that shaped who I am today!”
3/10 MW: “..So I’ll tell you a story…”
3/11 MW:”Remember, things are not always what they seem!”

Prediction: Three more days of “Boy, do I have a story to tell!” followed by “And one fine day, I’ll tell you Toby!” Cue the start of the next “story” arc.

Feel free to consider our chains yanked.
Godzooky
March 11th, 2008 at 6:12 am [Reply]

Phantom: “Thank God you’re here, officer! An armed psycho in a waiter suit and sunglasses, assisted by two women in waitress outfits, burst in, held us at gunpoint, tortured one of us to reveal our boss’ location, then left us tied up. They must be stopped!”

And, thus, the APB went out for the would-be Jungle Patrollers, complete with the doorman’s description of them. (Considering that “Hired Muscle! Dangerous!” are more bodyguard job requirements than charges that can hold up in court, these women are in a heap of trouble)

Brewster Rockit, narrating his life: And he starts by mis-narrating his own name. Oops.
monsieurjohn
March 11th, 2008 at 6:26 am [Reply]

By the time Mary Worth actually gets around to this flashback, it’ll be a flashback to the beginning of this flashback intro.
One-eyed Wolfdog
March 11th, 2008 at 6:31 am [Reply]

“iPot?”

um…

iPot?
Joe, Upper-Evergreen Division of the Jungle Patrol
March 11th, 2008 at 6:40 am [Reply]

Luann: What’s this, is Brad finally growing some balls? No, wait……he’s still an idiot for wearing that stupid pin. Death to TJ.

Foob: Let’s swing this foobian barf-fest into high gear!!!!
aquagirl3
March 11th, 2008 at 7:01 am [Reply]

#49: GOD, no kidding. What if we lived our lives like the dialogue of Mary Worth? I’d be all “Now I am going out on an errand! I will get ready for an errand. I am thinking about my errand. Did I tell you about my errand? La, la, preparing to leave for an errand….” Oh, wait a second, I have an 8-month-old. That’s exactly what my life is like.

Hey, Josh, I just moved back to DC! When are you going to have a LOCAL event? I enjoy a good Baltimore.
Little Guy
March 11th, 2008 at 7:02 am [Reply]

Zits: As drawn by Brooke McEldowney.
AhClem
March 11th, 2008 at 7:14 am [Reply]

MW – Nothing Mary says about her story can live up to the “hype”, “drama” and “anticipation” of her drawn-out build-up. And it will probably be something really boring, like Mary opening a fortune cookie that says simply “Help Others”.
Jamus The Bartender
March 11th, 2008 at 7:19 am [Reply]

9CL: I seem to remember, from the excellent animated show “Home Movies”, a song that Brendan Small wrote that went something like, ” Don’t put marbles in your nose, do not put them in there, do not put them in there…” to a heavy metal beat, but it was for little kids, not an adult cello player. Supposedly.
Jamus The Bartender
March 11th, 2008 at 7:24 am [Reply]

FOOB: Oooo…Anthony. You are indeed crafty and clever. Touche my friend…touche.
Girl Reporter
March 11th, 2008 at 7:27 am [Reply]

Godzooky says:

March 11th, 2008 at 6:04 am
3/7 MW: “But when I look back on my past, I know it’s more than that…”
3/8 MW: “Something happened in my past! Something I’ve never forgotten!”
3/9 MW: “Something happened in my childhood that shaped who I am today!”
3/10 MW: “..So I’ll tell you a story…”
3/11 MW:”Remember, things are not always what they seem!”

Prediction: Three more days of “Boy, do I have a story to tell!” followed by “And one fine day, I’ll tell you Toby!” Cue the start of the next “story” arc.

I have that “vamp until ready” music from A Chorus Line running over and over on the 8-track tape in my head.
cvk
March 11th, 2008 at 7:28 am [Reply]

I love how Lovely Wife Amber has a huge grin such that it looks like she’s having an absolute blast in every picture.
Jamus The Bartender
March 11th, 2008 at 7:32 am [Reply]

DtM: MMmmm…Alice is lookin’ goood…
Old School Allie Cat
March 11th, 2008 at 7:44 am [Reply]

FOOB – Fusty pajamas, painstakingly correct, stilted grammar. This Anthony fellow is the whole package. If you’re living in 1952.

Brad (fka Luann) – Yaay! Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m a Toni/Brad ‘Shipper.

Crankshaft – I realize we’re not supposed to like this character because every flashback shows her as being a mean bitch, and in present day, she’s a crusty old mean bitch ™, but I feel for her. Why is it OK for Crankshaft to be an old grumpy (but allegedly lovable) codger and he gets to be the titular character of the strip, but Jeff’s mom, who has similar characteristics is, well, a crusty old mean bitch ™? Aside from which, you don’t have to be old to fall on ice. Although, it the older you are, the more damage, I guess.
Tweeks_Coffee
March 11th, 2008 at 7:48 am [Reply]

Man, looks like it was a helluva time in Tucson. This also further proves what I already believed; Bob Weber is epically cool. Not only does he have a sense of humor about us joking about his work, but he’ll also risk life and limb to meet us after! (That may be a slight exaggeration). Plus he brings original artwork for all? I’m assuming it was specially selected too since KT’s was so appropriate. You rock, Bob, is pretty much the point here.

Enough ass-kissage, onto the comics…

Archie: Oh, so that’s what the kids are calling it today.
DtM: After reading the text, I thought this was actually menacing. Oh, how my perception was shattered…
Dilbert: Tomorrow could be a very good installment. Somehow I doubt we’ll get a full strip of just Scott Adams’ recreation of The Last Supper, but a guy can dream.
FC: Bigger? The damn thing’s already up to your chest, Jeffy.
FW: She’ll miss this shot, obviously. Tragedy hasn’t struck this strip for a while, after all, it’s overdue.
GT: What on Earth is Marty bobbling the hell out of in the fist panel?
JP: “They’ve have”? “THEY’VE HAVE”!? Christ, isn’t anyone checking this thing that isn’t a moron? Of course taking months on end to get to the fact that this old couple is selling some kind of drug brownie should answer that question.
MT: Oh no. I can think of little that’s more horrifying than a cavalcade of mutant children writing crappy essays.
MW: A witch! Burn her!
MC: Oh Squishie, you lovable amoeba.
RMMD: Speaking of making a wrong a right… Seriously though, I suppose this is the last time we’ll ever see Niki. Thank God for small favors.
Zits: If I had to summarize today’s strip in one word it would be; Vomit-Inducing.
Shoshi
March 11th, 2008 at 7:48 am [Reply]

FOOB – What does Liz’s expression in the last panel signify? Is she dreaming of whom she really wants? Or has she just dozed off?

It’s very big of Anthony to permit Liz to “talk to whomever you wish”, but that kind of generosity usually means there is some talking going on on the other side, as well. (”Darling, I don’t mind if you have late-night conversations with hot guys. By the way, when I called the other night, I was exploring my feelings for a lovely neighbor who had dropped by. You know, just to be *sure*.”)
fishmorgjp
March 11th, 2008 at 7:50 am [Reply]

Wow, gifts of original art? Mr. Weber seems cooler every time I read about him.
The Spectacular Spider-Brick, Decreer of Things (Self-Appointed)
March 11th, 2008 at 7:59 am [Reply]

(WT)DT: Oh, just dandy. Now we get to look forward to at least two weeks of Mr. H. Enchman telling every kidnap victim his/her name and occupation. Then, the recap of the name and occupation-telling, interspersed with Dick asking Dab Stract to take him to the home of the one who commissioned him to paint the awful paintings. By the end of the month, the victims will be begging to have their brains extracted.

HotC: It may seem like a throwaway tagline, but the “dollface” line is what makes this work.

H&J: is getting its premises from joke-a-day e-mail lists now. Oh, and tell me that in panel 3 she doesn’t look like Mickey Mouse with a terrible ear tumor.

MT: “Say, Mark Trail, my son-in-law, who is married to Cherry Trail, nee Davis, my daughter, I was talking to your editor, Bill Ellis, whose full name and position you may already know, and he, that is, Bill Ellis, your editor at Woods & Wildlife Magazine, which you work for, told me, Tom ‘Doc’ Davis, a veterinarian, that there is far too much exposition in this strip.”

Zits: In my capacity as the official Decreer of Things, Self-Appointed, I hereby decree that breast-bobbles like those in today’s strip shall henceforth be known as “boobles.”
Sara
March 11th, 2008 at 8:28 am [Reply]

Get Fuzzy got in a nice one this morning. Did anyone else note Bucky’s use of “plebs”–the Roman lower classes–while Bucky is, incompetently, trying to pull the sort of name change nonsense that Julius Caesar actually succeeded in pulling?
Little Guy
March 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am [Reply]

63: Dilbert I’m waiting for Friday when the PHB tells Hay-Soos to “crucify harder in a new paradigm”.
One-eyed Wolfdog
March 11th, 2008 at 8:56 am [Reply]

66 – SSBDoT(SA) – that joke, before it was on email lists, was being passed around on telegrams, broadsides, poorly-illuminated manuscripts, papyrus scrolls, stone tablets, cave-wall pictograms…
One-eyed Wolfdog
March 11th, 2008 at 8:56 am [Reply]

By which I mean it is old.
Perky Bird
March 11th, 2008 at 8:56 am [Reply]

FOOB– Remember that episode of South Park where the folks who drove hybrid cars all sniffed their farts in a self-righteous way? That’s exactly what it looks like Liz is doing in that last panel!
Artist formerly known as Ben
March 11th, 2008 at 9:04 am [Reply]

3/11

A3G: How is it this go-getter isn’t just burning up the New York art scene?

9CL: Just noticed how much Amos looks like Jeremy from “Sports Night.” That’s not exactly snark, but how much mileage can you get out of “quarters up his nose”?

GT: Coach Thorp seems to not really be listening. Yeah, that’s the real Gil all right.

C-Shaft: This being Batiuk, I’m sure there’s a guy riding his motorcycle on the sidewalk, coming right for her.

Big Dog: “And missing persons is looking for the driver. What was all that meat that Marmaduke brought into the backyard?”

Ziggy: IRS? That looks like the mascot from IRS records. They want REM back, and they’ll stop at nothing.

Archie: Here we see the AJGLU3000 starting up in safe mode.

S-M: I know I’ve brought this up before, but why not just bribe Flattop Hitler and a few other publishers. Easier, cheaper in the long run, hard to prove in court if you use cash.

GA: Skeezix’s zombie grin with the Little Orphan Annie non-eyes is giving me nightmare fuel. Teeka’s cute Disney Asian features give some relief, but that only goes so far.

DT: “Control thousands of young minds”? Last time I checked the major power of college presidents was deciding how much tuition they can bleed out of the parents.

HtH: Funnier when Captain Jack Sparrow said it.

BB: Obviously this is another Zero=dumb joke, but doesn’t Sarge seem like exactly the kind of pet owner who would give his dog a cell phone?

Cathy: Wouldn’t a real wife very quickly make Irving regret that “person like you” bit? The preoccupation with her weight has dulled Cathy’s killer instinct.

H&J: You go, Sarah! Go on with your original thinking.
Loopina
March 11th, 2008 at 9:08 am [Reply]

FOOB: Where are they going? And why? Maybe they’re driving to Aldo Point, to plunge over the cliff so they can be together… forever…

non-sequitor: In my pharmacology class, we’re studying cardiac drugs. Every time I read the word “aldosterone” I cry a little.

Bizarro: yay! There just aren’t enough Whack-a-Mole jokes in the paper these days.

Marmadouche: What? I mean, I understand that the implication is that the dog stole the truck, but this is a mess.

MT: All right – children, pets, and essays. I wonder if Nikki wrote one about his loveable pet, Lil Rex – the trouser trout?
Bootsy
March 11th, 2008 at 9:10 am [Reply]

Great meet up pics!

JP The new guy, Dan is it? with the Bride of Frankenstein hair stripes. Is that a giant question mark behind his head?

MT I like how everyone, Andy included, stares raptly at Mark during dinner.

Zits WTF is that?

Josh, Uncle Lumpy was great! He brought us candy, and he let me sit on his lap, and he played with us… oh, was that just me? Never mind then.
Loopina
March 11th, 2008 at 9:11 am [Reply]

#67: I want “with great intelligence comes great annoyance” on a t-shirt!
Professor Fate
March 11th, 2008 at 9:14 am [Reply]

FOOB: Say what you will -I find Anthony’s calm understanding tone to be creepy as hell – cause one Liz makes her choice it’s a leg chained to post in the doll house while he wears the gimp suit.
gkl
March 11th, 2008 at 9:18 am [Reply]

MW: Being as how this is Mary Worth, the revelation probably will be that she used to wear her scarf on the side or something.

GA: I’m not going to bother getting my hopes up that this is the start of some insane scheme to steal Sturdivant Kleeb’s money and ruin his career so his only option in life is to become a pig farmer in whatever demi-town this strip is set in. Okay, maybe a little, but I’m also keeping a shield around my heart lest it be broken by Gasoline Alley yet again.

GT: What exactly is a first here? The first time Andrew’s parents weren’t home? The fact that they’re not home most of the time is sort of the crux of this story line. The first time Roddy’s been hurt? Not real likely; he’s a kid. The first time Gil has felt homoerotic feelings for the roguish, egocentric-but-with-a-heart-of-gold charms of one of his players? Well, uh, yeah, that’s the one I’m going to go with.

MT: Maybe the problem with education isn’t that the youth of today can’t write. Maybe it’s that they’re forced to write on moronic topics like “Why I’d like a pet, if I don’t have one.”
Trilobite
March 11th, 2008 at 9:20 am [Reply]

#51 monsieurjohn says:

By the time Mary Worth actually gets around to this flashback, it’ll be a flashback to the beginning of this flashback intro.

I swear, I keep coming back to this comment and laughing.

I’m not sure I’ll be laughing when it turns out to be completely accurate, but that’s still good for, what, two or three more weeks of hilarity?
Mumbles
March 11th, 2008 at 9:44 am [Reply]

MW: Please, let Mary have been a beatnik. Or that she shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. Please.

‘Shaft: The day we’ve been waiting for has arrived. We’re expected to laugh at an old lady who slipped on the ice.

FOOB: You know, the sooner Anthony realizes that he is unworthy of faithful and true love, the easier it’s going to be on him and the rest of us.

MT: can’t wait for weeks, nay months, of exciting essay-reading. Of course maybe one of these kids will be a plagiarist and out will come the firsts of fury…
gh
March 11th, 2008 at 9:55 am [Reply]

Josh –

Welcome back, cowboy! Great photos. My, we are a handsome bunch!
Les
March 11th, 2008 at 10:00 am [Reply]

Zits: Jeremy complains, but he did not look away when he first walked in. He did not look away when his mom bent forward in her little swimsuit-y thing, whose narrow stretch of fabric covered her crotch (over her tights). He waited for boobles (see #66) before he fled.

And then he complained that it was burned to eyes . . . but he meant his brain. His erotic consciousness. He saw his mom bend over in a tight outfit and her boobs jiggle and it was so wrong. so very very wrong. . . . can you excuse me for the next 20 minutes or so?

Why do cartoonist thing that exploring the oedipus complex is a good thing for their readers to face before breakfast? I mean, I’m in grad school and I don’t want to think about that before coffee. Before lunch. Ever, actually.
Isua
March 11th, 2008 at 10:06 am [Reply]

What excellent, precise grammar Anthony is using today. Whomever, whom. It somehow makes me want to punch him more. The boy’s got no dangling participles at all.
Laura c
March 11th, 2008 at 10:09 am [Reply]

MT: The menfolk are doing the dishes. Cherry must have cancer. Either that, or she just gave birth.
Calico
March 11th, 2008 at 10:11 am [Reply]

#18 – Can you see it? Lynn is jerking her audience around the way Warren, Liz, and Gropethony jerk each other around. Glmmph blort eat much chew vomit.
Calico
March 11th, 2008 at 10:15 am [Reply]

#83 – At least the Right Dishtowel o’ Justice does ‘em without complaining or having Cherry heckle him for A) not doing them B) doing them the wrong way or C) cheating by using the dishwashing machine, like a certain Matriarch from Milborough would her husband.
Studies show this will increase your ability to Get Some, Mark. Put them away as well, and you’ll get a bonus later on.
Perky Bird
March 11th, 2008 at 10:20 am [Reply]

# 82 Isua–

I don’t wish to think about Anthony’s “dangling participles.” Ever.
Mr. Coffee Nerves
March 11th, 2008 at 10:31 am [Reply]

71. Professor Fate says: “FOOB: Say what you will -I find Anthony’s calm understanding tone to be creepy as hell – cause one Liz makes her choice it’s a leg chained to post in the doll house while he wears the gimp suit.”

Well, to be fair, she can talk to whoMever she wants on the phone then. The fact that the phone will be upstairs and behind a locked door is immaterial.

MW: I hope she reveals that she went on a wild European adventure in her youth, and told her first boyfriend ‘Dolf that his art was hacky, and he really should think about a future in politics and public speaking.
commodorejohn
March 11th, 2008 at 10:32 am [Reply]

9CL – Hmm, subtlety much?

BBlue – Oh, the Anthony technique.

Crankshaft – Remember, kids, old people are foolish, incompetent, and utterly inable to take care of themselves, which is why you need to treat them like they’re little children!

Curtis – Er, I was actually under the impression that Curtis lived in a pretty wholesome little urban environment. I mean, aside from Derrick and “Onion,” we pretty much never see anybody engaging in any kind of crime at all. Show, don’t tell, Billingsley.

FOOB – Er, what? Anthony’s not being totally loathsome? Good God, black is white, up is down, inside is outside. I’m gonna go lie down for a bit.

FW – Forget the twenty-five feet, the real question is whether she can overcome the Winkerverse’s inherent tendency towards failure and misery.

GA – “As if my lack of pupils wasn’t enough indication that I am a Pod Person, please note my posession of only three fingers per hand.”

MW – “It’s almost like you’re some kind of…Time Lord, or something!”

Edison Lee – wants you to panic about everything possible, no matter the actual facts.

Zits – o.O
Flipper
March 11th, 2008 at 10:34 am [Reply]

#LXVII Sara: Nice catch on the “plebs” reference! The Ides of March is this Saturday, so poor deluded Bucky could be in for a world of hurt.
Gabe
March 11th, 2008 at 10:42 am [Reply]

ZIts: I don’t think the writers quite understand “Fan Service,” or the fact that no one asked them for any.
Calico
March 11th, 2008 at 10:42 am [Reply]

Josh and all-the pictures are just great. Thanks for posting ‘em. Loooove the FC God-vest too!

And Trilobite-you look fine. You all do! I know photo ops can create their own little brand of anxiety at times.

Bob Weber Jr. – you appear very gracious and funny. Glad y’all could converge for a while! : )
Kurdt
March 11th, 2008 at 10:49 am [Reply]

Zits: Is it possible to actually move one’s boobs like that? I think it’d be a really cool party trick if you could :)
Mibbitmaker
March 11th, 2008 at 10:54 am [Reply]

MW: Maybe they’re trying the current DT style of storytelling. Locher inspiring Moy. If that’s true – Moy, that’s just evil!

GT: Bolle’s first Marty Moon. I couldn’t be more proud — mainly because I couldn’t be proud in the first place.

A3G: LuAnn: “Honey, get some art supplies, won’t you? For me?” THAT’d set him off again!

BBailey: We’ve seen Otto. I truly believe that mutt has a cell-phone!

Adam (at sign) Home: The bookclub version of “12 Angry Men” (12 Angry Women?)

S4th: “Chuck” it isn’t.

Zits: (Connie1) Hey, I kinda like that (Connie2) Rrreally rrrrealy like that…. (Connie3) I don’t see what the prob-YYIKES!!! — Okay, THAT went TOO far! Holy Cow! …. Yeah, admittedly it might actually be cool if Abbey (JP) or June Morgan did that — but STILL….!!

And poor Jeremy! –Hey, did Mitch Hurwitz guest-write this?

S-M: JJJ having Spidey help him??? Hell, JJJJJ thinks that Spidey’s an evil criminal in cahoots with everybody bad. Really wrong on that one, Krandy. (Krandy doesn’t know Spidey = Peter P., so that doesn’t count)

Blondie: Weeks later, Dagwood’s corpse was discovered at his desk. Employees there just thought he was napping all day as usual.

Cranky: “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” —- Well, SOMEbody had to say it!

MG&G: Calvin & Hobbes called. They want their premise back.

Curtis: Curtis, you live in an apartment.

BBlues: Blanthony Caine gives that 3rd panel TWO THUMBS UP!
Moss_Moses
March 11th, 2008 at 10:55 am [Reply]

“If people snark they’ve have to type on keyboards” – syntax based on today’s Judge Parker.

Mary Worth is going to rip that wrinkle-free flesh colored latex mask off her face and reveal her inner alien lizard for all to see.

AquarGirl3, welcome to DC, home of the newspaper with the biggest comics section. We’ve discussed a meetup for DC curmudgeons (there’s a separate board for that) but it has been stuck in committee and obfuscating gridlock for the past couple of years. It is DC, after all…
Shoshi
March 11th, 2008 at 10:56 am [Reply]

78/51–I agree. I LOL’d such that the whole scenario had to be explained to the home folks.
Darkefang
March 11th, 2008 at 10:59 am [Reply]

It looks like the Phoenix meet was fun. Congrats to everyone for their artwork and for meeting the Curmudgeon himself. Now I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Louisville meet, although it’ll make it difficult to type.

A3G: How’s Client 8 supposed to get any work done if you keep calling him, Lu Ann?

Archie: Veronica seems pretty impressed with Raj’s iPod. I guess that’s why he had to put a jacket on it: Better safe than sorry, especially considering how often she’s handled Archie’s and Reggie’s gadgets.

DT: Brilliant! Dick Locher has found yet another way to kill a week without advancing the plot: a roll call of all the important people in town.

Foob: The last thing I needed right before lunch was the taste of vomit in my mouth. Thanks, Lynn.

FW: Normally in fictional stories, characters would overcome adversity to hit the last second shot and win the championship. We’d all know as soon as the shot went up that it was going in. This is Funky Winkerbean, however. Not only is Summer going to miss the shot, the ball’s going to richochet off the rim and hit Les in the head, causing an aneurysm.

GT: In panel two, Andrew demonstrates some of the moves that wind up getting him named captain of the 1958 Valley Conference All-Parkinson’s Team.

Luann: [ Insert joke about Toni, firefighters and balls here. ]

MT: Little kids have been reading all those exposes that Mark writes about evil industrialists? Upton Sinclair also would’ve put himself in constant danger of being killed by bears and rednecks if his readership consisted of seven-year-olds.

MW: So how many days in a row is Mary going to foreshadow a flashback before we see any actual flashing back?

Popeye: Just sprinkle a little e coli on his dinner. That’ll generally lead spinach-eaters to cancel their vacation plans.

RMMD: Meanwhile, in the time it took to have that conversation, Niki’s mom blew the reward money on hairspray and methamphetamine.
One-eyed Wolfdog
March 11th, 2008 at 10:59 am [Reply]

#88 – With your “Zits – o.O” are you attempting to depict someone’s eyes popping wide open, or something… else?
gh
March 11th, 2008 at 11:23 am [Reply]

FBoFW —

I can’t really see Liz’s hands in that last panel, but perhaps she didn’t have to go all that far to find that “whom.”

True Fable, Trilobite, Self-Appointed! Front and center!

BWAHAHAHA!

That is all!

#29 Poteet –

Welcome home. Here’s a snow shovel.

#28 Ben –

You started it!

NYCC

“I’m afraid our time is up, Mr. Hilfiger.”

“So Brandy was a fine girl. What came between you?”

“You say your wife doesn’t understand you?”

“That’s true. Sometimes women do get mixed signals.”

“Was that ‘election’? Only once every two years? Why, that’s perfectly normal.”

“I’m sure The Village People miss you too.”

“I assure you, the size of the flag doesn’t matter.”

“I agree. Courtship is a dying art.”
Artist formerly known as Ben
March 11th, 2008 at 11:29 am [Reply]

Curtis: …is trying something a little edgier today. If Officer Phil the Racist Cop is added as a regular charcter, it’ll really spice things up.
Artist formerly known as Ben
March 11th, 2008 at 11:31 am [Reply]

#98 gh
and you’re continuing it. I didn’t think of the Tommy Hilfiger connection, but that is good.
commodorejohn
March 11th, 2008 at 11:35 am [Reply]

#97 One-Eyed Wolfdog – It was actually more like my eyes exploding. I don’t really know how I read your comment.
redliner
March 11th, 2008 at 11:39 am [Reply]

DT: Mr. Cole Lector is way behind the times. A college president doesn’t control any young minds. That job has been taken over by a stable of loathsome MTV reality shows. Duh! You should have kidnapped one of those tools from “The Hills”!

FOOB I’ve read enough advice columns and seen enough soap operas to know that when a man is this understanding about an ex, it totally means that he’s cheating on you. I like Therese too much to suspect that she’s hooking up with him. . .he’s probably just going to Montreal for weekends of fun in the red light district or something.
Mariko
March 11th, 2008 at 11:50 am [Reply]

Archie: Raj should be careful. Once he gets started with that iPot, he could quickly move on to more dangerous things like iCocaine, or iMeth, or even iLSD. It’s a slippery slope once you’ve gone through the gateway, Raj.
The Divine O’F
March 11th, 2008 at 11:55 am [Reply]

Darkefang: That’s TUCSON, not Phoenix. BIG BIG BIG difference. Sheesh.

gh: great captions, all. I especially like the “election” one.
fizzy logic
March 11th, 2008 at 12:00 pm [Reply]

gh – Congrats on your prize from Bob Weber, Jr.! As a fish skeleton worshiper, you deserve only the best!

Trilobite – I think you’re looking quite cute in those pictures above; I especially like the one where you are listening raptly to Josh’s every word. I think that’s how I’d look if I were in the pope’s presence, as well – very attentive.

Uncle Lumpy – A belated thank you for taking such good care of us while Josh was off drinking Mai Tais. Actually, that looks like a Tom Collins. Or a Margarita on the rocks? Anyway, you did a bang-up job! Thanks!
Calico
March 11th, 2008 at 12:00 pm [Reply]

#102 – I’d really, really like to think Bunthony makes an occasional sojourn to “Club Super Sexe” in Montreal. He and Warren need to plan a road trip, sans Lizardbrain.

Zits – Oh, my.

MW – Biddy will finally tell about that horrible time when the older girls tied her shoelaces together in Home Economics class, and she tripped into a plate of fat-free special brownies.
Darkefang
March 11th, 2008 at 12:06 pm [Reply]

#104 The Divine O’F –

D’oh! My illiteracy rears it’s ugly head once again.
Calico
March 11th, 2008 at 12:08 pm [Reply]

True fish skeleton story –
A couple of years before I moved to QC, maybe 2000 or 2001, I was visiting my partner in said city, and we took her daughter’s two pomeranians (I belong to the older Pom now) to the banks of the St. Lawrence river for a run and swim.
My dog managed to suss out a carcass / skeleton of a huge Carp on the beach, maybe a 15-20 lb. fish, and proceeded to roll in it with extreme glee.
I’m glad I didn’t have to sleep in the same bed with her then!
Shoshi
March 11th, 2008 at 12:08 pm [Reply]

102–Yeah, that’s what I was getting at with Anthony’s willingness to let Liz “be herself”. I, also, rejected Therese as the suspect. But maybe that’s why Liz is fainting in the last panel–she figured out that he’s also “being himself” and “talking to whomever he wants”.
AhClem
March 11th, 2008 at 12:11 pm [Reply]

FW – Five possible outcomes for the 25-foot basketball shot:

1. The ball hits the backboard and shatters it, sending shards of glass into the eyeballs of the players and blinding half of them.

2. The ball hits the backboard and shatters it, sending shards of glass into the eyeballs of the players and blinding all of them.

3. The ball suddenly grows a massive tumor, causing it to lodge in the hoop.

4. The ball careens off the rim and smashes into a mercury vapor light, filling the gym with toxic fumes and setting the building on fire.

5. Summer makes the basket, and is trampled to death in the celebratory rush.

Knowing Batuik, however, the actual storyline will be sad and depressing instead.
bats, Aviation Division of the Jungle Patrol :[
March 11th, 2008 at 12:14 pm [Reply]

64. Shoshi re FOOB: a girl can dream, can’t she?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9545446@N07/2327221962/
Gold-Digging Nanny
March 11th, 2008 at 12:15 pm [Reply]

Holy crap, Josh! Blaze would kill you for that shirt!

Sounds like you guys had fun. I’m jealous.
Tukla in Iowa
March 11th, 2008 at 12:19 pm [Reply]

The Tucson Raiders were always my favorite Star Wars characters.

…What?
Old School Allie Cat
March 11th, 2008 at 12:19 pm [Reply]

#85 – Calico – I’ve read about this phenomenon, “choreplay” wherein women readily admit that nothing’s quite as sexy as a man doing laundry. And I can’t say I disagree. While I like it when Mr. Cat cooks dinner, I love it when he also does the dishes. And when he unloads the dishwasher? Heaven.

Zits -The unanswered question for me is, where can I find a Zumba class near me? I’ve heard of Piloga, Hot Yoga, Jazzercize, Hoopla, and even an Exotic Dance workout taught at a strip joint. I’m not too keen on group exercize, but damn, Connie looked happy. Why knock(er) it?
Gold-Digging Nanny
March 11th, 2008 at 12:25 pm [Reply]

And even more jealous of the Bob Weber originals.
Shoshi
March 11th, 2008 at 12:28 pm [Reply]

111-Haha! But what’s your problem with Parkerhouse rolls? :-D
(You should see Anthony whack that Pillsbury can. With all the poppin’ and giggling you know they don’t call him the “doughboy” for nothing.)
gh
March 11th, 2008 at 12:31 pm [Reply]

#108 Calico –

My dog managed to suss out a carcass / skeleton of a huge Carp on the beach, maybe a 15-20 lb. fish

You, uh, don’t still have it, do you? Because I’ve looked on eBay and, I dunno. Kinda pricey.
Moss_Moses
March 11th, 2008 at 12:32 pm [Reply]

Alternative to “your editor, Bill Ellis, is calling for you, Mark.

“Mark, That sniveling wreck of an excuse for a human being, Bill Elis, is soiling the phone lines with his noxious musings”.
rich
March 11th, 2008 at 12:38 pm [Reply]

102, redliner: Good one; I was going to suggest they kidnap Miley Cyrus — or Perez Hilton?
rhymes with puck
March 11th, 2008 at 12:41 pm [Reply]

FW: Wow, winning the game on a last-second 25 ft shot will be a nice memory next year as Summer lies on her deathbed.

Close to Home: OMG! I’m sure nobody has ever made this joke before – thank you for pointing out that there is a job site called MONSTER.COM, and that it would be so hilarious if you showed someone actually HIRING a monster!

BB: What, Sarge needs to ask a private to yell for him? He’s too god-damn lazy to yell “OTTO!” himself, and he’s too big a god-damn pussy to order the private to do the yelling?

Spider-Man: This is actually pretty similar to how Eliot Spitzer became governor, except of course instead of kidnapping a redhead he just paid one to have sex with him.

RMMD: Soooo, Niki….do you like to watch gladiator movies?

DT: Very true, because when I was in college all I cared about was doing whatever the college president told me to do.

MT: “So I’m going to award the best essay his own pet badger!”

9CL: When I see that they are into their second week discussing quarters up someone’s nose, it really makes me wonder why oh why my paper could have ever have dropped this strip.
bats, Aviation Division of the Jungle Patrol :[
March 11th, 2008 at 12:51 pm [Reply]

92. Kurdt re Zits: one would assume that wearing a leotard in the first place is a reason to not having the boobery considered lethal weapons.
Cafangdra
March 11th, 2008 at 12:52 pm [Reply]

I was jealous enough that Arizona people got to meet Josh Fruhlinger; that they got to HANG OUT WITH BOB WEBER JR. too makes my heart bleed with envy.

You guys are all gorgeous, by the way.
rich
March 11th, 2008 at 12:53 pm [Reply]

FW: After watching Summer Moore in action, on the heels of Funky Winkerbean’s interview with Pizza Weekly, it appears that in the future assholishness is the new cancer.
Alley (not Allie) Cat
March 11th, 2008 at 1:01 pm [Reply]

Zits: Jeremy, your retinas and ours, too.

What’s odd about that last part of frame one is that there is nothing to indicate that any other body part is in motion at that moment…it seems as if she’s holding that position while her boobs are bobbling wildly all over the place, as if somehow they are sentient, muscled, capable of independent movement, and are frantically attempting to break free of her chest and run under the couch. Viewed from that perspective, the comic becomes even weirder.
Poteet
March 11th, 2008 at 1:07 pm [Reply]

# 31 — Sorry, Chatty. Put it down to jetlag.

# 98 — Thanks, gh. That’s life for you. One day you’re shoveling down lemon curd yogurt, one of the most divinely decadent foods ever created, and the next day you’re shoveling snow, or more accurately, banging your blade down on solid ice trying to break it. Ha ha!
cheech wizard
March 11th, 2008 at 1:11 pm [Reply]

MW – Yes, the buildup is taking way too long, but if this all results in an “ill-advised youth” account of Mary smoking cigarettes, doing tequila shots out of someone’s navel and blowing sailors behind a dumpster, I think it will have been worth it.
Poteet
March 11th, 2008 at 1:20 pm [Reply]

Foob — So Warren came back! Well, I’m not surprised. Old sort-of lovers are always turning up on my doorstep, murmuring, their eyes heavy-lidded with deep meaning as they stare into my eyes, “Poteet, I want to be PART of your life…” What a nuisance. I’ve had to ask them to do their mooning around in shifts so I can get work done.
Tim
March 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm [Reply]

KT:

I’ve lived in Houston for five years. My parents have lived (during the winters at least) in the Tucson area for the last three years. I have a pretty good relationship with them, but I have never made that drive… It is a haul. Congrats on the dedication and for making me look like a bad son.
Artist formerly known as Ben
March 11th, 2008 at 1:33 pm [Reply]

#126 cheech wizard,
Keep hope alive, brother.
Solocardate
March 11th, 2008 at 1:45 pm [Reply]

Apropos of not much at all, I gotta say I’ve been enjoying the “Steve the Pit Bull” arc in Over the Hedge. Love those big misunderstood blocky-headed dawgies.

Also, let me say it again: Why, oh why, did I ever leave Tucson?
Calico
March 11th, 2008 at 1:45 pm [Reply]

#117 – If she still has the damn thing, she isn’t telling! I have no idea. ; )
schlimmerkerl
March 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm [Reply]

Great western shirt. Where’s it from? I get mine at Alcala’s on Ashland Avenue, Chicago.
Little Guy
March 11th, 2008 at 1:53 pm [Reply]

The only downside is that, in every interview, Bob Weber, Jr. will always find a way to comment, “By the way, did I tell you that I hung out with Josh Fruhlinger?”
Joe, Upper-Evergreen Division of the Jungle Patrol
March 11th, 2008 at 2:13 pm [Reply]

Ever notice how FOOB and Smirky Cancerbean are almost polar opposites?

FOOB: Pattersons eventually get whatever they want.
Smirky Cancerbean: The folks of Westview High always come up short.

FOOB: Pattersons never have any real tragedy in their lives.
Smirky Cancerbean: Tragedy for the Westview High folks IS the point!

FOOB: Every Patterson story arc works out just fine, to the benefit of Pattersons, just like those old “ABC After-School Specials”.
Smirky Cancerbean: The folks of Westview High always a maimed body or a death by cancer lurking around every corner.
Joe, Upper-Evergreen Division of the Jungle Patrol
March 11th, 2008 at 2:14 pm [Reply]

Phoenix meetup: Great pics!

I wonder what would happen if Lynn Johnston ever showed up to one?? LOL
dale
March 11th, 2008 at 2:21 pm [Reply]

Luann

Prediction – Toni is being transferred to Brad’s station where she will be Brad’s boss/supervisor.

Brad’s captain (BC) is not Toni’s captain or they would know it and BC would not be asking Toni on a date: I am assuming a reasonable organizational structure.

BC would not ask Toni to come to his station so he could ask her out: I am assuming BC is smarter than the average earthworm.
Old School Allie Cat
March 11th, 2008 at 2:33 pm [Reply]

#136 – Dale – please, please no. If anything, let Toni refuse the Captain’s invitation to the Ball, go with Brad, then get demoted by the Captain and then win a huge harrassment lawsuit.

Then, spend a week watching the Captain, who is on administrative leave, changing a lightbulb.
Zaq
March 11th, 2008 at 2:43 pm [Reply]

Coming off of a several-hours-long Super Smash Bros. Brawl high (which by the way is fantastic… if you play video games and you don’t have this game GO GET IT NOW WE WILL BE HERE WHEN YOU GET BACK), the mashing and meeting of characters from every universe imaginable has gotten me thinking… what if the same logic were applied to the comics page? We’d have Mark Trail smashing folks left and right with his Right Fist o’ Justice, the dodgy, shifty Mary Worth attacking from behind and proving impossible to hit, Judge Parker characters moving interminably slowly but being really difficult to shake or throw, Elly throwing her ginormous ass around like Bowser (actual quote from when my friends and I were playing and I kept using Bowser’s butt stomp move: “DAMN YOUR GINORMOUS ASS! If it wasn’t so sexy I’d hate it!”), the FC urchins swarming around and headbutting folks with their oversized noggins, Randy working it like a claw, Luann and Lu Ann facing off in a blonde-ditz grudgematch, Clambake locking his eyes on one hole, getting set, and swinging (and he keeps doing it), Marmaduke charging around at near-mach speeds, barrelling into people (and over the edge himself, naturally), Coach Kaz punching through people’s skulls, Gil Thorp uing his powers of non-Euclidean action to bend punches and blows around himself so that they never hit, the Milford Claw sneaking onto people’s shoulders and jabbing at their throats, Margo would smack a bitch, June and Abbey would be gratuitous cheesecake, and Rex Morgan would be a dead ringer for Captain Falcon (MORGAN…PUNCH! MORGAN KICK! MORGAN OVERTONES!).

Who’s with me?
Alley (not Allie) Cat
March 11th, 2008 at 2:44 pm [Reply]

#120, rhymes with puck: The noseful of coins is a flimsy, ridiculous premise manufactured to justify a week or more of catfights, views down evening gowns, and innuendo, the 3 things that get McEldowney through the day.
ralph
March 11th, 2008 at 2:57 pm [Reply]

The Arizona meetup photos are wonderful! Wow! If I had been in Tucson, I would have gotten an autograph. Yes, from the Divine O’F.
jahqdruh
March 11th, 2008 at 2:59 pm [Reply]

126 cheech wizard:

If we can get Moy and Giella to make your scenario come true, it will take the artist from A3G to do Mary’s head bobbles just right…

Anchors Aweigh, baby.
rich
March 11th, 2008 at 3:01 pm [Reply]

139 / 9CL: My heart goes out to the clerk who sells Amos his next newspaper or pack of gum.
aleksmakk
March 11th, 2008 at 3:07 pm [Reply]

FOOB: It would be so fitting if Anthony proposed to Elizabeth in the car, while driving, so he can’t even turn his head completely to face her.

Seriously though, knowing the inevitable is coming, I have been trying to think of where he could be driving her. The Jewelry Store? Their “Home?” A wooded area with a pre-dug shallow grave in case she says no?
Patrick
March 11th, 2008 at 3:18 pm [Reply]

123. I could not agree more and said as much in the previous thread. I think assholery will be the new cancer in the winkerverse.
Oddball
March 11th, 2008 at 3:27 pm [Reply]

#32 – Aw, Uncle Lumpy, you know that no Mary Worth storyline can begin without at least a two-week intro.

What’s going to suck is realizing:

1. Things pretty much are as they seem.
2. Mary always was the way she is today.
Anonymous
March 11th, 2008 at 3:28 pm [Reply]

Toby: “You [Mary Worth] almost seem changeless, you’re so constant”
Mary Worth: “Actually, I change as much as anyone else: it’s just that this comic strip moves so slowly, what is 10 minutes in my time-frame is 3 days in the world of our readers. Thus, it seems to them that I am changeless when, in fact, relative to their time frame I merely change very slowly. I’m kind of like a mountain or a canyon, I guess, changing all the time but at a speed too slow for our readers to notice”.

I think today’s Mary Worth is yet more evidence that the authors are purposefully writing the strip for us to snark at: IMHO, it’s the best explanation of the almost “meta” dialog in today’s strip.
Oddball
March 11th, 2008 at 3:29 pm [Reply]

#138 Zaq – I’m there, but I’m puzzling over what Luann and Tommie would be doing? Moping… something… to death?
Old School Allie Cat
March 11th, 2008 at 3:40 pm [Reply]

MW – If I were Camel Toeby, I’d have grabbed Mary’s neckerchief and starting throttling her three days ago. “Come on old lady, spit it out!”

That’s why I’m not in a comic strip, though.
cheech wizard
March 11th, 2008 at 3:43 pm [Reply]

129 AFKAB/141 jahqdruh: Oh, and let’s not forget the Mexican brown heroin.
The Divine O’F
March 11th, 2008 at 3:57 pm [Reply]

135 Joe, Upper Evergreen: That’s TUCSON, not Phoenix!

140 Ralph: MMMMWAAA! Where do you want me to sign?

146 Anonymous: I’m POSITIVE that Karen Moy reads us and tailors her stories to us now. There’s also no other explanation for the dog story. And… you know what? That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
cheech wizard
March 11th, 2008 at 4:20 pm [Reply]

LuAnn – Chief Straitarrow would have to be even more clueless than Brad to address Toni as “Daytona!” as he’s about to ask her for a date. More likely, what Brad didn’t overhear him say was something like “I’m going to ask Toni…to get her psycho ex-boyfriend to work security for the event.” Then when Brad shows up with Toni, we could see Dirk give him another Warner Bros-esque pounding, perhaps slamming him so hard he’s reduced to a little fireman’s helmet with a couple tiny feet sticking out, skittering away across the floor.

It’s too bad the Chief doesn’t really have the hots for Toni – because then we could see him engage in some King David-type actions to get Brad out of the way, like sending him to respond to an overturned tanker truck full of liquid oxygen by himself – and telling him to put it out with his dick.
Rainbird
March 11th, 2008 at 4:22 pm [Reply]

52 One-eyed Wolfdog

The iPot in Archie, I could live with, but where the hell is the jacket that they are discussing? Is a photo on his cell phone, which is really and iPod.

Do we need to add more information about clothing to the Archimatic 3000?
Mountain Mama
March 11th, 2008 at 4:41 pm [Reply]

I heard Josh and Mr. Weber talking about other cartoonists, and Mr. Weber said that Karen Moy DOES NOT read this blog.

I got the impression she was wary of us. Wonder why.

*walking away, looking innocent*
Nil Zed
March 11th, 2008 at 5:00 pm [Reply]

it’s always a shock to get to the bottom of the 3rd, or maybe 4th CC thread and NOT to see another post lurking in the bottom right corner.

Josh, do you and Amber have passports? I am ready and waiting to host the first European Union meetup. Or the first UK meetup.

We can talk about Fred Bassett. And Andy Capp. and um, uh. Yeah. And drink beer. Maybe Poteet would come back for it. Baka Gaijin is nearby as well. Yeah. And beer.
Baka Gaijin
March 11th, 2008 at 5:02 pm [Reply]

Lio: Where’s the “Whooosh!” or “Foosh!” or “Foom!”? I want sound effects, dammit!
Baka Gaijin
March 11th, 2008 at 5:20 pm [Reply]

#154 Nil Zed: Yeah, what he said about the London Mudge Meetup. I’ll bring the spotted dick!
boojum
March 11th, 2008 at 5:29 pm [Reply]

154 Nil Zed –

Ah, yes. I swear, I SO wanted to buy these as stocking stuffers for everyone this Christmas. Spotted dick for everyone!

http://www.englishteastore.com/cak004.html
Trotzenbonnie
March 11th, 2008 at 5:31 pm [Reply]

Holy crap! I don’t know whether to laugh or cry! The Tucson meet-up pictures are incredible. What a friggin good-looking bunch of people you are and Mr Weber appears to be – dare I say – an absolute sweetheart. Josh, you are a fashion plate with silverware. The shirt is to die for and the vest is killing me. Were the good citizens of Arizona aware of the greatness that was gathered there in their presence?
Damn! We need a convention….

And a belated thank you to Uncle Lumpy for the wonderful job you did in Josh’s absence. The fund-raiser was supreme hilarity and I’m not just saying that because we had to suffer through the local PBS station pledge drive at the same time which included a concert filled with performers from the 60s. Particularly painful to watch was Iron Butterfly doing their geriatric rendition of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. I swear Doug Ingle was slurring the lyrics not because he was high but because he didn’t use enough Poli-Grip. Yikes! And the big finale was The 1910 Fruitgum Company singing ‘Sugar, Sugar’ so I had to hear for the twelve billionth time how Mr T got ALL of their autographs after they did a show at the Lake Charles Civic Center back when Jesus was a boy. (God, I wish I knew that BEFORE we got married…) Anyway, thanks, Uncle Lumpy. You are great!

ZITS – So mothers of teenaged boys aren’t allowed to dance? Well, pardonez me. I guess they’re all supposed to curl into a ball and shrivel up in some dark corner lest they should embarrass their children. Oooh, boy! If the sight of his mother gyrating in a leotard makes Jeremy crazy, imagine the gasket he would blow if Connie reminded him that those dangling teats are the same ones that fed him when he was just a pup. That’s right, ladies. The most compelling reason I can think of for breastfeeding is not nutrition, bonding or the development of a healthy immune system. Hell no! It’s revenge! Those cute little roly-poly sons you’re bouncing on your knee today eventually grow up to be damned annoying teenagers like Jeremy so throw away those Playtex Nursers right now! Nothing stops those droopy pantsed, walking pituitary glands in their tracks faster than the words, ‘You were breastfed!’ Whenever I get pissed at My Rotten Kid I simply utter these words – ‘Have some respect for your mother! I suckled you!’ His eyes roll so far back into his head he can see yesterday’s lunch.
And don’t forget the camera when you’re nursing. Make sure you have plenty of pictures to use as blackmail on those especially trying days in the future when you find a sweet potato bong in their bottom drawer or those girly magazines stuffed in the mattress. Then you can yell ‘You better straighten up or I swear to God I will bust into your Facebook account and post a few pictures of you chewing on your mama’s ta-tas!’

Hmmm. In that vein, I hope tomorrow’s strip features Connie yelling, ‘So you don’t like my dancing? Well, TOUGH TITTIES…thanks to YOU!’
boojum
March 11th, 2008 at 5:32 pm [Reply]

157 (Me)

That, uh, is what you were talking about, right?
Mountain Mama
March 11th, 2008 at 5:33 pm [Reply]

“Mary, you seem so changeless! Like you’ve always been 60 years old, humorless and ready to meddle. I can’t picture you laughing, loving, or having fun in any way!”
The Divine O’F
March 11th, 2008 at 5:36 pm [Reply]

Trotzenbonnie: Superlative rant. You are the Mistress of the Rant. I bow.
Moss_Moses
March 11th, 2008 at 5:38 pm [Reply]

134. “Pattersons never have any real tragedy in their lives”.

Joe, I dare you to say that while standing in front of the Farley Tree!
Poteet
March 11th, 2008 at 5:46 pm [Reply]

# 154 Nil Zed — What a generous offer! I would definitely consider it, though I’d binge on lemon curd yogurt instead of beer. By the way, when I was over there, I saw an article claiming that the British sense of humor is genetic. Let’s see if I can find it…here we go. This doesn’t seem to explain Fred Bassett, however.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/joking-aside-british-really-do-have-unique-sense-of-humour-793491.html
SecretMargo
March 11th, 2008 at 5:56 pm [Reply]

158: Trotz: ‘So you don’t like my dancing? Well, TOUGH TITTIES…thanks to YOU!’

Good Lord, that’s the funniest thing i’ve read in quite a while. Have a margarita, my ~~teat~~treat.
gnome de blog
March 11th, 2008 at 6:07 pm [Reply]

158 Trotzenbonnie:
One of the best Zits of all time was Connie asking Jeremy to play “Stairway to Heaven” again because he was conceived to that song. His response, after a wordless panel of outright shock, was “excuse me. I have to go boil my guitar strings.”
commodorejohn
March 11th, 2008 at 6:19 pm [Reply]

#165 gnome de blog – That is, without a doubt, my all-time favorite Zits strip.
Buck Ripsnort
March 11th, 2008 at 6:24 pm [Reply]

Trotzenbonnie– what’s scary is that Jeremy hearing “You were breastfed!” and rolling his eyes “so far back into his head he can see yesterday’s lunch,” to use your superlative phrasing, would be a PERFECT way for Zitz to end this week. And you know he’d do it literally.
As I said on Comics I Don’t Understand– “Aw, you guys just don’t understand real bazoob physics; they’re SUPPOSED to move.”
Trotzenbonnie
March 11th, 2008 at 6:29 pm [Reply]

#161 – TDOF
Thanks. Although I must say, I bow AND scrape to you.
Oh well. My niceties were for naught. Maybe it’s true – writers should stick to what they know and I know bitchin’.

#164 – SecretMargo
Merci B-cups, darling! Although Mr T just made cosmos so a margarita may send Granny Trotz to the ER with a broken hip. Ah hell. I like them on the rocks with salt. And Cuervo Gold if you have it.

#165- gnome de blog
Don’t tell My Rotten Kid but Led Zeppelin 1 is his reason for being. Burn your Bread albums, all you make-out dudes. ‘You Shook Me’ – GREATEST smooching song EVAH!
Trotzenbonnie
March 11th, 2008 at 6:35 pm [Reply]

#167 – Buck
Of course they move! Isn’t that why God invented Slo-Mo?!!!

Reality is not for the squeamish.
Trotzenbonnie
March 11th, 2008 at 6:41 pm [Reply]

Speaking of kinetic breast tissue, Mr T is staring at the TV right now watching a show about how bongo drums are made. Bongo drums.

Is there anything more fun to say than ‘bongo drums’?

Hmmmm….
Chimp
Poop chute
Buttafucco…to name a few.

C’mon! Let’s play!
Islamorada Girl
March 11th, 2008 at 6:54 pm [Reply]

Nu-clear
Terlet
Broadway don’t like pills and booze!
Rumplestiltskin
Cannon fodder

are a few of my faves. . .
One-eyed Wolfdog
March 11th, 2008 at 6:55 pm [Reply]

“Titicaca”
commodorejohn
March 11th, 2008 at 6:55 pm [Reply]

#166 Me – forgot to express the requisite love for Led Zeppelin IV while we were on the subject.
vINCE m
March 11th, 2008 at 7:04 pm [Reply]

MW: This flashback which is mine is my own. And what it is too.

E-hem. EEEHHHH-hem.

My flashback, by Mary Worth.

The next thing I am about to say is my flashback. EHHHHHHH-Hem.

Ready?
Shoshi
March 11th, 2008 at 7:08 pm [Reply]

171–When one of our boys was 2 years old, he would twist his face up and have foot-stomping fits that I commented on as reminding me of Rumplestiltskin. Our 5-year-old son didn’t quite understand, and began to refer to his brother as “Rumpled Stink Skin”.
Vince M
March 11th, 2008 at 7:11 pm [Reply]

47: re. Monty: and in a perverse way, I miss Giggles the gumdrop eating bear.
gnome de blog
March 11th, 2008 at 7:25 pm [Reply]

168 Trotz:
I’ll never tell, but maybe someday you can make your RK boil his guitar strings.
Mooncattie
March 11th, 2008 at 7:36 pm [Reply]

#168 Trotzenbonnie – I was concieved in 1957, and can only shudder to think of what was playing on the Mooncattie Seniors’ transistor back then. Except that sometimes I itch like a man on a fuzzy tree!
Mooncattie
March 11th, 2008 at 7:39 pm [Reply]

MT – “Here, let me help you with the dishes, Mark. By the way, you still haven’t done it with my daughter, have you? Just checkin’.”
Old School Allie Cat
March 11th, 2008 at 7:48 pm [Reply]

Of my conception, I know this:

My sister was only eight months old or so. Mom wanted her kids to be close in age, so she told my Dad, “No, no, I’m sure it’s safe”.

I was 1/2 accident, conceived in Montego Bay, Jamaica – Cottage 19 of the Bay Rock Hotel (what is now part of *shudder* Sandals).

None of this creeps me out.

Hearing my sister, six months pregnant, talking about the joys of having life growing inside her -well, now – that’s bone chilling.

I don’t know, you tell me.
Mooncattie
March 11th, 2008 at 7:58 pm [Reply]

YIKES! I forgot to ask about my Bob Weber Original Art! Curse you, small Scorpion drink with a large ice water chaser!! Ah, but I do have an autographed Cassandra Cat Mousepad, so all is not lost. Thank you, Mr. Weber!

And thank you, Josh! It was wonderful to meet you, Amber, and the CC readers in Tucson. The Friday dinner was a brilliant highlight of a wonderful week of holidays. No Snow, Mexican food, walks in the desert, a very touristy gunfight at the OK Corral, rail trails, See’s Chocolates, spring training baseball, hot sunny weather, and more No Snow!

The Kon Tiki meetup, though, was amazing. It was one of those gatherings where, before long, your face actually hurts from laughing so much. To meet up with people you’ve never seen before, but feel you know a bit through the CC blog, was a really wonderful experience. What a delight! What wonderful people!
Mooncattie
March 11th, 2008 at 8:01 pm [Reply]

#178 – Oops, that should be conceived…curse you, after-effects of drink consumed on Friday night!
Kumquat, Incomprehensible Abstract Citrus Fruit Art
March 11th, 2008 at 8:05 pm [Reply]

FW – Two possibilities: a) Summer misses the shot, and her team goes home disappointed. Sometime before the next season, Summer suffers a crippling accident, and can never play basketball again. She eventually resigns herself to cheering the team on from the sidelines.

b) Summer makes the shot, and her team goes to the championship. Sometime before the championship game, Summer suffers a crippling accident, and can never play basketball again. She eventually resigns herself to cheering the team on from the sidelines.

FOOB – Now that Anthony’s given Liz full assurance of his trust, I give it 50/50 odds Warren takes off as suddenly as he showed up.
Shoshi
March 11th, 2008 at 8:30 pm [Reply]

181–Mooncattie, from the photos, I can SEE why your face would hurt from smiling! You have such a great (and big!) smile!
Freezair
March 11th, 2008 at 9:42 pm [Reply]

#116 Shoshi: I am horrified. I bow in awe of your ability to disturb me.

And on today’s MW: “Unchanging?” Folks, this may be a Strip That Snarks Itself.
Brick Bradford
March 12th, 2008 at 11:07 am [Reply]

Trotzenbonnie, when a friend’s kids became teenagers she told me that inasmuch as they were going to be embarrassed by her no matter what she did, she might as well have a good time embarrassing them.

I liked her style..
KT
March 12th, 2008 at 6:34 pm [Reply]

I had a great time in Tucson! (The drive was fraught with problems, but that’s another story.

24 Mibbitmaker:
If you want to see my own cartoons, all you have to do is click on my name at the top of this post and go to my homepage.

63 Tweeks_Coffee:
Actually, Bob brought a selection of strips and decided on the spot who would get what. But yeah, he is a total class act.

128 Tim:
It is a haul. Normally I love road trips, but this was one of those that makes me not want to go on another one for a long time.
teddytoad
March 12th, 2008 at 9:08 pm [Reply]

Even though I don’t comment much, I have to say I am really thankful for this mini-community. The other day, the strip “Cathy” came up. Thinking nothing of it, I remarked uncontroversially, “Only lonely, boring people enjoy ‘Cathy.’” Everyone was shocked, some even offended. I then realized I wasn’t at joshreads.com.

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