The Comics Curmudgeon

159 responses to “Massive megapost of grateful gratitude!”

1. TB Tabby
   October 4th, 2008 at 1:59 am [Reply]

   Oy. And I thought the “City slickers are evil and deserve whatever they get because they sleepwalk! Stick to your own kind!” storyline was loathsome. I wanna douse that alley in gasoline and set it ablaze. But not before I make those hicks crack open a dictionary and look up the definition of “somnambulist.”

2. bombcar
   October 4th, 2008 at 2:03 am [Reply]

   Leroy is Veronica’s cousin – only Jughead and Betty have siblings.

3. rainbird
   October 4th, 2008 at 2:08 am [Reply]

   uncle lumpy
   Lerky is veronica’s cousin

4. Southendbos
   October 4th, 2008 at 2:08 am [Reply]

   Is it just me, or do others think Blondie is using innuendo to tell Dagwood she’s pregnant? Regardless, the reaction isn’t surprising in the least.

5. rainbird
   October 4th, 2008 at 2:09 am [Reply]

   sorry bomb car. You said it first and spelled it right

6. Uncle Lumpy
   October 4th, 2008 at 2:17 am [Reply]

   Argh! Corrected — thank you, faithful readers bombcar and rainbird.

7. kelsy
   October 4th, 2008 at 2:22 am [Reply]

   3. Just makeover the hair. Seriously Sally, how did that hair happen in the first place? It’s some sort of wavy, giant curl, flipped out monstrosity atop your head. I can’t even begin to fathom how it would look in real life. My biggest fear is no longer deep sea creatures, but real life Sally Forth hair.

8. Jana C.H.
   October 4th, 2008 at 2:23 am [Reply]

   An alligator? Where exactly is Pop Johnson’s endangered swamp? I went back to the beginning of the storyline and all I could find was “many miles away” and “south”. Is this one of those Herb and Jamaal non-specific wetlands?

   Jana C.H.
   Seattle
   Saith WSG: Nothing is more annoying than to feel that you’re not equal to the intellectual pressure of the conversation.

9. Cory
   October 4th, 2008 at 2:27 am [Reply]

   [Reader input!] …

   Sally, time to upgrade the prosthetic limb visible in panel 3 to something more lifelike. From a distance (like in panel 1), it’s passable, but up close it must be horrifying for Ted to be clawed with those lifeless fingers while you try to stir up his passion.

10. Mibbitmaker
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:51 am [Reply]

    GA: Rover is a cold-blooded, remorseless killer! A one-man, automotive version of the Charterstone Aldo-offers. OJ without the rigged gloves! And “Rover is a cold-blooded …killer” sounds like a description of a bad pit bull. Anyway, Rover got rid of one OPEC bandit — wait’ll we see the new booby trap he has in store for Wall St.!

    BBailey: After all these years of “now what?” gags and other horrors from Camp Swampy, the general has finally snapped. Took ‘im long enough.

    Ghost-Who-Keeps-His-Distance: Gotta hand it to the artist, great hidden gag there. Will Elder would’ve been proud.

    A3G: “…Besides, I’ve been reading this strip lately.”

    …….Broderick Crawford Day??…. ?

    I suddenly feel like watching Crawford’s 1977 SNL again, or digging up the old Mad parody of “Highway Patrol” to read — AND I DON’T KNOW WHY!!!

11. Mibbitmaker
    October 4th, 2008 at 3:27 am [Reply]

    DT: The mechanical-man, B-movie version of the FW Les-Lisa Near-Miss Summer during the ’90s… only less aggravating, and more stupid.

    FW, itself: Yeah, who wants to be reminded that their strip used to be good?

    GF: Small state?! We’re talking about Alaska, not Rhode Island! Now, who’s with stupid, Rob?

    GT: “…WATCH OUT! There’s an alligator sneaking up on you!!”

    MW: Toby Cameron: Hard-headed, isn’t she? I guess her head has to be hard; without a brain in there, the skull would just collapse!

    MC: She gets away with that stuff, thanks to her cutesy anime/manga expressions. The hypocrite.

    S-M: Maria! Jameson! For the love of God, DON’T REPRODUCE!!

12. Mars
    October 4th, 2008 at 3:29 am [Reply]

    Lumpy, you’ve been fined $500 for failure to run the drawing of Maria Lopez in a bathtub. You can contest this ticket or pay the fine this Thursday at the courthouse. But I suggest you bring your checkbook because the courts won’t look favorably upon you.

13. johnbpt
    October 4th, 2008 at 3:29 am [Reply]

    Mark Trail helpful tip of the day: swamp + high heels = disaster

14. Carl
    October 4th, 2008 at 3:32 am [Reply]

    I’m hoping that this Mark Trail storyline is just a leadup to Trail just watching her get eaten by the alligator because that’s what she deserves, followed by a lecture on why running in the swamp in heels is a bad idea.

15. Donald The Anarchist
    October 4th, 2008 at 3:39 am [Reply]

    BB I love the wife’s expression. “This means I can have him put to sleep, right?”

    GA Poor alien girl. Just when she’s gotten the idea of empathy down, her boyfriend pulls a reverse on her…

    SF Is it just me, or does Sally closely resemble Paula Poundstone?

    A3G If drugs are involved, they can lock your dead ass in a jail cell and let the sisters have their way with you. Drugs are not a proper means of escape, and neither is death. This has been a message from your government.

    JP Poor Heidi. You’ll never be on the receiving end of Sam, no matter how provocatively you cling to him.

16. True Fable
    October 4th, 2008 at 3:57 am [Reply]

    I don’t know if I’ve even got the snark to match Unca, that stuff’s great. What the hell, I’ll give it a shot. The old Curmudgeon try.

    A3G Is it too much to ask that the NYPD will suspect Margo of running a drug ring out of the gallery? Yeah, just TRY to put those bracelets on Margo, copper!
    BB The Walkers scored some quality shit, possibly from Margo Magee.
    Cathy Must Die Lips on Cathy. Teh horror. Teh horror….!
    (WT)DT If I wanted to see a couple of robots bashing each other around, I’d get out my DVDs of “Big O” and watch some quality ‘bot action.
    FC Darn; one panel too early. I’m sure in the next panel Bil would have drawn, Billy will offer up a withering observation about Dolly’s inability to cover for Dad while he’s on a drinking binge a vacation.
    FW Look, this is Funkyverse; your job IS to feel bad.
    GA Cold-blooded, I reckon! Rover is trying to out-asshole, Slim!
    WTFGT Suddenly a large headed snake rose in front of the crowd and spoke a name as it stared down evilly with appropriate campfire-scary story lighting on its face. Yes, a typical day in Milford.
    Scenes From Suburban Hell Hell is full of snitches.
    JP Sam is ignoring the hot babe again.I bet his trouser worm died of inactivity.
    MT The second panel reminds me of the scene in Hitchcock’s “The Birds” when the crows attack the school, and the little girl is on the ground kicking her feet while the bird’s pulling on her hair. Only this makes me point and laugh instead.
    Marmadick Big Dog discovers the hot lunch takeout.
    MW I remember when Toby used to be quite the hot little number, but then along came Eduardo Barreto over at Judge Parker’s, and now Toby’s just another generic victim of droning crone advice.
    Mutts Enough with the Fucking Acorns, Already!
    MC Usually I enjoy seeing Squishy but he just looks plain creepy in panel two. Don’t know why.
    RMMW What the hell is going on with June in panel one? Looks like she’s in the middle of one of the worst physicals in the world. Oh, Rex is there, right.
    S4th Well, anything’s got to be an improvement, Sal.
    S-M Oh CRAP, not gross ol’ JJJ sweating and grunting over Maria Lopez again.

17. Paula B
    October 4th, 2008 at 4:01 am [Reply]

    Oh my goodness – Scottsdale is actually a HUGE Annual Arabian show. It’s sad how shocked I am that a friggin’ comic strip actually got something right about the equestrian scene.

18. Bribaby
    October 4th, 2008 at 4:35 am [Reply]

    I’m on tenterhooks with Mark Trail. Hopefully the titular hero will show up, punch out blondie, and rescue the poor alligator.
    I don’t really follow Gasoline Alley, but I know that it’s as old as sin, somewhat revered, and is rather well drawn, but, Jesus Christ man, come on…that Hoogy character looks like a 14-yr old girl. I suspect Rover’s been raping his sister for years. Is this strip where Tennessee Williams got the inspiration for “Baby Doll”?
    I have scoured the internet for the website of a paper that carries Archie, and can’t find one. I’m starting to think the people who make this blog create it themselves to have something to snark on.
    The really, really sad thing about A3-G is that back in the sixties, when it first began, it was a charming, stylish, well-told, expertly drawn strip. I found this site http://profmendez.tripod.com/html/apart3G.htm through the Wiki entry. Compare its early days with what it is now and despair.

19. Annon
    October 4th, 2008 at 4:36 am [Reply]

    S4th 3. Seriously–just the hair. That hair is one hot tranny mess.

20. Sheila Sternwell
    October 4th, 2008 at 5:08 am [Reply]

    #19 Annon, come back to Datalounge. We miss you.

    Sally’s hair looks like a halberd hanging upside down. Seriously, it’s a melee weapon.

    It seems to me that Sultan Pepper died while installing the fraudulent, probably faulty gas doohickey. I know that “the only good sultan is a dead sultan” plays well in the sticks, but frankly, I’m appalled.

    Wait, is this the same strip that did “those pesky colored kids and their baskety ball” storyline?

21. Steve the Pocket
    October 4th, 2008 at 5:29 am [Reply]

    OK, I simply cannot let this go any longer. Earlier this week I was set to point out the rather glaring inconsistency in Buckles: namely, the claim that he’s never been to a dog park before, when I distinctly remember he has, and that he met a few dogs there who seemed like they were going to be recurring characters, but never came back. I never mentioned this because… uh, something distracted me.

    So what merits me pointing it out now, days late? The sudden reappearance of one of those characters! What is Heckley suddenly doing back after six years AWOL? How is the cartoonist going to rectify his appearance with the retconning of the very story in which he was introduced? And does the fact that he no longer has a collar have anything to do with any of it? Stay tuned next week, when all of these questions and more will be left unanswered!

22. Zaq
    October 4th, 2008 at 5:32 am [Reply]

    I always thought Sally reveled in being the butch one. Is one half of our favorite happily married lesbian couple asking for some role reversal? Wouldn’t THAT be fun to explain to certain syndicates…

23. Aitherion
    October 4th, 2008 at 6:30 am [Reply]

    BB: Not shown- General Halftrack’s head being slammed forcefully off his body by a car going the other direction. Good show there, General.

24. mojo
    October 4th, 2008 at 6:34 am [Reply]

    Sue will never break that glass ceiling because she’s stoopid. Miss Executive never heard the word “delegation”? “Here I am, checking out this swamp we own in my business suit and heels. Next I’ll run from a gator and twist my ankle (mental note to self: “OW! My ANKLE!”), so that Mark Trail can find me and lecture me on how alligators usually stay away from people, but this one is probably extra-aggressive because it’s pissed about losing its habitat to heartless developers like me. Finally, I’ll swing by those three foreclosed crack houses we bought from the bank and tell whoever’s living there they have to leave. Now THAT’s a full day’s work! No WONDER I don’t have a social life!”

25. Wings
    October 4th, 2008 at 7:20 am [Reply]

    [Reader Input] ???

    Um, no thanks. I’d rather not input anything into Sally.

26. dyslexic dog
    October 4th, 2008 at 7:38 am [Reply]

    Plugger Jumbles: find the missing letter.

27. mnemonica
    October 4th, 2008 at 7:46 am [Reply]

    I love how the headlines in Gasoline Alley end with exclamation points! Because that’s the way people talk! I bet every sentence in the news story ends with them, too!

28. Niall
    October 4th, 2008 at 7:53 am [Reply]

    11. Mibbitmaker on MyCage: actually, that’s one of the redeeming features of this Political Week; the indignation some will have, and its reversal into everyday hypocrisy we try to ignore. It’s funny “aheh-aheh” more than “ha-ha” – but it elevates the whole above the level of, say, Fillmore. It uses humour to make us think, and “if anyone is offended, they deserve to”, kind of sort of humour. It takes a risk.

    In other strips, Dennis is, if not menacing, at least sacrilegious and funny doing so. That was an adult-level sarcastic remark, and rather true from one point of view.

29. jvwalt
    October 4th, 2008 at 7:56 am [Reply]

    In addition to Blondie’s bare shoulder and Ms. Julep’s skimpy attire, today’s comics page also features Maria Lopez in the bathtub (Spider-Man). Is this the beginning of an all-out effort to save the dying newspaper business by loading the comics with cheesecake?

    Now, I could see this working nicely with some characters (Toni Daytona, Mike Doonesbury’s wife Kim, the long-awaited Betty/Veronica girl-on-girl action), but with others, it’d be the last nail in the newspaper coffin (General Halftrack’s wife, Broom-Hilda, the Lockhorns).

30. Eli
    October 4th, 2008 at 7:58 am [Reply]

    Did the alligator eat one of those Alice In Wonderland mushrooms? It’s, like, 50 feet long in the first panel, and 4 feet long in the second. All Sue has to do is wait a few more seconds and she’ll be able to crush it under her pink heels.

31. gleeb
    October 4th, 2008 at 8:00 am [Reply]

    A&J: Speaking as a middle-aged person, I assume Arlo started the day with an extremely successful movement of bowels.

    Phantom: He finally gets a moment to study “Plastering Made Easy”, and the Ghost-who-Walks interrupts.

    Shoe: Cassatt & Brookins actually try some chalkboard gags in the background.

32. Eli
    October 4th, 2008 at 8:00 am [Reply]

    “Sultan Pepper”??? Kill. Me. Now.

33. Michael
    October 4th, 2008 at 8:03 am [Reply]

    DT Traze-R is finding even more vowels. In just six weeks he’ll be talking like a normal talking robot.

    MW Mary is still standing in the same hole she was in yesterday.

    PBS An old joke, but none the less stupid.

34. dyslexic dog
    October 4th, 2008 at 8:08 am [Reply]

    HtH: David Letterman and Margaret Ray–The Early Years.

35. McManx
    October 4th, 2008 at 8:21 am [Reply]

    Sally Forth makeover — Dye hair blond; breast implants; buy a deli. It works for Blondie, so why not?

    Blondie — Poor Blondie should have realized by now that you use the deli to keep Dagwood at home; once you bed him, you need only to whip those puppies out.

    Phantom — The second shelf in the book case has the “Ghost” related obscure literature, starting with “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.”

    Beetly Bailey — General Halftrack looks like he’s trying to fart on Mrs. Halftrack. The look on her face in panel two suggests he succeeded.

36. The Photocopiest
    October 4th, 2008 at 8:25 am [Reply]

    A3G: I don’t think they’re going after Alan for drug trafficking, it’s just that they’ve seen LuAnn’s paintings, and have figured out who his major buyer must be.

37. CanuckDownSouth
    October 4th, 2008 at 8:35 am [Reply]

    Phantom I have a task for you friend – just go, build a lab, acquire some Ebola samples from W.H.O., make sure you have the kind fruit bats can carry, run a few tests and thingmajimmies, and provide a cure that teams of researchers working for years have been unable to find. In one or two days, before I hemorrhage to death. No problem? Thanks!

38. yellojkt
    October 4th, 2008 at 8:36 am [Reply]

    I second McManx’s idea. Let’s get Sally some Blondie-level sweater puppy implants.

39. Foolkiller
    October 4th, 2008 at 8:57 am [Reply]

    I was going with breast implants too! Or an affair with her “work wife”. She obviously the man in that relationship.

    And how come the Mark Trial writer doesn’t watch the Discovery Channel? Alligators rarely attack out of the water or the water’s edge. This one is marching down main street.

40. Conor_ahearne
    October 4th, 2008 at 9:02 am [Reply]

    You know, for a second there I thought that guy in the Phantom was Clambake, and I was disappointed that it wasn’t. Making me the only person who really wants to see more of Clambake, I guess.

    Eduardo Barretto is a fantastic artist. He used to work in comics where actual things happened, too!

41. Islamorada Girl
    October 4th, 2008 at 9:16 am [Reply]

    MT: Not only is Sue Butler running through the swamp in her Jimmy Choo’s, she’s also wearing a lovely satin dinner suit. No wonder she can’t find romance; she’s wearing evening clothes before six, and we just can’t have that in LoFo, where everyone parades around in L.L. Bean dress casua. except Mark, who wears his gas station attendant uniform ca. 1959.

    I predict Mark will rescue her, and she’ll develop a big old smacky crush on our favorite wildlife journalist. Hilarity ensues as he drains her wetlands.

42. Evan
    October 4th, 2008 at 9:17 am [Reply]

    I like to think that the Sultan was killed by the faulty gas thingamajobbee, so little hillbilly whats-his-teeth is guilty of reckless homicide…

43. Baron Von Foobenstein
    October 4th, 2008 at 9:17 am [Reply]

    Mark Trail: Yeah, whenever you go check out a swamp, be sure to wear the high heels and tight skirt. SPLAT!

    SF: I’ve long been turned on by Sally’s “Ann Landers” style hair. So hot. And after ExecuSal’s makeover, how about an Industrial Strength Total Makeover on Long Suffering Single Mom Alice? I can’t decide whether her hair looks like a slab of pizza dough, a sofa cushion, or a deflated inner tube. And the glasses with the lightning bolt shaped earpieces?? Very 80’s. That is, 80 year old women wore them in the 1980’s.

44. mojo
    October 4th, 2008 at 9:29 am [Reply]

    Oooooh! Clearly the Phan-tom has mastered the fine ninja-esque art of hiding behind a tree like a three-year-old. So THAT’s how he confounds his enemies and protects his identity, again and again!

    Hold on for a second while I take notes for my upcoming How To Elude Discovery Just Like The Phantom book: “Hide….. Behind….. Tree….”

45. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch
    October 4th, 2008 at 9:30 am [Reply]

    I’m disturbed by little Leroy’s very strong resemblance to Archie. I’ts been fifteen years (at least) since I’ve read an Archie Comic, and I don’t get the strip in my paper, but just what has been going on in Riverdale in my absence?!

    Sally: just let Ted go, honey, and spiral into a Miss-Havisham-style spinsterhood. That would improve the strip by a huge, huge margin. Hilary can change her name to “Pip” and continue to make snide, precocious remarks out the side of her mouth…

46. Hank
    October 4th, 2008 at 9:39 am [Reply]

    RE: 9CL. “Heh, Beavis, she said ‘laid.’ Huh huh.”

47. Rusty
    October 4th, 2008 at 9:47 am [Reply]

    S4th: Howzabout layered, too-tight tank tops exposing Sally’s (rumored) cleavage and her bra straps? It’s a look that works on teenage girls, and 50ish women where I live also think it works on them. It doesn’t.

48. Rollersnakes
    October 4th, 2008 at 9:57 am [Reply]

    I actually gasped out loud with excitement when I read Mark Trail this morning. At first I thought the second panel depicted the alligator pulling Sue Butler down by her ankle and I anticipated a week of grisly alligator revenge. But of course I was mistaken, and I’m sure Sue will be rescued by our khaki-clad hero, and we will all learn a valuable lesson about nature conservation.

    Dammit.

49. Brick Bradford
    October 4th, 2008 at 10:11 am [Reply]

    Uncle Lumpy–I can’t believe no one responded to your Broderick Crawford reference with the only possible answer–”10-4″.

50. commodorejohn
    October 4th, 2008 at 10:13 am [Reply]

    9CL – Um…what’s the joke here? Something about Amos being implied to be a [better|worse] lay than Burkhardt, despite the fact that she never had him? I AM CONFUSED.

    BB – Methinks the General had one too many martinis for lunch today.

    DT – Wait, so TRAZE-R can detect electric signals fine enough to analyze electrical activity in Magnum Force-kun’s circuits without getting all Heisenbergy? NOT BUYING IT. (Moreover, I’d expect the inane jabber from every other electronic device in the city would drive him insane. Insane, I tell you!)

    FC – Cripes, Dolly gets fatter with every appearance.

    GA – “Ha ha, that evil Aaaarab is dead and I don’t have to pay back the money he didn’t really have any right to demand anyway!” Hoogy better bitch him out for this heartlessness right quick.

    GT – Okay, now if this were normal Gil Thorp, Jeff would pull out of this okay after the inevitable hospital-room visit from Gil, but…well, since the entire point of Jeff as a character is to memorialize a Thorp fan who died, I’m not so sure. Is #88 destined to complete the grim trifecta of Cheatham, Lange, and Ponczak? If so, who among us is up for battling it out for the hand of the now-single Happy Pirate Goth Chick? Discuss.

    HTH – Well, someone hasn’t felt puberty’s sweet embrace yet…

    Luann – Evans, did she have to be eating a banana while delivering that monologue? Why don’t you just go all-out and make it a popsicle?

    MT – Wow, that is a use of forced perspective in panel one that would put any 1950s B-list filmmaker to shame. And you know, it matches Sue’s damsel-in-distress trip perfectly. Bravo, Elrod.

    MW – Of course not, Toby. That’s what you all tell yourselves, isn’t it? “I’ll pretend to listen to that woman, but she’s not going to change my mind! Not like all those other people!”

    MC – This is just win.

    Popeye – Of course, we’re clearly setting up for an ironic reversal here, but I like the idea that either A. they’re not going to tell Swee’Pea for fear of breaking his heart, or B. he won’t believe them, and in either case he will go to his grave convinced that it’ll be hatching any day now, having sacrificed his poop-sacked life in this mad Quixotic quest for parenthood.

    RMMD – Tweaks has, of course, drunk himself into a stupor, and if there’s any justice this will turn into a Back To The Future III homage. “Joey! We need to make us some wake-up juice.”

    SF – Aw, don’t change a thing, Sally. You’re the perfect counterpart to our giggling “girl hands!” jabs at Ted.

    SM – “Jonah? Guess what I’m wearing?”

    Edison Lee – “Thanks for prolonging my nasty, brutish, and short life! Now I can go and die anyway!”

51. Baka Gaijin
    October 4th, 2008 at 10:14 am [Reply]

    Cathy: Call Barack Obama! Lipstick on pig found!

52. Baka Gaijin
    October 4th, 2008 at 10:22 am [Reply]

    Dilbert: Mr. Adams, admit it. You plagiarized Saturday’s strip off Lehman Brother’s internal webcam. Admit it, we’re waiting.

    Cow and Boy: Re-read this week’s strips for some surrealistic fun. You won’t be disappointed.

    Lio: Smells like win.

53. Baka Gaijin
    October 4th, 2008 at 10:24 am [Reply]

    Uncle Lumpy: I’m a little late for the fund drive, but I threw some money in the pot in hopes of buying my way to the COTW.

54. Calico
    October 4th, 2008 at 10:29 am [Reply]

    Oh ho – I called it on the ginourmous alligator!

    I can’t believe Sue is wearing those shoes out in the Floridian forest. Crimony.

55. DavidMac
    October 4th, 2008 at 10:30 am [Reply]

    SF: Sally could get a buzz cut and some tats . . . leather vest, jeans and steel-toed boots.

56. gkl
    October 4th, 2008 at 10:59 am [Reply]

    SF: The term is “work wife”, you skanky work lesbians.

57. The Divine O'F
    October 4th, 2008 at 10:59 am [Reply]

    41 I-Girl said:
    >>I predict Mark will rescue her, and she’ll develop a big old smacky crush on our favorite wildlife journalist. Hilarity ensues as he drains her wetlands.<<

    Bwahahaha!

    Also… I guess I missed something. Why are there alligators near LoFo? I thought it was in the upper Midwest or something?

58. Mary
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:02 am [Reply]

    I’m a big lurker on this site, but I have to pop up to say that when I read that “Hell Jail” was in Alan’s future…err, afterlife?…I actually guffawed. Like Snuffy Smith or one of his redneck cohorts would have. Hilarous! Thanks, Uncle Lumpy!

59. Angry Kem
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:17 am [Reply]

    #50 Commodorejohn: Isabel is quoting Roberts Burns’ “To a Mouse”: “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men / Gang aft agley [go oft awry].” The joke is that Isabel’s strategic assault on Amos has, through a series of mishaps involving germs, led to her sleeping with Burkhardt and Edda accompanying Amos to Brussels. Burkhardt picks up on the “laid” component of the quotation, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with what Isabel is saying.

60. Islamorada Girl
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:17 am [Reply]

    Hi Mary! “Hell Jail! Fox, Tuesdays at 9.

61. Eli
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:19 am [Reply]

    GT: Do we know why Ponczak changed his number from 81 to 88? Marvin Harrison Homage? Didn’t want to be associated with Terrell Owens?

62. commodorejohn
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:25 am [Reply]

    #59 Angry Kem – Right, I got that, I’m just trying to figure out what that has to do with panel two…I thought maybe it had to do with that old wives’ tale where you get hiccups if someone talks about you behind your back, but really I just have no freakin’ clue.

63. Muffaroo-who-brunches
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:28 am [Reply]

    Uncle Lumpy – I wouldn’t so much make Sally Forth over as return her to her roots.

    AD – ‘Pinks’ meaning, I guess, the slip of paper that gives legal title to one of them there hot rods the kids are so het up over. It only took me about ten minutes to puzzle this out.

    Cshaft – Ooh ooh, I know this one. Now one or all of the team walks with him. Then they walk a mile in his shoes, beginning the journey with a single step. Which is a giant leap for mankind. At least far enough to let him know he’s apparently going the wrong way, unless the bus was supposed to go the whole way in reverse.

    TRAZE-E – f u cn rd ths, u cd hv a gd job w/ mor pay!

    FCircus – Time for Dolly’s Delicious Dip: Crayons in library paste! What color’s your favorite flavor, Dolly?

    GAlley – Poor Sultan Pepper. He blew his mind out in a car. He didn’t notice that the lights had changed.

    GThorp – The nostrils! Make them go away!

    MFmore – It’s funny because
    .
    .
    .
    [note to self: try again later]

64. Muffaroo-who-brunches
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:30 am [Reply]

    Marfield – Ohhhhhh! He thinks the little poop machine is a pet! I wonder how long it will take the slower readers to catch this one?

    Pluggers – “Christ, what an asshole!”

    PCity – I do believe I detect a point today!

65. dreadedcandiru2
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:32 am [Reply]

    #16 — True Fable: Rover might not know this but he just wound up with an expensive new suit — a wrongful death suit. I’m pretty sure that the Strawman Arab was smart enough to have a clause in the contract that would cover getting blown to bits by Rover’s gizmo. In a way, the lesser cold-blooded monster is lucky. Slim just spent a few weeks in the psych ward; Rover might have to answer murder charges in the Sultan’s homeland.

66. Obélix
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am [Reply]

    Dagnabit, the plotline of today’s Baldo was directly plagiarized from the 1958 Lederer and Burdick novel, The Ugly American! In the novel, the eponymous hero (yes, the “Ugly American” was actually the good guy in this book) persuades the women of Sarkhan to replace the twig whisk brooms they use to sweep their front yards with long-handled brooms, thereby alleviating their stooped posture.

    Hmpf!

67. Muffaroo
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:34 am [Reply]

    Bribaby @18 – That is one eye-opening look at the past glory of A3G. I had to stop looking when I got to the start of page 2 so I could get my comments up today, but I’ve left the window tabbed for future finishing. Thanks, B!

    mojo @24 – Note to self: HAH! Good’n.

    commodorejohn @50 – For some reason, the expression “poop sack” has me snickering like that dog in all the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons (Muttley, Mucker, Precious, and so on). Maybe it’s the image of Swee’Pea’s head sticking out the top, like a Sparties ™ 5-Day Diaper Suit (see: “Negligent Mother Magazine” in National Lampoon, circa 1973).

68. cvk
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:44 am [Reply]

    I love how the book is titled “Phantom of th’ Opera” in what’s apparently a nod to Zippy the Pinhead.

69. crossbuck
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:46 am [Reply]

    MT: Isn’t this one of the moldiest movie clichés in existence? Woman running from danger trips and falls, and if the cliché holds, a man will rescue her.

    Blondie: I never particularly noticed it before, but Blondie looks like a cross between Ann Sothern and Joan Blondell. Which makes Dagwood seem all the more pathetic. Maybe their bad hairstyles brought them together (okay, Blondie’s isn’t so bad, just one of those unbecoming ’40s styles, but Dagwood’s barber should be given a tin cup and some pencils). Sally Forth could make a threesome with them some night. Poor Sally. Even Ted has prettier hair than her. That could be a theme – Even Ted has prettier ______ than Sally. It’d work over 70% of their comparable anatomies.

70. commodorejohn
    October 4th, 2008 at 11:47 am [Reply]

    #65 dreadedcandiru2 – Ten bucks says this winds up with Rover owing exactly as much as he was paid, minus Hoogy’s four grand. It’ll be like the end of a Simpsons episode, only really dumb.

    #67 Muffaroo – I read “snickering like that dog” and finished “from Duck Hunt.” I’m glad that wasn’t the case, because then I’d have to shoot you on principle.

71. Les of the Jungle Patrol
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:02 pm [Reply]

    Transophic comment of the week goes to #19. But it’s full of tired old slur. I’m sure somebody can do something more creative.

72. fishmorgjp
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:05 pm [Reply]

    A3G: No need to bother with “Hell Jail,” just throw Alan’s dead corpse into a regular jail cell. That’ll learn him!

    BB: The General is obviously hanging his head out of the window to escape the horrendous stench of his scary, bloated wife.

    GA: It will come to light that Sultan Pepper was undoubtedly killed by another sneaky, underhanded Ay-rabb who panicked and decided to sabotage the miracle gas-saving device himself.

73. Lich Barrister
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:14 pm [Reply]

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t “Hell Jail” the B-side to Spinal Tap’s “Sex Farm?”

74. Angry Kem
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:15 pm [Reply]

    #62 commodorejohn: I think panel two is just supposed to be a demonstration of how things have gone awry for Isabel (i.e., Edda and Amos are on a plane on their way to Brussels). The hiccup is immaterial.

    In other words, Mr. McEldowney has taken what should be a fairly straightforward joke and added too many elements to it. Burkhardt’s words and Amos’s hiccup are distractions. The point is that Isabel has screwed herself; the second panel is a demonstration of the (metaphorical) screwing in action.

75. John C Fremont
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:23 pm [Reply]

    # 63 – But are we really sure that Sultan Pepper was from the House of Lords?

    DT – Maybe when the two ‘bots finally get together, Braces will force Tracy to sit down with them and watch bad movies. You may say I’m a dreamer. And in this case, I’m probably the only one. None the less, I hope someday you’ll join me, ’cause MST is fun.

    I should probably go back to bed.

    A3G – You can tell it’s an art gallery by the bust of ABC’s Charles Gibson in the third panel.

    MT – Crikey!

    JP – Oh. Dixie’s crying! I want to comfort her. And by “comfort,” I do not mean “have sex with.” That comes later.

    Huh, huh. I said “comes.”

    Cripes. Now I have something in common with a McEldowney character. Honey? Where are my cyanide capsules?

    SFx – And speaking of my cyanide capsules, you know you’re in trouble when you find yourself agreeing with Boo Boo.

    RMMD – Why is June stalking Rex as though she were a vampire about to drain his blood? Come to think of it, that would be just fine. And, hey, as long as she keeps wearing that top, she can do whatever she pleases. But who’s that old guy in the second panel? Oh.

76. odinthor
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:28 pm [Reply]

    #9. Cory. — You want frightening hands? I humbly submit Retail of Oct. 4, 2008.

    Ba Goo w/Snu Smi — Actually, it’s strait and narrow; but I ’spect ya didn’t go to none o’them spellin’ classes, Snuff ol’ pal, so that’s cool.

    Spidey — Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to announce that Vera Miles will be appearing in panel one today. All proceeds will be donated to the new pool fund at the Bates Motel. Thank you, and enjoy the performance.

77. commodorejohn
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:43 pm [Reply]

    #74 Angry Kem – Ah. Figures he would do that, and it figures that I’d completely overthink it in trying to figure it out.

78. kingklash
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:46 pm [Reply]

    The way that ‘gator is shrinking, when it get into chomping range, she’ll just pin it to her shirt.

79. Miles
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:46 pm [Reply]

    So I’m playing Curmudgeon Catch-up yesterday and today. When I first glanced at the Gil Thorp that leads off this day’s entry, I read the first panel balloon as saying “tight Eno.”

    Well, back in those early Roxy Music peacock-outfit days, you couldn’t help but notice… oh, wait…

80. commodorejohn
    October 4th, 2008 at 1:03 pm [Reply]

    #78 kingklash – No kidding. Zack better soak her in water again.

81. Ham Gravy
    October 4th, 2008 at 1:16 pm [Reply]

    The look in the gator’s eyes in panel two makes his intentions clear enough. The question is what manner of spawn will result from this unholy union of Heartless Developer and Swamp Predator? Will Miss Butler lay an enourmous egg? Will Rusty then take it to his room to sit on it and hatch it? When the monsker hatches out, will he name it “Lucky”? Arf, arf, arf!

82. commodorejohn
    October 4th, 2008 at 1:41 pm [Reply]

    #81 Ham Gravy – More information on this can be found on the Internet, but…unless you’re one of a select few kinds of people, you don’t want to find it.

83. Red Greenback
    October 4th, 2008 at 1:51 pm [Reply]

    Uncle Lumpy: Happy Broderick Crawford Day! Got it!….10-4, I’ll get some black and whites on it!

84. Tess
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:06 pm [Reply]

    Hey, Sally’s finally ready for her makeover — Let’s help!

    1. Lose the jumper
    2. Hairstyle, sweetie. For the love of God.
    3. Dress up as a man, and go into your husband’s place of work pretending to be a wealthy investor. Bring your friend along to be the Ethel to your Lucy, dressed as your wife. Wacky shenanigans ensue as you try and get to the bottom of this whole thing!

    After this Ted will surely be accompanying her to all the hip transvestite clubs, and forget his feminine and coy work friend so he can go out in the prom dress he always wanted. Both the Fourths feel much better about themselves. Their daughter is happy for them.

85. ka-pwingg
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:10 pm [Reply]

    How did Robert Freeman manage to sneak into the Phantom strip?

86. Mooncattie
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:11 pm [Reply]

    GA – I know I’m a day late and a loonie short, but I think those Gasoline Alley ducks from Friday are just adorable! And they would enhance almost every strip that was published on Friday!

    Rex Morgan
    REX: “I bet that’s Lenore wanting to know where I am!”
    “QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!”

    Mary Worth
    TOBY: “Until then, I’d rather not rock the boat!”
    “QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!”

    Sally Forth
    SALLY: “Do you ever think before you open your mouth, Alice?”
    “QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!”

    Mark Trail
    SUE: “WHAT?”
    “QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!”

    I guess the only two comics that aren’t improved by those cute ducks are Mallard Fillmore and Gasoline Alley.

87. Islamorada Girl
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:13 pm [Reply]

    Fun Factoid: Broderick Crawford was a notorious boozer.
    You don’t get that lived-in face by walking the straight and narrow, buddy!

88. commodorejohn
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:14 pm [Reply]

    #86 Mooncattie – To the contrary, Mallard Fillmore would be much improved if all the title character said was “QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!”

89. rocketbride
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:14 pm [Reply]

    i don’t know what sally’s moaning about. a maid needs a maid.

90. Cheeky Wee Monkeys
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:15 pm [Reply]

    “I’ve never seen a kid drive around by waving a stick before!”
    “Welcome to the Wii generation!”
    “I’ve never seen a kid cook a whole meal by blasting it in a box!”
    “Welcome to the microwave generation!”
    “I’ve never seen a kid jump over a string before!”
    “Welcome to the skipping rope generation!”
    “I’ve never seen a kid talk using only a few letters before!”
    “Oh, that’s just Marvin.”

91. rocketbride
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:16 pm [Reply]

    also, it took me three reads to determine that blondie *wasn’t* about sex as originally written. they say that cartoonists all draw what they fetishize – or what they want to eat, in other words.

92. dreadedcandiru2
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:19 pm [Reply]

    #70 – commodorejohn — Not only that but we’ll have to watch Rufus and Joel be stupid. I wonder what Scancarelli has against Appalachians that has him depict them as being so damned dumb.

93. Angry Kem
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:21 pm [Reply]

    Adam has travelled through time. This I truly believe.

    Did…did something just happen in Gil Thorp? That would be kind of wrong, wouldn’t it?

94. Red Greenback
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:25 pm [Reply]

    …Oh, and I will need to know where you are going to be ten days from now. (C.W. McCall Day, or is it Randy Mantooth or Larry Wilcox Day?) Thanks and great job filling in for Josh, Lump.

    ps. Sally’s makeover #3-Dean Booth has it covered. (click on Sally’s image.)

95. commodorejohn
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:29 pm [Reply]

    #92 dreadedcandiru2 – Oh God, I’m not sure I can take another Rufus ‘N Joel storyline so soon after that damned neverending cat food thing.

    *hums “Cat Food” by King Crimson; it’s the only way to erase the pain of that storyline*

96. fashion police
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:36 pm [Reply]

    41 I-Girl:
    Inappropriate swampwear is the female equivalent of facial hair.

    SF: Actually, the jumper is a step up from the rest of Sally’s wardrobe.

97. Mooncattie
    October 4th, 2008 at 2:48 pm [Reply]

    #88 commodorejohn – ah, granted! I was thinking of a flock of Fillmores…er, sorry fellers!
    “QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!“

98. ChrisV82
    October 4th, 2008 at 3:01 pm [Reply]

    Is this the beginning of an all-out effort to save the dying newspaper business by loading the comics with cheesecake?

    God, I hope so.

99. commodorejohn
    October 4th, 2008 at 3:04 pm [Reply]

    #97 Mooncattie – Ugh, one is more than enough.

100. Bloo
     October 4th, 2008 at 3:07 pm [Reply]

     Sally Forth:

     3. Since she’s already “office husband” I’d suggest a bi-girl affair with Alice, followed by a threesome with Ted, but I’m guessing Ted is like Ken and doesn’t really have the equipment anymore.

101. mollificent
     October 4th, 2008 at 3:08 pm [Reply]

     OK, I’m sorry, but today’s Luann is HIGHLY disturbing. The banana…especially in panel 2…eurrgghhh.

     Greg Evans, you are one sick bastard.

102. dyslexic dog
     October 4th, 2008 at 3:13 pm [Reply]

     Momma: And to make things worse, Francis has just left a hot stinkin’ pile of doody behind the telephone.

     Luann: Brad, take a hint. Pretend it’s Toni underneath you.

     Beetle: “We’re surrounded by film!”

     MG&G: Imagine the fun if it was a “NO STOPPING EXCEPT ON SHOULDER” sign.

     H&L:
     “Every breath you take
     Every move you make
     Every bond you break, every step you take
     I’ll be watching you…”

     In the Bleachers: A loving tribute to Charles Schulz.

103. dyslexic dog
     October 4th, 2008 at 3:17 pm [Reply]

     #102: It worked before, honest!

104. CanuckDownSouth
     October 4th, 2008 at 3:20 pm [Reply]

     94-redgreenback what’s scary is how many of those are a genuine improvement, including the buzz cut and Niki’s hair.

105. commodorejohn
     October 4th, 2008 at 3:20 pm [Reply]

     #100 Bloo – Man, what is it with you people assuming that nerdy, quiet guys are asexual/castrati? You better believe Ted has a sex drive; we just don’t see it on public display very often.

     #101 mollificent – Yep, it looks like ol’ Greg has been browsing certain dark corners of the Internet lately.

106. agony
     October 4th, 2008 at 3:51 pm [Reply]

     94 – I really like the Dagwood hair – go for it Sally, it works

107. Flying Ace
     October 4th, 2008 at 3:54 pm [Reply]

     My first thought when I saw today’s MT was GOOOOOOO Gators!!!!! As a UF alum and former Floridian, I have to say thanks for the orange and blue shout-out Uncle Lumpy! Never before has Mark Trail held so much meaning for me. I can only hope that that gator takes Sue Butler apart the way we did Ohio State in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

108. Charlene
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:13 pm [Reply]

     Just sayin, but jumpers are in style this year.

     Yes, Sally Forth is fashion-forward. I’m sure it’s an accident.

109. NoVan
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:20 pm [Reply]

     Ha ha ha! Ces is turning Sally Forth into the next Funky Winkerbean; it’s getting more depressing each day. And I for one couldn’t be happier! By the way, doesn’t Sally’s costume today remind you of Gloria from Judge Parker on the 7th of September?

     http://joshreads.com/?p=1705

110. Skullturf Q. Beavispants
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:26 pm [Reply]

     109 NoVan, are you so named because you’re in North Vancouver?

111. NoVan
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:34 pm [Reply]

     Nope- Northern Virginia, near DC. Also near J.Fruh in Baltimore. Let’s hear it again for East Coast elitists!

112. Artist formerly known as Ben
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:35 pm [Reply]

     MT: And the lesson of the day is “There is a right place and a wrong place for heels.” Take it to heart while Mr. Alligator does his part for our gene pool.

     DtM: Does Joey have parents, or what? If so, why is he going to church with the Mitchells? So Dennis will have an audience for his sub-Bill Maherisms?

     Blondie: I’d like to defend Dagwood by saying that maybe he slipped Blondie some of his own baguette before he ran off to the kitchen. Sadly, I can’t make myself believe it.

     Phantom: I’m sure the professor would jump at the chance to be the next Phantom. He might get a chance to move someplace the wallpaper hasn’t peeled off.

     MF: Al Sharpton talks about panty raiding. Jesse responds that he just ate. That’s amusingly filthy, and I wish I could believe the effect were intentional.

     6C: I kind of like the apprehensive look on tall Rob’s face. He’s kind of like, “Lady, who the hell are you and how do you know my name?”

     Shoe: Thanks to the digital chalk they’re using on the board, the background is about 50 times more worthy of attention than the foreground.

     H&L: The sane response from Dot would have been, “Hey, I have a life. If you want an eye kept on your drooling lush of a husband, use your own.”

     H&J: Hey, Herb didn’t have those lines under his eyes until she answered his question. She’s a witch! Burn her! No, wait. Ah, prematurely aging Herb is just a misdemeanor anyway.

     OBH: Again, the last panel makes it.

     Luann: Let’s take stock here.
     Brad is on all fours, grunting and thrusting and sweating.
     Luann is slowly and teasingly peeling a banana.
     Luann fantasizes about Toni oiling up Brad’s chest.
     Brad mock-complains about how excited he’s getting.
     Have I enumerated everything wrong about this Olympic-level squickfest? Honey, I haven’t even scratched the surface.

113. crossbuck
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:35 pm [Reply]

     87: Contra-fun factoid: John Barrymore was a notorious boozer. Meaning? Not every boozer ends up looking like Broderick Crawford or William Frawley. They get to drop dead before they look like that.

114. commodorejohn
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:41 pm [Reply]

     #112 Artist Formerly Known As Ben re: MF – When I read that this morning, it took me a full minute of trying to get that image out of my head before I realized that wasn’t what the joke was intended as. At least we can hope for some vitriolic letters to the editor from Tinsley’s own audience.

115. Skullturf Q. Beavispants
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:42 pm [Reply]

     Ah, I get it now; it’s the adjectival form of NoVa.

116. Skullturf Q. Beavispants
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:42 pm [Reply]

     “UConn” is similarly confusing to this Canuck.

117. commodorejohn
     October 4th, 2008 at 4:49 pm [Reply]

     #115 Skullturf Q. Beavispants – Alternatively, it’s “no van” minus the space, which either signifies the lack of a vehicle or is Spanish for “they don’t go.” Perhaps it’s the username equivalent of a Rorschach test.

118. Mischief Maker
     October 4th, 2008 at 5:02 pm [Reply]

     The ironic twist to this whole storyline will be when the cops discover that Margo’s been using the gallery as a front for her massive “dope” cartel, all under the nose of a jonesing Alan

119. Mr. O'Malley
     October 4th, 2008 at 5:02 pm [Reply]

     I’m starting to think that the characters and dialog in Mary Worth are just distractions from the real action—the Dali-esque morphing of everyday objects. Today that park bench appears to have developed a forward slant that’s going to dump Toby on the ground right next to the hole Mary’s standing in. And Mary herself is shrinking like an alligator.

     I liked OBH today. I might try that one myself.

120. Islamorada Girl
     October 4th, 2008 at 5:09 pm [Reply]

     113: You do know that story about Erroll Flynn and all the other Hollywood drunks “borrowing” Barrymore’s corpse from the funeral home to give him one last booze soaked wake, don’t you? Keeping right on topic here, it would make a great graphic novel or episode from the Life of Tinsley.

121. Muffaroo
     October 4th, 2008 at 5:50 pm [Reply]

     I just realized what day it is. This is my “Try and Talk Like a Trucker” day. Put the hammer down and watch out for Smokey. Let’s have a convoy! Okay, that’s all for me. Well, hello to Broderick Crawford, too.

122. Anonymous
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:00 pm [Reply]

     THE PHANTOM: Maybe the old guy is reading the script for the classic TV movie _KISS_ MEETS THE PHANTOM OF THE PARK.

     JUDGE PARKER: Has anyone else noticed that Ms. Julep has a certain resemblance to Sophie? Is this the brat’s future?

123. Dingo
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:04 pm [Reply]

     Many people wondered how “Snatch” Butler got her nickname, not having had the opportunity to see panel two of today’s Mark Trail.

     I’m confused. Alligators are notorious for being clean shaven. How will Mark Trail knock the beard off of a clean shaven ‘gator? Maybe he’ll spare the gator and knock Sue Butler’s hairstyle up a decade or two.

124. Batman Beatles
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:16 pm [Reply]

     SF: Honestly, only Kindergarden teachers wear jumpers to work.

125. commodorejohn
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:29 pm [Reply]

     #122 Anonymous – Indeed, she does. So much so that Sophie apparently filled in for her on Thursday. I don’t know why; maybe she had to go pick up a shift at the club or something.

126. willowbarcelona
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:29 pm [Reply]

     Oh wonderful Uncle Lumpy, thank you for heading up another wonderful time at the helm.

     Yikes! Rewind, rewind! All I can think of when I write the word “helm” is Tweaks and Lenore! Not an image to put before young children.

     So how about, “Oh wonderful Uncle Lumpy, thank you for heading up another wonderful time as comic genius and fund raiser extraordinaire!!” Ahh, that’s m-u-c-c-h better.

127. commodorejohn
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:29 pm [Reply]

     Looking at that sentence, I totally should’ve put Margo quotes around “filled in.” Wink wink, nudge nudge.

128. Revsfan
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:30 pm [Reply]

     #10 In GF, Rob meant that Alaska has one of the smallest populations in the US.
     GT: Goshen sucks. With the games broadcast on the radio, and PREP SPOTLIGHT on TV, one would think they’d know that Milford’s syar player is 6-9 JEFF PONCZAK. Don’t the 6:15s study their opponents.

129. LITTLE A. OF THE GRAND CONCOURSE JUNGLE PATROL
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:45 pm [Reply]

     I just realized this, AND IT’S VERY IMPORTANT AND SIGNIFICANT: JAVIER BARDEM and ADAM ARKIN ARE ONE AND THE SAME PERSON!!!!

     HAVE THEY EVER APPEARED IN THE SAME MOVIE???? HUH? THAT PROVES IT!.

     If that doesn’t earn me COTW, I don’t know what will.

130. Islamorada Girl
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:47 pm [Reply]

     MT: Will we get to see Mark wrestle an alligator on Monday? Be still, my beating heart.

131. Islamorada Girl
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:50 pm [Reply]

     MT II: Or will the gator turn out to be Polly, someone’s tame pet, who doesn’t understand the hostility directed toward her? I can hardly wait!

132. Gadge Cubic, Mole Preener
     October 4th, 2008 at 6:52 pm [Reply]

     It is painfully obvious to me that Blondie’s talk is an intentional ruse to get Dagwood out of bed and into the kitchen…so she can do the strapping young lad hiding in the closet, whom she met at the grocery store. Dagwood will never suspect a thing, of course…although Blondie’s playing with fire by getting it on with a guy from the grocery store, since that risks that he might smell of food, thereby engaging the incredible sensitivity of Dagwood’s nostrils toward any sort of food-related smell. “Blondie…why do I smell salami?”

133. TromboneGuy
     October 4th, 2008 at 7:16 pm [Reply]

     Gadge Cubic – 132: She could just tell Dagwood she’d been playing “hide the salami” – he’d be searching through dresser drawers for hours.

134. Anson Pants
     October 4th, 2008 at 7:28 pm [Reply]

     Archie: Is that COBOL ?

135. Uncle Lumpy
     October 4th, 2008 at 7:40 pm [Reply]

     #134 Anson –

     Why, yes it is — thank you so much for noticing!

136. Revsfan
     October 4th, 2008 at 7:44 pm [Reply]

     Garf: For somebody who can’t seem to get any, Jon has a heckuva lot of old girlfriends.
     Marv: CATrina. Full of cringe.

137. Anonymous
     October 4th, 2008 at 7:51 pm [Reply]

     119: Nice call on the Dali-esque park bench. I was thinking he just sucked at perspective.

138. Seismic-2
     October 4th, 2008 at 8:17 pm [Reply]

     Darn it, now I have to re-read all my collections of Sally Forth, and remove all the wire hangers from my closets, and go buy some Pepsi … oh, wait, you said Borderick Crawford. Well, I had better go back and re-read the SF collections, anyway.

     CS: Now I see why it is Broderick Crawford day – old Brod has a guest role yesterday and today, playing the owner of the Grizzles [sic]. Since his character hates black ballplayers, and since Jefferson Jacks is walking away from the broken-down bus, I assume Brod’s character will shift the Grizzles’ bus into reverse, back up over Jacks, and run him down. This end to a promising career for the pioneer black player in the minor leagues will therefore conclude CS’s reminiscence.

     Please?????

     GA: Sultan Pepper is dead. I suspect Olive Oyl. Crime scene investigators should watch out for the ketchup on the floor. Either that, or it was Colonel Mustard in the pantry with a knife.

     MT: I’m disappointed that Sue Butler’s high heels appear to be made of the same satin as her dress, or some other fabric. If they were alligator leather, that would explain why the alligator has been lured out of the remaining precious water hole in the drying wetlands – he thinks Sue is one of his kind, and the ‘gator will mate ‘er! Well, she was complaining that she wasn’t getting enough action lately.

     #17 – So Scottsdale will in fact host an Arabian horse show? Since Sam Driver has assumed control of the local police department, maybe he can declare himself judge of the horse show, too. Then the Judge can swear him in as the new Director of FEMA.

     #63 – Thanks for the great Wally Wood page!!!!

     #86 – Actually, every time Rex Morgan opens his mouth, someone should point at him and shout, “Quack! Quack! Quack!”

     #120 – Wasn’t that the basis for what Bill Holden and Robert Preston did with Richard Mulligan’s corpse in the Blake Edwards film “S.O.B.” about the movie industry? Of course, it was Errol Flynn’s own funeral, after he died shlepping that jailbait on his yacht, that inspired all the familiar jokes: “The funeral was delayed, because it took the undertakers three days just to wipe that silly grin off his face. Then it took them another five days before they could close the coffin.”

139. Bathless Groggins
     October 4th, 2008 at 8:20 pm [Reply]

     Thanks to Uncle Lumpy, I learned that the sublime Broderick Crawford was the son of the even more sublime Helen Broderick.

140. unclelumpy
     October 4th, 2008 at 8:29 pm [Reply]

     #138 Seismic-2 –

     Schlepping? That would just wear a guy out. Now schtupping — that stuff can kill ya.

141. Beatrice
     October 4th, 2008 at 9:18 pm [Reply]

     GA: Rover is in for more trouble when he finds he sold the formula not to a Sultan, but to a estranged hiphop duo, who won’t take kindly to being defrauded by some backwoods cornball.

     A3G: Pre-production buzz has Lily Taylor shaving her head to play Ray Jenkins in I Shot Alan Lange. Joey Lawrence seems more likely. And judging from the slang and wardrobe, Marcia Gay Harden may be making a cameo as Lee Krasner, dropping by the studio to see who’s been cribbing Jackson’s splatter.

142. Chip
     October 4th, 2008 at 9:31 pm [Reply]

     Sally:

     3. Anal Sex

     Really, Ted’s probably into that anyway…

143. Steve the Pocket
     October 4th, 2008 at 9:37 pm [Reply]

     Also: Cathy’s lips, panel three. I know Guisewite isn’t the greatest at illustration, but… Jeebus. That’s some premium nightmare fuel right there.

144. Chip
     October 4th, 2008 at 9:44 pm [Reply]

     Is there a sweeps week for comics? There’s been more deaths in the past month than I can recall in the past two years. Judge Parker, Apartment 3G, Gasoline Freakin’ Alley (and it wasn’t Uncle Walt – I’M out of the Dead Pool…) Now we see some alligator chompin’ in Mark Trail. It’s going end badly: Sally and Ted in a murder-suicide? Domestic homicide whenIan finds out Toby lied to him? My guess is Snoopy’s Sopwith Camel is going down in flames.

     CURSE YOU RED BARON!!

145. Dub Not Dubya
     October 4th, 2008 at 10:04 pm [Reply]

     Off topic except that many folks here have been addicted to it at one time or another (cough.) For anyone who’s been wondering what happened to the online game GuessWord (also known in these parts as Squack, as it is Word Crack that was introduced to us by Squid Countess), it has moved to a new address:

     http://garyc.wtf.la:3232/guessword/

     Hope to see you there.

146. NoVan
     October 4th, 2008 at 10:07 pm [Reply]

     #117 commodorejohn: Glad to see I’ve caused so much confusion. Carry on, it’s getting good.

147. crossbuck
     October 4th, 2008 at 10:46 pm [Reply]

     113: Sure! John’s Irish drinking pals couldn’t let him go out without a proper wake which included the guest of honor. BTW, Raoul Walsh was the one who stole the body and left it in a chair for Flynn to find. Errol was probably disappointed Raoul didn’t leave him a teenage girl in the chair. Or some smack. BTW, I think I saw this plot in an episode of Sanford and Son.

148. Moss_Moses
     October 4th, 2008 at 10:47 pm [Reply]

     No specific treatment or vaccine exists for Ebola hemorrhagic fever other than Bandar medicine. I was hoping for the ghost who bleeds to hemorrhage blood out of every spandex clad orifice but that ain’t gonna happen. That’s too bad about Chatu, though. I guess his Ebola puts him in conflict with the Phantom.

     Even though they are draining the wetland, the pumps and dress don’t seem like appropriate swamp attire. It’s kind of like Chatu wearing a business suit to do ebola experiments on bats.

149. TB Tabby
     October 4th, 2008 at 11:48 pm [Reply]

     Wakanda has had the cure for Ebola for centuries, but they won’t share it with anyone else because they know the rest of the world is too white to use it responsibly.

150. Elmo
     October 5th, 2008 at 4:09 am [Reply]

     Sally has breasts ?

151. Revsfan
     October 5th, 2008 at 1:03 pm [Reply]

     Apparently Ed C isn’t triskadeka-phobic, going fron being no. 13 on the Mudhens, to driving bus 0013.

152. Emily
     October 5th, 2008 at 3:16 pm [Reply]

     Gooooooooooooo Dawgs! Good thing it’s a bye week.

153. little red-haired girl
     October 5th, 2008 at 8:27 pm [Reply]

     Mark Trail: I’m rooting for Mark to connect his Fists O’ Justice to the gator’s snout. POW! And alligator shoes and handbags rain down around the stunned but delighted Channel-suited Ms. Butler, just like in the cartoons. Mark then builds a campfire and cooks up some fine gator gumbo, and Sue’s seduction is complete.
     Mark, of course is oblivious to her; he’s thinking about how the draining of the wetlands is endangering his beloved skinks.
     More infomation about skinks can be found on the Internet.

154. skeltometer
     October 6th, 2008 at 7:52 am [Reply]

     Holy crap, Clambake from Gil Thorp has made a comeback as the doctor-who-speaks-to-ghosts-who-walk. Great to have him back; I wonder what aphorisms of pithiness he’ll spout in the jungle?

155. SarahSchuyler
     October 6th, 2008 at 10:17 am [Reply]

     Re: Sally’s gay marriage

     If we’re operating under the assumption that Ted and Sally are both bi (we *are* operating under that assumption, right?), then there’s no reason why Sally can’t have a work wife. Someone to do the nagging and comforting that Ted, her home wife, does at home.

     But you’re right, the sweater is pretty pro-golfery.

156. Paul A. Rodgers
     October 6th, 2008 at 5:48 pm [Reply]

     That Aha esque magic frame effect in Beetle Baily is awesome. Inside the car, with the drab old people, everything is boring. Outside the magic frame? Fun that goes all the way up to eight. Not quite eleven, but hey, not everybody is built for that kind of fun.

157. Tommie
     October 6th, 2008 at 7:51 pm [Reply]

     Gasoline Alley: What’s the Arabian Lonely Hearts Club Band going to do without Sultan Pepper?

158. The Cynic Sage
     October 7th, 2008 at 6:16 pm [Reply]

     Gasoline Alley:

     “Oh thank God, only a middle-eastern person died.”

159. Axlq
     October 7th, 2008 at 8:09 pm [Reply]

     Regarding that Mark Trail strip. My first impression was that “Oh no!” in the first panel really meant “Oh crap, why did I wear heels in the wilderness?”

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