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A Tuesday trifecta

I admit to having been slack over the past few days, forcing you to hit Refresh on your browser over and over again, hoping to see a new post here and being mocked by an ad for Comics Curmudgeon tchotchkes. (An offer almost nobody has taken up, incidentally. Come on, don’t you know that everyone will worship you like a new god if you wear a “More zippers, mule!” t-shirt?) To make it up to you, I offer you not one, not two, but three fresh comics for today.

B.C., 2/1/05

I don’t think Jesus likes that punchline very much, Johnny. Also, I don’t really get the grandpa angle of the joke, nor the being-hip angle. If you’re going to set up this joke — and, I need to emphasize, I really don’t think you should — then you could probably find a better way to go about doing it.

Luann, 2/1/05

To my mind, this is the funniest Luann in weeks. It’s also evidence that a strip doesn’t need to have a punchline per se to be funny. Things I like about it: Brad casually saying “Whatev.” (complete with period) while raising one eyebrow, in panel one; T.J. solemnly offering a box of Oreos to Brad’s grave; the poem on Brad’s imaginary tombstone (you probably can’t read it in this graphic, but it reads “Brad DeGroot/ Ran out of luck/ Fell in love/ Forgot to duck); and the fact that T.J. hasn’t felt the need to dress up for his visit to the graveyard.

T.J. appears to have an earing, something I never noticed before. You’ll also notice that he’s entirely mum on the subject of dealing with sexual pressure.

Mark Trail, 2/1/05

Never mind the thrashing around, Mark; maybe you should STOP SHOUTING! I swear, if I were a shark, I’d eat him just to shut him up.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 1, 2005 at 10:46 pm and is filed under B.C., Luann, Mark Trail.

38 responses to “A Tuesday trifecta”

  1. FleaBailey
    February 1st, 2005 at 11:08 pm [Reply]

    Wow, check out the third panel in Mark Trail. So THAT’S where the lost city of Atlantis went. No wonder no one’s been able to find it–they’ve been looking in the wrong place, hum…?

  2. Feaverish
    February 1st, 2005 at 11:28 pm [Reply]

    And is that shark in the second panel supposed to be in the foreground? Or is it just like 60 feet long?

  3. Ryan
    February 2nd, 2005 at 12:39 am [Reply]

    It’s yet another Mark Trail Foreground Mascot, obviously.

    And is it just me, or does the panel two dialogue sound more “annoyed” than “panicked” or “frightened” or whatever?

  4. Sharky McSharkerson
    February 2nd, 2005 at 12:53 am [Reply]

    The *real* second panel — in which Mark outlines his needs to the sharks, perhaps in the manner of a grocery list — is clearly missing.

    The missing second panel also contains a Shark question, something like: “Is there anything else you need?”

    Thus, in the corrected version (third panel) he is merely saying “no, sharks, there is nothing else I need at this time.”

  5. x.
    February 2nd, 2005 at 1:29 am [Reply]

    B.C. is just Sniglets with doodles.

  6. Sam
    February 2nd, 2005 at 1:30 am [Reply]

    Please make the second panel a t-shirt!

  7. Sam
    February 2nd, 2005 at 1:31 am [Reply]

    Of Mark Trail, I mean. The others just bite. Get it?

  8. Mr.
    February 2nd, 2005 at 1:49 am [Reply]

    What’s with the snide remark about T.J.’s earring? What are you saying? I wear an earring, and that doesn’t mean anything!

    And neither does that fact that I’ve smoked a pole or two!

  9. Plk
    February 2nd, 2005 at 1:51 am [Reply]

    Also, on the Luann strip, T.J. brought an offering of Oreos. Awesome. However, that coolness does not make up for the fact that for THREE WHOLE DAYS last week, Brad was asleep on the couch while his parents gossiped about his non-relationship with Toni.

  10. Plk
    February 2nd, 2005 at 1:55 am [Reply]

    Oh, I see you did mention the oreos. Whatev.

  11. Isaac B2
    February 2nd, 2005 at 2:05 am [Reply]

    “that’s all I need”? He is being chased by sharks and has the presence of mind to speak in faux self-pitying sarcasm?

  12. Galdurn
    February 2nd, 2005 at 2:10 am [Reply]

    Maybe the B.C. joke is referring to hip implants… get it? That would make it babyjesus-friendly and explain the grandfather angle, but leaves us with the unfortunate thought that the “silicon valley” somehow refers to grandpa’s butt crack. Maybe gramps went to the beach, you know how it goes. Sand gets everywhere.

    I guess B.C. is like great philosophy… all the answers just lead to further questions.

  13. Anonymous
    February 2nd, 2005 at 7:36 am [Reply]

    Just wanted to point this out: Not only are the grandpa and hipness elements out of place and the joke not funny, but it isn’t even a proper pun. Silicon != Silicone and they aren’t even pronounced the same

  14. Mark J Musante
    February 2nd, 2005 at 9:15 am [Reply]

    I think I get the BC joke, but only if you consider ‘hip’ to be an outdated term for ‘cool’.

    See, he’s so old that he’s ‘hip’. Which means he’s uncool. He thinks silicon[e] valley isn’t a geographical location, because he’s so out of it.

    OK, maybe I’m reaching a bit. But I gotta defend a comic about boobies.

  15. Anonymous Rex
    February 2nd, 2005 at 9:24 am [Reply]

    I like the punctuation in the second panel of Mark Trail (though I might not be seeing it right). Sounds like Shatner-esque acting, or a really bad poetry slam:

    “Oh. No. Sharks.”

  16. WoodrowFan
    February 2nd, 2005 at 11:25 am [Reply]

    the best part about BC is the background esp. Hart’s usual termite-mound volcano with a wisp of smoke. And the birds in the sky, always birds. I guess Hart can’t draw animals grooming themselves like MT always does.

  17. WoodrowFan
    February 2nd, 2005 at 11:25 am [Reply]

    I think those are giant aquarium castles in the 3d panel of Mark Trail.

  18. Toni
    February 2nd, 2005 at 12:17 pm [Reply]

    Couldn’t they have made Mark Trail’s dialogue a thought bubble? Why is he talking to himself while being carried out to sea?

    “Oh. no. Sharks.” very flat no exlamation point, he’s not that scared or shocked. He’s just irritated.

  19. luluchappel
    February 2nd, 2005 at 1:08 pm [Reply]

    “Oh. No. Sharks. That’s all I need!” That should definitely go on a shirt, as should any number of variations, such as: “Oh. No. Hemmorroids [or your favorite irritant]. That’s all I need!”

  20. Stacella
    February 2nd, 2005 at 2:49 pm [Reply]

    I like how the “OH NO SHARKS” panel is in bold. How else can an artist convey “yelling” when everyone ALREADY SHOUTS ALL THE TIME!

  21. JohnnyC
    February 2nd, 2005 at 4:35 pm [Reply]

    shouldn’t such an experienced outdoorsman know that he’d be better off removing his clothes and especially his shoes?…and that the crawl/freestyle will wear him out; he’d last longer/get dragged less by the tide if he did an easy backstroke?

  22. el st ruby
    February 2nd, 2005 at 4:47 pm [Reply]

    to me, that mark trail epitomizes everything that is rock and roll about that strip

    it’s metamark. he has two totally different ways to die. it’s amazing.

  23. DJ Unstable
    February 2nd, 2005 at 6:54 pm [Reply]

    Does anyone know how long the Brad/Toni non-relationship has been going on for?

    Have we hit 20 months yet?

  24. Jim Treacher
    February 3rd, 2005 at 4:55 am [Reply]

    It’s a little known fact that sarcasm is an effective shark repellent. They are very sensitive about ironic compliments.

    That B.C. strip is obviously an insult toward Islam.

  25. Zanzibar
    February 3rd, 2005 at 6:24 am [Reply]

    I think T.J. is probably the best-illustrated of all the Luann characters. Visually he’s not any more complex than the others, but the details are used in such a way that he feels very vivid and lifelike.

  26. Brucker
    February 4th, 2005 at 12:52 am [Reply]

    I think that the B.C. joke is about “hip” implants. See, old people have to have hip replacement surgery, and the prosthetics are made of silicon compounds, and… Ah, I’m stretching, and it’s still not funny.

  27. Brucker
    February 4th, 2005 at 12:58 am [Reply]

    I find myself wondering why I’m the only one who caught the blatant anti-Islamicism in “Pearls Before Swine” last year on the day after the 9/11 anniversary. No, really.

  28. DJ Unstable
    February 4th, 2005 at 4:21 am [Reply]

    That’s pretty relevant, Brucker. Thanks.

  29. matt
    February 7th, 2005 at 1:06 pm [Reply]

    i’d like to propose a cocktail suggestion: the “Bloody Mark Entrail”

    simply a Bloody Mary with a raw oyster floating in it. Ask for it by name!

  30. leftyvonrighty
    February 8th, 2005 at 1:07 am [Reply]

    Ah yes, and a garnish of salt around the rim of the glass. Sea salt of course.

  31. MrPerson
    February 8th, 2005 at 5:44 pm [Reply]

    Now, come on. Thirty comments, and no one’s even mentioned Shark Repelling Bat Spray?

    Dammit. Mark Trail’s made me want to see old episodes of the Batman TV show. Curse him! Currrrse!

  32. Jim
    February 11th, 2005 at 12:05 pm [Reply]

    I basically watch Mark Trail just to see the giant creatures.

  33. Mary Brandt
    August 22nd, 2005 at 4:16 am [Reply]

    I just love that monotone. I mean, really. I know it’s been said, but I just can’t picture him doing anything other than talking loudly in a flat tone, unchanging in pitch, with zero variation in his voice. “OH NO. SHARKS.”

    …It’s comedic gold.

  34. Marion Delgado
    February 27th, 2006 at 4:57 am [Reply]

    In case anyone ever does a retrospective here, for the record, that last panel, the advice is coming from one of the sharks. Don’t stereotype them! they’re not all villains.

  35. Foolster41
    August 2nd, 2006 at 7:14 pm [Reply]

    Brucker, I read the comic, but I really don’t see how that pearls before swine is a comment on islam. There’s no “I” in the cartoony “SLAM” sound effect. SLAM has been used thousands of times in comics, and I think you’re reading far too much in to the date of the comic.

  36. Tomcat
    September 23rd, 2006 at 1:26 pm [Reply]

    What does TJ stand for anyway? Did they ever reveal it in the comic?

  37. Brucker
    January 26th, 2007 at 2:53 am [Reply]

    Foolster41: Sarcasm, dude.

  38. AhhhBees!
    September 15th, 2009 at 2:46 pm [Reply]

    The B.C. strip clearly shows that this particular comic’s universe takes place not, as the title would seem to suggest, in the far past, but rather in a post-apocalyptic future. How else would it make sense that a currently alive character’s grandfather knew about the Silicon Valley and breast implants (albeit, not very well), while said alive character lives in a desert devoid of most forms of technological advancement? The sentient ants- an effect of radiation. This is a comic, after all.
    On a slightly more serious note, why all the Christian leanings in a comic named B.C.- “Before Christ”? This makes less sense than my above theory.

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