The Comics Curmudgeon

133 responses to “Today’s guest artist: Jorge Luis Borges, age 110”

1. Old School Allie Cat
   June 16th, 2009 at 4:22 pm [Reply]

   FC – Aw, Thel – you’re such a shrew! Hahahaha!

2. Digger
   June 16th, 2009 at 4:22 pm [Reply]

   Finally, Billy is giving us the truth about his parents. They are, in fact, the Lockhorns.

   It’s was nice of Toni to offer to look after Satan’s daughter for him. As payment, he’s offered her eternal control over Brad’s soul.

3. CanuckDownSouth
   June 16th, 2009 at 4:23 pm [Reply]

   Meanwhile, in Gil Thorp, we learn that your reputation will be ruined if you’re seen in an outfit less-revealing that some cheerleader uniforms, but made out of cardboard. The next round of Project Runway is highly concerned that its models will refuse to participate.

4. Islamorada Girl
   June 16th, 2009 at 4:23 pm [Reply]

   You know, I am really, really starting to hate GA’s Slim, to the point where I mentally refer to him as Slime, and wince whenever he’s the featured player in another stupid storyline.

5. Aitherion
   June 16th, 2009 at 4:24 pm [Reply]

   Luann: Brad’s final line in the strip is obviously supposed to be a gently sarcastic punchline, showing that he’s both amused by Shannon’s antics and a bit exasperated by the fact that she just filled up his entire fucking cast with the word “SHANN”.

   What it ends up showing me, though, is that he considers the one character consistently shown to be his friend, TJ, to be much more than a friend, to a point that he doesn’t need to sign Brad’s cast; Brad knows that TJ frets over him, he doesn’t need a partial signing of his name to be reminded of that. Simply the warmth of TJ’s body and the light but oh-so-sensual experience of his kiss will suffice.

6. Captain Thunder
   June 16th, 2009 at 4:28 pm [Reply]

   Family Circus, like Communism, started with a fairly simple idea: the cartoonist portrayed a fictional version of his own family. Also like Communism, almost as soon as the idea was implemented it went horribly wrong, and now all we as readers can do is stare, aghast, at the roiling, toxic emotional snakepit that is the Keane family and their “circus”.

   Jeffy also apparently did a cost-benefit analysis and decided that even though he himself must be portrayed as a simpleton, the chance to portray his father as an indifferent asshole and his brother as a rageoholic sociopath was just too good to pass up.

7. BigTed
   June 16th, 2009 at 4:32 pm [Reply]

   Is Shannon just a normal but poorly drawn kid, or is she supposed to come of as totally creepy? Given her resemblance to a pint-size version of Kathy Bates in Misery, I have a feeling she’ll be making sure Brad has a lot more casts for her to write on in the near future.

8. Justin
   June 16th, 2009 at 4:34 pm [Reply]

   Honestly, I can’t wait until fake little Billy grows up and draws a fake but unflinching daily cartoon-memoir about the misery that was his fake childhood.

9. Dragon of Life
   June 16th, 2009 at 4:34 pm [Reply]

   Brad has his arm through a giant potato. Man, firefighters have a weird health plan.

10. Comrade Denny
    June 16th, 2009 at 4:34 pm [Reply]

    The universe (which others call the Keane household) is composed of an indefinite and perhaps infinite number of circular panels …

11. Sequitur
    June 16th, 2009 at 4:38 pm [Reply]

    Josh, while I was reading your narrative on the Family Circus, the theme to Quantum Leap was playing in the background… yep.

    Brad does have a friend. TJ. But that won’t take much space, if he can spell it.

12. Canaduck
    June 16th, 2009 at 4:47 pm [Reply]

    I love the fact that Daddy Keane is throwing his hands up in the air and shouting at the ceiling. While his wife is clearly screaming pretty much exactly what you suggested, he looks as if he is begging God to deliver him from the evil of this deceitful wench who captured him and bore his three lumpy hydrocephalic children, lo these many years ago.

13. Poteet
    June 16th, 2009 at 4:48 pm [Reply]

    FC — I was rather shocked. Have the parents ever before been shown violently screaming at each other and throwing papers around?

    Finally the other shoe has dropped. Now I can say that FC has always reminded me of Philip Larkin’s “This Be The Verse.”

14. Poteet
    June 16th, 2009 at 4:49 pm [Reply]

    # 12 Canaduck — So which Keane child did you mentally finish off? Not that I blame you:-).

15. One-eyed Wolfdog
    June 16th, 2009 at 4:51 pm [Reply]

    The Family Circus isn’t just a beloved refrigerator decoration for old people everywhere; it’s also an elaborate long-running narrative experiment, challenging our notions of hard and fast divisions between “reality” and “fiction.”

    No, I understand how confusion is possible in the irony era, but really it’s just the first one.

16. Steve S
    June 16th, 2009 at 4:55 pm [Reply]

    I always felt like the alleged “Billy draws” installments were actually “Bil draws when he’s drunk and overwhelmed by self-loathing, but he’s working against a tight deadline.”

17. Li’l Bunnë FooFoo
    June 16th, 2009 at 4:57 pm [Reply]

    Luann: The real chuckle is that Shannon’s only left space for one more letter. I’m picturing Brad walking around with a cast that says “SHANNO”. That’s comedy gold, people.

18. One-eyed Wolfdog
    June 16th, 2009 at 4:59 pm [Reply]

    At that, I think you could make it hew still a bit closer to fact by replacing ‘beloved’ with ‘tolerated’ and inserting ’simpleminded’ immediately before ‘old’.

19. Nekrotzar
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:00 pm [Reply]

    Even more depressing than Brad’s lack of friends is the fact that Brad & Toni obviously didn’t have any plans with which Shannon’s presence is interfering.

20. One-eyed Wolfdog
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:03 pm [Reply]

    And appending ‘but otherwise looked down upon by nearly all lifeforms equal to or surpassing the level of comic sophistication achieved by protozoa.’

21. Alison
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:05 pm [Reply]

    Cousin Shannon looks like Tiffany after she dyed her hair and shrunk a few feet.

22. Shlomo
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:10 pm [Reply]

    Check out the rack on Thel. Billy is confusing his mother for Madonna.

23. One-eyed Wolfdog
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:11 pm [Reply]

    Entirely seriously: The supposedly ‘childish’ style of this FC panel loses absolutely nothing from the usual bland, lazy color-by-numbers approach, which has absolutely nothing to commend it, and is arguably a good bit more energetic and vivid — certainly suiting this particular scene better, for example.

24. Sequitur
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:17 pm [Reply]

    Look at the signature for the Family Circus cartoon. It’s not done by Billy but someone named “Bill X.” Possibly this guy.

25. Comrade Denny
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:25 pm [Reply]

    BC: Malignant melanoma! HILARIOUS!

    Crankshaft: Anyone else find granny’s posturing over her “smoking” habit stupid and annoying? I’m beginning to think she’s just trying to get someone to beat her to death.

    FW: This is a tough one to call. On the one hand, a team of rough hopefuls getting mercilessly shelled in their first game, leading to demoralization, self-pity, and despair is right up Batuik’s alley. Then again, so is a misanthropic, undefeated old-timer getting beaten by a bunch of rookies and having a massive, head-exploding stroke right on the field. Choices, choices.

    MW: In Panel 2, Delilah’s ramrod rigid posture and terror-stricken sideways stare show us she’s only just now realizing that she’s in way over her head. Too late. Too late.

    MW – Director’s Cut: In Panel 2, Delilah’s ramrod rigid posture and terror-stricken sideways stare belie the repressed memories that come surging forth at Mary’s touch and show us that there was a deeper, darker impetus to her underage marriage than the glitz and glamor of the philosopher’s life.

26. markytom
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:28 pm [Reply]

    The Keane parents are screaming things like WHY THE HELL HAVEN”T YOU CASHED ALL THESE ROYALTY CHECKS and WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH ALL THIS MONEY, BUY ANOTHER CASTLE IN EUROPE? I think Jeff/Billy is laughing heartily at his own inside joke.

27. Donald the Anarchist
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:30 pm [Reply]

    FC Thel is insistent that all bills printed after we went off the gold standard are ‘funny money’. Bil keeps trying to insist that it doesn’t matter, as long as the banks and the stores treat them like real currency. They also have strong disagreements on who the real culprits behind the assassination of JFK are.

    Luann Oh, Brad, will you forever be a needy schmuck? Why did I even feel the need to ask?

28. UncleJeff
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:30 pm [Reply]

    I wonder if Jeff Keane might have played the role of Claudius (as interpreted by Robert Graves) — act as a simpleton, knowing that one day you will survive all your psychotic and nitwitted relatives so you can achieve the role of Emperor Keane!!!!!!

    (* UncleJeff is not related to Jeff Keane. No way. No how.)

29. bats :[
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:32 pm [Reply]

    14. Poteet: you ought to cut Canaduck some slack. Evidently Big Daddy Keane started this trend by only having four kids in his cartooniverse, as opposed to the five in real life.
    Then again, the fifth might’ve been kept in the attic and so didn’t contribute significantly to the family zaniness…

30. markytom
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:39 pm [Reply]

    FC: It looks like the Keane’s have tiled their floor with Mary Worth’s salmon squares. Probably longer-wearing than cork or ceramic too.

31. Jamus The Bartender
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:42 pm [Reply]

    Tuesday My Cage: Uh Ohh………Well, at least Norm has cheered up…

32. mcc
    June 16th, 2009 at 5:55 pm [Reply]

    which implies that the comic is actually produced by one of its own characters

    Isn’t this a relatively common gimmick in comic strips? Like I remember Garfield pretended they were doing this for about three months at the very beginning of its run, then forgot about it.

33. Rusty
    June 16th, 2009 at 6:05 pm [Reply]

    TJ signed his name on Brad’s soul.

34. Mike
    June 16th, 2009 at 6:06 pm [Reply]

    any Luann strip involving Brad is kind of depressing not because Brad is such a loser but because he is drawn to look so.. not right in the head. I don’t know exactly what it is (the nose maybe? the off-kilter ingratiating smile?), but something about him says “not quite right” (don’t let him pet any bunnies, I beg you), in a way that makes pretty much *every* strip with him disturbing (and any strip where he is flirting with Toni close to Lovecraftian in its eldritch horror).

35. Bryan
    June 16th, 2009 at 6:07 pm [Reply]

    22, Shlomo: Check out the rack on Thel. Billy is confusing his mother for Madonna.

    Yeah, no kidding! Geez, Billy, why’d ya give yer Mom such big tits? The family therapist is going to have a field day with this.

36. Marion Delgado
    June 16th, 2009 at 6:30 pm [Reply]

    “Look here, Ranger Rick! If you turn the barrels the RIGHT way, they say 3UU – that’s our competition, triple-U Universal!

    “Sorry, ma’am .. I guess I’ll just be on my way.”

    “Give my regards to Yogi and Boo-boo! … Denise, the next time this happens, buy a couple boxes of Trails End popcorn and send him on his way, ‘kay?”

37. Marion Delgado
    June 16th, 2009 at 6:41 pm [Reply]

    everyone involved is dyslexic – slylock fox

38. Alan's Addiction
    June 16th, 2009 at 6:45 pm [Reply]

    Wow, Josh, reading your analysis of who’s writing for Family Circus left me with a headache and a vague conviction that my younger sister is actually writing Family Circus. What I would like to see in Family Circus is a panel entitled, “Mommy and Daddy talk about which child’s organs they’ll sell.”
    What would be truly hilarious (and more accurate to today’s youth) is if Shannon wrote gang symbols, or something deeply disturbing or pornographic on Brad’s cast. Actually, this being the Luann universe, the most disgusting thing she could probably write would be something along the lines of “Brad likes Toni.” However, given the size of her signature, I’m hopeful that Shannon will come upon the bright idea of breaking more (or larger) limbs until she eventually has enough room to write her full name (hopefully on Brad’s full-body cast).

39. Acme
    June 16th, 2009 at 6:55 pm [Reply]

    BBailey: With the old fuddy-duddies unable to watch TV as they hadn’t bought digital converters, the evening news was finally able to broadcast their gay porn stash.

40. Jackuul
    June 16th, 2009 at 6:59 pm [Reply]

    Today’s Garfield deals with the serious issue of rape.

41. wagmore barkless
    June 16th, 2009 at 7:09 pm [Reply]

    Is there some reason why Daddy Keane spends his week off standing around at home, wearing a coat and tie, yelling at his spouse? Maybe I’m misunderstanding. Maybe Billy doesn’t mean “off” as in “off work,” but as in “do these leftovers smell a bit ‘off’?”

42. odinthor
    June 16th, 2009 at 7:23 pm [Reply]

    Another silent strip. — I hastily put up a few examples of the silent strip Basil, by Gerry Lants, just for the record. It was about as silent as a strip can get; but I kept looking until found a few examples with words in the panels, to go with the fully silent ones.

43. Mr. O'Malley
    June 16th, 2009 at 7:24 pm [Reply]

    You bring up Borges on Bloomsday?

    Better to cite Flann O’Brien on this of all days, since At Swim-Two-Birds was published in 1939, before Borges really hit his stride, and it was highly praised by Joyce (said to be the last book he read).

    Amazingly, two mentions of Flann O’Brien in one week!

    The Plain People of Ireland: There’s nothing amazing about that, it was yourself that mentioned him both times, and the other time you used one of his other names. What about a couple of comics-related jokes?

    Myself: I am a great admirer of Borges, and anyway the idea of characters taking over the writing of a novel goes back to Cervantes’ Don Quixote, often said to be the first novel. I was just pointing out that our national literature is second to none.

    The Plain People of Ireland: Another day and no joke. And what about yer man with the pirate ship, and the lad that draws it does be sitting in one of the cabins?

44. Katya
    June 16th, 2009 at 7:44 pm [Reply]

    Hi, All –

    This is apropos of nothing having to do with today’s comics, but I just wanted to comment that every time I log on to this site, I type out its full name, even though that’s not necessary.

    “Curmudgeon” is such a cool word, and how often in daily life does one have the opportunity to use it? Ha, ha!

45. Flying Ace
    June 16th, 2009 at 8:01 pm [Reply]

    Today’s MW: Holy crap, look at the sheer terror in Delilah’s eyes at the sound of “Let’s talk over dinner. I have everything prepared” – leftover salmon squares anyone??

46. Muffaroo
    June 16th, 2009 at 8:12 pm [Reply]

    Silence – There’s an interesting discussion in A Million and One Nights by Terry Ramsaye, written during the silent years of movies, about ‘pure’ cinema — pantomime unencumbered even by captions. It was a raging debate in some circles, and a movie is mentioned that shot for this ideal. I think it was called The Old Swimming Hole. The author notes that one of the biggest laughs comes when a young boy writes “I’m through with wimmen” on a slate, and soon after is flirted with, and erases the words with his sleeve. Verdict: even when they’re trying not to, creators end up using words.

    A couple of other pantomime strips (panels, really) that I recall are “The Strange World of Mr. Mum” and “Tall Tales.” As a four-year-old, I was greatly interested in Mr. Mum, and mystified by many of the situations he was in. (I remember about the same time being puzzled by political cartoons, which were dark and not humorous.) Mr. Mum was popular enough to show up in crowd scenes in MAD from time to time, and enduring enough to hang around until 1974 (!). “Tall Tale,” by Al Jaffee, has been reprinted by Fantagraphics. Amazon has some samples that are too tiny to make out, though I can see rudimentary dialog in one of the panels. It was just about the only skinny, vertical-format comic on the pages. That reminds me of all the silent panels Sergio Aragones did in MAD over the years, but even those used some signage and the occasional “Gesundheit!”

    AhClem @y94 – Brilliant suggestion, to visualize Clutch Cargo mouths on characters in Mark Trail. It imparts a certain sort of sense to the proceedings.

    Steve S @16 – Back when Disney’s Pocahontas was about to come out, they had a special sneak preview thing near us in Virginia, so I went with my friend Mike. They said it was about 45 minutes long, and I guessed it would be the five-minute preview we’d already seen, plus a 40-minute presentation on the myriad uses of corn. I was not far wrong, but the presentation included Glen Keane talking a little. I went up and asked him if any Keane child had ever drawn so much as a line of the “Billy” panels. He smiled and said no, and that Bil always said those were the hardest ones to do, so there you have it.

    Li’l Bunnë FooFoo @17 – Maybe Brad can take a walk outside with his “SHANNO” cast and take a look up to gaze at the moon with “CHA” partly etched on its surface.

    bats :[ @29 – A fifth melonhead in the attic? That would be taking a page from Hank Ketcham, who split from his ‘Alice’ and pretty much turned his back on his own ‘Dennis.’ I want to like Ketcham, because he was a friend of H. Allen Smith, but his personality keeps getting in the way.

    Comics We’d Like to See Department, Part I:

    Ziggy – Ziggy is running after Bibendum, the Michelin Man, crying, “Why don’t you love me, Daddy?”

    FBasset – Fred is doing what my sister calls “a flat act” on the road. Jock turns to us with a waggish expression and thinks, “He’s feeling a bit run down today.”

47. sugarpie
    June 16th, 2009 at 8:41 pm [Reply]

    FCircus I dont think the Keane’s ever had any real children. They are all imaginary tots, sort of like the “little bugger” Sunny Jim in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Every night Bil and Thel have sloppy drunken confrontations when deciding on an agonizing death for one of their imaginary imbecils.

    Luann While Toni’s in the kitchen humiliating TJ, Brad digs out something else that’s stiff and white for Shannon to write on.

48. LoFoMoFo
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:02 pm [Reply]

    MW: Hopefully Mary has saved some of her “salmon squares” so Delilah can learn what Soylent Red tastes like.

49. teenchy
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:04 pm [Reply]

    Mike @ 34: I think it’s the self-inflicted haircut that makes Brad look “not quite right.”

50. Stij
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:23 pm [Reply]

    #49: And the blank, doll-like eyes. And the bushy eyebrows. And the complete denial of human sexuality. And…heck, everything about Brad, really.

51. bats :[
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:36 pm [Reply]

    Why is Shannon such an apparently angry child? Because she’s drawn poorly? Because the “fun afternoon” cousin Toni promised is “visiting” with a banged-up invalid? Because Brad doesn’t have cable?

    So many questions.

52. Stij
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:37 pm [Reply]

    #51: Because she’s in Luann. Honestly, that should be reason enough.

53. Comrade Pervy
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:41 pm [Reply]

    #22 & #35: I’ve always thought Thel had a nice can, whoever draws her!

54. Canaduck
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:48 pm [Reply]

    #14 Poteet

    What was I thinking?? For some reason part of me was saying, “Hey, you should check if there are really 3 kids…I’m pretty sure there are 4.” I guess I thought I’d be optimistic and imagine a universe with fewer Keanes in it.

55. Aviatrix
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:52 pm [Reply]

    I laughed at Luann. You know the touch that did it? The protruding tongue concentration Shannon requires to write the beginning of her own name.

56. yellojkt
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:55 pm [Reply]

    Shannon is really Toni’s kid from when her dad knocked her up at the age of 12 but we won’t learn that for another three years when Evans needs another plot device to keep Brad from ever relieving his blue balls.

57. yellojkt
    June 16th, 2009 at 9:59 pm [Reply]

    Fake Billy is illustrating his own version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? only with out the Nick and Honey characters.

58. zerowolf
    June 16th, 2009 at 10:00 pm [Reply]

    Luann: Why is Shannon wearing a Darth Vader helmet?

59. cooby
    June 16th, 2009 at 10:07 pm [Reply]

    Way to jump to conclusions, Mark. Aren’t you going to look foolish if it stand for something else?

60. Frank Parsnip
    June 16th, 2009 at 11:03 pm [Reply]

    FC: Despite swimming in money, most wealthy people I’ve known have had bitter arguments over money and the decadent Belgravian ways in which they see fit to spend it. Thel is probably letting Bil have both barrels over credit card bills offering a clear money trail for how he spent the past 4 weeks bouncing beds with Famke and Paris in luxury hotels around the Mediterranean. Mind you, it’s fine that he does it — he just needs to be a bit more discreet and using the joint-account credit card is not the way to stay on Thel’s good side.

61. Crankenstank
    June 16th, 2009 at 11:05 pm [Reply]

    Waiting for the porno joke in today’s Dagwood (what a classic set up)….

62. the angry black woman
    June 16th, 2009 at 11:26 pm [Reply]

    god I have missed this site.

    #51, i think #52 is right: this is LuAnn, there is no reason, only hatred and vice.

63. Poteet
    June 16th, 2009 at 11:31 pm [Reply]

    # 54 Canaduck — You were dreaming of a better cartooniverse, and who can blame you. Today’s strip is a reminder of why, among the four, I think I’d wish Billy into the cornfield.

    # 60 Frank Parsnip — So are the rich really different from you and me?

    FRED BASSET — It’s a bit late to ask, but shouldn’t Grosvenor Avenue be Grosvenor Square? I read this strip partly because it’s supposed to be British. C’mon, Fred, I want Chocolate HobNob, not Hershey’s.

64. CanuckDownSouth
    June 16th, 2009 at 11:32 pm [Reply]

    #51, 52 – no, no, it’s because she’s Noriko on a Character Exchange Program from Dilbert. She’s aware that she has no future except a cubicle farm unless the grownups have wrecked the economy to the point where even _that_ isn’t an option. And she’s stuck in Luann without even a smart dog to talk to.

65. Poteet
    June 16th, 2009 at 11:33 pm [Reply]

    # 62 the angry black woman — Is that really you? Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!

66. True Fable
    June 16th, 2009 at 11:42 pm [Reply]

    #62 the angry black woman – OMG! Welcome back, darlin’! I have missed you so much!

    A gift for you! *does happy goat dance!*

67. Poteet
    June 16th, 2009 at 11:45 pm [Reply]

    # 34 Mike — One of the reasons Brad creeps me out is that his head is often drawn like a pear, leaving not enough room for a normal brain. But Dad DeGroot’s head shape is similar, and he’s less creepy. I do think it’s partly Brad’s nose. *shudder*

68. sugarpie
    June 16th, 2009 at 11:54 pm [Reply]

    62 Angry Black Woman Hatred and VIce? Oh yes…. Could be the subtitle for 3/4 of the strips on Chron.com.

69. True Fable
    June 17th, 2009 at 12:11 am [Reply]

    The other day I took out an old piece of writing I did about 30 years ago. The scene took place in 2009 or 2010, and I saw life as pretty much the same as it was back in 1980. At the time I wrote it, a friend of mine said, “no, things will be so totally changed by 2010, it won’t be anything like it is now!” He went on to describe a utopian place where diseases were nonexistent and meals were comprised simply of pills, and the ubiquitous jetcar was in everyone’s space-bubble home. Pretty much your standard Star Trek fantasy, where everyone in the future wears the same type of one-piece jumpsuit made of rayon.

    I mention this because I was thinking about Funky Winkerbane’s 10 year leap, and I realized that nothing much in society has basically changed in the past 30 years to the extent that we assumed it would – see any flying cars lately? Sure we have all sorts of conveniences we didn’t have before, but the basics – still going to work, still driving old cars on crowded interstates, still wearing our individuality as fashion. So why would we expect a great deal to change in a small town in Ohio? You know Tom Batuik has really taken the axiom “the only sure things are death and taxes” to heart, so he’s on target after all.

    Just pondering, that’s all.

70. Talking Squirrel
    June 17th, 2009 at 12:15 am [Reply]

    #10 Comrade Denny: “The universe (which others call the Keane household) is composed of an indefinite and perhaps infinite number of circular panels …”

    These are a pictorial metaphor for their world, which is located on the surface of a two-dimensional terrapin. And, alas, it’s flat fuckin’ turtles all the way down.

71. bats :[
    June 17th, 2009 at 12:24 am [Reply]

    69. True Fable: I ain’t wearing one of those jumpsuits until I get my flying car! (And even after that…how long does it take to get out of one of those jumpsuits if you have to pee really, really bad?)

72. True Fable
    June 17th, 2009 at 12:34 am [Reply]

    Rex Morgan, Man Whore Excuse me, The Dell? – This means two things:
    1. We are getting the first strains of the opening flourish of the next plotline, and
    2. We’ll soon be well rid of Willy, The World’s Ugliest Child Next to Rusty
    Sam Driver & Friends “You’re Godiva Danube, the actress!” at which point I hope all the pilots turn around and moon her. Get your own damn cab, lady.
    I Heart New York Showing amazing flexibility in an otherwise static environment, Ruby displays her power to swivel her head.
    Meddle House My, but that Mary certainly is sly! “Speaking of your husband..” can only lead to “speaking of the scandal in the paper…” and the inevitable “speaking of the indictment…” Mary is nothing if not subtle.
    Kit Walker, Ghost Whisperer Talk dirty to her, O Ghost-Who-Breathes-Heavily.

    # 71 bats :[ – Apparently in the future, we don’t have to go anywhere to pee. There were no bathrooms on the Enterprise, you know. That’s why Bones was so full of piss and vinegar.
    I suppose this means one-piece jumpsuits of the future are very, very absorbent. or something. (ick)

73. Yellow Cat
    June 17th, 2009 at 12:38 am [Reply]

    Then there’s strips like this one, where pretend-Billy takes over for pretend-Daddy in the comics drawing business

    So, what you’re saying is that the pretend-Billy strips are the Keane version of the Sluggy Freelance “Stick-Figure Week”? Hmm …

74. Steve Canyon
    June 17th, 2009 at 12:42 am [Reply]

    71 bats :[ says: “I ain’t wearing one of those jumpsuits until I get my flying car! (And even after that…how long does it take to get out of one of those jumpsuits if you have to pee really, really bad?)”

    You just pee in the suit. It was good enough for John Glenn, bub, it oughta be good enough for you. If you wanna earn those pilot wings, gotta show you got the Right Stuff.

75. Donald the Anarchist
    June 17th, 2009 at 12:45 am [Reply]

    Inspired by #63

    Fitzgerald :What makes the people in Funky Winkerbean so different from you and me?
    Hemingway: Simple. They have more misery.

76. True Fable
    June 17th, 2009 at 12:53 am [Reply]

    Surgically Grafted Hat Mrs. Wilkins attempts to smother the children with her ample boobery.
    Freaky Wangsticker The only thing this team has going for it, is its mascot.
    Dont Ask Dont Tell The silent scream on Miss Buxley’s face says it all.
    Dennis Schmenace If the Mitchell’s haven’t learned to lock him away when company comes over, then they have this coming to them.
    Children of the Circle Billy often thought about all the times when his father Bil was perhaps not the most genial of men; indeed, there were times when the man was a real asshole, drinking and screaming at his wife and children, beating the dog and taking his anger out on inanimate objects. Billy smiled. He would send those memories to the syndicate. Ah, revenge. It really was best served cold.

77. bats :[
    June 17th, 2009 at 1:02 am [Reply]

    Not much to say about the Hump-day funnies, only that Big Daddy Bil’s anger issues continue unabated…

78. Frank Parsnip
    June 17th, 2009 at 1:12 am [Reply]

    Poteet (63) — When have I ever complained about your gallavanting about the Gold Coast with your lovers in that Duesenberg roadster? When have you ever complained about my trips to the beaches of Borneo with those model twins? In comparison, the “Family Circus” sort of wealth is really just nouveau riche crassity — the kind of nincompoops who can still count the number of boarding schools and clubs they’ve been tossed out of!

79. Aviatrix
    June 17th, 2009 at 1:12 am [Reply]

    I was so confused by the Garfield link. I thought it was real: It had Garfield in it. It made no sense. It wasn’t funny. How was I to tell? So I was baffled why I couldn’t find any online groups of concerned citizens banding together to tell Jim Davis that this strip differed from the others by being not funny in an acceptable way.

    Eventually I figured it out, but not before finding this one. I can’t really see how a lasagna joke is going to work in there.

80. HellYeah
    June 17th, 2009 at 1:17 am [Reply]

    You forgot to mention the most bedeviling thing of all
    Glen is in fact Glen Keane as in one of the most influential and famous animators of our time. He is most well known for his rendition of tree-surfing Tarzan for Disney. If he was to really draw a family circus comic it would BLOW YOUR MIND.

    Talent kinda skipped a generation in the ole keane family

81. True Fable
    June 17th, 2009 at 1:18 am [Reply]

    I, Platypus Rex is simply concerned that Violet will eat their young.
    Spider-Whine Awww. Poor Doc Ock. “All I want is someone else’s money….wahhh…” Oh, he’s a real Spider-man character, all right.

82. Frank Parsnip
    June 17th, 2009 at 1:18 am [Reply]

    Beetle Bailey: Yeah, that’s enough. The doctor isn’t going to do a second pelvic exam tonight. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.

    MT: Miss Williams is sure that those drums don’t belong to them. The Williams Chemical Company always takes care to mark its toxic waste with “Dow Chemical” stencils before trucking them up to Midland, Michigan for forest-side dumping. Think of the chemical companies as all being a like a bunch of prankster frats, all seeking to one-up each other for misplaced EPA troubles.

    MW: If the wok full of wriggling larvae that Mary’s setting out is anything to judge by, Lawrence apparently has been enjoying Delilah’s cooking through the wonders of tube feeding.

    Jugs Parker: The delayed recognition was apparently because it took a while for his eyes to get up to her face. “You’re Godiva Danube, the actress! Oh, well, then what you need to do is get on line over there at the stretch-limo stand right next to the people all lined up for taxis. Once again, ma’am, I’m a sky captain, not a skycap. ”

    DtM: “… you’d pretty much have to be, weaing that f*cking crazy plaid suit, mister. And that red hair with the black moustache is freaking me out.”

    Curtis: Milk, it does a body good.

83. Uncle Lumpy
    June 17th, 2009 at 1:27 am [Reply]

    Josh raised his harp and sang all the poetry in all the comics in all the world, and he sang but a single word, and the word was not “wonder”, but “crap.”

84. MRL
    June 17th, 2009 at 1:40 am [Reply]

    So… the Keanes are having money issues, and Daddy is “taking the week off”. Clearly he is taking off to bring in money through some other means, which he could not explain to the casaba-noggins. I’m thinking drug smuggling.

85. Deena in OR
    June 17th, 2009 at 1:44 am [Reply]

    Sooo…apropos of nothing…my co-worker had the dubious honor of being the third Best Person in the World on Countdown tonight. Did anyone happen to catch it?

86. True Fable
    June 17th, 2009 at 2:39 am [Reply]

    #85 Deena in OR – Saw it but had no idea there was a ‘Mudgeonly connection. I’ll have to catch the 4 a.m. showing to get the full experience!

87. Deena in OR
    June 17th, 2009 at 2:41 am [Reply]

    Fable…he was the runaway fisherman.

88. Mariko
    June 17th, 2009 at 3:21 am [Reply]

    Billy (7) is apparently, judging by the picture, the offspring of Bil Keane and Liza Minelli.

89. Mr. O'Malley
    June 17th, 2009 at 3:38 am [Reply]

    A-3G: Predictions—they will eventually rescue Eric’s brother and then he will decide that after undergoing all that torture he’s now in touch with his spiritual side and he wants to stay in India and join the monastery, so they won’t tell his wife who thinks he’s dead and she can get married to her new boyfriend after all. We’ll finally get to see what Lu Ann has been doing since last February because Tommie isn’t doing anything now but eating sticky buns and they need another intervening story to keep the China one slow enough to be annoying. (It’s as though only two of the three characters can be be doing anything at one time.) If Eric makes it through this adventure without dying heroically, he’ll decide to move his gallery to Denver some time early next year.

    MW: Two pounds of french-fries and a pot of coffee perked just this morning. Yumm! What’s in the other bowl—ketchup? “I missed your cooking, Mary! The nausea it evoked helped me keep my slender girlish figure!”

    Mary’s library has four books in it:
    1. The Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred
    2. Friedrich von Junzt’s Unaussprechlichen Kulten
    3. Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations

    What is the fourth book?

    Plugger child care?

    RMMD: I’ve only been reading this strip for a couple of years, so who is this person and what is she talking about?

    SlyFo: Now I’m looking forward to the story of the turducken, Jello salad and the deep-fried Twinkie.

90. Mr. O'Malley
    June 17th, 2009 at 3:52 am [Reply]

    69. True Fable. When Stanley Kubrick was working on the screenplay for 2001, he purposely avoided showing any urban scenes, since he said that the cities of 2001 would look so unlike the cities of the 1960s that you couldn’t even imagine what they would be like.

    Now it turns out they look just about the same. And all those predictions about future technology (carefully based on interviews with leading experts at famous universities) from intelligent speech-understanding computers all the way down to the videophone-in-a-phone-booth turned out to be totally off too.

    On the other hand, who would want to see a movie about the future where everything looks just the same as it does now? At least they could put in a few atomic Zeppelins!

91. Ace
    June 17th, 2009 at 4:27 am [Reply]

    Toni’s cousin has this perpetual pissed off look grafted to her adorable little face. Too bad the entire strip is written in a font where caps are indistinguishable from lowercase. It’s fun to imagine her intimidating the hell out of a cowering Brad until he agrees to let her tattoo his bandage.

    DON’T YOU SASS ME I CAN WRITE AS BIG AS I WANT.

92. Jackuul
    June 17th, 2009 at 4:33 am [Reply]

    Well, if anyone thought my lame attempts at jokes were real while also trying to prove that it can be funnierI’m sorry.

93. Frank Parsnip
    June 17th, 2009 at 6:02 am [Reply]

    Troof (69) Mr. O’Malley (90): Probably one of the few movies to sorta get it right was “Looker” — the ease with which digital images can be manipulated for advertising purposes and used had me thinking back then (in the 1980s) “no way… computers won’t do that” and then of course they started using the same technology by the 1990s to bring dead stars to life for Super Bowl ads. Not saying it was a great movie, though.

94. Pozzo
    June 17th, 2009 at 6:50 am [Reply]

    “And Toni’s got autographed plaster casts all over her room. Who’s Long Dong Silver?”

95. Amateur
    June 17th, 2009 at 7:05 am [Reply]

    MW: “I missed your cooking, Mary! I missed it so much I dressed to match your salmon squares!”

96. Frozen
    June 17th, 2009 at 7:20 am [Reply]

    This may be a bit off-topic, but look who’s in 3-D!
    

97. John C Fremont
    June 17th, 2009 at 7:21 am [Reply]

    #62 – Is that really you? Yay!! Hey, everybody, she’s back!! I’m suddenly very happy!

    9CL – Hey, McEldowney, you can’t talk about Nebraska that way. That’s my job!

    Phantom – Is this a Sure Deoderant commercial?

    RMMD – Who is Janice Webb? What is The Dell? What’s that thing on Becka’s lower lip?

    Pluggers – Maybe he’d have more success if he’d make with the Michael Patterson “O” face…

98. One-eyed Wolfdog
    June 17th, 2009 at 7:40 am [Reply]

    EC: “It’s strange — he used to be so well behaved, but ever since he came back from that old Micmac burial ground…”

99. One-eyed Wolfdog
    June 17th, 2009 at 7:42 am [Reply]

    Dennis: [hands pruning saw to scowly guest] “You might need this. My dad says you’ve got a big stick up your ass.”

100. One-eyed Wolfdog
     June 17th, 2009 at 7:55 am [Reply]

     MW: If every scene in your comic is going to revolve around eating, then LEARN TO DRAW FOOD. There’s a nice picture of a hamburger in Archie today; why don’t you try your hand at that. If it comes out looking like a bowl full of homogenous pastel lumps, YOU’RE STILL DOING IT WRONG AND YOU NEED TO PRACTICE MORE. Ahem.

101. AhClem
     June 17th, 2009 at 8:09 am [Reply]

     #71 bats:[ -
     Those jumpsuits are made of the same absorbent material they use to make self-cleaning ovens.

102. Whippersnapper
     June 17th, 2009 at 8:24 am [Reply]

     MW: Liar! No one misses salmon squares- not even demented former residents of Charterstone. Apparently, the deprogrammers that Delilah’s family hired after kidnapping her from Charterstone were not successful.

103. Hogenmogen
     June 17th, 2009 at 8:32 am [Reply]

     #69 – True Fable – funny thing you should mention death & taxes, but not include the third member of that morose trinity potty training.

     But to add to your comment about far-flung-futuristic-fantasies, “Lost In Space” was supposed to have occurred in 1997. I was also thinking that all the cutting edge dystopic sci fi novels of the 1960s didn’t account for the fact that in 30-40 years, it would be the flower children and children of the flower children running the world. Why would they suddenly become Big-Brother sycophants or some other Stalinesque beaurocrat?

     Quantum Leap had a bit where someone in the past got to talk to Al (Dean Stockwell) who is from the future. “Is everything really clean? Can cars fly in the air?”
     “Cars can’t fly and the air is dirty.”

     But this isn’t a comic topic, so I’ll drop it.

     Blandie is falling into a formula where you take an ordinary item and twist it into a food theme. Pepperoni-scented car freshener and BurgerBlogging are just two examples of this oh-so-hilarious culinary-comic-combo. Yeah, the larfs abound. Guffaw guffaw. Chortle. Meh.

     Big Dog: See, it’s hilarious, because he’s a big dog. Get it? A really big dog! Haw haw!

     I’ve learned something new this Buxley Day. I didn’t know that they keep you in the hospital overnight to treat chlamydia.

     A couple million dollars in a dinky bag like that? “Don’t they realize that no one can stop me?” Except the other 50 times that you’ve been caught. And then Spidey throws in some op-ed commentary on our economic situation. Oh God, why does this strip exist?

     WHO in your company is responsible for the waste material? It would have been cooler to show an owl’s butt talking, but I’ll settle for the sparrow(?). Anyway, everyone knows that WCC stands for Winkerbean Cancer Corporation.

     You’re Godiva Danube, the actress!
     And I thought she was Chesty McGorgeous, the short-tempered-biotch.

     I thought that the Lockhorns’ marriage counselor was “Dr. Blog”. Long time readers said that it was “Blog” long before there was an internet. Here, he’s “Dr. Millman”. A reaction, perhaps?

     Good to know that everything is going well at the office of Dr. Morgan. Treating one patient in three years really cuts down on the paperwork.

     Curtis and Chutney are forcibly mashed into bosoms the size of beach balls, yet emerge beaming with – spider senses? Beaming with – the thought that they will sue the school district for million$? Beaming with – a milk moustache? Ye Gods, today’s strip makes me hurl.

104. Ben
     June 17th, 2009 at 8:39 am [Reply]

     I think everyone here should read “The Funnies” by J. Robert Lennon. It’s a hilarious book about what is ostensibly the behind the scenes of The Family Circus, with different names.

     The cartoonist who draws it has died, and in his will has asked his son to take over the strip for him, which he reluctantly does. The book is not so much about that, however, as it is about discovering the differences between the real life people and the cartoon versions, and how screwed up they’ve become, including the ‘extra’ son who never even appeared in the strip.

     It also deals with the dad’s private porno-comic stash, and just how difficult drawing those seemingly simple melonheads really is.

     Anyway, pitch over. I’m trying not to reveal too much, but believe me, its a great read.

105. Hogenmogen
     June 17th, 2009 at 8:40 am [Reply]

     And how can I forget Family Circle of Hell’s week long look from a new perspective in the Keane family. Today’s caption should have read “We like it when Daddy vents at inanimate objects, because then he doesn’t beat us. As much.” Rage against the machine, Bil.

106. the angry black woman
     June 17th, 2009 at 8:57 am [Reply]

     wow, I’m surprised so many people remember me. yep, I’m back. I missed you too much!

     I was just telling some friends the other week about my AldoMania fanvids and felt nostalgic, so I’ve been lurking for a little while.

     (Plus a new friend of mine said that she’d seen my picture on the sidebar and wondered if that was me. I can’t believe Josh is still using it! hehe, that’s awesome.)

107. Darkefang
     June 17th, 2009 at 9:18 am [Reply]

     A3G: Who said it was a secret? Margo never told Tommie about Eric’s brother because it would have required, y’know, talking to Tommie.

     BB: Miss Buxley is lying in bed, surrounded by eight men….

     I dare someone to come up with some snark about today’s strip that doesn’t involve pornography.

     MW: If Delilah can’t quite live up to Mary’s culinary standards, I think I’m beginning to see what the problem is in her marriage. Lawrence is avoiding mealtime at home ever since he discovered food that isn’t shapeless, colorless blobs of goo.

     Phantom: Being a member of the Jungle Patrol is the most dangerous job in the world. So dangerous, in fact, that to even qualify for training, an unarmed potential officer must be able to single-handedly capture the most dangerous terrorists in the world. So dangerous that as readers, we’re only able to safely view Jungle Patrol officers waiting for ambulances and folding laundry.

     S-M: This Spider-man comic strip chooses the moment Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man are bracing for a huge battle over the brown sack marked with a dollar sign to make some kind of commentary on the banking crisis?

108. Calico
     June 17th, 2009 at 9:23 am [Reply]

     The Family Circus is coming dangerously close to Reality Television – the above panel seems to have been lifted from a “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ episode.

     Or, perhaps, The Lockhorns.

109. Calico
     June 17th, 2009 at 9:24 am [Reply]

     #105 – My goodness – welcome back!
     It’s weird (or not) because I was thinking of your Aldo tributes on You Tube the other day.
     Wow! : )

110. blammers66
     June 17th, 2009 at 9:26 am [Reply]

     C’shaft: It’s funny because she invokes the image of a man – already in the throes of death as he need O2 to breathe – seriously burned because of his need for nicotine. I allowed myself the hilarious image of him immediately exploding because of said misfourtune, but hen I remembered that this is the Batiukiverse, so a long, slow painful existence resulting in a horrible lonely death was what he was going for. Dopey me.

111. Muffaroo
     June 17th, 2009 at 9:26 am [Reply]

     9CL – Your state sucks too, McEldowney. I suppose I should be grateful it wasn’t yet another swipe at Texas or New Jersey.

     Archie – Whenever people say you can’t compare apples and oranges, I show that you can. They’re both round-ish. One’s this color, one’s that color. You can eat the peel of one of them. And so on.

     BBailey – I don’t want to see what the Photoshoppers do with this one.

     DTracy – How much space would 1500 thousand-dollar bills take up? And why is Abraham Lincoln in the first panel, wearing Dick’s necktie?

     Marfield – Unsurprisingly, I can’t think of anything more disgusting to say than what’s in the strip.

     MTrail – She’s sure they aren’t dumping lead in Lost Forest because Williams Chemical is better known by its street name, “Asbestos ‘R’ Us.”

     SFox – Yay, Saratoga Chips!

     SSmif – Penalty applies for not laughing with protruding tongues in final panel. The chicken is exempt, due to its inflexible beak.

     S-Man – Oooh, topical again. Yes, banks do need their money these days! Because we’re living in… the FUTURE!

     True Fable @72 – When the Star Trek blueprints first came out, I was poring over them with another geek. I asked him what all the small rooms marked “TL” were, and he said, “Terlit.” I’m not sure how long it was before I realized they were turbolifts, but I suspect the interval could be stated in years.

112. Edgy DC
     June 17th, 2009 at 9:34 am [Reply]

     Justin (#8): Honestly, I can’t wait until fake little Billy grows up and draws a fake but unflinching daily cartoon-memoir about the misery that was his fake childhood.

     He’s 55.

     Unless we’re talking about the fake Billy. In which case growing up isn’t part of the program.

113. Tom
     June 17th, 2009 at 9:58 am [Reply]

     Wow, Glen “Billy” Keane has an impressive career. Well now we know why “Jeffy” is drawn as a buffoon, the real “Jeffy” obviously has some issues with his older brothers success and his, let’s just say, “limited” success.

114. queek
     June 17th, 2009 at 10:29 am [Reply]

     chibi TrueFable has a guest appearance in today’s Cul de Sac.

115. Artist formerly known as Ben
     June 17th, 2009 at 10:30 am [Reply]

     6/17

     S-M: Memo to Doc Ock. When your plan to tap the bank involves strapping four giant electronic Slinkies to your torso and hovering over the street, yeah, people are going to treat it like a big deal. If your such a genius, learn to hack their security. Or join the board of directors.

     M-Dawg: The most horrifying truth-or-dare game ever.

     H&J: Tune in tomorrow as Jamaal realizes the expiration date was for June of 2008 and has to get his stomach pumped.

     SFx: I’m not eating anything that waiter brings me. His expression verily screams “I whizzed in it.”

     FC: Billy, age 7, exposes his father’s rageaholic tendencies. It’s called tough love, dad.

     DtM: The man’s got more than one screw loose. He’s wearing orange shag carpeting on his head and he skinned the upholstery off his couch to make that suit. Giving him a lethal weapon is the most menacing thing Dennis has done in years, if only out of ignorance.

116. Bootsy
     June 17th, 2009 at 10:45 am [Reply]

     Hey, the angry black woman! My sister in law still looks for my mug in the sidebar (and sees it on occasion). Guess Josh hasn’t gotten any new pics of fans in CC merch, or he just loves us that much.

117. commodorejohn
     June 17th, 2009 at 10:45 am [Reply]

     A3G – What’s with the italics on “not until last night?” Was there something especially notable about Margo and Tommie’s interactions the previous night? (Were they “picking olives off the pie?”)

     Archie – The ALGJU3K explores the amusing difference between the “==” and “<” operators.

     A.D. – “Funk” as a sound effect? That’s pretty awesome.

     BB – Um…ha ha, sexual harrassment?

     Crankshaft – Ha ha! People being horribly burned in medical accidents! Ha ha ha!

     Curtis – I’m sure there’s a website for this.

     FC – …Jeff? Is there something you’re trying to tell us?

     GT – Oh good, I was hoping that this drama could be played out with tiny, completely indistinguishable figures.

     JP – Good gravy, even by Judge Parker standards those things are big.

     MT – The question is, is the vice president doing it to try and get in her pants?

     MW – She’s a worse cook than Mary Worth!? I don’t buy it. There are anime tomboys who make food less frightening than Mary Worth’s.

     OBH – Aww…

     PC – “I liked the vehicles so much, I bought the company.”

     SF – Aww…wait, indoor trampoline? Sally, you buzzkill!

     SM – Yeah, that excuse never worked for me, either.

     Edison Lee – I don’t know what they’re going for with a new character, but she can’t possibly be more annoying than the regulars.

118. Artist formerly known as Ben
     June 17th, 2009 at 11:00 am [Reply]

     #117 commodorejohn,
     What’s weird is that the “funk” comes after “hammer hammer.” As rappers go, I never thought Hammer was that funky.

119. Hogenmogen
     June 17th, 2009 at 11:00 am [Reply]

     I have to say that for the first time ever, I’m really looking forward to seeing into the dark underbelly of Family Circus. Monday showed a drunken, passed out Bil, Tuesday Thel found the reciepts from the cheap hotel, Wednesday Bil picks a fight with a vending machine. I’m hoping that
     Thursday “Daddy lib’rates a liquor store.”
     Friday “Daddy spends a night in a big house.”
     Saturday “Daddy likes to pick up soap for his new friends.”

120. Josh
     June 17th, 2009 at 11:20 am [Reply]

     Welcome back, Angry Black Woman! Yes, once your picture goes into the sidebar rotation, it stays there … FOREVER. The site brings a new pic up randomly every time its loaded, so as I add more pics each individual pic doesn’t come up as often, but I never take any out (unless the picture subject wants me to, for some reason).

     Josh

121. Mibbitmaker
     June 17th, 2009 at 11:28 am [Reply]

     BBailey: If I had time to post about yesterday’s comics before now, I would’ve said, “Worst. MST3K. Ever.” So now, today’s once again shows some characters in shadow — except now, there are 4 of them (Like, say, Mike AND Joel and the ‘bots?), and they are watching a good sight indeed. So now I have to say, instead, “Gee, I didn’t know Miss Buxley was so short!”

     Curtis: Status quo averted! Status quo averted! – - whew, that was close.

     666CL: Yes, Brooke, we know you hate God as much as you hate the human race, we GET it. Move on already…

     BC: Here’s an invention that proves that this takes place post-Apocalypse: A floating cluster that uses a hammer. We can’t see the remote control, however.

     BBlues: And Miss Buxley thinks she’s getting unwanted attention in a skeevy way! Also, can the photographs please be drawn by JP’s Barreto?

     Big ol’ Dawg (Marmaduke, that is): “Secrets have a way of growing heavier with time.” — Ruby (A3G)

     MW: “…you know, the whole point of this furshlugginer storyline? Let’s get ON with it. After all, I’m running out of replacement swan statuettes here, house guest.”

     Popeye: I wouldn’t worry. The sea serpent looks drunk.

     RMMD: June: “Cool. Say ‘hi’ to the farmer in there for me. Hi-ho-the-merry-o and all that…”

     RMMD2: So I guess the next storyline will appear in Dell Comics. (*ducks*) ….You want I should’ve said “Gold Key”?

     Zits: Stop it!

122. vanya
     June 17th, 2009 at 12:06 pm [Reply]

     What the f**k did Nebraska ever do to you, Brooke? What a bitter little man he is.

     He does pound the hell out of that thesaurus though.

123. sully
     June 17th, 2009 at 12:32 pm [Reply]

     Shannon? THAT’s not Shannon!
     There is/was only one Sh-sh-sh-annon; saintly, simple, retarded friend of April in FOOB. Not only would the real Shannon have taken 30 minutes to sign her name on the cast, she would have supplied a serious, painfully pun-filled moral lesson by strip’s end, thereby enlightening and enriching the lives of every poor non-challenged reader, god bless her poor, tetched soul!

124. Carbunicle
     June 17th, 2009 at 12:41 pm [Reply]

     - Thanks to the commenters who include links to the comics – it helps!
     - There really is something powerful about Family Circus but not in a good way. Everyone I know has a strong reaction to it and it’s usually negative. Is it the bland disconnect from reality? When I was a kid I could never reconcile the giant-headed children growing up into the little-headed adults, the future-looking strips notwithstanding. In a way, Bill Keane was ahead of his time chibi-wise. Ditto Schultz.
     - Following links from here, I came across some writing and audio from Glen Keane. He seems like a really nice guy who can also teach. So thanks again, hyperlinkers!
     -Sorry for diluting the snark-count.

125. Frozen
     June 17th, 2009 at 1:27 pm [Reply]

     what paper do you guys read the comics from? I’ve been using the Seattle Times but it doesn’t have the soap comics.

126. Katya
     June 17th, 2009 at 1:49 pm [Reply]

     Hi, #125 — Frozen:

     I read the comics online in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (even though I don’t live anywhere near there).

     They have Rex Morgan, Mary Worth, Mark Trail and Judge Parker. No Apartment 3-G, though. Or Spider Man.

     I originally went to that site to keep up with Rex Morgan when I cancelled my newspaper subscription (my husband was getting too upset that old newspapers were hanging around for too long and not getting put into the recycling). While there, I discovered this wonderful site; it was then that I started reading the other serial/soap opera comics, ‘cuz it seems that Josh likes to comment on them frequently. It’s also fun to follow their stupid little stories!

     Hope this helps. :)

127. Frozen
     June 17th, 2009 at 1:55 pm [Reply]

     Hey, thanks! I’ll check it out

128. Katya
     June 17th, 2009 at 2:20 pm [Reply]

     #127 — Frozen:

     You’re very welcome! Sorry — just had to add that; I was brought up to be polite! Ha, ha!

     Hope you have fun reading those strips. I do; I have learned through this very instructive and wise site (said with tongue firmly in cheek) never to take the comics at face value, as I always used to do. Silly, silly me! What on earth could I have been thinking?!

     Now, thanks to “Comics Curmudgeon,” I have learned of all the subtexts and hidden meanings that actually lurk in what I thought were nothing more than innocuous funnies! Not so, not so! There’s so much more going on in them than meets the eye, if only one has the opportunity to be properly educated in regard to them, as I have been fortunate enough to have been here!

     One thing I have learned here is: always look at all comics with a jaundiced eye! If nothing else, it’s a whole lot more fun that way!

129. queek
     June 17th, 2009 at 2:56 pm [Reply]

     125: Josh traditionally uses the Chron as the base for his comics:

     http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComics.mpl

     note that the SeaPoI that Katya mentions is a better choice for the Sunday comics.

130. Buchholz Surfer
     June 17th, 2009 at 3:20 pm [Reply]

     Brad has at least one friend: Grinny McBowlingshirt.

     And I guess Toni’s just a friend, since he’s not ever going to be man enough to even kiss her. Like all males in this comic, he is an awkward, clueless pansy who is scared of girls, and needs the woman to ask him out, or else they would never even be in public together.

131. InfoMofo
     June 17th, 2009 at 4:19 pm [Reply]

     Wait… WTF is going on with The Family Circus?

132. The Ultimate Jerk
     June 21st, 2009 at 10:56 pm [Reply]

     Yo Brad WTF???? You live with TJ. The guy in the closet with the door kicked open. You want Toni but you’re too lame. Your little sister and kids pick on you. You’re gonna bang Toni when Curtis gets Michelle. You are gay. You’re her gay friend. Get used t it.

133. ???????
     January 28th, 2010 at 2:07 am [Reply]

     ???????, ?????)))

All the cool kids…

…buy Comics Curmudgeon merchandise!

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