The Comics Curmudgeon

42 responses to “Metapost: I love it when you give me things”

1. Beasley
   August 23rd, 2005 at 10:31 pm [Reply]

   I have no words for this engineering feat. What a darn cool umbrella!

2. Chet McCord, Wildlife Defender
   August 23rd, 2005 at 10:45 pm [Reply]

   Sure, Sam, make the rest of us look like ingrate cheapskates. Yeah, thanks a lot.

   Jerk.

3. Jon
   August 24th, 2005 at 4:54 am [Reply]

   And now you proudly get to display your love of Garfield for all to view! Huzzah!

4. Robert
   August 24th, 2005 at 5:18 am [Reply]

   Looks like an umbrella made of the comic pages wouldn’t be much use in the rain for long…?

5. Frank Drackman
   August 24th, 2005 at 5:43 am [Reply]

   T
   Thursdays Family Circus..I think THEL gave Dagwood their address yrs ago,I’ve noticed the children all look a little more like Dagwood than “Daddy”

6. Tricia
   August 24th, 2005 at 7:07 am [Reply]

   Sam,
   looks like at great seller, polly it first and than take it to the Chicago Gift Show, you’ll sell a million, they could be all be orginals..if you mix up the content.

   Tricia

7. Mooselet
   August 24th, 2005 at 7:09 am [Reply]

   This is a shameless ploy for free stuff, isn’t it? Now we’re all gonna look bad if we don’t send you things. Let’s see… how about some swans? You know, now that I look at it, I don’t see Mary Worth or Mark Trail on that umbrella.

   Run for higher ground, mule!!

8. Lee
   August 24th, 2005 at 8:05 am [Reply]

   That umbrella looks like the kind of premium a newspaper give out to subscribers who get home delivery. Where I live, they get Spurs umbrellas. This one’s still pretty cool, though.

   As for today’s strips:

   “Funky Winkerbean”: Is it just me, or does Becky (and did anybody really think she wouldn’t survive the bombing?) look … not altogether overjoyed to see Wally? Is A3-G offering Wildly Inappropriate Margo Reaction Shotsâ„¢ for sale to other artists now?

   Speaking of A3-G: Luann’s reaction in the final frame reminds me of nothing so much as a bell that’s just been struck. Only a bell isn’t nearly as empty as Luann’s head.

   FBOFW: Finally, a punchline! I’m not saying it’s a GOOD punchline, but I’m glad to see it nonetheless.

   And is that beer Laura’s serving to April? Attempted rape, adultery, cybersex, underage drinking – I’m beginning to think that Lynn doesn’t have a single idea in her head that she didn’t steal from some morning talk show.

   “Mary Worth”: Hell hath no fury like a woman helped…

9. rich24
   August 24th, 2005 at 9:17 am [Reply]

   FBOFW: I don’t know if that’s a proper punchline…for me, the thought of April pathetically smooching a filthy computer screen kind of spoiled the hilarity of that “gotcha!” ending. Besides, her cousin has a distractingly weird mouth. I know we’re supposed to be deeply invested in every aspect of Apwil’s exciting life, but this plotline makes me yearn to read more about calcium pills and container ships. (By the way, whatever happened to MIKE Patterson and his hardhitting expose of the Kelpfroths?)

10. luluchappel
    August 24th, 2005 at 9:27 am [Reply]

    FBOFW beverage: I thought it was beer at first, too, but maybe it’s just some strangely-coloured Canadian iced tea.

11. DCBirdblaster
    August 24th, 2005 at 9:28 am [Reply]

    What a coincidence!
    I read Foobworld this morning and then checked my email. In my email one of my buddies forwarded me this link:

    media.putfile.com/05340818_window2

    Then I made a very disturbing visualization…(shudders in self disgust)

12. DCBirdblaster
    August 24th, 2005 at 9:32 am [Reply]

    Let me try that link thingy again:

    Screen Kiss

    I hate it when I forget my punctuation.

13. Dennis Jimenez
    August 24th, 2005 at 9:34 am [Reply]

    MT – 8.24.2005 – Hey if that fish thinks flying through the air impaled on a barbed hook is exciting, imagine what thrills its in store for when when its scaled, gutted, filleted and fried as a shore lunch….

14. Lee
    August 24th, 2005 at 9:38 am [Reply]

    (By the way, whatever happened to MIKE Patterson and his hardhitting expose of the Kelpfroths?)

    Rich, give it a few weeks, and I get the feeling we’ll be saying that about Liz and her attempted-rape storyline. Lynn seems to have commitment issues when it comes to her plots.

15. Gryph
    August 24th, 2005 at 9:56 am [Reply]

    What was up with LuAnn today? Did I miss some prior discussion that would lead her to the conclusion that he was moving to New England?

    (p.s. what is the setting for this strip? I always assumed it was NY, and thus….already in New England)

16. DCBirdblaster
    August 24th, 2005 at 2:06 pm [Reply]

    New York in New England? The way I learned it New York referred to the megalopolis of New York City, the boroughs, long island, and some parts of Jersey and Deleware.

    When I think New England, I think Massachusetts and all states north, i.e. anywhere you can get awesome chowder. I guess upstate New York would qualify as it parallels the northern states and has a similar level or rurality. I’m not sure. What do the locals think? Do upstate Yorkies consider themselves New Englanders?

    FYI: I’m sure you can get chowder in NYC, but I’ll bet it’s being made as an afterthought by Chef Pompousfrenchguy or Chef JustgotofftheboatfromIndia.

17. Allison
    August 24th, 2005 at 2:10 pm [Reply]

    I grew up in Connecticut. NY is indeed where the strip is set, but NY is NOT a part of New England. Of course, it isn’t all that far away–a lot of New England commutes to The City everyday, so I’m not sure why she is all that dismayed. Maybe the trains are beyond her abilities to navigate?

18. rich
    August 24th, 2005 at 2:17 pm [Reply]

    New Englanders certainly don’t think of New York as a part of New England! …even if New York is physically closer than, say, Maine.

    [By the way, I've renamed myself, after googling "Rich24" and finding a dorky imposter using my handle. Therefore I've decided to drop the lucky number and remain yours truly, just plain Rich]

19. Islamorada Girl
    August 24th, 2005 at 2:27 pm [Reply]

    Ahem. First, where can I get an umbrella like that?
    Second, New York is part of the Mid-Atlantic states, along with Jersey, PA, DE and MD.I have no idea why.

    Death to Gil Thorp.

20. Mark Kawakami
    August 24th, 2005 at 2:37 pm [Reply]

    Am I wrong for really, really wanting one of those? And I mean, really wanting one.

21. Lee
    August 24th, 2005 at 3:08 pm [Reply]

    No, Mark, you’re not wrong. Those umbrellas are really cool. Maybe eBay could help?

22. rich
    August 24th, 2005 at 3:17 pm [Reply]

    Mary Worth: That’s either a really well drawn amoeba on her shirt, or a really poorly drawn “I wuv you THIS much!” figure.

    Phantom: “It was a false legend, Mina, it should end with us, don’t you think?” And thus our adventure reaches its thrilling, erase-her-memory climax! “I’ll just whack you four times over the head with this big stick – you won’t feel anything after the first three.”

23. Chet McCord, Wildlife Defender
    August 24th, 2005 at 3:35 pm [Reply]

    New England: CT, RI, MA, Vt, NH, ME

    I think that blob on Mary’s pelouse is supposed to be a starfish.

24. patti
    August 24th, 2005 at 3:43 pm [Reply]

    I am a former upstate NY-er, and we considered ourselves New Englanders. In fact we couldn’t have been more different from NYC, we lived 5 hours away and our town only had about 50 people in it (on a good day, with a traffic jam and maybe a blizzard trapping people passing by on their way to Syracuse or some where)

25. J.Po
    August 24th, 2005 at 3:59 pm [Reply]

    RE: #8, et al: The Phila. Inquirer does indeed give those umbrellas away to home subscribers, though the promotion is kind of sporadic…you can probably check further at http://www.philly.com if you REALLY want one enough to subscribe to the Inquirer, which has an only-average comics page.

    Change of topic: I, too, was wondering where LuAnn came up with the New England reference, since I don’t think Scott ever mentioned it. New York is not part of New England, though the northern part of the state (Adirondacks in particular) have a decidedly-New England feel to them. Having lived for many years in New England, after growing up in the NY Metro area, I would advise LuAnn to pick up and move, if for no other reason than The Yankees Suck.

26. RBF
    August 24th, 2005 at 5:57 pm [Reply]

    Hey fellow clueless CCC’s. The current A3G strip kinda “skipped” when they put Millionaireboy and Luann at the nameless couple’s house (whom we later found out were his “Headmaster” and wife or whatever).

    So, following that drift, the Headmaster must live in New England, since they’ve now decided to TAKE A HIKE (yeh…. more on that later).

    Thus… this hard-to-follow plot leads us to the super-contrived, utterly inappropriate and misunderstood crippling head-bobble from Luann, the blonde air-head.

    Thank goodness there’re no brains in her head to become discombobulated. (sp?)

    New ENGLAND? Is that across the ocean, Scott?

27. RBF
    August 24th, 2005 at 6:02 pm [Reply]

    Scott: What ocean, Luann? I wuv you! Let’s make kissy face.

    Luann: What a funny joke.

28. RBF
    August 24th, 2005 at 6:23 pm [Reply]

    And yeah, I wuv your umbrella, Josh! WAY COOL!

    And glad you have time to fool around with crap like this, while the future Mrs. C. is having a stroke doing all of the wedding preparations by herself.

    Heh heh (had to be said, Dude).

29. RBF
    August 24th, 2005 at 6:26 pm [Reply]

    Not to dis the Umbrella, that thing really is TOO COOL.

30. FleaBailey
    August 24th, 2005 at 7:04 pm [Reply]

    And on Mary Worth, what is up with Toby’s pseudo-60s Indian headband, anyway? She looks ridiculous.

31. J.Po
    August 24th, 2005 at 8:38 pm [Reply]

    Here ya go, kids…the link to the site where you can BUY a Philadelphia Inquirer Comix Umbrella… https://newsstand.pnionline.com/store/newsstand_viewitem.asp?idproduct=51 .

    Note that the description of the umbrella (which reads like a Hall Of Fame Of Lame Comics) doesn’t seem to match the photo. Buy at your own risk, else Run to Higher Ground.

32. J.Po
    August 24th, 2005 at 8:40 pm [Reply]

    Or wander our fair city, looking for places where the Inky has set up sidewalk displays to solicit home delivery subscriptions (not a great option for our far-afield Cards, for a variety of reasons). Last time I saw one of these, I was heading toward Reading Terminal Market for some cannolis at Termini’s…(Isla, Lor, you wit’ me?)

33. Skooter
    August 24th, 2005 at 11:10 pm [Reply]

    Rex Morgan, MD. Wouldn’t you say that Lorna has a beautiful skunk stripe of a hairdo? Is the sly doctor behind the “sign the release ploy” or is this something Pusboy’s dad learned while strip mining in Montana?

34. the ghost
    August 24th, 2005 at 11:41 pm [Reply]

    I have this beat. I had the same umbrella, but instead of from the Inq, it was from the Beaver County Times. Hot. Firearms.

    Lost it though, drunkenly. I saw this umbrella at a Phillies game last week. I almost signed up for a subscription just to get it, but I live in DC now. Unfortunately.

35. Mibbitmaker
    August 25th, 2005 at 1:12 am [Reply]

    I use recent/old Sunday comics pages for wrapping on my nephews’ birthday/Christmas presents, myself.

    8/24:

    A3G – And WHAT’S wrong with New England, Luann?? (Mass. resident here) Actually, it seems like this strip is a victim of a rip in the time-space continuum, where each strip skips important points in the story. A similar problem plagues FBOFW; it keeps skipping story conclusions!

    FC – I actually liked this one. Who knew Jeff and Bil (or is it Jef and Bill?) were capable of such satirical humor? Makes me wonder if more caustic strips (like, say, Non Sequitur) could join in, only to mock the whole thing.

    FW – Seems like the dialogue is just dying to escape the speech balloons. Or maybe the balloons are trying to kick the words out. Either way, can’t blame them!

    btw, suddenly the lovebirds reunite?? It took Les and Lisa the whole freakin’ summer of 1994 to get to that point! Or did the whole stepping on a land mine just SEEM like the whole summer?

    Gee, both The Buckets and Baby Blues could be answered with a resounding “DUUUUUUUH!!”, but it has to be said with little-kid sarcasm.

36. Sheila
    August 25th, 2005 at 10:14 am [Reply]

    The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sometimes offers those comics umbrellas, too. When they have those sidewalk kiosks to sign up new subscribers, periodically.

37. PizzaBagel
    August 25th, 2005 at 12:38 pm [Reply]

    If so many newspapers are offering these umbrellas as promotions, I’m surprised we don’t see these things all over the place – sprouting up like kudzu, as it were.

38. Lee
    August 25th, 2005 at 12:55 pm [Reply]

    My newspaper doesn’t carry Kudzu…

39. Anne Nonymous
    August 25th, 2005 at 4:45 pm [Reply]

    You’re not missing anything, Lee. Kudzu is now all about the preacher, either at a lame baseball game, at the pulpit, or conducting a funeral or wedding. That’s it. Boring and repetitive.

40. Gilmore Guy
    August 26th, 2005 at 9:41 am [Reply]

    I love it when you give me things.
    You ought to give me wedding rings.

41. Lee
    August 29th, 2005 at 2:04 pm [Reply]

    Is that from “The Ballad of Margo”? (Not that she’d ever actually want to get married. She’d just want the rings.)

42. comics
    September 6th, 2005 at 6:27 pm [Reply]

    This is a test comment to see if previewing is still working.

    jf

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