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I’m working on a PowerPoint presentation on this subject

Crock, 10/10/09

Oh, hi Crock! Thanks for stopping by to help serve as a cautionary example in my “how not to tell a joke” clinic! Here are some quick pointers:

  • “One end of a phone conversation” jokes are tricky! You have to structure it such that it seems kind of natural, but the reader still gets all the information they need to piece together what’s going on. In fact, how you parcel out that information, revealing unexpected tidbits in interesting ways, is often at the heart of the sequence’s humor! Having the one person whose dialogue you can read or hear simply repeat back what the hidden interlocutor has just said sort of kills the magic.
  • However, once you’ve established that we the readers can’t hear the person at other end of the phone conversation, and thus the person we can see will be supplying the dialogue for both participants, don’t change up the rules by supplying jaggedy word balloons out of the telephone’s earpiece. It’s confusing.
  • Fat people tend to be spherical or oblong, rather than linear.
  • A comic that consists of three panels of some dude talking on a phone against a grey background is not particularly interesting visually.

But hey, at least your punchline didn’t make light of torture or slavery!

Mary Worth, 10/10/09

“Of course, when I say ‘right behind,’ you have to keep in mind that the Earth is a sphere, and thus any seemingly straight line will, if you follow it long enough, simply bring you back to your starting point. In that sense, I’m roughly 25,000 miles behind you, which, on the vast scale of the entire universe, is barely any distance at all. I do concede, however, that by the mundane terms in which we usually view our day-to-day existence, I could more accurately be said to be ‘right in front’ of you. But our relationship is much more elevated than that, isn’t it, Jeff?”

Spider-Man, 10/10/09

Ha ha, we all think that the Sandman has mended his ways, but … the monster is forcing his innocent daughter to watch Jay Leno! Does this madman have no decency?

Marvin, 10/10/09

This week-long plot about the fact that it smells bad when you poop in your pants has climaxed with Marvin being punched in the face, and thus I take back anything bad I may have said about it.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 10:20 pm and is filed under Crock, Marvin, Mary Worth, Spider-Man.

88 responses to “I’m working on a PowerPoint presentation on this subject”

  1. AeroSquid
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:23 pm [Reply]

    And thus begins Columbus Day in ‘Mudge Land. Hagar has been pillaging the New World years before ol’ Chris.

  2. AeroSquid
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:27 pm [Reply]

    Marvin: This reminds me of one of those ‘Office tact’ videos that I’ve been made to watch on a periodic basis over the years in the Civil Service of my country. ‘How do you tactfully approach a female co-worker who smells like a sweaty race horse without having an EEO complaint filed against YOU ?’

  3. AeroSquid
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:28 pm [Reply]

    S-M: “Bad stand-up comedy on Showtime, kid.”

  4. B. Racoon
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:30 pm [Reply]

    AeroSquid – Little Known Fact
    The Vikings were actually raccoons.

  5. StrangeRover
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:31 pm [Reply]

    Children LOVE to say, “How DARE you!!” and also, “Unhand me you blackguard!!”

  6. Angry Kem
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:32 pm [Reply]

    #1 AeroSquid: This year, October 12th is also Thanksgiving Monday in Canada. The main comics-related benefit of Canadian Thanksgiving is that unlike American Thanksgiving, it does not prompt every single newspaper cartoonist to make a terrible joke about a turkey that does not want to be killed.

    Has anyone ever done a collection of Reluctant Turkey Strips? Someone really should. It could be used as a textbook by teachers who need to give their students several examples of how not to be funny.

  7. Carly
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:33 pm [Reply]

    I’m thinking way too hard about what it means that Tommy was actually speaking in the middle panel of Marvin. Is he just older? Does yelling not work very well in the baby thought language? Wouldn’t someone notice?

  8. Digger
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:33 pm [Reply]

    You know you’ve got a serious problem when even Marvin thinks you smell like shit.

    So is Sandman’s daughter some kind of Sand-girl? Do other kids make fun of her? “Hey, sandy-face, why don’t you go…….lie on a beach somewhere?” (Okay, that’s pretty lame. I’ve never actually mocked a sand-person before).

  9. R. Riis
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:34 pm [Reply]

    S-M: Worse, Sandman obviously TiVos Jay Leno’s show for his daughter to watch, since evidence in panel one suggests it is broad daylight outside.

  10. Doubting Apostle
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:34 pm [Reply]

    Apparently the offended kid is capable of high-level verbal communication. Perhaps this makes him so valuable to his thumb-sucking peers that he can flaunt his own waste in front of them with confidence, violently oppressing those who question him.

  11. Anna Nimity of the Jungle Patrol
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:34 pm [Reply]

    How come two of the “babies” talk in “thought” bubbles, but the third one has a “speech” balloon? Huh?

    (Is that enough “quotes” for ya Margo?)

  12. Uncle Lumpy
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:36 pm [Reply]

    Hey, it’s Angry Kem!

  13. cj
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:36 pm [Reply]

    Spidey:

    The second panel of today’s strip is so the ending scene of a dark comedy. It is therefore far too good for newspaper Spider-Man, and will be promptly ruined.

  14. Citric
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:38 pm [Reply]

    With the bizarre look of that TV, it instead looks like Jay Leno has been trapped in the Phantom Zone from Superman 2.

  15. Angry Kem
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:39 pm [Reply]

    #12 Uncle Lumpy: Angry Kem is avoiding marking seventy in-class essays.

  16. Alan's Addiction
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:40 pm [Reply]

    Who remembers line dancing, apart from “Crock’s” writers? Even I was alive for it, and I only remember that it involved country music… I think. The point is, don’t make the punchline something that’s slipping into obscurity. It’s a bad omen for the comic strip.
    Jeff, you fool! You should know better than to let Mary Worth anywhere near the wounded, the weak, or the extremely young or elderly of the herd. She views them as prey. I can only hope that poor Detective Scott is mercifully killed before she begins eating his mortal shell (to be followed by his extra chewy soul).
    I’ve long wondered what could possibly be worse than reading about Peter Parker watching TV. Now I know; seeing his washed-up former nemeses watching bad TV.
    I you had told me yesterday that we’d get righteous punching action in “Marvin” before we’d see it in “Mark Trail” this week, I would’ve called you crazy. I can only imagine that a black hole will soon devour the sun, signaling the end of the world.

  17. Lorem Ipsum
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:43 pm [Reply]

    babyshitpants:-Marvin you have a little schmutz on your face.

  18. Uncle Lumpy
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:44 pm [Reply]

    #15 Angry Kem –

    Angry Kem has chosen the better path!

  19. Charlene
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:46 pm [Reply]

    Two other benefits of Canadian Thanksgiving:

    1. It actually takes place during the harvest and not four weeks after winter sets in.

    2. None of that awful green-bean-and-fried-onion crap, no glazed carrots (recipe: take one pound carrots and 35 lb. sugar and mix together, then add more sugar), and no foods containing marshmallows aka Satan’s little pillows.

  20. Charlene
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:47 pm [Reply]

    #16: more importantly, when was line dancing popular with the French Foreign Legion?

  21. Angry Kem
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:47 pm [Reply]

    #16 Alan’s Addiction: Isn’t that the whole point of newspaper strips? Due to the time lag between creation and publication, they are inherently out of date. Due to the disconnect between the seventy-year-old creators and everybody now alive who is younger than sixty-five, they are even more inherently out of date. If newspaper cartoonists stopped trying to be modern and trendy, everyone would be a lot happier (well, except Josh).

  22. Larry Fine
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:49 pm [Reply]

    Spiderman — Not content with pioneering the concept of a couch potato hero, this strip now shows us a couch potato villain. When they meet for their battle, what will they fight over? The remote?

  23. AeroSquid
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:51 pm [Reply]

    6. Angry Kem: Wow ! I should have remembered that since I used to live only 35 miles from B.C. ! Today the Canadians celebrate the day Martin Frobisher arrived in 1578 in the land of Newfies….lookin’ for some soulfood….. and a place to eat ! Something something…..Boxing Day….The French…eh….I suck at Canadian history…

  24. Robert Synnott
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:52 pm [Reply]

    Eek! The Plugger for the 10th of October is a _cat_. That’s not normal, surely?

  25. seismic-2
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:53 pm [Reply]

    #8 Digger – Insults to hurl at a sand-person:
    “Hey Sandy! Shut yer trap!!!”
    “Yo’ mama’s a real beach!”
    “You’re so dumb, ain’t nobody ever gonna call you quick sand.”
    [variant]: “All your girlfriends call you ‘quick’ sand, because you’re finished in 30 seconds.”
    “What do you call 1000 lawyers buried up to their neck in sand?” “Pretty much what you deserve.”
    Etc., etc., etc.

  26. The Wanderer
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:53 pm [Reply]

    Here’s a Thanksgiving cartoon that might stress the boundary between good and bad taste:

    http://us-p.vclart.net/vcl/Artists/Wolfie/thanksgivingbb.jpg

  27. Rusty
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:53 pm [Reply]

    Is the FFL still patrolling the Sahara (I guess), or is this strip set in the past, during its relevancy? And if so, mom went on a cruise? It’s a good thing I only know about Crock through Josh, otherwise I would have to actively ignore it each day.

    Didn’t Sandman rip some dude’s legs off? I thought he was a badass. He should be watching Letterman, or Comedy Central if he can understand the jokes.

    Thanksgiving Turkey strips: BC could publish an entire anthology.

  28. Nekrotzar
    October 11th, 2009 at 10:54 pm [Reply]

    Can anyone explain the rules for speech balloons in Marvin? The other day, Jordan screamed ‘Are you out of your fucking mind?’ (I’m paraphrasing) using a bubble that indicated he was speaking out loud. Today he is back to thought ballooning. But Tommy gets to use a regular speech thingee. Is there any consistency to this? And why do I care?

  29. Chance
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:02 pm [Reply]

    26 Wanderer, I think that is a terrific cartoon. Except for the lady rabbit’s waving arms, which seem to end in bizarre circles for some reason. Everything else is great.

  30. Anna Nimity of the Jungle Patrol
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:02 pm [Reply]

    Nekro – Same question, post #11

  31. bats :[
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:03 pm [Reply]

    19. Charlene: gasp! You evidently know the legends surrounding the Blessed Not-Quite-a-Virgin-but-Close Delilah, and how she herself was tempted by Satan’s Little Pillows! We won’t even recount her encounter with Charley, Beelzebub’s right-hand man (well, not here at least).
    Fortunately, there’s a Mass card to jog the rest of our collective memories.

  32. LaziestManOnMars
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:07 pm [Reply]

    Again, I put a note in a bottle and toss it out to sea… Does anyone know what year it is in the “Crock” universe? The whole vibe is 1890-1920, but modern things crop up constantly. Did they have tacky, Carnival-esque cruises 100 years ago? Is it modern times? Are the French currently occupying some middle eastern desert? Is “Crock” a lone voice of some anti-french imperialism sentiment? The only thing I’m sure of – it is pure shit.

  33. Tracer Bullet
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:08 pm [Reply]

    #8 Digger: If you’re gonna mock a sand-person, just make jokes about the size of their Bantha.

  34. Angry Kem
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:09 pm [Reply]

    Well, I’ll be staying away from turduckens now.

    #19 Charlene: Green beans and onions? Why would anyone do that?

    I’ve never liked cooked carrots much at all, and glazed carrots sound even worse. My grandmother did insist on making creamed corn at Thanksgiving. Corn does not deserve to be creamed. As far as I’m concerned, a good Thanksgiving dinner consists of turkey, stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Oh…and perhaps some ham, plus assorted raw vegetables (especially olives) on the side. My parents are doing a combined Thanksgiving with some other people tonight, and they’re making scalloped potatoes and apple crumble.

    I, on the other hand, had to make do with a chicken leg and a cheese sandwich. I did, however, manage to secure some pie.

    Oh, hey…comics! Er. Tommy pooped his pants! *Runs away*

  35. Tlachtga
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:10 pm [Reply]

    Really? Sandman doesn’t remember The Tonight Show? This is a comic strip that revolves around superheroes and villains watching tv (or did I miss some exciting parts? How does one tell?), and he doesn’t remember The Tonight Show?

    Maybe he’s a Colbert fan.

  36. bats :[
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:10 pm [Reply]

    32. LMOM: from Wikipedia, the FFL is still in existence primarily as a special military force.
    It’s about as historically accurate as B.C., Wizard of Id, Hagar the Horrible, the Flinstones, the Roman Holidays, etc., and so on.

  37. bats :[
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:11 pm [Reply]

    36. bats: “it” being Crock, not the FFL.

  38. AeroSquid
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:16 pm [Reply]

    36. bats :[ Crock is the unfunny version of Beetle Bailey and not affiliated with the FFL. They are somehow stuck in post French Algeria and occupying a weak Quantum Causality Loop…..hence the 20/21st century leakage.

  39. Sheila Sternwell
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:17 pm [Reply]

    LaziestManonMars, I think “Crock” is supposed to be in French Algieria. It’s a spoof of “Beau Geste” (for various values of “spoof”) which would make it late 1800s to as late as maybe 1915. Although as you noticed it seems to have no coherence. Sometimes it appears to be pre-colonization (meaning 1830s-ish) and sometimes it appears to be modern day. Who knows. I doubt the creator of “Crock” has a clue.

  40. BigTed
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:17 pm [Reply]

    Scott was shot in the September 25 “Mary Worth.” It’s now October 10, and Jeff and Mary are still rushing to the hospital? This strip’s pacing makes TV soap operas look like screwball comedies.

  41. Ant Baby Machete Squad
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:18 pm [Reply]

    Egregious padding in MW. It’s been 6 days and they still haven’t made it to Scott’s bed. I bet it’s the wrong hospital and it will take another week to get to the right place.

  42. Sheila Sternwell
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:18 pm [Reply]

    I need to spend more time reading Spider-Man, because until today I had no idea Sandman’s shirt and hair were both stripey.

  43. Uncle Lumpy
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:23 pm [Reply]

    #41 Ant Baby Machete Squad –

    Rex Morgan, M.D. still makes it look like the Concorde. Well, before it crashed ‘n’ all. Nah, stet.

  44. Angry Kem
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:24 pm [Reply]

    #42 Sheila Sternwell: I just googled “I need to spend more time reading Spider-Man” (in quotation marks). Your comment is too recent to have made it onto the search engines, but it does seem that there is absolutely nowhere else on the Internet where those words appear.

  45. JP (not Judge Parker)
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:26 pm [Reply]

    I vote #22 for the COTW float!

  46. Tlachtga
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:27 pm [Reply]

    #45–Seconded

  47. AeroSquid
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:28 pm [Reply]

    44. Angry Kem: I just googled your entire last post and was rewarded with pages upon pages of Malaysian Tranny Porn ! Internet ! YAY !

  48. tb4000
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:30 pm [Reply]

    Marvin: The fuck?! Babies can talk?! This comic strip has blown my mind.

  49. Angry Kem
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:32 pm [Reply]

    #47 AeroSquid: It just goes to show you that it is easier to find Malaysian Tranny Porn than a single person who thinks reading Spider-Man more often is a good idea.

  50. LaziestManOnMars
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:36 pm [Reply]

    Bats:[ – Baby Jesus cries when you doubt Johnny Hart.

    The thing is, B.C., Wizard of Id, Hagar the Horrible, The Flinstones – they were over the top with the surrealism… Crock is just inaccurate. It’s not funny. It’s not fun. It’s not fun or funny.

    Maybe the only time I’ve ever laughed at Crock:
    (From the official website)

    “Crock was recently introduced as part of Universal Studios’ new theme park, “Islands of Adventure” in Orlando, Florida. Crock’s fort is one of the anchors for the park’s “Toon Lagoon” attraction, joining other nationally syndicated comics in the three-dimensional displays.”

  51. AeroSquid
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:40 pm [Reply]

    49. Angry Kem: =D S-M is just a bizarro alter-verse these days. Sandman used to ROCK ! Now…as #22 pointed out (yes ! COTW !) villians aren’t even trying anymore. And they have kids ! They used to be independent and stuff ! Are we supposed to be sympathethic now ? Wait….did’nt we see the same storyline with Electro-Guy or something ? The single dad who could’nt pay his ELECTRIC bills ? I miss the classic Marvel ™ of the ’60’s….

  52. Angry Kem
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:48 pm [Reply]

    AeroSquid: Did Sandman ever rock in the newspaper strip? I came to Newspaper Spidey late, so I don’t know. It does seem as if it might be difficult to make an action comic, with its three or four panels a day, that was less than stupid. The Spider-Man writers should just give up and start telling lame and repetitive jokes about iPhones.

  53. Helena Handbasket
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:50 pm [Reply]

    bats :[ @ #36 You, sir, now owe me restitution for forcing me to remember the worst animated cartoon series ever made, The Roman Holidays. Yes, it really was that bad.

  54. Larry Fine
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:51 pm [Reply]

    MT — Where the hell did Jack Elrod get the money to imprint his name on the moon??

  55. seismic-2
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:51 pm [Reply]

    #51 Aero-Squid: Sandman used to be a rock, before he weathered.

  56. M. Thackeray
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:52 pm [Reply]

    It’s a hundred and eleventy-twelve degrees today. How the fuck can any kind of Harvest Celebration be going on this month? What the heck are you people harvesting? Mangos? Taro? Pineapples?

    It is only October 11th. Please! Think of the children and their need to internalize four centuries of northern-European harvest myths.

    People, please! Quiet! As you know, our time is limited. Yes, Lulu? Is there something you’d like to sing?

  57. LaziestManOnMars
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:54 pm [Reply]

    Sheila Sternwell: ’specially considering he died of a stroke in 1977. I think as a tribute, Bill Rechin and Don Wilder draw the strip like stroke victims.

    more:

    “The genius of the off-the-wall strip is that it manages to turn the established conventions of the Foreign Legion melodrama upside down. A group of luckless legionnaires live in a fort in the middle of the desert under Commandant Vermin P. Crock, a tyrannical leader who is known to “hang people by their thumbs for the silliest mistakes.”

    Yeah. Modern. Genius. Tyrannical. Hilarious.

    You know what Crock? Fuck you.

  58. zamros
    October 11th, 2009 at 11:59 pm [Reply]

    Look at how sinister Crock looks in the first panel. It’s like he’s tainted the food with some kind of incredibly painful stomach flu and is taunting his poor elderly mother over the phone about it. “How was the food on your senior cruise, MOM?? Enjoying the bloody diarrhea? Hahaha! That’s for birthing me in to this ill-begotten universe of scribbles, you dried up old bag!”

  59. Tlachtga
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:01 am [Reply]

    #53–Holy crap, Hannah-Barbara made something worse than Wait Till Your Father Gets Home? I didn’t think that was possible?

  60. Sheila Sternwell
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:02 am [Reply]

    #44 AngryKem: I’m… so proud?

    #57 LaziestManOnMars: Who died in ‘77, Beau Geste? Seriously, though, I discovered three (3!) people created this travesty of a strip, and 2 have died in recent years but one is still with us. Why this took THREE people to create, I have no idea.

  61. Angry Kem
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:02 am [Reply]

    #56 M. Thackeray: It is a little-known fact that the seasons actually do happen at different times in places that are not the southern United States. Up here in Canada, harvest is happening now. In fact, it snowed on the prairies yesterday, and the temperature here is going down to 0 C tonight.

    To sum up: it is not harvest where you are. It is harvest where I am! Thus…happy Thanksgiving, Canadians.

  62. LaziestManOnMars
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:07 am [Reply]

    Sheila Sternwell: Why did it take 3 people to create Crock? One to hold the pen, and the other two to move the drawing table around.

  63. LaziestManOnMars
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:11 am [Reply]

    Spiderman: Jay Leno isn’t on TV. He’s peering into the terrarium where Sandman and his kid live in.

  64. The Wanderer
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:29 am [Reply]

    #34, Angry Kem:

    A green bean dish I’ve done for Christmas involves green beans, cooked in boiling water then cooled quickly (to stop them cooking) and tossing them, still hot, in a mixture of chopped shallots, tarragon, parsley and butter. Great stuff, and way better than the old green bean casserole!

  65. Poteet
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:33 am [Reply]

    Happy Thanksgiving, Canadians, especially Angry Kem! May your friends and families be happy, your food be yummy and bountiful, and your holiday a good one.

  66. bats :[
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:36 am [Reply]

    A few Monday observations:

    Phantom: oh, the Rhodian border. For a minute I thought it was the Rodian border and maybe the Phantom lives in the one forested area of Tattooine (which would explain where Greedo and his fellow Rodians fit into this whole mess).
    OTOH, since Rhodes is an island, I hope the Bad Guys have a boat.
    Hell, I don’t care what happens here. I wanna see more Amazons in the Sunday Phantom!

    RMMD: I wonder what Rex is doing right about now…

    SFx: ooooh, Taunting! Pretty darned dastardly, Count Weirdly. (Evidently it’s very effective on the locals.)

    S-M: is Peter naked from the waist down? Should I care?

  67. NoahSnark
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:37 am [Reply]

    Interesting that there is no mention as to what Mary Worth is praying to – probably because it is an elder god whose very name is synonymous with madness and meddling in other people’s affairs.

  68. Black Drazon
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:41 am [Reply]

    “Oh, I pray that Scott’s going to be all right. If only it hadn’t taken three whole days to get through these doors, we might already know!”

  69. Poteet
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:42 am [Reply]

    10/12 SNUFFY SMITH — It’s too late for the people and the donkey and the dog, but cat, it’s not too late for you. Run from this strip and don’t look back.

  70. Joshua
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:45 am [Reply]

    I think Crock is supposed to be taking place in the present day. Such concepts as electric bills, telephones, the IRS, polyester, Wal-Mart, Calvin Klein, boomboxes, and Facebook have all been referenced in the strip, just among the strips posted here at the Comics Curmudgeon.

    Heck, it could even be taking place in the future, due to the appearance of “Trooper Megan” (the Legion does not admit women — but see here for an exception).

    Granted, other strips set in the past may contain anachronistic references to present-day concepts. But the French Foreign Legion still exists. Granted, it isn’t anything like the legion depicted in “Crock,” but that is mostly because the cartoonists (a) don’t show any evidence of knowing about the Legion other than that it is a military unit that might be found in a sort-of-North-African-looking desert, and (b) don’t care.

  71. Nekrotzar
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:50 am [Reply]

    #30 –
    My apologies for the redundancy.

  72. Nekrotzar
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:52 am [Reply]

    My apologies for the redundancy.

  73. NSP
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:57 am [Reply]

    Anyone else disturbed by panel one Mary Worth? She looks like a young “Spider Man” Jay Leno.

  74. NSP
    October 12th, 2009 at 1:00 am [Reply]

    Also, two other benefits to American Thanksgiving:

    1. It’s on a Thursday(Fucking Monday?)
    2. It’s not in Canada

  75. Angry Kem
    October 12th, 2009 at 1:05 am [Reply]

    #74: And a very happy Thanksgiving to you, too!

  76. Ed Dravecky
    October 12th, 2009 at 1:10 am [Reply]

    “Crock” is perfect for people who love fort-based humor but can’t follow the convoluted plots of “F-Troop” and can’t grasp the character nuances of “Walker, Texas Ranger”.

  77. NSP
    October 12th, 2009 at 1:23 am [Reply]

    #75: I’m sorry, easy joke. Canada’s nicer than here. But I’ll stand by the Thursday comment.

  78. Anonymous
    October 12th, 2009 at 2:30 am [Reply]

    Sandman has always been sympathetic

  79. Mary Worth Discussion Group
    October 12th, 2009 at 7:59 am [Reply]

    MW: some comments…

    If someone on this strip doesn’t mention Columbus day I will add Italians to the ethnic groups shunned by MW.

    Why is Jeff wearing Scott’s suit? Is he wearing his underwear also?

    Doesn’t Scott have any family to visit him?

    WHy can’t Jeff invent some sort of bionic copy of Scott to provide Adrian “martital bliss?”

    Perhaps they have kept Aldo’s heart on ice for a transplant for Scott?

    Is Jeff coming home for the Scott’s wedding ( or funeral)… will it be awkward for him to see Dawn Weston?

    I am hoping for a teenage flash back of Mary (perhaps she was BFF with Wilma Flintsone?)

  80. Larry Fine
    October 12th, 2009 at 8:13 am [Reply]

    The “joke” in today’s Crock sounds like it could have been told by Henny Youngman. The difference is, Henny would have told it funnier. And gotten laughs.

  81. Patrick
    October 12th, 2009 at 8:56 am [Reply]

    I take comfort in the fact that, no matter what the plot happens to be, the artists responsible for Mary Worth will take the time to lovingly render a drop ceiling in at least one panel.

  82. Nerowolfgal
    October 12th, 2009 at 8:58 am [Reply]

    56 – M. Thackeray says:
    “It’s a hundred and eleventy-twelve degrees today. How the fuck can any kind of Harvest Celebration be going on this month? What the heck are you people harvesting? Mangos? Taro? Pineapples?

    It is only October 11th. Please! Think of the children and their need to internalize four centuries of northern-European harvest myths.”

    Remember Canada IS a northern country. There has already been snow on the prairies and here in Ottawa (the capital of the country) temperatures are dropping down to freezing each night. The autumn colour on the trees is fantastic right now.

  83. queek
    October 12th, 2009 at 9:51 am [Reply]

    26: *dies laughing*

  84. WMGoBuffs
    October 12th, 2009 at 10:15 am [Reply]

    I know Jay Leno has a distinctive chin, but never before did I notice his Peter Griffin mouth…

  85. Brian
    October 12th, 2009 at 10:24 am [Reply]

    Leno is easily the most menacing villain the Spiderman strip has had yet.

  86. Michael.K
    October 12th, 2009 at 10:27 am [Reply]

    I can accept the inconsistency in Tommy having a speech balloon and Marvin talking in thought bubbles; that’s just garden-variety laziness, and we’re used to that. The idea that someone would happily sit in his own waste for a week, yet take offense when someone pointed it out, is a bit of a reach. But honestly! Who in the last seventy-five years has un-ironically said “How dare you!”? I can only assume that reincarnation is real, and Tommy is actually the late Joan Greenwood.

  87. ar_d
    October 12th, 2009 at 12:24 pm [Reply]

    Happy Thanksgiving, curmudgeons of the cold North!

  88. sarahtheawesome
    October 12th, 2009 at 4:34 pm [Reply]

    When I first read the dialog in Mary Worth, I thought Jeff was totally unmoved and Mary was overdramatic to the point of idiocy! Then I realized that every sentence is followed by an exclamation point! That means they care!

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