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Marty Moon’s Pulitzer dreams will never die

Gil Thorp, 10/15/09

Let’s give some credit where credit is due: Good on Marty Moon, for hauling himself out of the gutter! It wasn’t easy, being fired from his own public access cable show, but it’s only a few weeks into the season and he’s already graduated from his broadcast-quality wooden box to television, or at least something that requires cameras of some sort. (Maybe he has a YouTube channel now?) Or, well, at least I think that weird blob at the middle left of the first panel, hovering just above the nameless Mudlark gingerly checking for head injuries, is supposed to be a camera. If it isn’t, why are Gil and Marty looking at some off-panel third party in panel two, rather than at each other? I suppose that could just be because of their seething mutual disdain, but why does Marty appear to be wearing some sort of toupee? You don’t need a hairpiece for the radio.

Mary Worth, 10/15/09

Oh my goodness, what secret bedside task must Dr. Jeff perform to resolve this tragic drama? Will he:

Gruffly demand that Scott not die because “God damn it, someone has to marry Adrian! I’m tired of seeing her mopey face and dumb bowl cut every day!”
Tearfully beg Scott to admit that “your father talked about me, right? He knew that he meant the world to me? That I never forgot him? Please, I need to know!”
Use the magical healing powers he learned in “medical school,” which no other employee of this hospital attended.
Ever so gently lift Scott into his arms, so that he can reach underneath him and feel around for his wallet.

Pluggers, 10/15/09

Why, it’s day one of entries from a new generation of tech-savvy pluggers! Today we learn that such pluggers wake up screaming every night, haunted by visions of fiery atomic death.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 01:14 pm and is filed under Gil Thorp, Mary Worth, Pluggers.

208 responses to “Marty Moon’s Pulitzer dreams will never die”

DAS
October 15th, 2009 at 1:19 pm [Reply]

MW: in any other “serious” strip, a character with such a determined look entering into a hospital room like that would be the start of a euthanasia plot. In MW, all bets are off. Perhaps the good Dr. is going to channel MW and meddle the injury out of our hero Scott?
zenvelo
October 15th, 2009 at 1:20 pm [Reply]

Dr Jeff likes playing with cadavers. It’s even better when they are still warm….
150
October 15th, 2009 at 1:20 pm [Reply]

MW: I was sort of thinking mercy-kill.
MolyBendum
October 15th, 2009 at 1:21 pm [Reply]

Re: Gil Thorp – Yeah, I thought the same thing about the possible camera, then decided it was football gear. Of some sort. With the crisp, dynamic artwork usually employed in GT, I’m surprised by the confusion today.
Steve Dore
October 15th, 2009 at 1:21 pm [Reply]

MW: I think Dr. Jeff is going to reenact the ending scene of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” where Chief smothers Mac with a pillow. A life in Mary Worth is no life at all.
Steve Dore
October 15th, 2009 at 1:22 pm [Reply]

Wow, that’s a lot of mercy killing posts, within 2 minutes time.
BRWombat
October 15th, 2009 at 1:23 pm [Reply]

There’s another, more plausible reason for Jeff lingering over Scott — smothering him with a pillow. He’s in love with Adrian? That’s just asking for a mercy killing.
Spunky N. Tadpole
October 15th, 2009 at 1:23 pm [Reply]

Let’s see: bomb shelter from the 1950’s; clipboard from the 1930’s; AEF-surplus helmet c. 1918; satchel and shovel from the late 1800s… AOL email address…

Yep, this IS a “tech-savvy Plugger”, all right. Too bad it’s just not today’s tech.
BRWombat
October 15th, 2009 at 1:23 pm [Reply]

Wow. Great minds think alike.
bats :[
October 15th, 2009 at 1:27 pm [Reply]

Make love, not salmon squares.

(NSFBG)
Dragon of Life
October 15th, 2009 at 1:28 pm [Reply]

Taking Mary Worth completely out of context, I can only assume that yesterday Dr. Jeff must have slapped Adrian to stop her hysterics. And by slapped I mean dislocated her jaw such that it puffs up hugely, and knocked her lips clean to the left side of her face. This also explains why Mary’s look is not sympathy, but scrutiny. “Hmm,” she things, “5.5 out of 10.”
Sequitur
October 15th, 2009 at 1:28 pm [Reply]

Pluggers: I really didn’t think male Pluggers would be carrying a purse.
cj
October 15th, 2009 at 1:28 pm [Reply]

Worth:

I’m sorry, am I missing something here? I don’t remember a bullet grazing Scott’s chiseled brow, so why is it bandaged? Did one of Santa Royale Memorial’s EMTs purposely injure him as apart of a long-running, all-but-lethal grudge war between the hospital and Santa Royale’s finest?
zenvelo
October 15th, 2009 at 1:30 pm [Reply]

maybe Dr Jeff, knowing what a skank his daughter is, just wants to make sure Scott’s equipment is still in working order. Dr Jeff *loves* giving those types of checkups! Even better if the patient is not conscious!
Galuaboy
October 15th, 2009 at 1:31 pm [Reply]

MW: I prefer to think — hearkening back to Josh’s October 9 post — that Dr. Jeff is simply going back to get an early start on the organ-harvesting. He figures there will always be another sap out there who’s a sucker for a chin-grabbing woman who cuts her own hair.
Dan
October 15th, 2009 at 1:31 pm [Reply]

A plugger thinks a compact disc is newfangled technology? I can’t wait for fifteen years from now, when Pluggers finally manage to fear 2009 technology, and we’re all treated to a joke about how a Plugger’s iPod is a call from his grandkids.
zenvelo
October 15th, 2009 at 1:33 pm [Reply]

#6 – the “mercy killing” thoughts started yesterday with YT #2.. (mercy for whom?)
MattF
October 15th, 2009 at 1:34 pm [Reply]

MW: “I have to re-install the doorknob for this room on the side of the door that opens.”
Uncle Lumpy
October 15th, 2009 at 1:37 pm [Reply]

A plugger’s Twitter is a bird feeder.
A plugger’s MySpace is a one-hole outhouse.
A plugger’s You-Tube is an enema kit.
Matt Algren
October 15th, 2009 at 1:40 pm [Reply]

Dr. Jeff will ever so gently brush his lips against Scott’s, hoping that in the heat of last month’s battle he accidentally took a bite from a magic apple and is just waiting for true love’s kiss.

Yes, that’s what he’ll tell the nurse when she bursts in. She’ll buy that, right?

Now, what to tell Mary?
Bitter Scribe
October 15th, 2009 at 1:40 pm [Reply]

Check out this spoof of Mark Trail in Salon. (The top strip, duh.)
Baka Gaijin
October 15th, 2009 at 1:40 pm [Reply]

Mary Worth: I don’t care what Josh says. Dr. “Dickless” Corey is gonna find out exactly how many salmon squares fit in the human respiratory system, both killing Scott for taking away his daughter’s affection (Electra complex) and framing Mary for taking away his dick.

Curtis: The behatted one read the past few weeks of Cathy and this is the result. Either that or he forgot how to do the Pepto diarrhea dance.
Alan's Addiction
October 15th, 2009 at 1:42 pm [Reply]

I want to know what that weird, white spot in the middle of Gil’s head is in the second panel. We all know that Marty Moon’s metallic exterior easily reflects light (as also evidenced in the second panel), but I’d been holding out hope that Gil was human, and not some evil robot hell-bent on destroying Milford. Then I realized, the best way to destroy Milford would be to start with its football team, the heart and soul of the community. Which Gil seems to be doing.
Perhaps Dr. Jeff will smother Detective Scott with a pillow to stop him from stealing Adrian’s affections. Or perhaps that inexplicable bandage on Detective Scott’s head indicates that he’s been lobotomized; in which case Dr. Jeff will smother him, then rip the sink out of the floor and throw it through the window and flee. If I’m confusing “Mary Worth” with “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” you’ll have to pardon me; I get confused by the similar themes of a tyrannical, female authority figure cowing everyone around her.
Why is that Plugger wearing a doughboy helmet? It’s great for making a fashion statement in 1918, but it wouldn’t do much for any modern threat, including rain.
Calico
October 15th, 2009 at 1:43 pm [Reply]

Y #227 – As long as Dr. Jeff doesn’t break into his rendition of “The Aristocrats”, Scott should be ok.
Carbunicle
October 15th, 2009 at 1:43 pm [Reply]

I think Uncle Lumpy is on to something. I bet if he electronically mails it to the Pluggers address he may see it rendered in humanimal form.
Kibo
October 15th, 2009 at 1:44 pm [Reply]

“Pluggers” turned into “Watership Down” so slowly that nobody noticed… or cared.
jvwalt
October 15th, 2009 at 1:48 pm [Reply]

Pluggers remember when you could beat your wife, force your kids to work in a factory, and own slaves.

Ha ha, it’s funny, because things have changed so much.
Dan
October 15th, 2009 at 1:50 pm [Reply]

Terrifyingly enough, one of Uncle Lumpy’s ideas has already been done:

http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/7694/plugger.gif
Hogan
October 15th, 2009 at 1:51 pm [Reply]

Maybe Dr. Jeff is actually the Mr. Big of the Santa Royale heroin trade, and he’s going in to finish the job/eliminate a witness.
These Strange Worlds
October 15th, 2009 at 1:53 pm [Reply]

MW: A very special family episode

Does anyone but me think that Dr. Jeff is going to take a cell sample so he can do a paternity test and then verify (or once and for all disprove) that Adrian’s fiancee is in fact her own brother!
PeteMoss
October 15th, 2009 at 1:54 pm [Reply]

Pluggers remember when BM stood for Bowel Movement…and they remember how they weren’t always a half hour long.
Crankenstank
October 15th, 2009 at 1:55 pm [Reply]

Ah, that brings back great memories of breaking into the Civil Defense shelter in the basement of my high school in the 70s and gorging on nuclear-resistant hard candy and making mummy costumes with the bandage supplies. (Nobody dared try the canned water.) Good times, we sons of pluggers had.
commodorejohn
October 15th, 2009 at 1:55 pm [Reply]

Y111 seismic-2 – That makes you a respectable oldbie, sir. (Fun fact: did you know that a couple of PDP-10s are still in operation for hobbyist purposes (one run by none other than Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen!) and user accounts are freely available to anyone who cares to telnet in?)
Saluki
October 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm [Reply]

Marmaduke: I could be wrong about this, but wasn’t it customary to raise one’s right ~~forepaw~~ arm, and not the left, while giving the “Heil Hitler” salute?
Artist formerly known as Ben
October 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm [Reply]

y221 Écureuil Écumant,
Mothers of Invention FTW.
frostee
October 15th, 2009 at 2:03 pm [Reply]

A pluggers Google is the last name of his second favorite comic character, right behind Krazy Kat.
PeteMoss
October 15th, 2009 at 2:03 pm [Reply]

GT(e) – I don’t believe Marty is “broadcasting” at all. He just walks around with with a mic from an old cassette recorder and he attaches a coiled phone cord to his ear through which he appears to be “receiving” messages from an unseen “producer.” Marty like to believe there’s someone “watching” or “listening” to him from their homes. Gil is afraid to break Marty’s illusion in fear of a violent reaction. Can you imagine some guy with his toupee on backwards coming to you with a cheap mic asking you questions and staring off to some imaginary TV camera?
Saluki
October 15th, 2009 at 2:04 pm [Reply]

You’re a plugger if you remember when the Russian Bear was actually some kind of bear looking humanoid (or is that a humanoid looking bear?) and duck and cover somehow involved real ducks.
Digger
October 15th, 2009 at 2:05 pm [Reply]

Non-Pluggers hope to God they don’t have to rely on Pluggers for Civil Defense.

GT: I’m curious about Marty’s earpiece. There couldn’t possibly be somebody sitting in a control room somewhere, relaying him vital information? No, it’s all part of Marty’s elaborate facade to make himself look like an important member of the media, when in reality he’s just some weirdo with an unhealthy fixation on high school sports.

MW: although I like all the suggestions about what Dr. Jeff might be up to, I think the best result would be if he pulled out a felt marker and drew a Zorro moustache on Scott.
Niall
October 15th, 2009 at 2:06 pm [Reply]

Well, I believe it’ll be a good month before we see any email-submitted Pluggers Illustrated (hmm, makes me think of a cross between Classics and Swimsuit, except with shedding) since that’s the lead-up time…

I had not noticed the “camera” in Gil Thorp, nor recognised Marty “The Moon” Moon in panel 2. Too much hair.
Jumper
October 15th, 2009 at 2:06 pm [Reply]

I have been informed that “CD” also means cross dresser. Somehow I’m sure a Plugger would not know that. Even if they are, like, animals dressed as humans, by God the male animals dress like males and the female animals dress like females.
Jimmyleg Jehosephat
October 15th, 2009 at 2:08 pm [Reply]

CD\
CD\my documents
CD\favorites
dir
http://joshreads.com/
AndyL
October 15th, 2009 at 2:09 pm [Reply]

Pluggers really ruins the punch line by explaining it. Why not simply say “Pluggers remember when CD had nothing to do with music?”
I mean the Civil Defense logo appears THREE TIMES in the comic. (On a goofy pith helmet, a name tag, and hovering in front of a door.)

Anyone who doesn’t recognize that logo will not get the joke regardless of how clearly it’s telegraphed,
Amateur
October 15th, 2009 at 2:11 pm [Reply]

MT: “Probably” again! Yeesh, Mark, the guy drove away the alligator that was about to eat your unconscious self for lunch, and you keep saying he “probably” saved your life?? Ingrate.
bats :[
October 15th, 2009 at 2:11 pm [Reply]

38. Saluki: I’ll be thrilled to bits if this is a subtle reference to the yeti debate in The Circus of Dr. Lao…
Sarah
October 15th, 2009 at 2:12 pm [Reply]

I was going more for cold-blooded murder than mercy killing. Dr. Jeff is a psychopath-in-wait, you know.

But yeah, that Dr. Jeff was going to kill Scott was my first thought as well.
NotATwit
October 15th, 2009 at 2:13 pm [Reply]

How long have certificate of deposits (CDs) been around? I’m guessing before the Cold War, which would mean this Plugger is preparing for a possible situation brought about by technology which has not been invented yet and a geopolitical situation which is years in the future. Unless…unless the Pluggers live in an alternative world where the nuclear bomb was discovered much earlier, and there’s already been a terrible thermonuclear war. That would explain the mutations.
Jackuul
October 15th, 2009 at 2:15 pm [Reply]

Pluggers: Not only do they wake up from these nightmares of a nuclear holocaust death, they then carry around shovels and posses powers of the undead that make their eyes glow and pupils vanish.
Saluki
October 15th, 2009 at 2:16 pm [Reply]

#32: All the while passing a huge joint around.
Esther Blodgett
October 15th, 2009 at 2:17 pm [Reply]

Pickles: Oh, Opal, you minx!

Pluggers: And CDs were better when they meant we could all be annihilated by a Soviet warhead at any moment, dammit!
Master Softheart
October 15th, 2009 at 2:17 pm [Reply]

9CL: So, let’s review for the audience at home: Mary arrives in the Big Apple from rural Vermont(?) to see the glamorous life led by her high school best friend as a dancer at a prestigious school of the arts. Upon arriving, she is picked up by a hunky gay man who takes her home and shows her amateur porn. Her neurotic, gyroscopically self-centered friend then shows up and, in a ludicrous parody of sexual insecurity, all but sprays on her unattractive, geeky cellist boyfriend to establish her sexual ownership of him. Mary is nonplussed, since she actually didn’t remember Amos at all and seems to consider him (as, one must admit, healthy people generally would) less sexually interesting than most common household items. She and Edda then go for a walk – presumably to show the country girl the exciting sights of the big. This entire walk is spent with Edda performing interpretive dance in the streets to express her unbridled lust for Amos while wearing what is really better described as a wide belt rather than a short skirt.

Logically enough, this whirlwind few hours in New York convince Mary that she should drop out of college and move to New York to try to become a ballet dancer and live the dream of Edda’s sexually fulfilled life. Having not read the strip back when Edda was in high school and (presumably) the readers knew Mary as a supporting character, I can’t say whether we have any reason to believe that Mary has any training in ballet dancing – an art which generally requires its professional practitioners to work at obsessively from about the age of three – or any chance of transferring in the middle of the academic year into an art school.

At this point, the strip’s plot and characters are really nothing so much as a game of mad libs that Brooke is playing with himself. Or perhaps Brooke is just playing with himself and leaving readers to construct their own mad libs by way of character and plot.

The Phantom: This plot is still made of 100% pure awesome, but I have to admit that I was a bit taken aback when Kit left Mawitaan’s Ground Zero to ride out into the jungle looking for his wife rather than, say, checking hospitals or using his corrupt political influence to have emergency workers search for her. His desperate wondering “Did she make her way home to the deep woods” invokes an image of Diana rather at odds with her usual professional and dedicated demeanor. Would most married people, dazed and wounded after surviving a terror attack in a major city, then wander off into the wilderness rather than seeking medical attention, contacting her family, trying to help other victims, or trying to salvage elements of their humanitarian mission on behalf of the world community?

I fear the answer would only be yes if one were married to Mark trail, for whom casual nature walks are actually the only reasonable response to head trauma. It would be far beyond fantastic to see Diana deliver her own fist of justice to The Python in response, possibly while yelling “You destroyed my international agency’s human rights division!”

FW: Congratulations, Summer, for clearing the “Fred Basset” observational humor bar with inches to spare.

JP: Even though I know that Baretto is just showing off in panel 3, I am still impressed. Eduardo, you have made Woody Wilson’s dialog into something poignant and given his moronic, walk-on character who is clearly being framed a depth and pathos that he truly doesn’t deserve. You are the master of more than just quasi-legal cheesecake.

Garfield: Topical, funny, and smoothly worked in technology joke for the win!

I can’t believe I just said that about Garfield.

Pluggers: Being featured three times in a week – and somewhere between charming and funny each time; I think we are living in a Golden Age of Pluggers. Perhaps the economic downturn is pushing us all back, closer to the homespun, simple values of a mythical past that Pluggers routinely celebrates.

Or maybe I just can’t stop giggling at the “Plug-Niggurath” joke. Either way, it’s good.
Harold
October 15th, 2009 at 2:18 pm [Reply]

Mark Trail makes a special guest appearance in the 10/15 Pickles:
http://comics.com/pickles/
…htough apparently, he’s borrowed one of Kelly Welly’s pink outfits.

My first thought on seeing today’s Mary Worth was “pillow tratment.” My second thought was “fellation.” My third thought was “my, that’s some awfully nice shading.” (Or whatever the technical term is for the shadows on the cheekbones).

I think the bandage on the head is the result of the crappy ride to the hospital while rolling around on the floor of the police van. If I recall correctly, Scott was shot from behind by a fellow officer.
Harold
October 15th, 2009 at 2:19 pm [Reply]

Pluggers remember when “cross dressing” involved a loincloth and some nails.
Baka Gaijin
October 15th, 2009 at 2:20 pm [Reply]

#10 bats :[ : I’m guessing that “(NSFBG)” is for me. Thanks, I think.
Elliegal
October 15th, 2009 at 2:24 pm [Reply]

Adrian has been in that room staring at Scott for what, 4 days straight now? And she just walks off and leaves him in the room alone because Mary suggested she go to the cafeteria??

Oh, the power of Mary.
survivor
October 15th, 2009 at 2:25 pm [Reply]

The Jefferson Jeffs? Really?

Speaking of Jeffs, I am very glad that Mary Worth omitted the 3rd panel of hot, necrophiliac sex.
AndyL
October 15th, 2009 at 2:28 pm [Reply]

Today’s Pluggers shows a plugger wearing an old timey CD uniform. (Did CD agents really wear pith helmets?) So what does this mean?

Pluggers engage in costumed role-playing about the horrors of yesteryear.

Pluggers are senile and believe that it is still 1955.

Since a false alarm in the 1950s Pluggers have been living in a subterranean bomb shelter, completely cut off from the modern world. Secure in the knowledge that the godless heathens in the world above had been vaporized, or at least eaten by mutants.
Joe the Plugger
October 15th, 2009 at 2:30 pm [Reply]

9CL: For some reason the lyrics to the Lou Reed / Velvet Underground song “Head Held High” seem appropriate:

My mama told me, ever since I was seven,
Hold your head up high.
My parents told me, ever since I was eleven,
Hold your head up high.
They said the answer was to become a dancer,
Hold your head high.
Oh, just like I figured, they’re always disfigured
With their heads up high.
Saluki
October 15th, 2009 at 2:31 pm [Reply]

I think the simplest explanation for Dr. Jeff heading back in to the room is that he just wanted to take a couple of hits off of the morphine drip so that he could face lunch with Mary and his daughter.
Farley's Revenge
October 15th, 2009 at 2:32 pm [Reply]

YT#150 Ed Dravecky& YT#165troy macgregor: While I think the “28 Days Later Not Much Has Happened” would be an excellent title, studios might think it a tad wordy. How about “Scott of the Dead”, which would show the life of Det. BF as a zombie, AKA “a normal day in the life of Det. BF but without gunfire”?

Or perhaps a sequel to “Zombieland”, where Det. BF is covered with Twinkies and set loose in front of Woody Harrelson. It could be “Zombieland 2: Night of the Living Dweeb”.

I’m not familiar with “Zombie Nightmare” but Mary could be the voodoo priestess. God knows she’s horrifying enough and it would open an entirely new avenue for meddling. Adrian would play herself, as she discovers being eaten takes on a whole ‘nother aspect.
KarMann
October 15th, 2009 at 2:34 pm [Reply]

GT: Josh, I think you were getting a bit ahead of yourself there. I’m pretty sure that’s still Marty Moon under that toupee, not Mary Worth. (I.e., there’s a typo.)

@bats :[ #10: You even included the machine that goes “ping”! I love you!
Farley's Revenge
October 15th, 2009 at 2:36 pm [Reply]

MW: Jeff’s actions remind me of the bit Tom Lehrer did about a necrophiliac becoming a mortuary worker(I’m paraphrasing big time).
Alfred E. Neuman
October 15th, 2009 at 2:37 pm [Reply]

#195 (previous thread) Mela wrote: “Luann – Is the ulitmate goal of this strip to not have any sympathetic characters? We’ve got a greedy, shallow whore and a juvenile man-child that the artist isn’t even trying to pass off as anything but his proxy…”

I need some clarification. Are you referring to Luann and Gunther or to T.J. and Brad?
Dan
October 15th, 2009 at 2:37 pm [Reply]

Pluggers remember when “Texas Instruments” was something at their granddaughter’s recital.

Pluggers remember when “vacuum tubes” were used to clean your rug.

Pluggers remember when “Dot Matrix” served you pie at the local diner.
Lucky
October 15th, 2009 at 2:40 pm [Reply]

FC: I love the fact that Billy is nowhere to be seen, implying that he was already conceived before the wedding.
Baka Gaijin
October 15th, 2009 at 2:41 pm [Reply]

#52 Harold on Mary Worth: I’m laughing imagining Scott rolling around the van like a sack of potatoes. Wait, is there an “e” in “potatoes?” Call Dan Quayle, STAT! Dan Quayle rolling around like a sack of potatoes in the paddy wagon? Hmmmm.
Farley's Revenge
October 15th, 2009 at 2:43 pm [Reply]

YT#218MolyBendum: And I can imagine Mary and Adrian strolling through the door at the appropriate moment. While Mary would promptly launch into a random discussion of the hazards of unprotected sex with an injured man-after all, who knows where those bullets had been-Adrian would go apeshit: “Goddammit, Dad! I’m sick and tired of you stealing my boyfriends!”
Poteet
October 15th, 2009 at 2:53 pm [Reply]

MW — Josh, I admire the way you came up with a very funny list without including any cheap jokes about oral sex, especially since cheap jokes about oral sex started being posted soon after this strip appeared last night.

*cough*
Alfred E. Neuman
October 15th, 2009 at 2:54 pm [Reply]

#205 (previous thread) Calico Re: Snuffy Smif— Not only does Tater say “Foob”, but he says “Veeble”. That’s my kind of kid: a MAD-quoting ‘Mudge-in-the-making. Now had he said “Veeblefetzer”, that would have been awesome.
Harold
October 15th, 2009 at 2:55 pm [Reply]

Uh-oh. We’re being spammed by some bot that’s repeating comments and attaching advertising links. I’m referring to the comment that (for the moment) is at #68, which just reproduces the last line of mine at #52 and adds a link.
Poteet
October 15th, 2009 at 2:59 pm [Reply]

# 51 Master Softheart — Thank you. Brooke deserves that, and so do we.

PHANTOM — I profoundly pity our purple protagonist, who now must break the ghastly news to his children that they will have to wear normal clothing in order to attend the funeral.
Baka Gaijin
October 15th, 2009 at 3:01 pm [Reply]

#71 Harold: At least it picked out a funny line to repeat.
Das Storminator
October 15th, 2009 at 3:03 pm [Reply]

That blob is random equipment, probably meant to be the kit for the trainers or something. Marty is holding what I presume to be a digital voice recorder or something.
LP2004
October 15th, 2009 at 3:04 pm [Reply]

#62 Farley’s Revenge: The Tom Lehrer comment – I have it on my iPod here – referred to “a young necrophiliac who finally achieved his boyhood ambition by becoming coroner…

(a smattering of nervous laughter)

…the rest of you can look it up when you get home!”
Poteet
October 15th, 2009 at 3:11 pm [Reply]

GT — It has previously been claimed on CC that it’s not really necessary to know anything about sports to understand GIL THORP. Today’s strip is an example of why I have to gently disagree.

Today’s strip is also an example of why I intend to stay as ignorant as possible. Helmets. That probably means football, which has something to do with a ball and a foot. That’s all I ever want to know.
Uncle Lumpy
October 15th, 2009 at 3:14 pm [Reply]

#70 Harold –

Got it, thanks. Spam removed at #68; comments from there to here are renumbered.

BTW, the best way to pester Josh about spam, typos, and other annoyances is to email bio@jfruh.com — that way threads don’t fill up with administrative chitchat like, um, this.
Bootsy
October 15th, 2009 at 3:17 pm [Reply]

OK, I called the day shot Scott went to the hsopital. My side bet was that Dr. Jeff “How I loved your father!” Corey would do some real doctor-y stuff, and I may just win that one too!

Are we still playing that?
MolyBendum
October 15th, 2009 at 3:21 pm [Reply]

[Redacted -- over the line -- that's your warning. --Josh]
Farley's Revenge
October 15th, 2009 at 3:31 pm [Reply]

#74LP2004: That’s the one! Thanks! I would have had to dig out the CD to get the correct wording.

Hmm…I’m veering very close to Plugger-hood with that confession.

#78MolyBendum: #1 offspring is a soldier and while he tells me many things and we have had many interesting conversations over the course of his active duty, I am glad we haven’t covered that topic.
commodorejohn
October 15th, 2009 at 3:32 pm [Reply]

#63 Alfred E. Neuman – Does it have to be either/or?
Pulses Turn Me On
October 15th, 2009 at 3:37 pm [Reply]

Surely there is *something* in the posting and discussion policies that would mandate the removal of post #78? Doesn’t it at least qualify as misogyny? Not to mention what it does for the reputation of the military.
Artist formerly known as Ben
October 15th, 2009 at 3:40 pm [Reply]

#68 Poteet,
Cheap oral sex jokes about Mary Worth? I sure… wouldn’t know anything… about that.

Hey look, monkeys!
Calico
October 15th, 2009 at 3:43 pm [Reply]

#76 – “Administrative chitchat”
Margo is famous for this, as is Sam Driver.
seismic-2
October 15th, 2009 at 3:48 pm [Reply]

GT: Murph Wolman is 90% heart, but he passed his sports physical anyway by getting Matt the Hatt to take his place. Matt’s position on the team is “Designated X-Ray”.

FC: Well, Dolly, Billy was in Mommy’s belly, back when he was still a little bitty pre-baby, and you were in Daddy’s wallet, back when you were still a condom with a hole in it.

MW: Once he’s alone with Scott in the Intensive Neglect ward, Dr. Jeff will peel open Scott’s dressings, reach into his gaping abdominal wound, and then he will wrap Scott’s large intestine around his liver and interchange his pancreas and his gall bladder. “OK, Dr. Good, just wait for the autopsy, and then we’ll see who gets chosen Head of Surgery around here, you young whippersnapper!!!”
Farley's Revenge
October 15th, 2009 at 3:49 pm [Reply]

#81: #76UncleLumpy kindly provided information for you.
MolyBendum
October 15th, 2009 at 3:58 pm [Reply]

81 Pulses – There probably should be, huh? I don’t think it’s misogynistic, but I could be wrong. It may also be in poor taste, as a lot of what I say is. As for your impression of the military…you try killing 24 hours a day for weeks on end with people who are bored and lonely and tired and usually pissed off and see what you come up with. It may not be right. But they aren’t being training to babysit, either.
Cyranetta
October 15th, 2009 at 3:59 pm [Reply]

MW: What I wonder about is the behavior of the shadow-beast that was clinging to Adrian’s forearm for the past few days and has now moved onto Jeff’s. Is it moving ever closer to an ultimate food source in Scott?
Jym
October 15th, 2009 at 4:01 pm [Reply]

=v= GT: I used to be a famous radio personality, but it never occurred to me to use a sound-absorbing toupee to cover my pate. Then again, I never interviewed anyone using a USB flash drive for a microphone, either.
McPerson
October 15th, 2009 at 4:02 pm [Reply]

It’s clear that Dr. Jeff will convince Scott that this is all Adrian and Mary’s fault and that vengeance is due a la the Joker in the Dark Knight.
bats :[
October 15th, 2009 at 4:04 pm [Reply]

52. Harold re Pickles: oh, my gosh! That’s great!
El Diablo Sombrero
October 15th, 2009 at 4:06 pm [Reply]

Luann: Is the entire purpose of this story arc to make us miss Brad/Toni? It is with tremendous sadness that I cross off “There is nothing worse than the icky Brad/Toni pity sex story” from my list of certainties in this life.
bats :[
October 15th, 2009 at 4:09 pm [Reply]

88. Jym: Arthur? Arthur Godfrey? Is that you? :o
One-eyed Wolfdog
October 15th, 2009 at 4:10 pm [Reply]

SlyFox: “Max Mouse hasn’t seen his friend Charlene Chicken for several days, but Slylock knows where she is.”
LP2004
October 15th, 2009 at 4:15 pm [Reply]

#81 Pulses: Granted, my time as an active-duty Army officer ended more than twenty years ago – and no, I never had quite that kind of conversation with any of my troops – but MolyBendum’s #86 sounds spot-on to me.
Steve S
October 15th, 2009 at 4:23 pm [Reply]

What’s Gil doing with his hand in panel 2? The only reasonable explanation I can think of is that he’s indicating Murph Wolman’s height, but if his hand is at 5′9″, Gil is a good seven feet tall. Then again, since Murph’s heart is apparently 5′2″ and about 170 pounds, I guess anything’s possible.
Ol'Froth
October 15th, 2009 at 4:24 pm [Reply]

I must admit, I’m baffled by the medical profession in MW. Reading back, Scott suffered no major injuries to his internal organs, other than “blood loss.” IIRC, making it to a hospital with a pulse under those circumstances should result in a fairly good prognosis. And if “blood loss” is the problem, why isn’t Scott hooked up to a bag o’ blood, or at the very least, some saline solution?
mr 12 oz can
October 15th, 2009 at 4:30 pm [Reply]

#39 very funny stuff on gil thorp – as for mary worth i think adrian whispered in her pops ear there was a lude photo of her and scott taken on a park bench and it might still be in his boot or hes gonna send him to peacevillage to see a witch doctor .
mr 12 oz can
October 15th, 2009 at 4:31 pm [Reply]

i just wanna ask jack elrod who still wears sideburns like that besides the honky tonk man and canadians !!!!
Niall
October 15th, 2009 at 4:36 pm [Reply]

96. Ol’Froth: Actually, it’s been shown. If you check yesterday’s Mary Worth strip, in panel 2 you can clearly see a drip in evidence. You can also see the saline solution.

(Yeah, it’s an easy one, but I’m tired and on my way to watch more animation…)
El Diablo Sombrero
October 15th, 2009 at 4:40 pm [Reply]

#81: I suspect that this is very much how Pluggers stays in existence. Speaking as a former 18 year old recruit who can readily remember my squad leaders yelling out “Fuck Stories! They’re good for morale! I’ll start!” I am neither surprised nor shocked by that revelation. It also made me smile slightly at the memories of just how appaling some of the stories we told each other were.

Oh, and I’m Canadian. And said squad leader had (at the time) already done 4 peacekeeping tours with more than a couple of commendations. I’m not going to claim he was a Saint, but his desire to horrify us (which he did) doesn’t mean I think any less of the military.

#86 is pretty bang on. Add in the strange comraderie that comes from the shared expeience and you have a recipe for a whole lot of “Oh yeah, well I’d fuck X” competitions. If I ever found out that even 1% of what we said was true, I’d be surprised.
mana g
October 15th, 2009 at 4:47 pm [Reply]

I’m surprised you didn’t notice today’s “Pickles.” Apparently, Opal’s dream man is Mark Trail! I’ll bet Cherry would STILL trade him for Earl!
MolyBendum
October 15th, 2009 at 4:56 pm [Reply]

100 El Diablo Sombrero – I appreciate the sentiment. And while you and I can commiserate and relate, I realize now the venue is not appropriate for any stories quite that….unpleasant for some. I’m all for the greater good.

I’ll have to work on my filter. And after this comment I won’t address this anymore.
True Fable
October 15th, 2009 at 4:56 pm [Reply]

- Where’s the IV for Scott? Where’s the morphine drip? At least they got the oxygen lines right.
- Where’s the monitors? Not just a screen printing out his EKG like the Times Square Jumbotron; where’s the digital numbers telling us he’s going south fast?
- Why is there a bandage on his head? Was he re-enacting a Civil War battle at the time of his abdominal injuries and he went through surgery without taking off the bandage he’s been wearing since they brought him in? Because why would they leave it on since he wasn’t shot there? Or are they going to later say, ‘he was hit by a ricochet’ which I think would have made a much better action scene that cut-out scenes from Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos.
- Why are they leaving him alone in a room with no observation windows, if he’s so gravely ill? He can’t be in an ICU room or in recovery without someone there to monitor him or at least check on him frequently, unless his HMO really sucks and that’s why Jeff and Adrian Corey work there.
- Why does the inside of Scott’s room look exactly like the hall outside of his room? Otherwise Mary and Adrian are heading for the cafeteria by walking through Scott and on through the walls to get there. Is the entire hospital swathed in bilious pink curtain material and industrial-strength steel cabinets attached to the walls?

I’m guessing that tomorrow in a warm Friday week wrapup, Jeff will bust out his own set of platitudes and apply treacly quotes and Patterson-worthy awkward prose, all about how much Scott means to Adrian and how he wanted his best friend’s son to marry his daughter, chattering so long he doesn’t even notice the Code Blue team rushing in to treat Scott’s sudden heart attack on Saturday. Then Sunday they’ll abruptly hold Scott’s funeral with the use of Time Lord Mary’s eerie ability to leap ahead. Then Monday Adrian will agree to date the coroner.
UncleJeff
October 15th, 2009 at 4:59 pm [Reply]

GT: Gil and Marty look awful distracted during their interview. Is there a nice cheerleader passing by?
Annie: Now doing three stories at the same time with none of them making any sense at all.
DT: Will this story finally wrap up on Friday with the tiger whipping around and slashing Fee Fi and then going to lunch on Dick and/or Slappy the Clown?
Love Is: Getting an instant replay of your morning quickie on the office computer (just as the boss pops in to see about you puttin’ on some clothes).
AMC
October 15th, 2009 at 5:00 pm [Reply]

MW: “I wonder if he’s hung like his father?”
UncleJeff
October 15th, 2009 at 5:00 pm [Reply]

Oh, by the way. That thing on the left side of the first panel of today’s GT is either a set of shoulder pads or a fax machine.
Uncle Lumpy
October 15th, 2009 at 5:16 pm [Reply]

I could totally see Marty Moon jumping at the opportunity to become the first “on-page” personality for the new Sports Fax Network: “Newspapers dying? Electronic communications killing them? We’ll give people the best of both!”

I could totally see Marty Moon jumping at the opportunity to invest heavily in the new Sports Fax Network.

I could totally see Marty Moon back to living in his car, drunk.
Calico
October 15th, 2009 at 5:22 pm [Reply]

#105 – Ho ho, dirty comment of the week! But priceless.
Calico
October 15th, 2009 at 5:23 pm [Reply]

#103 – And after the coroner dies, then what/whom?
Baka Gaijin
October 15th, 2009 at 5:28 pm [Reply]

#106 UncleJeff: “Shoulder pads or a fax machine?” I didn’t think they, in real life, look so very similar.
Ol'Froth
October 15th, 2009 at 5:39 pm [Reply]

Missed the drip yesterday, but continuity has never been MW’s strong suite.
Carly
October 15th, 2009 at 5:40 pm [Reply]

Personally, I’m kind of hoping for a Les Miz ripoff in Mary Worth, where Jeff sings to God for his future son-in-law’s life. Luckily (or sadly?) in this medium we won’t be treated to his no doubt horribly off key voice.
dale
October 15th, 2009 at 5:44 pm [Reply]

#75 Poteet

I don’t pretend to know much about sports, but I think if you do know much about sports, Gil Thorp won’t make sense. Also, if you know much about the real world.
Shlomo
October 15th, 2009 at 5:58 pm [Reply]

I am so confused by this Pluggers. Did today’s dog kill yesterday’s Karl Malden fat dog and shove him in the CD room (Corpse Disposal)? Are Pluggers dogs who remember the Reagan administration? Is there any person in this whole wide world who sees a Plugger comic and laughs because it is funny?
Farley's Revenge
October 15th, 2009 at 6:01 pm [Reply]

#102MolyBendum: Hey! Don’t make me have to furrow my brow at you, soldier! You will not turn into Zero from Beetle Bailey over one reminiscence! Drop and push until such foolishness is purged from your brain! Then get back in the fight!

I have plenty more exclamation points and I’m not afraid to use them!

Whew. I think I need a shot of potato-ade now.
Violet
October 15th, 2009 at 6:04 pm [Reply]

OMG he’s going to take Scott’s jello. Somebody stop him!
AirForbes
October 15th, 2009 at 6:06 pm [Reply]

33 Commodorejohn – You mean I could actually telnet into a PDP-10 just so I could say I was there? I wasn’t even born yet when those were introduced. And how much of a geek am I that I’m actually excited about this?
commodorejohn
October 15th, 2009 at 6:17 pm [Reply]

#117 AirForbes – Righto, my friend. (And the answer: almost as much of a geek as I am ;)
MolyBendum
October 15th, 2009 at 6:21 pm [Reply]

115 Farley’s Revenge – Is it worse to be Zero than Beetle Bailey? Hell, at least Zero is blissfully naive and ignorant, unbesmirched by the vagaries of hot, steamy man lovin’ that leave Beetle a quivering sack of “bone”s every time Sarge is around. (Or maybe that’s because Sarge beats him, but their sex play is their sex play…)
I think I’d rather be Zero than Beetle.
Joe Blevins
October 15th, 2009 at 6:28 pm [Reply]

OH, GOD, NO! IT’S LORNE GREENE WITH LIPSTICK AND A MAUVE PANTSUIT! Oops. Wait a tic. That’s supposed to be Mary. My, she sure does butch up in a crisis. If Scott’s condition takes a turn for the worse, she might leave that hospital with a handlebar mustache.
bats :[
October 15th, 2009 at 6:35 pm [Reply]

Good lord! I just read that the Eurotrash band A-ha was breaking up!
I was astonished. Mostly because I thought they’d broken up around 1985.
MrGuy
October 15th, 2009 at 6:37 pm [Reply]

Pluggers don’t need no fancy city-slicker guns. They kill people the old-fashioned way: beating them over the head with a blunt object.
lightglobe
October 15th, 2009 at 6:58 pm [Reply]

In keeping with the unnatural bending of space and time that’s been going on at Santa Royale’s hospital, I see Adrian’s face has been suddenly replaced with a Picasso.
Al of the Christian Singles Jungle Patrol
October 15th, 2009 at 7:11 pm [Reply]

104 re GT — Gil doesn’t swing that way, and Marty would only look if said cheerleader had a bottle of beer in her hand.
buckyswife
October 15th, 2009 at 7:11 pm [Reply]

B. Racoon: A little dinner reading. Maybe you and your cohort need to pay a visit to the nation’s capital?
Vosh
October 15th, 2009 at 7:18 pm [Reply]

May I craft you all a mental image? If that dog creature in Pluggers has a regulation civil defense kit in that satchel on his belt, then he has a gas mask in there. A cold, clingy, rubbery black thing that would grasp his horrible snout. His breathing would be raspy, rattly, as he pulls air through the long hoses. His eyes, already dead, would become nightmare pools of infinite darkness beneath thick chemical-proof glass lenses.

And, after all that, he’s somebody’s fetish.

Sleep well.
bats :[
October 15th, 2009 at 7:23 pm [Reply]

116. Violet: oh, Violet! I love you!
Mary Worth Discussion Group
October 15th, 2009 at 7:31 pm [Reply]

MW: it just me or would other faithful readers like to see Mary, Jeff and Adrian devour Scott in a cannibalistic frenzy?
Vince M
October 15th, 2009 at 7:35 pm [Reply]

127 – bats:[, great recycling of angry-driving pose!
I have to give points today to ‘Watch Your Head’ – I like a double punchline. And am enjoying the ‘Cul De Sac’ storyline, but don’t know why Alice’s favorite cereal doesn’t feature a wild-eyed obsessed mascot – thought that was a major criterion for her.
buckyswife
October 15th, 2009 at 7:36 pm [Reply]

128 Mary Worth Discussion Group: The other leading contender would be seeing them violate Scott in a Bacchic frenzy.
Poteet
October 15th, 2009 at 7:52 pm [Reply]

# 116 Violet — You win.
dale
October 15th, 2009 at 7:55 pm [Reply]

Mary Worth

Receptionist: Your first visit to Santa Royale Hospital? Well, feel free to look around. No, you don’t need no stinkin’ badge.
But try not to cough on the newborns and wipe your feet before you go into the operating room.
Écureuil Écumant
October 15th, 2009 at 7:57 pm [Reply]

32, 49, 57 on CD:

– That’s probably a WWI-style steel pot (a la John Lennon, “How I Won The War”) rather than a pith helmet. In Hawaii during WWII these were issued to “Block Wardens” who patrolled to make sure the blackout orders were obeyed. I still have one. There were “CD Wardens” in the 50s and I wouldn’t doubt they were issued these also.

– When I was a paramedic in about ‘83 or thereabouts, we were sent into Birkhimer Tunnel, drilled into the side of Diamond Head, which was the main CD control/storage facility for Hawaii. Our task was to remove literally tons of medical supplies stored in there since the start of the Cold War. There were cartons upon cartons of morphine syrettes in there, along with all kinds of other goodies. AFAIK all the morphine ended up accounted for, but Hawaii had a glut of ~~roach clips~~ hemostats for years thereafter.

– My dad had a poster on the wall of his office, supposedly official CD instructions, that ended up:

7) When you see the bright flash of a nuclear explosion, do not look at it. Close your eyes, grasp your knees and place your head firmly between your legs.

8) Now kiss your ass goodbye.
Écureuil Écumant
October 15th, 2009 at 7:58 pm [Reply]

31 PeteMoss says: “Pluggers remember when BM stood for Bowel Movement…and they remember how they weren’t always a half hour long.”

Yeah … and two inches long.
Dadaio
October 15th, 2009 at 8:01 pm [Reply]

Two words re Dr. Jeff: Arabian Goggles*.

*I have no idea why it’s called this, and it strikes me as a prejudiced non-sequitur. However, as much as I might rather call it “The Spurtin’ Spartan”, that’s not what our society, i.e. Urban Dictionary, has settled on.
AhClem
October 15th, 2009 at 8:02 pm [Reply]

#117 AirForbes, #118 commodorejohn -
I learned how to program in Fortran on a PDP-10, lo those many years ago. But I’m not sure if I’d want to Telnet into that site. It just wouldn’t be the same without a 110-baud acoustic-coupler modem and a punch card reader.
AeroSquid
October 15th, 2009 at 8:05 pm [Reply]

On the the CD clipboard:

Commode Seat, Plastic
Can Opener (manual)
Sanitary Napkins
Hand Cleaner (can) (to wash poo off hands)
Polyethelene Gloves (pair) (to pick up poo)
Water Dispensing Spout (to wash off poo)
Tie Wire (bag closing) (to seal poo)
Cups and Lids (plastic) (for poo samples)
Commode Chemical (pack) (to dissolve poo)
Poly Bag Liners (commode) (for poo)
Instruction Sheet (how to get rid of poo)
Toilet Tissue (poo)
Dog Biscuits
Sterno
Morphine
Cannibis
Random
October 15th, 2009 at 8:06 pm [Reply]

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the Pluggers use AOL for email. Really, I was more surprised AOL still existed!
AeroSquid
October 15th, 2009 at 8:11 pm [Reply]

Plugger iPods:

http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/cdmuseum2/radkits/meters/cdv710/710s.jpg
Écureuil Écumant
October 15th, 2009 at 8:15 pm [Reply]

23 Alan’s Addiction says: “We all know that Marty Moon’s metallic exterior easily reflects light.”

Formally speaking, Mr. Moon has a high albedo.
Écureuil Écumant
October 15th, 2009 at 8:20 pm [Reply]

139: Yep, if the charge needle is all the way over to the right, you better start making those calls!
commodorejohn
October 15th, 2009 at 8:33 pm [Reply]

#136 AhClem – Someone really ought to write a terminal emulator with a configurable baud-rate cap and simulated tape reader. Can’t be too difficult.
Some Guy Here
October 15th, 2009 at 8:37 pm [Reply]

Remember way back when, when we were making fun of Marty Moon for looking (and apparently acting) like mirror-universe Spock? I can’t help but imagine Marty now being sadly and pathetically closer to being your average basement-dwelling Trekkie, in this case sacrificing his health and any chance of crawling out of bachelorhood at the alter of his never-ending and bizarre Milford football smear campaign. Give it some time, and he’ll probably gain 150 pounds and have a moving storyline about diabetes and loneliness that would surely make Funky Winkerbean blush.
Ukulele Ike
October 15th, 2009 at 8:46 pm [Reply]

bats @ #45: *I* thought it was a Russian…
Les of the Jungle Patrol
October 15th, 2009 at 8:49 pm [Reply]

Pluggers still install AOL off of those floppy disks that came in the mail?
B. Racoon
October 15th, 2009 at 8:54 pm [Reply]

#128 buckyswife – Interesting. However, I believe your capital is getting what it deserves. I think we’ll let nature take it’s course. And that nature course does not include intelligent racoons or raccoons. We’ll let the senators and representatives handle this one.
Ukulele Ike
October 15th, 2009 at 8:59 pm [Reply]

Vosh @ #136: Oh Holy God, do NOT tell me that there are people with gas mask fetishes?

…..must restrain….self…from….Googling…..to avoid….lifelong nightmares….
Alfred E. Neuman
October 15th, 2009 at 9:10 pm [Reply]

Pickles— Opal imagines what her life would be like if she hadn’t married that sex maniac, Earl. Instead, she could have been enmeshed in glorious asexuality with a celebatee like Mark Trail. Her next fantasy is Sam Driver, followed by Rex Morgan and Rob Wilco.
commodorejohn
October 15th, 2009 at 9:17 pm [Reply]

#147 Ukulele Ike – It’s the Internet. Of course it’s a fetish. Not a very wide-spread one, but inevitably there’s at least a dozen or so people out there who are into it.
Ukulele Ike
October 15th, 2009 at 9:23 pm [Reply]

commodorejohn, ol’ buddy, I’m into the New Objectivism. Gas masks make me think of Otto Dix which makes me picture his “War” triptych. Cold chills.

http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/dix.wartriptych.jpg
AhClem
October 15th, 2009 at 9:26 pm [Reply]

#147, 149 -
One of my favorite quotes, which (I think) is attributed to George Costanza:

“The Web brings people together because no matter what kind of a twisted sexual mutant you happen to be, you’ve got millions of pals out there. Type in ‘Find people that have sex with goats that are on fire’ and the computer will say, ‘Specify type of goat.’”

(Apologies to True Fable)
True Fable
October 15th, 2009 at 9:34 pm [Reply]

#151 Ah Clem – GOAT! G – oh. Oh dear.

Run, kids! George Constanza knows where you live! Moreover, he knows how to look for you!
Sheila Sternwell
October 15th, 2009 at 9:36 pm [Reply]

Hell, I’m just surprised Pluggers don’t still use WebTV.
commodorejohn
October 15th, 2009 at 9:37 pm [Reply]

#150 Ukulele Ike – Understood. It freaks me out too, it’s just that some of my *ahem* interests lead to me getting a first-hand schooling in just how strange the Internet can get, so I’m kind of used to it by now.

Actually, gas masks make me think of the old Herman short “Cheese Burglar,” available on every public-domain cartoon collection ever in the history of home video. I still recall how, as a small child who didn’t even know what a gas mask was, I was watching and enjoying an obscure but still entertaining ’40s cartoon when HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THAT THING I HAVE TO GO HIDE BEHIND THE COUCH NOW. Still gives me the shivers.
Dr. Weird
October 15th, 2009 at 9:53 pm [Reply]

147 Ukulele Ike -

Remember Rule 34: “If it exists, there is porn of it. No exceptions.”

There are probably people who enjoy the naughty aspects of middle-aged, middle-class, heavyset anthropomorphic animals a great deal, without having to get into the specifics of them wearing gas masks.

Just pray they don’t start sending suggestions into the strip.
sugarpie
October 15th, 2009 at 9:54 pm [Reply]

Josh- The mail lady totally redeemed herself today by delivering my “What Would Margo Do?” bracelet.

I know this suspiciously and obviously made up, but one of the things on my to-do list for tonight was to make a batch of Jezebel Sauce to take to a barbeque on Saturday night.

So the answer to the question “What Would Margo Do?” seems to be that she shows up when the word Jezebel is mentioned.
seismic-2
October 15th, 2009 at 9:56 pm [Reply]

Gas masks scare the hell out of me. See the Empty Child (AKA “Are You My Mummy?”) episode of Doctor Who, if you have no plans of sleeping for the next couple of days.

And I suppose True Fable has already sent out restraining orders to Frog Applause, after its strip of October 13.
buckyswife
October 15th, 2009 at 10:00 pm [Reply]

146 B. Racoon: We already have the raccoons, sadly; they’re trying to eat the fish in our pond. And my duly elected representatives are doing nothing about them or about the stink bug invasion.
Niall
October 15th, 2009 at 10:03 pm [Reply]

126. Vosh: Sadly, I know about that. I’ve even seen the costumes. *shiver* It’s spreading, guh… worse, they look for the actual, authentic and old gas masks if they can. Wryyyyy…

147. Ukuleke Ike: quite right – and costumers on top of it (of all types of costumes). And no, do not google. Your sanity depends on it.

149. Commodorejohn: at one convention nearly two years ago, I saw well over a dozen just there. Out of nearly three thousand, it’s a tiny minority, but as always, it’s quite visible… and creepy.

158 buckyswife: ugh. I had one stinkbug that found its way inside my apartment a few weeks ago. They’re big. I’d hate to see an infestation of them.
Niall
October 15th, 2009 at 10:04 pm [Reply]

…and off to bed for me, i’m about to nod off…
NoahSnark
October 15th, 2009 at 10:05 pm [Reply]

Knowing that he is 90% heart, I am left to wonder what makes up the remainder of Murph Wolman. Given that he is a character in Gil Thorp, I’m guessing the final 10% is jock sweat, hallucinogens and assorted organ meats.
commodorejohn
October 15th, 2009 at 10:08 pm [Reply]

#155 Dr. Weird – Actually? Macrophilic furry fetishists starting an alternative Pluggers fanbase would be the best thing ever. Think about it: in the wake of the Great P.O. Box Shut Down, how many ordinary Pluggers fans are going to be able to send in suggestions? Most of them probably can’t even figure out how to set the clock on the VCR, whereas furry subculture has been centered around the Internet pretty much since the birth of its modern incarnation. There could be theoretical legions of people out there who have been sending in their unsettling and probably obscene suggestions since the Plugger-In-Chief discovered AOL, but only in the paucity of standard Pluggers material would Brookins ever consider using them. The results would be utterly horrifying, yes, but if something as tame as dogs playing Tethercat could generate a mailstorm, just imagine what that kind of thing could do. The resulting public backlash would be a spectacle for the ages.
Uncle Lumpy
October 15th, 2009 at 10:11 pm [Reply]

#156 sugarpie –

The mail lady totally redeemed herself today by delivering my “What Would Margo Do?” bracelet.

I think Margo would spank the mail lady. I know I would. Just say the word.
True Fable
October 15th, 2009 at 10:14 pm [Reply]

#157 seismic-2 – That’s not what I had in mind when I innocuously said, “you just watch, because goats are the coming thing.” No, they are the NEXT thing.

And now I must go cauterize my brain with hot bleach.
B. Racoon
October 15th, 2009 at 10:22 pm [Reply]

Buckyswife @158 – Ah, the rascal type raccoons are visiting your abode. One note of caution: DON’T LET THEM IN YOUR HOUSE! WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THEM!
As long as there are fish around they will not touch the stinkbugs. Would you?
As for your duly elected representatives, what good are they? I believe that in America you can elect a whole big batch of new ones if you wish. Try that route. And if that does not work, contact Mark Trail. I understand he makes house calls. He also has a fine dog to assist him. I would discourage allowing him to bring his child with him. That kid is just plain creepy ~~shudder~~.
sugarpie
October 15th, 2009 at 10:25 pm [Reply]

#163 Uncle Lumpy Word! Meet me by the mailbox tomorrow at half past five. I’ll be the one wearing the violet colored bracelet.

And a gas mask.
buckyswife
October 15th, 2009 at 10:26 pm [Reply]

165 B. Racoon: Actually, it had never occurred to me to let any of the following into my house:
-raccoons
-duly elected representatives
-Mark Trail
-Sassy
-Rusty ((yes, shudder))

I will, however, consider allowing in racoons bearing merlot.
Mibbitmaker
October 15th, 2009 at 10:29 pm [Reply]

The Friday MW:

(Jeff looks back as Mary and his daughteroid leave the hallway. Then right up to Scott)

Jeff: “….They’re gone. Coast is clear.”

Scott (springing up in his bed, seeming fine, aside from the real bullet wounds they bandaged up): Phew! I thought those two would never leave! You got the fishing poles?”

Jeff: “In my car. Mary never saw them. I put on quite the show back there!”

Scott: “I… I just couldn’t wait to get away from those two! Let’s go!” (gets out of bed)

Jeff: “We’ll wait until we get miles from here. The fishing trip is only the beginning! We’ll be out of the country before Mary knows we’re gone!”

Scott: “It’s almost TOO easy to fool Adrian. She’s such a tool — no offense, “dad”.”

Jeff: “None taken. The screwball takes after her mom, anyway. Let’s go!”

Scott: “SO LONG, SUCKERS!” (they leave, stealthily)

Jeff (through closed door, in distance): “Just be careful of your ouchie, … (trails off)

***********************

(Well, they can’t all be homoerotic innuendo)
Mibbitmaker
October 15th, 2009 at 10:30 pm [Reply]

#167 (buckyswife): Oaky Merlot?
buckyswife
October 15th, 2009 at 10:33 pm [Reply]

169 Mibbitmaker: Just a hint of oak–enough for a little complexity. Don’t like boring wine. (At first I read your post as “okay merlot”–which kind of works, too.)
Ukulele Ike
October 15th, 2009 at 10:33 pm [Reply]

commodorejohn @ #154: Boy howdy, THAT was unnerving, thank you for sharing. Except for the mouse wearing pants, I liked that part. Ha ha ha, a MOUSE wearing PANTS. No more gas masks for me tonight.

(sneaks off to re-read Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est.”)

http://english.emory.edu/LostPoets/Dulce.html
buckyswife
October 15th, 2009 at 10:36 pm [Reply]

171 Ukulele Ike: Oh, I love that poem (without a hint of irony–did NOT check out any of the websites or searches anyone mentioned). I’ve occasionally taught it in class, and I always get teary-eyed reading it.
Ukulele Ike
October 15th, 2009 at 10:42 pm [Reply]

buckyswife: That’s NOTHING. Try reading “Disabled” aloud without tearing up.

http://www.eliteskills.com/c/1785

Oh, and just let me….brush…that chalk off of you.
Uncle Lumpy
October 15th, 2009 at 10:43 pm [Reply]

#166 sugarpie –

I’ll be the one wearing the violet colored bracelet.

And a gas mask.

Is there something about your mail lady you’re not telling me?
buckyswife
October 15th, 2009 at 10:49 pm [Reply]

173 Ukulele Ike: Ooh, that controlled rage–I’m a sucker for war poetry.

But save the chalk brushing for when I read “Leda and the Swan”—quite a different effect from getting teary-eyed! =-)
Ed Dravecky
October 15th, 2009 at 10:53 pm [Reply]

Pluggers are unaware that US Civil Defense was folded into FEMA in 1979 and that iconic triangle logo completely phased out by 2006. Comic “creators” too lazy to come up with their own ideas are also too lazy to spend fifteen seconds on Wikipedia to check, “Hey, is Civil Defense still a thing?”

Pluggers remember when “President Johnson” meant Andrew Johnson.
sugarpie
October 15th, 2009 at 10:54 pm [Reply]

Uncle Lumpy Umm, well… yeah. There’s an awful lot I cant tell you about the mail lady. Here. But, who doesn’t like a surprise now and again?

Bring chalk and wear comfortable shoes.
Ed Dravecky
October 15th, 2009 at 10:57 pm [Reply]

Hmm… My last comment (#176) was supposed to link to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_civil_defense
sugarpie
October 15th, 2009 at 10:57 pm [Reply]

175, buckyswife Gasp! I’m blushing.
Red Greenback
October 15th, 2009 at 11:01 pm [Reply]

I always thought Carol Doda was a Plugger CD… No, that’s horseshit, I just thought of it now.
Poteet
October 15th, 2009 at 11:04 pm [Reply]

# 157 seismic-2 — THE EMPTY CHILD is one of my all-time favorite Doctor Who stories, though the Tom Baker stories involving Leela and Romana 2 will always be in a category of their own. And THE EMPTY CHILD is the first thing I think of whenever the subject of gas masks comes up, which actually isn’t too often. Fortunately.
Rachel K Zall
October 15th, 2009 at 11:26 pm [Reply]

I am fascinated by the subplot going on in panel 2 of Gil Thorp. Marty Moon interviewing Gil for a TV show that will be broadcast nowhere except in his imagination would seem to be typically delusional Marty Moon behavior — but look! During their mock interview, as they look “casually” away from one another to be sure no one’s watching, Marty slips Gil a flash drive! What entirely boring secrets could it hold?
Esther Blodgett
October 15th, 2009 at 11:32 pm [Reply]

#157 & #181 – I don’t know, I find those angel statues in “Blink” to be pretty damn unnerving. But yeah, little kids in gas masks are definitely at the upper end of the Dr. Who creepyspectrum.

It’s funny ’cause we’re a bunch of geeks…
Anonymous
October 15th, 2009 at 11:37 pm [Reply]

Note to PLUGGERS contributors: A CD is to today’s generation of 40 year olds, what a cylinder-gramaphone is to a plugger. Just so’s you know.
Jimmyleg Jehosephat
October 15th, 2009 at 11:59 pm [Reply]

If you p in the gramaphone you end up with a grampaphone.
Farley's Revenge
October 16th, 2009 at 12:08 am [Reply]

DT: Marty in the second panel will be played by Commander Riker who is hung over after a night of partying with Klingons.

Why is Gil flashing a gang sign? What’s next? Wearing colors no one can see since this is a B&W strip?
Poteet
October 16th, 2009 at 12:32 am [Reply]

# 183 Esther — I know someone who lists “Blink” as one of his very favorite Who episodes. Yeah, we geeks tend to find each other.
Farley's Revenge
October 16th, 2009 at 12:32 am [Reply]

#119MolyBendum: Good point. Zero is the most innocuous of the Camp Swampy denizens, a nice guy who somehow ended up in a place that could rival one of the rings of hell.

The one question I’ve always had is how in the hell did Halftrack make it to general? I’ve known a few generals in my time and even ones I wouldn’t trust to lead my cats had more on the ball than Halftrack. And how does he continue to command? Does he have compromising photos of the Army seal defiling the US flag or something?
Farley's Revenge
October 16th, 2009 at 12:36 am [Reply]

Dr. Who fans! Yay!

I’ll admit the gas masks didn’t bother me. But those statues in “Blink” freaked me the hell out out.

*shudder*

Leela was the best companion, always ready to kick butt and take names.
Poteet
October 16th, 2009 at 12:38 am [Reply]

10/16

CRANKSHAFT — Good lord, what kind of sadistic couch causes you to gain thirty pounds just by lying down on it?

PHANTOM — I’m no artist, but something about the relative sizes of all those hands is wrong, wrong, wrong. Also I don’t think the son should have a bullet hole in the middle of his chest, at least not yet.

S-M — Suddenly Sandman is my favorite S-M character.
Poteet
October 16th, 2009 at 12:44 am [Reply]

# 189 Farley’s — Leela was my favorite companion, though Romana 2 was a close second. If I had met Leela when I was twelve, she would have come in second only to Emma Peel.
Poteet
October 16th, 2009 at 12:50 am [Reply]

10/16 MW — Stealing jello would have been better.
Emily K [Riff Chick]
October 16th, 2009 at 12:50 am [Reply]

Funky Cancercancer, 10/16
Running Lady: “Enough with the cancer obsession!! Stop piling your stale grief and irksome smirks upon us!! Stop telling me about your 10-years-dead wife’s ‘legacy!’ I swear to Lisa’s Ghost if you shove another ‘cancer benefit walk-a-thon’ upon this community, your arm will be waving goodbye to its self.”
–
I also interpret this strip as an allegory for the greater comics-reading community’s reaction to Batiuk’s years and years of “meaningful” storylines. Us readers being the running lady, Les being Batiuk (well DUH), and Les’ arm being the merciless never-ending deluge of angsty depressing cancer death mortality afterschoolspecial cancer storylines the Batiuk-hammer sledges into our brains every day.
Lou Shumaker
October 16th, 2009 at 1:01 am [Reply]

Off-topic, I’m afraid, but y’all may be interested in knowing that 10 cartoonists are heading off to the Middle East as part of a USO goodwill tour. Among them are Stephen Pastis, Garry Trudeau, Rick Kirkman, and Jeff Keane.

That’s pretty cool of them to volunteer, so they should get a “Hee-Haw” salute.

Hee-HAW!
Scherzo
October 16th, 2009 at 1:03 am [Reply]

Josh said:

Today we learn that such pluggers wake up screaming every night, haunted by visions of fiery atomic death.

Who doesn’t?
:-)
Farley's Revenge
October 16th, 2009 at 1:05 am [Reply]

#191Poteet: The offspring watched a couple episodes of “The Avengers” when we were stuck in a hotel waiting for a flight to somewhere. After one episode that included much back-and-forth bantering with Mr. Steed and the inference that they cohabited, the elder offspring looked at me and asked, with a touch of awe, if old time TV was always that cool. No, I said, just this show.

I never cared much for Sarah Jane when she was the companion but I enjoyed her reappearance with the David Tennant Doctor.
Scherzo
October 16th, 2009 at 1:05 am [Reply]

Now I wonder what a smiley wearing a gas mask would look like…
rodent
October 16th, 2009 at 1:08 am [Reply]

I wish Gabriella would stop squeezing her melons in front of Aristotle. My parental control software is blocking the comics page.
Nekrotzar
October 16th, 2009 at 1:13 am [Reply]

Wait, what was that about cheap oral sex?
True Fable
October 16th, 2009 at 1:28 am [Reply]

Children of the Circle Jeffy’s been reading our snark.

Kit Walker, Rush-To-Judge Ranger Worst news about WHAT? He didn’t stick around long enough to find out anything! He doesn’t know whether she was even involved in the explosion yet! The Ghost-Who-Does-Drama!

Redneks Pluggers would rather watch Billy Mays commercials than have sex with a roogirl.
Farley's Revenge
October 16th, 2009 at 1:31 am [Reply]

MW: “DON’T LEAVE ME!” *snif*

Ever get the feeling this strip is written to keep us occupied? Does the author fear that if we have nothing to snark, we will run wild in the streets like bewildered gang members in search of a rumble?

Well, let me reassure MW’s writer: There’s plenty to snark about in comics-land. Why, just the shenanigans in Mark Trail can keep us occupied for days on end. Put that with 9CL, the incomprehensible DT, and A3G, and we’re good for an entire weekend.

So, MW writer: Don’t worry about us. We’re cool.
bats :[
October 16th, 2009 at 1:57 am [Reply]

201. Farley’s Revenge: why? What have you heard?
Baka Gaijin
October 16th, 2009 at 2:23 am [Reply]

Interconnected Comics Friday:

Drabble and Cathy: “I heard on the news that people with larger thighs live longer.” ACK! Have you seen Cathy’s barrel-sized gams? She’s going to live forever! OH NO!!!

Get Fuzzy and Beetle Bailey: “Say it again to the hole,” says Satchel. You been listening in on Sarge and Beetle again, pooch?

One Big Happy and Marvin: “You couldn’t find a clean pair, James?!” Prescience defined when talking about Marvin, post-potty training.

Pluggers and whatever: That’s both disgusting and pathetic. Booze up the wifepoo to see the 10pm Sportscenter. Yeah, you romantic devil you.
Baka Gaijin
October 16th, 2009 at 2:39 am [Reply]

#185 Jimmyleg Jehosephat: “If you p in the gramaphone you end up with a grampaphone.” I thought you’d end up with a dusty urine sample.

Wait, is this some kind of fetish thread? First with the melons, then the gas masks, now peeing in record players.
Jym
October 16th, 2009 at 4:09 am [Reply]

=153= Pluggers (Sheila Sternwell): My mother (a plugger in the best way possible) had WebTV for years. She switched to Yahoo! Mail when her offspring gave her a leftover computer.
Vince M
October 16th, 2009 at 7:58 am [Reply]

137: AeroSquid – I just can’t read that without it being in a canine Slim Pickens voice.
TruthOfAngels
October 16th, 2009 at 4:52 pm [Reply]

MW:

“I have something to do first. All I need is a pillow. Ah, here’s one. Commence smothering! Did I just say that out loud? Never mind!”
Rob
October 17th, 2009 at 12:30 pm [Reply]

Marty and Gil are looking at Murph Wolman warming up on the field.

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Marty Moon’s Pulitzer dreams will never die

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