Addicted to dumb
Rex Morgan, M.D., 12/20/05
Wow, how much do I not find the current Rex Morgan, M.D. storyline interesting? A lot. I find it a lot not interesting. I’m not even going to bother summarizing Scrap Iron Jack’s boring quest for a good poker game, which seems to have occupied the last umpteen weeks. I do have to say that our one-eyed vet’s sweaty brow and vibrating head don’t really match up with what I understand to be the typical symptoms of compulsive gambling. He’s looking for Texas Hold ‘Em, not smack. Unless this is about the painkiller subplot that was dropped like a hot potato towards the beginning of this tedious slog, I’m unimpressed.
Anyway, the only reason I find this comic worthy of mention is the coif on our fetching bartender here (you probably can’t read it in this low-res graphic no matter how much you stare at her ample bosom, but her name tag indicates that she’s “Iris”). It’s shiny. Very, very shiny. Why is it shiny? How is it shiny? Is the answer to either question related to her daring decision to wear black lipstick to work? It’s the answers to these questions that Rex Morgan, M.D. should be tracking down, but Iris will no doubt be long forgotten by the time Jack gets to his first Gamblers Anonymous meeting sometime in 2009.
Keregi
December 20th, 2005 at 10:26 pm
I think her hairstyle makes her look vulcan.
Mr. Cat
December 20th, 2005 at 10:31 pm
comment #2
Chawunky
December 20th, 2005 at 10:45 pm
She’s clearly a high-octane BDSM goth on her own time.
Skooter
December 20th, 2005 at 10:58 pm
RMMD – Scrap Iron Jack is reaching for the pills because he has just entered the Cabaret Zone. Notice that name tag doesn’t say Iris, but Liza. I think this will all end badly for Scrap when the little Mrs. shows up.
Albertadude
December 20th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
I thought it was Ringo????
Beasley
December 20th, 2005 at 11:27 pm
Non sequiter:
In a message dated 12/20/2005 9:22:56 PM Eastern Standard Time, [a frined of mine from my US ARMY days, when we were Top Secret Air Traffic Controllers] writes:
Hey Frank,
I received the video tape! That was wild for sure.
Sorry, ’bout ur trees and all, though. Have you
re-planted?
…and I respond:
[i]First off…DAMN! I sure hope they had no casualties on that helo mishap vid you sent me! Man!
Glad you got the [Hurrican Wilma] tape! :) Not to go on and on again….but it really WAS wild. WAY more than the video was able to convey compared to real life. And, later on, to see big ol’ trees elsewhere in our ‘hood yanked right out the ground really got us to think that thank God we don’t have trees like that which could smoosh our house or cars if they came crashing down! Brrrrrr!
We have no plans to replant stuff since, basically, mostly of the trees we still have are pretty firm in the ground and the broken fronds will re-grow. The banana grove will come back with even MORE banana trees that we used to have. In fact, we’ve already go a bunch of new growth a few feet high so our “grove” will likely be more like a “thicket” by next year. Bananas grown from the roots and cut-off pieces. Once a banana tree makes it’s fruit, the tree dies anyhow. So what you do is chop it down to the ground and more will grown from the stump and another one, if not more, grown back from the underground roots. I’ve never made a serious count but I suspect we’ve got about 20-30 of them that got knocked down…so we’ll have more next time around. Hell, we just let them grown out back in the woods. It’s not like they are maintenance heavy or what not. :)
What it boils down to is this: Considereing all the shit and damage we saw go down, it was like we had a “dome of protection” surrounding our place.
It rminds me of a phrase that came from Lisa’s family from a long time back: “Better to be born lucky than rich”.
We were lucky. Suits me fine. :)
-Frank, Lisa and Coffee[/i]
no tea
December 21st, 2005 at 12:33 am
I’m going to stop reading FBOFW if they don’t hurry up and get to the lesbian scenes with April and the retarded girl.
adfella
December 21st, 2005 at 12:58 am
TO GIVE REX HIS DUE….
Yeah, the stories are uneventful and unfold in slow-motion…the characters are boring and predictable, BUT…..by today’s lowered comic strip standards, the artwork is pretty good…..excellent draftsmanship and interesting “camera” angles.
Beasley
December 21st, 2005 at 1:24 am
So. Not one of you will indulge my #6 post?
/Clearly, there are no “My Dinner with Andre” fans here?
/WTF?
mooselet
December 21st, 2005 at 2:45 am
I want to know why she’s got a skunk ring around her hair. Is she like Pepe LePeu?
Josh, this strip may be slower than the proverbial 2 snails, but at least there are no MW platitudes. Then I’d have to hang myself.
yellojkt
December 21st, 2005 at 5:30 am
no tea,
Patience, we have to get past the Warren/DoRight/Lizzie three-way first. Then we get the hott foob on ‘tard action.
Anonymous
December 21st, 2005 at 7:13 am
I hope Jane Hand doesn’t get her ex husband back; I’d like to find him under MY Christmas tree.
Jimmy
December 21st, 2005 at 7:13 am
Comment #12 was me… I really didn’t choose Anonymity on purpose, I swear it !!
Mat
December 21st, 2005 at 7:46 am
Her hair’s shiny…
muskox
December 21st, 2005 at 8:12 am
I’m going to modify Keregi’s comment here and cast my vote for Romulan.
Dennis Jimenez
December 21st, 2005 at 8:46 am
Re Post 10 – I don’t think it’s a Pepe LaPeu thing at all – it’s that certain reflective quality that we all find so attractive in a woman. That an an ample busom. “Do I have spinach on my teeth? Let’s see. Ah, thankfully not.”
Dennis Jimenez
December 21st, 2005 at 9:16 am
OK – panel one, RMMD today – who is this guy? Dwight D. Eisenhauer? Tim Conway? I gotta know.
Concerned Citizen
December 21st, 2005 at 9:20 am
It has been years since I’ve read Steve Roper/Mike Nomad but SI Jack bears a striking similarity to Iron Mike Nomad, whose inarticulate stupidity was so enjoyable. Maybe things will get a little rough with the Vulcan goth bartender with her fetching bowtie. Some discipline will help him kick the gambling bug, but the pills….?
bubujin
December 21st, 2005 at 9:53 am
** FBOFW ALERT **
Thursday (22 Dec) we’ll see Lizardbreath propose going roadside with Dudley DoRight.
Yellojt, unless Warren suddenly swoops down from above, I doubt we’ll see a three-way this time ’round.
sam
December 21st, 2005 at 9:58 am
obviously it’s a hairnet.
Txboinsf
December 21st, 2005 at 10:02 am
Hummmm…..well all I have to say is after seeing the article, I think there should me more pics of Josh on the site…….aside from that, I need to get my daily puff of “Pearls before Swine”
joeyjoejoe
December 21st, 2005 at 10:25 am
Well, today’s comics page has the strangest crossover I’ve yet seen.
Judge Parker is apparently moving into the realm of the surreal, as it brings in a character from Daniel Clowes’s “Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron.”
Seriously, you put a pipe in that girl’s mouth and she’s the spitting image.
eliz.
December 21st, 2005 at 10:32 am
I’d take roadside action in FBoFW over a week of April and Elly vacuuming anyday.
You know, some women have such dark hair that it shines, but I’ve never seen anything quite that shiny before. I wonder what hair product Iris uses?
joeyjoejoe
December 21st, 2005 at 10:48 am
I know I’ve asked this before about the other t-shirt slogans, but what is the origin of “What happens in Milford stays in Milford”? I searched through the (DT)GT archives, but couldn’t find any mention of this phrase…
Jocko
December 21st, 2005 at 11:23 am
In todays Gill Throp http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/showComic.mpl?date=2005/12/21&name=Gil_Thorp
Panel 1 all I can think of is that Aerosmith song
“Dude Looks Like a Lady.”
I mean look at those knockers.
Toni
December 21st, 2005 at 11:59 am
I thought the artwork was very nice. Yes, excessive on the shinyshiny hair, but well drawn.
dimestore lipstick
December 21st, 2005 at 12:40 pm
Judgng by today’s strip, it’s really starting to look like Nina Blake caught Lu Ann’s rebound, and the fiance´ is Scott Gaines
Finrod
December 21st, 2005 at 12:52 pm
The fellow with the sunglasses in the first panel of MW looks like the Terminator. That could make for an interesting story…
Dark Star
December 21st, 2005 at 1:28 pm
#28 I thought he looked like the paranoid neighbor in “King of the Hill.”
BigJoe
December 21st, 2005 at 1:52 pm
On a totally unrelated note, how many people are “fortunate” enough to get the comic Triple Take in their paper? Why this lame, unfunny strip was added to the Detroit Free Press’ mostly stellar comic pages is beyond me.
It typically is a one panel comic, however, the catch behind this strip is that is has 3 punchlines. Unfortunately all 3 usually blow chunks. If they replaced this with Marmaduke it would probably be an improvement.
http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/triple/about.htm
Kaliflower
December 21st, 2005 at 1:56 pm
#28, Finrod Says
The fellow with the sunglasses in the first panel of MW looks like the Terminator. That could make for an interesting story…
‘Sarah Conner?’
‘N-No… My name’s Jane Hand.’
‘Oh… Nevermind.’
Library Cat
December 21st, 2005 at 3:05 pm
FBOFW: Mr. Wright is a right psycho. His world revolves around her after driving several hours on the pretence of returning her Mom’s sunglasses and looks through her telescope. Maybe “telescope” is a euphemism. How lonely are these Mounties? Should we export some hookers? Send Gitsum Girl on a diplomatic mission?
Irina
December 21st, 2005 at 3:16 pm
Props to Keregi, who managed to avoid the “First” temptation.
I’m with Sam on the hairnet observation. Except it’s a hairnet made out of black rubber. You know it’s one of *those* casinos.
I’m still aghast that Jane Hand thinks that now that exhubby has become VP, he’ll have all this time for her. Cause we all know Vice Presidents of companies only work 20 hours a week.
Sassy_Rocks
December 21st, 2005 at 3:50 pm
DooWright is behaving like an obsessive stalker. He even bought a matching parka exactly the same as Lizardbreath’s. How could the saintly Elly Patterson have blown a judgement call on human nature? That doesn’t compute so maybe he’s just a little over anxious for love after too many lonely nights spent with that knuckleheaded pair, Palmetta and Fistina.
As for chinkapin burrs, they are 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter. How could Victim miss it? That would be like a golf ball hanging on his dog. If he is so negligent of his dog (like Mark Trail) why did he pay the ransom?
John James Audubon
December 21st, 2005 at 4:06 pm
re: RM panel two above
Now I’m really confused about the powder blue universe that exists behind windows and mirrors of these reality strips. It appears as though the blueness is now effecting objects in FRONT of the mirror.
And I keep wondering what the sticky note in the middle of the mirror says.
Desoto
December 21st, 2005 at 4:28 pm
On a completely different note, has anyone else noticed the not-so-subtle hints in the last two Arlo & Janice strips? From yesterday’s – http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/arlonjanis/archive/arlonjanis-20051220.html – ‘got bukkake?’ joke to today’s – http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/arlonjanis/ – ’slurp the noodle’. Or is it just me?
katya
December 21st, 2005 at 4:33 pm
no tea, I think I love you.
Marc
December 21st, 2005 at 4:37 pm
Library Cat: No can do, I have GitSum girl until January 14th, and then we can export her…but until then…
OKAY: FC IS A REPEAT!!! Except this time, it’s PJ and not Barfy. I seriously remember seeing this comic a few years ago…Also, why is the telephone 1960’s-ish? Did they not have a plasma television a few months ago? AND. why are there at least 20 buttons on the phone? Speedial to other comic strips?
“Hey Mary, it’s Thel!”
“Oh, its you, the frazzled ‘mother’ who tries to keep her hellians in tow, but they say nonsensical jargon, and yet you pass them off as saintly.”
“The nerve of you! At least I don’t meddle!”
“May I suggest I babysit your children, I’ll get them into shape.”
“You just want to make out with my mother-in-law who is similar in age to you!”
“Um..um..no, she’s too, ummmm*CLICK*”
Imagine, Foob and FC/MW crossover (no pun) action soon!
Oh god, Constable Wright is a maniac and probably has a shrine to Lizardbreath in his car. Cant you see where this is going? It’s snowing, its going to be a storm, the car will die, and oops! We’re out in the middle of nowhere, better huddle together to keep warm. Classic sitcom plot.
Trixie, a festival in your mouth? With aname like that, you’re going to say that quite often when you get older (or not, seeing as you’ve been a baby for 40 some-odd years).
It’s Miss Buxley Wednesday. Is there seriously a schedule that Mort uses? 296 lbs? Looks pretty good for that much.
joeyjoejoe
December 21st, 2005 at 4:43 pm
“What separates Triple Take from other comic features is that it delivers three different punch lines in one strip,†said Jay Kennedy, editor in chief of King Features Syndicate. “Ask any cartoonist who has labored all day on one punch line and they will tell you how difficult it is to create three ideas for one gag. It takes true talent.â€
Or, it would, if any of the punchlines were remotely funny. Maybe you could just write a comic strip that is funny without having to be focused on a punchline. The best strips don’t follow the set-up, action, punchline formula; the good ones, like Calvin & Hobbes, Get Fuzzy, and Dinosaur Comics, are funny all the way through, delivering several jokes without that being a gag in itself.
Gag comics are like 50s sitcoms. They are relics of an outdated comic sensibility that can’t adapt and can’t be updated to fit today’s more sophisticated humor. Can you imagine if “I Love Lucy” were still on today, with different actors (of course), but recycled jokes and dated situations? Most TV shows have the grace to recognize when their time is up. Why can’t comics follow suit? Strips like Blondie and Marmaduke don’t need to be changed or updated, they need to be cancelled to make room for comics with fresh ideas and interesting characters. Unless we want newspapers to become obsolete…
mooselet
December 21st, 2005 at 5:11 pm
Well, I sucked it up and decended into the depths of hell, or maybe just the FBoFW website, to find out what’s been going on with Liz and Dudley DoWright…
Why we’ve been subjected to a week of Elly’s vaccum malfunction instead of the dating scene up in Mtigiwannahackaloogie is beyond me, but the bottom line is they’ve been dating and IMing and (gasp) sneaking kisses in public. While we’ve been getting views of Elly’s arse. Lynn, you suck big Twinkies.
Marc
December 21st, 2005 at 5:51 pm
Don’t want to anger the lynnions, mooselet!
Schteve
December 21st, 2005 at 6:13 pm
#19
Thursday (22 Dec) we’ll see Lizardbreath propose going roadside with Dudley DoRight.
Yellojt, unless Warren suddenly swoops down from above, I doubt we’ll see a three-way this time ’round.
The Canadian Supreme Court has just opened the door for all kinds of “interesting” FBOFW storylines.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Law/2005/12/20/1361650-cp.html
“OTTAWA (CP) – The Supreme Court rewrote the definition of indecency Wednesday and in the process legalized swingers clubs complete with orgies, partner swapping and voyeurs.”
Dub Not Dubya
December 21st, 2005 at 6:18 pm
Hey Joeyjoejoe #24: the joke with that phrase is that there are television commercials promoting tourism to Las Vegas where the tag line is, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” At the time Josh created those t-shirts, DTGT had just had a “storyline” about teenage gambling. So that’s the joke: equating Gilford with Vegas.
Lor
December 21st, 2005 at 7:10 pm
sorry, Beasley, never saw My Dinner with Andre!
bubujin
December 21st, 2005 at 7:19 pm
Regarding Iris’ shiny hair, she must be half Asian and has had her hair permanently straightened.
Yeah, that’s it….
Obviously, not enough of you have spent any time in Japan where I’m from and can see this sort of thing fairly regularly. Usually it’s done on much longer hair though.
Islamorada Girl
December 21st, 2005 at 9:35 pm
I think Iris has been going to Devo’s yard sales again.
And it’s a pretty good bet she’s a member of the Only Tribe, since she’s working in Only Indian Casino in Onlyburg.
Wasn’t there a Kirk Douglas movie with this plot, back in the day?
Impossible Robot
December 21st, 2005 at 10:02 pm
Poor Scrap Iron Jack! I mean, where’s Hutch Renfro when you need him?
Anonymous
December 21st, 2005 at 11:03 pm
What I would like to know is, what are the red and blue things on the counter behind Iris? I know what they look like to me, but I watch a lot of porn.
joeyjoejoe
December 22nd, 2005 at 12:32 am
Hey, does anyone know where I can read current Gil Thorp strips online, other than the Houston Chronicle? They recently changed their website for whatever reason, so you can no longer link to the current day’s strip; you have to type the date into the URL each time you go to the site, which is a serious pain and ruins my whole comics page.
Anyway…got any leads?
mooselet
December 22nd, 2005 at 12:45 am
#48:
Oh…my…Lord! You are so right, those look like, well, phallic symbols. And I don’t watch a lot of porn, so your mind isn’t totally in the gutter. Why would a bar have dildos on the counter? What kind of a bar is this anyway? When they say you’re gonna get screwed at the tables, do they really mean it?
mfdshan
December 22nd, 2005 at 1:57 am
#48, #50
Those are the handles on the beer taps.
I don’t watch a lot of porn, but I do drink a lot of beer.
mumbles
December 22nd, 2005 at 2:24 am
You guys called it…..lizardbreath is going ROADSIDE on Mount Foob!
Dub Not Dubya
December 22nd, 2005 at 6:42 am
Joeyjoejoe: six months of DTGT can be found here:
http://www.comicspage.com/gilthorp/gilthorp.html
I feel like I should apologize to anyone who clicks that link! ;) BTW, sorry if this post is a duplicate–the submit form timed out on my the first time.
yellojkt
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:04 am
Desoto,
Those suggestive Arlo and Janis strips are about par for the course. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get some gags in the next week about chrome and trailer hitches.
Sheila
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:47 am
I’m disgusted with Lizardbreath. She scarcely knows the guy! She met him ONCE! (I don’t care what’s happening on the Mt. Foob website, this is a COMIC STRIP — it’s supposed to be self-contained!) And what about Warren? Lynn’s been stringing us along with HIM for years, and now he comes out of the woodwork just in time to get jilted? Feh! I say feh!
2fs
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:50 am
FBOFW: literally roadside! (Liz certainly does attract the stalker-types…)
Sourbelly
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:22 am
Iris’ hair closely resembles that of one of the members of Josey and the Pussycats, the one with the black hair and a white lightning bolt coarsing through it.
Speaking of hair, how would one describe Josh Hand’s hair color? Butterscotch? Tan? Oak? Raw Umber? Nougat?
joeyjoejoe
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:35 am
You know why I respect Gil Thorp? Well, I don’t. But you know why I respect it more than, say, For Better of For Worse? With the exception of the recent time-slipping episode of Mary Worth, all of the soap opera strips ostensibly occur in real time. But because not much time can be covered in three panels, the writers usually have to fudge a little bit. Thus, we have Elizabeth arriving at school and planning her first lesson for a month’s worth of strips that only cover about a week in Foobtime, have a short vacuuming misadventure with Elly, and then when we check back in with Liz, she’s finishing up the semester. Strips like Mary Worth and Mark Trail don’t have to deal with this particular problem, since they exisit in a kind of constant present; even though there is a continuing storyline, it is not anchored in any one year, or time of year.
Both FBOFW and Gil Thorp, however, rely on the action occuring at roughly the time of year that it really is. FBOFW deals with this by just showing us some key events in the lives of its ridiculously large and disparate cast of characters. Gil Thorp, on the other hand, doesn’t try to follow every single minor character’s story. When their season is over, they’re out of the picture. This strip is about Gil, after all. And we stay with Gil, and his current athletes, until the seasons change and he starts working on the new group. I think it’s realistic. We may be left wondering what happened with Sean the Square and Kenya the asexual token black person, but ultimately, we don’t care, and it doesn’t matter. We’ve moved on to basketball now, folks. “Brick” House is yesterday’s news and Ted is the flavor of the day. But even he will pass out of the limelight, to be replaced by Gil’s shiny new track star (I’m assuming that’s what he coaches in the spring).
Gil Thorp’s plots are like New England weather: if you don’t like it, just wait a minute, and it will change.
Now, that said, who else thinks our new “street” friend Ted is going to turn out to be homeless? You heard it here first. Heartwarming lessons to follow.
joeyjoejoe
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:39 am
Is there some Beastie Boys joke in the last panel of Get Fuzzy that I’m not getting? Because I don’t know what’s happening in that last panel otherwise.
joeyjoejoe
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:41 am
“Hi and Lois”: can you say “worst mall Santa, ever”?
joeyjoejoe
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:45 am
Luann: Santa got a “gift” all right.
By the way, has anyone else noticed the loving detail that Greg Evans puts into Toni’s camel toe? It’s rather amazing.
joeyjoejoe
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:52 am
MW: In a classic sit-com set-up, Jane is about to be burned hard core when she finds out her ex has been banging his secretary for the last three months. Of course, there will be much ambiguous talk before then that will lead her on and make her think he might take her back, and then just as she’s about to say, “Josh, I think we should try to work things out,” SMASH!, he bodyslams her hopes and dreams, and, if we’re lucky, drives her to the drink and the fragile-ornament-loving arms of Meddlesome Mary.
joeyjoejoe
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:58 am
Hmm…two strips involving cats getting stuck in Christmas trees. Is this a common problem?
http://www.drinkatwork.com/medlarge424.gif
http://www.pvponline.com/archive.php3?archive=20051218
yellojkt
December 22nd, 2005 at 10:03 am
Mrs DeGroot buys her slacks a little too tight sometimes too, if you know what I mean.
And the first draft of the last panel of today’s Luann said, “Santa got a woodie.”
Sassy_Rocks
December 22nd, 2005 at 10:27 am
“It’s hard to kiss while you’re driving”. Well, they’ve already done that anyway and Lizardbreath has a bus to catch. Why not oral sex? That way he can keep driving and she’ll make her bus.
rich
December 22nd, 2005 at 10:39 am
49: You can also get Gil Thorp here:
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/custom/gilthorp/
They have eight years of strips available – and some from 1958! Requires only a free registration.
(Though my Houston Chronicle link hasn’t had the problem you described)
Smokey Stover
December 22nd, 2005 at 12:13 pm
#66: Wow, it’s amazing how much better the artwork used to be in Gil Thorp!
joeyjoejoe
December 22nd, 2005 at 2:17 pm
So, apparently, no one in the Spider-man universe has heard of luggage tags. Also, sweeping generalizations, such as “everyone in L.A. dresses weird” are legitimate reasons for dismissing otherwise suspicious behavior.
Can the writers of this comic please come up with some plots that don’t involve a costume mishap? Like maybe, I don’t know, a supervillian plotting to take over the city, or rob a bank, or kill all humans? You know: something interesting.
Traditional wisdom in the comics world is that once a story goes into space, or has visitors from space (not counting Silver Surfer, I guess), the comic has jumped the shark. There might even be an equivalent term for comics, indicating that a particular book or character has “gone to space.”
Anyway, the true test of a superhero wearing out his welcome is apparently when his most pressing issues involve his costume. Either the writers are completely out of ideas or these incidents are the beginning of a story arc chronicling Peter Parker’s decent into dementia. I expect many dark stories in the near future involving Peter’s mirrored self-misidentification, perhaps becoming so serious that he comes to believe that Spider-Man is his “true” identity, and Peter Parker is either an alter-ego, or an imposter somehow stealing his reflection. I can’t wait!
Sassy_Rocks
December 22nd, 2005 at 3:52 pm
JoeyJoeJoe: You are so right. This is one of the lamest Spidey plots ever and they have been really lame for the past several years. What’s the big deal about someone else finding a spiderman costume? He nonchalantly climbs out the window of his apartment in densely populated NYC, right in front of all the neighbors and starts web swinging without giving it a second thought. His neighbors can see where he lives and put two and two together. Wouldn’t that be riskier to his “secret” identity than the horror of someone finding out he owns a stupid halloween costume? It would be a lot easier to explain than the blood test. “Hey, I’m going to a costume party”-end of story.
Neddy and Lizardbreath are sucking face at the same time but not with each other…
Lor
December 22nd, 2005 at 4:00 pm
#66, 67: Thanks for the link, Rich. What really amazes me is that ol’ Gil looked a lot older in 1958!
Sassy_Rocks
December 22nd, 2005 at 4:32 pm
I read every comic in the Post every day and a few former Post comics online like 3G, Rex Morgan and the Phantom. Among these is some real crap that I have to force myself to read, such as Prince Valiant, Peanuts, Garfield and Kathy. Having said that, I’ve tried to force myself to read Gil Thorp and just cannot find any compelling reason to do so. It seems as inane as Prince Valiant, as precitable as Garfield and as boring as Kathy. The only possible redeeming feature that comes to mind is the Devo/Judge Parkeresque hairstyles. Can someone please explain why it’s worth reading?
Adouble
December 22nd, 2005 at 4:32 pm
Yes, Gil looked older back then. Clearly his youthful, inhuman appearance is a byproduct of many risky, experimental plastic surgeries (somehow involving a dangerous skull squarifiying operation). Now the real mystery is why a rich New York socialite is coaching high school sports in Middle America.
Marc
December 22nd, 2005 at 4:44 pm
Oh god, Hi and Lois’s santa’s lap hurts…lets see why…
Getting aroused everytime a little boy sits on his lap? Is this Santa Michael Jackson in disguise? I mean..this Santa is white…
Non-Sequiter..now that Santa’s lap should hurt..a 40 something guy on his lap. But it is funny.
Thats about it…Very boring and run of the mill today..
dimestore lipstick
December 22nd, 2005 at 7:08 pm
joeyjoejoe
re: Get Fuzzy
Double-O-Stupid = 007, a take on James Bond.
Scallopine, Bacon not Curd = Martini, shaken not stirred, a further take on Bond–as well as a shot at Rob’s vegetarianism.
License to ill = License to kill, the third Bond Joke, and possible a reference to Bucky’s hoodie, or just to his usual ill-behaved actions.
That’s a lot of stuff to cram into one panel, and it was a slow-burner for me this morning.
the dockster
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:05 pm
on a random comic-related note, did anyone see this b.c. strip today? jeez.
weiser
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:44 pm
#57 . . . Speaking of hair, how would one describe Josh Hand’s hair color? Butterscotch? Tan? Oak? Raw Umber? Nougat?
Just wait until Sunday when in true MW fashion Josh’s hair will be a totally new non-related color and his pants will be butterscotch, or nougat, or something
Kaliflower
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:53 pm
Today’s BC struck me as stupid on many levels. I noticed the omission of ‘night’ as a noun but didn’t realize the omission of ‘care’ as one as well. I was going to comment on it here but I think by the time I got here I had already forgotten its stupidity. That’s not to say that its stupidity isn’t epic, because it is, it’s just that BC is so consistently stupid now it hardly seems relevant to bring it up. It makes more sense to note when BC is funny, or, more likely, when it is just mildly readable. Since the latter happens very rarely, and the former happens never BC should come up in conversation exactly 0.00006% of the time.
Since you did bring it up, I would like to point out that, though the inability to recognize some very simple words as nouns is disturbing, the most obnoxious part about this comic, as already pointed out, was that there was really no pay off. Here’s my guess. Johnny Hart started writing the comic with the intention of making a statement about the death of the word Christmas from public view. So he writes, ‘Twas the night before ——— etc.’ Then he realizes that the poem he picked doesn’t really mention Christmas that often. With his tee time looming and no other direction, instead of making any sort of sense he came up with an imaginary character who doesn’t like nouns.
Good job.
randomdude
December 22nd, 2005 at 9:12 pm
Kaliflower – wow, today’s B.C. is a true rarity. Normally when he comes up with one of these crazy ones that make no sense, we have no idea what he’s thinking. But it’s clear what his goal was here – to make a comment on the “war on Christmas/Christians” – something created by religious kooks and the media. No doubt he can empathize with the poor Christians who aren’t properly greeted at Wal-Mart, because he’s suffered the wrath of the secularists by having his strip lambasted for its good wholesome Christian-ness. Of course he failed miserably on multiple levels:
1. It doesn’t really make a social comment
2. It makes no sense because some nouns weren’t blacked out
3. It isn’t funny
Excellent use of background birds in every panel, though.
June fan
December 23rd, 2005 at 10:09 am
Dag! When is Rex going to take June to the Beach?!?!?!
rich
December 23rd, 2005 at 1:24 pm
71: Gil Thorp is fun to read because the dialogue is so strange and full of non-sequitors – like how it’s fun to try to read a menu written in broken english, or a poorly translated instruction manual (unless you’re trying to actually follow the instructions, then it’s both funny and annoying).
It’s also fun to read because the art is wacky, because the characters have weird “Joker” smiles and the best hair in the comics world, bar none. And because people who are portrayed as being “cool” in the Milford universe are so clearly not cool by any recognizable standard. It’s a daily trip to the Bizarro world.
And, despite all that, the writing’s kind of cute and the strip has a good heart.
June fan
December 26th, 2005 at 2:54 pm
re. #17 I’m pretty sure it’s Charles Kuralt. He was “On the Road” with Hunter Thompson throwing down a couple of hi-balls.
Anonymous
January 3rd, 2006 at 1:55 pm
Clearly, the waitress is displaced Thermian Laliari from Galaxy Quest… http://www.alicia-logic.com/capsimages/gq_027Laliari.jpg
EricW
January 3rd, 2006 at 9:09 pm
Oh, dig this…
“Fresh Air from WHYY, January 3, 2006 · Brian Walker, son of Hi and Lois creator Mort Walker, has co-edited a new book that traces the history of America’s funny pages in the 20th century. Walker now writes the Hi and Lois strip with his brother, editor Greg Walker, and illustrator Chance Browne.”
I caught part of this earlier today…some remarkable stories about the hazards of working in two legacy strip.
wishermanjim
January 8th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
few bras can contain june morgans chest
jimmie
January 27th, 2006 at 10:22 am
The coup de grâce: Even without King hearts on the River, Jack wins the pot!
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