The Comics Curmudgeon

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Dial M for Meddle

Mary Worth, 11/16/09

So, it looks like Scott is going to be A-OK, now that Dr. Jeff has given him and his sexy legs the once-over! Adrian is of course a doctor as well, but her medico-vision was disabled by grief and estrogen, so it was important for Jeff to make sure. (A competent doctor who was not a relative or potential relative of the patient was unavailable, as Dr. Jeff has made sure that everyone who works with him at Santa Royale General is one of his cronies or offspring.)

Anyway, with a mighty MEANWHILE, our narration box thrusts us pell-mell into the next storyline, and panel two shows us why we keep tuning into this feature. Who is making a phone call, and to whom? Is it someone calling to tell Mary that she’s wearing a hideous canary-yellow skirt-suit just like the one Mary’s been wearing all week, presaging a “Single White Meddling Biddy” storyline? Let’s hope!

Dick Tracy, 11/16/09

Here is the ethical dilemma for me as a Dick Tracy reader: each and every storyline inevitably ends in a scene of gruesome violence — with people being electrocuted or torn to bits by vicious dogs or run over by bulldozers — that I am genuinely shocked and discomfited to find on the comics page. And yet the rest of the strip is so baffling and dull that these flesh-mangling episodes are all I feel that I have to look forward to in this feature. Thus, I’m feeling pretty cheated right now, because despite several months’ worth of foreshadowing, not a single person in this interminable circus storyline has been mauled by a tiger, despite many chances for such a thing to happen. One can only hope that the plot’s various ne’er-do-wells have been spared that fate so that Dick can line them up and shoot them in the face one by one.

Luann, 11/16/09

For the record, this is a bad idea because Brad will try too hard and screw everything up, plus TJ will attempt to seduce Brad’s mom. His whipped sweet potatoes will still be exquisite.

Curtis, 11/16/09

I have never claimed to some kind of consistency in my comics likes and dislikes. Thus, while Marvin’s endless poop-smeared antics repulse me, I will always laugh at jokes about Curtis’s little brother picking his nose with malice aforethought, especially when this is indicated by comical sound effects.

Hi and Lois, 11/16/09

I realize that “nostalgia music” was more or less necessary to set up the punchline here, but for full sneering-at-old-people effect, I prefer “dinosaur rock” myself.

Oh, and Vintage Guitar magazine? It exists, my friends. Order it now for the dinosaur rocker on your Christmas list!

Spider-Man, 11/16/09

Newspaper comic strip Spider-Man trufans have been enjoying this plot so far, but have been waiting with mounting anxiety for the moment when the plot will hinge on the non-functioning of an ordinary household electronic device. Never fear, faithful readers! You know this feature always comes through for you!

More Josh-on-the-radio news! If your local public radio station carries Dick Gordon’s “The Story,” I am on it, today, talking nostalgically about being laid off during the last recession! In the Baltimore area it’s on WYPR at 8 pm. I will post a link to the podcast when available!

This entry was posted on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 05:16 pm and is filed under Curtis, Dick Tracy, Hi and Lois, Luann, Mary Worth, Spider-Man.

107 responses to “Dial M for Meddle”

Eau de Plugger
November 16th, 2009 at 5:22 pm [Reply]

By the looks of Bigtime’s phone, he could use an update.
Joseph J. Finn
November 16th, 2009 at 5:23 pm [Reply]

I didn’t realize before reading today’s Hi and Lois that listening to nostalgia rock necessitates the ritual scarification of Hi’s face. But I approve!
Ethan Shuster
November 16th, 2009 at 5:27 pm [Reply]

Actually, no, Hi is not reading “Vintage Guitar”. He’s obviously reading a magazine advertising Vintage Guitar magazine, because no professional artist would draw a magazine where the cover is shown on the wrong side.
Sequitur
November 16th, 2009 at 5:50 pm [Reply]

Hey, Brad! You have to cross your thumb and pinky to do the scout’s pledge.
mr 12 oz can
November 16th, 2009 at 5:51 pm [Reply]

i wonder if bob will wrestle down that alligastor so mark will visit again to try some of his wifes great coffee and possum stew .
Mark J. Hansen
November 16th, 2009 at 5:52 pm [Reply]

I would assume that Barb Els is short for Barbara Els, despite the fact that the character appears masculine. But I still like to think that he/she is the strange asexual love child of Bob Hope and Jack Lalanne.
Mibbitmaker
November 16th, 2009 at 5:54 pm [Reply]

H&L: Well, whatever you call it, Chip still needs a good slap.

(actually, just sneering, forcefully, the term “oldies” would probably do the job)
Alan's Addiction
November 16th, 2009 at 5:55 pm [Reply]

I think the most sinister part of that “Meanwhile…” panel in today’s “Mary Worth” is that awful yellow color on the offender’s sleeve. It puts the public at risk for blindness. Also, what do phones have to do with the current storyline? Is some long-lost relative going to call and demand that Detective Scott be taken off of life support? I can imagine that wouldn’t go over very well. “But sir, Detective Scott is predicted to make a complete recovery in several weeks’ time.” “I don’t care, kill him anyways!”
Oh, I can imagine the cheerful news tomorrow as parents tell their children, “Hey kids, there’s a circus in town, but we can’t go because Dick Tracy arrested everyone in it. For good measure, he actually arrested the tent and trapeze posts, too.”
Isn’t it too soon after that kitchen-fire thingy for the de Groots to be gathering in celebration of a cooking-themed holiday? That just strikes me as begging for trouble…
It’s a true fact that there is a medical term for picking your nose until it bleeds (referred to as “digital trauma,” for those who really want to know). For some reason, that was the only thing I could think of as I read today’s “Curtis.”
Wow, I hope that Hi’s generally slovenly and scruffy appearance indicates his gradual spiral into alcoholism and madness. Not that I blame him, having to deal with the gruesome Trixie on a daily basis would drive any man to drink.
The authors of Spider-Man reveal their ignorance of modern living, yet again. I’ve had many, many cell phones over the years and I have never been able to successfully break one like Big Time does in today’s strip. They’re almost invincible – imperveous to most forms of smashing and crushing. Maybe that’s his superpower – the ability to completely destroy cell phones. It puts him on par with every other villain in the Spider-Man universe.
cj
November 16th, 2009 at 6:00 pm [Reply]

Spidey:
Bigshot’s obviously overstating his wealth, as even the working poor can afford cell phones that fit within the confines of the human palm. Perhaps he is the world’s first homeless criminal mastermind.
Naked Bunny with a Whip
November 16th, 2009 at 6:01 pm [Reply]

Jeez, Hi. If you’re going to put your feet up on the couch, at least take off your shoes!

Er, those are shoes, aren’t they?
Mollie
November 16th, 2009 at 6:02 pm [Reply]

When will the automaton that “writes” Hi & Lois discover that teens such as Chip are actually into the Beatles these days, what with their Rock Band games and their mono-mix box sets and all? What really I’m asking is, how soon will we see the strip where Chip wanders through the living room with “Love Me Do” blaring from his headphones, prompting a “joke” about how what Dad considers nostalgic, Chip considers “new”? I’m putting the over/under marker at 2 weeks. Bets?
Chipper
November 16th, 2009 at 6:05 pm [Reply]

MT: Sassy is understandably straining at the leash to back herself into the gator’s mouth rather than face the hugs and kisses from the hideously malformed Rusty that surely await her upon a safe return to camp.
Sequitur
November 16th, 2009 at 6:10 pm [Reply]

Curtis, wear gloves. Preferably surgical ones.
Steve S
November 16th, 2009 at 6:10 pm [Reply]

With a small shift in the punchline of Hi and Lois, Chip can use “moldy oldies” instead. In panel 2, Hi has to say “Please tell me I’m not his real dad.” It writes itself.
tb4000
November 16th, 2009 at 6:11 pm [Reply]

Curtis: Barry Wilkins is what we in fan fiction world call the Mary Sue. Greg and Diane could see photographic evidence of the little bastard robbing a bank and they’d never beat the shit out of him for it, instead choosing to fuck up Curtis himself because that backwards green cap is just too inviting a target.
Baka Gaijin
November 16th, 2009 at 6:13 pm [Reply]

Mary Worth, missing panel 3: As the phone reaches an ear framed by a bowl haircut, a male voice speaks one word, “Queenie!”
Dragon of Life
November 16th, 2009 at 6:14 pm [Reply]

This is the first time Mary Worth has ever led directly into Spider-Man. But oh god I hope it’s not the last.
Violet
November 16th, 2009 at 6:15 pm [Reply]

I’m a little unclear on how Brad and TJ inviting the Degroots over for Thanksgiving dinner will degenerate into squicky, stomach-turning and just plain wrong sexuality, but I have full confidence that Luann will find a way.
sugarpie
November 16th, 2009 at 6:17 pm [Reply]

Luann “Sure tiger, think about it as long as you want. Meanwhile, I’m going to dab on a little more of this Bonne Belle Lip Smacker, and then we can both think of ways for you to wipe it off,
Baka Gaijin
November 16th, 2009 at 6:20 pm [Reply]

Also, AAAAAAHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! CREEPYSCARYCLOWN on today’s post! AAAHHH! AAAAHHH! AAAAAHHHH! huff huff huff AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! When will this nightmare end? Baka Gaijin Corollary in effect. Oh, yeah, AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa….
UnknownEric
November 16th, 2009 at 6:22 pm [Reply]

H&L: Forget the “nostalgia music,” someone tell me why Hi attempted to sew his mouth shut!
Thorinoz
November 16th, 2009 at 6:22 pm [Reply]

TJ changed his expression! Alert the media.
Sequitur
November 16th, 2009 at 6:26 pm [Reply]

Would someone please calm down Baka Gaijin. He’s wearing a circle in the carpet.
tymime
November 16th, 2009 at 6:28 pm [Reply]

Funny- I’m 20, and I think Vintage Guitar is awesome.
DaveyK
November 16th, 2009 at 6:28 pm [Reply]

It never occurs to Sandman that the device can still make phone calls, despite the fact that the display is cracked? These inanimate objects are smarter than the characters in Spider-man.
Baka Gaijin
November 16th, 2009 at 6:29 pm [Reply]

#23 Sequitur: aaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaAAAAA!!! huff huff huff No, it’s a tetrahedron. Check out the corners and third dimensionality. AAAaaaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaaAAaaaAA!!
Baka Gaijin
November 16th, 2009 at 6:30 pm [Reply]

Hi and Lois: AAAaaaaaaa…Hi, huff huff, the barbecue grill is not, I repeat NOT a pillow. aaaaAAAAAaaaaAAaaAAAAAaaaaaaa…
Sequitur
November 16th, 2009 at 6:32 pm [Reply]

26. Baka Gaijin
By golly, you’re right. Looks kind of like a wind sock.
Victory Garden
November 16th, 2009 at 7:00 pm [Reply]

We finally catch TJ in the process of reapplying his grin. Dear God, that’s weird.
Jacob
November 16th, 2009 at 7:08 pm [Reply]

Dick Tracy: Mr. Pops appears to be vanishing into thin air, which is probably why he seems so nonchalant about Dick’s gun.
One-eyed Wolfdog
November 16th, 2009 at 7:10 pm [Reply]

I would have assumed that Barb Els was a slurry contraction of Barbituates Or Else, the traditional ongoing demand made by any character unfortunate enough to be stuck in Dick Tracy for more than a few minutes.
Violet
November 16th, 2009 at 7:18 pm [Reply]

Were it any other comic, I might be inclined to criticize Dick Tracy for today’s labored and tedious exposition, but I find the action of the strip so consistently inscrutable I could actually use a little more elucidation. I think every panel should feature not only stilted, explanatory dialogue but also at least three narration boxes and possibly a map.
BigTed
November 16th, 2009 at 7:21 pm [Reply]

It seems highly unlikely that Hi, the father of baby Trixie, is old enough to have been a teenager when “Love Me Do” was recorded in 1962. I’m guessing he saw American Graffiti on TV a few years ago and, finding those kids’ youths far more exciting than his own, chose to supplant his own nostalgic memories with Richard Dreyfuss’. Lois should just feel lucky he doesn’t spend every night driving around looking for Suzanne Somers in a white Thunderbird.
Charterstoned
November 16th, 2009 at 7:27 pm [Reply]

MW – God, I hope Toby hasn’t fallen off the wagon in this holiday season to place a telephone order to…Enormoushop!
Sheila Sternwell
November 16th, 2009 at 7:39 pm [Reply]

Archie: Betty’s frothing at the mouth and has jammed a 3-sided ruler into her cheek. Yep, just a normal day in Archieland.
your father isn't mr. cohen
November 16th, 2009 at 7:39 pm [Reply]

Luann: Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that two ostensibly adult men decorate their home with drawings they’ve done of cars on notebook paper, complete with scrawled signatures?
Little Guy
November 16th, 2009 at 7:40 pm [Reply]

H&L: These days, the “nostalgia station” plays 80s music.

Luann: When one of his apple turnovers explode, TJ causes the 2012 Apocalypse.

DT: Ah, Tracy, conviction from the business end of a gun.

Curtis: Root, root, root for the boo-gers….

Spidey: Now, if we’ve established that Sandman can materialize into fine grains of sand, why not go Full Metal Ceti Alpha Worm and burrow into Bigtime’s brain to either torture him into releasing his kid, or making Bigtime phone his stooge (from another cell phone) and/or other movements against Bigtime’s will?

I know that is too PG-13 for the comic strip, but hey….
Danny Lilithborne
November 16th, 2009 at 7:42 pm [Reply]

I don’t even read the comics page anymore, just the Comics Curmudgeon. D:
littlestevie
November 16th, 2009 at 7:45 pm [Reply]

Meanwhile I think somebody is phoning in a huge to-go order of salmon squares. And you always thought they were homemade.
Red Greenback
November 16th, 2009 at 7:48 pm [Reply]

Barry Wilkins: “The Squeakiest Nostrils In The Comics Business”
Citric
November 16th, 2009 at 7:51 pm [Reply]

MW: The real question is, why is Mary’s hand the exact same color as the good doctor’s jacket? Is she some sort of space lizard, and she changes color when in contact with jackets of questionable taste?
Lolsworth
November 16th, 2009 at 7:56 pm [Reply]

Dick Tracy’s still trying to arrest that clown? He’s been reading him his rights for, what, two months! Is this a real-time comic or something?
Larry Fine
November 16th, 2009 at 8:04 pm [Reply]

DT — So many suspects to pistol-whip, so little time.
Stij
November 16th, 2009 at 8:05 pm [Reply]

Luann: Oh geez, what is TJ doing in panel 3? Is he picking his teeth with a switchblade? Or is he applying lipstick to his suddenly full and luscious lips?
Kibo
November 16th, 2009 at 8:07 pm [Reply]

Josh, I think the reason you’re feeling cognitive dissonance between “Curtis” and “Marvin” is that they have different approaches to their excretory macguffins:

“Curtis”: One character does something horribly gross. Then another character reacts to it as if it is horribly gross.

“Marvin”: The only character poops. Then he says “I pooped!” Then he poops again. And again. Then he says “Poop poop poop!” while pooping. POOP!!!! POOOOOOOOP!!!!

The difference between the two types of comedy is subtle. The implication is that in “Curtis”, the author’s self-insertion character and the audience identification character are the guy who thinks gross stuff is gross. In “Marvin”, the author just likes turds.

I will wager that if you could obtain the original art for “Marvin”, it wouldn’t be drawn in black, but in a sort of chocolate brown color that smudges all too easily. I suggest you test my theory by getting your hands on “Marvin”’s artboards — while wearing at least two pairs of gloves.

– K.

(P.S. I predict we’ll soon see the phrase “excretory macguffins” showing up in a certain strip.)
Comcis Fan
November 16th, 2009 at 8:11 pm [Reply]

H&L: I’d like to think that Hi fell asleep with his face on a vintage 12-string guitar, rather than the alternative — a run-in with a George Forman grill.
aldos
November 16th, 2009 at 8:16 pm [Reply]

He must have instructed everyone to address him as “Bigtime” during the robbery so that all the witnesses wouldn’t know his “real” identity (”Bigshot”).
Digger
November 16th, 2009 at 8:17 pm [Reply]

Curtis: You’ve got to love “root root” as a nose-picking sound effect. It makes it clear that he’s digging out the really gross stuff, back near the brain.

H & L: I seem to remember that back in the 80s, we would see Hi reminiscing about his days as a hippie. So are we to believe that this strip is stuck in the 80s, or is Hi now close to becoming a senior citizen? His facial degeneration in today’s strip would indicate the latter.

MW: Mary said she would keep praying for Scott, so does the hand that reaches for the phone actually belong to God? I always suspected Mary had Him on speed dial. Time for the man upstairs to get caller I.D.
Chronic Masturbatrix
November 16th, 2009 at 8:25 pm [Reply]

Dick Tracy: In the prior “story” Tracy told a guy he had just shot to death something to the effect of, “don’t point a gun at someone unless you intend to shoot them.” (Which was irrelevant, since the guy wanted to kill Tracy anyway.)

Now he’s pointing his pistol in everyone’s face. Is he really going to shoot someone between the eyes for blackmail?

And how do you blackmail your own employees? Do they work for free? If they’re all ex-cons who have done their time, what exactly do you hold over their heads? Ringo was the one in hiding from people who wanted to kill him, all of his victims knew it, and yet they interfered with his murder. Gah! It does not make sense!

I wouldn’t mind so much if Locher was shitting all over one of his own characters, but God. Leave Tracy alone!
Rusty
November 16th, 2009 at 8:26 pm [Reply]

Is Hi on a bender? If so, best episode ever.
Patrick
November 16th, 2009 at 8:32 pm [Reply]

Did Mary and Jeff turn into dwarfs in panel 1? Or is the car just really, really big?
Jerry
November 16th, 2009 at 8:32 pm [Reply]

Hi Josh,

Great job on “The Story” You cracked me up. Great attitude!
Joe Blevins
November 16th, 2009 at 8:40 pm [Reply]

H&L: If Hi & Lois is ever, God forbid, made into a movie, clearly the only director for the job is Sam Mendes. We’ve already seen the H&L/Revolutionary Road mashup, and now the strip clearly takes a page from the American Beauty playbook, with Hi following the lead of Kevin Spacey’s Lester Burnham, ditching his white-collar duds in favor of a scruffier appearance. But, Hi, part of the bargain is that you have to stop carefully Brylcreeming your hair into place.

Wait, can they actually draw Hi without his slicked down ‘do? I seem to remember a strip in which Hi was depicted as a hippie and STILL had that hairstyle!
Mary Worth Discussion Group
November 16th, 2009 at 8:47 pm [Reply]

MW: In tomorrow’s first panel we see a buldging bicep and extremely hairy forearm… Hey Y’all its Terry Bryson!
RJ the Janitor
November 16th, 2009 at 8:48 pm [Reply]

Uh, Mr. Baka Gaijin, sir. Could you move your screaming and running around to the next room please? I’ve got to clean up a bit.
But now that I look at Dick Tracy, that is some bad ass evil looking clown. The guy next to Dick Tracy is pretty bad too.
doug rogers
November 16th, 2009 at 8:49 pm [Reply]

Big Time’s next crime; lying to his service provider. “No, I didn’t drop it! It was crushed by Spiderman. That kind of damage is covered in the warranty.”
Tafadhali
November 16th, 2009 at 8:51 pm [Reply]

OH GOD WHAT HAPPENED TO HI’S FACE.

CAN IT HAPPEN TO MARVIN NEXT?
Buck Ripsnort
November 16th, 2009 at 8:51 pm [Reply]

Bigshit is obviously a collector of rare, vintage cell-phones– given the size and vulnerability of the piece of crap he’s holding, I’d aay it was made mid-eighties.
Poteet
November 16th, 2009 at 8:55 pm [Reply]

DT — Let’s not forget my favorite gruesome death since I rejoined Police Force of the Damned, which was the hurtling of Queen of Diamonds down a ship smokestack. At least I myself had better remember her death, because clicking on those gruesome-death links proved that I couldn’t name those other dead villains even if I were required to do so at gunpoint. I think I’ll remember Cyber the Tiger, though.
Red Greenback
November 16th, 2009 at 8:57 pm [Reply]

Mary’s ‘do is looking especially Charlie Rich-like today.
Poteet
November 16th, 2009 at 9:00 pm [Reply]

MW — My ratty-jeans-and-sweatshirt outfits are just as hideous as Mary’s garb if not more so, but I’ll say one thing for what I wear. It’s comfortable. Whereas I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mary actually look comfortable and relaxed. Even when she’s in some kind of leisure outfit or leaning back on a couch, there’s that hair.
Brave Little Toaster
November 16th, 2009 at 9:02 pm [Reply]

Hi and Lois I am not surprised that Hi has apparently lost his job, probably for some negligence involving Uncle Billy, I mean Thirsty the alcoholic, and the loss of $8000 dollars to Old Man Potter down at the bank. Now he is free to loaf around the Flagston house, on a Monday for crissakes, spending the last few dollars in the family savings account on vintage guitar collectibles.
Gary
November 16th, 2009 at 9:03 pm [Reply]

If that hand is that of the “sister” of one Ted Confey calling Adrien to tell her that Ted and Scott are secretly lovers and Adrian’s just been duped again, then this will truly be the greatest story line in the history of the written word and I’ll swear off every other form of entertainment to serve at the altar of Mary Worth.
Poteet
November 16th, 2009 at 9:04 pm [Reply]

# 58 Buck — I think I saw that kind of phone being used by lobbyists at the state capitol in the late eighties. Iowa tends to run behind both coasts, so I’d guess your estimate of the mid-eighties is about right.
Deon
November 16th, 2009 at 9:06 pm [Reply]

Bigshot has suddenly become Bigtime!
Has anyone besides me noticed that when the last story arc ended, the “Next” box said “Exit Wolverine — enter SABERTOOTH!!”?
So uh… where is he?
Poteet
November 16th, 2009 at 9:08 pm [Reply]

# 63 Gary — And I’ll embroider the altar cloth myself.
Red Greenback
November 16th, 2009 at 9:18 pm [Reply]

MW: I can’t say for sure who’s reaching for the telephone there, but it sure looks to me like it’s Rich N. Potassium. *rimshot* Veal, etc, etc.
bats :[
November 16th, 2009 at 9:19 pm [Reply]

51. Patrick: it’s just the basic “Old people drive Big cars”…surely you’ve seen that type of couple, when the driver is looking at the road through the steering wheel.
Écureuil Écumant
November 16th, 2009 at 9:20 pm [Reply]

Curtis: “He doesn’t want to come with me, Ma. He’s busy fishin’ by the bridge.”

MT: Bob has run right up on this ichthyosaur-sized gator in panel 2, but the hardboiled poacher’s rifle shot missed from the same distance just a split second earlier. If you can’t hit that monster from 50 feet away … you sure as shit ain’t no redneck!

S-M (Which is what you must be into if you follow this strip): Sandman wants to go legit so bad, he’s trying to copy the Phantom’s costume. Unfortunately, he got the stripes on the wrong article of clothing. But I’d certainly love to know where he picked up a shirt that buttons down the back.
cheech wizard
November 16th, 2009 at 9:26 pm [Reply]

Why does TJ appear to be putting on lipstick in the third panel? Ok, sorry, dumb question.
bourbon babe, unbuckled
November 16th, 2009 at 9:29 pm [Reply]

65 Deon: Yes—I’ve been waiting for Sabertooth to show up for months now. (Okay, “waiting” suggests I give a crap. Which—yikes—it appears I do.)

68 bats :[ — Or, in this case, “Old people drive Big Cars to the Early Bird Special down at the Bum Boat, where they’ll consume the $9.99 Scampi Surprise with a side salad of iceberg lettuce and Thousand Island dressing.”

69 Écureuil Écumant, re: SM—I’m pretty much a fan of all things stripey in the comics, but I gotta say, today’s strip makes my retinas ache.

(Break’s over; back to grading….)
Écureuil Écumant
November 16th, 2009 at 9:34 pm [Reply]

Prickly City: Emulating Walt, Stantis went and dug a hole, fell in it and can’t get out.

RMMJ: “Someone’s coming!” Yeah, Tim — not you though, sorry.

@70 Cheech Wizard: No, that’s the “purse” size of K-Y.
Gabacho
November 16th, 2009 at 9:38 pm [Reply]

Mary Worth – Oh, Mary! You’ll pray for Scott? Nonsense. It won’t be three months before you play the Ruth Gordon role in the remake of “Rosemary’s Baby” called “Adrian’s Spawn”. Surely that’s Beelzebub himself on the phone although I can’t really see Charterstone standing in for the Dakota.

Sally Forth – If Laura’s not coming to Thanksgiving dinner, I’m not coming. (and yes I am disturbed that I know Sally’s mom’s first name. )
RJ the Janitor
November 16th, 2009 at 9:42 pm [Reply]

Anyone drop an Innuendo? There seems to be a couple of them lying around here.
cheech wizard
November 16th, 2009 at 9:55 pm [Reply]

72/EE – Nah, that would require a trip to the bathroom, although that may be upcoming or already transpired. In which case, we might simply be looking at a spray stick of Bianca.
Strangefate
November 16th, 2009 at 9:58 pm [Reply]

Is Sandman actually wearing purple pants? I thought Bruce Banner bought out the entire Marvel Universe’s supply of those?
Garradha
November 16th, 2009 at 10:03 pm [Reply]

Uh, if Hi Flagston has been listening to that music steadily since it wasn’t nostalgia-inducing for anyone — since it was new, in other words, which is what the comic seems to imply — doesn’t that make him roughly 60?

Maybe that’s not stubble. Maybe his flesh is withering because he needs to take his bio-restorative nutrient injections. I see Lois looks fine, though …
RJ the Janitor
November 16th, 2009 at 10:12 pm [Reply]

…bourbon bottle, bourbon bottle, bourbon bottle, burbon bottle, burbon bottle, merlot bottle, bourbon bottle…
Lisa
November 16th, 2009 at 10:14 pm [Reply]

I’ve been wondering if Hi was recessioned out of his job, too.

Also, The Beatles don’t really count as nostalgia or dinosaur music. 20 somethings are into them too… Does the writer of this strip not know that??
Sequitur
November 16th, 2009 at 10:40 pm [Reply]

GOAT JOKE FOR TRUE FABLE…

While working on a message the pastor heard a knock at his office door. “Come in,” he invited.

A contrite-looking man in threadbare clothes came in, pulling a goat on a rope, “Can I talk to you for a minute?” asked the man with his hat in his hand.

Wordlessly, the pastor indicated the chair and the man sat down in it gingerly. The goat proceeded to sniff around the office.

With one eye on the animal and one on the man, the pastor folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward, curious to hear the fellow’s story, “What can I do for you?”

“My family is hungry,” started the man. “So I stole this goat. But I feel that I have sinned. Would you please take it?”

“Certainly not,” said the minister.

“Then what should I do with it?” asked the man.

“Give it back to the man you stole it from, of course!” the pastor explained.

“I offered it to him, but he refused to take it. Now what should I do?”

“In that case,” the minister said, “It would be all right for you to keep it and feed your family.”

That seemed to settle things as far as the man was concerned.

“Thank you for your help, sir.”

With a lighter step, he walked out of the office, leading the goat on the rope behind him.

Later that afternoon when the minister returned home, he said to his wife as he walked in, “I have got a story to tell you.”

“I have something to tell you first,” she exclaimed. “Someone has stolen your goat!”
Carly
November 16th, 2009 at 10:46 pm [Reply]

I hope the next Mary Worth strip will be about Thing from The Addams Family (that’s his name, right?) and his (its?) inability to find true love, and/or get along with the rest of the people he lives with. Hopefully the latter; that would be awesome.

Dick Tracy: Louise Trapeze? Is that her legal name and she felt she had no choice other than to join the circus.
bourbon babe, unbuckled
November 16th, 2009 at 10:47 pm [Reply]

78 RJ: Wow—I wondered why those essays just kept getting better and better!
bourbon babe, unbuckled
November 16th, 2009 at 10:47 pm [Reply]

81 Carly: Oooh, yes! And then when Mary tries to meddle Thing, we can all make jokes that use the phrase, “Talk to the hand!”
Joe Btfsplk
November 16th, 2009 at 10:57 pm [Reply]

Sacks, with dollar signs printed on them. I knew those would show up at some point.
RJ the Janitor
November 16th, 2009 at 10:57 pm [Reply]

…beer bottle, scotch bottle, Ripple bottle, Billy Beer bottle, vodka bottle, Mogan David bottle, gin bottle, Muscadet sur lie Guy Bossard bottle, Boone’s Farm bottle, moonshine jar…
RJ the Janitor
November 16th, 2009 at 11:04 pm [Reply]

Oh, man. I thought there were just a bunch of bottles to get rid of. There’s about 2 gallons of barf in the corner.
zerowolf
November 16th, 2009 at 11:17 pm [Reply]

Poor Brad hasn’t trusted TJ since the “bend over and touch your toes” incident….
clahey
November 16th, 2009 at 11:19 pm [Reply]

Baldo: According to http://howmanyofme.com/ there are in fact 2 Gracie Bermudez’s in the United States, which would make her 1 in 154 million.

However, assuming that Gracie is a nick name for Grace, there are 21 Grace Bermudez’s, leading her to in fact be 1 in 15 million.

Edge City: I was actually disappointed when I was tested for Sleep Apnea and didn’t have it. I had the exact same reaction they do there. Turns out allergy medication has helped tremendously.

Peanuts: I was distressed as Peanuts’ was a non-joke today that reminded me more of a Curtis or a Crankshaft than a Peanuts. I do enjoy that Charlie Brown’s reaction shot is just him staring into space.
Red Greenback
November 16th, 2009 at 11:19 pm [Reply]

Haiku and Lois:

Five o’clock shadow
Nostalgia infested ears
Vo vo de oh doe
zerowolf
November 16th, 2009 at 11:20 pm [Reply]

Beetle and Sarge’s bondage games continue
Rusty
November 17th, 2009 at 12:09 am [Reply]

88: That website tells me there is only one person in the US with my name. Comforting somehow.
Anonymous
November 17th, 2009 at 12:21 am [Reply]

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

Hi and Lois The more I think about it, the more the whole “nostalgia music” thing doesn’t make any sense as an insult. I thought nostalgia was a good thing these days. Isn’t that why I love the [decade] shows are so popular? It doesn’t help that I only started listening to the Beatles a couple of years ago, so I can’t attach them to many days of yore. On the other hand, for me, “nostalgia music” is stuff like “Wannabe” or the timeless “I Want it That Way”.
clahey
November 17th, 2009 at 12:44 am [Reply]

91: Yeah, 14 for me. Not so comforting. Especially when they take my username.
Rusty
November 17th, 2009 at 1:37 am [Reply]

93: 14 out of 3 million plus isn’t a lot.
Rusty
November 17th, 2009 at 1:37 am [Reply]

gah, I mean 300 million.
A New Day
November 17th, 2009 at 1:39 am [Reply]

Well I suppose I’m hardly the first, but I was so struck by the appearance of Hi’s face in this strip that I just have to add to the comments. For a moment I seriously thought that the family had fitted him with a Hannibal Lecter-esque device. The precise reason is a closely-guarded family secret, but I can only assume it involved their neighbor Thirsty, a rusty lawn mower blade, and a decades-delayed LSD hallucination that Hi would refer to as “that diabolical Mister Sunbeam.”
Andy L
November 17th, 2009 at 2:07 am [Reply]

#3 Ethan Shuster, The cover is on BOTH SIDES, look at panel two.
Steve the Pocket
November 17th, 2009 at 2:32 am [Reply]

Dilbert: I think it’s funny that (A) “para-site” is a perfect term for “news blogs” that get their information from elsewhere on the internet because of the triple meaning; and (B) the use of the plural indicates that not only was this totally unintentional on Scott Adams’ part, he didn’t even notice it after the fact.

I remember some cartoonist (I think it must have been D. C. Simpson) once mentioning that after one of their strips ran, a reader wrote in to say that a slightly different choice would have added to the joke.

Funky Winkerbean: Nobody ever used hand signals, at least since Les’s dad was born. That’s just a backup method they teach you in case your turn signal goes out and you want to not get ticketed for failing to signal turns. It’s funny that Batiuk never discovered this. I’m now picturing him as having gone his entire life always signaling his turns by hand and that’s funny too.

Herb and Jamaal Who the heck talks like that? Wouldn’t “But then, I haven’t gotten up yet.” have worked fine?

Marvin: Too much information. Even by Marvin standards.

Non Sequitur: I just have to applaud Wiley for having the cojones to use the word “retard” in a newspaper comic strip; I wouldn’t take the risk of using it in a webcomic!

Prickly City: I also have to applaud Stantis for making it easy to tell which side he’s making fun of based on which character is saying something stupid. And for the fact that, unlike most political comics, it’s not always just the one character who is.

So I’ve named four things that are funny today, but none of them were in the actual strips themselves. Today’s actual funny strips are: Rhymes with Orange, The Argyle Sweater.
Crabby McCarthy
November 17th, 2009 at 3:59 am [Reply]

MW: Oh no, it’s Del yet again, no doubt announcing her pregnancy. And how long will this boring ass meddlefest last?
Sheila Sternwell
November 17th, 2009 at 5:04 am [Reply]

Ugh, sorry to hear you were laid off, Josh. I hope by “nostalgically” you mean that you’re no longer laid off.
Vince M
November 17th, 2009 at 8:55 am [Reply]

98: Steve – I will sometimes use hand signals, in addition to turn signals, to make the point that I’m turning to someone who’s right on my tail because I’m only doing 25 on a residential street with a 25 mph speed limit.
GrizzledGeezer
November 17th, 2009 at 9:23 am [Reply]

Wouldn’t someone named “Barb Els” be a female bodybuilder?
Zla'od
November 17th, 2009 at 10:16 am [Reply]

Are we quite sure that TJ from “Luann” is heterosexual? He seems to be gazing at Brad wistfully, as if wishing to inform him that not only is he good at gourmet cooking and redecorating, but if Brad’s relationship with Toni doesn’t work out, TJ’s actual, originally-misheard initials are “BJ.”
queek
November 17th, 2009 at 11:12 am [Reply]

102: She is.
Steve R
November 17th, 2009 at 11:29 am [Reply]

Does Luann even make an appearance in her namesake strip anymore, or is it simply the “Brad and TJ gay-sex hour”?
Mardou Fox
November 17th, 2009 at 12:12 pm [Reply]

I hadn’t seen “Hi and Lois” in quite a long time, but as soon as I saw Hi today, lying on that couch with his shoes, stubble, and grungy football jersey, I assumed he had lost his job. Has he? His whole appearance is comix shorthand for “unemployed bum”!

And… “nostalgia music”? What th’–? Sounds like something Herb or Jamaal might be listening to!

As far as H&L’s creators picking up on the fact that young folks today think the Beatles are cool…. not gonna happen in our lifetime.
Tom Townsend
November 19th, 2009 at 1:26 pm [Reply]

“Dial M for Meddle” – that is totally hilarious!

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Dial M for Meddle

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