The Comics Curmudgeon

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The years of living dangerously

For Better Or For Worse, 11/19/09

I’ve been staring at this vintage Foob strip for a while, trying to figure out if the seatbelts have been only been drawn in for 21st century reprint purposes. I kind of think they have been, especially based on the final panel, where Ellie’s shoulder strap sort of vanishes abruptly at the edge of her shoulder rather than fading into the zip-a-tone murk as one might expect, and Michael’s lap belt and shoulder strap stay wrapped around him despite his being dragged bodily into the next seat. So, yeah, neither of them were wearing seatbelts when this strip was drawn, presumably in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and that’s OK! It was the style at the time! I can distinctly remember that when I was roughly Michael’s age here — an age at which, I assume, a child today would be lashed into a rear-facing car seat — we had a peppy Plymouth Champ, with a buzzer that would go off if the passenger seatbelt wasn’t fastened; so, my mom would let me fasten it before I got in the car and then I would just sit on top of it. And that was totally normal! She didn’t want me to die or anything! One can be nostalgic for an earlier time with, though you probably wouldn’t be if you had a kid who died in a car accident because they weren’t strapped down properly. Still, does it make me a monster if I wish that newly regenerated young Michael were cruising along unsecured as his mother attempts to drive under the influence of whatever the 1970s Canadian equivalent of NyQuil was? Because we’ve seen what’s in store for him, and maybe it would be better if he just went face-first into that lovingly rendered radio.

Rex Morgan, M.D., 11/19/09

Ha ha, hilarious fisticuffs delivered! It appears that Tim is rapidly devolving into some kind of feral monster; poor Cue is right to be scared! Unfortunately, if his crib wasn’t capable of keeping out a couple of deranged old people, it certainly won’t provide shelter from whatever kind of violent, hideous gnome Tim has become. I know that sometimes if men act heroic and protective it will cause the ladies to swoon, Tim, but I think Becka will cease to be aroused right around the time you start chewing off Cue’s face.

Lockhorns, 11/19/09

I’m assuming this is one of those “I walked into a doorway” domestic violence cover-up stories, because I’ve never actually seen Leroy and Loretta in church. And really, why would they go? Why would they worship any deity who has placed them into a universe of such intense and unmitigated misery?

Mary Worth, 11/19/09

Normally statements along the lines of “my life was an empty desert of existential meaninglessness until I started nurturing new life inside my uterus” enrage me, but I’m willing to allow it here on the off chance that Delilah is subtly trying to insult the childless Mary Worth. “Mary, don’t you wish you had come to your senses sooner … before your once bountiful womb became withered and barren?” Thus perhaps this isn’t a Delilah-centered story we’re starting; rather, she may just be returning in a cameo to put the real plot in action. Just as Tommie the Tweaker reappeared just to prove that Ella Bird’s psychic powers were legit, so too will Delilah’s child-bearing smugness primarily serve to send Mary into a funk that she can only solve one way: by forcing Dr. Jeff to steal a baby for her.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 05:27 pm and is filed under For Better or for Worse, Lockhorns, Mary Worth, Rex Morgan, M.D..

197 responses to “The years of living dangerously”

BigTed
November 19th, 2009 at 5:32 pm [Reply]

Look how old and wrinkly Mary seems all of a sudden. I think she’s genuinely trying to be happy for Delilah, and it’s making her face crack.
Patrick
November 19th, 2009 at 5:33 pm [Reply]

Those two Mary Worth panels look like magazine ads for the Maidenform Cross-Your-Crone Bra and the new Bose Longest Stereo Ever.
Islamorada Girl
November 19th, 2009 at 5:34 pm [Reply]

No, no! Mary has a son, the long-lost ne’er do well who showed up about 30 years ago and extorted a lot of money from his heartbroken mom! Warren? Was that his name? I can’t recall and I’m humiliated to confess I’ve been reading MW for decades. But I distinctly recall he showed up, wrecked havoc and disappeared again, unlike Delilah’s baby who will cause much tsouris in utero for at least the next six months.
valerie
November 19th, 2009 at 5:35 pm [Reply]

I thought that the FOOB strips were new, but were written about an earlier era.
Ol'Froth
November 19th, 2009 at 5:35 pm [Reply]

I forsee a problem with Delilah’s pregnancy that results in a full-court meddle!
JC Lisbon
November 19th, 2009 at 5:38 pm [Reply]

I thought at first that it said “this is from my wife porking me in Church.” While that’s not any better, at least it provides for a very interesting mental image that involves Loretta, sex toys, a church pew, Leroy’s stomach, and me gouging out my mind’s eye.
Calico
November 19th, 2009 at 5:41 pm [Reply]

“It’s from my wife hitting me in the side with a Louisville Slugger.”
Ha, ha!
late2theparty
November 19th, 2009 at 5:43 pm [Reply]

“Not to worry, Leroy. You’ve come to me, Dr. H. Blog M.D., the finest bruise specialist here at Our Lady of Clumsy-References-to-That-Newfangled-Technology-All-the-Kids-Are-Crazy-For-Today Hospital. Nurse Twitter, would you please page Dr. iPod?”
Digger
November 19th, 2009 at 5:43 pm [Reply]

#4 – Zombie FOOB is a mix of new and recycled strips now, as Lynn Johnston only wants to devote some of her energies to her evil strip. I think Josh is right about this one being recycled (with added seatbelts) as no kid would be allowed to ride up front these days.

MW: Although Mary says she’s happy, she’s really thinking “how the hell am I supposed to meddle this?” Better start working on your pregnancy platitudes, Mary.
Calico
November 19th, 2009 at 5:44 pm [Reply]

And, I think the Canadian version of NyQuil back then was, well, NyQuil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NyQuil
Steve L
November 19th, 2009 at 5:45 pm [Reply]

It seems that Tim has become Henry Waxman.
McManx
November 19th, 2009 at 5:45 pm [Reply]

MWorth — Delilah is going to wish she had come to her senses sooner when the morning sickness and stretch marks begin. Breeders… ha! Mary’s shrunken womb will look pretty good to you when you’re yakking up your Cherrios, bitch.
Bootsy
November 19th, 2009 at 5:45 pm [Reply]

MW: Sooner? Sooner? Sooner? Isn’t Delilah the child prodigy married young? How much frickin’ sooner could she have come to this realization? 14? Sweet zombie Jesus, I hate her.
Calico
November 19th, 2009 at 5:45 pm [Reply]

#8 – That would be St. Isodore Hospital, I think!
Bryan
November 19th, 2009 at 5:48 pm [Reply]

…whatever the 1970s Canadian equivalent of NyQuil was…

It’s called Labatt’s
Josh
November 19th, 2009 at 5:50 pm [Reply]

#4 valerie — some of the strips are re-runs, some are new strips shoehorned into the previous era. I find it pretty easy to tell the difference, but sometimes I have a hard time verbalizing what the cues are. But one of them definitely is that the eyes on the characters are much larger on the older strips, as they are here.

#8 late2theparty — your comment is hilarious, but in an earlier post when I too boggled at the name, a commentor pointed out that Dr. Blog is apparently a real person. Who knew?

Josh
Dragon of Life
November 19th, 2009 at 5:52 pm [Reply]

Attention Rex Morgan Artists: while the experiment with the Rex Morgan Art-o-Tron Panel Generation program is not a bad one in theory, in the future please refrain from setting the “Drama” slider past its normal maximum.
Écureuil Écumant
November 19th, 2009 at 5:52 pm [Reply]

MT: Mark oughtta be grinning like an April fool, seeing that guy coming out of the bushes with his rifle. This is the sharpshooter who missed his last shot by two gator-lengths from fifty feet.

To be fair, however, it is kinda hard to hit anything in the swamp at midnight, except maybe with a cluster bomb.
Chyron HR
November 19th, 2009 at 5:55 pm [Reply]

“Old folks? What are you talking about, man?” Well, shit, who could have guessed that Alzheimer’s is contagious?
Écureuil Écumant
November 19th, 2009 at 5:57 pm [Reply]

SF: I’d be a little nervous being in the same room with Sally when she’s having an attack of Restless Knife Syndrome.
cj
November 19th, 2009 at 5:57 pm [Reply]

Worth:
Of course Mary’ll have to have a baby stolen – she doesn’t have the exotic foreigner mystique that convinces so many to give their surplus offspring over to Angelina.

Rex:
Please don’t let Tim the Dwarf go on a rampage – Cueball already has enough holes in his face.
Nekrotzar
November 19th, 2009 at 6:01 pm [Reply]

For the benefit of those not currently caring for young children, the standard today is that children under the age of 14 must be wrapped in foam and bubble wrap, sealed in an air-tight container, encased in at least 6 inches of lead, which is closed with a rivet gun and epoxy glue, held in place with duct tape, and labelled with a ‘Baby on Board’ sign, and then left at home because today’s highways are not safe for children.
Hibbleton
November 19th, 2009 at 6:03 pm [Reply]

About once a year you read or hear about some hapless fellow that gets his member stuck in a vacuum cleaner while masturbating. It will be interesting to see where Monty takes this.
Alan's Addiction
November 19th, 2009 at 6:05 pm [Reply]

True fact: in the 1990’s, it was illegal to drive in Sweden when suffering from the flu, because test groups with flu consistently had slower reaction times than drunk people. I mention this because there may be hope that Ellie and Michael may die before their own worst nightmares come true. Michael’s nightmare is, obviously, of becoming an obscure mediocre novelist and Ellie’s is living to see her children outgrow her so completely that she becomes, at best, a minor burden to them.
The latest moronic “Rex Morgan” story was worth it for the second panel in today’s strip, in which we can actually see Tim transforming into a hybrid of Skeletor and Hitler, complete with the appropriate mustache. I can only hope that the new and improved Tim comes with a temper and habits to rival both his genetic forefathers and viciously kills Cue using a combination of black magic and propaganda. Then, off to find He-Man! Or a local minority group; it’s all good for Tim/Skeletor/Hitler.
I can’t figure out how Loretta could bruise Leroy that much without damaging her hands. I can only assume that Leroy is leaving out the part involving either brass knuckles or medieval gauntlets.
I hope that Mary Worth continues to display the joys of parenthood, including the birth (Like the dinner scene in “Alien,” only with more bodily fluids) and the first 18 months (when infants don’t have their day/night cycles adequately adjusted so they spend as much time awake at night as in the day). Or, barring that, I’d settle for simply destroying that awful pink salmon jumpsuit Delilah’s wearing.
Sequitur
November 19th, 2009 at 6:07 pm [Reply]

I remember when I was seven years old and sitting in the front seat of the car with no seat belts. Very few cars had them then. My Dad was forced off an icy road by (probably) a drunk driver and we smashed into a tree. I was thrown into the dash board and as blood was running down my face I was laughing and thought it was a great ride.
My mother tells of times when I was a baby and fell out of the high chair, hit the floor and I would start laughing like crazy.
Little did I know that this would be great training for reading this blog site.

By the way, y248. Bootsy. Don’t worry about my name. Even I misspelled it a few times when I started using it.
Écureuil Écumant
November 19th, 2009 at 6:09 pm [Reply]

@24 Alan’s Addiction, on “Rex”: Skeletitler?
commodorejohn
November 19th, 2009 at 6:09 pm [Reply]

Actually, would it be awesome or horrifying (or both) if Mary decided to try and have a baby? Biology be damned, she’d will herself into fecundity with a few choice platitudes, and then we’d watch for the next nine months (in Mary Worth time, six years) as she platitudinized her way through every hardship the process could throw at her. Then she’d give birth, and with the combination of Mary’s driving need for absolute control and Jeff’s neurotic self-loathing, the baby would probably turn out to be Elly Patterson. Then the universe would implode.
late2theparty
November 19th, 2009 at 6:13 pm [Reply]

#16 Josh – Man, I guess I really am late to (2) the party. I suppose I should bone up on my Lockhorns (in which I’ll probably learn that Leroy thinks the only boning he’s able to get anymore is when Loretta leaves chicken bones in his soup, or some such).
Steve the Pocket
November 19th, 2009 at 6:13 pm [Reply]

I like the idea of a “Nurse Twitter” for some reason.

Also the phrase “fading into the zip-a-tone murk” really needs to be a song lyric, somehow. Possibly a nerdcore/death metal crossover related to comic books.
gnome de blog
November 19th, 2009 at 6:14 pm [Reply]

I keep trying to tell youse guys: Mary Worth has a secret abandoned daughter who lives in New York City. Her name is Abigail Thompson.
One-eyed Wolfdog
November 19th, 2009 at 6:26 pm [Reply]

Yeah, actually, it already happened. Once. A long time ago. And to this day we still say “Holy Mary, Mother of God”.
Evan
November 19th, 2009 at 6:31 pm [Reply]

$50 says the kid’ll be named “Mary”. What other conceivable reason would there be to keep dragging Delilah out of the closet?
Bill the Splut
November 19th, 2009 at 6:32 pm [Reply]

In the mid-60s, my parents’ idea of a “child seat” was a crib in the back of the station wagon, sliding around at every turn. Imagine how quickly DYS would take your kids away today if you tried that.
gnome de blog
November 19th, 2009 at 6:42 pm [Reply]

I can distinctly remember, back in 1951 or so when I was 3 or 4 years old, riding all the way from Eugene to Klamath Falls in the front seat of my grandfather’s car. Standing up. I couldn’t see anything if I sat down.

Sadly, that’s probably the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done in my life.
Baka Gaijin
November 19th, 2009 at 6:45 pm [Reply]

What is Josh’s fascination with putting scaryevilclowns at the tops of his posts? At least this one doesn’t have the big Bozo-inspired hair.
Steve S
November 19th, 2009 at 6:48 pm [Reply]

A worthy effort, Rex Morgan, but I still say Tim isn’t as scary as Rusty.
spinster with cat
November 19th, 2009 at 7:04 pm [Reply]

I think they put codeine in Canadian cough syrup, if I recall correctly. Could be wrong though.
Sprobert
November 19th, 2009 at 7:05 pm [Reply]

@ 32 Evan:
You’re probably right about the child being named after Mary Worth. That boy is going to be picked on so much…
Les of the Jungle Patrol
November 19th, 2009 at 7:06 pm [Reply]

Delilah looks kind of unhappy that she didn’t come to her senses sooner. Could this be hinting at something? Please let is be Charlie’s baby! Please let it be Charlie’s baby! Oooh, or the child of Mary’s boytoy, Dr Eunuch. (I can’t remember his name, so sue me.)
cindyinmaine
November 19th, 2009 at 7:08 pm [Reply]

What the hey, women are doing it later and later these days. Mary may be 75, but she’s fit, and I bet her uterus is too. What would be the length of Mary’s gestation period? Could be 4 years, could be two weeks… oh, what I’d give to find out…
commodorejohn
November 19th, 2009 at 7:08 pm [Reply]

#39 Les of the Jungle Patrol – We’ll be able to tell if it’s Charlie’s because it’ll come out wearing an indelible leer and making a snide remark about the trip through her genitals.
Uncle Lumpy
November 19th, 2009 at 7:19 pm [Reply]

#3 I-Girl –

No, no! Mary has a son, the long-lost ne’er do well who showed up about 30 years ago and extorted a lot of money from his heartbroken mom! Warren? Was that his name?

Dennis, if I remember correctly. When I started reading Mary Worth, Eisenhower was President.
lil McGill
November 19th, 2009 at 7:25 pm [Reply]

“Lovingly Rendered Radio” would be a great band name.
AhClem
November 19th, 2009 at 7:29 pm [Reply]

When I was a kid (late 1950s), long car trips were enhanced with a kind of platform stuck between the front and rear seats of the car, making the back seat into a largish play area.

Around town, when I was riding in the front seat, I was protected by the “mom restraint” (i.e. her outstretched right arm) when she had to stop suddenly.
Crankenstank
November 19th, 2009 at 7:29 pm [Reply]

Sadly, the 1970s equivalent of NyQuil was…NyQuil.
Jym the WIldlife Man
November 19th, 2009 at 7:39 pm [Reply]

=v= MW: I presume that Del is at the stereo to play more Rodgers and Hammerstein, only to find that she’s accidentally grabbed a pornographic compilation from Charlie’s apartment, featuring such songs as “Climb Ev’ryone, Mount’n” and “Sixteen Going Down on Seventeen.”

=16= ZombieFoob (Josh): Bigger eyes are one clue, though neater lettering is how I tell ‘em apart.
Chuck
November 19th, 2009 at 7:42 pm [Reply]

Elly’s turning into a wild-eyed crazy person again! Run! RUUUUN!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!
moderately selassie
November 19th, 2009 at 7:59 pm [Reply]

“For the last time Mr Lockhorn, a malignant melanoma is no laughing matter.”
Stroker Ace
November 19th, 2009 at 8:23 pm [Reply]

MW – Finally discovered how to enjoy reading Mary Worth: assume Mary is a man in drag.
mr 12 oz can
November 19th, 2009 at 8:23 pm [Reply]

does just quoting things from random books make you known as a person who meddles ??? ive only been reading mary worth since july can anyone tell me how she pays her bills besides hanging out with doctors with bad wardrobes .by the way last i seen cue he was in the phone booth with the cops outside how did he get back in the trailer ??? also tim made the same face whenhe told the nurseing home director he was gonna sue when the old bags first took off did you forget already
Chipper
November 19th, 2009 at 8:23 pm [Reply]

RMMD/MT: It is becoming apparent that Tim is Rusty’s father.
Joe Blevins
November 19th, 2009 at 8:29 pm [Reply]

MW: “You’re going to be terrific parents… except for your husband, who’s never home… and except for you, who are flighty and selfish. But other than those two wingnuts, you’re going to be absolutely sensational parents.”

I, too, am hoping this storyline actually shifts the focus back to Mary herself, but for different reasons. I want all this talk of babies to make Mary realize she has to deal with her paraphilic infantilism. She “comes out” to Jeff… and miraculously, he admits he has the exact same fetish! For a week or so, we watch them live out all their fantasies — diapers, bottles, bouncy chairs — and then when Mary gets that out of her system, the strip goes back to normal and everyone just pretends none of this ever happened. I’m sure that by then the strip with scrounge up yet another pretty-but-bland young woman who needs a refresher course in cowtowing to an older man (either her husband or her father, whatever).
Muzition
November 19th, 2009 at 8:38 pm [Reply]

Lockhorns: I misread “poking” as “porking.”
It\'s time to pay the price
November 19th, 2009 at 8:46 pm [Reply]

Dr. H. Blog: The H stands for hunchbacked!
Anonymous
November 19th, 2009 at 8:51 pm [Reply]

The weird font in For Better or For Worse reminds me of computer screens from the late 70’s to early 80’s. I read it as if the characters are speaking like the computer from War Games.
Perky Bird
November 19th, 2009 at 8:53 pm [Reply]

Oops, #55 was me. Stupid computer…
Sheila Sternwell
November 19th, 2009 at 8:55 pm [Reply]

Mom used to tell me stories of how she’d make her kids by her first marriage get on the floor of the car if there was impending doom. They were obviously not belted in, and all 3 were apparently piled into the front of the car. Then again, considering the size of the 1962 Bel-Air I used to own, one mom, 3 kids, and 87 lbs of potatoes could have fit comfortably in that front seat.

Also, Josh is right. That IS a nice radio.
David Schraub
November 19th, 2009 at 9:02 pm [Reply]

The Lockhorns clearly is about domestic abuse — you can tell by the surprisingly vivid expressions they both have. Whereas normally both exist in a perpetual state of heavy-lidded despair, here Leroy is warily eying Loretta, who, clearly worried that he will squeal to the doc, has a firm look of “you think your life is bad now? Snitch to the doc, and I will f*%$ you up. Believe that” on her face.
DamienBixlan
November 19th, 2009 at 9:07 pm [Reply]

RM: You’re calling Tim a gnome? Looking at the shape of his head in panel 2, I’d say he’s rather starting to look like one of the Trolls from Lord of the Rings.
gleeb
November 19th, 2009 at 9:20 pm [Reply]

Rex: A feral beast? Nah, he’s turning into Henry Waxman in a bad wig. And he means to convene an oversight committee upside Cue’s head!
Farley's Revenge
November 19th, 2009 at 9:22 pm [Reply]

MW: While I would never horn in on Fashion Police’s turf, I do notice how Mary has tastefully chosen her outfit du jour to coordinate with her home decor accessories. Is this a fashion faux pas or an emerging trend?

As for Delilah’s home dec skills? Yow. It looks like she’s already suffering from morning sickness and has barfed up a lifetime supply of those salmon squares all over her living room.
fishmorgjp
November 19th, 2009 at 9:31 pm [Reply]

Usually Leroy would have big nasty bruises on his shin from Loretta kicking him while playing bridge; changing it to a church-oriented injury is certainly unexpected!
Farley's Revenge
November 19th, 2009 at 9:33 pm [Reply]

While we’re wending our way along memory lane, unbuckled and unharnessed, remember the old “car seats”, baby seats which were merely hooked over the back of the seat? They came complete with little steering wheels and a beepy horn so the tyke could pretend to careen uncontrollably along the freeways, just like Mom or Dad!

Remember the fun of sliding around in the back of the family station wagon or, if one was really fortunate, hurtling towards the front of the car at Warp 1 when Mom or Dad had to slam on the brakes?

We lived on the edge of death every time we were tossed in a car. Man. Talk about fun times.
dale
November 19th, 2009 at 9:38 pm [Reply]

34 – gnome de blog

I was 4 in 1951. For trips around town, I rode standing up in the front. Note – I was standing on the floor, not the seat. A 1938 Packard was roomy. It had what are now sadly missed running boards.
Karmyn
November 19th, 2009 at 9:42 pm [Reply]

My parents had a station wagon when I was a kid. I always liked to ride in the very back.
When the seatbelt laws went into effect our van only had lap belts, which are about as bad as wearing no belt.
My parents once drove from East Texas to New Mexico in an old pickup with a camper shell. Five kids in the back of the truck all that trip. Couldn’t get away with that today.
Karmyn
November 19th, 2009 at 9:45 pm [Reply]

Those kids were age 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 at the time. We had food fights when we got bored.
Good times.
anonymous
November 19th, 2009 at 9:49 pm [Reply]

Lockhorns: Why is the “abuser” there in the examining room? Threatening the “abused”, should he dare talk?

MW: “Lawrence is over the moon!” This phrase conveying the sheer excitement of the wonder that is pregnancy comes directly from….trashy tabloids. The kind that always quote an anonymous ‘friend’. Every. Single. Pregnancy. involving a celebrity gets the exact same quote from anonymous ‘friend’, which is “Juggs and Some Guy are over the moon at the news she is pregnant!” “Octomom pregnant again, she is over the moon at the news!” Jon Gosselin impregnates girlfriend? Over the moon!

9 Chickweed Lane: I’ve loved this week’s strips. Today’s is rather melodramatic, but yeah….love it! The Greatest Generation, FYI!
Strangefate
November 19th, 2009 at 9:58 pm [Reply]

I’m trying hard to decipher the meaning behind the doctor’s name in the Lockhorns strip. The last time the Lockhorns mentioned the internet, it involved a scene of pure existential horror, in which the two stared at a blank monitor screen complaining about the vast wasteland they saw. What could it possibly mean that their physician, who appears to be desperately hiding an erection, is named Dr. Blog?
Hank
November 19th, 2009 at 10:11 pm [Reply]

Rex Morgan: The last time I saw a face like Tim’s it was describing how it had eaten a census worker’s liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Morndew
November 19th, 2009 at 10:15 pm [Reply]

I think Deliah-with the wish to have come to her senses “SOONER”, is the plot herself. The question will of course be “Whose baby is it??”
It was that quick romp in the car before needing snacks and realizing how sick Charley was that will provide us entertainment for many many moments in the future…
Lisa
November 19th, 2009 at 10:20 pm [Reply]

{Remember the fun of sliding around in the back of the family station wagon or, if one was really fortunate, hurtling towards the front of the car at Warp 1 when Mom or Dad had to slam on the brakes?}

When I was in about 6th or 7th grade, we were driving somewhere and I was leaning on the back of the front seat, which had to pull down armrests between the two actual seatbacks, which were in the up position, talking to my mother. My father had to slam on the brakes for something, and I flew head down into the front seat and ended up with my head down in the space under the dash where my mother’s feet were, and my feet sticking up in the back seat. Fortunately I had had my arms on the armrests, so they went down first and I caught myself with my hands, otherwise I probably would have had a concussion, if not a broken neck.

Good times, indeed.
gnome de blog
November 19th, 2009 at 10:27 pm [Reply]

64 Dale: I stood on the front seat of a Chevy. In the middle, between my grandparents.

59 DamienBixlan: Careful. gnomes have powers.
Sequitur
November 19th, 2009 at 10:43 pm [Reply]

Don’t ask me why I did this. I was reading Sally Forth and just went NUTS!
ScienceGiant
November 19th, 2009 at 10:53 pm [Reply]

Well, if no one is going to mention Mary’s right arm is twice the size of her left arm…

then I won’t either.

(No, that’s not forced perspective. It’s shitty photoshopping).
lizzy
November 19th, 2009 at 10:55 pm [Reply]

It’s amazing that this conversation in Mary Worth is happening at all, considering Delilah is speaking into her maxi pad. Good thing she wont be needing it for the next nine months.
zerowolf
November 19th, 2009 at 11:04 pm [Reply]

Dolly watches with fiendish glee as Billy is mauled by the Kompound Kanine squad.”
zerowolf
November 19th, 2009 at 11:06 pm [Reply]

Didn’t he ever learn, “When the trailer’s a-rockin’ don’t come a -knockin’”
Farley's Revenge
November 19th, 2009 at 11:09 pm [Reply]

I think it was possibly three or four times of having to peel a flattened child from beneath a pile of free-flying suitcases after a sudden stop that my parents got the notion that it might be, just maybe, a good idea to put the luggage behind the seat instead of at the back of the wagon.

When we moved from Georgia to Kansas, there were six of us in a small Ford Falcon. My infant sister made the entire trip lying on a pillow on the floor of the passenger side front seat because there wasn’t enough room in the back seat for her. My siblings and I envied her the room because we were crammed in the back seat with the luggage that didn’t fit in the trunk. The Grapes of Wrath journeyers had nothing on us.
Mardou Fox
November 19th, 2009 at 11:11 pm [Reply]

What is with the over-the-top angsty faces on FBoFW people all the time? Good grief, Elly & Mike, you just have the flu! They look like they’ve both just gazed on the smoking ruins of Nagasaki or something. They could stand to take some stoicism lessons from Mark Trail.
zerowolf
November 19th, 2009 at 11:13 pm [Reply]

Now there is something I never thought I’d see in Barney Google, teeth!
dyslexic dog
November 19th, 2009 at 11:14 pm [Reply]

Look out, Joey! While you’re avoiding Dennis’s advances, Mr. Pops will kick a field goal through your uprights.
Creeto
November 19th, 2009 at 11:17 pm [Reply]

Lockhorns: At least he wasn’t poked in the rectory.
Joe Blevins
November 19th, 2009 at 11:18 pm [Reply]

FOOB: Sorry, Ell. Michael is clearly talking to the radio in panel 2. But I do like his look of horror as his ailing — and almost assuredly infectious — mother clutches him closer to her.

‘HORNS: If only they could somehow work the words “Met Your Mother” or “Harold & Kumar” in there somewhere, “Dr. H. Blog, M.D.” would be the ultimate Neil Patrck Harris mashup title.
NoahSnark
November 19th, 2009 at 11:35 pm [Reply]

I don’t know what surprises me more – learning that the Lockhorns go to church, or the fact that they can enter a place of worship without bursting into flames.
mr 12 oz can
November 19th, 2009 at 11:37 pm [Reply]

3 scary things in comic strips 1. closeup of rusty 2. closeup of tim from rmmd and 3. dr parragoras at a gay bath house
Buck Ripsnort
November 19th, 2009 at 11:42 pm [Reply]

The last time I saw something like panel 2 of Hex Morgan was an illustrated copy of HP Lovecraft’s Pickman’s Model. Seeing it today makes me think Mary Worth’s “love”-child might look something like that.
Smoakes
November 19th, 2009 at 11:50 pm [Reply]

This was bothering me so much I went and looked it up (didn’t take long; guessed the book based on the quality of the drawings). The original can be found on page 103 of “I’ve Got the One-More-Washload Blues”

The original had no seatbelts.
Muffaroo
November 20th, 2009 at 12:07 am [Reply]

cj @21 – Know how Cue got all those holes in his face?
Learning to eat with a fork.
Thanks.
Veal.

gnome de blog @34 – I remember being five or six and standing up in a moving car with my upper body out the window. Oh, it was funny. When I was seven or so, I remember the four of us kids dancing around in our VW bus as we were driving to Texas. It was the thing to do at the time. What I don’t remember because I was a year old or less is that my middle sister managed to fall out of our car while the family was driving. My youngest sister (two years older than me) once said it was like she was doing a magic trick. She moved her hand or something, and all of a sudden she wasn’t there.

commodorejohn @41 – Or, like I said earlier, we’ll know because the baby smirks a lot and listens to Rodgers and Hammerstein.

AhClem @44 – We made platforms like that for several of our cars — the VW bus, the vans, and all. The luggage went underneath, and we kids lay on top. Without any form of restraint, of course. As recently as, say, 1973.
Mibbitmaker
November 20th, 2009 at 12:11 am [Reply]

DT: Yeah, yeah, nobody cares anymore…

FW: Hahahahaha — the joke’s so much funnier with dramatic staging — hahahahahahahaha…

HotC: Yankees = freakazoids? My kinda equation! Thanks, MT.

Lockhorns: …with her fists…

Luann: Touche, Mr. DeG!

Marmaduke: (*evil cackle*)

OBH: (Special Guest Snarker: Foghorn Leghorn): Nice gal — all grammar, no literature (story, that is).
Poteet
November 20th, 2009 at 12:11 am [Reply]

ReFoob — This week’s strips from the past are especially awkward now that swine flu patients are being begged to stay home to avoid infecting others. And we’re being told in Iowa that children are especially at risk. Way to go, Elly, sharing your disease drippings with Michael’s little friends. And way to go, Lynn.

It’s pretty much against the law to call it swine flu here in Iowa, but if I do it on CC, no one can arrest me. Swine flu! Swine flu! Hahaha, I’m saying it!

Sorry.
Tom Harrington
November 20th, 2009 at 12:14 am [Reply]

S4th: Did Sally just cut off her left hand? Should be a good salad.
Poteet
November 20th, 2009 at 12:20 am [Reply]

# 34 gnome, # 64 dale, & # 88 Muffaroo — I bet ChattyGenes also remembers that when our family visited the Great Smoky Mountains, our dad let us four kids spend a short time riding on top of our station wagon in the tall wooden topless box he built to hold our family luggage. As I recall, the wagon was only being driven slowly along roads in the park, and we kids had a good time looking over the top of the box. Good times. Dangerous times.
Poteet
November 20th, 2009 at 12:23 am [Reply]

# 44 AhClem — Me too! Me too! And I was riding in the front seat with Mom a couple of years ago when she had to stop suddenly, and her arm automatically flew out to protect me. She was about eighty.
AhClem
November 20th, 2009 at 12:29 am [Reply]

#93 Poteet -
My mom is 84 and still does the same thing.

Regarding swine flu (Ha! I said it!), the symptoms are essentially the same as seasonal flu, except you also get a feeling of deep shame and remorse after eating a ham sandwich.
Morndew
November 20th, 2009 at 12:30 am [Reply]

When I was little my godmother had a sttion wagon that had an actual seat all the way in the back that faced backward! We fought for that seat!!
Yeah, if she ever got rear-ended, we were the first to go…smart lady.
Johnny Knuckles
November 20th, 2009 at 12:35 am [Reply]

#2 “Maidenform Cross-Your-Crone Bra” Ha!
#82 COTW
dyslexic dog
November 20th, 2009 at 12:39 am [Reply]

#91 Tom Harrington–
Finger food.
(Gong!!!)
Sheila Sternwell
November 20th, 2009 at 12:43 am [Reply]

#78 Farley’s Revenge: We moved to Kansas in a ‘68 Chevy Nova and ‘78 Chevy Monza. A MONZA. Horrible car. We learned on the way that the Monza’s speedometer was, shall we say, optimistic. That poor Nova was going 75 MPH trying to keep up with the Monza, dad bitching the whole time that mom should have known — through her superior perception of wind shear, I guess — that the speedometer was lying to her.
dyslexic dog
November 20th, 2009 at 12:46 am [Reply]

#44, 93, 94 AhClem, Poteet–
It’s all been said before.
Poteet
November 20th, 2009 at 12:51 am [Reply]

# 95 Morndew — We had a wagon with one of those seats for awhile, and that was how I learned that facing backwards in a moving car made me feel kind of sick. I think it folded down to become part of a large flat area in the wagon where old bedspreads and blankets could be laid out, and four sibs could stake out four corners of territory and fight over them.
Girl Reporter
November 20th, 2009 at 12:58 am [Reply]

http://www.arcamax.com/newspics/10/1030/103071.gif

What is Kittycat? A gay fish?

Veal!
Edgy DC
November 20th, 2009 at 1:11 am [Reply]

Pregnancy is just nature’s way of telling Delilah to stop wearing those juvenile little half shirts while hanging with the seniors.
Red Greenback
November 20th, 2009 at 1:21 am [Reply]

Christmas is right around the corner! I wear an XL.
Turtlefish
November 20th, 2009 at 1:25 am [Reply]

MW- “Oh right Mary is a lady with breasts let me put incredibly unrealistic shading some where on her torso to show that she is the ladiest lady that ever was.”

Or maybe she was just burned horribly a la Mrs. Doubtfire.
Poteet
November 20th, 2009 at 1:33 am [Reply]

MT — It appears that Rusty is no longer holding Sassy, so maybe Sassy is charging around looking for another set of gator jaws to back into.
dyslexic dog
November 20th, 2009 at 2:08 am [Reply]

Oooof! Bobbie’s hit and run display of affection causes the Professor’s airbag to deploy.
bats :[
November 20th, 2009 at 2:09 am [Reply]

I never figure Mary Worth as an “arm-chair” philosopher type; I thought she was more of a full-on assault meddler. Huh. I guess you really never know a person.
Poteet
November 20th, 2009 at 2:23 am [Reply]

MW — I keep wondering what Mary and Delilah are holding, because those objects obviously aren’t cell phones. And they have no antennae or cords. Are they large pumice stones, perhaps? So far, boubon babe’s suggestion of “moldy hoagie buns” is the best I’ve heard.
Marion Delgado
November 20th, 2009 at 2:44 am [Reply]

Luann:

I’m about ready to call this one. Don’t wait for the thought balloon after a fight with daughter Luann where Mom DeGroot is thinking “why doesn’t Brad peek at ME in the shower?”

Just walk on.
True Fable
November 20th, 2009 at 2:46 am [Reply]

Professor Pap got a red hot kiss from Bobbie Merrill today! He’s smiling, but was really hoping she would kiss Tommie. He seems to go for that girl on girl action – oh wait. “Tommie” and “action” are not compatible. Sorry, my mistake.
True Fable
November 20th, 2009 at 2:57 am [Reply]

Canadian Zombie It’s true, Connie! Elly wants to WRITE! In fact, she wants to write Soooo Muuuuch that in later years, she’ll ignore all semblance of plot or character development by turning the writing duties for her inexplicably successful “comic strip” over to some half-assed sister-in-law veternarian-turned-aspiring hack Beth Cruikshank. Beth will write deplorable biographies for all the support characters, plus be responsible for the awful purple prose known as Stone Season.

Elly wants to write! But instead, she gets Mike to do the writing, so SHE can edit his ‘work’. Yeah, great credentials, Elly! “I took a college course in creative writing and got an incomplete, so I am logically the one you should turn to for editing, Mike!”

Honestly, Lynnie Baby…. you aren’t even trying any more. Hang up the pen nib, baby. You are done.
True Fable
November 20th, 2009 at 3:01 am [Reply]

Freaky Whatinhell Sometimes Batiuk draws Summer kind of cute, but today… holy mackrel, she is downright FUGLY. Beady little eyes, massive chin and a mouth like a bigmouth bass. Steven Tyler… IS…. Summer Moore!
True Fable
November 20th, 2009 at 3:03 am [Reply]

Scenes from Suburban Hell In the last panel, Lois finally realizes what Chip said in panel one, using her TeenSpeak software program: “Lauren Reilly is having an orgy tonight. Drop ‘em and Top ‘Em!”
mordock999
November 20th, 2009 at 3:05 am [Reply]

Today’s Luann – 11/20/09

Okay TIME OUT!
Lemme see if I GOT this straight:

The Nancy unit thinks it WRONG for Her ADULT son, Brad, to be WITH the ATTRACTIVE Toni because She thinks that ATTRACTIVENESS Blinds Brad to Toni’s FLAWS.

On the other hand-

The Nancy unit thinks its PERFECTLY OKAY for for Her UNDERAGE TEENAGE daughter, LUANN, to be with the ATTRACTIVE stranger, Quill.

Yeah boy Nancy. That makes PERFECT sense. You did a LOT of LSD when you were a Hippie, right?

______________________________

DEATH to…., Oh, Why Bother? This up-coming Thanksgiving Dinner fisco is SURE to generate HEAVY Causualties!
True Fable
November 20th, 2009 at 3:06 am [Reply]

Bradann Mama DeGroot’s face in the final panel has “oh yay! More boy toys for this ol’ cougar!” written all over it.
clahey
November 20th, 2009 at 3:07 am [Reply]

Marm: I think that must be Shelob. No creature with a devouratorium would be afraid of any lesser spider.
Mary
November 20th, 2009 at 3:08 am [Reply]

Josh, those comments about Mary Worth were hilarious. I am so disappointed in how the Adrian/Scott storyline abruptly ended, and really, we do not need to revisit Delilah. Boring! As is much of Mary Worth. I am disappointed for most of the month. Then they throw in that sweet week where there’s action everyday. You alone got me hooked on Mary Worth!! I am select who I tell about my love for Mary Worth, since my name is also Mary. But I will tell you this: the other night I was watching the Simpsons with my boyfriend and a Mary Worth phone was featured, purchased by Bart from Comic Book Guy. I got all excited, as this was an old episode but not one I had seen since I became a fan of Mary Worth. And BF turned to me with a smile, because he knew immediately exactly why I was excited. I think he’s a keeper ;)

To wrap this up: we need some more badasses featured in this comic strip. Take heed, Moy & Giella.
True Fable
November 20th, 2009 at 3:11 am [Reply]

Bats :[ or Red or Sequitur or Dean Booth — SOMEBODY — Please capture Mary Worth gargling platitudes over the phone to an uncomprehending Delilah from today’s MW. I’m not able to attempt it on this little notebook, and it’s just begging for a treatment!
clahey
November 20th, 2009 at 3:23 am [Reply]

Ballard Street: I love that it would be appropriate for Marcus to shoot his wife in the forehead with a toy gun if they weren’t at the table. Also, I wonder if there used to be some more text there and that’s why it’s not centered.

Bizarro: I actually found this comic very moving.

Lockhorns: Does anyone know what’s going on here? Is that their “nest egg”?

MT: He dropped the stick. I guess it’ll have to be the FoJ after all.

RLA: I don’t think the artist on this strip knows the difference between dislocating your elbow and dislocating your shoulder.

Slylock: When I first glanced at this, I assumed it was the easiest “which two are alike” that I’d ever seen.

SM: Bigtime appears to be a Jedi in panels 2 & 3.

Oh, and this may be the funniest garfield I’ve ever read.
Alfred E. Neuman
November 20th, 2009 at 4:11 am [Reply]

#118 Mary— You want badass? Let’s get Moy and Giella to bring back Charley. Lawrence would then become concerned enough about Del’s activities during their separation to demand a paternity test. When the baby turns out to be Charley’s, badassness will ensue!

Oh well, dream on. The only way a plot that “risque” would appear in MW would be if Moy and Giella overdid their daily ration of fermented salmon squares.
Sister Sestina
November 20th, 2009 at 4:13 am [Reply]

Oh sweet Jesu. What if Delilah’s calling to ask Mary if she’ll be godmother to the spawn? An official appointment to meddle in perpetuity? Poor kid never had a chance…
Sheila Sternwell
November 20th, 2009 at 4:14 am [Reply]

Juggs Parker: And in panel 2, we see Gene Rayburn preparing to shout “BAZOOMS!” at the studio audience.

RMMD: Cue’s head looks like a buttocks. It’s reminding me of an urban legend kind of story that I read in Games Magazine back in the 80s, about how some lighting tech at a theater swore you could spell out a dirty word by carefully aiming the lights at 4 bald guys sitting next to each other.
athena
November 20th, 2009 at 4:46 am [Reply]

MW: “I could just kick myself for the time I denied us while we were apart.” Delilah and Lawrence were apart for what, two weeks? In most marriages two weeks apart is cause for celebration… Isn’t it? Or is that just me? Err… never mind…
Just some guy
November 20th, 2009 at 6:15 am [Reply]

Did Ziggy’s horoscope just tell him to go f*** himself?
John C Fremont
November 20th, 2009 at 7:31 am [Reply]

Dear Reed Hoover,

Stop it! Just stop it!

Yours in anger,

JCF

P.S. Have I mentioned that I’m in love with the Shanalogic girl at the top of the page? Because I am. Not that it’s any of your business, Reed Hoover.
LITTLE A. OF THE GRAND CONCOURSE JUNGLE PATROL
November 20th, 2009 at 7:36 am [Reply]

LUANN: My Bronx Crystal Ball, which has been slightly off in its predictions lately, predicts: Toni – Quill. At the same table. Two beautiful people. They will ride off into the sunset on a kangaroo. Or something.

Or they will flirt with each other and Brad will get jealous for no reason and Toni will get angry at Brad’s stupidity and Toni will leave and Bard’s mom will feel or say, I told you so! Or something.

On the other hand, this crystal ball, which I bought when it was on sale in Alexander’s Department Store on The Grand Concourse, in 1959, hasn’t predicted anything correctly yet.

(I know, I know, Quill is bout 17 or 18 and Toni is a GROWN WOMEN.)

I should take this crystal ball back for a refund, except that Alexander’s closed in 1966.
MrGuy
November 20th, 2009 at 7:51 am [Reply]

Spider-Man: Given how people have been greeting him, Bigshot has actually changed his name to Bigtime, in the hopes of being confused with the much cooler “guy what manipulates clocks.”
Lucky
November 20th, 2009 at 8:35 am [Reply]

Family Circus – Try as I might, I’m unable to figure out what has happened here. I kind of have a feeling that the fact that Billy is wearing that hideous shirt, rather than his usual attire, has something to do with it, but maybe it’s just a red herring. Also, is Barfy dead? Or is that even Barfy? So many unanswered questions.

Prickly City – No, I’m pretty sure that’s not dirt.

Spider-Man – Is it just me or does that final panel look kinda homoerotic? “Oh you know why, silly.” “I guess I do, hon.” The fact that Marko is a pretty gay name in Finland doesn’t help either.

Ziggy – Looks like Ziggy’s gonna get lucky tonight.
Lanfranc
November 20th, 2009 at 8:54 am [Reply]

RMMD: I for one am looking forward to seeing Timmy the Aggressive Gnome being sued, or possibly prosecuted, for aggravated trespass and assault.
bats :[
November 20th, 2009 at 8:58 am [Reply]

119. True Fable: sorry, this is as close as I’m going to get to Mary…or somebody…gargling platitudes…or something of a sort.
TheNewGuy
November 20th, 2009 at 9:17 am [Reply]

On a “Family Circus” related note – a webcomic, “Original Life“, took a crack at ending the Not Me menace. Made me laugh a little.
LaziestManOnMars
November 20th, 2009 at 9:58 am [Reply]

Are we sure Delilah is having Lawrence’s baby? Maybe she got pregnant from sitting on one of Charley’s filthy sofas. We’ll know in about 9 months when the baby turns out looking like Richard D James from Aphex Twin.
Muffaroo
November 20th, 2009 at 10:17 am [Reply]

Fred – FRED IS DEAD!
That’s what I said:
His life has fled.
So bury his head
Behind the shed
And burn his bed.

Get Fuzzy – This reminds me, my sister wrote to say that the cat who vanished three weeks ago came back. Happy family again.

Marmaduke – He will sleep till noon,
But before it’s dark,
He’ll eat every homeless bum
Who tries to sleep in the park!
Marmaduke’s more deadly than a cobra’s bite.
That’s because he murders under cover of night!

Marfield – “Wow, Margaret! When you moonlight away from that other strip, you don’t look half as good.”

Mary – “You and Lawrence will always be happy together! Just ignore the rumors about his sexuality. That Patterson kid just started them to be mean.”

Phantom – “No, really, she’s looking down on us. I guess the explosion blew her into that tree.”

Pluggers who don’t carry an umbrella will stare up at the rain until they drown.

Prickly – Wait for the hole to fill with clods. I see four already — make that six.

Girl Reporter @101 – Now there’s an amazing coincidence.

DICOS @110 – Remember, kids, adjust your numbers accordingly when this clunker goes away. The spambots are learning about cut-n-paste. When they discover fire, there’ll be no stopping them.
Hogenmogen
November 20th, 2009 at 10:26 am [Reply]

#127 – Little A. Yes, Toni and Quill should get together. That will, of course, infuriate Brad and Luann. Then, Luann will realize that she still can play with her boy toys – the Gnome and the Geek. Brad will realize that he can still get off on TJ and his mom. Eeew.
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 11:43 am [Reply]

bats :[ @107 and 130
Oh, bats :[. I don't know what Santa will get you for Christmas. You're both naughty and nice!

133. Muffaroo
Yogi Bear is gonna sue your a[ohh la la]s! (Tis funny though!)

118. True Fable
Well, this is the best I can do right now.
bourbon babe, unbuckled
November 20th, 2009 at 11:49 am [Reply]

I don’t normally read Ziggy, except when Josh snarks on it, but it was in the local paper delivered to my hotel room door this morning. So maybe someone can enlighten me: Isn’t it out of keeping for this strip to suggest that Ziggy’s horoscope is predicting he’s going to get laid?

Another sleepless night, so too tired to say much about comics. All I can do is feel horror that Mary Worth apparently is now reduced to telephonically reliving her meddling glory days, sorrow for poor Mark Trail as he realizes that the man he thought was “with” him was actually “with” a bunch of poachers, and relief that Pill Poppin’ Monster Seein’ Bobbie stopped at just kissing Ari and didn’t drag him into her hotel room for ~~a night~~ a few moments of sweaty, startled passion—no one could be happier than I to see those elevator doors close.

(And a little non-comics story: Yesterday afternoon, the people in the room next to me were having very loud sex—him: screamer; her: barking seal—which was made significantly weirder by the fact that they weren’t alone in the room; there was at least one other couple in there cheering them on.)
commodorejohn
November 20th, 2009 at 11:49 am [Reply]

A3G – She’s staring right into my soul. Also, nice lavender wallpaper.

BrS – Whatta buncha party poopers.

DT – WHAT.

FC – I’m not entirely sure what the deal is with today’s Family Circus, but I suspect it has to do with hanging PJ from the curtain rod. It looks like Kittycat has already been the first victim of the purge.

FW – “DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND MY UNENDING MISERY!?”

Luann – Okay, so ten bucks says Mama deGroot is going to try and bait Toni into falling for the hunky Australian guy to show Brad how those other women will just betray him. He’s going to grow up to be the next Ed Gein, I just know it.

MT – Oh my. I think Mark’s expression is indicative of his entire world falling apart around him. “No facial hair? Saved a puppy? Is a poacher? DOES NOT COMPUTERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR.”

MW – Good God, look at that second panel. That is a post-meddlegasm scene if ever there was one. All that’s missing is the cigarette her hand is supposed to be holding.

MC – Oh no. You can’t forgo the coffee. Caffeine is awesome, but only in combination.

Pluggers – A Plugger is slightly not stupid enough to stand out in the rain without covering.

RMMD – Asshole.

Ziggy – …aaauuuuuUUUGGGHHHHRRRGGGHHHHNNNNGGGG brain bleach please
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 11:53 am [Reply]

136. bourbon babe, unbuckled
WHERE ARE YOU STAYING!!!
And are there tickets available?
Mibbitmaker
November 20th, 2009 at 11:56 am [Reply]

BF: Too much (any) Between Friends is annoying.

Cranky: Moe Howard should beat him up.

Curtis: What’re C’s mom and Michelle — a team?

DT: Yawwwwwwwnnnnnn *snorrrrrre…*

Luann (Mordock999, #114): Ah, the ol’ double standard, eh, Mrs. DeG?
aprilp_katje
November 20th, 2009 at 12:01 pm [Reply]

ReFoob: Josh, the seatbelts are definitely a revision. The original is on page 103 of LJ’s first collection and there were no seatbelts in sight. BTW, a child Mike’s ostensible age would be in a booster seat in the back seat of the car. (Though I realize you were probably joking about his having to be in a rear-facing car seat–that’s for infants through about age one).
bourbon babe, unbuckled
November 20th, 2009 at 12:03 pm [Reply]

138 Sequitur: I know! Can you believe that they actually delivered a sexually oriented Ziggy to my hotel room door? The depravity!
Artist formerly known as Ben
November 20th, 2009 at 12:04 pm [Reply]

11/20

A3G: Bobbie plays tonsil hockey with the Prof in her hotel’s lobby, and when she gets on the elevator he’s completely without expression. It’s official. “Aristotle Papagoras” is Greek for “Sam Driver.”

MT: From the heavy bolding, Mark’s shocked question must have the decibel level of a Boeing 707 taking off. Damn, Bob’s only standing three feet away.

OBH: I think after today she’ll be the Former Homework Hotline Lady.

FC: Thel, the oldest and smartest of your kids is still an idiot. Accept it and move on with your life.

Ziggy: Anything that Ziggy will do meriting an NC-17 rating I can stand not knowing about. Really.

GT: Valerie gets some girl-to-girl advice from her best friend, Britney Spears from the “Baby One More Time” video.

9CL: “No, you misheard me. I wasn’t in the OSS. I was in Oh! the SS.”

SFx: The mechanic is fingering the buttons on his uniform in a way that makes me distinctly uneasy.

MW: While she’s talking to Duh-Lilah, Mary is also indulging her fantasy of being an Egyptian queen consort. Hate to break it to all you Charterstone losers, but when she dies, you’re getting buried with her.

BB: Killer’s eyes widen in alarm because he knows exactly how Beetle gets out of chores. “On second thought, I’m just gonna get started on cleaning the damn latrines.”

M-Dawg: Much as I appreciate the sweater girl T&A business from Dottie, she should be careful in approaching the Doghouse. The spider that can keep Marmaduke at bay is probably the avatar of some dark Elder God.
Carlo
November 20th, 2009 at 12:05 pm [Reply]

Luann: Wait, wait, wait. So, Brad is having people at HIS place, but mommy gets to determine the guest list? Does Evans have oedipal issues or what?

I now despise Nancy DeGroot more than any other comic strip character.
Rydia
November 20th, 2009 at 12:12 pm [Reply]

I don’t know about you, Michael, but I’d be a little more worried about the fact that your mother seems to have transformed into some horribly speckled, amorphous blob in panel one there. Clearly, what has happened here is that aliens have invaded the earth and have already absorbed Ellie. All that is left of her is her head, which the aliens have mounted on top of one of their own to lure Michael unwittingly into their trap. “Ellie” is most likely driving Michael to the Mothership right now.
commodorejohn
November 20th, 2009 at 12:17 pm [Reply]

Re: MW – See?
Bullthistle
November 20th, 2009 at 12:27 pm [Reply]

#16 Josh – easiest way for me to tell old FOOB from new is the A’s – old are flat tops, new are pointy.
bats :[
November 20th, 2009 at 12:34 pm [Reply]

138. Sequitur: maybe they have bleacher seating…the more, the merrier!
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 12:41 pm [Reply]

147. bats :[
Yes. But don’t ask for melted cheese on your french fries.
Down with OPP
November 20th, 2009 at 12:45 pm [Reply]

Leroy’s bruising in not from any church-related poking. That’s from Loretta’s penis repeated bashing into his ribs while they sleep.
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 12:49 pm [Reply]

149. Down with OPP
I’m a bit tired right now and all I saw on your post was “Loretta’s penis” and thought, “Oh, that explains everything.”
odinthor
November 20th, 2009 at 12:53 pm [Reply]

Baldo. — “You pays your money, you takes your chances! And with each and every PhD, a free kewpie doll! Step right up, folks, step right up!”
bourbon babe, unbuckled
November 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm [Reply]

147 bats:[ —Well, if they had their curtains open, I can tell you that ol’ William Penn, standing on top of City Hall, got an eyeful.

148 Sequitur: eeeeee. (Made worse by the fact that at one point, one of the spectators cried, “Holy shit! Get a towel!”)
spike
November 20th, 2009 at 1:10 pm [Reply]

@114 mordock999 and 143 Carlo: Add my name to the Nancy De Groot Fan Club as well.

9CL: This could be an interesting backstory.

MT: Shall we begin the pool for the “How many days to the Fists o’ Justice Theater” yet?

SF: I eagerly await the appearance Mutant Parents.
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 1:12 pm [Reply]

152. bourbon babe, unbuckled
Sounds like someone could use some of that virginity that RJ was passing out.
Jym the WIldlife Man
November 20th, 2009 at 1:13 pm [Reply]

=v= ReanimatedZombieFoob: So today’s strip (20-Nov-2009) is one of those disconcerting retcon inserts. Connie has her old-lady opaque glasses in the first panel, but a late 1970s/early 1980s hairdo. Ellie in the third panel has her hair pulled back into her 21st Century old-lady bun. Drives me nuts.
Uncle Ritzy Fritz
November 20th, 2009 at 1:18 pm [Reply]

142: I see Mary’s pose as one of resignation to her forever role as designated meddler mixed with total indifference to Del’s plight (if such a combination is possible). “Blah, blah, blah”, she’s thinking, “even I don’t believe my own horseshit anymore”.
Fashion Police
November 20th, 2009 at 1:30 pm [Reply]

#61, Farley’s Revenge:
We suspect that Mrs. Worth’s coordination with the decor was merely an unhappy accident, although we note that Delilah seems to be similarly complementary. We certainly hope it was coincidence. Buttercup is not Mrs. Worth’s best color.

While we would prefer her in Victorian widow’s weeds in keeping with the melodrama of Charterstone, we concede that the suite she displayed during the hospital episode, if a bit overwhelming for a one-day visit, was quite stylish and appropriate – at least moreso that we have come to expect. There was even an outfit or two that we might wear, if we were a sixtyish meddlesome old biddy.
Red Greenback
November 20th, 2009 at 1:31 pm [Reply]

#118-Truman: It could be a platitude… of a sort… I suppose.
TheDiva
November 20th, 2009 at 1:33 pm [Reply]

C’shaft: Puns are even less funny when you have to stretch for them.

DT: I think we’re all pissed off that the tiger didn’t get to eat anybody, but clearly the tiger himself is the most pissed off at all. I hope someone left the cage unlocked.

FW: That’s not Summer, that’s Wally Winkerbean in a wig!

Luann: Frankly, Brad, we’re all asking the same question.
My guess: Toni will engage Quill in friendly conversation, which Nancy will automatically interpret as flirting–since, you know, there’s no way two people of the opposite gender can be affable towards one another without being attracted. Whether she will plant the seeds of doubt in Brad’s tiny skull and let them fester or simply corner Toni with her accusations when they go to the kitchen to fetch the pumpkin pie remains to be seen.

PBS: Idiots. Everyone knows Marco Polo invented that game with the horses and the croquet mallets.
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 1:35 pm [Reply]

145. commodorejohn
Mary did a cigarette ad back in her youth. One can only guess what she’s about to do.
Poteet
November 20th, 2009 at 1:37 pm [Reply]

# 123 athena — HAHAHA!

MW — Please come back, Charley. I’m so sorry I misspelled your name a few posts ago. I miss you. Many of us miss you. We really, really miss you. Please return! We’re begging! I’ll give you a ticket to the SOUTH PACIFIC touring production if you’ll just come back!
JustAGuyGuy
November 20th, 2009 at 1:38 pm [Reply]

Let’s just be honest and say “poking me in church” is a cover up for “hitting me with the 3-wood.”
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 1:40 pm [Reply]

I’m working a crossword puzzle. 53 down says “Made a boner.” I’m having a hard time writing “CHARLEY” in the 5 spaces provided.
Carly
November 20th, 2009 at 1:40 pm [Reply]

Leroy’s obviously just covering up his botched suicide attempt with that story.
Gabby
November 20th, 2009 at 1:42 pm [Reply]

DtM I couldn’t figure out how that large shadow was made…then I realized that it’s coming from the Klieg light behind Dennis. That’s what the electrical cord is for.
Poteet
November 20th, 2009 at 1:46 pm [Reply]

# 136 bourbon babe — If I were the sort of lewd person who wonders about such things, I’d ask what exactly is said by a couple watching another couple having sex and cheering them on. Do the spectators just yell “Harder! Deeper!”? Do they offer recommendations re technique? Do they demand changes in position?

Oops, just read # 152, Um, never mind.
gnome de blog
November 20th, 2009 at 1:51 pm [Reply]

157 Fashion Police – this “coordinating with the decor” may be an emerging trend. Check out A3G.

RMMD – if Mark Trail happened on the altercation between Tim and Cue, who would he punch?
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 1:56 pm [Reply]

167. gnome de blog
ie. Mark Trail – Probaby both. Mark is an equal opportunity puncher.
bats :[
November 20th, 2009 at 2:17 pm [Reply]

Ah, I cannot leave well enough alone.

Hmm. Also. No Charley. No Rex. No June. Oh, that the Morgans finally found a willing “trois” for their ménage…
odinthor
November 20th, 2009 at 2:18 pm [Reply]

They’re looking at us . . .
Mars
November 20th, 2009 at 2:43 pm [Reply]

Luann: THANK YOU, BRAD. Someone needed to say it and I thought someone never would.
One-eyed Wolfdog
November 20th, 2009 at 2:44 pm [Reply]

I’d ask what exactly is said…

HEY DEFENSE [clap-clap]
MAKE THAT PLAY
MOVE THAT BALL [clap-clap]
THE OTHER WAY [shake poms]
Aviatrix
November 20th, 2009 at 2:45 pm [Reply]

I’d like to see Delilah have an intersex baby, and watch the ensuing madness as people try to come to terms with the fact that there is no clear answer to “boy or girl?” I’ve recently discovered that a lot of people don’t even know intersex people exist so this way Mary could meddle with the world beyond the fourth wall. I considered suggesting a more familiar birth anomaly, like a facial deformity, but in Mary Worth: how would you tell?

@163 Sequitur” ERRED
One-eyed Wolfdog
November 20th, 2009 at 2:47 pm [Reply]

PUSH IT IN [gesture right]
PUSH IT IN [gesture left]
SCORE, SCORE, SCORE [arms up]
Professor Fate
November 20th, 2009 at 3:02 pm [Reply]

MW: And after she basks in the after glow of the Delilah meddle – she’ll talk a short walk to the grave yard and do the happy dace on Aldo’s grave.
Poteet
November 20th, 2009 at 3:05 pm [Reply]

# 174 Wolfdog — Okay, so now who’s going to get the cracker crumbs out of my keyboard?
gnome de blog
November 20th, 2009 at 3:07 pm [Reply]

175 Professor Fate
Delilah was, at best, a mini-meddle. Mary hit her with her best platitudes and they bounced right off. Delilah meddled herself, with a little help from Rogers, Hammerstein, and Charley.

It’s awfully smug of Mary to take credit.
commodorejohn
November 20th, 2009 at 3:09 pm [Reply]

#173 Aviatrix – Oh lordy. Watching anybody in the pastel-and-white reality that is the Mary Worth universe trying to cope with any kind of condition where the baby doesn’t come out perfect, pink, and cooing would be some combination of hilarious, appalling, and agonizing.
sldawgs
November 20th, 2009 at 3:14 pm [Reply]

MW – Oh I hope we are in for a retelling of Raising Arizona. Dr. Jeff “Mary’s insides were a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase.”
UncleJeff
November 20th, 2009 at 3:22 pm [Reply]

As Mary put down her phone…she thought she could hear Charley singing….from somewhere in the area of Philadelphia….
Holly Golightly
November 20th, 2009 at 3:29 pm [Reply]

This may been asked already, but since when is Fast Track’s Patina a blonde?? On Monday I thought it was a coloring mistake, but it seems to be permanent.
Aviatrix
November 20th, 2009 at 3:46 pm [Reply]

@178 commodorejohn : Mary Worth “hilarious, appalling, and agonizing”? Nah, that could never happen.
KarMann
November 20th, 2009 at 4:26 pm [Reply]

@bourbon babe, unbuckling: Are you sure there’s an actual woman involved? It is the City of Brotherly Love, after all, isn’t it?
Bonwah
November 20th, 2009 at 4:41 pm [Reply]

Nice detective work on the seatbelts and the original strips!

I can confirm that Lynn was probably pressured/required to add the seatbelts by her syndicate. In the early 1990s I worked on “The California Raisin Show,” the animated Saturday-morning series, and the one iron-clad rule was that anytime the Raisins rode in a car, they had to be wearing seatbelts. They could indulge in any sort of comic disaster (running into walls, slipping on banana peels, etc.), and of course, the overall show could be mindless. But in cars they had to wear selt beats. This was how the network proved to the children’s health lobby that it was “responsible” about children’s programming.

If that was the case almost 20 years ago, the same thing has surely propagated itself throughout the comics as well.
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 4:45 pm [Reply]

All God’s Chilin’ got to wear seat belts!
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 4:54 pm [Reply]

Curtis: Shecky’s is selling food now?
dale
November 20th, 2009 at 4:56 pm [Reply]

163 – Sequitur

I see that Aviatrix beat me to it.

I was going to say, “Just pulling something something out of —- thin air. Does it rhyme with ‘turd’?”
Jumper
November 20th, 2009 at 5:07 pm [Reply]

“Why would Leroy and Loretta worship a deity who has placed them into a universe of such intense and unmitigated misery?”

Stockholm syndrome?
Sequitur
November 20th, 2009 at 5:08 pm [Reply]

Aviatrix and dale
Naaahhh! Its got to be “Charley.” Or maybe “Ziggy” after today’s comic.
Farley's Revenge
November 20th, 2009 at 5:09 pm [Reply]

#157 Fashion Police: We are thankful that you are not a sixty-ish meddling biddy. Or, if you are, you manage to restrain yourself, unlike a certain Mary Worth.

I’m a bit late to the game but have humble offerings to the bystander’s cheer:

ROCK ‘EM!
ROCK ‘EM!
MAKE ‘EM SCREAM!
*pompom and ass waving*

or

SCREW TO THE LEFT!*thump*thump*
SCREW TO THE RIGHT!*thump*thump*
SEE IF YOU CAN SCREW
ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT!
YAAAAAAAAY!
*much leaping about and screaming by everyone*
Das Storminator
November 20th, 2009 at 5:32 pm [Reply]

#184 – I’m pretty sure all the clothing halftone textures are also added. The actual old strips you can still dig up had a very light hand in shading, as opposed to the later style.
Fashion Police
November 20th, 2009 at 5:37 pm [Reply]

#190, Farley’s Revenge:
Thank you indeed, Mr. Revenge. Please rest assured that we are not now, and never liklely to become, a “sixty-ish meddling biddy.” Anything is possible of course, but we shall do our best to avoid earning that soubriquet.
clahey
November 20th, 2009 at 5:48 pm [Reply]

167: Well, based on the facial hair, I’d say Tim gets a punch to the upper lip and Cue gets a hit in the chin.
Jimmyleg Jehosephat
November 20th, 2009 at 5:55 pm [Reply]

I think the Ziggy cartoon has to do with a fad thing that got passed around starting 5 or 10 years ago. It’s where you read the horoscope but put the words “in bed” at the end of every sentence. Like, “Your creativity surges in an unprecedented manner.” (In BED!!) Or, “Indulge a family member or yourself.” (In BED!!) Or, “If something feels wrong, it is.” (In BED!!) ( these from today’s paper).

Ziggy, not being Mr. Hip, is usually the last to catch on to these things. The upside of that is, most people get Ziggy’s joke ’cause they already heard it. The downside is, well, it’s Ziggy.
aprilp_katje
November 20th, 2009 at 10:14 pm [Reply]

#184 Bonwah: I’m reminded also of when “Family Circus” reran some old strips not too long ago, and seatbelts were clumsily drawn in. I suspect you’re right about the Syndicate requiring the change.
Wilbur N. Wendell
November 21st, 2009 at 7:03 pm [Reply]

Mary Worth’s son is named Sonny (I’m not kidding) or at least he was when he was referred to thirty or so years ago. As I recall Mary assumed a mournful expression and explained that he was a great disappointment to her, making his living by selling get-rich-quick schemes to the gullible.
Marion Delgado
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:38 pm [Reply]

Uh oh! Today’s Dick Tracy is just a Note to the Readers:

Dear fans of Dick Tracy: The exciting adventure you just finished brings “Dick Tracy’s” 78-year run to a conclusion. Beginning next week, look for “The Criminal Adventures of Rashomon the Clown” in this space.

You can’t say we didn’t see this coming.

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