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The outlaw Mark Trail

Blondie, 12/23/09

As is sadly typical, the actual punchline in today’s Blondie is so gentle as to be essentially undetectable, but I confess that I like the visual gag. Generally, when the Bumsteads’ shop, they end up with packages ludicrously stacked in their arms in structurally improbable configurations. Today’s strip takes this to its logical conclusion, with a series of boxes just sort of floating in a cloud around Blondie, without any visible means of support.

Mark Trail, 12/23/09

OH YEAH MARK TRAIL JUST PUNCHED A COP RIGHT IN THE FUCKIN’ FACE! This is the greatest Christmas gift you or I or anyone else will receive this year. Note that the mighty blow has miraculously dislodged the car keys that Mark and the lawmen were discussing in the previous panel; Mark’s fists are unerring plot-device-seeking projectiles.

Hi and Lois, 12/23/09

Add another entry to the “call social services on the Flagstons” file: the apparently unsupervised Trixie is just eating garbage she finds under the furniture now.

Herb and Jamaal, 12/23/09

I’ve been reading this strip for going on five years now, and more or less against my will I’ve actually accumulated some knowledge about the title characters. For instance, here’s what I know about Jamaal: He’s a firefighter, he’s in love with his fellow firefighter Yolanda, his name is “Jamaal J. Jamaal,” and — a relevant detail about today’s installment — he’s a former professional basketball player. Since today he’s challenging his gnomish best friend to a game of one on one, I’m guessing I’m going to have to add “he’s a cruel bastard who needs to boost his fragile ego by demolishing poor Herb on the court” to that list.

Apartment 3-G, 12/23/09

“To be more specific: I hope you like them enough that you’ll let me trade these poinsettias I stole from the Macy’s window display for more sleeping pills!”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 03:00 am and is filed under Apartment 3-G, Blondie, Herb and Jamaal, Hi and Lois, Mark Trail. |

81 responses to “The outlaw Mark Trail”

  1. Farley's Revenge
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:08 am [Reply]

    The next installment of the Mark Trail saga will be Mark on trial for assaulting a cop, with him punching out the judge, the prosecutor, and the entire jury.

    Then he’ll drift back to the beach to check on Rusty, who will seemingly have vanished into thin air. Mark will wail for about thirty seconds, then shrug and go look for someone else to punch before he has to return to Lost Forest and that creature who refers to herself as “his wife”.

    Meanwhile, Andy is on a beach in Jamaica, flipping limes through two bottles of Corona and wondering whatever happened to that misshapen dwarf kid and the two losers.

  2. Fahion Police
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:09 am [Reply]

    Mrs. Bumstead’s cloud of packages certainly brings out the best in her cute little ankle-boots.

  3. Ed Dravecky
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:10 am [Reply]

    I’d repost my comments on today’s strips, posted yesterthread less than 30 minutes ago, but unlike Mark Trail I still have some respect for the law.

  4. Kibo
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:15 am [Reply]

    New theory: Mark Trail is trying to commit “suicide by cop”.

    Also, he doesn’t yet realize that the kid is named “Rusty” because HE DISSOLVES IN WATER!

  5. Poteet
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:16 am [Reply]

    I seem to recall other BLONDIE strips based on floating clouds of packages that obscure the human form. I think that in one of them, Blondie found herself with the wrong package-totin’ husband, so I’m glad she’s asking more questions these days.

  6. True Fable
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:17 am [Reply]

    Dear Santa Claus,

    I have been a very good little Fable this year. I have also been taking very good care of my ninja goats. I have some things on my list that only YOU can provide since it’s likely the artists and writers won’t. I’m not asking for myself; I’m asking for them:

    1. Please give Uncle Walt the sweet release of death in Gasoline Alley. I really don’t care about the other characters since I don’t bother to read the comic that much, but just knowing the old guy is still around crying out to be taken permanently to the Old Comics’ Home makes me sad. And nauseous.
    2. Please potty train Marvin. It’s not much to ask, but I realize that it would mean Armstrong would have to come up with actual material for the strip that doesn’t have to do with scatological humor.
    3. Won’t you PLEASE bring the Keane kids a second nostril each?
    4. Would you give Alice and Henry Mitchell the number of a good bad reform school? Dennis isn’t menacing enough and he needs educatin’ in the worst way.
    5. An upper AND lower tooth for Snuffy Smith would be nice – even better if they line up with each other!
    6. A Wilbur Weston college flashback! PLEASE! Okay, this is not so much for Wilbur but it sure as hell is for all the good little ‘Mudgeons out there.
    7. Abbey and Godiva in a bikini-off with June. Just an idea.
    8. NEDDY COME HOME and bring Cedric with her!
    9. The Winslows ask that you have Marmadick put down.
    10. Jon Arbuckle asks that you have Garfield fixed AND put down; mustn’t allow that DNA to even have the slightest chance.
    11. Cherry Trail asks that you have Rusty put down.
    12. Mark Trail asks that he have another year of THE most utterly inane storylines and plot twists of any comic out there because he’s aiming for a shut-out in the Bee-Grinding Awards.
    13. Please bring back Moon Man in Dick Tracy just for the hell of it. There’s really no good reason for it but there wasn’t a really good reason for any of the storylines this year either.
    14. A volcano in the Patterson’s backyard in Milborough. I’m sure Canada would be willing to trade one natural disaster for another.
    15. A dachshund puppy for Rex and Violet!
    16. KWANZAAAAAA! I know it’s not your holiday and all, but we NEED a Curtis Kwanzaa. It just isn’t the same without it.
    17 Death AND Taxes for the Winkerbean crew. Aw, they love this stuff!
    18. Brad wants to get laid this year, preferably by his girlfriend Toni but I don’t think he’s that picky.
    19. Kit Walker wants – oh never mind, he’s going to get what he wants any day now.
    20. Increased views for Just Peachy.

    I will leave goat cheese out next to the computer instead of a plate of cookies (ah the warm glow of a cpu!) Please leave kibble in the ninja goats’ stockings as usual and a bottle of Good Stuff for me!

    Sincerely,
    Truman A. Fable
    Always a believer

  7. Emily
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:21 am [Reply]

    Mark Trail – I really hope he heads back to the car and is forced into a high-speed chase back to the Lost Forest, where Mark (the only Law that exists) will declare amnesty for himself. A foolproof plan.

  8. Mr. O'Malley
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:23 am [Reply]

    I guessing that Mark takes the patrol car down to the beach, uses it to push his car off Rusty, steals a wheel from the patrol car, steals the jack as well. Drives off. End of story. On to the next adventure!

  9. gnome de blog
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:28 am [Reply]

    I am 62 years old and it’s not too much of an exaggeration to say I learned to read on the funny papers. I read Peanuts and Pogo in their prime. I am not sure I have ever witnessed as sublime a moment as Mark Trail punching out a cop.

  10. Deon
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:46 am [Reply]

    Today’s Wizard of Id is almost EXACTLY like an earlier Dogs of C Kennel strip.
    I find it funny because I can’t really tell if the joke is being reused, stolen, or if it’s just a coincidence.

  11. Carbunicle
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:57 am [Reply]

    re 10. Too close for coincidence. To say more would be to possibly defend the Wizard of Id which I’d rather not do.
    And, of course, Mark Trail. Now that the Punching-Out-of-Duly-Sworn-Authority seal has been broken – burst more like – I think we can expect Mark to be punching out the entire solar system in about two weeks. Whether the other star systems are safe from the Fists of JusticeFiat is anyone’s guess.
    I was going to do some drawings of Mark as Dave Bowman and Rusty as the Star Child but now it just seems moot. (Although unseen, Andy would be filling in for HAL)
    Mark Trail punched a cop! Wow, just wow.

  12. Kibo
    December 23rd, 2009 at 4:02 am [Reply]

    Carbunicle (#11): Maybe you should do one of Mark Trail as the King of All Cosmos (from “Katamari Damacy”). After Mark drunkenly smashes everything in the entire Cosmos, some lower being — let’s call him “Marmaduke” — must rebuild all the planets. And King Mark would keep making lame scatalogical puns, like, “When We were younger, We would eat marmalade until We produced a royal marma-duke.”

  13. Dave
    December 23rd, 2009 at 4:22 am [Reply]

    Um, Trixie, that ain’t chocolate.

  14. Strangefate
    December 23rd, 2009 at 4:29 am [Reply]

    I’m not sure that’s Dagwood’s wife at all or why did she have to ask him for his full name? Perhaps the presents just grew human legs and delivered themselves? Would that be so much stranger than mini-Dithers?

    Blondie has become wonderfully surreal lately.

    I also like the sheer power of Mark Trail’s fist. He knocked the sheriff down so fast his hat is still floating in the air where he was once standing.

  15. BananaSam
    December 23rd, 2009 at 4:29 am [Reply]

    Oh wow, Mark Trail, okay. I probably would have called some sort of ambulance or emergency service, thereby ensuring my son’s safety and possibly convincing the sheriff that my story was true. rather than adding jailbreak assaulting an officer and grand theft auto to my list of offences. But then, I probably wouldn’t have tried to use a car jack on sand either so I guess I have a lot to learn about surviving on my own wits.

  16. The Spectre
    December 23rd, 2009 at 5:48 am [Reply]

    H&J: Did Jamaal actually ask Herb for some “one on one” time with Herb and Josh didn’t pick up on the sexual implications thereof?

  17. mr 12 oz can
    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:20 am [Reply]

    mark had the courtesy to let the lawman take the cigar out of his mouth first . story of the year for sure .

  18. Sue D. Nymme
    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:26 am [Reply]

    The Outlaw Markey Trails, starring Clint Eastwood as Markey Trails, and Joe Don Baker as The Sheriff.

  19. Marthas Rolling Pin
    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:34 am [Reply]

    Maybe it’s the Christmas spirit in the air, but I just couldn’t resist doubling down on the crazy that is Popeye.

  20. theconnductor
    December 23rd, 2009 at 8:35 am [Reply]

    so, are we to assume that blondie drove home from the mall with those boxes blocking her view?

  21. Pozzo
    December 23rd, 2009 at 8:36 am [Reply]

    Okay, to give Hi & Lois their due, at least the candy is wrapped. How a pre-toddler managed to unwrap it is another question.

  22. Little Guy
    December 23rd, 2009 at 8:38 am [Reply]

    MT: The only other projectile with such precision is a ball batted back at Charlie Brown, undressing him and making him spin in the air.

    I wonder what Baretto could so with such a projectile….

    and yeah #1, QFT.

  23. DamienBixlan
    December 23rd, 2009 at 9:24 am [Reply]

    Jamaal is so unspecific he can’t even say the word “basketball”. I believe that at this point, it can be considered a mental disorder.

  24. Sue D. Nymme
    December 23rd, 2009 at 9:48 am [Reply]

    I don’t understand why Blondie doesn’t simply walk in the house unencumbered and say “Dagwood — There are some packages in the car. Be a dear and bring them in,” like every other wife in the world.

  25. Patrick
    December 23rd, 2009 at 10:17 am [Reply]

    Trixie found a Hershey’s Kiss under the couch, which she felt compelled to call a “chocolate candy.” Clearly, she’s being babysat by Herb & Jamaal.

  26. 150
    December 23rd, 2009 at 10:22 am [Reply]

    OH MY GOSH MARK TRAIL REALLY DID IT

    I AM SO HAPPY NOW

    GOD BLESS US EVERY ONE

  27. peabody
    December 23rd, 2009 at 10:22 am [Reply]

    “What? Keys in the car? Ha ha, no, stupid! They’re right here, see? Right in my outstretched hand! So close you could reach out and grab them, if you only you could prevent me from holding onto them somehow! But that’s impossible!”

  28. Miss Othmar
    December 23rd, 2009 at 10:34 am [Reply]

    Oh, we need a little Kwanzaa, right this very minute….

  29. messy
    December 23rd, 2009 at 10:56 am [Reply]

    the name of the decade is “the ‘00ze.”

  30. gleeb
    December 23rd, 2009 at 11:07 am [Reply]

    Candorvile: We all want our tacos back, Bell. Seriously, the narrative has splintered so much I feel like I’m going to cut myself on it, what with the vampire crap and the week of “jokes” about not making jokes about Tiger Woods.

    ’shaft: The lesson here is that that sour old bastard Ed has always been holding her back.

    ‘bean: “…and I like that you do,” Summer hastily adds, to avoid having Creepy Les ball up in the corner crying and smirking until Epiphany.

  31. Mardou Fox
    December 23rd, 2009 at 11:10 am [Reply]

    Mark gone rogue! Best! Christmas! Present! Ever!! Peace on earth, everybody–POW!

  32. Wraith
    December 23rd, 2009 at 11:18 am [Reply]

    What, no “I punched the Sheriff” comments yet?

  33. Chris Rywalt
    December 23rd, 2009 at 11:35 am [Reply]

    We should add that Jamaal J. Jamaal is well-read, since he’s quoting George Bernard Shaw. Which makes him a Shavian, too.

  34. AtomicDog
    December 23rd, 2009 at 11:40 am [Reply]

    #24 – Or like my wife, simply sits in the car and blows the horn to “come and get ‘em!”

  35. Anonymous
    December 23rd, 2009 at 11:48 am [Reply]

    In tomorrow’s Mark Trail: The sheriff’s car won’t start. Mark Trail is forced to punch Santa so he can steal his sleigh.

  36. Gold-Digging Nanny
    December 23rd, 2009 at 11:49 am [Reply]

    #35 anonymous is me.

  37. hogenmogen
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:09 pm [Reply]

    H&L is funny because Trixie is going to put racoon shit in her mouth! Ha!

  38. AmazingThor
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:10 pm [Reply]

    BB: Wow. Ziggy puts on pants and suddenly pants just start disappearing from random comics. Is the universe collapsing on itself?

  39. McManx
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:10 pm [Reply]

    M Trail — Oh HELL yeah! This has got to go down as the punch of the decade.I may go round for the rest of the day humming the Clapton tune (revised) “I Punched the Sheriff”.

    But wait; does it still qualify as a “fist o’ justice” if the recipient is, alas, a member of the justice system?

  40. tb4000
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:10 pm [Reply]

    Blondie: I know a lot of pornos that start that way if she indeed was not in the right house.

  41. Muffaroo
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:12 pm [Reply]

    Wraith, yes, there has been one. Yesterthread, if not this one.

  42. AmazingThor
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:13 pm [Reply]

    FW: “This is the first ornament your mom and I bought. It’s made of a mixture of lead, mercury, and asbestos.”

  43. hogenmogen
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:14 pm [Reply]

    So, uh, how did Blondie ring the doorbell?

  44. Lawyerbob
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:14 pm [Reply]

    I see a crack in the Herb & Jamaal space-time continuum: Jamaal’s basketball jersey sports an actual team name! Granted, it’s a made-up name–there’s no such team anywhere called the “Phazers.” But really, shouldn’t the jersey just read “That Professional Sports Team For Which I Used to Play”?

    I see where Mark is headed. He’ll end up on top of a large gas tank like Jimmy Cagney in “White Heat,” except when Mark yells “Top of the world, Ma!” the tank won’t explode–he’ll punch it out and then the tank will blow everyone else up.

  45. AmazingThor
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm [Reply]

    Zits: I call B.S. If that were a real teenager, he would have just asked his mother to write the paper for him. (which reminds me, thanks, Mom, for “helping” me pass my history classes!)

  46. BRWombat
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 pm [Reply]

    I am now eagerly awaiting Mark Trial: The Prison Years. Best. New. Year. EVER.

  47. Brian
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 pm [Reply]

    I can’t wait for future Mark Trails, where he is in prison for assault on a LEO, teaching the inmates about the spiders and rats that infest their cells.

  48. BRWombat
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 pm [Reply]

    Or “Trail”

  49. LaziestManOnMars
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm [Reply]

    Herb & Jamaal : I’m shocked that when a game of “one on one” is mentioned, they actually show Jamaal with a basketball, implying a specific game. Normally Jamaal would have said “let’s commiserate over a competitive, yet friendly outing. One will be the victor, while the other, alas, will fall short. Come, let’s leave this place of business and have an experience/feeling.

  50. Elektro
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:48 pm [Reply]

    Mark Trail punching a cop should, no, NEEDS, to be a T-shirt with editable quotes, much like the “finger-quoting Margo” shirts.

  51. Crankshafts Funky Smelling Corpse
    December 23rd, 2009 at 12:48 pm [Reply]

    Josh’s comment on MT made me laugh out loud. Thank you, and Merry xmas. That is all.

  52. Burrill
    December 23rd, 2009 at 1:26 pm [Reply]

    Are my eyes failing me, or is the H&J strip drooping on the right side? I’m a little disoriented by a strip that isn’t a straight line.

  53. annabanana
    December 23rd, 2009 at 1:36 pm [Reply]

    Maybe the garbage diet would explain the scrofulous spots dotting little Trixie’s face in panel two…

  54. Black Drazon
    December 23rd, 2009 at 1:38 pm [Reply]

    #49 Electro – I agree, there must be merch, this is the best thing to come out of the funny pages since Aldo Keldrast’s 8.9 scoring automotive dive.

  55. Phred22
    December 23rd, 2009 at 2:05 pm [Reply]

    MT: Note the sheriff never thought that Mark was unconscious the whole time he was in the patrol car and couldn’t have known if the keys were still there or not. Good enough reason for getting clobbered.

    Josh is gonna miss a lot of great material for commentary this next week.

  56. Chris Rywalt
    December 23rd, 2009 at 2:07 pm [Reply]

    Burrill, your eyes don’t deceive you. It looks like the paste-up guy hiccuped. Only isn’t all paste-up done digitally these days? Ever heard of CTRL-Z, buddy?

  57. Foolkiller
    December 23rd, 2009 at 2:20 pm [Reply]

    I’d like to call Ripley and Ed Matukonis and discuss the difference between weight and mass. An ounce of salt does weigh the same as an ounce of silver just as a pound of lead weighs the same as a pound of feathers.

  58. StoutHearted
    December 23rd, 2009 at 2:35 pm [Reply]

    Mark Trail is so awesome that when he slugs a cop, the officer’s hat remains precisely still in the air in disbelief. You and I saw the cop go ass over teakettle, but the hat… the hat will never relinquish the authority of the law.

  59. Farley's Revenge
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:19 pm [Reply]

    # 32Wraith says:

    What, no “I punched the Sheriff” comments yet?

    I made one yesterthread.

    As much as we would like to see this end in a big shootout, with Mark on the receiving end of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-esque fate, we also know that isn’t remotely what’s going to really happen.

    Mark’s going to take off in the cop-mobile, race back in the nick of time to rescue Rusty(who is, by now, utterly bored with the whole plotline). The sheriff and his posse will show up, explanations will be given, there will be much apologizing and backslapping all the way around, all will be forgiven, and Mark will be let loose to go lay waste to yet another idiotic storyline.

    The best we can hope for is June Morgan laying waste to her family in her rage at having her mad money stolen.

  60. Hawkeye
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:43 pm [Reply]

    Isn’t it obvious to everyone? The sheriff is a criminal who’s kidnapped the real sheriff and taken his place in some elaborate plot to take out Mark so they can ravage Lost Forest. How can you tell? The sheriff has SIDEBURNS. It’s one of the Mark Trail Signs of Villainy, and he’s dispensing justice, nature style.

    That, or Mark just punched a cop. Either way, I’m in a good mood for the rest of the day.

  61. Scottness
    December 23rd, 2009 at 3:49 pm [Reply]

    Hot damn that makes me happy.

    Now if only Mark still doesn’t get to Rusty in time this’ll be the best Christmas *ever*.

  62. Rhekarid
    December 23rd, 2009 at 4:03 pm [Reply]

    Well Josh, I hope you’re prepared to beg forgiveness from Mark Trail for your comments yesterday, or else your stocking will be full of coal, and by coal I mean Mark’s black hair as he rises from your stocking and punches your jaw back to Thanksgiving.

  63. Altair
    December 23rd, 2009 at 4:47 pm [Reply]

    57. Foolkiller: Actually, it’s a trick question, because silver is measured in Troy ounces, rather than the standard sort.

  64. Foolkiller
    December 23rd, 2009 at 4:53 pm [Reply]

    @63: That makes sense. I know I was in the ‘not’ category for that one.

  65. David Schraub
    December 23rd, 2009 at 5:15 pm [Reply]

    That you know so much about Herb and Jamaal is impressive, particularly given that the strip’s whole gimmick is that it refrains from providing “relevant details”.

  66. Jym the Wildlife Man
    December 23rd, 2009 at 6:53 pm [Reply]

    =v= MT: Stuck indoors too long, without the giant animals to whisper dialogue and directions into his ears, Mark finally flips out. Now his only hope is to drive the police car down onto the sand, get out the jack, and, um … you know what? Really his only option at this point is to go on the lam and join ELF.

  67. John Fillingsteeth
    December 23rd, 2009 at 6:56 pm [Reply]

    Head shot!
    Need I say more?

  68. Dr. Pill
    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:15 pm [Reply]

    Unbelievable. The advocate for law and order in the forest punches out the sheriff who, it must be said, fell for Mark’s trick just as we all expected Elrod’s rural hayseed to do. In the MT universe, force is the power for good and simple human emotions — like pleading with the sheriff until he understand that there is a possibility a young boy might be in danger and it wouldn’t hurt to run down to the beach to check — are useless. Pfui.

    Is that really Blondie, or does the UPS delivery person have a thing for cute ankle boots? Especially if it’s a he, hee hee hee.

  69. Ed Dravecky
    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:32 pm [Reply]

    Mark Trail vs Chuck Norris, notorious beard-wearer:
    no weapons, no over-sized animals–who wins?

    A) Mark Trail
    B) Chuck Norris
    C) Jack Bauer
    D) Fans of cartoon violence everywhere

  70. Birthmark Hal
    December 23rd, 2009 at 7:35 pm [Reply]

    Bobbie you didn’t let Dr. Papagoras finish. He was going to say “Bobbie, what in the world have you been taking? Your pupils are big enough to sink billiard balls into. Also that’s handful of leaves you picked off the tree outside my office.”

  71. NoahSnark
    December 23rd, 2009 at 10:48 pm [Reply]

    Mark Trail is one step closer to having conjugal visits from a 400 pound cell mate named Bubba. Will he come out of jail wearing a satin dress and proclaiming “I’m a pretty princess”?

  72. Poor Thompson
    December 24th, 2009 at 12:45 am [Reply]

    The only way today’s installment of Mark Trail could be any better is if he narrated while delivering the punch. “I don’t have any choice! A boy’s life is at stake. I’ll settle with this sheriff later…I’m sure he’ll understand!.”

  73. Poor Thompson
    December 24th, 2009 at 12:47 am [Reply]

    As somebody posted earlier, Mark will soon find himself in a high-speed car chase. He will then be forced to outmanouver the pursuing cruisers, sending them over a cliff, Aldo Kelrast style. As the resulting massive fireball is seen rising in the background, the narration will continue: “I don’t have any choice! A boy’s life is at stake!…etc.”

  74. zamros
    December 24th, 2009 at 3:01 am [Reply]

    Whenever Herb and Jamaal does that silhouette thing I like to imagine the shot is in front of some incredibly bright, all-encompassing light. Between the third and forth panels, it appears that Jamaal has transported them both to some sort of hellish basketball-themed planetscape. Look at Herb. He’s scared for his life.

  75. Danny Lilithborne
    December 24th, 2009 at 3:16 am [Reply]

    I actually kind of liked that “Herb & Jamaal”… until I realized Jamaal was throwing out a catchphrase to trick his friend into curing his boredom. Then I went back to hating it again. God’s in His heaven and all is right with the world.

  76. Terry in Maryland
    December 24th, 2009 at 10:52 am [Reply]

    I was hoping that Mark Trail would use his one phone call to dial 911 and actually get Rusty some help.

  77. Phred22
    December 25th, 2009 at 11:01 am [Reply]

    Best Christmas Strip in the Washington Post: Spiderman with no break from the battle, just a panel with an appropriate if possibly accidental sentiment for this year’s Xmas.

    Worst Christmas Strip in the Washington Post: Dennis the Menace. In the old days, his reaction to a floorload of new toys was “Is this all!?” He’s definitely not the menace he used to be.

  78. Rydia
    December 25th, 2009 at 8:31 pm [Reply]

    72 – You missed the random bold. I envision it something like this: “I don’t have any choice! A boy’s life is at stake. I’ll settle with this sheriff later…I’m sure he’ll understand!” And it would probably be a word balloon emanating from his navel.

  79. Shortpacked
    December 27th, 2009 at 12:10 pm [Reply]

    In Mark Trail, policemen basically function like the question blocks in Super Mario Bros.

  80. jasperjava
    December 28th, 2009 at 12:18 am [Reply]

    Of course, among Blondie’s packages there is a hatbox. There is ALWAYS a hatbox.

    1) Do any stores nowadays still package hats in hatboxes?

    2) With all the hats Blondie purchases, do we ever see her wearing one?

  81. Artist formerly known as Ben
    December 31st, 2009 at 12:46 pm [Reply]

    New Year’s Eeeeeeeeevil! comics

    DtM: At a minimum you need to have an escape ladder set up under your bedroom window. If you actually want to earn the “menace” title, at least.

    A3G: “Yes, my husband. You can’t miss him. He looks like everyone else.”

    Phantom: I have to admit, taking a pirate hostage is pretty badass, even if these are the pirates who couldn’t shoot straight.

    RMMD: June’s never seen the Godfather movies?

    S-M: Oh dear. By any chance has Rusty Venture set any Byron Orpheus clone slugs aside?

    SFx: Note to self: Do not drive on these meds.

    Ziggy: “And in fashion emergency news, a local bald gnome has again stopped wearing pants.”

    H&L: Your parents are going upstairs for their annual fuck session, Chip. You’ll find the brain bleach in the bottle marked “Jim Beam.”

    GT: Cassie falls asleep while straddling her loser twentysomething boyfriend. The man’s appeal grows ever more baffling.

    MT: Doctor: Well, the boy’s leg will heal fine. But the brain damage appears to be permanent. And we don’t have the resources here to do anything about his face.
    Mark: Doctor, what are you talking about?
    Doctor: Um, nothing. I must have been looking at the wrong chart. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

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