The Comics Curmudgeon

42 responses to “Three Monday one-liners”

1. bootsybooks
   June 12th, 2006 at 2:57 pm [Reply]

   Was Kelly using air quotes when she said it?
   And, um, Dinette people? Bird flu doesn’t mean you need nyquil. You’re all gonna die! That’s what’s so funny about it!

2. CHA5NCE
   June 12th, 2006 at 3:03 pm [Reply]

   Is the Heat Miser in Gil Thorp wearing earrings? Are they those big heavy gauge grommet kind? Or just big opals? Is that a man? I’m so confused by this strip, and yet can’t bring myself to read it every day to make sense of it all.

3. monk
   June 12th, 2006 at 3:15 pm [Reply]

   “It’ll be a lot of company for you”?!!
   I don’t really follow Mark Trail- is English not Papa’s first language?

4. JeffM
   June 12th, 2006 at 3:19 pm [Reply]

   Wonderful! – an even broader Grump Mrs Raptor.

5. Uncle Lumpy
   June 12th, 2006 at 3:31 pm [Reply]

   Note to Rusty Tony -

   Name the dog “Indiana” – I bet Elrod calls it “Oklahoma”!

6. Hogenmogen
   June 12th, 2006 at 3:42 pm [Reply]

   I like Heat Miester’s get-up. Avant guard hair, alternative lifestyle earrings, and especially the sensitive male sweater-vest in panel 3. He looks like he’s missing the other half of the Ambiguously Gay Duo.

   Any takers, Dr. Troy?

7. Hogenmogen
   June 12th, 2006 at 3:57 pm [Reply]

   Hey, was it just me, or did Sunday’s Rex have a challenger to “Swordfish Pinball Wizard” as “best incidental artwork” award?

   The newspaper (side facing away from Rex) said “Wilson & Nolan: GUILTY!”

8. Gearyster
   June 12th, 2006 at 3:58 pm [Reply]

   Can ANYONE explain the existence of the Dinette Set to me? I tried reading it for a month (really!) to see if I could get what was supposed to be funny, and I think I’ve failed.

   Really, I can usually see what was supposed to be funny in strips like BC and Garfield, but I have never been able to even identify the joke on this one.

9. Chris
   June 12th, 2006 at 4:13 pm [Reply]

   Kelly=Peg o’ Heat Meister’s heart.

   He’s so gay even gay people say, “Wow, look at how gay that gay guy is!”

10. Jay Nickola
    June 12th, 2006 at 4:15 pm [Reply]

    Dinette Set: “MINE EYES! ZE GOGGLES DO NOSSING!”

11. kostia
    June 12th, 2006 at 4:48 pm [Reply]

    I completely forgot about Dinette Set, as the Washington Post doesn’t run it, but when I used to read it in the St. Petersburg Times it actually was funnier sometimes than many of those other one-panel things. Often the humor resided in the “to-do list” that is ALWAYS posted on the wall.

12. GotFuzzy
    June 12th, 2006 at 5:19 pm [Reply]

    CHA5NCE, yes, those are earrings. Not sure exactly what kind, but I prefer to think they are Barbara Bush-esque clip-on pearls. And he is wearing them on both ears. As far as we can tell, he is a male.

    And sending a morbidly obese woman to Phoenix in the blast-furnace month of June? That’s not broadening–that’s negligent homicide! Or is that Kelly’s eeeeeevilllllll plan?

13. Adfella
    June 12th, 2006 at 5:52 pm [Reply]

    I’m trying to decide which is the oddest aspect of today’s Mark Trail.

    Is it…

    1) …the fact that the man Tony calls, “Papa,” is really his grandfather?

    2) …the fact that the boy the grandfather calls, “son,” is really his grandson?

    3) …the way Tony is hilariously referred to as, “Rusty,” by Mark in one panel, and then correctly as, “Tony” in the next?

    4) …the way Tony/Rusty has metamorphized into a gruesomely hideous gnome-like dwarf in panel two, seemingly having aged about ten years in a matter of mere seconds?

    5) …the way papa/grandpa’s hand has shrunken to child-like proportions whilst, at the same time, his forehead has bulged forward in a spontaneous outbreak of Sudden Encephalitist Syndrome?

14. Laura
    June 12th, 2006 at 6:32 pm [Reply]

    I was so confused by the narrative structure of today’s Gil Thorp. Why couldn’t they just show Kelly poking Mr. Heat Miser and saying “Don’t you know? Travel is broadening!” Is it important the we, as an audience, know that that bored Mac user is aware of the contents of the conversation?

    I have been reading GT every day for the last few weeks and trust me, it doesn’t help…

15. Dr. Laura
    June 12th, 2006 at 6:58 pm [Reply]

    Did anyone else notice that Lou and Kelly are sporting identical Marine World blue sans-a-belt trousers in today’s strip?

16. Schteve
    June 12th, 2006 at 7:53 pm [Reply]

    I don’t get it – the wild animals in Mark Trail are depicted as highly lifelike but Rusty’s dog makes Snoopy look like a photo.

17. Jeaneth
    June 12th, 2006 at 8:19 pm [Reply]

    When WhatintheSam Hill says “It’ll be good company for you,” what he’s really saying is, “Thank God! The puppy will keep you occupied so I can completely renege on my promise to spend more time with you and return to neglecting you shamefully!”

    Yeah, thanks for the puppy, Mark.

18. roydrink
    June 12th, 2006 at 8:58 pm [Reply]

    The one thing I found funny in Dinette Set:

    the t-shirt “Tippy Hedren Cologne”

19. Meg_Gone_Happy
    June 12th, 2006 at 10:07 pm [Reply]

    Uhh, is that guy supossed to be a man? And why does everyone look like a lumberjack in M T? Even the dog looks the same!!

20. King Folderol
    June 13th, 2006 at 12:36 am [Reply]

    6/13 – A3G – “It’s quite a mixed crowd.” But not a minority in sight, Tommie in 1958 A3G land. And stop puckering!

    Hagar – Given what Vikings did to their female capitves, this comic turned my stomach.

    H&L – At least when Thristy was drunk this behavior was borderline excusable. Now it’s just pathetic.

    MW – Oh my gawd! I thought people were overreacting, but I, too, now want to defenestrate Kelly and Lou…and I ain’t gonna open the window before I do it!

    TDIET – There’s a “Look Who’s Barking” Department??? Does this mean I missed the installment where Dad tells Junior to take the dog outside to poop while, meanwhile, he’s covered in fecal matter himself? Damnit! That must have been a good one!

21. Mibbitmaker
    June 13th, 2006 at 2:10 am [Reply]

    Maybe Rusty is the child from panel 1, and Tony’s the midget in panel two…..say, isn’t that a full-grown man in panel 3? No wonder all the name confusion; it’s enough to cause a Margo… uh… Tommie head bobble!

    And notice the too-obvious “Jack Elrod” placement? The guy who does this strip wants Mark to at least get HIS name right.

22. Hank Kimble
    June 13th, 2006 at 2:36 am [Reply]

    DTGT–Kelly poked Blaze McQueen with what? A strap on?

23. Mibbitmaker
    June 13th, 2006 at 2:43 am [Reply]

    6/13:

    FW: Looks like Les is starting a Carnac routine.

    FC: Wow, presumptuous *and* greedy. A budding Margo, perhaps?

    A3G: Two strips in a row with Margo giving Tommie her headbobbleitis. Maybe a whole week of Tommie bobbling… until her head falls clean off on Sunday.

    FOOB: Cliche, cliche, cliche.

    SF: Hilary got quite dark all of a sudden. You can only inherit the sly smile so much before heading down the road of evil.

    (DT)GT: “Someone must have mentioned it” Well, it was either Jerry Jenkins or Frank McLaughlin. Loose lips sink strips, fellahs.

    GF: Uh-oh. Now Conley’s just begging Howard Erk to attack his bread and butter.

    Curtis: Bad move, Michelle. Now you’ve gone and riled up your stalker-in-training.

    Nancy: There’s got to be a Johnny Hart joke in there somewhere. Hell, you can say that about a Chick Tract!

24. Hank Kimble
    June 13th, 2006 at 2:43 am [Reply]

    I get Dinette Set, probably way too well. Shucks, folk here in Hoosierland have been acting exactly like that as long as I’ve lived.

25. Hogenmogen
    June 13th, 2006 at 8:25 am [Reply]

    Here’s why Dinette sucks: The lady on the left isn’t wearing a message t-shirt. If there were one more message t-shirt, this panel would by hilarious-rolling-in-the-aisles stuff.

26. derbs
    June 13th, 2006 at 8:34 am [Reply]

    A3G: For my part, I’m still going with the poster who guessed earlier this week that the 3G gals are wearing nothing but fishnets and stilettos with those stylish jackets.

    So far, we’ve seen nothing to dash those hopes.

27. Hogenmogen
    June 13th, 2006 at 8:35 am [Reply]

    9CL: Diane used to be a nun, and presumably went to confession to a priest. So why does she have to resort to Thorax? She started her first letter to Thor stating her reason was that the secret she had to confess was so terrible that she just couldn’t use the ordinary channels. However, she doesn’t include any specifics, so why not go to another priest? Plus, she already confessed it in detail to Edda and Edda’s umm… friend? husband? room mate? Sorry, I’ve only been reading 9CL for a few months and this seems to be a theme going back far longer.

    Another swing at Dinette: The characters are too stupid to know that all those OTC drugs won’t stop bird flu even slightly. However, the one who knew exactly where the word balloons would be and the body positions of the two ladies in front of the “To Do List” relative to any passing observer is a transcendant genius. We’re talking near claravoyant here.

28. tefflan
    June 13th, 2006 at 8:50 am [Reply]

    I was going to make a comment about the “Dinette Set,” but this has got to be the weirdest “Gil Thorpe” I’ve ever seen. That’s either the butchest lesbian I’ve ever seen in the comics, or it’s some guy who never really got over trying on his mother’s earrings when he was a little boy.

    Log the whole thing under “creep my ass out for the day.”

29. tefflan
    June 13th, 2006 at 9:01 am [Reply]

    Oh yeah, I remember what I was going to say about the “Dinette Set” now.

    A long time ago, Sigmund Freud once said, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

    I was trying to figure out just exactly why the “Dinette Set” sucks. Then it dawned on me that maybe it sucks because, well, it just sucks.

30. BassoGap
    June 13th, 2006 at 9:14 am [Reply]

    MT – “It’s your editor, Bill Ellis. You know, as opposed to your urologist, also named Bill Ellis. Or your other editor, Ell Billis, I guess.” Irony alert: they save the forest from the road builders, only to have mutant beavers take down all the trees.

    MW – “Dammit, Kelly, it’s ‘without whom you cannot live’! And you’re right…you can’t. I’m taking you with me.”

    Monty – Pure comics gold. I was wondering where the armband was, if not on Monty’s arm…but I didn’t see the pool toy coming. Good stuff.

    RMMD – While it’s fun to say today’s guest star’s name (Skanky “Skank” McSkankington, I believe), the story is getting even more lame.

    PBS – I will strive to include “sublibabal message” in my daily conversations. Pour steak sauce on head, mule!

    GF – Commemorative b.m. spoon? Please tell me that stands for “Bucky Museum”…please!

    Baby Blues – We’ve all done it. Yes, you have.

    Frazz – Maybe “Will that be one or two scoops?” will replace “Want fries with that?” as the punchline to all those “What do X majors say after graduation?” jokes.

    (DT)GT – “I’m signing my letter of intent, but I’m hiding behind your door, so you don’t know who I am.” And I’ve never met a HS coach whose office was 1/4 the size of Gil’s.

31. tefflan
    June 13th, 2006 at 9:17 am [Reply]

    “And Kelly just pokes me and says, ‘Don’t you know? Travel is broadening.’ And then I poke her back, and say, ‘Kelly, sign me up. Any way I can get to be more like a broad is cool with me.’ Do you get it, Gil? More like a broad, get it? God damn, boy, can’t you stay awake over there when I’m talking to ya?

32. LTC
    June 13th, 2006 at 9:59 am [Reply]

    Papa, is it all right if I name the dog, “Mark Trail’s In Your Face Nobility”?

33. tefflan
    June 13th, 2006 at 10:11 am [Reply]

    I can’t get over the fact that the dog in Mark Trail is the only character that looks alert. The rest of them, Rusty-Tony included, looks like they just shebanged an eight ball of brown sugar.

34. Pozzo
    June 13th, 2006 at 10:40 am [Reply]

    So Beetle Bailey can acknowledge the illegal immigrant debate, but not the current (or, indeed, any) actaul WAR?!? What’s up with that?

    http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/beetlebailey.asp?date=20060612

35. Pelagius
    June 13th, 2006 at 11:00 am [Reply]

    Hey, great, a free trip to PHOENIX! Was second prize a week in Delaware?

36. MaryAnnTheRest
    June 13th, 2006 at 11:20 am [Reply]

    MW: Kelly and Lou are just teasing me by holding knives. I’m really beginning to think that one of them will kill the other. It’s the only way to redeem this storyline.

37. BassoGap
    June 13th, 2006 at 11:52 am [Reply]

    Pelagius (#35) — first prize was a week in Phoenix…second prize was two weeks

38. Hysterical Woman
    June 13th, 2006 at 12:35 pm [Reply]

    One of the things on the To Do list is “Knock bird’s nest out of trees”. That sounds rather evil, doesn’t it? They’re insane fear of birds doesn’t stop them from eating chicken soup, as the man’s shirt attests.

    They’re probably also going to take tons of antibotics, despite the fact that the bird flu is a virus, ruining the antibotics for the rest of us. Stupid people.

39. Ketil Flatnose
    June 13th, 2006 at 2:00 pm [Reply]

    For Dinette Set, it does help to have numerous relatives that dress and act that way. I have always “gotten” it because it hits far too close to home and am suddenly presented with a dilemma: “How do you feel now, Mr. Ironic Gen-X that someones dishing it out to your family?” My aunt had that hair and those glasses. The entire strip is heavily encoded for me.
    If I were Roland Barthes I could make a po-mo masterpiece about this. Then again, if I were Roland Barthes I’d be dead and not a low-level bureaucrat looking at Josh’s blog during work.

40. Dub Not Dubya
    June 14th, 2006 at 1:06 am [Reply]

    I’m pretty sure Jack Elrod figured out that the only people paying any attention to Mark Trail are those of us who read it to mock it. And so he deliberately did that Rusty-Tony thing as a shout-out to us, knowing that there was no risk of non-snarky readers being confused by it. It may also have been his way of checking if his editor (Bill Ellis, of course) was paying any attention, and sure enough he wasn’t. That Jack Elrod is a smart guy, I’m telling you.

41. Mauricem
    June 14th, 2006 at 10:54 pm [Reply]

    I’m new to “Gil Thorp”, but is that a guy or a girl? The body and face looks like a guy, but the hair and the earring? What are they trying to say?!
    Ah Mark Trail. Will you ever win?

42. Laura Brown
    September 9th, 2006 at 3:35 pm [Reply]

    Josh,

    Word to the wise — you might want to be careful about mocking Dinette Set:

    http://blatherboutburl.blogspot.com/2006/08/long-days-journey-into-night.html

    (See the first comment.)

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