Comment of the Week

I love that Uncle Herman's gravestone just says 'HERM,' entirely misunderstanding the purpose of memorials. Meanwhile, on the floor of a bowling alley, next to a gutter where no one can see it, there's a lovingly crafted plaque dedicated to 'Herman Nightjar Fishhawk, bowler, drinker, friend. He always bought the next round, and he loved conspiracy theories so much he married one.' I have to infer a few things about Herm's life, but that sounds about right.

Victor Von

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Family Circus, 7/19/26

Dolly, thou shalt not mock this sign of God’s displeasure, neither by crude sophistry nor by mooning His works.

Slylock Fox (panel), 7/19/26

“Is Reeky lying” isn’t much of a mystery: he obviously never cleans house, just look at the place. Also, he’s Reeky Rat, for Pete’s sake—”lying” tops his to-do list next to “squalor” and “pointless low-stakes crimes.”

But consider the original offense. What makes this note a “horrible” hate crime? Speciesism would be my first guess. With so many species around—seven or eight in this panel alone—some friction seems inevitable. But rat‑on‑rabbit speciesism seems backwards here: after all, it’s Rachel who’s canonically the snooty, upwardly mobile one. Class hatred seems more plausible, since Reeky clearly has none and maybe covets it? But on closer examination, it’s not Rachel but her kit who is the injured party here. So maybe the note is just a crude “Yo Mama” joke calling out Rachel’s embarrassingly prolific sexual behavior?

Mary Worth, 7/19/26

I know you share my disappointment that we won’t be seeing Tommy spiral hilariously back into the pit of drug-addicted despair. But we can take solace in recapping one of Wilbur’s many humiliations, can’t we? Looks like Mary’s on board!


—Uncle Lumpy

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Blondie, 7/18/26

Blondie likes to make extremely on-the-nose jokes about obscure holidays. But they usually show up on the day itself, and National Ice Cream Day falls on a Sunday, of course. Maybe part of the joke is that Dagwood just can’t wait? I mean, look at the way he’s eyeing his wife’s dessert before he’s even finished his own.

Between Friends, 7/18/26

Big news in Between Friends: Maeve is getting married! Again! To her cheating, lying, emotionally manipulative, marginally employed snake of an ex-husband! If second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience, second marriage to this guy is how experience gets its revenge.

Heathcliff, 7/18/26

By car, scooter, elephant, cannon, or [squints] fish-guided bubblegum balloon—a cat’s gotta travel. Bro, man. Bro indeed.

Luann, 7/18/26

After months of agonizing “trying,” Toni Daytona-DeGroot is at last pregnant. “Thank God,” she exclaims, “I can finally stop having sex with Brad.”


Hey there! I’m filling in for Josh through Sunday the 26th. Reach me at uncle.lumpy@comcast.net if you have any trouble with the site, your subscription, emails, or Patreon. Enjoy!

—Uncle Lumpy

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Yeah that’s right, it’s my birthday today, I’m [mumblety mumble] years old, and I’ve received this greatest gift of all: A comment of the week:

“I love that Uncle Herman’s gravestone just says ‘HERM,’ entirely misunderstanding the purpose of memorials. Meanwhile, on the floor of a bowling alley, next to a gutter where no one can see it, there’s a lovingly crafted plaque dedicated to ‘Herman Nightjar Fishhawk, bowler, drinker, friend. He always bought the next round, and he loved conspiracy theories so much he married one.’ I have to infer a few things about Herm’s life, but that sounds about right.” –Victor Von

The runners up are also hilarious and each is a precious present to me!

“‘Maybe Mary can offer some advice’???? Maybe? Mary? Advice? Maybe the sun will rise in the East! Maybe gravity will keep us from being flung off into space!” –Trespassers W, on Patreon

“Tommy in his sober rage bursts into the Weston apartment. Points at Wilbur and Dawn and yells, ‘One of you owes me a hundred dollars!’” –Hibbleton

“Don’t stay in school! College is expensive and the college premium is declining. In addition, if more doctors were trained, the end of the artificial scarcity would end the astronomical profits of healthcare in the USA. This is why Rex Morgan, M.D. is promoting non-college paths to employment, like being a mechanic for vintage cars or artisanal fraud!” –Ettorre

“Apparently men in the Hagarverse have chest hair but no navels or nipples. I don’t want to think about what that means theologically or biologically.” –matt w

“If your familiar with ancient Greek Herm statues, you know why the lower portion of the grave isn’t shown in today’s Shoe.” –nescio

“Nice art in Shoe today. That is EXACTLY the expression a boss would have when their employee drags them to visit the grave of their not-even-beloved uncle.” –Nevin, on Patreon

“‘You’re too late,’ Rusty said in a low growl. ‘Procyon rises, and so do my friends. The stars are right, and I have made the proper sacrifices and propitiations. Unlike you, I have studied the forbidden merit badges: Summoning and Control, Animal Friendship, and Citizenship in the Occult World. There will be no more Eagle Scouts, and I rise as the first Raccoon Scout! Destroy them, my friends!’” –Voshkod

“Just want to point out that ‘The Python is free … and in our debt … and in our service…’ is both the best and worst thing you could say at a urinal.” –Joe Blevins

“Insane to think about Greg Walker passively absorbing the trope of aliens saying ‘take me to your leader’ throughout his life, and just assuming, without ever really interrogating it, they mean for cloning, so they can have a leader too. Then putting it in the newspaper like literally anyone else was thinking the same thing! We all know that scene where aliens ask to clone your leader right? No! What are you talking about?!” –Dan

“In the first panel, the dog is sexually propositioning the woman. In the second, he’s sexually propositioning the bird.” –TheDiva

“Rene dismisses the Devilment Twins as idiots, but tell me again why he’s in prison? Attempted battery in front of lots of witnesses, followed by his ignominious rescue by his would be victim?” –Rita Lake

“Based on the giant suits, are we sure ‘Dun Dun da Dun’ is ‘The Wedding March’ and not the beginning of the opening riff from the live version of ‘Psycho Killer?’” –Where’s Rocky?

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