Should be Elviney and Elvoutey in my opinion
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Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 1/11/23
Look, I get it, if you were in charge of a century-old comics property about hillbillies, you’d have the urge to add new stuff occasionally, which is why we get things like Spark Plug’s Grandson Li’l Sparky. But I refuse to believe that I’ve been reading strips about the tiny, insular hamlet of Hootin’ Holler for more than a decade at this point and this is the first I’ve heard about one of the main characters having a twin sister! Yeah, they have been playing tricks, Loweezy … playing tricks on me, the reader, by pretending they’ve both been living in this town all along! And I don’t appreciate it.
Mary Worth, 1/11/23
“Iris. You know, my friend, Iris? The one who got married here today? Looks like it’s time to ship you off to that facility I’ve already picked out; fortunately I tricked you into signing that power of attorney form a few months back.”
Six Chix, 1/11/23
The thing about puns is that the worse they are, the better they are, making them completely immune to criticism, and the thing about having a syndicated newspaper strip is that if you think of a bad pun, you can draw a cartoon of it and get paid. I’mnot saying I like today’s Six Chix, but I do have to respect it.
204 replies to “Should be Elviney and Elvoutey in my opinion”
Dustin: I’m laughing. The strip isn’t particularly funny. Why am I laughing? Is it schadenfreude? No. Is it irony? No. Is it the caller’s massive disrespect slapping Helen right in her face much like her breasts do when she jogs without a sports bra? Yes, that feels right.
Gasoline Alley: The creepy doll, in addition to being creepy in general, is beginning to rival Neddy Driver’s self entitlement.
Mary Worth Mashup: Let’s mix it up a little.
Love the attention to detail on this Mary Worth, with Zak’s less attractive relative in the background. Brother? Cousin? Either way he’s definitely hitting it off with Unfortunate Bangs there, good work Lesser Zak.
GT: Scottsdale, Arizona? Isn’t that where the Keanes live? Mrs. LGC Thorp better watch out for feral melonheads lurking in the bushes.
SFx: Sometimes the background details are more interesting than the cartoon itself. I didn’t know that Batman was friends with Scooby Doo and Shaggy!
Today’s mystery (which, unfortunately, doesn’t have any solution in upside-down print): why are the rest of the Scooby gang not in the picture? Did Velma and Daphne refuse to cooperate with male chauvinist Batman? Was Fred too preppy? Inquiring minds want to know!
Phantom: Whoa, that was definitely not in Mozz’s prophesy! Has Guran been reading the forbidden book? Or was it Diana who decided to take action and send reinforcements?
Phantom: That’s an impressive show of force! Next strip: a few prison guards are taken out by arrows before they bring up their machine guns and mow down the entire Bandar army in true colonialist fashion.
RMMD: June seems to want to have her cake and eat it, too. In one breath she refers the patient to his primary caregiver, in the next she blatantly tries to steal him away. Of course, it’s all in character: she’d like the income from a new patient, but she’d still prefer someone else to do the work.
At least the one Chik who can draw was the one to publish this groaner. If it had been any of the others it would be a crime against humor.
Snuffy Smith : at first I thought this strip was finally acknowledging Elviney (Loweezy’s gossipy friend) and Mz Prunelly (the schoolteacher) look incredibly alike and are hard to tell apart, but no, it’s a wholly new character.
That makes THREE identical bespectacled bumpkin women running around, and that’s heading towards the tipping point for the explanation being “clones, govt experiment” rather than “extreme consanguinity”.
********
Frazz : Alternate Punchline : “Actually, Mrs Olsen and I were talking about how much of an unlikeable little jerk you are. We do it ALL the time whenever you’re not around.”
Alternate Punchline, single panel comic : “That’s none of your business! Sheesh, I have the right to talk to whoever I want to, even if YOU don’t personally like them!”********
Mary Worth : you know, if the randomly bolded word had been NOW instead of happy, this would be nice foreshadowing that Mary is jinxing it… And for all we know, it could turn sour as soon as the honeymoon starts (Iris would not enjoy playing peek-a-boo instead of sexitimes, no matter how (near?)menopausal she is).
********
Slylock Fox : Extra Difference : in the image on the left, those are actors Robert Pattinson and Alan Napier. In the image on the right, that’s Adam West and Michael Gough.
JP: After being married to Abbey for such a long time, Sam ought to have learned Rule #1: In Her presence, you damn well don’t speak until you’re spoken to.
Dustin: Instant karma for Helen! But she nearly gave herself away in the third panel – how could she know that the matchup isn’t going anywhere if she isn’t the chick in question. Anyway, I guess Helen is eternally grateful that her radio station doesn’t publish staff photos on their web site or anything like that.
Dustin: Another remarkable coincidence: I was posting only yesterday about how Helen always seems to be the straight woman and not the butt of the joke. Well, turns out I was wrong!
FC: In retrospect, hopping up and down under the ceiling fan wasn’t such a good idea.
DtM: When Joey falls off and after some quick mental math, Dennis concludes that the kinetic coefficient of friction is independent of weight on the sled. He keeps kicking heavier and heavier kids off the sled to test his hypothesis. The comics community is divided over whether menace in the name of science is justified.
Crock: This is a remarkable feat: someone serves you with the perfect setup for a scathing putdown, and you manage to botch it with a complete non-sequitur.
Hint to the writer, in case I need to spell it out: The Titanic didn’t collide with an iceberg because the captain was bad at swimming.
BB: We laugh at Zero, but we should feel very pleased that he’s found his place in society and his very own area of expertise. If the Army ever creates a special personnel category for pencil sharpening staff, Zero will be the stellar example for his colleagues to look up to, an ideal for the Army to put on a pedestal and revere for all future.
That’s not too bad for a country yokel everybody thought was too dumb to be a soldier, isn’t it?
GT: “You must be my…” – good thing she stopped you, Mimi. We don’t say that word any more.
Pluggers: Bah! Real pluggers don’t take photos with their cellphones, because their phones are too old to have cameras. Real pluggers take screenshots with their old Instamatic cameras (and then despair because they can’t find anywhere to develop the film).
@Baja Gaijin:Yeah, I hate everyone involved in Dustin, but it’s nice when the strip gives the chance to hate them all equally.
Frazz: Come to think of it, how come the school administration tolerates the janitor badmouthing the teaching staff to the students? Isn’t that undermining their authority?
Elviney and Elvessie aren’t really twins – it’s just that when your genepool is as small as Hootin Holler’s, there’s about 30% chance that any two people will be genetically identical just by pure chance.
MW: As the couples glide past each other on the dance floor, Mary whispers in Iris’ ear; “All glory is fleeting, Dear.” Dr. Jeff whispers in Zak’s ear; “You gotta squeeze that fruit while it’s still juicy, Bro.” Iris and Zak share the same thought; “Christ, what an jackass.”
Dustin: Wow, they just keeping going on and on and on with what would have been a one-day throwaway in Arlo and Janis or Sally Forth:
Arlo/Ted (looking at yearbook): “You know, I was a pretty good pole vaulter in high school. Maybe I’ll take it up again.”
(Janis/Sally ostentatiously starts typing on smartphone)
Arlo/Ted: “What are you doing?”
Janis/Sally: “Updating my Match.com profile so I’m ready for young widowhood.”
BG&SS: I’m less interested in twin sisters than I am with the idea of Loweezy switching lives with an unfortunate Wall Street broker. Would Hootin’ Holler be better or worse with Dan Aykroyd? I’d wager a buck to find out.
9CL: Is Juliette’s lover doing something amusing? You’ll have to imagine for yourself, because for some reason Brooke just cannot draw his non-female characters performing physical actions within the panel frames.
JP: Remember how Abbey divorced Sam mostly off-page because of how infuriated she was about Sam
not trusting her integritymaking a risky deal with Mayor Stewart? Well, at some off-page point it looks like she came to terms with the fact that he was trying to do right by her. Character principles: easy come, easy go.Frazz: Nothing says humble wisdom like mocking a 55-year-old woman behind her back for not wanting to go on a long run in the middle of a blizzard to one of her young students.
@gardenornament: #6: I’m also getting some Battle of Omdurman vibes from this, where the outnumbered British Army, armed with their new-fangled magazine fed Lee-Enfield rifles mowed the charging Sudanese Dervishes down like corn. It also reminds me of a “Blackadder” episode where Baldrick asks Edmund how the British managed to conquer most of Africa and the answer was basically we had guns and they didn’t.
Jeff: *Hoping that, this being a wedding, Mary is thinking about committing to their relationship after all these years*
Mary: *Thinking that, despite this marriage, Iris’ life sure does suck*
@Baja Gaijin: “Is it the caller’s massive disrespect slapping Helen right in her face”
I wrote above that Helen must be grateful that her radio station hasn’t published portraits of their hosts on their website, but now that I think of it, wouldnt’ it make the punchline even more poignant if they had, and Enrique’s wife was deliberately calling in to age-shame her husband’s new online flirt?
MW: Wait, has Zak had a bald upper lip all this time? He’s going for the Grubby Lincoln look. I just realized this is why I’ve never liked him. It’s not his lame personality, after all! I owe him an apology, but unfortunately I’m not fluent in baby talk.
@Baja Gaijin: The third one almost made me cough coffee through my nose. HILARIOUS!!
BGSS: Um, Elviney is just returning home after she and Elvessie traded husbands last night. Yes, they do “mess wif folk”.
JP: In P2, Sam instinctively reaches for Abbey’s breast but then thinks better of it. Does some mental math in his head; “Delay to make up sex inversely proportional to my general jackassery.”
BGSS: What’s funny about this strip is Loweezy’s face in that last panel: I’m sure they meant to make it an expression of confused shock, but somehow it says to me “ Oh god, this is so hot…! How did I not know this about myself?”
MW: “…I give it two, three months top….”
6Cx: “…but his servings are a little too generous. Like, can I drink my own bodyweight in beer? Should I?”
MW – have Tommy and Zak ever actually met? I feel like the whole “I’m your age, except professionally I’m wildly successful, and romantically, I’m doing your mom” conversation would be kind of awkward.
“But she seems really happy now, and it’s a nice thing to see! In this cold and uncaring world we inhabit, pleasure is fleeting, and oft contingent on happenstance… To think, if Wilbur hadn’t met Fabiana… But he did, and so Iris and Zak are together, and I take comfort in knowing that, whatever travails lie ahead, however dismal their future, they will always have this moment of joy to look back on!”
6Cx: Shouldn’t that “brew”bird of hoppiness…or are you saving that for another strip?
@gardenornament: If this got reported to school management, there would absolutely be consequences. Even a fellow teacher would be reprimanded for doing something like this. Coming from unskilled labor like a janitor? His job would be on the line. It’s egregiously unprofessional on top of being just a scummy thing to do.
But then again, Frazz is our unassuming protagonist, the modest philosopher who sees more clearly than other high-minded adults, so he must be right! That fat old bitch should be out running in the snow and isn’t worthy of basic human decency otherwise!
RMMD: June would probably have a better chance to get this guy in her clinic if she bothered to learn his name —that, and not playing Tetris on her phone while he’s talking to her.
@Baja Gaijin: “slapping Helen right in her face much like her breasts do when she jogs without a sports bra?”
I think there’s a reason why the artist always draws Helen standing still or sitting down, and never running or even walking. And I don’t think the reason is that he can’t draw people on the move.
@Anonymous: “MW – have Tommy and Zak ever actually met? I feel like the whole “I’m your age, except professionally I’m wildly successful, and romantically, I’m doing your mom” conversation would be kind of awkward”
Imagine Zak and Tommy meeting socially, without them realizing who they were talking to. After some talk about their respective girlfriends, it suddenly dawns on Tommy. “Hey, that’s my mother you’re talking about!”
MW: “What are you THINKING OF, Mary?”
“I’m recalling a favorite quote from Stephanie Coontz, who said, ‘There is no going back to a time when most women will feel compelled to enter or stay in a bad marriage just for economic security or social respectability. So today, the best way to get women once more interested in getting married and having children is for men to accept women’s new insistence on equality. This is, I think, why educated women in America, are now more pro-marriage and more disapproving of divorce than other groups of women who have less experience with egalitarian partners or less clout in getting their needs met in relationships.’ That, and I’m trying to remember if I turned off my oven before I left.”
@Baja Gaijin:
Dustin: I’m laughing. The strip isn’t particularly funny. Why am I laughing? Is it schadenfreude? No. Is it irony? No. Is it the caller’s massive disrespect slapping Helen right in her face much like her breasts do when she jogs without a sports bra? Yes, that feels right.
This is a rare case where the cartoonist has accidentally not made a DustinParent the self-righteous hero, but instead the butt of the jokes like they should be. Let’s hope DustinDad goes through with his pole vaulting midlife crisis and ends up in the hospital, where his lame complaints about hospital food inspired otherwise caring nurses to pull pranks on him during his convalescence.
H&L:
Answer: Trixie shows the glasses to Mr Sunbeam. The magnifying effect puts the rug on fire. A hungover Thurston vomits on the carpet putting the fire out. Dawg comes over and cleans up the vomit.
Question: Can you give me some H&L bland-news bland-news jokes?
@36 gardenornament: You can get an idea from the ZitsMom “Zumba” strip from years ago. I’m not linking to it though I’m sure someone else will.
@39 Philip: I can see it now: [sotto voce] “We’ve secretly replaced Ed’s IV drip’s Toradol with the charge nurse’s urine…”
@Guillermo el chiclero: Considering that the Rhodian guards are villains doomed to lose, and the Bandar have plot armour since they’re on the Phantom’s side, we can always hope for a better outcome here. But I still don’t understand what the Bandar were thinking when they are marching on Gravelines armed with bows and arrows.
The Bandars may reject western clothing for comfort in the sweltering jungle, and modern technology (except Mozz’s glasses) for Reasons, but they still certainly know about firearms – if nothing else, the Phantom must have demonstrated his deadly prowess on many occasions. So what were they thinking?
(repeat from yesterthread)
Phantom: “Is that everyone?” “What, you wanted more?”
I see that Old Man Mozz picked up the Disney+ Bundle and is now bingewatching the MCU.
@Baja Gaijin: “You can get an idea from the ZitsMom “Zumba” strip from years ago. I’m not linking to it though I’m sure someone else will.”
Links won’t be necessary. That strip was a sight that unfortunately can’t be unseen. And Connie from Zits is many cup sizes smaller than Helen.
Snuffy – You know what? If newspaper comics are in their last years, why not pivot around and have some fun? Let’s have Barney Good and Snuffy Smith turn into a soap opera with the evil twin storylines, Snuffy’s law breaking having real consequences, and a corrupt government agent of the Newnited States coming in to try to enforce the will of the Metropole onto the rebellious province
Mary Worth – This strip has no doubt modernized from its old-fashioned Puritanical values of its 1930s origins, where Mary was the enforcer of the norms of WASPy morality and lifestyle, but Mary does get horny for finally locking someone down in traditional marriage, so Dr. Jeff is getting something a little special tonight. This inane bragging about the success of her meddling is merely the foreplay.
Six Chix – Credit to Susan Camilleri Konar for creating today’s pun. Like Josh said, it’s worthy of respect, and would actually be a decent name for a craft brew, and maybe should be since a cursory search doesn’t show it existing yet.
@gardenornament, Phantom: I suspect that the Bandars are such great shots, they don’t need no stinking plot armor.
If someone was to send a drone with a nuke to Bandar Country, one of their warriors would shoot and kill the drone operator, who is hundreds of miles away in a deep bunker, before the drone gets launched.
It’s what they do.
MW: “Rocky past with Wilbur?” Do you mean when she very sensibly ignored your advice and refused to take back that rough diamond work in progress?
SF: If a friend showed me a picture from the future that she got from a giant tree man, my primary focus would be moving away and changing my phone number.
Luann: The comments section is apoplectic with rage over the whole subject of romance novels, i. e. “pørnøgråphy,” while totally ignoring the cool fridge magnets.
Iris’s first marriage and divorce/widowhood does not even deserve a mention: Tommy was born through parthenogenesis, Wilbur is the worst man Iris had, etc. Was she married to Nikolai Yezhov?
MW: Iris and Zak’s wedding guests continue to dance and sway to the champagne music of Lawrence Welk as they comment dreamily on the happy couple’s happiness. Back at Charterstone, however, a different scene is unfolding as Carlos Alora single-handedly battles a blaze that has erupted from Mary’s condo. His first efforts to contain the fire have proven futile, and the inferno quickly spreads through the structure and breaks through the roof. Black smoke billows from Charterstone, and Carlos, holding his gardening hose and a watering can, stares helplessly at the fire spreads from one condo to another. Suddenly, Carlos spies the animal residents at the windows, their mouths opening in pitiable meows and whines as the flames relentlessly close in. Carlos desperately wonders where the fire trucks could be. Without the help of the fire department, he knows he must act, and struggles to position the dreaded extension ladder against the adobe walls. The heat of the flames is as intense as Carlos’ fear of heights, but he knows the pets must be saved, and resolutely, he begins to climb, hoping against hope that he can reach the animals in time. “Sid, Agent to the Animal Stars! isn’t going to like to hear about THIS…!” Carlos grimly mutters as he starts up the metal rungs.
Meanwhile, the DJ has started to play favorites from the Percy Faith Orchestra, and the guests smile benignantly as they continue to muse on the happiness of the happy couple.
@gardenornament re: Phantom: If that book Mozz left with Diana included the part about how Ghost-Who-Rebounds hooks up with Savarna and has twins with her after she leaves him, you best believe she sent an army. To save him or take her out? We shall see.
@Hibbleton: Yeah, those fridge magnets are great. Luann’s sex phobia, not so much. (And as someone pointed out yesterday, in a comic with better characterization, it would be a big deal that Bernice rejected a real sexual relationship in favour of diddling herself while reading mild smut.)
@Hibbleton: I’m proctoring tests today, or I would have already mined the comments for hilarity. Please share some of the best (by which I mean “most fucked up.”)
9CL- Yesterday, I was under the assumption that Eliot wants her to sing the hokey-pokey while he watches. This made a sliver of sense. Today, it is clear that he wanted her to explain the process of procreation in a technical and textbook fashion to him, while he leaps around the room singing the hokey pokey, making not even a sliver of sense. How many more hokey-pokey themed strips will it take before we get something else? Maybe Amos and Edda could be at the lake, and Amos is staring at Edda and then comments on how beautiful she is? Something different like that?
Luann: I’ve been speculating about whether Luann is asexual, but the way she’s rolling her eyes when saying “sex” as if sex was the most boring subject imaginable, speak more of arrested development. She’s like a pre-teen in a 19-year-old body. Which, of course, explains a lot about her general behaviour.
Well. Crap. Zak only has stubble on his chin. It’s one thing to have Iris look like Nan, it’s a whole other horror if he turns into a second Ian.
Really let down that nobody in this Snuffy Smith shouts, “th’prissteej!”
Sally Forth-Try as hard as you might you are not going to restart ‘Apartment 3G’. You’ve already ruined ‘Judge Parker’.
JP-“I’m still talking…” When aren’t you talking.
MW-Mary is thinking of how to make this day about her.
RMMD-“Here’s my bill.”
FC-“So that’s the warm wetness I feel on the back of my neck.”
Luann: This story arc has been a bit of a surprise in that it’s actually quite sex-positive. OK, touching yourself while reading steamy romance novels is a very safe and un-threatening form of sex, but it’s still a bit of a change to see Nancy’s and Bernice’s affirming their sexuality as something positive, while Luann’s revulsion is portrayed as childish and petulant. That’s always something.
BGSS: Elvessie and Elviney’s production of The Pauper and The Pauper win all the major awards in Hootin’ Holler: The Golden Cowpat and a chicken.
6C: This would have been perfect if the bartender were a parakeet or other bird known for its hopping gait.
@Rube: Luann: “Yeah, those fridge magnets are great. ”
OK, the Snoopy one is easy to make out, but is the second one Billy Keane? And what’s the third one?
Phantom: Phantom: “Did any of them happen to…[takes out cell phone]…bring a charger?”
MW: Dr Jeff: [dancing at wedding] “Mary, what are you thinking?”
Mary: [starts talking about Iris]
Dr. Jeff: [breaths quiet sigh of relief]
GT: The laser pointer has moved on to another section of the floor I see.
Frazz: Hey, Calvin’s Cardboard Box, here’s another smug person whose teeth you can kick in!
Luann: The funniest thing about this strip is the Evans acknowledging some better strips that exist. That and the reminder that Luann thinks she’s a writer.
CS: This can only escalate to Crankshaft lighting the bus on fire.
@gardenornament: The third one is Pig from Pearls before Swine.
CS: Ed seems to have confused a leaf blower with a vacuum cleaner. Just about on par for him, of course.
@gardenornament, Luann: Pig from Pearls Before Swine.
S4th:> Hil is going to be Jennifer Coolidge?
Dustin: “His next match, Estelle, was only marginally better.”
FC: PJ is suffering from hypoxia, poor guy. At least he’s going to enjoy his nickname of Barfy Too from here on out.
MW: I don’t mean to tell professional cartoonists how to do their job professionally, but this strip would have been vastly improved with a empty thought bubble instead of whatever crap Mary utters.
@Baja Gaijin: I like the Six Chix panel, and the implied proportions for her right arm seem appropriate for that strip.
Luann: The sexual novel revolution continues as Luann says what many of the commentors have been thinking.. for some reason. Seriously it’s weird to go into go comics comments because most of the newer strips have an audience that acts and thinks like their of this century regardless of age.. but judging from what comments were harvested here and what i’ve seen some of the Luann fanbase is just weirdly sex negative.
Marty Worth: .. okay this isn’t really commentary i’m just confused why she and Jeff aren’t married. I mean we know it’s because it allows her to have more power over him and because if she saw his penis she’d turn to stone. But strip wise there’s no reason for it. Or maybe it has happened and i’m just not there yet in the archives. But if they aren’t it’s VERY weird that Iris and plank of driftwood Mary wished into a real boy so Iris woudln’t be alone, would get married before her.
Breaking Cat News: Sophie.. my poor baby looks so traumatized.
Zits: Jeremey looking forlorn as he hugs the van is genuinely heartbreaking. Connie being mad he’s never hugged her like that… is just weird. “My son dosen’t hug me like his van!” Hilaroius but very weird.
On The Fastrack: I’m calling it, Dethany’s sister is going to start dating the Limo Driver. He’s getting far too much focus for a one and done character.
Snuffy Smith: I’m semi-ashamed to admit this actually got a sensible chuckle out of me.
Mary Worth: Methinks Mary is getting tired of waiting for drama to naturally erupt on its own at this wedding and is now gently setting the stage to instigate it herself.
Six Chix: I see this strip has a bit of Shoe envy today.
@taig: thanks for thinking of me, but Colbert is next. “Comedians” who punch down should get punched down upon.
MW —
Mary
I’m with Mary
And my ardor for her I can never speak
Cause she’s thinking ’bout her neighbor who’s a freak
When we’re out together dancing cheek to cheek.
Doctor
I’m a doctor
And the ladies I could have if I would seek
But Mary’s meddling powers make me weak
So we’re out together dancing cheek to cheek.
DT: Yesterday, I assumed “I sent him to Panama City” was something like “I sent him to a little farm upstate where he can romp and play all day,” but it looks like we’re going to see this guy murdered in cold blood. Probably on the early morning beach.
Also, PANAMA CITY? “What’s your pleasure destination, Paul? Tahoe? Paris? Vegas?” “Nah — I’m craving a trip to the Redneck Riviera. Get a tan and some chicken-fried steak.”
GT – The golf coach who just met Mrs. T is recommending which club to use, even though she doesn’t know her distances? I’m not buying it. Usually this strip is dead-on when it comes to depicting spor…A-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!
“What are you thinking of, Mary?”
****
“That great line from the Beatles song Good Morning: ‘I’ve got muffins to tray/But it’s okay/Good morning, good morning, good morning/Ah’ !”
Six chix: My biggest curiousity is how massively huge that bar is. That’s a human-sized bar. So why is this bar run by birds to serve birds?
Is this another Slylock moment where animals overthrew (killing) most of humanity, and these birds come to their newly acquisitioned hangout to drink away the horrors of the slaughter they participated in?
This is grimmer than Funky Winkerbean was and that’s saying something.
@gardenornament:
“What tipped you off, the piercings or the tats?”
Zits-Jeremy is pining over a van that is older than his parents.
@Hibbleton:
@gardenornament:
I’ve noticed more overt talk of sex overall in the comics, with even Blondie showing Dagwood and Blondie horny for each other. Maybe it’s the post-COVID world where OnlyFans broke into the mainstream as more people turned to that during lockdowns, or the already horny HBO hiring a porn star (Chloe Cherry) as a regular on Euphoria based off her role in the porn parody.
Maybe newspaper comics realize that children no longer read newspapers, and most of the moralists who would complain long ago rejected the “mainstream media” for the social media algorithm that reinforces their worldview. The remaining older audience gets stories they want:
Marrying a much younger man (Mary Worth)
Healthy dialogue with the younger generation about sexual fantasies (Luann)
Older married couples having active sex lives (Arlo and Janis, Zits parents, Blondie)
If the embracing of sex goes any further Rex Morgan MD might have to have it titular character engage in almost Hallmark levels of romance with his wife!
@Baja Gaijin: (about why Dustin’s mom is never shown walking or running) “You can get an idea from the ZitsMom “Zumba” strip from years ago. I’m not linking to it though I’m sure someone else will.”
Coem to think of it, there’s one strip that doesn’t shy away from showing the way a character’s braless boobs sway when she’s walking. That strip is Snuffy Smith, and I guess the reason is that nobody in their right mind would consider Loweezy Smiff a sex object.
@Jacob Mattingly: “Luann: The sexual novel revolution continues as Luann says what many of the commentors have been thinking.. for some reason. Seriously it’s weird to go into go comics comments because most of the newer strips have an audience that acts and thinks like their of this century regardless of age.. but judging from what comments were harvested here and what i’ve seen some of the Luann fanbase is just weirdly sex negative.”
On a cruise ship last week, went to a comedy act that was specifically billed as “late night, adults only”. Five minutes in, a couple bolted as soon as the first sex-oriented jokes came up. I think there are way more sex-negative people in the general population that we generally suppose, and that Luann is a strip that they love.
“What are you thinking of, Mary?”
****
“Joyce Kilmer.”
****
“Joyce Kilmer?!?”
****
“I think that I shall never see
A gnome as ugly as Beedie.
Beedie, whose hungry spouse is messed
Against that creature’s growing stress.
Beedie, who looks like sod all day
And lifts her greasy arms to stay.
Beedie, who may in summer bear
A messed-up throbbin’ in her hair.
Upon whose choosin’, woe has lain
Who intimately lives with bane.
Poems are made by tools like me
But only clods can take Beedie.”
Dustin:
Me, A few days ago: Wow, Helen is a b**** for cheating on Ed solely out of spite.
Me today: I suddenly remembered that Ed is a pretentious douchebag who treats his son, and presumably other family members like crap… go for it girlfriend! Divorce his fat ass!
BGSS: I wouldn’t have picked Christopher Nolan to direct the Barney Google and Snuffy Smith movie, but I’ll give it a shot.
MW: Have we really seen the effects of Iris’ “challenging health issues” apart from some comments about her “wonky thyroid”? She hasn’t been really limited physically and even summoned up the strength to rescue Zak from Piccaddee and Idiot Selfie Takers’ Falls. Her health problems are as nominal as her happiness, or Mary’s friendship.
Tomorrow, on Six Chix, we greet the Stoat of Stouts, followed by the Otter of Porter, the Heifer of Hefeweizen, the Eel of Ale, and finally the Pelican of Powerlessness over Alcohol and the Dove of Acceptance of a Higher Power.
@TheDiva: “MW: Have we really seen the effects of Iris’ “challenging health issues” apart from some comments about her “wonky thyroid”?”
The story where her thyroid problems were introduced had her experiencing some symtoms, but if I recall correctly they weren’t that serious – some weight gain and lack of energy, that kind of stuff. Iris – as well as the audience – was led to believe that it was the onset of menopause, and Iris paused her relationship with Zak because she felt she wasn’t feeling good enough or something (I read that as mostly confidence issues, but it could just have been lack of stamina).
And then she was diagnosed with thyroid problems and prescribed medication and her symptoms went away.
9CL: Damn, even the onanistic tangents are off the rails at this point.
Dustin: Oh, you want to talk about fidelity, Lola? You went off and married Rico–or “Enrique,” as he’s calling himself now, possibly after turning state’s evidence–despite the fact he shot your beloved Tony right in front of you! You’re supposed to be drowning your sorrows in your old showgirl costume, like Barry Manilow promised!
GT: “Sorry, it’s just that I thought the country club still had certain rules in place…”
JP: “You’re half right; I tuned out five minutes ago. Say, you want to order Chinese tonight?”
MT: Jules Rivera simultaneously demonstrates a) why certain works, like West Side Story and Heathers, opted to create a unique slang for their characters rather than attempt to capture a rapidly-changing vernacular and b) inventing slang is a lot harder than it looks.
Phantom: “Since we all have nothing better to do than to save your useless white ass, apparently…”
Zits: that’s a fart joke, isn’t it. I think it’s a fart joke because I chuckled. I need to work on my maturity.
JP: when has Abby ever been denied her chance to speak?
Luann: I’m curious–what “s an example of Luann’s taste in literature?
Something to do today.
@TheDiva, MT/a>: Jules is avoiding the pitfalls of “FOOB” and “Roadside”, though.
@Professor Well Actually: Luann’s taste in literature has inspired her to write something called “The Horrible Haircut.” I’m guessing she’s not quite ready for the Young Adult titles.
Dr. Mrs. Rex Morgan seems to be shilling hard for their family’s clinic lately, but methinks artist Terry Beatty may be making a little extra on the side from a New Zealand pain clinic, themorganclinic.com. Neither the website nor their FB page lists hours, but I’d bet they are “9 to 5, Monday through Friday.” We will know after she assists a cashier with a dislocated thumb from sliding groceries ( “auugh!” ) and completes a trifecta of unpaid medical services in one grocery visit.
@made of wince: Depends on which hair is being cut . . . .
Luann – If this is a belated attempt to antagonize/shake off their comments section/fanbase, then I’m all for it.
MW – When Funky Winkerbean passed from this earth, Batiuk was kind enough to donate its constituent parts to the other strips. It looks like Mary Worth got ‘redundant reminders of other characters’ relationship to each other’.
If you come up with a terrible pun specifically about hops, there’s an 80% chance that’s already the name of an IPA and a 20% chance it will be in the future.
@Anonymous: It’s just some stupid hair on her head cut, rather than cutting pubies… which doesn’t seem very erotic, either.
BG&SS: At least with Elviney and Miz Prunelly you can tell the difference by one having some kind of comb stuck in her hairbun and the other a pencil.
@gardenornament: #42: Yeah, even the most backwards tribesmen in the remotest parts of the world would have little to no trouble scoring some AK-47s. They may not understand the inner workings but they’d know how to load them and what end the bullets come out of.
@Hibbleton: The weirdest part to me is that many of them are fixated on the writer’s identity, which they believe will be revealed to shock us all. I’m not enough of a Trufan to know if this kind of thing has happened in the past, but it seems like a strange point of concern. Also, based on what I have seen in the past it’s most likely this story will be dropped after this week without meaningfully resolving anything.
MW: is there anyone Zak’s age at the wedding, other than his stepson of course.
CS: you have to admire Batiuk’s persistence in pressing on with a stupd unfunny joke
No actually you don’t. .
@rrh: “If you come up with a terrible pun specifically about hops, there’s an 80% chance that’s already the name of an IPA and a 20% chance it will be in the future.”
Ah, the joy of hipster beer brands… I have some friends who are beer aficionados, and some of the beers they’ve found (usually on special order) have really weird names.
@Professor Well Actually: “MW: is there anyone Zak’s age at the wedding, other than his stepson of course.”
Dawn is of his generation, though she’s maybe five or six years younger. The next youngest guest is probably Toby, though she’s at least ten years his senior.
Here’s Uncle Lumpy’s Easy Overnight Plan for Improving Judge Parker:
Write it in three panels, up from the current two. The first two panels should advance the plot or clarify events we’ve already seen; the third should undercut them with a wisecrack, self-defeating remark, or non sequitur. Then publish only the first two panels!
BG&SS – The Double-Mint chaw girls….
MW – Is Mary a Keane observer of life? Ida Know….
6-C – This strip is the shitbird of crappyness….
Adios Amigos, DJ.
9CL: I don’t remember the exact details, but I thought Elliot was also in the biology department with Juliette. If this is the case, he should know about the reproductive behaviors of various types of flora and fauna. The same thing happened a couple of years ago, when Fleurry (a large animal vet who has presumably delivered many critters) had to consult Edda to learn how to make a baby. I joke about how the Burber women are the only ones in this universe who hold the secret to human procreation, but maybe this really is how Brooke’s world works.
contrary opinion of the day: DustinMom’s breasts aren’t unusually low her belt is unusually high
MW: Best of all possible worlds; I get it. This is the laziest updating of Candide evah. But I’m willing to stick with it for the auto-da-fe.
MW – “I’m thinking about how long it will take for Zak to suggest a three-way with Nan. I’ve got March 28th in the pool.”
Snuffy – I have a colleague named Vira (pronounced like Viral, without the L). Her twin sister is Vera (pronounced like the actual name you have heard of before). I think their mother probably could have done better.
6 Chix does in one panel what it would take Pearls three or four panels to achieve.
BGSS: Elviney’s sister appeared once before, in an episode that was similarly baffling in its failure to provide a backstory for the sister: https://joshreads.com/2018/01/if-hes-losing-a-lot-of-blood-shouldnt-he-be-like-bleeding-more/
@Old School Allie Cat: If one can posit the existence of an Elviney and Elvoutey, does that create the possibility of a Loweezy and a Highweezy, a Snuffy and a Sniffy, a Jughaid and a Jarass?
Also, as the father of triplets, we went out of our way not to be cutesy with the names (for the most part).
@Old School Allie Cat:
I sometimes see people with names such as “David Davidson”
Not sure if parents who name their kids something like that, have no imagination, were trying to be funny/cute, or both.
Dustbin – I’m looking forward to tomorrow when Artheur’s wife calls in.
I literally had to look up what an IPA was…
India Pale Ale.
It’s a type of beer so why so specific? Just call it beer. It all tastes like camel piss anyway so…
Snuffy Smith-“That’s how I slept with her husband.”
MT-Mark is thinking of Fredoing Rusty.
@The Rambling Otter: Uh, there are different kinds. Trust me on this one.
MW: If they had invited any of Zak’s friends, they would have had to hire a thrash metal band instead of the Lawrence Welk Memorial Alumni International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
Six Chex: Sid should have provided an actor bird who could do a reasonable imitation of Thursty Thurstain saying,”He’s our Papst Blue Ribbon Bird of happiness!” Just don’t get into the Reingold Bird Girl of the Month Contest. That’s “Shoe” territory.
Luann-This is why Luann is going to die a virgin.
@The Rambling Otter: “India Pale Ale.
It’s a type of beer so why so specific? Just call it beer. ”
You’re not radical enough. It’s a type of beverage so why be so specific? Just call it a beverage.
Then envision the scene when 50 customers all come into a bar and ask for “a beverage”.
MW: I’m waiting for the part where the bride and groom cut the wedding cake and feed each other a piece and Iris has to say, “Here comes the choo-choo into the tunnel! Whoo-whooo!”
@The Rambling Otter: IPAs have a lot of hop flavor, and many of the names for IPAs reference this fact. Hoplicious. Hopadelic. Tricerahops.
MW: P1: Here’s a few better responses that Mary should have given to Jeff’s question on what she was she thinking:
“I was thinking of the first time we met.”
“I was thinking of the first time we danced.”
“Weddings get me horny. Let’s go to my place and I’ll do that thing I keep promising to do on your birthday, but never get around to.”
It’s not, “I was thinking of Iris’s wonky thyroid, Tommy’s addictions, and Wilbur.”
love is… getting stoned with your parents.
Dustin: Pretty sure that “Enrique” is into erotic titty slapping and likes what he sees.
“What are you thinking of, Mary, as we slow dance romantically?”
“My friend, Iris.”
“I like where this is going…”
“What?”
“What?”
BGSS: Curses! Foiled again! I shudder to think, however, that there might be a hitherto undisclosed identical twin to Snuffy…that would be more that I can bear.
@gardenornament:
I genuinely laughed out loud at this xD (Not in any way derivative, I genuinely found my own ignorance, silly in hindsight)
Thank you :3
Six Chix rating: 5 points for original pun, -7 for execution. The scale of the bar is confusing (is it a human sized bar with bird sized taps and glasses?) and for all the elaboration in the artwork, it still doesn’t manage to hide huge swathes of empty space in the panel. And who drinks IPAs out of glasses half as tall as a (bird) person? Why not bottles? Worst of all, the dialogue, on top of not sounding very natural, needlessly complicates the joke.
Picture instead: Six chickens (get it?) sitting at the bar drinking beer. The one closest to the bartender faces him and says “Dave, you’re our blue bird of hoppiness.”
MW: When Iris tosses the bouquet is anyone taking bets on which cast member will catch it? I’m hoping it’s a drunken Wilbur, making like a linebacker and knocking all the women out of the way.
@Amelie Wikström: Wait till you see Lawton’s strip tomorrow. You’ll wonder why you ever criticized the execution in today’s strip.
RMMD – Just put her on a street corner with a sandwichboard.
MT – Rusty = ANTIFA
MW – Surprize Iris! We’re going to honeymoon in Hawaii!
@Guillermo el chiclero: She throws the bouquet in a long arc, and the ladies gather to catch it. But it doesn’t fall. It stops, slowly spinning, hanging in the air. “None of you are worthy,” Mary intones in a deep bass voice. The bouquet begins to shudder, then smolder, sending out fragrant smoke.
@The Rambling Otter: I’ve always wondered about the parents who name their infant son “Jesse James”.
I’ve seen a strange number of them in police reports.
@jroggs: Since it’s fairly unusual in the U.S. for an author to use just one initial and a surname, “D. Coverly” could well be a pseudonym. And if it is a pseudonym, it could be a pseudonym for a character who has appeared in “Luann” before.
Keep in mind that the Evanses like to bring back characters rather than creating new ones, like Ann Eiffel, who was Bernice’s boss at Borderline Books and Brad’s boss at Weenie World before becoming Les’s mother and Tiffany’s dad’s fiancee.
Since D. Coverly’s books are “filled with history,” I think the most likely candidate to be D. Coverly is Mr. Fogarty, the history teacher.
Of course, it could wind up being someone whom (a) we never see or (b) has never been in the strip before.
@Baja Gaijin: Mary Worth mash-ups – The 6Chix one gets my vote.
JP – Abbey is dredging up grudges and grievances from years ago. (Wimmen, amirite?) Next she’s going to bring up that Christmas when Sam’s mother criticized the green bean casserole she brought to dinner, and Sam didn’t defend her.
Frazz – “I’m smugly superior because I’m fanatical about exercise, plus I badmouth teachers behind their backs” isn’t confirming preconceived notions?
SxChx: I thought the bluebird was kinda cute.
@UncleJeff: Our County sheriff’s name is Jesse James Casaus.
6C – The thing about a pun in comics is how well the art supports it. The thing that makes this strip for me is the rusty markings on Dave’s shoulders. He’s not just some random blue bird, but Konar has absolutely nailed the field marks of the Eastern Bluebird. That’s going the distance in service of your pun!
@Amelie Wikström: Picture instead: Six chickens (get it?) sitting at the bar drinking beer. The one closest to the bartender faces him and says “Dave, you’re our blue bird of hoppiness.”
Not all beers are hoppy. Gotta be an IPA to satisfy some people, so it needs to be worked into the dialog. Maybe he can be known locally as IPA Dave, I dunno.
@Rube: Wait till you see Lawton strip tomorrow.
I’ve seen pictures of her with her clothes on, I have no desire to see – … wait, I think I misunderstood.
@The Rambling Otter:
“India Pale Ale.
It’s a type of beer so why so specific?”
(pushes glasses higher on nose) India Pale Ale is hoppier than most beers. The received explanation is that the British needed to make the beer last on the long voyage to and from India, and hops are an excellent preservative.
Snuff – “So, which one o’ you is th’ evil twin?”
“Oh, we’re both evil, Loweezy!!” (tongue loll)
MW – “Wait, Iris is the bride? But Mary, I was just talking to Iris and she said the bride’s name is Irene.”
Don Abundio, translated:
“You can smoke one of my cigars with me if you like!”
“Oh, good!”
“Is that a high quality cigar?
“No…”
“But it sure works well as a fumigator!”
MW – “Iris’s new hubby is hot.”
“Shut up, Jeff.”
“Remember when Dawn asked him to the prom?”
“Shut UP, Jeff!”
@Guillermo el chiclero:
I’m sure Iris says that in bed too.
9CL Is Ellliot saying that doing the hokey pokey is better than boinking Juliette? That’s kind of harsh.
@gardenornament: “Oh my God,” thinks Zak, “he looks just like Nan!”
6Chix: Now we’re talkin’!! A scene with an understandable (to most) “joke” and recognizable artwork! This was so well-executed that even Josh
likedrespected it. And it all depended on our amazing Avian talent, Brian E. Bluebird … in the role of “Dave”, Chris Canary, and Clark Cardinal. A boffo performance by all, especially the studied insouciance of “Dave”!Sure, the bar and the props look a little large for our Stars – how are they expected to drink outta those glasses? We lodged a complaint, but they started yammering about “forced graphic scale” and “inverse perspective” and other malarkey so we just let it go. They’re supposed to be the pros when it comes to presentation… Thank God it was Wednesday.
When I’m having major problems in life, the first thing I think of is calling into a radio station to talk to a woman who wears the same clothes every day, and who has a deadbeat son, and who hurls one-line insults and creates a dating profile instead of having a rational discussion with her husband.
But hey, that’s just me. It’s not like I can afford Jennifer Melfi or Robert Hartley, for crissakes.
Crank: “I’ll use a leaf blower to get rid of tiny particles in an enclosed space!” This man is entrusted with the lives of children.
GT: Drink Driving Teens! Coach Kaz’s Last Day! And now Remember How We Established Coach Mrs Coach Thorp Was a Professional Golfer! I wonder what tomorrow’s storyline will be.
Heathcliff: I don’t know why “Heathcliff has built an enormous model of himself that towers over the house” just makes me think “Yep, that’s Heathcliff”, but “Heathcliff has built an enormous model of himself with silvery shoulder pads, elbow patches and knees” has me worrying “But what does it mean?”
MW: So, June Brigman hasn’t forgotten how to draw Mary, and I’m pretty sure that, darker hair aside, that’s Gasoline-Alley-Looking-Woman behind them. The question remains, what did Gasoline-Alley-Looking-Woman do that led her to be seated with Wilbur and Nan on the Table of People Who Have To Be Invited But Iris Would Really Rather Not Acknowlege The Existence Of?
Peanuts Begins: Is this Charlotte Braun? I’d heard about her, but I don’t think I’ve seen a strip with her before.
S4th: If they’re the Golden Girls, shouldn’t an eighty-year old Sally be living with them? “Picture it. The same town we’ve always lived in, 2023…”
Is my countenance crimson… for 65+ years I had thought the name Elviney had a long “I”, until today…
@Horace Broon: Re: Heathcliff: Immediately after posting I thought “Oh, good lord, it’s a robot, isn’t it? Heathcliff has a giant Heathcliff robot, like he’s a freaking Power Ranger or something.”
@Horace Broon: Peanuts Begins: Is this Charlotte Braun? I’d heard about her, but I don’t think I’ve seen a strip with her before.
Yep, that’s her. You probably are getting why she wasn’t a beloved character.
“… two months after Schulz died, a Peanuts fan named Elizabeth Swaim informed the Library of Congress that she would be donating a letter to the library, which was revealed that she had written to Schulz in 1955, requesting him to remove Charlotte Braun from the strip. Schulz replied that he would be willing to do so but said that the person who wrote to him would be responsible for “the death of an innocent child”. Schulz concluded the letter with a picture of Charlotte Braun with an ax in her head. The letter is now in the United States Library of Congress.
@2 Baja Gaijin:
Pretty good, old bean. I guess the third one was for control purposes.
But you forgot one.
@Liam: Luann-This is why Luann is going to die a virgin.
Bernice even moreso. Remember, she’s reading romance novels as a substitute for human contact, not as an enhancement to an existing social life. And we’ve seen that she doesn’t even use them to aid in self-pleasure, but just reads them and goes straight to sleep (where even in her dreams she cockblocks herself.)
@Voshkod:
Also, as the father of triplets, we went out of our way not to be cutesy with the names (for the most part).
You had three newborns at the same time – you’re entitled to do whatever you want with the names. I gave both my dogs what I thought were reasonably distinctive names (Lola and Piper) only to have them become very common within the next few years. So, I salute you.
@The Rambling Otter:
I sometimes see people with names such as “David Davidson”
Not sure if parents who name their kids something like that, have no imagination, were trying to be funny/cute, or both.
Both. I learned early on that parents don’t really want your opinion about their kids’ names. For example, nobody laughs if you suggest calling the baby “Oops”.
I have a friend who worked for the Department of Children’s Services in her town – and she said there were names that clearly prepared the kids for a specific career. We call them “pole-ready”. Precious, Destiny, Mystic, etc.
@156 Sequitur: I didn’t forget; I got a little scared after dealing with that Six Chix nightmare. It was the last of the trio to be completed. First was Nan (only added the earring) then Weirdly, then Six Chix nighmare. What ugly artwork.
Dustin: If this caller named Lola is actually L-O-L-A Lola, then maybe Enrique is tired of the bullshit and wants a woman.
@159 Baja Gaijin:
The worse thing about the Six Chix nightmare is that it was a self portrait of the artist.
@The Rambling Otter: I sometimes see people with names such as “David Davidson”
While working in a credit department many years ago I saw accounts with names like Pinky Green and Violet Green. I assume whoever checked their credit applications made sure these weren’t just their nicknames. I should have kept a list of the names that amused me, but this was before the age of computer terminals and thumbdrives. No, Scratchy, Heywood Jablome wasn’t a customer of ours.
MW: Not explained is how Zak and Iris know all these people. Did Zak invite his entire workforce? But many of the guests look too “mature” to be working at a gaming enterprise. And we’ll probably never learn who the Mary imposter of yesterday really is. I’ll just imagine it’s Zak’s grandmother.
Luann: “Which is the hardest thing.” Hardest. Thing. Hardest thing. Nobody? Nobody? Well, it’s late in the thread now. Never mind.
MW-“Getting some of those cocktail weenies before Wilbur does.”
Rhymes with Orange – Implied cookie cannibalism?
@Charterstoned: Oh no! The Hellmouth opened again!
Call Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
@Maude R. Fawker: Wait for it.
@Maude R. Fawker: Now, at post 169, it’s too late in the thread. Unless there’s another 100 posts.
@Der Rosenkavalieren: Who’s your country treasurer?
Bernie Madoff Gilmore?
MW: “What are you thinking of, Mary?”
“Exposition. What else?”
SSmith: Miz Prunelly (sp?), Jughaid’s teacher, already looked like Elviney’s identical twin. Giving her an actual identical twin without making use of that fact is just plain wasteful, and frankly I expect better of people who can make a meal out of roadkill.
DT: So Paul actually did go to the vacation spot his boss picked out for him after he squeezed said boss for a bunch more money? Live and learn, of course, but learning doesn’t always lead to more living.
MT: If “chillax” throws him then Mark’s surprise threshold is rather lower than it is for your average boat exploder.
S4th: No one in the strip or here has pointed out that Middle Aged Hilary is going to be quite frontally equipped, so I guess it falls to me.
SFx: Either Broke Bruce Wayne has a cat or he’s crashing at Selina’s place until things turn around.
Who had Jeff Beck in the Dead Pool? Meningitis got him.
173 @Baja Gaijin:
A real shame. He was one of the great guitarists. RIP Jeff.
@Maude R. Fawker: Luann: “Which is the hardest thing.” Hardest. Thing. Hardest thing. Nobody? Nobody? Well, it’s late in the thread now. Never mind.
***
She said “Hardest!” Tee hee. You don’t suppose she meant a hard dick, do you?
@Rube: Love it! I’m sure Ted wouldn’t catch the nuance, but I think this is how it would go down in Arlo & Janis.
@Ukulele Ike:
Thrash Metal’s popularity peaked in the early 90s before grunge came in. Zak is way too young to be into Thrash. Nor does he seem to be a metal head. I’d say his and his friends band of choice would be a band covering Coldplay, Nickelback, and Maroon 5.
@Old School Allie Cat:
When I was a kid, I knew another kid, her name was Mercedes.
I want to make some sort of car pun, but I can’t push myself to do it.
@Artist formerly known as Ben:
Hearing the name “Paul” for a second I thought your comment was going to be about “Daddy Daze”
Then I realize, that Josh hasn’t done Daddy Daze in ages…
@Flipper:Wow, that’s just about perfect.
@Baja Gaijin: @Sequitur: Agreed. His music was/is a gift.
@The Rambling Otter:
Well, she was very bratty, otherwise I would have forgotten about her completely.
She drove me up the wall, despite I literally only met her once.
She was the daughter of my friend’s babysitter (I was around 8 at the time) So when I came over to hang out, I had to spend time with her as well.
SixChix: IMO missed an obvious opportunity, should have been “brewbird of hoppiness”. Guess they didn’t want to stretch our ability to process their attempts at humor.
@Vagonius Thicket-Suede: Speaking as someone who knows beer has hops in it but doesn’t know or care about its degree of hoppiness, I think the joke works better my way.
@Rita Lake: Great Googly-Moogly! There can only be one explanation: Elviney’s identical twin sister is so boring, readers forget she exists the instant we look away from the strip.
@Voshkod: I’m sure Huey, Dewey, and Jethro are very grateful.
@jroggs, @Joshua K.: Has anyone mentioned that Dave Coverly draws the comic strip Speed Bump?
@Peanut Gallery: I’m sure Huey, Dewey, and Jethro are very grateful.
Then there’s the parents of quadruplets who named their new offspring Eeny, Meeny, Miny, and Irving. What about Moe, they would invariably be asked. “But we didn’t want any mo’!”
@The Rambling Otter:
See? We knew you could do a car pun!
@Peanut Gallery:
Elvessie is one of The Silence from Doctor Who, who knew?
Ha ha, I suddenly recall, Josh actually making that same “Silence” comparison with Buck years back. Because in-between reads of RMMD Buck disappears from his thoughts completely.
@Peanut Gallery:
I mean, not to toot my own horn…;)
@176 Flipper: Wow! So much better than the Dustin strip that inspired it.
Another year and I find myself still following four awfully bad comic strips. One (9CL) has been dragged down by the author’s hang-up with a number of odd fetishes with the current arc dealing with two near-teens haranguing the young girl’s mother about the intricacies of sex. This past week has morphed into a mind-numbing sub-arc about the hokey pokey which is somehow better than actual sex. Then I also read a strip (Gasoline Alley) whose purported two main character are a 130 year-old WWI veteran and his 102 year-old son. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for interesting stories so 2023 begins with a sequence involving a magical, talking doll, a vacationing Santa Claus, Bunky (the “Big Book Brownie”), and a young Wallet descendent, who at times out-creeps the 9CL twins. A third strip’s ( Mark Trail) current story involves Mark taking three teenage boys on a cryptid hunt for something called the bassigator because, I guess, that’s what good dad’s do to bond with their sons. The last strip (Alley Oop) has kept up its unending string of nonsensical tales with a story about a baby that turns up at the cave of the eponymous hero. The “baby” turns out to be a fungus from outer space (holy cow) that grows into a teenager within a day and possesses the power to “inluence the propagation of fauna”. Non-sequitur yocks follow on a daily basis. And the art on these stips varies from mediocre (GA) to abysmal (MT). Do comic strips pay so poorly today that they can’t attract any kind of talent? Oh, well. At least I have the latest Alley Oop (“Mootoo” and Pogo (“Hijinks from the Horn of Plent”) books to remind me just how good comics can be.
@Rube: Yeah… it’s just..w erid to me. It’s fine if you are’nt into sex or sexual attraction, asexuality is valid. But being uptight about it is just weird to me especailly when your reading a strip starring younger characters. Sure it’s written by an old man who yells at cloud and his daughter but it’s still.. very werid.
@Flipper:
nice work
@The Rambling Otter: It really comes down to this:
Your Pilsners and things like Bud and Miller taste like the piss of a diabetic camel that is passing very weak urine.
A good, basic ale or lager tastes like the piss of a healthy, happy camel.
A classic IPA? That camel’s getting a little thirsty.
These newfangled artisanal small batch brewed IPA’s that are over fermented and excessively hopped? That’s a camel that’s been out far too long, whose hump is all floppy, and is about to die of dehydration.
It’s the hops, you see, that imparts that distinctive camel urea flavor to the beer, and for some reason, craft brewers like hopping the hell out of IPAs, such that it’s a bit of an inside joke among beer enthusiasts. Which is another thing I love about today’s strip.
@Artist formerly known as Ben: I pointed it out when she first looked at it on the plane home from Ted’s Mom’s, so here I will just note that those boobs absolutely came from Ted’s side of the family.
@Peanut Gallery: Who exists?
@197 Poteet:
No one. No need to be concerned about anything. Especially a hair style that no one has ever had. Just look away and hum a cheerful tune that puts you in a cheerful mood and prevents a rant.
Dum de de dum dum.
Red Meat: When cat haberdashery goes too far.
Thursday
Six Chix gets philosophical.
Mutt and Jeff: Jeff is the original Zak.
@176 Flipper:
Oh, by the way, very good. Excellent.
@Flipper: 176
C’mon, fess up. You’re really Jimmy Johnson, aren’t you? Kudos.