Metapost: C! O! T! W!
Post Content
“I see why Jeff bought a much bigger boat. If you want to discuss Wilbur’s sex prowess and escape the judgment of men, you better go into international waters. But can you escape the judgement of God?” –Ettorre
And your very funny runners up!
“‘No, Jeff, it’s exactly as it should be.’ Calm down, Mary. Even though you’re right, there’s no need to be the boss of Jeff’s opinions, because he always has the weakest opinions imaginable. I don’t think he’s actually convinced this isn’t all a dream. I know I’m not.” –made of wince
“Dustin’s dad wouldn’t last five seconds in France. Partly because of his lack of respect for strikes, but mostly because that sandwich looks like the worst croque monsieur I’ve ever seen.” –Schroduck
“After yesterday’s Mother’s Day aberration, Hi has gone back to his usual level of helpfulness around the house. He also walks up behind Lois when she’s washing dishes and points out when she’s missed a spot.” –Peanut Gallery
“Dustin is coming home from a (presumably) 9-5 job talking about ‘departments’ wearing a jacket/tie while his dad is casually sitting in the kitchen eating a sandwich. Sounds like Dustin’s dad is being the lazy layabout today! Get to work, Dustin’s dad!” –ALK
“Count Weirdly’s plan is to get Max so stirred up about his new ‘wonder weapon’ that he will demand that the Animal government take immediate action and fund a massive cost-plus program to prevent propeller drones in space. Weirdly Industries will be more than happy to help out.” –But What Do I Know?
“‘Refund’ I can only assume in Hootin’ Holler means ‘took a decades-old axe to the store and used it to rob them of some change then left it behind because a lifetime of drinking moonshine does a number on the old memory.’ Or maybe it’s a new axe, but there’s no way Snuffy had a receipt for it, so some sort of threat was definitely involved.” –Tabby Lavalamp
“Dr. Jeff knows ‘surf n’ turf’ generally means a piece of beef tenderloin and a lobster tail. By ordering a bowl of clam chowder and a strip steak instead, he’s having his usual little Bum Boat joke. ‘I’ll have surf n’ turf … clam chowder and a steak! Ah ha ha ha ha ha. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha.’ ‘Dr. Jeff will have his little joke,’ says Jerry, then goes back into the kitchen to spit in their food.” –Ukulele Ike
“Don’t let looks deceive you — they could be sexting each other right now!” –Pozzo
“<He’s wearing a cowboy hat. He must be extra American.>” –Kevin On Earth
“We’ve been talking nonstop since we sat down, Jeff, and I’m bored and unhappy.” –Liam
“Sorry, can’t comment right now, just going through every Madonna song I know and trying to figure out which one would be funniest in an Elmer Fudd voice. So far the frontrunner is ‘Papa Don’t P(w)each.’” –pugfuggly
“[Reads comic] [Starts pondering the theology of Walker-Browne Amalgamated Humor Industries LLC] [Starts constructing elaborate fan theory that Beetle Bailey represents the Seven Deadly Sins and Dante’s Inferno, then tying in Hi and Lois, Hagar, and the lesser known Boner’s Ark] [Wakes up 20 years later, finding myself the Kevin Feige of the Walker-Browne Amalgamated Humor Industries LLC Studios and cinematic Universe]” –Philip
“We have 25 different beers! No thumbs, though.” –pastordan
“If you spent time at Roz’s Existential Lunch Counter — which has no food, plates, utensils, napkins, or cash registers, and ‘serves’ nothing but empty water glasses — you’d be depressed too.” –BigTed
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68 replies to “Metapost: C! O! T! W!”
Yay! Getting a good seat for the Floaters and the Scrotchies.
Shadow COTPWMFTLTBWL
Pozzo
May 12th, 2023 at 4:31 am Reply
Rex Morgan: I know there must have been some point where that guy accidentally put that shirt on inside out and went around all day proclaiming “DUM.”
Bob Tice
May 12th, 2023 at 4:35 am Reply
Rex Morgan:
“Now, folks, a bit of a heads-up here. I’ve adapted the words to ‘Muddy Boots’ just a pinch to express my thanks to the lovely Mr. and Mrs. Harwood in attendance here, who saved me from the clutches of rapacious ‘Dr. Mirakle.’ Ahem.
“This Rene feller fooled me, folks —
He had me wearin’ suits
The audience reacted bad
By tossin’ rotten fruits
But now my eyes bin opened wide
By Junior and his wife
They showed me what the truth is, folks
And helped reclaim my life
This ‘Mirakle’ ‘n me are through,
No longer in cahoots
I’ll kick him in the toches, man,
With dadgum Muddy Boots!”
Anonymous
May 12th, 2023 at 4:45 am Reply
Dick Tracy : I like how they established that this chicken is a prima donna and kind of a jerk so we don’t feel bad when it gets blown up.
…I dunno why they introduced a chicken actor if all it was going to do was instantly get blown up by a bomb, though?
teenchy
May 12th, 2023 at 4:50 am Reply
Rex Morgan: Those two Mud Mountain Murphy superfans have a steady gig as background figures in Gil Thorp, don’t they?
jroggs
May 12th, 2023 at 4:50 am Reply
Rex Morgan: Mud’s purification looks to be complete, as he’s not only discarded his lame new music for his classic tunes but has also shaken off the Henry Higgins-esque speech training that Rene imposed on him. If you think this is bad, I have some unpleasant news for you: the only thing left for Mud to do in this paint-by-numbers redemption story is to grovel in front of Buck and Truck for their forgiveness. It’s not a mere possibility, it is an inevitability.
Bob Tice
May 12th, 2023 at 5:10 am Reply
Rex Morgan: “Now that y’alls boots are off and y’all are relaxed, let ‘s settle in with this positively brilliant ol’ chestnut by The Singing Nun:
“Dominique, -nique, -nique
S’en allait, tout simplement
Routier, pauvre et chantant…”
“Get off the stage, you loser!!!!!!”
Garrison Skunk
May 12th, 2023 at 5:35 am Reply
BeatupBailey: Beat-up throws his new Apple™ grenade at Sarge “Now you’re lolly fragging!”
ectojazzmage
May 12th, 2023 at 5:36 am Reply
Gil Thorp: I’m genuinely impressed Josh is able to keep any of the characters in Gil Thorp straight. They all have the exact same face, expressions, and personality. On a good day I can kind of discern between the men and women but only on good days.
Schroduck
May 12th, 2023 at 5:45 am Reply
Marvin: A friend of ours has a smartwatch, and every time she visits our baby immediately grabs her wrist and starts poking the screen and activating functions. What I’m saying is… I found a Marvin strip relatable? Dear god, there’s no hope for me. Although at least I didn’t find it funny.
brendancalling
May 12th, 2023 at 5:58 am Reply
Luann: It’s funny because Piro has a speech impediment. It’s probably the result of the traumatic head injury that left him with a star shaped scar on the side of the head after the doctors removed a chunk of his brain.
Ukranazi Stepan
May 12th, 2023 at 6:09 am Reply
@Baja Gaijin: Mary Worth: Right now Wilbur’s sitting there wondering why he’s having a hot flash, not knowing it’s from Dr. Jeff’s sick burn.
——————————————————
It’s not going to be a sick burn when Mary realises that this is her perfect opening to pitch Weelbur to the next widow or divorcee who moves into Charterstone.
“I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine. The world literally has no other man like him!”
Voshkod
May 12th, 2023 at 6:17 am Reply
Marvin: “Stop blaming Marvin every time I find porn on your watch, phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, mainframe, or AI core, dear. It’s getting old.”
pastordan
May 12th, 2023 at 6:27 am Reply
Gil Thorp: “So Mr. Hamm, how did you manage to pitch despite your vision problems.” “Simple, I just dropped some acid before the game.”
TheDiva
May 12th, 2023 at 7:42 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Put up with a lot”–“Wilbur was jealous, possessive, publicly embarrassing, abusive to animals, and thought faking his own death at sea would be a lighthearted practical joke.”
“He wasn’t want he wanted”–“She finally realized an animal that shits in a box of sand was a better life companion.”
“A man who’s unlike Wilbur”–“Someone with a modicum of physical attractiveness, professional success, and basic decency.”
The heavy lifting Mary’s doing to stay on Team Wilbur is approaching Olympic-class levels.
Flipper
May 12th, 2023 at 8:08 am Reply
Rex Morgan: “Oh, you must come listen to Fergus Murphy. Last night he sang a lovely song about a land of milk and honey with golden meadows covered in dew. I hope he’ll sing at my wedding.” – some very disappointed person in the tonight’s audience, probably.
Uncle Lumpy
May 12th, 2023 at 8:26 am Reply
Mary Worth: Dr. Jeff: “Any man would be unlike Wilbur.”
Or, formally: “FOR ALL X, IF X (IS WILBUR) THEN NOT X (IS MAN)”
This is why Wilbur is Stell’s X!
Garrison Skunk
May 12th, 2023 at 9:07 am Reply
Sex Organ V.D.: Meanwhile in cabin 4769, Bill, Buffy, and Jodie wonder where Mr French went.
Poteet
May 12th, 2023 at 3:19 pm Reply
Mary Worth: Hey, wait just a minute. Snarking about Wilbur is OUR job. Snark about yourself, Doctor Jeff, and also your nudnik son while you’re at it.
Poteet
May 12th, 2023 at 3:23 pm Reply
Gil Thorp: “Blurred together into one big timeless smear.” I may save that one for someone to use at my memorial service.
Artist formerly known as Ben
May 12th, 2023 at 4:08 pm Reply
Gil Thorp: Some of the Mudlarks think that Gil sleeps upside down like some kind of sitcom vampire. I can’t figure it out. There’s no one in the comics less goth than he is.
Little Blue Bicycle
May 12th, 2023 at 4:54 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Any man would be unlike Wilbur, Mary. Most any mammal, actually. The great majority of toads. I hate the little sob. Wilbur Weston. The little $&@@er.”
//Comment of the Previous Week Made Far Too Late to be Worth Listing. Kudos to L’esprit de l’escalier for naming this category.
Springboard Shadow CsOTW
Chance
May 13th, 2023 at 9:20 am Reply
Ukulele Ike
May 13th, 2023 at 9:32 am Reply
@Chance: I can never get past the bird breasts in Shoe, myself.
——————————————————
Yesssssss….so plump and tender and appealing.
Roasted with a bit of white vermouth and tarragon.
Old School Allie Cat
May 14th, 2023 at 9:13 am Reply
@TheDiva: Rex Morgan: The diehard MUD MOUNTAIN MURPHY stan is my new favorite character.
——————————————————
He is Gap-Tooth Starey “Hooo!” Guy of the 20s.
gardenornament
May 17th, 2023 at 7:12 am Reply
@ectojazzmage: “Mary Worth: Honestly, Jeff, a couple looking at their phones during dinner is infinitely more normal than staring at other people in the restaurant so you can gossip judge about and judge them with your date.”
——————————————————
Mary is looking for prey. It’s in her nature; she can’t help it.
Tom T.
May 17th, 2023 at 12:18 pm Reply
@Poteet: Luann: One of them peed on me.
——————————————————
Some turtles are into that.
Charterstoned
May 18th, 2023 at 1:29 pm Reply
@Horace Broon: Mark Trail: Oh, hey, Jules has realised that all the stuff Jeter was saying about being protected by his bear friends doesn’t make any sense, and therefore Mark has suddenly realised it as well. Shame that means his primary source for this story is actually delusional, but I think we were all assuming that anyway.
——————————————————
I keep hoping the entire Jules “Mark Trail” treatment turns out to be a coma from which we all awaken, and it happens like this: Our own “vintage” Mark comes to in a 1940’s-style hospital room, with a nurse (in uniform with cap) holding his wrist and Cherry, Doc, and Mutant Rusty hovering nearby.
MARK: WHAT th’?!
CHERRY: Oh, Mark! We’ve been so worried! You’ve been in a coma for weeks! Thank goodness you’re okay!
DOC DAVIS: You’ll be back at Lost Forest in no time! We’ll have flapjacks!
MUTANT RUSTY: Can we go fishing? And, look, Mark, the doctor let us bring Andy and Sassy to visit you!
DOCTOR: WELL, WELL! Look who decided to wake up!
NURSE: I’ll get a male aide to help Mr. Trail get dressed!
Male aide enters. He is bald, except for long sideburns, mustache, and beard. His beefy neck has rolls. As he approaches Mark’s bedside, he smiles, but his eyes hold a suspicious leer. Mark’s hand involuntarily closes into a Right Fist o’ Justice…
Special Long-form Shadow CsOTW
Arabella
May 13th, 2023 at 7:56 am Reply
Family Circus: That doesn’t look like a “card” Thel is reading, more like a letter. She would probably be sitting in the living room or at the table if she were reading her Mother’s Day cards from the children. I think this was entirely something else that was re-purposed to be a holiday panel.
1) HTT Grandma is moving in with them.
2) Bil has run off to Tahiti with his secretary.
3) In the old days, doctors sent pregnancy test results through the mail.
Bob Tice
May 14th, 2023 at 5:10 am Reply
Rex Morgan: “Next I’d like to do a special little number for the lovely Mrs. Harwood who is sitting in the audience tonight. Ahem.
“Like to tell you ’bout my lady
You know she bums around
She’s a stout five-foot bore
All from her head to the ground
You know she bums around here
At just about midwrite
She makes me feel no good, lawd
She makes me feel all trite
And her name is Y
V
O
N
N-N-N-N
Y-V-O-N-N-E
Y-yvonne…
“Naw, that ain’t workin’….”
gardenornament
May 14th, 2023 at 5:13 am Reply
Slylock Fox: Law enforcement in Forest City seems to have some very strange priorities. While their top detective, Slylock, routinely spends a lot of precious government time to solve “crimes” like stolen soda bottles or somebody eating strawberries from a private garden, when it comes to a felony that threatens to disrupt vital infrastructure projects, there are suddenly no resources to spare, and Slylock has to come up with a scheme for the victims to protect themselves. “What about burying your valubales so the crooks can’t get at them? I read about it in a book, and it worked really well for there pirates there, so I guess it should work for you as well. Just don’t leave a treasure map with an “X” marking the spot lying around!
jroggs
May 14th, 2023 at 5:58 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Oh, Ed,” said Estelle swooningly, “This certainly is a generically pleasant picnic meal with our dog and also our cats for some reason!”
“It sure is, beautiful,” said Ed. “Now come here and give this old dog some sugar.” They leaned closer to smooch.
But then, althesudden the dreaded Santa Royale Sasquatch emerged from the trees. “Myeeeaaarrrgh!” it opined at the startled couple as it approached them.
“Quick, Stell! Pass me one of those muffins you got from that Worth person!” Ed said, leaping quickly to his feet. He pulled off his eye patch and wrapped the cord around his fist. When the horrified Estelle handed over the muffin, Ed inserted it into the cup of the patch, gave it a quick whirl, and then let fly at the terrifying beast. The blueberry-laden missile arced through the air and struck the creature with incredible force directly in its combover, sending its glasses flying. The Sasquatch howled fretfully and retreated into the woods beyond the meadow.
“Ed, that was incredible!” said Estelle, draping herself adoringly on Ed’s muscular arm.
“Hmpf…” replied Ed, scraping the crumbs off the eyepatch before wrapping it back around his face. “My depth perception is off. I was aiming for its balls.”
pastordan
May 14th, 2023 at 7:45 am Reply
Phantom: I [M600+] keep getting hit on by a random jungle interloper [F30]. I tried mind-wiping her and selling her to the neighborhood pygmies, but then she turned up again in an underground lair. She got all clingy and desperate, saying I was the man of her dreams. My wife [F40] was not pleased, to say the least, and told me what she (the stalker) had been through was “inhumane.” To make matters worse, we were with a freaky cat lady who kept laughing under her breath and making passive aggressive comments to my wife about how human males can’t be trusted. edit: This all is happening on Mother’s Day, naturally.
AITA for wanting to punch my way out of this situation with my skull ring?
BigTed
May 14th, 2023 at 8:55 am Reply
Mary Worth:
— “Your new boat’s a beaut, Jeff!” (Overcompensating much? Oh, well, you take what you can get at my age.)
— “Thanks, Mary! I’m happy I upgraded!” (But that’s nothing compared to how I’ve been upgrading socially — this thing’s a magnet for beach babes!)
— “Stell and her pets and her veterinarian seem to have found happiness with each other! (How come their relationship has progressed more in two weeks than ours has in 10 years? Just buy some blue pills, already!)
— “At least she’s found someone who’s a fellow animal lover!” (It’s nice when two furries get together. Maybe I’ll have more luck at the next convention.)
— “They have more than that in common! He also plays the piano…” (At least someone has a boyfriend who’s good with his hands….) “And she said there’s an undeniable physical connection, too! (It’s funny how people are always discussing their sex lives with me, their older spinster neighbor. I guess they assume I’ll keep it private. Whelp, think again, suckers!)
— “It’s too bad things didn’t work out between her and Wilbur.” (That dude is hilarious, always getting into messes while he’s wasted. Not like that boring vet. Does he actually think he’s a real doctor or something? Lame!)
— “No, Jeff! It’s exactly as it should be!” (Everyone is always wrong but me! That’s a nice feeling. But does it bother Jeff when I contradict him all the time? Naw, I bet he thinks it’s hot!)
— (Big boat will bring babes. I’m a real doctor. Okay, I think we’re almost at the point where I can safely push her overboard. Life is good!)
2+2=7
May 14th, 2023 at 9:53 am Reply
Judging by Luann, Blondie and Hi & Lois, the alternate theme for today’s strip is the heartwarming Mother’s Day message that being a mother totally blows! You’re only “reward” is an ungrateful family that resents having to put the barest of labor or effort into making you happy. Mary Worth has the right idea! See, if you go the barren old broad route, you can wile away the days with overcompensating yacht rides and “physical connections!” Just a tip ladies: the meddling old biddy/crazy-cat lady lifestyle if the way to go!
Poteet
May 14th, 2023 at 1:23 pm Reply
Phantom: Yep, I just checked, there are definitely ticks in Africa and they carry a serious disease. So fainting and lying around on the jungle floor for awhile in a romantically-languid pose would be followed, in my case, by jumping up and starting a frantic tick search and asking The Phantom and his girl gang to help me look.
Which makes me wonder what THE PHANTOM characters do to protect themselves. Does Devil get regular doses of Frontline? Does The Phantom spray his purple tights with permethrin? Does Guran apply DEET to his skirt? Do The Phantom’s female acolytes do naked tick searches on each other every night before bedtime?
gardenornament
May 15th, 2023 at 5:14 am Reply
Slylock Fox: Of course the Count knows that his quadcopter drones won’t work in space. That thing about using them to take out GPS satellites is just a ruse – and if it can send the good citizens, like Max here, into a panic, that’s a bonus!
No, that spaceship will very conveniently explode when it’s a few thousand feet up in the air, releasing all the drones into the atmosphere and letting them fly off while everybody is watching the gigantic smoke cloud from the explosion. While Max draws a sigh of relief, Slylock will be even smugger than usual – not only did he know that the drones-in-space scheme wouldn’t work, he had the pleasure of seeing the entire scheme vapourize!
Meanwhile, the sinister swarm of drones will wait overhead for the delivery men animals in the neighbourhood, picking up every shipment as soon as it’s delivered to somebody’s doorstep, and carry it straight to the Count’s headquarters. If drone deliver is good enough for Amazon, it’s good enough for Weirdly!
Merry Mirth
May 15th, 2023 at 6:17 am Reply
Mary Worth: “I think I’ll sprinkle a little pepper on my baked potato.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea. I’m going to ask for an extra lemon wedge for my salmon.”
“I’m going to also have a beverage of some sort.”
“Yes, I too will order a liquid in a glass.”
“Let us enter the restaurant and ask for a table.”
“Excellent suggestion. But don’t forget to ask for chairs too.”
//As we know, it doesn’t get any more exciting than this, folks.//
Bob Tice
May 15th, 2023 at 7:48 am Reply
Rex Morgan: “Seems the readership’s been squawkin’ that they never heard all the lyrics to ‘Them Muddy Boots.’ So this is for them and for you, Harwoods.
“The comments cognoscenti here
Are on the boards each day
They use their high-falutin’ words
But ain’t got much to say
“See, me — I’m just a simple man,
Like Lynyrd Skynyrd said
Their abstruse comic references
Just fill my skull with dread
“I ain’t no fan of culture, or
Syntactical pursuits:
The choice for me is easy, see? —
KICK OFF THEM MUDDY BOOTS!”
Flipper
May 15th, 2023 at 8:14 am Reply
MW: (Commentary Track) Moy: “I’m quite proud of this scene, to be honest. It may seem uneventful to the casual reader, but I trust the more astute readers will sense the deeper meaning lying just below the surface. Here we see Mary opting for her usual salmon, just as she wanted Estelle to settle for Wilbur. Jeff, on the other hand, is looking for something more ‘special,’ and he’s willing to try something new, like Estelle is doing with her veterinarian friend. In a way, this scene echoes my personal experience, as I decided to replace the usual pool party epilogue with a romantic boating adventure, and I think the end result proves that taking such a daring chance can produce something magical.” Brigman: “I just re-used some old clip art.”
Bob Tice
May 16th, 2023 at 4:38 am Reply
Mary Worth: “I’m going to give you a linguistic rebus to tell you my favorite ingredient in salmon, Jeff: (last letter of Greek alphabet) + (integer that is the sum of the first two integers after 0) + (Ian Cameron) + (stuff that was going around Woodstock a lot). Can you figure it out?”
“I give up, Mary.”
“Omega 3 fatty acid!”
Charterstoned
May 16th, 2023 at 4:46 am Reply
Mary Worth: As they struggle to master the language of the Earthlings, Mary and Jeff practice ordering food in a restaurant.
Back in the Bum Boat kitchen, Jerry shakes his head as he hands in the order. “When I gave them the menu, I told them everything was off except the salmon and the clam chowder and strip steak. It’s taken them 20 minutes to decide they’ll have the salmon and the clam chowder and strip steak. I hope I get a decent tip, at least. Last time they were in here they left two small rocks and what looked like a chicken bone—the man said that’s what they use for money where they come from.”
Inspector Gotcha
May 16th, 2023 at 5:35 am Reply
Rex Morgan: This gives Mud an idea for a new song: “Glenwood Grovel.” Unfortunately, he steals the tune straight from Truck’s big hit, and Truck sues him. Buck is caught in the middle. The situation worsens when Mud comes courting Wanda and catches her in the sack with Truck. He shoots him. Truck goes to the cemetery, Mud goes to prison, and Buck goes on food stamps. However, Mud’s new attorney, Ronny Bellugo, gets him released on appeal. They both disappear, only to resurface in Greenwich Village as Ferris Lenny and Dr. Merkle . . . okay, I got nuthin’ else. Anybody care to finish this?
Fritz the Non-Hippo
May 16th, 2023 at 5:50 am Reply
Daddy Daze: So the Daddy Daze baby and Mary Worth both fixate on one menu item. Have we considered this: *the Daddy Daze baby IS Mary Worth*, in a Funky-style timeshift version of her story. In the 60-years-later version, the baby who struggled with a broken home and insane father (and possible gender misassignment) naturally compensates by meddling obsessively in the lives of others. And has an aversion to marriage, right? Her own parents’ marriage ended before she was born! Mary *has* moved from chicken fingers to salmon, which counts as personal growth. If fresh hot muffins start to show up in Daddy Daze, that should be the confirmation we need.
a.
May 17th, 2023 at 6:42 am Reply
Newspaper comics’ takes on early childhood development are wild. There’s Marvin’s “babies poop because they hate you,” Daddy Daze’s “chicken fingers are a safe and appropriate food for pre-verbal infants,” and Hi and Lois’s “infants at the crawling stage like to sit still and stare at things, while touching nothing and getting into no trouble.” The only reasonable conclusion is that comics writers are producing these strips in an attempt to influence public opinion and regain custody of their own children, who were removed for massive neglect. That, or lizard people.
Voshkod
May 17th, 2023 at 7:50 am Reply
Hi and Lois: Lois listened to the newscaster and tried to hide her despair. “It’s been six days since the sun stopped moving in the sky, and scientists are still without answers. Fearsome Arctic katabatic winds are sweeping the dark side of the Earth, while temperatures are soaring under the unending daylight. Governments are reporting waves of refugees moving toward the areas of the globe that may remain habitable, those lands fortunate enough to be at sunrise or sunset on the day the Earth stood still. The President has declared martial law.” She looked over at Trixie, grinning and drooling as she watched the immobile sun on the television and out of the window. I never should have given her that damn monkey paw binkie, she thought.
astroboy
May 18th, 2023 at 6:59 am Reply
Rex Morgan:
Mud’s Greatest Hits Album:
Muddy Boots (Overture)
Muddy Boots (album version)
Muddy Boots (single edit)
Muddy Boots (12? Dance Mix)
Muddy Boots Pt II: Again With the Muddy Boots (b-side)
Mud Rap (Featuring Kanye West)
These Muddy Boots Were Made for Walkin’ (Featuring Nancy Sinatra)
Muddy Boots (live)
Muddy Boots (reprise)
Special Extra Long-form Shadow CsOTW
Bob Tice
May 17th, 2023 at 4:48 am Reply
Rex Morgan:
“Fergus, I’m an ad exec. And I was thinking that, given your, um, rather considerable avoirdupois, perhaps we might feature you in a food commercial.”
“Ain’t that somethin’ — I just now happened to have composed a musical tribute to food, riffin’ on Miss Petula Clark! Here’s how it goes:
“My grub is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a thigh
My grub is greasier than the greasiest portion
Wider than a pie
My grub is lighter than the lightest chards that brine every night I flub
And there is nothing in this world that can ever change my gru-ub
[instrumental break]
Somethin’ happened to my tart the day that I met food
Somethin’ that I’d never dealt befo-o-ore
Foods are always on my mind, no matter what I chew
And every day it seems I want food more
“My grub is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a thigh
My grub is greasier than the greasiest portion
Wider than a pie
My grub is lighter than the lightest chards that brine every night I flub
And there is nothing in this world that can ever change my gru-ub
[instrumental break]
“Once I thought that grub was meant for anyone else but me
Once I thought you’d never plumb my whey-ey-ey
Now it only goes to show how wrong we all can be
For now I have to smell food every tray —
“My grub is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a thigh
My grub is greasier than the greasiest portion
Wider than a pie
My grub is lighter than the lightest chards that brine every night I flub
And there is nothing in this world that can ever change my grub
“My grub is warmer than the warmest sunshine
Softer than a thigh
My grub is greasier than the greasiest portion
Wider than a pie
My grub is lighter than the lightest chards that brine every night I flub
And there is nothing in this world that can ever
Change
My
Grub
[outro]”
Ukranazi Stepan
May 17th, 2023 at 4:50 am Reply
Rex Morgan:
Dear freind Fergus Mud
Kindly excuse my indignation at having app roach you in such a manner, but I have a good offer four you!
My names are Mr Brain Smith, and I am the manager of National Bank of Bullion in Burkina Faso. 18 months ago one of our depositors was died in accident, leaving $12,345,678.90 in his bank account. I want to make clear that this fellow was died in accident. I did not haved anything to do with dieing of this fellow.
Now our law in Burkina Faso is account will close 18 months after death of depositor unless hair can be found, and the money will go to corrupt government officials. I do not want money to go to corruption officials, do you? No? I can see by shake of beard that you agreement with me.
So I want you to posing as hair off this dead fellow, and after you get the money transferred to your account we will share it, 50% four me, 45% four you, and 5% four expenses. This totally legal and risk freedom!
You still agreement? Good! Now to get money I will need details to open bank account four you in Burkina Faso, because law says heir must have account in country. Four that I will need your signature bottom of this blank sheet off paper. Good!
And also please to give me detail of your life. Where do you live, who live with you? Alone? When are you away in work or holiday? Gooder!
Now last formality, please to give your credit card number and also put your house key on paper so I can trace outlined.
Thank. See you soon!
Charterstoned
May 17th, 2023 at 5:06 am Reply
The man had stopped eating, but still held his microphone-spoon poised above his bowl, angling it for optimum reception. The woman held a phone in her right hand, the camera on reverse angle to capture the older couple at a nearby table.
“Did you pick up anything else after the guy mentioned STRIP STEAK?” the woman asked as she awkwardly attempted to wrestle some spinach onto her fork. She was right-handed, but the Agency had given her a cover and she was disguised as a leftie.
“All I got was SALMON and STRIP STEAK before I lost reception,” the man in the olive green polo shirt replied. “I think I got the electronics wet when I tried the soup. Sorry.” He kept his head down, but he was paying close attention to the conversation of the older couple.
“Well,” the woman in the puffy sleeves replied, “my angle isn’t the best on this camera, but I think I’ve gotten some good profile shots. It might be enough to get a make on these two. By the way, the man seems to have noticed us. Keep pretending to eat.”
“Well, if I do that, I’ll REALLY ruin the device. And the soup is terrible. It tastes like spinach in dishwater!”
“You can try my spinach if you want. Why don’t you ask the waiter to bring another utensil? That way, your microphone-spoon can dry out some. We might be able to pick up more of their conversation later, especially if they stay for dessert.”
“Why did the Agency put us on this case, anyway?” the man asked petulantly. “When they mentioned a yacht cruise, I thought we were going to be disguised as tourists, and maybe have some fun on this assignment. Instead, I’m sitting in a one-star frozen-seafood restaurant trying to hear two boring people talk about the menu.” He raised his eyes slightly and murmured, “You got some spinach on the front of your blouse.”
As she dabbed her breasts with the napkin, the woman reminded him, “We signed up for this. The Agency took us on because they know we’re the best at what we do. We fit in almost anywhere. You’re the schlub who eats with his elbow on the table, I’m the bored companion who looks at her phone even while she’s eating. We’re Mr. and Mrs. Every American. No one would think that we’re international spies working on the biggest drug cartel operation in the world. Our friend at the next table is beaming about his new boat, and he has absolutely no idea that the bilge is lined with cocaine.”
“I know. We have to figure out a way to get aboard. The question is, how much does the guy REALLY know? He used the code words, STRIP STEAK., so it’s reasonable to assume that he’s in on it. I wasn’t sure at first, but then I heard him mention the CLAM CHOWDER.”
“Yes, and she gave the SALMON signal. The Agency told us it would be those three food items in combination. But I want to be sure. I think it’s too early to move in. Let’s keep listening to see what else they say. Here’s Jerry with your new spoon. Keep eating and try to look natural.”
The waiter, Jerry, noticed that the couple had barely eaten anything. “Is everything all right? If you don’t like the spinach, perhaps you’d like to try some SALMON or even a STRIP STEAK. We have a SPECIAL going on right now. If you order the STRIP STEAK, I can give you some CLAM CHOWDER at no extra charge. The STRIP STEAK is very good, and the CLAM CHOWDER, also. The SALMON is particularly pure–I mean, fresh! And if it’s too much to eat, I can wrap the leftovers in many small baggies.” The waiter eyed the couple meaningfully, and when they didn’t respond, he looked around more nervously. “Would you like to try the STRIP STEAK?”
“No thanks,” the man in the olive green shirt replied. “Just the spoon will be fine.”
The waiter shrugged his shoulders and moved away, and the woman hissed, “Man, I thought he’d NEVER leave! He was blocking my view of that couple the whole time. I hope we didn’t miss anything important.”
Shadow COTW Contenders, Part 1
Liam
May 13th, 2023 at 4:36 am Reply
Hägar the Horrible: What does Lucky Eddie know. He sleeps with the fishes.
Merry Mirth
May 13th, 2023 at 4:43 am Reply
Mary Worth: “So stubbornly eccentric.” Impressive euphemism, Jeff.
cheech wizard
May 13th, 2023 at 5:22 am Reply
Rex Morgan: A song about a mom yelling at her kids before they come into the house gets this crowd into a frenzy. Then again, cruises are pretty much packed with Pluggers, so what would you expect?
Rube
May 13th, 2023 at 5:43 am Reply
A plugger chicken should be going with the standard “Good Lord willin’ and the preacher don’t come for Sunday dinner.”
taig
May 13th, 2023 at 6:06 am Reply
Hägar the Horrible: “What the hell is ‘reverse-seahorsegirl?!?’”
Charterstoned
May 13th, 2023 at 6:32 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Wilbur may inwardly ENJOY being a bachelor. He’s so STUBBORNLY ECCENTRIC! Now, YOU, Mary, YOU are a bachelorette, NOW. But, you’re not so STUBBORNLY ECCENTRIC as to refuse to marry ME. So how about it? After refusing me for all these years, don’t you think it’s time you finally say YES?”
“No.”
nescio
May 13th, 2023 at 6:54 am Reply
Shoe: Two cloacas, no action.
Weaselboy
May 13th, 2023 at 7:22 am Reply
Mary Worth: That’s pretty optimistic of you, Mary. The only way Wilbur will ever “find the one” is if he’s doing a hidden pictures puzzle in Highlights magazine.
taig
May 13th, 2023 at 7:40 am Reply
Mary Worth: Mary prefers the term “endearing quirks” to “stubbornly eccentric,” thankuverymuch.
TheDiva
May 13th, 2023 at 7:44 am Reply
Rex Morgan: “We have finally heard ‘Muddy Boots’ live. We can complete our dual suicide pact now.”
Horace Broon
May 13th, 2023 at 12:13 pm Reply
Shoe: So the Perfessor knows the perfect way to end a date with a horrifying chimera of bird, mammal, cephalopod (there’s no way that arm belongs to a chordate) and Cousin It, and apparently it’s not amnesia?
Bnonymous
May 13th, 2023 at 12:51 pm Reply
Pluggers: Gatlinburg is kind of Plugger Vegas, except Las Vegas is already mostly Plugger Vegas already.
Liam
May 13th, 2023 at 4:38 pm Reply
Mary Worth: Mary, just because you’re obsessed with pairing everyone up is no reason to avoid the fact that your first marriage ended with your husband’s suicide.
pugfuggly
May 14th, 2023 at 4:37 am Reply
Hi and Lois: “I could get used to this!” jokes Lois, imagining a crazy world in which her family helps her with chores more than one day per year.
Ettorre
May 14th, 2023 at 4:49 am Reply
Mary Worth: “This is exactly how it should be. God has a plan and Wilbur has no place in God’s plan”
Bob Tice
May 14th, 2023 at 5:02 am Reply
Mary Worth: “It’s a lovely day for a picnic outside, Estelle! — whattaya say we recreate Manet’s ‘Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe’?”
THWACK
Merry Mirth
May 14th, 2023 at 5:07 am Reply
Mary Worth: In lieu of the usual victory lap, we are treated to the very rare resigned-loss lap.
made of wince
May 14th, 2023 at 5:14 am Reply
Phantom: Every rib or muscle Phantom has is lovingly defined in his purple unitard, but where the hell are his nipples? Those things should stick out like a sore thumb, in an ideal world. No wonder he’s so grim. Can there ever be joy, without nipples?
taig
May 14th, 2023 at 5:36 am Reply
Hi and Lois: I like how Trixie is in nearly all the panels just smiling away as she thinks, “Work, mules!”
Ukranazi Stepan
May 14th, 2023 at 5:46 am Reply
Wary Morth: “And she said there’s an undeniable physical connection too! The type you’ll never, ever, have with me. No matter how many huge boats you buy to try and impress me, I’ll keep my little boat under cover! Muhahahahahahahaha.”
Charterstoned
May 14th, 2023 at 5:47 am Reply
Mary Worth: Every panel in today’s strip is listing, whether to port or starboard. I got positively seasick looking at it! Of course, that’s no different from the overwhelming urge to hurl that I usually experience when I read Mary Worth. We can only learn to puke by puking.
TheDiva
May 14th, 2023 at 7:21 am Reply
Mary Worth: “It’s too bad things didn’t work out between her and Wilbur” is a statement on the level of “It’s too bad the Watergate break-in was thwarted” or “It’s too bad Hitler didn’t pull off Operation Barbarossa.”
pastordan
May 14th, 2023 at 7:31 am Reply
Ghost Who Steals Rex Morgan’s Pissy Face
Francisco Arrowroot
May 14th, 2023 at 7:34 am Reply
Phantom: Mina obviously loves the Phantom because he’s such a great listener, which is to say she never stops talking so he can’t get a word in edgewise.
oldgoldd
May 14th, 2023 at 7:45 am Reply
Judge Parker: A judge and a world class assassin, after a decade of murderous married mayhem, timidly talking like two bashful seventh graders in the school lounge. Not buying it. Time to go full bonobo.
Where’s Rocky?
May 14th, 2023 at 7:50 am Reply
Mary Worth: Remove the dialogue balloons and today’s Mary Worth could be the storyboards for a Clio winning Viagra commercial.
J.J. O’Malley
May 14th, 2023 at 8:34 am Reply
Crankshaft: “It’s both a motor vehicle part and the name of a nationally syndicated comic that purports to be a humor strip but has regularly failed to provide any genuine laughs since its debut in 1987.”
Please remember to phrase your response in the form of a question.
Tabby Lavalamp
May 14th, 2023 at 8:36 am Reply
Phantom: Is there some Bandar medicine to help me forget I ever read “The Phantom”?
Tom T.
May 14th, 2023 at 9:14 am Reply
Mark Trail: DO NOT CUDDLE THE BABY BEAR.
Shadow COTW Contenders, Part 2
Bobby+Sneakers
May 14th, 2023 at 9:17 am Reply
Phantom: Diss Bandar medicine if you will but something has to be said for a mickey that takes 13 years to wear off.
2+2=7
May 14th, 2023 at 9:21 am Reply
Rex Morgan: The lesson here kids: change and self-improvement is bad in every way, especially if it takes dull middle-aged fussbudgets out of their comfort zone.
Liam
May 14th, 2023 at 9:28 am Reply
Sally Forth: “Just like we practiced you hold the pillow on her face until she stops moving.”
Horace Broon
May 14th, 2023 at 9:44 am Reply
Dick Tracy: Have you ever wondered what Dick Tracy dreams about? He dreams about doing his job! Escapism is for beatniks and subversives!
Garrison Skunk
May 14th, 2023 at 9:58 am Reply
Six Chex and A Cat Named Kopykat: Inner Office Memo From: Talented Chick to Six Chix Editor: I’m talented, but I just can’t draw Frida Kahlo. Please Advise…
From: Six Chix Editor to Talented Chick: Just draw Flattop from Dick Tracy, it’ll be fine.
Abomynous
May 14th, 2023 at 2:01 pm Reply
Mary Worth: For a couple said to have a physical connection, Estelle sure seems to be trying to keep her boobs from grazing against Ed’s chest, and her crotch in the next zip code away from him.
Garrison Skunk
May 14th, 2023 at 3:02 pm Reply
Do Dick Tracys dream of blowing away electric sheep?
Artist formerly known as Ben
May 14th, 2023 at 7:17 pm Reply
Mary Worth: What’s undeniable is that no one has a physical connection with Wilbur. His own right hand refuses to go anywhere below the navel.
astroboy
May 15th, 2023 at 4:38 am Reply
Mary Worth: How exciting. Two old people deciding what to eat for dinner. It’s a thrill-a-minute in the Worthaverse.
pugfuggly
May 15th, 2023 at 4:49 am Reply
Dustin: Did Dustin fake a job, and then a subsequent labour dispute to get his dad off his back? “Oh no, turns out the department that was doing a walk-out over job cuts cut my new job. Damn you, FakeCo Inc management!”
Pozzo
May 15th, 2023 at 5:05 am Reply
Hi and Lois: Evidently, it’s early in the day, before Hi has had the chance to attach his prosthetic right arm.
MKay
May 15th, 2023 at 5:19 am Reply
Rex Morgan: Giving himself a(nother) new name, Lemuel Mudde spends the rest of his days walking the fine line between bathroom-hogging glutton and saint.
nescio
May 15th, 2023 at 5:39 am Reply
Slylock Fox: The rocket takes off, but at about 1000 feet the hatch opens and the drones fly out and form a pattern: “8==D Slylock”
matt w
May 15th, 2023 at 5:47 am Reply
Dustin: They didn’t stage a walkout, Dustin. It’s the weekend. Why do you think your dad is eating lunch at home?
Weaselboy
May 15th, 2023 at 5:59 am Reply
Slylock Fox: Damn, I totally got the answer wrong. I guessed that Slylock wasn’t panicking because he’s a Luddite who thinks everyone would be better off using paper maps.
McManx
May 15th, 2023 at 6:04 am Reply
Family Circus: Yes, Dolly, you smell great. But you’ll be a lot less cute after your brother’s hamster chews your ears off in the night.
Ukranazi Stepan
May 15th, 2023 at 6:06 am Reply
Slylock Fox: The joke’s on Slylock. Weirdly deliberately made up that ridiculous story about drones on orbit so the red jackal wouldn’t try to interfere in his launch. Actually the rocket will only rise to 1000 metres, and then release the drones, which will then take photos and video of Cassandra Cat sunbathing naked on a rooftop. Photos and video Slylock will never see! Muhahahahahaha.
Philip
May 15th, 2023 at 6:13 am Reply
Dustin: If your coworkers are getting laid off while Dustin is getting hired, striking is the only option.
Liam
May 15th, 2023 at 6:28 am Reply
Slylock Fox: “Ya know, Slylock, you can be such a buzzkill sometimes,” Weirdly says.
ectojazzmage
May 15th, 2023 at 6:36 am Reply
Slylock Fox: I’m pretty sure this is proof that Count Weirdly isn’t an actual supervillain, just some old guy with Alzheimer’s or something who thinks he’s one. Slylock is going to beat him to near-death regardless, of course, for daring to waste his time and for fun, but he recognizes that Weirdly is no real threat.
Old School Allie Cat
May 15th, 2023 at 6:41 am Reply
Slylock Fox: Drones, schmones… what the heck is that coming out of Weirdly’s hat?
astroboy
May 15th, 2023 at 6:47 am Reply
Slylock Fox: I’m starting to consider the possibility that the only thing Weirdly ever “invented” was home-brewed LSD, and everything since has just been Weirdly tripping balls.
Guillermo el chiclero
May 15th, 2023 at 7:16 am Reply
Judge Parker: I don’t want to go home to Mommy! She won’t let me drink wine like Abbey here!
Professor Well Actually
May 15th, 2023 at 7:30 am Reply
Mary Worth: Mary will finally be unable to resist when Jeff invites her to move onto the yacht for a worldwide meddling tour.
Voshkod
May 15th, 2023 at 7:59 am Reply
Dustin: Maybe, Duncan, you shouldn’t be wearing a Hapsburg flag on your tie – you might alienate your Hohenzollern employers.
Voshkod
May 15th, 2023 at 8:29 am Reply
Mary Worth: Now, now, it’s easy to make fun of “Mary Worth,” but it’s also fun to make fun of “Mary Worth.”
His Helper Emmy Jo
May 15th, 2023 at 2:07 pm Reply
I wonder if the Mitchells and the Keanes will realize that the quaint bringing a note home from school has been replaced by a secretary sending the note by fax to AOL.
MKay
May 16th, 2023 at 4:33 am Reply
Mary Worth: We should cut Mary’s boring social life some slack. She needs a rest from the breakneck thrills of meddling.
Shadow COTW Contenders, Part 3
Hibbleton
May 16th, 2023 at 4:53 am Reply
Mary Worth: “No apology necessary, Mary. This hemlock I’m drinking is its own sweet relief.”
Merry Mirth
May 16th, 2023 at 5:04 am Reply
Mary Worth: The waiter fixes Jeff with a stern glare. “Mi nombre es Geraldo, para su informacion.”
nescio
May 16th, 2023 at 5:12 am Reply
Daddy Daze: I think it’s very believable that Angus can write. Well, at least more believable than the belief that the writer of Daddy Daze can write.
els
May 16th, 2023 at 5:18 am Reply
Mary Worth: Meanwhile, back on land, Wilbur’s karaokestravaganza is going into day three. There is no audience. There is no staff. There is only a sad man, a microphone, and a small, glowing screen lighting up the words to “Rolling in the Deep.” This can only end in tears (for fears’s classic single “Mad world”).
Philip
May 16th, 2023 at 5:25 am Reply
Snuffy Smith: Plugger’s Rhino Man, he doesn’t steal other people’s property to make ends meet between paychecks, let alone with a smug look on his face.
Ettorre
May 16th, 2023 at 5:29 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Speaking of salmon, Mary dear, do you know that once they reach their breeding waters upstream, they fuck so much that they die?”
“Yes dear! A toast to your immortality!”
Ukranazi Stepan
May 16th, 2023 at 5:30 am Reply
Wary Morth: Does anyone have a clue as to the purpose of this storyline? Is it to make us miss DrEdHarding, Eshtelle, and the yoga-performing dog and cats? Will Jerry turn out to be a Mexican cartel hitman disposing of his victims as meat dishes? Stay tuned!
Or, you know, don’t.
Liam
May 16th, 2023 at 5:45 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Salmon reminds me of the happier times when I still had a husband and money and now I’m forced to live here surrounded by people like Wilbur.”
Schroduck
May 16th, 2023 at 6:01 am Reply
Snuffy Smith: Are we sure Snuffy’s family exists? The fact they all look identical except clothing is giving me real Norman Bates vibes, except instead of just dressing as his mother, Snuffy also plays out the role of his father for full Oedipal fun.
Guillermo el chiclero
May 16th, 2023 at 6:03 am Reply
Rex Morgan: I’m a totally new and changed man, thanks to the world’s most incompetent con artist and the most boring white people on God’s green earth.
ectojazzmage
May 16th, 2023 at 6:07 am Reply
Mary Worth: Wow! Mary managed to go a whole strip without forcing the conversation topic onto Wilbur! She might be breaking her addiction guys.
Voshkod
May 16th, 2023 at 6:30 am Reply
Mary Worth: The pictures behind Jeff and Mary tell a fascinating tale all their own. Two sailboats, racing before the wind in tandem, like lovers. A rocky headland, wave-washed and wind-whipped. A single sailboat, alone on the ocean. And, much like a Mary Worth story, they skip the only interesting part, the moment when one of the sailboats was mangled by the rocks, torn asunder, and drawn down into the icy grip of the sea.
The Breathtaking Bonehead Brothers
May 16th, 2023 at 8:55 am Reply
Mary Worth: “I’ll have the Bearded Clam Chowder and Strip Poker Steak, and the lady will have the Salmon Rushdie.”
made of wince
May 16th, 2023 at 9:44 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Challenge accepted,” thinks Jerry. “I shall find for her the saddest salmon in all the sea. Once I bring it to her, it will cause her such misery the spell will be broken, and I can return to my kingdom in Atlantis!”
Garrison Skunk
May 16th, 2023 at 11:13 am Reply
Dirk Twacy Hollistic Defective: “…Whammies– little red devils that take people’s money.” “Fosdick! That’s a game show!” “Is that any reason to not shoot it?” “No….I suppose not.” “Now you’re cooking with gas, Charlie!” “My name’s not Charlie.”
Artist formerly known as Ben
May 16th, 2023 at 12:26 pm Reply
Mary Worth: A scene that would have shocked Alfred Hitchcock to his very core. Mainly because he said. “What is drama, after all, than life with the dull bits cut out.” So what’s this doing here?
Pozzo
May 17th, 2023 at 4:37 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Don’t let looks deceive you — they could be sexting each other right now!”
Ukranazi Stepan
May 17th, 2023 at 4:38 am Reply
Run like hell, Mary Worth background couple! Run like hell!
MKay
May 17th, 2023 at 4:39 am Reply
Mary Worth: The woman is texting the man: “Look at that guy, having dinner with his grandma. How sweet!”
Anonymous
May 17th, 2023 at 4:42 am Reply
Slylock Fox : EXTRA DIFFERENCE: In one image, the penguins are pulling the seal out of the water to rescue it. In the other, they are preparing to throw it to the shark as a sacrifice. Being able to tell which is which is a necessary skill one must develop.
Bob Tice
May 17th, 2023 at 4:50 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Don’t let looks deceive you. She’s simply transfixed by the cornucopia of brilliant commentary on joshreads, and he’s going along for the ride.”
Inspector Gotcha
May 17th, 2023 at 4:53 am Reply
Gil Thorp: “Let me talk to him.” Luke pulls Kwan aside. “YOU COME AMELICA BE BIG STAR! RIVE IN LICE HOUSE, HAVE MANY KOOCHIE KOOCHIE GILRS, NUMBAH ONE!”
BTW, we would love to see the reaction of the Milford City Board of Education when Luke slips this trip into his expense report.
Rube
May 17th, 2023 at 4:54 am Reply
Mary Worth: “C’mon Mary. How can two people be happy who haven’t spent 15 minutes discussing how they are going to have exactly the same meal that they always have? By the way, I still think it’s permissible to call clam chowder and strip steak ‘surf and turf’, no matter what the menu says.”
jroggs
May 17th, 2023 at 5:12 am Reply
Rex Morgan: That was a nice redemption while it lasted, but once again it looks like Mud’s getting dragged back into the world of confidence schemes. Judging by the new con man’s attire, at least this won’t be another religious-themed scam, unless this guy is supposed to be the High Priest of Margaritaville or something.
Handsome Harry Backstayge, Idol of a Million Other Women
May 17th, 2023 at 5:19 am Reply
Red Morgan: For a moment it seemed this stranger was going to tempt Mud down that “personal enlightenment and spiritual fulfillment” road again, but, nah, it’s only about a blow job.
Philip
May 17th, 2023 at 5:20 am Reply
Rex Morgan: MudCoin is great, because not only is it the only cryptocurrency regulated by the Crypto Reserve Board (which just happens to be run by the issuers of MudCoin), but it’s the only coin accepted for buying timeshares on cruise ships that exclusively ply international water with stops at countries without extradition treaties.
Shadow COTW Contenders, Part 4
Kevin On Earth
May 17th, 2023 at 5:35 am Reply
Mary Worth: This is why they go to the Bum Boat so much. Just to sit in judgement of the other customers -and not even lowering their voices so the targets of their reviews can hear just enough that they cannot be ignored.
taig
May 17th, 2023 at 5:42 am Reply
Hi and Lois: That television screen exists in an alternate reality, since it matches absolutely nothing it’s reflecting, including Lois’s ass being in the way.
Ukranazi Stepan
May 17th, 2023 at 5:45 am Reply
Rex Morgan: Spoiler Alert: Flower Shirt is the owner of a footwear cleaning service and he wants to use Muddy Boots as an advertising jingle.
Hibbleton
May 17th, 2023 at 5:48 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Just wondering how many beers you have to drink before you start holding your spoon like that.”
Guillermo el chiclero
May 17th, 2023 at 5:57 am Reply
Rex Morgan: Wouldn’t it be a trip if Hawaiian shirt guy is just the recently escaped Rene Belluso, in another one of his clever disguises?
Ukranazi Stepan
May 17th, 2023 at 6:00 am Reply
Mary Worth Panel One: Apparently Lee Harvey Oswald was not shot by Jack Ruby. He escaped prison, changed his identity, got a medical degree, and now inhabits the comics pages under the nom de plume of Dr Jeff Cory.
Liam
May 17th, 2023 at 6:17 am Reply
Rex Morgan: “Have you heard the teachings of Mary Worth?”
brendancalling
May 17th, 2023 at 7:26 am Reply
Luann is easier to talk to than a turtle because she’s got less brains than a turtle. This makes her a perfect match for Piro, who I am more convinced than ever had a traumatic brain injury due to a rollover in an SUV, with the resulting surgery leaving a star-shaped bald patch on the side of his head.
Guillermo el chiclero
May 17th, 2023 at 7:49 am Reply
Rex Morgan: No, Mr. Murphy. I’m not a record label executive. I’m a pro wrestling promoter. If you’re as strong as you look we’ve got ourselves the next Earthquake McGoon.
Flipper
May 17th, 2023 at 8:58 am Reply
Rex Morgan: Hank’s hoping this new grifter knows how to swim.
Poteet
May 17th, 2023 at 10:01 am Reply
Luann: I’ve spent time with turtles over the decades, watching them basking on logs, rescuing them from roads, helping to locate and observe tagged individuals, seeing them in zoos and nature centers. One of them peed on me. But never once did I ask myself “why am I wasting my time with turtles?” That can’t be said of LUANN.
BigTed
May 17th, 2023 at 12:07 pm Reply
Hi and Lois: Wait, they put a TV in the empty room where baby Trixie sits all day? So much stimulation is bad for her development! Luckily, Lois isn’t compounding the problem by picking her up, or touching her at all. That’s good parenting! (According to Hi, Lois, and B.F. Skinner.)
Garrison Skunk
May 17th, 2023 at 1:51 pm Reply
Mark Trail Mix: “Those invisible cubs are mine, Trail, surprised?!?, you got a problem with that?!? I was in your last lecture on bears. I remember you saying ‘Don’t annoy the bears,’ ‘Don’t feed the bears,’ ‘Don’t force the bears out of their habitat,’ even ‘Don’t moon the bears,’ but NEVER ‘Don’t have sex with the bears‘!!!!! It’s a little late to add that now!” “I thought it was self evident to not sex the bears.” “Well you were WRONG!”
Charterstoned
May 18th, 2023 at 4:34 am Reply
Hi and Lois: Ditto’s glazed expression in panel 2 suggests that Chip has been storing his “edible” cookies in that jar.
Ukranazi Stepan
May 18th, 2023 at 4:41 am Reply
Wary Morth: Dr. Jeff was bitten by a radioactive meddler, right?
Merry Mirth
May 18th, 2023 at 5:21 am Reply
Mary Worth: “Yes, Jeff, I know. You just said that about four seconds ago. You seem to have the attention span of a squirrel. Now drink your beer and mind your own business. . . . I can’t believe I just said that.”
Little Blue Bicycle
May 18th, 2023 at 6:01 am Reply
Mary Worth: “What on earth can those two be reading that can be so much more important than a conversation about entrees?”
(At the other table): “Look at this Delores! Some Korean baseball whiz has decided to come to America to play at some little school no one has heard of!”
Tom T.
May 18th, 2023 at 6:02 am Reply
Sally Forth: Is the fact that Nona is dressed like a nurse an indication that this strip is actually all in Ted’s mind as he sits in an institution? That would explain why everyone seems to talk like him.
Peanut Gallery
May 18th, 2023 at 6:08 am Reply
Hi and Lois: There is but one God and Famous Amos is his prophet.
But What Do I Know?
May 18th, 2023 at 6:26 am Reply
Hi and Lois: Chip has probably moved on to theodicies and is questioning why a good and loving God won’t let him get laid.
astroboy
May 18th, 2023 at 6:53 am Reply
Hi and Lois: Holy perspective, Batman! That is one ginormous cookie jar. More like a cookie barrel.
Weaselboy
May 18th, 2023 at 7:17 am Reply
Pluggers: If you feel you have to include the phrase “sandwich meat package” in your submission, maybe you should look elsewhere for your folksiness.
The Rambling Otter
May 18th, 2023 at 7:35 am Reply
Dick Tracy: It’s amazing what one can write while high, but just say “It’s all a dream!” to justify whatever surreal shit you want.
Dennis Jimenez
May 18th, 2023 at 10:31 am Reply
Dick Tracy: Fergus dreams of Muddonna…
Drew Funk
May 18th, 2023 at 10:31 am Reply
Dick Tracy: Look, I’m sorry your girlfriend broke up with you, but finding ways to insert FU DONNA into your strip is just childish.
Little Guy
May 18th, 2023 at 12:54 pm Reply
Dick Tracy: “Ohmigawd! They’re making references that would have worked over 30 years ago!”
“It’s a rerun from 2016…”
“Ohmigawd! They’re making references that would have worked 23 years before the strip was first printed!”
Daily Shadow CsOTW
Saturday
————
The Great Joe Bivins
May 13th, 2023 at 4:57 am Reply
Pluggers: If Marybeth Toole of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania thinks it’s necessary to add an “unless I die first!” addendum to any and all plans for the immediate future I think that says more about Marybeth Toole of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania than anyone else.
Guillermo el chiclero
May 13th, 2023 at 3:16 pm Reply
Pluggers: Sheila Roo: We’re going to Jellystone Park this year. Andy wants to steal some pick-a-nic baskets and maul a few tourists.
Sunday
———-
Dennis Jimenez
May 14th, 2023 at 5:40 am Reply
Hi and Lois: Is that a giant stinky bra Ditto is either putting in or pulling out of the diaper pail? That’s a memorable Mother’s Day moment…
Flipper
May 14th, 2023 at 9:12 am Reply
Slylock Fox: I thought Slylock would suggest changing the conspicuous labels on the crates to “NOT COPPER WIRE”.
Monday
———–
Schroduck
May 15th, 2023 at 4:41 am Reply
Dustin: Dustin’s dad wouldn’t last five seconds in France. Partly because of his lack of respect for strikes, but mostly because that sandwich looks like the worst croque monsieur I’ve ever seen.
Poteet
May 15th, 2023 at 9:16 pm Reply
Mark Trail: In this case, I’d recommend punching that Dairy Queen hair. Seriously, it needs to die.
Tuesday
———–
Peanut Gallery
May 16th, 2023 at 6:39 am Reply
Snuffy Smith: And the worst part is, Snuffy and Pappy can’t fight about this, because Snuffy no longer has an ax to grind with him.
jvwalt
May 16th, 2023 at 7:08 am Reply
Mary Worth: Shocking it is that a woman whose home cooking can be summarized as “Beige” would have an unbroken pattern of ordering the same thing every time.
Wednesday
—————
astroboy
May 17th, 2023 at 5:08 am Reply
Maru Worth: “What ARE you looking at, Jeff?”
“That MAN over there. He’s HOLDING his SPOON in an even stranger MANNER than WE and our friends do!”
Peanut Gallery
May 17th, 2023 at 2:52 pm Reply
Pluggers: You’re a plugger if you steal that stupid cap from Curtis.
Thursday
————
Liam
May 18th, 2023 at 4:31 am Reply
Judge Parker:“I was reading ‘Oliver Twist’ and I want my own army of pickpocketers.”
Old Man Shadow
May 18th, 2023 at 7:56 am Reply
Say what you want about Hi and Lois as a comic strip, but Ditto realizing he can use the concept of God to justify anything he wants to do is far more menacing than Dennis has been in 50 years.
Shadow COTW
——————
jroggs
May 16th, 2023 at 4:54 am Reply
Beetle Bailey: Some things look like knees underneath a blanket, and some things look like a gigantic bulbous groin tumor underneath a blanket. This is not an example of the former.
Thanks, Josh! Thanks, Baja (wish I could add a question mark to that comment)! Congrats to all the floaters! Throw yachts!
Congratulations to Ettorre. the Floaters, Shadowers, and Scroters:
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Little Blue Bicycle
May 13th, 2023 at 5:14 am Reply
Pluggers: really do go to Gatlinburg at every opportunity, so props to somebody.
Tonio
May 13th, 2023 at 6:06 am Reply
@Little Blue Bicycle: Huh? I thought the only Pluggers in Gatlinburg were ones in the larval stage, socially conservative parents and their young children. When they emerge from their pupae as full Pluggers, don’t they go to Branson instead?
The Great Joe Bivins
May 13th, 2023 at 4:57 am Reply
If Marybeth Toole of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania thinks it’s necessary to add an “unless I die first!” addendum to any and all plans for the immediate future I think that says more about Marybeth Toole of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania than anyone else.
taig
May 13th, 2023 at 6:06 am Reply
Pluggers: “God willing and the creek don’t rise!” Pluggers can’t even get their folksy idioms right!
TheDiva
May 13th, 2023 at 7:14 am Reply
Pluggers like to pretend that they’re content to leave everything in God’s hands, but if God doesn’t will it? You’d better believe that’s the fault of the airline, the doctor’s staff, vaccinations and all those lazy kids who don’t want to work anymore.
pastordan
May 13th, 2023 at 7:04 am Reply
Pluggers know that “God willing” is an appropriate and humble expression of piety, but “Inshallah” earns you a free vacation in Gitmo.
cheech wizard
May 13th, 2023 at 5:22 am Reply
RMMD – A song about a mom yelling at her kids before they come into the house gets this crowd into a frenzy. Then again, cruises are pretty much packed with Pluggers, so what would you expect?
Inspector Gotcha
May 13th, 2023 at 5:00 am Reply
RMMD: Yvonne “FINALLY!” has an orgasm on her honeymoon.
GT: “Whoa, your fastball went ‘WAM!’ Mine only goes ‘WAP.’ ”
Weaselboy
May 13th, 2023 at 7:13 am Reply
GT – I look forward to the next game when Leo takes the mound wearing a blindfold. And perhaps a sportcoat.
Inspector Gotcha
May 13th, 2023 at 9:54 am Reply
GT: In the next game, Leo closes his eyes, focuses on his heartbeat, listens to the wind and its direction, and racks up 25 delay-of-game violations in the first inning. As the call goes to the ‘pen, he stalks off the mound and screams at Gregg, “Thanks for nuthin’, Maharishi!”
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MKay
May 13th, 2023 at 5:42 am Reply
MW: I’m not sure what would be worse; watching Wilbur flounder alone indefinitely or seeing him hook up with a female version of himself.
jnoble
May 13th, 2023 at 6:33 am Reply
MW: I hope this continues for at least another 5 days, a smiling Jeff passive aggressively teeing off on Wilbur
Weaselboy
May 13th, 2023 at 7:22 am Reply
MW – That’s pretty optimistic of you, Mary. The only way Wilbur will ever “find the one” is if he’s doing a hidden pictures puzzle in Highlights magazine.
Noel
May 13th, 2023 at 8:40 am Reply
MW: Sheesh, what is Dr. Jeff’s problem with Wilbur? Yesterday he says he’s not a man, today he says he’s going to be alone forever. Glass houses, man.
richardf8
May 13th, 2023 at 11:02 am Reply
MW – Jeff is suggesting to Mary that it might be OK for Wilbur to be alone? Well, that’s quite . . . daring of you, Jeff!
Arabella
May 13th, 2023 at 7:56 am Reply
FC: That doesn’t look like a “card” Thel is reading, more like a letter. She would probably be sitting in the living room or at the table if she were reading her Mother’s Day cards from the children. I think this was entirely something else that was re-purposed to be a holiday panel.
1) HTT Grandma is moving in with them.
2) Bil has run off to Tahiti with his secretary.
3) In the old days, doctors sent pregnancy test results through the mail.
jroggs
May 14th, 2023 at 5:34 am Reply
Dustin: You may have gotten those ladies’ attention, Dustin, but seeing as they’re the kind of people who just shamelessly burst out laughing when they see people get injured, maybe you’re better off staying true to Rosie Palms for one more night.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hibbleton
May 14th, 2023 at 5:09 am Reply
MW: Estelle finds out that pets and tall grass don’t get along as Dr. Ed spends the afternoon pulling ticks out of her beaver.
Ettorre
May 14th, 2023 at 4:53 am Reply
MW: “Your new boat is a beaut, Jeff!”
“Thanks Mary, I am happy I upgraded. Speaking of which, I’m dumping you for a younger, non-judgemental bimbo”
Little Blue Bicycle
May 14th, 2023 at 4:58 am Reply
MW: “This is exactly as it should be” says the woman who spent years pimping odious Wilbur to Eshtelle.
Handsome Harry Backstayge, Idol of a Million Other Women
May 14th, 2023 at 6:09 am Reply
Mary Worth: I haven’t been keeping track. . . does Dr. Jeff always bring up Wilbur whenever Mary starts hinting around about the physical connection stuff?
2+2=7
May 14th, 2023 at 8:09 am Reply
MARY WORTH: Panel #5: At least Estelle can still depend on a guy exclaiming “Augh! It’s wet!” in her apartment (albeit under a noticeably different context….)
Ukulele Ike
May 14th, 2023 at 6:59 am Reply
MW: “So…uh…are we going any in particular, Jeff?” “Hong Kong! There’s a week’s worth of canned beans in the galley!”
Myrtle
May 14th, 2023 at 6:46 am Reply
MW: I must have missed the panel where Estelle told Mary she had the hots for Dr. Ed. Or else I blanked it out. Does this mean we don’t see or know about everything that happens here? Like Dr. Ed’s eye injury? I suspect there was more to that incident. Are we just getting sanitized highlights (or lowlights) of the story?
This is mind blowing to think Jeff and Mary’s relationship may not be so chaste after all….
Peanut Gallery
May 14th, 2023 at 6:11 am Reply
MW – “Stell and her pets and her veterinarian” … “a fellow animal-lover” … “physical connection” … This is already a lot kinkier than I ever thought Mary Worth would get. But what unspeakable perversion is it that brings the piano into this?
Ralph Vaughan Halen
May 14th, 2023 at 7:51 am Reply
Alternate quote for today’s Mary Worth — “Never learn not to love” – Charles Manson
Flipper
May 14th, 2023 at 9:12 am Reply
MW: Kudos to Jeff for deftly changing the subject when Mary brought up the “physical connection” stuff. As we’ve seen, the Rene Belluso response of pushing her overboard would be too risky.
MKay
May 14th, 2023 at 5:10 am Reply
MW: Ed and Estelle kiss like they’re at a Catholic school dance and the nuns are standing by with yardsticks.
RMMD: Wow, lighten up, Yvonne. Did you expect him to just sing 20 different versions of “Muddy Boots?”
Inspector Gotcha
May 14th, 2023 at 5:02 am Reply
JP: Ahem, you have the house all to yourselves.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Marvin-The obvious joke is that Marvin’s medium is shit.
matt w
May 14th, 2023 at 7:06 am Reply
I don’t think Hi thinks he’s about to have sex. I think Hi knows perfectly well that he is about to do chores all day and is smiling through it. Because no one can experience joy in the world of Hi and Lois. Lois will not allow it. The Walkers will not allow it. I WILL NOT ALLOW IT.
Danielakiiki
May 14th, 2023 at 8:45 am Reply
Hi&Lois- Lois sits back and day drinks while thinking ‘Yeah, finally these bitches are pulling their weight.’ Takes another drink of wine.
gardenornament
May 14th, 2023 at 8:52 am Reply
H&L: I must confess that at first glance, and probably influenced by Josh’s headline about “sexual Sunday”, I did a double take at the third panel. Was Ditto throwing his mom’s bra in the trash? Surely Lois isn’t the type to ditch her support garments, and even though she’s well endowed she’s no Thel Keane. And why is the kid holding his nose? Then I saw the text “diapers” on the trash can, and things fell in place. Order was restored to the universe!
I must still say that that odd… object… he is throing in the trash doesn’t say” diapers” to me. But perhaps that’s just as well. Drawing something more realistic would put us straight in Marvin territory, and surely we don’t want that!
TheDiva
May 14th, 2023 at 7:46 am Reply
C’shaft: I’m so annoyed by putting Mayim Bialik on what is clearly a Trebek-era set that the non-existence of the joke barely registers.
J.J. O’Malley
May 14th, 2023 at 8:34 am Reply
CS: “It’s both a motor vehicle part and the name of a nationally syndicated comic that purports to be a humor strip but has regularly failed to provide any genuine laughs since its debut in 1987.”
Please remember to phrase your response in the form of a question.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I speak Jive
May 14th, 2023 at 8:28 am Reply
Last Kiss – When holier than thou Grandma met Thel.
Guillermo el chiclero
May 14th, 2023 at 8:35 am Reply
Luann: Whoa there, Evansii! You’ve got Luann in a spaghetti strap tank top flashing more skin than she’s shown in the previous ten years. I say back off a little or you’ll give the Trufans too many wild ideas. Morecock is probably hitting the Vaseline jar as we speak.
Senor SmegmaSequiturMay 14th, 2023 at 10:20 am Reply
Zits from Spanish to English.
“Got a problem?”
“My dick leaks.”
“How bad?”
“I have to wear special diapers.”
“You’re no fun anymore.”
“Fun? I thought an old guy like you would understand!”
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
brendancalling
May 15th, 2023 at 4:58 am Reply
Luann: Oh good. That was exactly what I wanted to think about early in the morning. Luann’s sweaty, half-shaved vagina.
Professor Well Actually
May 15th, 2023 at 7:06 am Reply
Luann: Luann obviously has a future in stand up comedy. She certainly won’t be doing anything lying down.
astroboy
May 15th, 2023 at 4:38 am Reply
MW – How exciting. Two old people deciding what to eat for dinner. It’s a thrill-a-minute in the Worthaverse.
Merry Mirth
May 15th, 2023 at 6:17 am Reply
“I think I’ll sprinkle a little pepper on my baked potato.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea. I’m going to ask for an extra lemon wedge for my salmon.”
“I’m going to also have a beverage of some sort.”
“Yes, I too will order a liquid in a glass.”
“Let us enter the restaurant and ask for a table.”
“Excellent suggestion. But don’t forget to ask for chairs too.”
//As we know, it doesn’t get any more exciting than this, folks.//
Professor Well Actually
May 15th, 2023 at 7:11 am Reply
MW: I’m confident Mary spends more time with Wilbur than with Jeff.
Ettorre
May 15th, 2023 at 4:40 am Reply
This would be an opportunity to bring back Dustin’s grandpa, who hates his son as much as Dustin’s dad hates Dustin. “I worked forty years in a union job, paying for my children’s food and education and my son all his life sided with the union busters, Reaganite scum that he is! I don’t know whether Dustin’s generation can do better, but at least they cannot do worse!
Schroduck
May 15th, 2023 at 4:41 am Reply
Dustin’s dad wouldn’t last five seconds in France. Partly because of his lack of respect for strikes, but mostly because that sandwich looks like the worst croque monsieur I’ve ever seen
Ettorre
May 15th, 2023 at 4:45 am Reply
Dustin’s dad doesn’t seem to understand that if you don’t use the leverage you have during period of full employment, you cannot renegotiate the contract to get better job protections for the future, when unemployment is going to be higher. Given his understanding of labour law and bargaining, I hope for his firm’s clients that he is not in charge of strategically negotiating pleas.
Rob J
May 15th, 2023 at 5:15 am Reply
Dustin: I”m guessing that the creators were originally saving this strip.and it’s anti-worker sentiment, for Labor Day, but they were caught off guard by the Writer’s Guild strike and needed a way to signal their loyalty to management quickly.
Bnonymous
May 15th, 2023 at 7:25 am Reply
Dustin: DustinDad is a card carrying fascist who gets upset at the slightest hint of civil disobedience, especially against the corporate state.
Downpuppy
May 15th, 2023 at 7:50 am Reply
Does it make sense that a company about to make massive job cuts would hire Dustin?
Nope.
Does that mean it wouldn’t happen?
As if.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TheDiva
May 15th, 2023 at 7:26 am Reply
Pluggers reuse paper plates because they’re cheap. If you try to imply it’s because they want to reduce waste and help the environment, they’ll chuck that thing after eating a single potato chip off of it.
RMMD: What happened to you, Mud Mountain Murphy? You used to be cool, and now look at you…your name isn’t even worth capslocking anymore.
MKay
May 15th, 2023 at 5:19 am Reply
RMMD: Giving himself a(nother) new name, Lemuel Mudde spends the rest of his days walking the fine line between bathroom-hogging glutton and saint.
Hibbleton
May 15th, 2023 at 5:49 am Reply
Marvin: An antique carriage clock strikes at 10 minutes after 10 to announce Marvin’s time-out record? Methinks ‘Bong!, Bong!, Bong!’ refers to Jeff Armstrong’s favorite brand of medicinal “tobacco.”
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Liam
May 15th, 2023 at 6:28 am Reply
FC-Don’t ask where Dolly puts the jelly.
astroboy
May 16th, 2023 at 4:34 am Reply
MW – “No aplogies needed” That’s good, since there was no apology offered.
lynn (I just grossed myself out)
May 16th, 2023 at 5:32 am Reply
MW: Don’t you think this is subtly coded foreplay, on the lines of the song ‘I like bread and butter’?
“I’m fine with the usual, Jeff.” “Well, Mary, I’m in the mood for steak – tough and chewy, just the way I like it! With that sloppy wet chowder, baby!”
TheDiva
May 16th, 2023 at 7:01 am Reply
MW: One of the “fun” things about the way my brain works is that I get awkward and anxious about interactions that objectively are no big deal, like when the person at the fast food counter recognizes me and knows my regular order. (“Have I been coming here too much? Do they think I’m weird for getting the same thing every time? I have to go to the location across town where nobody knows me now…”) So yeah, I found Mary Worth frighteningly relatable today. Karen Moy could blow this strip wide open if she made it about the neurodivergent community, especially since so many of the characters struggle with basic social cues.
ALK
May 16th, 2023 at 7:53 am Reply
MW: This entire meal is a coded script, a way for Mary and Jeff to play out their endless waltz. Boat ride, Bum Boat, rejected proposal. “I know I ALWAYS order the SALMON… but it makes me HAPPY every time I have it!” Mary states, knowing that the withholding of marriage from Dr. Jeff, keeping him eternally pining after her is the greatest thrill in her life. “We KNOW what we LIKE,” Jeff replies, his chase after Mary with bigger boats (euphemism?) ending with the erotic thrill of humiliation once again at he prize he always chases, but can never have.
Another 6 months, some Wilbur or Toby bullshit, and they’re at it again.
The Breathtaking Bonehead Brothers
May 16th, 2023 at 8:55 am Reply
Mary Worth: “I’ll have the Bearded Clam Chowder and Strip Poker Steak, and the lady will have the Salmon Rushdie.”
Dennis Jimenez
May 16th, 2023 at 9:13 am Reply
MW – I thought Meddln’ Mary was into stuffed flounder…and that in turn accounted for her affection for Wilbur Weston….
Artist formerly known as Ben
May 16th, 2023 at 12:26 pm Reply
MW: A scene that would have shocked Alfred Hitchcock to his very core. Mainly because he said. “What is drama, after all, than life with the dull bits cut out.” So what’s this doing here?
Rube
May 16th, 2023 at 10:02 am Reply
You know, if you just switched Mary and Jeff out for Henrietta and Earl, today’s Mary Worth would be a pretty good Pluggers.
C. Runt
May 16th, 2023 at 10:53 am Reply
A plugger can’t count to 1 unless his dick is hanging out.
That’s an amazing COTW, Ettorre.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jroggs
May 16th, 2023 at 4:54 am Reply
BB: Some things look like knees underneath a blanket, and some things look like a gigantic bulbous groin tumor underneath a blanket. This is not an example of the former.
Hibbleton
May 16th, 2023 at 5:01 am Reply
Lockhorns: “When he said he was bringing his ‘fishing pole’ I thought it was a metaphor.”
Inspector Gotcha
May 17th, 2023 at 4:53 am Reply
JP: That’s pretty nice. Abby has opened up the Spencer Home for Children of Fucked-Up Parents.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ukranazi Stepan
May 17th, 2023 at 4:38 am Reply
Run like hell, Mary Worth background couple! Run like hell!
Rube
May 17th, 2023 at 4:54 am Reply
Mary Worth “C’mon Mary. How can two people be happy who haven’t spent 15 minutes discussing how they are going to have exactly the same meal that they always have? By the way, I still think it’s permissible to call clam chowder and strip steak ‘surf and turf’, no matter what the menu says.”
Philip
May 17th, 2023 at 5:20 am Reply
Mary Worth – In the past Mary would have wanted to meddle, but writer Karen Moy, who has been made well aware by the Internet about what a “Karen” is, has decided Mary won’t be the one to interject. Luckily the Internet hasn’t settled on the name for a male Karen, and since Jeff isn’t a K name, he’s perfectly suited to butt into another couple’s lives, with Mary serving as a “reluctant” fixer.
Tabby Lavalamp
May 17th, 2023 at 5:24 am Reply
Dr. Jeff is so broken he doesn’t understand how a couple can possibly exist together without monologuing at each other about other people’s love lives.
Hibbleton
May 17th, 2023 at 5:28 am Reply
MW: Regarding the couple who are ignoring each other, the Bum Boat is so popular that singles are seated together. The policy got off to a rocky start but worked out in the end once Wilbur was banned.
Dennis Jimenez
May 17th, 2023 at 6:09 am Reply
MW – Don’t be deceived, Jeff. She’s jacking him under the table with her silk stockinged feet, as they read the News Max livestream….
Ukulele Ike
May 17th, 2023 at 7:42 am Reply
MW: “Don’t let looks deceive you….They are younger and much more attractive than us, and are probably going to fuck like minks tonight!”
Noel
May 17th, 2023 at 7:55 am Reply
MW: If this scene ends with that couple having a loud, public breakup and Mary and Dr. Jeff looking on with
sadistic gleecompassion like that time they watched a mother tell her daughter she and her husband are getting divorced, I’ll forgive the previous storyline.Peanut Gallery
May 17th, 2023 at 10:06 am Reply
MW – “Don’t let looks deceive you. That’s my Secret Service detail.”
Stacker Pacetrain
May 17th, 2023 at 4:51 am Reply
MW: When did Dr. Jeff have time to touch up his graying temples? I hope he tipped the Bum boat bathroom assistant accordingly.
MKay
May 17th, 2023 at 4:39 am Reply
MW: The woman is texting the man: “Look at that guy, having dinner with his grandma. How sweet!”
GT: Fortunately, the language of irrational loathing is universal. Kwan’s first words in English will be, “$%#** Thorp!”
TheDiva
May 17th, 2023 at 6:26 am Reply
GT: Luke is really committing to the “Ugly American” thing: he insists on wearing a cowboy hat everywhere, and it’s better than even odds that “talking” to Kim’s family will involve speaking English, but loudly and slowly (extra-offensive pidgin syntax optional). I hope he also holds his fingers in those V-brackets that are the universal comics symbol for “this is in a foreign language, trust us.”
made of wince
May 17th, 2023 at 8:49 am Reply
GT: “Let me talk to him. Which one of you is him? What’s going on outside? Is it important? Hey, just because the readers don’t know what’s going on doesn’t mean I do!”
ectojazzmage
May 17th, 2023 at 6:39 am Reply
Gil Thorp: Totally on-brand for Luke and Gil to treat baseball like it’s some kind of war. This is like a scene in an action movie where the villain hires some elite, foreign super-assassin to kill the heroes. “And once Gil Thorp has been eliminated, nothing shall stop us from ruling the world!” “You can keep the world, Hernandez. I just want a chance at Thorp…”
Voshkod
May 17th, 2023 at 6:42 am Reply
If the current Gil Thorp storyline ends in a bloody gun battle on the baseball field between the Korean geondal mafia and Milford’s hometown fentanyl dealers, all will be forgiven.
Hibbleton
May 17th, 2023 at 5:42 am Reply
DtM: The idea of Alice standing on a scale wearing only a bath towel while muttering obscenities after having just stepped out of the shower is …fan service done right.
gardenornament
May 17th, 2023 at 5:46 am Reply
@Hibbleton: “DtM: The idea of Alice standing on a scale wearing only a bath towel while muttering obscenities after having just stepped out of the shower is …fan service done right.”
And who says she’s wearing a bath towel (if she’s so upset about her weight, she’ll want to avoid adding even an ounce to it)? Mmm…. [snaps out of reverie]
I’d say Dennis is much more of a tease than a menace today. That’s simply not his job!
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
taig
May 17th, 2023 at 5:42 am Reply
H&L: That television screen exists in an alternate reality, since it matches absolutely nothing it’s reflecting, including Lois’s ass being in the way.
Steph
May 17th, 2023 at 5:08 am Reply
My sister has a baby a little older than Trixie and all I can notice is how barren that floor is – no toys anywhere. I know you’ve got a tee time to make but at least draw the kid a ball or a teddy bear, come on.
T K
May 17th, 2023 at 6:30 am Reply
@Steph: Your sister has a baby that’s 69 years old?
Weaselboy
May 17th, 2023 at 6:09 am Reply
H&L – Come on, Trixie. You can’t hold up your end of the conversation with thought balloons. Give her a “BA!”
Garrison Skunk
May 17th, 2023 at 8:15 am Reply
“What are you watching,Angus?” Ba ba ba “The Moron Channel?” Ba ba ba “It’s me reflected on the screen? Why I aughta…” (Neighbor calls child services to report a man beating up a baby)
gardenornament
May 17th, 2023 at 5:51 am Reply
Dustin: I think both Dustin and Megan are barking up the wrong tree. There are plenty of women out there who are dating, or married to, jobless doofuses.
I think it’s more a case of Dustin setting his aim too high (just as when he’s looking for entry-level senior management jobs requiring no qualifications). The ambitious, upwards-mobile, gold-digging types he likes to approach probably won’t settle for a doofus without a job. He could start by going to a different kind of bar, perhaps, ones that don’t charge you $20 for a beer.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Daisy
May 17th, 2023 at 7:56 am Reply
CS: “Hey kid – wanna go run over some mailboxes? I’ll let you drive!!”
I speak Jive
May 17th, 2023 at 8:25 am Reply
FC – I guess it was too much trouble to put a laptop in there.
Flipper
May 17th, 2023 at 8:58 am Reply
RMMD: Hank’s hoping this new grifter knows how to swim.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BigTed
May 17th, 2023 at 12:07 pm Reply
Pluggers: Hold on, now it’s okay to wear a baseball cap sideways? That’s 30 years’ worth of plugger “kids these days” jokes down the drain!
Little Guy
May 18th, 2023 at 4:36 am Reply
MW: Oh, look. Jeff’s discovered social introverts in public.
Ukranazi Stepan
May 18th, 2023 at 4:41 am Reply
Wary Morth:
Dr Jeff was bitten by a radioactive meddler, right?
Rube
May 18th, 2023 at 4:48 am Reply
Mary Worth “Why aren’t they having a wonderful evening like us, sitting around gossiping about total strangers who aren’t even doing anything worth gossiping about?”
Artist formerly known as Ben
May 18th, 2023 at 9:29 am Reply
MW: Amateurs think you can just meddle anyone. Pros know you have to look for the signs.
Noel
May 18th, 2023 at 9:49 am Reply
MW: I think somebody’s projecting. Or is several beers in. I hope he is so miffed by this that he feels the need to go up and confront them about it. I’m sure it’ll lead to a lovely evening.
Anonymous
May 18th, 2023 at 4:37 am Reply
Mary Worth : I am seeing Mary’s point from the opposite side : just because Mary is speaking to Dr Jeff, and is looking at him instead of staring at her phone, doesn’t mean she’s not ignoring him.
*************
Rex Morgan M.D. : “…I dunno. That song might not be appropriate for a kids; I use metaphors, but it’s still very obviously about f*ckin’.” “Oh, that’s not a problem!”
MKay
May 18th, 2023 at 4:59 am Reply
RMMD: Mr Mud’s Neighborhood: “Hi, kiddies! I’m going to the bathroom for a while to achieve enlightenment! See ya soon!”
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
pugfuggly
May 18th, 2023 at 4:45 am Reply
H&L I can imagine this same scene playing out again 20 years in the future, except about percocet.
But What Do I Know?
May 18th, 2023 at 6:26 am Reply
H&L — Chip has probably moved on to theodicies and is questioning why a good and loving God won’t let him get laid. . .
Tom T.
May 18th, 2023 at 5:39 am Reply
CS: His parents aren’t lazy; they didn’t pick him up because there’s a *school bus* to bring him home. Since Batiuk has no idea why all of the other parents did pick up their kids today, none of what follows makes any sense. And the implication that they’re destitute because they don’t have a car is just bizarre.
Deacon Blues
May 18th, 2023 at 6:05 am Reply
GT: Whoa. Luke Martinez is a regular Frank Costanza over here.
Artist formerly known as Ben
May 18th, 2023 at 9:29 am Reply
GT: [I can’t figure you out. You have the discipline to learn our language for this meeting, yet you seem to believe that wisdom is equivalent to a gaudy taste in knuckle bling.]
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ukulele Ike
May 18th, 2023 at 6:45 am Reply
JP: (Psssssstttt….Sophie! You nekkid?)
Baja Gaijin
May 19th, 2023 at 4:24 am Reply
Gil Thorp: I’ve had episodes of explosive diarrhea that displayed better planning skills than the author of this strip.
Philip
May 19th, 2023 at 5:30 am Reply
Beetle Bailey – Beetle has no enthusiasm for being ordered to serve as Sarge’s designated driver, or to have to clean out the Jeep they borrowed from the motor pool after Sarge vomits 25 different sorts of beer in the back.
TheDiva
May 19th, 2023 at 7:11 am Reply
BB: The purpose of a flight is to enjoy the variety of flavors and nuances offered by the libation in question rather than get hammered as quickly as possible, so I applaud Sarge for being a committed and thorough cerevisaphile. Even if it does mean the bartender now has to hammer together several flight boards on short notice.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Charterstoned
May 19th, 2023 at 4:32 am Reply
MW: Hey, Campers! For a fun trick, you can make Dr. Jeff morph into Wilbur, right before your very eyes! If you cover just the very top of his head with your thumb, he turns into our favorite schlub!
Merry Mirth
May 19th, 2023 at 4:28 am Reply
Jeff and Mary must think their relationship is completely normal.
Hibbleton
May 19th, 2023 at 4:38 am Reply
MW: “I mean look at those hips. Saying she’s had only six kids is putting it mildly.”
Weaselboy
May 19th, 2023 at 6:50 am Reply
MW – The lady is posting on Instagram: “TFW you’re trying to have a nice night out, but a couple of old people keep staring at you.”
Anonymoose
May 19th, 2023 at 7:10 am Reply
MW: Maybe that couple is not saying anything because they know that whatever they say, Mary will repeat it to Toby and everyone else in Charterstone.
Noel
May 19th, 2023 at 6:54 am Reply
MW: If Mary and Dr. Jeff were actually drinking instead of just waving around empty glasses, they probably wouldn’t feel the need to come up with a narrative to defend these people. They’d storm right up to them and make a big embarrassing public scene in a misguided attempt at helping them.
MKay
May 19th, 2023 at 4:32 am Reply
MW: At the rate he’s de-aging, Dr Jeff’s going to get carded for his next drink order.
RMMD: I suppose “Muddy Boots ” could be re-worked into a song about wiping your feet.
TheDiva
May 19th, 2023 at 7:42 am Reply
JP: Complaining about losing your job while wealthy CEOs rake in obscene bonuses hits differently when you’re doing it on the porch of your large home surrounded by several acres of private property before going to visit your thoroughbreds in the stables.
Special Scrotal Awards to the Best No. 69 and Beyond of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
69. 2+2=7
May 13th, 2023 at 8:41 am Reply
SHOE: Lady Bird: “Hopefully that amnesia will cause me to forget whatever happened to my gross distended arm” (Perfesser: “Thanks to the way this date ended, now I’m going to have a gross distended arm too once I get home and turn on the computer.”)
69. TheDiva
May 14th, 2023 at 7:21 am Reply
H&L: It’s very telling that Lois’ family, completely exhausted by the daily household labor that apparently has been her sole responsibility until now, respond not with “Wow, this is way too much work for one person! Maybe we should help out more on a regular basis!” but with “Can we show our appreciation in a lazier and more generalized way next time?”
MW: “It’s too bad things didn’t work out between her and Wilbur” is a statement on the level of “It’s too bad the Watergate break-in was thwarted” or “It’s too bad Hitler didn’t pull off Operation Barbarossa.”
Special Scrotal Awards to the Best No. 69 and Beyond of the Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
69. Ukulele Ike
May 15th, 2023 at 7:30 am Reply
Oooops, I hit #69….Phantom: “I can drive anything! But first, I need to fuck something! I’ve been locked up in there for seven and a half years! You’ll do!”
69. Anonymoose
May 19th, 2023 at 7:17 am Reply
MW: Mary and Jeff might want to focus more on their odd relationship where Jeff has to buy a ridiculously large boat just to get Mary to have a meal with him, instead of acting like a pair of middle school girls gossiping in the school cafeteria.
Thanks Baja and Scratchy. And a happy long weekend to us Canadian mudges.
Congrats to Ettorre for the hilarious COTW–and to all the floaters, shadowy types, and scrotes. Thanks for the mentions, Baja and Scratchy!
@Scratchy Scrotum LXIX:
Not just one but four comments? I really feel the love.
Yay, Etorre!
Thanks for the mentions, Baja and Scratchy!
@Rube: Long weekend? What, is May 22 the Canadian Fourth of July?
(quick googling) Victoria Day????? You fuckers are still celebrating the Famine Queen? I thought Lester Pearson moved the populace beyond all that royalty shit.
@Ukulele Ike: Don’t slander Good Queen Vickie (as nobody calls her.) The 2-4 Weekend, as it’s often called in Ontario, is the start of summer here, same as Memorial Day is in the States, and in Ontario is traditionally the time for fireworks, although now they are often set off on Canada Day, too.
Congrats to Ettorre and all the funny COTW-ers, and thanks to Josh (and Baja and Scratchy) for the mentions! And to all the pluggers and Slylock-ers out there, happy National Endangered Species Day.
Thanks, Josh, Scratchy, and Baja.
Just came from a library book sale. Saw a lot of “Zits” books. Got two “Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers”. Got checked out by the director of the library. I don’t know if she knows my name but she knows what branch I work at.
Great to be back on the float — 25 different beers for everyone!
Thanks, Josh, and thanks Baja and Scratchy, and Voshkudos to Ettorre, Schroduck, Ukulele Ike, pugfuggly, and pastordan. A strong week of comments!
@Rube: They call her Old Vic, right? Like the theatre?
Thanks, Scratchy and Baja! Applause for everyone recognized!
@Voshkod: Heh, really, she doesn’t get referred to all that much, I suppose, although sometimes on the long weekend one of the papers will run a thumbsucker piece about her.
Congratulations, Ettorre! And big thank-yous to Josh, Baja, and Scratchy. Always a thrill when you hit the trifecta.
Congratulations to Ettorre and the floaters and thanks, Baja and Scratchy!
@Rube: Yeah, I looked the holiday day up just after posting — handy to have a special marker day to get the white pants, seersucker blazers, and straw boaters out of mothballs.
What do you do for your actual “memorial day?” It must be a bigger deal than in Yankeeland, considering Canada wasn’t sitting on its hands for the first few years of both World Wars.
(Your memorial at Vimy Ridge is the cat’s pajamas!)
@Ukulele Ike: November 11, your Veterans Day, is Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth, and tends to be pretty solemn. Leading up to it, a lot of people still wear poppies, and there tend to be solemn ceremonies, with a two minute silence at 11 a.m. When my kid was in Air Cadets, he would sell poppies every year, and participate in a big ceremony on the preceding Sunday.
A surprising COTW, thanks Josh! However, it is always bittersweet to jump ahead thanks to Wilbur’s sex life (ugh!). Thanks Baja and Scratchy for the mentions and congratulations to all others!
Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up! All excellent stuff! And thanks to Baja and Scratchy!
@Rube: Good on him! Was he inspired by Billy Bishop?
(Obligatory Kate Beaton link, the most fun way to learn your Canadian history)
@Ukulele Ike: Air Cadets, according to my kid, tended to be a cheerful bunch of goofballs who liked planes. Navy Cadets tended to be a cheerful bunch of goofballs who liked boats. Army Cadets tended to be a surly bunch of assholes who liked killing stuff.
Thanks for the mentions! May your dreams be nothing but Fearless Fosdick shooting Fuddonna.
Spank you very much to Baja and Scratchy, and kudzus and wild applesauce to all the floaters and scroters, with special condolurations and reconfiscation to Ettorre.
Thanks, youse guys.
“Ghost Who Steals Rex Morgan’s Pissy Face” cracks me up, I must say. And yes, agree with Voshkudo: a good week for snark round these parts.
Congrats to Ettorre, everyone on the float, my fellow shadowfloaters and the scratchies! A Bwoon Cwoon to pugfuggly!
Congrat to Ettorre for the COTW!
And thanks to
SackOf5thAvenueScratchy for the mention!@pastordan: Hmm, now I’m wondering if “Ghost Who Steals Rex Morgan’s Pissy Face” should become my user name, since I’m no longer actually a pastor…
@Rube: Don’t slander Good Queen Vickie (as nobody calls her.)
***
All I know about royalty is pretty much from pop culture and/or the John Oliver Show.
I was reminded of some of the more colorful counts/consorts, princii, etc. on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel when Princess Margaret was on the Gordon Ford Show. (Sorry for the spoiler on that, though it’s hardly significant.) I was pretty young with Maggie was in the news. I do remember Fergie and how she shook things up sometimes. And now there is Meghan.
Congrats to all of today’s honorees, and thank you again, Baja and Scratchy. A pair of Bum Boat gift certificates for a table next to Mary and Jeff on “Mary and Jeff Criticize Other People Nite” is being rushed to each of you!
Congrats to Ettorre and the other worthies on the float. Congrats also to the scratchies and shadow-ies, with thanks to Baja Gaijin and scratchy scrotum lxix. Beret-tip to BigTed.
Thanks, Baja and Scratchy!
Congrats to all the floaters and thanks to Josh, Baja, and Scratchy for the recap of all the snark I missed this week. Funny stuff!
Baja, this is just amazing! Thank you so much! See, I’ve installed giant palm fronds to cool and shade my six-seat Shadow Float corner, and then I draped chains of colorful flowers all around, and then I brought aboard a cooler full of small assorted ice creams! No, of course I won’t throw them off the Shadow Float and risk hitting and injuring people. I’m going to eat them myself. Wait, here’s one for you, there you go. Now where’s my big spoon. Ahhhhhh.
@pastordan: What!? Well, you’ll always be OUR pastor, you can’t get out of it. Pastor Emeritus, at least.
@Peanut Gallery: See user name for career update.
@58 pastordan:
I see. Kind of like this.
@communityhealthprogramdirectordan: May your new career go swimmingly and/or walkingly and/or pickleballingly and/or healthyeatingly, etc. Choose your name, and new or old, we shall respect it!