He shouldn’t be alive — and I for one think it’s time to do something about that
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Mary Worth, 12/3/24
It can be hard to remember sometimes that Wilbur doesn’t dedicate his full energy to being a sad loser with a host of emotional problems; he also has an ostensible job as a newspaper columnist, simultaneously acting, against all good sense, as an advice columnist, something he has no qualifications for, and, separately, as a chronicler of the lives of people who have survived disasters, a job he secured after he himself almost died in a cruise ship disaster (no, not the one you’re thinking of, I’m talking about the one before that). Anyway, Wilbur is going to Florida for two weeks to interview hurricane survivors, which is the sort of thing a lot of people would use as a thin excuse to basically go on a Florida vacation, except that immediately afterwards he’s going to actually go on a Florida vacation. Florida as a state has a lot to answer for, but I frankly don’t believe they deserve this.
Beetle Bailey, 12/3/24
It’s a good thing America’s enemies don’t read the comics, because otherwise they’d learn that, much like 19th century Ireland, the U.S. Army is overly dependent on a single crop, and the introduction of, say, a water mold that could infect that crop would rapidly degrade our military readiness and leave us vulnerable to invasion! But America’s enemies are very much like Americans in a number of ways, one of which is that they generally do not read the newspaper comics. Surely this is something we could bond over, which in turn could transform enmity into friendship!
144 replies to “He shouldn’t be alive — and I for one think it’s time to do something about that”
Mary Worth Mashup: You like?
MW:
“You know, this has an interesting flavor and consistency, Mary. Its texture is somewhat ragged, almost disheveled, but taking a bite out of it gives me an urge to want to improvise East Indian music. What exactly do you call this?”
“A ragamuffin!”
BB:
Has Cookie ever considered the possibility of electrolysis to get rid of that ungainly arm hair?
MW-It’s that time of the year. Like how Uncle Lumpy takes over for Josh, Mary will take over for Wilbur.
MW-Wilbur thinks that enough time has passed for the people of Florida to have gotten over the horror of the hurricane that it’s time for him to unleash his horror on them.
MW-Why, Wilbur, don’t you know that there is a way you can do both columns at the same time? It’s called email. You can receive advice questions rather quickly and send responses just as fast.
RMMD-Shouldn’t you offer a bandage or a towel?
MW-For the love of god haven’t those people suffered enough!
MW: “So basically, You’re asking me to do your job for a whole month? Ha, ha! You are one clueless sack-of-shit Wilbur but I still love ya!”
@Bob Tice: Maybe Cookie could gender transition and never have to worry about body hair at all before going back home to finish schooling? But will Blondie and Dagwood approve of such a change?
MW: For all the folks worrying that we’re getting another Wilbur story, there’s good news. We’ve had one too recently, and besides, when one Weston leaves town, the plot is usually about the other one hanging around locally being lonely. The bad news is, of course, that this means we’re getting an arc about Dawn hanging around locally being lonely and subsequently falling deeply in love with the first bepenised human being she encounters. Look, these stories can’t
allever be winners.JP: Is every cop in the Cavelton metropolitan area really still actively looking for Ann a year after her bizarre forest hijinks? Maybe they should split off at least a small task force to hunt down the creepy skunk-headed old man who’s been sneaking around and photographing frightened women.
RMMD: Merle Lewton may not be in great physical shape, but all those Korean dramas have taught him tremendous mental fortitude in the face of a life-threatening injury. After all, a few lacerated internal organs is no excuse to forget your manners or use coarse language. Incidentally, Terry Beatty writes authentic American dialogue like he learned English from watching Korean dramas.
Luann: “It’s fine to grope and fondle women you barely know without their consent as long as you’re wearing gloves. No germs, feels just as nice, and best of all… nO FinGeRpRinTs.” – Karen Evans, current president of the National Cartoonists Society
MW: Red alert! Red alert! Wilbur in a Speedo!
RMMD: Rex: “I told you to take a WALK, Merle. Did I tell you to get stabbed? Why can’t anyone follow doctor’s orders?”
BB: It’s not so much the peeling that depresses Beetle, but the inedible, gag-me sludge that Cookie will manage to produce from the potatoes.
Chix (sic): Excellent strip today. Thought provoking and right on point.
Knowing Wilbur, all of the Ask Wendy payments will still be going directly into his account.
I mean, Moy purposely makes him as obnoxious and boorish as possible. Because that’s the joke. She knows we hate Wilbur for who he is and she tries to deliver by giving us fodder.
There is no way in Hell that Moy could be so oblivious to actually believe that he’s sympathetic.
Also seeing as Dawn’s nightmare of transforming into Wilbur was literally seen as a horrifying scenario. Moy definitely knows what’s up.
MW: Wilbur will be frolicking on a beach in south Florida when he runs into a Colombian giantess.
MW: Maybe I need new glasses or they should make the print a little larger:
“…And afterwards, I’m taking some rear.”
BB: Bailey is an extremely Scottish name, so I think we have to assume that Beetle’s ancestors were Presbyterian colonists brought into Northern Ireland by King James IV&I to displace native Catholics during the Plantation of Ulster. Always good to learn more about the backstory of my favourite comics characters!
MW – Is Wilbur’s R & R a trip back to the beaches of Bogata to win back Fabiana?
MW: Mary opens the first letter as she takes over Wilbur’s “Dear Wendy” column.
“Dear Wendy,
He’s gone now, but I’m afraid this jerk who keeps showing up wherever I am is going to come back. I think he’s stalking me! Even if I leave town, he keeps sending me texts and sometimes even make these video calls—I thought he was trying to get clues from my background. He’s clearly keeping tabs on where I am and what I’m doing…! I’m a single young woman and this dipshit is a fat, balding dude who is totally repulsive. I can’t seem to get rid of him!! What should I do?
Signed,
Harassed”
Mary smiles as her hands, poised over the keyboard, drop to type.
“Dear Harassed,
He’s your FATHER, Dawn. Accept his endearing quirks. Try karaoke.
Wendy”
So, is Josh going to show us what horrors are in Judge Parker’s basement or what?
I can’t be expected to look up the comic on my own… like a peasant!
Actually… let me rephrase that.
I can’t be expected to look up the comic on my own because I have too much dignity to read Judge Parker unless someone is reading it for me… my royal fingers must not be stained by the clicking of terrible comic sites, so I must only stay on the good ones.
“More
ZippersComic Blogging Mules!!”FC: Thel would normally find Jeffy’s belt busting shitstorm quite amusing if she didn’t have to clean him.
So in 2017 we learned that Sgt. Snorkel is Greek-American. Today we learn that Beetle is Irish-American. Wonder what exciting ethnic reveal Walker-Browne Enterprises has planned for 2031? My money’s on “Killer’s mom is from Estonia.”
@The Rambling Otter: I was going to rename myself something like “The Snooty Otter” or such, as part of the joke, but I have no idea how to change my username unless I log out.
@The Rambling Otter: If Josh had been allowed to keep the name “Josh reads the comics so you don’t have to” we could complain about truth in advertising.
@The Rambling Otter: Anyhow it turns out that the big reveal was that Alan has Ann locked down in the basement for her own protection, exactly as Josh predicted.
Wrecks Moregone creative team:
Showing a man getting stabbed in the abdomen and doubling over in agony: fine.
Showing, you know, one drop of blood from said stabbing: a step too bloody far.
@Baja Gaijin:
Could we have a mashup in which Weelbur never returns, because he comes to a sticky end? You can use my comics if you like.
@Charterstoned:
Harassed: “Is that you, Mary? Thanks for the advice. I’m blocking his number right away. And yours.”
BB – That’s a cool fact, Beetle. Now tell him about your Great Uncle George, who learned the true meaning of Christmas by finding out what life would be like if he had never been born.
MW: Truly, this is Wilbur just moving into the next phase of his life, that of a Florida Man. I mean you look at some of the shit he’s pulled, he’s already almost there anyway…
Okay, let’s decide on the ethbnicity of other “Beetle Bailey” characters.
Plato — Greek
Sgt. Snorkel — Polish
Lt. Fuzz — Danish
Rocky — Italian
Killer — French
Zero — Applachian
Lt. Yo — Japanese
Miss Buxley — Swedish
Lt. Flap — Nigerian
Cookie — I dunno…Yeti?
Mary Worth: “Wendy, my son has turned into an alcoholic drifter who loves to torture animals and light fires. I’m so frustrated I feel like I could end it all. What should I do?” “Every situation can be brightened with a palette of lilac, purple and pastel rose, including funeral boquets. Don’t forget the blueberry muffins!”
@Pozzo:
Halftrack…….Paraguayan?
I think the Paraguayan military was asking the last to still use half tracks, around the Alfredo Strössner dictatorship era.
Beaten Daily:
Wait, Cockroach didn’t say his ancestors came over from Ireland, he just said they came over in 1845 during the Irish potato famine.
He could be literally from anywhere outside Africa or East Asia.
@The Rambling Otter: Follow this link. (Tip o’ the pin to Uncle Lumpy, who showed me the way.)
Hãgår thé Hørrïblê:
That’s Olaf Noahsson, 10th century Viking eccentric.
Mary Worth – I hope that while on assignment in Florida, Wilbur learns that his position has been eliminated in favor of just “reporting” the advice given in the “Am I The Asshole” subreddit.
Beetle Bailey – Beetle’s ancestor didn’t so much come to flee starvation, as great-great Grandpa Bailey took the lack of crops to load as a chance to take a nap at his job on the dock in Dublin. Too late would that ancestor discover the ship he worked on had been converted to take refugees, and he was dumped off on Ellis Island by his bosses, who were grateful to be rid of him.
@33 Baja Gaijin:
Gotta like Libby’s take on the situation. Maybe you noticed my cat’s reaction to today’s strip.
MW: I love that, in an era of dying print journalism, the Sante Royale Shopper or whatever is paying for a doofus like Wilbur to travel the world to bring back stories of human misery for his once-in-whenever-I-feel-like-it column. I can’t imagine what his colleague covering municipal politics is thinking as raids the coffee room couch cushions to find bus fare to city hall.
BB: I don’t feel like I’ve had a good handle on irony since the day in ninth grade English that my teacher decided to take 25 minutes to talk about Alanis Morrissette, but somehow “my ancestors fled Ireland because there weren’t enough potatoes and now in America I have too many potatoes” doesn’t really fit the definition? It’s no “10 000 spoons when you need a knife’, that’s for sure.
MW: I could forgive a lot if Wilbur ends up losing his nest egg to Entertainer Esme.
Zits Spanish to English.
Fifty years ago today Baptist ministers in Connecticut said home ec classes for boys would make them gay and Andy Capp’s wife took on a man’s job of doing home repairs.
I don’t normally have any sympathy for Wilbur, but the way he’s grasping that muffin for dear life makes me think it’s okay to let him spend some time relaxing with Florida’s greatest tourist attractions, Disney World and meth.
I assumed that Beetle and Lois were Scandanavian — direct descendents of Hagar and Helga. You know, since the Browne Walker clan likes to keep it in the family.
@Philip: while on assignment in Florida, Wilbur learns that his position has been eliminated in favor of just “reporting” the advice given in the “Am I The Asshole” subreddit.
The column will be called “I Was The Asshole.”
The only thing worse than Wilbur’s insipid advice are the pious platitudes Mary writes INSTEAD of advice.
@pugfuggly:
MW: Who said anything about him getting paid? He spent weeks living in his own filth over the death of a two-dollar goldfish. He was most likely fired weeks ago but is in such deep denial that fact still hasn’t reached his brain.
Mary knows all, of course, which is why she’s indulging his ‘endearing quirk’ much like the doctors at a sanitarium circa 1965 might. ‘Yes, Wilbur, of course! I’ll make sure your column is nice and safe until you get back!’
Wilbur then wanders off for a few days (knocking children and elderly people into the path of oncoming cars) then comes back to Charterstone like an abandoned dog or horse.
‘Gee, Florida sure was great, Mary! I went to Disney World, and Sea World, and Governor DeSantis gave me the key to Miami…’
‘Yes, Wilbur, I know Wilbur! Why don’t you go feed your fish?’
Bold of you to assume Wilbur can’t follow up two weeks of thinly veiled vacation time with two more weeks of not-veiled vacation time for an entire month of inactivity!
MW: After working 20 hours a week for two straight weeks, Wilbur will be exhausted, so the R&R is well deserved. Maybe he’ll be pushed out of one of those tourist fan boats in the Everglades and be eaten by an alligator.
GT: Ooooooo, look out, Goshen. Here comes the Mudlark coaching staff, and they’re trying to look all badass.
RMMD: “Um, the ambulance should be here any minute now, so, uh, I gotta run. See you around, okay? You might want to move out of the street, but that’s up to you. Good luck. Bye.”
JP: This, of course, makes zero sense. You know Randy is going to tell his wife, so why are they bothering to hide Ann today? I mean, Katherine must already know, right? Right? And why has Katherine allowed Alan to turn into a depressed booze-swilling lump of nothing? Weird
Is Beetle lazy because he’s Irish or did Mort Walker (or his heirs) make him Irish because he’s lazy? Maybe cause-effect is just illusory in a world where change doesn’t happen, so, as Parmenides argued, all you can say is that “being is” and “not being is not”
Is God sending Wilbur to die in Florida? But why he did not succeed the last two times? If God is almighty but doesn’t want to kill Wilbur, he is not benevolent. If God wants to kill Wilbur but can’t, he is not almighty. If God is neither benevolent nor almighty, he is not God. If God is almighty and benevolent… well, “Si Deus est, unde Wilburis?”
MW- Attention people of Florida! While it is against the law to harass the Manatees, feel free to kick the hell out of the one wearing the speedo!
Cute historical reference Beetle, I just hope you will not follow it with “You are making me work like a slave, which the Irish in America were, just like black people!”
@24 Ukranazi Stepan: If a shipwreck and a fall off a cruise ship didn’t kill him, nor has eating dozens of Mary muffins daily, I don’t think I can. We’ll see.
@33 Philip: I wonder how many journalists do that. I see so many articles that are just repostings of Reddits.
@34 Sequitur: I’m guessing your cat didn’t have a big toothy smile like Libby’s upon reading this strip.
BB: I fail to see the irony. Beetle’s ancestors came over because of a potato famine, and it worked! Now Beetle has more potatoes than in the dreams of Olwen! If Beetle were lining up to buy fries from Killer at $25 an ounce, now that would be ironic.
MW – Why would an advice columnist be interviewing hurricane victims? To what end?
“Dear Wendy: After our home was destroyed in a hurricane, my husband suggested we stay at the home of a work associate for awhile. Now it turns out they’d been having an affair and he spends every night banging her in the master bedroom while I sleep on the couch. Help!”
MW: After the hurricane where were the survivors buried?
Under the insufferable presence of Wilbur Weston.
@51 Baja Gaijin:
With fangs bared…
Has there ever been an eye-roll in BB before? It doesn’t seem like that’s part of the usual Walker-Browne toolkit.
@Ettorre: The theodicy is that it is good for God to create people with free will but that every way of doing so may lead to people freely bringing about Wilbur. This is the doctrine of transworld Wilburity.
BB:
MW: I have to think there is a noticeable difference when Mary takes over “Ask Wendy:”
Dear Wendy,
For the last several years my uncle has been insufferable at holiday gatherings. He always insists on talking politics and promotes these crazy conspiracy theories he finds online. My Black transgender girlfriend will be joining me for Christmas, and while my parents are very accepting of her I know my uncle will make her feel uncomfortable and unsafe. What should I do?
Anxious in LA
Mary: Dear Anxious, you and your uncle may not agree on everything but he is still family and that means you must really, really love each other deep down! Life would be very boring if we all were the same, wouldn’t it? Remember that blood is thicker than water, blessed are the peacemakers and fish and visitors stink after three days….
Wilbur: Dear Anxious, you think YOU have problems? Just when I thought my ex-girlfriend was FINALLY getting over that one time I let her think I was dead when I was enjoying endless mai tais on a Caribbean beach, she goes and gets married to a veterinarian! Just because he’s handsome and kind and has a well-paying job and doesn’t kick her cat for interrupting his rendition of ‘Proud Mary’ and doesn’t smell like week-old mayonnaise and flop sweat. I can’t believe she’d be so shallow! And don’t get me started on my daughter…
@White Rabbit: Wouldn’t it be more in Cosmo’s line to be ripping off Beetle with overpriced spuds? Killer’s whole thing is chasing poontang, and none of these people have more than one identifying characteristic.
Lots of well-off 19th century Boston and New York WASPs hired Irish immigrant women as cooks, which was a terrible idea, because they weren’t used to having food around.
I’m trying to imagine the ancestors of Beetle mustering up the energy to get out of bed and walk down to the docks and I can’t. He really shouldn’t exist… both as a person and as a comic strip really.
MW – Is R&R a knock-off of famed brown sauce H&P?
Someone in my Facebook feed praised God because he was still alive and that meant God wanted him alive. Which, of course, means that there are a lot of people God didn’t want alive. Your response regarding Wilbur makes a lot more sense. Thanks for it.
C’shaft: Please, like Harry Dinkle wouldn’t jump at every opportunity to stand on a podium and conduct Claude Barlow’s greatest holiday hits. (The school was planning on doing “Sleigh Ride,” but Dinkle’s in charge now so he makes the set list!)
DT: Your body’s telling you, “Please, put us out of our misery, the sooner the better.”
JP: “Sheeh, when it’s your wife on the lam you’ll move heaven and earth for her, but your own sister…?”
Luann: Mrs. Horner’s going to die, isn’t she? The strip is suddenly deeply invested in this tertiary character we haven’t seen in months if not years, and now Luann’s expressing concerns about her health. There’s no way this doesn’t end with Luann showing up one day only to find Phil here changing the sheets on her tragically empty bed.
Pluggers should probably book an appointment with their cardiologist, or go to the emergency room.
RMMD: Oh, this is all part of Rene Belluso’s latest wacky scheme!
That being the case, it’s such a shame it will be the first state totally underwater.
If Luann really gave a shit about Mrs. Horner, she’d donate a kidney.
MW – Interesting tea cup Mary has. From the way she is gripping it, it looks like the handle is on sideways.
Meanwhile, Wilbur’s going to eat that muffin with the wrapping still on, isn’t he?
@Scratchy Scrotum LXIX: Think of how much cooler and more comfortable it’ll be down there when you have to wade everywhere through waist-deep water.
MW – (Wilbur) The last time you snubbed me on Ask Wendy, it went vey well. (Mary) I’d snub you anytime….
BB – Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. But then again, those who study the shit out’a history are doomed to repeat it, too. WtF am I thinking – Beetle never studied anything in his life….
Adios Amigos, DJ.
@TheDiva: re Pluggers: Or he should buy larger sweaters. No way he could have gotten that one *on* in the first place, much less take it off.
Thank you, D. J., for taking the 69 spot. I was waiting so I wouldn’t bogart it with these fine insights:
Taking one for the team, I checked the Trufans. No. 1 Incel says:
Morcock69 Premium Member about 9 hours ago
Phil sounds quite dedicated to his work and to his patient.
Very refreshing in this day and age.
On the other hand, he might want to ditch the “comforting touch” bit. ;-)
Meanwhile, in Family Circlejerk, Jeffy looks like he’s on his way to becoming the world’s youngest Plugger.
Mary Worth: …I’m sorry, Wilbur has been in TWO separate cruise ship accidents? Maybe he should think about moving inland, I’m starting to think the ocean has it out for this dude (and why wouldn’t it?).
Beetle Bailey: The chef is rolling his eyes because, yeah, no duh, that’s why he’s got Beetle cutting potatoes in a microaggression of anti-Irish racism.
@Baja Gaijin:
He probably would not survive this.
Luann:
Inner Beauty can’t stomach the thought of being touched by the POORS who WORK WITH THEIR HANDS.
Don Abundio, translated:
“You don’t mind meeting me here, pal? My acting career isn’t going so hot”
“No, Juan… It’s actually lucky for me”
“Since the only job you can get is emcee in a strip club!”
MW: Wilbur should go on a cruise while in Florida. After all, third time’s the charm…
BB: It’s like ten thousand spuds, when all you need is a nap…
GT: Is saying you’ll eat your own shoe if you lose really considered issuing a challenge?
SFx: Cartoon Moon Pedant is happy in panel 1, and sad in panel 2.
BB: Tomorrow we’ll see Miss Buxley enjoying Beetle Bailey’s Irish cream.
Family Circus: This is one of those cartoons that would be better without any caption. Just that image of Jeffy standing helplessly with his pants about to fall off is perfect as is.
Dennis the Menace: Dennis and these other children have been abducted by this mentally disturbed woman who has dressed them all like elves and is feeding them nothing but cake.
Zits: How much did Doritos pay for this product placement?
Slylock Fox: The person in the tent has been violently mauled by wild animals and as he succumbs to his injuries he calls out for Zorro.
Curtis: Need to see a source for those dubious statistics.
Luann: Luann still thinks boys have cooties.
MW: I just hope that R&R doesn’t involve Wilbur going to the beach.
BB: Irish Potato Famine fun fact: Ottoman Sultan Abdulmejid I (reigned 1839-1861) is considered a national hero by the Irish people for the charitable aid he donated for famine relief. While the British government’s attitude was fuck ’em, let ’em starve, he sent several shiploads of food and supplies and a cash donation of £1,000. He would’ve donated £10,000 but was told by the British government it wouldn’t be cricket for him to give more than the Queen.
Possibly Wilbur will visit Mar-A-Lago and get a job in the new Trump administration. He will head the new department of Fat Divorced Slobs.
DT: Tracy doesn’t really know how cosplay works, does he?
@Ukulele Ike: Wouldn’t it be more in Cosmo’s line to be ripping off Beetle with overpriced spuds?
That’s very true! Have we seen much of Cosmo lately? Every outfit in the Army has to have an entrepreneur in the ranks. And he could loan Beetle the money, to be paid back double on payday without fail.
@pugfuggly: Many are the good snarks about Wilbur today, but yours about city-hall journalism strikes a very special chord. I hope to see it honored on Friday.
MW: Oh, Wilbur. So many of us loathe you already that there’s really no need to talk about your R&R in order to increase the loathing. But just to see if that’s really what you’re up to, let’s take a look at the next few days of MW. *looks* Oh geeez, the loathing is definitely about to expand. Go to hell, Wilbur.
GT: Gotta say, the art has gotten (marginally) better.
But the drawings of Gil and his avenging staff look to be modeled on the image of the four guys marching into the town in the closing minutes of “The Wild Bunch”.
There’s probably a YouTube video of what happened next.
Hope the same doesn’t happen to the Milford coaching staff.
@84 White Rabbit:
The last time Cosmo is mentioned is November 6, 2024. He is not seen, just mentioned.
Cosmo is always pictured smoking a cigar. It’s possible they now don’t want to depict someone smoking and you maybe wouldn’t recognize him without the cigar,
@SparkoHeaps:
That would explain why Chip looks the way that he does.
MT: I still can’t tell if that catio is a stand-alone structure or is attached to the main building with an entrance from the main building. I suppose it’s the latter. As another option, my “catio” is a stand-alone chain-link dog pen that was put together and had a cheap plastic “roof” added, and my cats love it. And carrying them in and out is good exercise. Well, they don’t love it in the winter when it’s eleven F outside, like a couple of days ago, but that’s when they stay in the house and look smug when I need to go out.
@UncleJeff: The Lame Bunch.
@Lord Flatulence: NONE of these freaks does. The door-answering guy isn’t just wearing a bow tie and snappy 1940s double-breasted suit, like Flattop did in his initial appearance, but had plastic surgery to duplicate that ugly mug and got someone to flatten his cranium with a shovel.
If I wanted to impersonate a Dick Tracy villain, I’d pick one of the ladykiller studs like 88 Keyes or Shoulders or Sketch Paree. All of which, I recall, were actual lady killers.
@Sequitur: So Cosmo plays bass, which makes sense. For every fifty guitarists out there there’s about one bassist. Cosmo can cut the line for that sweet gig cash.
@Guillermo el chiclero: I was so interested that I checked, and Victoria gave two thousand pounds. Definitely not England’s finest hour.
@92 Ukulele Ike:
All that proves is he probably scammed a bass player.
Slylock: What the hell! There are seven differences! The raccoon’s nose is different! At least in the supplemental web comics in my local paper. This is without precedent! It’s not in the list of secret answers, but it’s different all right.
Blondie: Apropos of nothing, I was thinking of another trope that used to occur in Blondie that’s fallen by the wayside. Blondie used to wake up Dagwood in the middle of the night, saying she heard something downstairs. He would arm himself with a kitchen knife, and find a burglar, with whom he would trade witty remarks.
@White Rabbit: #84: Cosmo was modeled after the barracks hustler played by William Holden in “Stalag 17”. When I was a kid he was a frequent regular, ran a little kiosk in the barracks called Cosmo’s Corner.
@95 White Rabbit:
The only thing I see different in the raccoon’s nose is the shiny spot is slightly shinier in the left picture.
I guess that should count.
@Bob Tice: Or maybe some Caribbean Ska music. Then it would be a RastaMuffin.
@Sequitur: Yes, that’s it.
HtH: You know what? I can’t even be mad. Like, is there any point in questioning whether Vikings knew about skunks, when it’s this far from the biggest anachronism here? And the bigger anachronism is so blatant that talking about it as a “mistake”, as if Walker-Browne LLC don’t know there’s a difference between Viking times and Old Testament times, feels like missing the point.
JP: Today in “you’ve kind of answered your own question there” Randy asks why someone who’s on the run from the cops would be hiding in a basement.
Phantom: I spent way too long suspiciously researching panel 1, but I will reluctantly concede that a) the upper windscreens of some double decker London tour buses really are that big (I think it might be modelled on this one), and b) depending on where you are, I think it’s possible for someone at that height to see the Westminster clock tower, but not rest of the building or any of London’s absurdist skyscrapers. So good work, Manley, even if it does look like the perspective has gone wonky at first glance. And with that out of the way, I can focus on Diana’s surprise that sometimes her husband punches people he hasn’t even been introduced to!
RMMD: Buster’s mysterious animal senses reveal the truth and he desperately tries to tell his owner “This so-called ‘neighbour’ is the same guy who was behind the Miss Galaxia scam! He’s not even in a disguise!” Merle remains oblivious, as he focuses on saying “Oh dear, I appear to be in considerable pain” like Lt Cmdr Data trying to pretend he’s not an android.
MW: Why are we assuming that Wilbur is going to Florida? After all, North Carolina got absolutely hammered not that long before Florida did…aw, who am I kidding? Moy probably barely knows that there is such a place as North Carolina.
@100 Horace Broon: on Phantom bus
I look at your link and all I can think about is if it rains all the people in the upper deck would try to cram into that small covered area. Or do Londoners even care about the rain much like the people in Oregon.
@101 Tom:
Ah, c’mon. With winter coming and you had the choice between western North Carolina or Florida, what would you choose?
FC: Jeffy just flashed his sister.
FG: Is Dova going to get the you’re not good enough for my son speech?
@Poteet: #93: The Sultan followed diplomatic procedure because he was trying to curry an alliance with Britain. It paid off handsomely during the Crimean War when they came to Turkey’s aid against Russia.
@Guillermo el chiclero: re FG: Apparently Dova wasn’t raised among lions and may not know who her lion parent was. Any bets it could be Jugrid… or Dovana?
Next up: HTT Grandma!
@TheDiva: “Luann: Mrs. Horner’s going to die, isn’t she? The strip is suddenly deeply invested in this tertiary character we haven’t seen in months if not years, and now Luann’s expressing concerns about her health. There’s no way this doesn’t end with Luann showing up one day only to find Phil here changing the sheets on her tragically empty bed.”
She showed up again less than a year ago as Luann’s 96-year-old creative writing instructor. She almost died once already. She’s like a free pass, they can give her these empty storylines and when they finally kill her off, nobody is going to notice, or complain.
FC: Jeffy, you’re getting a little chubby there, aren’t you?
@Matt w: But Lutherans and Calvinists do not believe in free will
@Scratchy Scrotum LXIX: Saint Paul has a bit about how a vase cannot complain about what the clay-maker does with him. Which some might find convincing, but I don’t
Six Chex and a Cool Pawed Cat Named Luke In Search Of A Punchline: Weirdest “Cool Hand Luke” reboot ever!
” What we have here is a failure to amusinate!”
BB: Just how ironic is this really? On a scale of Alanis Morrisette to ten, I mean.
MW: The good news—at least for those not living in Western North Carolina—is that Wilbur will be away for a few weeks. The bad news is that Mary will be taking over Ask Wendy for that time. Sure it might sound like fun, but as I recall the last time she didn’t even answer any letters but just spewed platitudes for a week.
C-Shaft: If Harry Dinkle is going to be burning the candelabrum at both ends—i.e. freebasing—he’s going to need the rum part for the comedown.
Dustin: Dustdad is indeed a sour prick, but I don’t see how the donut will help with that.
GT: We’re meant to believe this is a world where the phrase “viral Fox Used Auto commercial” makes some kind of sense, then?
JP: Yeah, this…is not a good situation for Ann. It looks like the squalid living quarters of someone being set up as patsy in a political assassination, poorly hung girly poster and all.
HtH: Questionable chronology of Hagar sailing during the Great Flood aside—don’t wait up, Helga—Noah’s real problem is that he’s trying to transport all the beasts of the field in a boat around the size of a good tool shed.
Luann: Luann is coming to the conclusion that a hospice worker is her best hope for love about 60 years sooner than I’d expect.
MT: Uh, Bill? I’m kind of a Luddite, this digital world is foreign and threatening to me etc. But I’m pretty sure you still speak into a phone.
RMMD: Next step is to call Rex Morgan and tell him it was a nice thought but Lewton is going back to sitting on his ass watching Korean soaps.
I didn’t know Wilbur wrote an advice column. I definitely used to know, since I read through the “Mary Worth” archive. My mind must have deleted that knowledge, no doubt in self defense. Wilbur being paid by a newspaper to dispense life advice is the greatest injustice in history. The fact that Wilbur and that newspaper are fictional only makes it worse.
@Artist formerly known as Ben: re: JP: By golly, there is a girly poster in Alan’s darkroom. Must be a leftover from one of his “art shoots.” Hey, I see where Ann keeps her toilet paper.
Phil is an ideal love interest for Luann. He’s used to handling room-temperature stiffs.
@Artist formerly known as Ben: I enjoyed your BB comment
@Ukulele Ike: Good one on Phil.
For those of you who are hinting Wilbur may be going to North Carolina, yesterday he definitely stated he’s going to Tampa.
@I’m Not Cthulhu, But I Play Him On TV: Went into my profile there, wasn’t able to change my Username through this.
@The Quiet Man: An all-to-likely scenario
@Poteet: You are too kind..!
@I’m Not Cthulhu, But I Play Him On TV: But also thank you for the help :3
@20 The Rambling Otter:
You can change your username. Go to your member profile, click on your nickname. It’ll ask for your password, type in your password and you’ll be able to change your nickname which is actually your username or if you prefer your nom de blog.
I should mention that I have not actually done this except part way to see if it would work. I got the the entering password part and it would allow me to change my name but I never finished that part.
@Sequitur: Wilbur’s goin’ down to Tampa, settle down.
(There’s a lot of videos of oldie old-timey music amateurs playing this song on YouTube that’re fun to watch, but it’s a good enough song to hear done proper, by Mike Seeger & Paul Brown. Ironically, the album is Way Down in North Carolina)
Baja! Is tomorrow Wednesday? I do believe it is where Mary talks crap and even Wilbur realizes it is.
@Sequitur: It gave me the option for Nickname (which I changed and didn’t do anything on here) but there was also a option for Username, which is said wasn’t changeable.
I’ll try again :3
@Sequitur: I didn’t do the “Display Nickname publicly as ___”
But regardless, I’ll keep trying to figure this out.
@Sequitur: There we go :3 thank you
@130 Giant Pondering Otter:
You’re welcome.
You are now a giant among otters!
@Sequitur: Yes! Thank you :3
I think I might be related to the Giant Telepathic Otter from Curtis, not certain. (That was sooo long ago)
But then again I made a “More Zippers Mule!” reference earlier today, I’m on fire with the nostalgic references hehe
@130 Giant Pondering Otter:
So long as you don’t get in trouble with school management.
MW-Expect Wilbur to lock himself into a hotel room for the next few weeks eating copious amounts of mayonnaise and writing random streams of thought columns.
@Lee Sherman: Its worse than that…. Wilbur won the job in a contest.
@Liam: That’s pretty much just Wilbur being Wilbur, isn’t it?
@125 Sequitur: This was a tough one. I couldn’t do much with it. I couldn’t find a way to incorporate a frowning Pierre into a mashup.
@135 Baja Gaijin:
Mary’s being such a butt so maybe a flying flaming ass would do the trick?
@Ukulele Ike: #91: If a musician really wanted to be guaranteed paying gigs he or she should become adept at the slide guitar, common in country-western music. Every C-W bar I’ve ever been to that had a live band, no matter how young the rest of band, the slide guitarist was always an old guy, probably the front man’s father or grandfather. Apparently no young men are coming down the pipeline and good slide guitar players are becoming as scarce as surviving WW2 vets.
@Baja Gaijin:
#1. MW. Baja, just got home from work and I DONT like the insinuation Libby leaked the news. I LOVE it.
@136 Sequitur: I’m letting the ass rest for a while. Maybe I can use it when the other ass is flying to Tampa.
@138 Activist: Did you like Libby’s grin? Almost a good as the Cheshire Cat’s punim.
@139 Baja Gaijin:
Asses don’t rest. When they gotta go they gotta go.
@Liam: The hotel room in question being Stephen King’s 1408.
Wilbur deserves that so much.
@Sequitur: I was a little worried that Josh might take offense to my earlier haughty persona, but I was clearly joking and hoped that everyone else realizes that as well.
@142 Giant Pondering Otter:
Most people here really aren’t concerned with what anyone says. It’s taken with a grain of salt or water off a ducks back. And Josh, well, I perceive he has the thickest skin around so long as one does not spout a bunch of political garbage disrupting the vibe.
In other words, you’re cool.
MW:
“I’m strangely attracted to disasters for some reason, Mary. It’s as if I feel a kinship with them — go figure.”