Tuesday is for eating problems
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Gil Thorp, 2/25/25
Keri Thorp has been struggling with an eating disorder, and apparently their therapist has recommended equine therapy. Did you know that horses are prey animals? Did you know that some clinicians believe that you can overcome the psychological issues associated with eating disorders by channeling your “inner wolf”? Did you know that the Milford teachers union negotiated a very generous health insurance package for its members, with particularly comprehensive mental health coverage for educators and family members? Step 1: You get to know horses and their weaknesses in a controlled environment. Step 2: You’re parachuted into the Mongolian steppe. Step 3 gets a little messy but I think you can see where we’re going with this.
Judge Parker, 2/25/25
Wow! That sure sounds interesting! If only this were a visual medium, and we could’ve seen some of that action, instead of just seeing other people reacting to it and then hearing Sam Driver describing it while staring manfully into the middle distance. Maybe we’ll also learn third-hand how this 100% illegally obtained evidence entered the official record of Anne’s case, if we’re lucky!
Herb and Jamaal, 2/25/25
Herb commits any number of sinister deeds during the course of his day, and can only live with himself by dissociating at night, as if all that evil were the fault of someone else entirely. It’s sad, it really is!
Pluggers, 2/25/25
Man, I always thought one of the perks of being a plugger would be a blissful lack of self-awareness and self-reflection, but I look at this plugger’s face! He is reflecting upon himself pretty hard and does not like what he’s become aware of as a result.
72 replies to “Tuesday is for eating problems”
Hm I haven’t checked in on Gil Thorp in a while, I wonder what kind of sports-based fun they’re up to (in a featureless void, an unfamiliar figure beckons closer and whispers, “Don’t be afraid. Horses are prey.”)
Gil Thorp:
“Wilburrrrrrr!”
“Whoa, Silver. This is Gil Thorp — not Mary Worth!”
Pluggers: Unaliving world tour. Coming to a cemetery near you.
Gil Thorp:
I can understand why The Lone Ranger’s horse was called “Silver.” He was silver. This one’s brown — what gives?
GT: I didn’t know Milford was in France.
Pluggers: No, a Plugger’s cigarette habit is closer to a carton a day.
To a Plugger a pint is a Serving Size.
H&J: Herb watches Severance; “What’s the big deal? I do that every night.”
@Bob Tice: I can understand why The Lone Ranger’s horse was called “Silver.” He was silver. This one’s brown — what gives
________________________
This one has been driven to carnivores by quicksilver poisoning like “mad hatters”
GT: Keri’s eating disorder therapy involves horses because…..they want her to get used to a feedbag?
Gil Thorp:
“There are all sorts of mushrooms and toadstools in this stable.”
“What does that mean?”
“Fungi at the OK Corral!”
@Bob Tice: I can understand why The Lone Ranger’s horse was called “Silver.” He was silver. This one’s brown — what gives
________________________
This one has been driven to carnivoreism by quicksilver poisoning like “mad hatters”
Gil Thorp-I’m sure Keri misheard the therapist when they said she should ride a white horse.
JP-Ah following that great tradition of tell don’t show.
MW-“What did you learn from this relationship?” “That I can’t take emotional punches.”
MW-Boy if only we could have seen this effort Dawn put into the relationship.
FC-Daddy’s laughing blue.
PLUGGERS: And when a Plugger says “six pack,” don’t even think sit-ups.
RMMD: Unfortunately, this dude learned everything he knows about socialization from The Big Book of Obnoxious Cliches.
MW:If it was pleasant, Dawn, it wouldn’t have really been a lesson. Sheesh!
MW – The only conclusion I can draw from Dawn having put a lot of effort into the relationship and learning a painful lesson is that she let Dirk do butt stuff.
GT I like how ambiguously placed that speech balloon is in the final panel. Honestly, Keri’s reaction makes much more sense if you imagine that it’s the horse talking.
JP : Since I’ve skipped a few days, its almost like they’re watching this clip on their drone footage, and it was another drone that captured the exonerating evidence.
H&J I’m just imagining sitting with a friend and them saying, out of nowhere, “I HAVE NO TROUBLE SLEEPING AT NIGHT! MY CONCIOUS IS COMPLETELY CLEAR!” You’d be discretely dailing 911, right?
Gil Thorp:
“You wouldn’t know it from just looking at him, Keri, but Silver here is an expert at synonyms. Come up with a word that you want a synonym for, and then hail him.”
“Okay. ‘Unmoored.’ Hiyo, Silver!”
“Aweigh!”
JP: “Well, that’s it, then. Personally, though, I prefer the version I created in which he was shot by the Cavelton bear!”
“And what’s the name of this white horse over here?”
“Oh, we call him Raven.”
“Well, that’s it, then,” would be a perfect last line for the final installment of a strip. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case here.
JP:
“Well, that’s it, then. I can go back to pretending I’m Fergie from The Black-Eyed Peas!”
GT- is it me, or did the horse look calmer BEFORE the “horse expert” took control? Keri, you might want to shop around before deciding on your therapist.
MW: Dawn hasn’t mentioned Dirk’s controlling, abusive behavior. Why not? She should have walked away as soon as he told her what she was going to eat.
RMMD: no, Douchebag, you don’t have a right to be in a private place of business.
MW: It’s really shocking to me that amongst all the “lessons” that Dawn learned that one of them wasn’t “I do really have to figure out how not to be as messy of an eater.” Or at least “I have to invest in some clothing that uses stain resistant fabric.”
I can’t imagine that contemplating the edibility of a horse would be especially therapeutic for a person dealing with an eating disorder, but I guess that’s why I’m not a cartoonist.
@LTJpezcore1: Much simpler to get an adult-sized bib, don’t you think?
Aww, it’s okay, Josh. If you are having an eating disorder, it’s because everyone makes fun of your blog and you need psychological attention.
Gil Thorp: If I had more time and were less lazy, I’d edit that last panel to reverse the speech bubble so Silver would be speaking directly to Keri. But that would get a mild chuckle or two, and most people would move right along, ignoring the hard work that — say, I’m starting to understand how the artists feel…
Pluggers: Real question: which would kill a Plugger quicker, a carton of cigarettes a week, or a carton (really a tub) of ice cream a week? I need answers, quickly!
@Garrison Skunk:
Are the couriers who deliver it known as the “Quicksilver Messenger Service”?
@Continuing: [Holds mirror up facing you]
Pluggers – There was a time where Pluggers would have ranted about the government taxing their cigarettes because of health purposes, but that generation has passed (mostly due to smoking related deaths). I am surprised Pluggers don’t rant that carton sizes that shrank due to corporate shrinkflation are a conspiracy of the deep state, their doctor, and their wife to have them cut down on ice cream and cholesterol.
“Pluggers don’t smoke cigarettes”? Not feeling it. How about “Plugger edibles” (a table full of food)?
Pluggers have given up cigarettes but a carton of Metformin is still on the table.
Maybe we’ll also learn third-hand how this 100% illegally obtained evidence entered the official record of Anne’s case, if we’re lucky!
Guessing that, since April got involved a while back, the good lieutenant was reminded over scotch that a man might find his family neck-killed if he didn’t do the right thing. It’s amazing how threatening people’s families can get you the outcome you want from the criminal justice system.
GT – Giddy-yap….
JP – Sam says it – I believe it – and that settles it….
H&J – …and if H&J should die before they wake…well…I care even less about their afterlife, than I do about their actual life….
Pluggers – Both pretty much equally injurious to your health…and you’re fat…and stupid…and ugly. My advice to you is to take up drinking…and heavily….
Adios Amigos, DJ.
A plugger’s “carton per week” habit is not cigarettes; it’s ice cream. It’s also cigarettes. Plugger’s don’t take advice from so-called “experts”, buddy.
***
As a quintessentially American art form, newspaper comic strips are not afraid to show a little gun violence. Unless the result of said violence is the owner accidentally dying to their own gun in which case it’s best to not see it because you don’t want readers getting any crazy ideas about well-regulating them.
@Malmino:
Conquest
“Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the [a]seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”
Pluggers-“I switched out menthol cigarettes for mint ice cream.”
Gil Thorp:
“Now, Keri — Silver here used to be quite the lothario, galloping around and wooing a bevy of mares by using his spare feed as an incentivizer. But now he spends all of his days in the stable, ruing that all that extra feed is just sitting in inventory in our granary here.”
“No. Don’t say it.”
“Yep. He’s woeing his siloed oats!”
H&L: If this were most any other strip, post-Covid, I’d take away the message that “Hi should just go to work and infect everybody there and sick days exist for a reason”.
RMMD: The security guy should stop letting Goatee McSexpest pretend this is a conversation. It’s getting downright creepy for a healthcare setting. Haven’t the writers searched “invasion” and “women’s health clinic” at any point in the last forty years?
Pluggers: I can’t speak for it as a nicotine substitute, but as someone who recently quit drinking (2 months in March 2!) , I can confirm my ice cream and overall sugar intake has increased by quite a bit.
Plugger; I’m a self confessed pluggrr but I never eat ice cream and don’t smoke.
Pluggers: A young plugger’s “60 a week” habit isn’t fresh vape cartridges; it’s the number of mukbang ice-cream eating videos he watches on TikTok. (C’mon, Pluggers, keep up with the times, like me!)
Gil Thorp: What’s really going on in that last panel: Britney — “We’re here because of eating disorders.” Silver — “What do you mean we, human lady? (Chomp!)”
“Horses are prey animals,” she said, leading Keri into the barn and locking the door behind her. “You know what else is a prey animal? Humans.” The knife flickered in the low light, and Gil Thorp got interesting.
MW: “What a painful way to learn! This vegan ice cream….do you have any Pepto? Oh no, too late! Wretchhhhh!”
“That’s it Dawn. Purge, purge!”
GT: Once we deal with Peanut’s eating disorder, we can tackle Britney’s color blindness.
A carton of Chocko Chunk won’t help pluggers feel better about their hideous life choices. But a dish of vegan ice cream? That’ll do it.
GT: Britney and Keri are getting along swimmingly, considering Keri’s last act before being hospitalized for anorexia nervosa was punching Britney out for calling Imna’s sport’s hijab “illegal headgear.” Maybe the last few minutes before the sugar coma were a blur, or maybe the artwork is making it hard for them to recognize each other.
JP: Yep, that’s it then. A depressing, anti-climactic finale. Pretty par for the course.
Pluggers are going to kill themselves one way or another.
JP: The victim, Limpy McLimpwrist, shot himself while struggling with a girl.
It looks like bear man is staring death in the eye as he desperately tries to convince himself a little icecream is actually a dangerous habit. Presumably his doctor has recommended this as a way to survive his uncontrollable addictions by replacing the opioids and whiskey or whatever with this harmless vice, but here he is, stuck in the realization that he just can’t fool himself into being scared of the icecream. Now he needs his medicine to numb himself from the shame of his failure, he needs to punish himself for his lack of discipline, he wants to destroy himself to get out of this living Hell, and sure how many more years would he have left anyway?
Chix (sic): Xunise gets a job drawing cartoons which are supposed to make people laugh.
“What am I? A clown!”
DAUGHTER OF JUDGE CLEARED OF MURDER
FRIEND OF JUDGE CLEARS DAUGHTER OF JUDGE OF MURDER
ADOPTED DAUGHTER OF FRIEND OF FRIEND OF JUDGE CLEARS DAUGHTER OF JUDGE OF MURDER
CHYRON WRITER HOSPITALIZED FOR WRIST SPRAIN
C’shaft: Crankshaft and his buddies are leaving kids behind at school, or more likely just dumping them miles from their homes.
DT: A character named for one of the most notorious fakeries in scientific history? Probably just a coincidence.
Dustin: To be honest, I wouldn’t talk to Dustdad if I had any other options available either.
MW: Only in Mary Worth could the trauma of an abusive relationship be shrugged off as “a learning experience.”
Also, I’m really uncomfortable with all the emphasis on how Dawn “tried to make it work.” Like leaving a bad situation is acceptable if and only if you have exhausted every other option while ignoring the consequences. It’s not full-on “stand by your man” but it sure is a close neighbor.
RMMD: Goatee McStalker refuses to leave the premises when asked, so they called the security guard to…ask him slightly more forcefully, I guess.
JP – Isn’t Sophie supposed to be some kind of tech genius? If AI can create lifelike videos of things like a prominent politician sucking the toes of a semi-trillionaire, I’d think making a routine murder look like an accident would be a piece of cake. Until someone notices that Anne has six fingers, proving that either the video is a forgery or the murder was committed with a 1960s-era weapon that is a certain piece of boomer nostalgia.
Come on. If it takes you an entire week to eat a single carton of ice cream you are no Plugger.
@I’m Not Cthulhu, But I Play Him On TV: You would think, yes…AND YET
MW: This is a family of manipulative narcissists at work. All this time, Dawn has been telling Mary about her relationship with Dirk, as if it were far more serious than it we saw it to be. And Mary is absolutely taking the bait.
We just saw Wilbur do the same thing to Mary, when he was moping about that stupid goldfish. By acting out, Wilbur got Mary to arrange an elaborate funeral, invite a bunch of her friends to it, and force those friends to indulge Wilbur’s feelings. Even though they thought the whole thing was ridiculous. And we know it was ridiculous, because Wilbur never cared about the fish. Wilbur cared because the fish was named after Estelle, the girl Wilbur didn’t get because he was a huge jerk to her. The same girl Mary browbeat into giving Wilbur chance after chance, despite Mary supposedly being Estelle’s friend.
Now it’s Dawn turn to acting out. And right on cue, Mary is buttering her up with a bunch of “oh, you tried so hard, lots of fish in the sea, it’s tough to get to know people” pap the situation absolutely doesn’t call for. At minimum, Mary should be giving Dawn a wake-up call about how easily controlled she was, and how much worse this could have gotten. Is Mary going to give Dawn her own Estelle soon?
@LTJpezcore1:
The problem is Dawn gets the food all over her mug and continues eating. A bib won’t help unless, perhaps, her partner lifts it up and wipes her mouth with it like a toddler.
Yeah, Bear man, keep telling yourself that even after they cut off your foot.
@Vanya: You’re also not a Plugger if you actually get a bowl out, which implies your intent to eat only some of the ice cream. This drawing should have had the spoon right in the carton.
Plugger: “He is reflecting upon himself pretty hard and does not like what he’s become aware of as a result.”
Prolly ’cause the carton of Chocko Chump he’s holding has his picture on it.
@Vanya: Pluggers are grateful for any candy which allows them to pretend they’re sharing a Sharing Size box.
MW: But Ugh… what a painful way to learn! says Dawn after realizing her left boob has been resting in her ice cream bowl all this time.
BF: Meanwhile, Benoit, a little Parisienne on his arm,
Is just walking through those doors
And wandering down the Champs-Élysées
Going café to cabaret
Thinking how he’ll feel when he’ll jizz
That very good friend of his
— Thanx and a tip o’ the hat to Ms. Joni Mitchell
It’s really not worth emailing Josh but it’s frustrating just the same
We never smoke ice cream either.
@Professor Well Actually: Because Dawn needs “lessons” with recyclable platitudes. I mean, now Mary’s “advice” can be saved for the next 4 or 5 failed romances Dawn has (AND can tie until the go-nowhere relationship that started this plotline in the first place. Mary’s meddling is nothing if not efficient!)
GT: “They’re more afraid of you than you are of them.”
“Whoa, Silver is nonbinary?! Awesome!”
The Edge City repeats on GoComics, not the Edge City repeats on ComicsKingdom: Seriously, straight into the bedroom? Buy her dinner first, at least.
@TheDiva: Re: Gil Thorp: Well to be fair, Keri has punched out so many offensive white women (Dorothy, Britney, whoever the gymnastic teammate was back in 2006) that they all started to blur together (mostly because of the incomprehensible artwork.)
Tom Rice is a California Plugger, which means he doesn’t eat vegan ice cream
Gil Thorp artist: Backgrounds are hard to draw… also humans are hard to draw… why do I have a job as a cartoonist again?
RMMD:
Tomorrow: “They didn’t ask me nicely.” “Okay, *I’m* asking you nicely.”
Thursday: “Doesn’t count. I need *them* to ask me nicely.” “Okay, please ask him nicely.” “Okay, I’m asking you nicely. *Please* leave.”
Friday: “You didn’t mean it. You were being sarcastic.” “No I wasn’t.” “Yes you were.”
Saturday: [skips strip]