More comics should be drawn from a ground-level POV
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Dennis the Menace, 10/1/25
I was thinking the other day about how Dagwood Bumstead and Hi Flagston have extremely generic jobs. Technically Dagwood is an “office manager” and Hi is the “head of the eastern sales team,” but we literally never see them doing anything at work that might match up with those descriptions; instead, we just get “office” hijinks that could involve anyone in any white collar professional setting. Lois and Blondie, meanwhile, who got jobs in the ’80s and ’90s, respectively, got the much more specific (and female-coded) jobs of realtor and caterer, respectively, and while I wouldn’t say the strips about them are exactly gold mines of laffs, I do in general think specific settings are funnier than bland and generic ones.
Some comics dads do get pretty specific jobs, mind you: Calvin’s dad was, like Bill Watterson’s, a patent attorney, Walt in Zits is an orthodontist, and Henry Mitchell, at least in some character iterations, has been an aerospace engineer. I’m not sure if this version of Henry is still in that line of work, but if so he should be absolutely embarrassed about trying to program his smart TV, a task that any idiot could tell you is achieved by use of the remote control and on-screen menus, with a wrench. He should also be embarrassed by even joking about putting Dennis to work on this, as his son is notoriously pretty stupid.
Mary Worth, 10/1/25
I wasn’t sure how exactly Olive’s psychic summoning was going to work, but I don’t think I ever would have guessed that the answer would be “the dogs will run along the side of the road while Saul and Eve fail to overtake them in their puce Buick.” I think it’s very funny that Mary and the gang are in a remote enough area that their phones don’t work but close enough to civilization that two dogs could run to them without dropping dead from exhaustion.
The Phantom, 10/1/25
The Phantom is in the midst of a storyline where our hero is breaking up a forced labor camp in Ivory Lana that’s been perfectly serviceable if not interesting enough to comment on here. But today’s panel put the phrase “SHADOW CROTCH — STRIPEY ASS” into my brain on repeat and if I have to think about it, now you do too!
75 replies to “More comics should be drawn from a ground-level POV”
DtM: Even notoriously stupid Henry wouldn’t use a wrench to program a smart TV. He’ll use it to threaten Dennis if he ever shows up.
I think it’s very funny that Mary and the gang are in a remote enough area that their phones don’t work but close enough to civilization that two dogs could run to them without dropping dead from exhaustion.
…and that all roads leading to the balloon crash site are wide and firm enough to drive a Buick on.
It’s very expensive to get a 12 inch 4:3 format smart TV, and you have to watch everything with massive letterboxing, but it was the only screen that fits in the 1950s TV unit that all legacy comics characters are forced to use so the art doesn’t have to be redrawn.
MW: The dogs aren’t stopping for traffic lights either.
MT: So, Jules saw ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and decided she wanted a piece of that action. Do they sing too?
RMMD: ‘Most importantly, the cake is gone so I’ve lost interest. Smell ya later, you pair of uggos!’
JP: Oh please, what happened in Norway is a bedtime story compared to all the shit I’m sure CIApril told the raspberry-haired brat about her dear Gramma ‘n Grampa…
CS: *Adds ‘trolling the audience a la Karen Moy’ to the list Batiuk has no idea how to do*
Phantom:
The Phantom incites them to loathing and dread
He’s smacking the bad guys upside of the head
He’s taking them out; man, is he on a roll! —
This sure beats the tedium of Jungle Patrol
Now, Devil observes all the mayhem that’s wrought
But this ain’t the kind of engagement he sought
He sits there and stares and regrets his small role —
Perhaps he’d be busier with Jungle Patrol
The unconscious bad guys are strewn through the camp
And many are festooned with Phantom’s ring stamp
When he finishes up, he will just take a stroll
And leave a big cleanup for Jungle Patrol
MW. Buick has spent the last several years, and probably millions of dollars, trying to rebrand their cars for younger drivers and along comes “Mary Worth” to undo all that effort with a single panel. Sorry, Moy and Brigman, but when the GM legal team comes knocking, the “younger people will enjoy it ironically” rationalization that you use on your editors probably won’t work.
DtM I think I see the problem, Henry: it’s backwards.
MW “Anyhow, since we obviously can’t keep up with them now that they’re in the woods, I guess we’ll just wait here for them to come back out. Hope there’s nothing important they wanted to lead us to…”
Beetle Bailey :
Pvt Blips : WAIT! DON’T SERVE THE GENERAL THAT COFFEE!
Ms Buxley : Why not!?
Pvt Blips : …. you forgot to “season” it with crushed pain pills.
****************
Crankshaft : portraying “How come this strip isn’t constantly focussing on the main character, and gives more time for the ensemble cast to shine” as an unreasonable, stupid criticism would be more effective if this wasn’t the reminder that in THIS case, the part of the ensemble cast that’s given more time to shine is “incredibly thinly-veiled self-insert just doling out the most pathetically boring autobiographical anecdotes imaginable”.
***************
Dennis the Menace : the completely out-of-place miniature wrench is telling me that the gizmo Hank is failing to fix has changed, but that this “my son is about the same age as this new technology I can’t understand, maybe HE gets it” has been around for a LONG time.
***************
Mary Worth : If I want to see a more plausible and realistic
and better writtencanine rescue, I think Paw Patrol is still on Netflix, right?**************
Moose & Molly : We assume the Animalocalypse was caused by a war, but what if it was just that humanity suddenly disappeared due to a fast-spreading, fatal disease that only affected humans?
**************
Slylock Fox : Which image is different from the others? Image 2, where the affection displayed is filial rather than romantic.
Dennis the Menace:
“My inability to make this operate is truly wrenching. So to speak.”
Mary Worth:
“Why do you think they ran away?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s something in their psychosocial background that we can point to that absolves them of all responsibility for their personal choice!”
MW: It occurs to me that this long drama is designed to prevent Olive from encountering Wilbur. Mary would be hard put to ignore it when Olive told her that Wilbur’s aura is a bleak and blighted hellscape. By the time they get out of that tree, it’ll be straight back to the airport.
RMMD: Don’t leave yet, Rex. A repentant Jonah is about to stagger in, I.V. pole in tow, hospital gown revealing all.
DtM commentary: *not with a wrench, right?
Mary Worth:
“If we run fast enough, maybe this ridiculous bowtie and this stupid neckerchief that we’ve endured for years here will fly off!”
MW: After Saul’s Buick breaks down on a logging road while chasing the dogs, Olive is able to psychically connect with a self-driving cybertruck which overrules its driver and directs itself to the scene.
CS: Tom Batiuk makes a comic strip about a wacky bus driver, and gets offended that people want to see the wacky bus driver.
CS: And why are there no actual peanuts in “Peanuts”?!? All is see is that dog eating chocolate chip cookies. Does he have an iron stomach or something?
The Phantom: Cameo by Spider-Man in Panel Two! (You don’t think the Phantom does his own stunts, do you?)
@Schroduck: Given the age of that Acer monitor Henry’s working on, a wrench might actually be appropriate.
The Phantom, panel three: For once, we get a helpful caption — that’s Depaul hauling away Manley after one of The Phantom’s notorious “scheduling” meetings.
Dennis The Menace: Oh, Henry’s not fixing anything with that wrench. Much like Coptic priests, who carry ornate crosses for prayer and blessing, he just totes it around in one hand as a symbol of his office as an Aeronautic Engineer.(Like Coptic crosses, it comes in kids’ sizes too, but they both burn Dennis’ hand whenever he touches one.)
The Phantom: In all seriousness, this is a great example of visual storytelling.
However, I love that there’s a wolf named Devil just silently observing The Phantom jump on armed guards, and not helping out in any way. They don’t teach that at SCAD or the Kubert School.
Mary Worth: QUICKLY QUICKLY FIND MARY AND OLIVE! TELL THEM WHAT A FASHION DISASTER OUR NECKWEAR IS!! YES YES — BUT OUR OWNERS DRIVE A PURPLE BUICK I THINK THEY KNOW ALREADY!!
MW Are all the bases covered on just how stupid this is? (checks: roads, closeness to civilization…) Hmmm… I’ll just add how the retriever should be *strongly* outpacing the dachshund rather than the two of them sticking together. Good. Freaking. Grief.
GT I know we’re in the middle of a Very Special Episode and Tobias’ worth to the team will have to be shown (clinching the school board reversing the trans athlete policy?), but can we please have Milford lose badly? This is IIRC the coach Gil deliberately triggered PTSD on and I don’t think the writers realize how much that cements Gil as “baddy” rather than “shrewd”.
@CanuckDownSouth: Rest assured, it will become even more insane when they reach the balloon. (I’ve not read ahead, I just have faith in Moy’s writing.)
If Olive’s array of psychic powers turn out to be real I’ll be looking forward to the one where Mary has to explain to her parents that letting their daughter visit Santa Royale ended up with her being renditioned to a government black site.
***
I think I see where the trouble is, Henry, if you think that 4×3 monitor is a smart TV.
DtM – A common mistake. Henry got a smart ass TV….
MW – Release the hounds….
Phantom – Henchmen are a dime a dozen these days….
Adios Amigos, DJ.
Dustin “Particularly since, when I tell them they’re fat, they always say something about being exactly the same size I am.”
Family Circlejerk – I think P. J. is crawling out because he just befouled the tub. Or maybe it was Billy. But most likely, it’s Jeffy, even though we can’t see him. Have no fear, because Dolly will be tattling on all of them.
Frazz – I got confused and thought I was reading Marvin.
One Big Happy – Grandpa said titiously.
The Ghost Who Plays Favorites : The red-headed Henchman doesn’t even rate a skull tattoo–the other minions are going to be mocking him when they wake up!
Discovered a logistic flaw in a Mary Worth strip? Hereafter to be named ‘Sir Comics Curmudgeon.”
MW: Oh, ye of little faith! You folks are coming up with a lotta pathetic reasons why this gripping “Dogs are good rescuers” story won’t work! Oh, please! Remember that Max and Greta are well aware of Olive’s scent after meeting her. Of course Dogs have a notoriously good memory for that. Especially when the subject of their olfactory recall is within their sniffing range! It’s not mental telepathy hocus pocus, it’s just biochemistry!
And did you weisenheimers ever consider that the Dog Park they just visited is located on the remote forest edge of Santa Royale, within sniffing distance of where the balloon dropped? And that Saul and Eve are not the most observant characters and would have missed seeing it come down? So of course Max and Greta will be able to complete the race to the rescue, especially since they only have to run for one panel each day.
I’m betting that as this heart-pounding drama unfolds, you’ll be convinced of its veracity as you witness the phenomenal ACTING of our Canine co-stars! They spent long hours preparing for these roles by watching vintage Disney movie classics, studying the nuances of less-that-believable Animal behavior.
Since Dr. Ed’s house also backs up to the remote forest edge of Santa Royale, we still have hope that The Ladies will see fit to add the Terrific Trio to the riveting rescue scenario! This could be the must-see event of the Comics World Year! Melody, we’re still workin’ on a part for you in this – there’s no need for you to be making those insinuations about…. sorry, gotta get my phone. Maybe it’s The Ladies calling…
I totally forgot that Henry Mitchell worked in aerospace. I could recall instances of him using a T-square and knew he wasn’t an architect, but damned if I could recall what occupation he had. Anyway, I’ll guess I’ll file that bit of information in the same part of my brain that remembers that Charlie Brown’s father is a barber and hope that this will somehow come in handy later in one of those freak instances where you need to recall something highly specific, yet irrelevant.
MW: Olive’s mental powers have taken over the dogs and she runs them literally into the ground as they try to home in one her. Because a straight line takes the dogs through thickets and uneven ground and dense growth, they soon become exhausted. But pushed on my Olive’s control, they soon just lie spent hung up on a briar patch.
DT: OK – so DT will have his gun versus zap gun showdown but remind me again WHY did Tess needed to borrow from the loan shark? Does she have a lotto habit? Does she habitually try to hit parlays? Is she a degenerate gambler as well as a genius electrochemist?
JP: April and Randy or was it Sam (I forget) are just having a great break away from Judge and the ranch. They looted the ops fund used to pay for the safe houses in Norway. Or they are both dead, decomposing at the bottom of a very deep ravine or fjord.
The Phantom is an iconoclast. He was sporting stripes long before and after they were popular.
“Look, I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense. Yes, I get it, you could be the flanking attack. But you’re getting on this roof with me, because it’s gonna look really cool for both of us to be silhouetted, shadows against a dark sky, before we jump on these guys. OK, OK, before I jump on these guys and you watch. And I’m sure there will be some backlighting to make us look cool. What do you mean, no one will notice us up there if we’re quiet enough. Damn it, dog, who is in charge here, me or you? Fine, you can plan the next mission.”
Maybe it’s an all-terrain puce Buick?
I liked today’s DtM joke better when Groucho Marx made it 92 years ago in “Duck Soup.”
RMMD-Plus Rex came only for the cake.
MW-Thump! Thump! “Did we just hit something?”
MW-And Saul is in the mood for “cat”.
FC-PJ just warmed up the water.
MW: Even if it were possible to be out of cell phone range but within dog-running range of the Santa Royale Dog Park (it’s not,) Stanley the balloonivator would still have some form of two-way radio for ground contact. Which bolsters my theory that Stanley’s not a balloonivator at all, but just a random hobo who is beginning to seriously regret his decision to crawl into that balloon basket for a nap, now that the Boone’s Farm is wearing off.
Phantom apparently just got at least one shoe resoled. Glad to see he’s keeping proper care of his footwear; dare we believe he replaced the laces at the same time?
DtM: To be kind, I believe that the comic is suggesting that he had just used the wrench to attach the base.
Which isn’t right either, as those simply require screwdrivers.
Although, now I’m starting to remember, a product I bought to assemble, which required two wrenches that to tighten a base, I had to turn both wrenches at the same time in opposite directions. “Was what my Smart TV?” I can’t even remember now.
@astroboy: I still think Mary engineered this whole scenario. Because I also still think this entire arc is about 80% of an After-School Special about adults grooming children.
Phantom: Devil just loves these missions, mainly for all the extra meals.
GT: Oh, LIKING the final panel! It’s like Lex Luthor and short hulking stooge. Or King John and fat stupid Sheriff of Nottingham.
Baldo: All those family photograph album strips! A LIE!!!
MW: This shaggy dog story will be worth it if, when the dogs finally reach the occupants of the balloon, they excitedly and enthusiastically sniff Mary’s crotch as she reaches the ground. That’s probably too realistic for Moy and Brigman, but a dose of reality after lo! these many weeks of enduring Olive would be absolutely refreshing. (Not so much Mary’s crotch, but she’s been up a tree for a while so I’ll let it pass.). And Sid, don’t try to pretend your clients don’t sniff crotches every chance they get, no matter WHAT your contract says.
MW: I keep going back to those episodes of Best of the Worst where they come across old VHS tapes featuring “animal psychics.” One of them had a lady claiming that a horse had told her someone/something was “a pain in the neck,” which was the horse’s funny way of communicating it had neck problems. Which the horse’s owner should have immediately realized was a sign this whole thing was bullshit, because come on, it’s a horse! It has no concept of idiomatic language! Likewise, this entire concept hinges not only on the notion that Olive can somehow telepathically communicate with Max and Greta, but that the dogs are somehow know how to follow that summons in a manner that will allow their owners to follow them in a low-clearance town car, rather than taking the most direct route possible. I’m picturing Olive acting as a sort of psychic Google Maps: “In a quarter mile, take exit 158 Remote Forest State Park…”
Phantom: Did the Phantom just knock that guy out with his butt? Because it looks like he knocked that guy out with his butt.
God, I miss Keith Hillend singing Lionel Ritchie!
Phantom: Oh, come now, Josh, give Mike Manley some props, he doesn’t get to do this sort of art on Judge Parker.
FC: Oh boy, a joint bath with a not-yet-potty trained toddler!
You know, I don’t know if the ‘Sam and Silo’ running on CK is reruns of old strips or what, but I sure thought of the generals listening to Pete Hegseth when I saw it today.
@TheDiva: Of course Phantom knocked them out with his butt! One with each cheek. They don’t get a skull mark that way, though.
@lynn: I don’t think I want to know what they get.
@lynn:
The Hegseth who has no worth,
Swam across the Bristol Channel;
But before he set out he wrapped his nose,
In a piece of scarlet flannel.
For his Aunt Jobiska said, ‘No harm
‘Can come to his toes if his nose is warm;
‘And it’s perfectly known that a Hegeth’s worth
‘Is safe, — provided he minds their girth.’
The Hegseth swam fast and well
And when boats or ships came near him
He tinkedly-binkledy-winkled a bell
So that all the world could hear him.
And all the Generals and Admirals cried,
When they saw him nearing the further side,–
‘He has gone to fish, for his Aunt Jobiska’s
‘Runcible Cat with crimson whiskers!’
Mary Worth: So, like, what exactly does Olive expect the dogs to DO once they arrive at the tree her and Mary are stuck in? They’re dogs. They’re not exactly equipped to rescue people from trees. And the same goes for their owners. If Mary, Olive, and Balloon Dude are in a location with no cell service, what makes them think that Saul and his wife’s phones will work in the same place? They’d have to drive off again to go get help, defeating a lot of the purpose of bringing them there. How is this any more or less efficient than just listening to Balloon Dude and waiting for the people who run the rides to check on them? What is stopping the trio from just CLIMBING DOWN THE GODDAMN TREE? This shit is driving me nuts.
The Phantom: I do unironically love how they don’t even bother showing how Phantom defeats the guards, just him moving to attack and than hard cutting to him victorious.
Oh, you mean P. J. I was at first confused since I thought you were referring to Jeffy.
The Phantom totally teabagged the guy in the third panel.
C’shaft: Look, Tombat or Battom or whatever you want to call yourself, the reason people are complaining about all the new side characters in
CrankshaftThe Wrinkles isn’t because they’re drawing attention away from the title character. It’s because those characters are, improbably, even more loathsome than he is.Dustin: On the one had, fat-shaming in medical professions is a real problem, with doctors dismissing patients’ concerns with “you just need to lose some weight” and leaving them to suffer from undiagnosed chronic illnesses. On the other hand, Dustdad is a lazy, gluttonous bastard who acts like he’s deathly allergic to vegetables and deserves to have his doctor tell him that as frequently and cruelly as possible.
GT: Does Tobias get to play? Who cares? He’s just the student at the center of this whole controversy; the important thing is how it will affect Gil Thorp, Important Straight White Man.
JP: Has Sophie seen Randy, at least? Surely the first thing Randy did after flying all the way to Norway is go straight to the people who saw April last and do what he could to retrace her steps? Or is he just hanging around a street corner in Oslo with a picture of his wife and asking random people, “Have you seen this woman?” (In English, of course, he couldn’t afford to waste time by running the sentence through a translation app.)
MT: So these women are working to control a dangerous invasive species, and putting some good pork on their tables in the process? I fail to see the downside here.
Pluggers are in severe cognitive decline.
RMMD: Shut up, Rex. You’ve had your cake and now you have zero interest in hanging around, everybody knows it.
SH: Look, either the existence of your underwater civilization is so widely known that the United Nations acknowledges its existence or it’s a secret that only a handful of people know about, you can’t have it both ways.
The Phantom, Men, Ass.
Gasoline Alley: They haven’t heard of headcovers for food service workers? If this seems archaic wait til the health inspector docks them for no “Employees Must Wash Hands” sign in the bathroom.
GT: What kind of a douchebag coach wears a cap in school colors with #1 on it? In a group not known for fashion sense it’s not easy to lower the bar, but Gerads succeeded.
Lockhorns should wrap it up. This is a good gag and will not be reached again, let alone topped.
BG&SS has long seemed like a decent vaudeville act, unlike those Abbott & Costello wannabe kids in RMMD. But this would get you booed off the stage in Nacogdoches.
FC: “But abandoned pet alligators flushed down toilets are fine in fresh water.”
@ectojazzmage: I feel your pain. Just keep telling yourself this is the Worthiverse, where nothing has to make sense. Wilbur Weston is an advice columnist, for God’s sake.
MW: congratulations to Sid if he represents the actors playing Max and Greta. Though the arc is silly, the two-four-leggers are giving it their all. Look at those tongues!
@Sid, Agent to the Animal Stars!:
MW: Sid, so you ARE representing these two actors. Wow! They are (figuratively)chewing up the scenery. Hope the Emmys remember their performance. Now, on getting Mel back in PV….
@TheDiva: Phantom has a complete collection of Buns of Steel VHS tapes on a shell in the Skull Cave.
You’d think he could afford an Apple Fitness+ subscription or something.
In Ivory Lana two thugs make a botch
Of their simple assignment to keep the night watch.
Having let their attentiveness slip by a notch
They’re brought down by the Phantom’s robust SHADOW CROTCH!
The Phantom has struck like a snake in the grass
And smacked each of the guards at his center of mass.
For Chuma to somehow escape this morass
He must first overpower his foe’s STRIPEY ASS!
Dai Lu Han’s motorcycle has slowed to a stroll
On the journey to Chuma’s atrocious hellhole
But since Phantom has got the mine under control
She might just as well head back to Jungle Patrol!
I don’t often compliment the Dennis the Menace art, but that is a great depiction of a woman blissfully thinking, “I’m going to leave you.”
FC: Now get back in here and finish sucking my dick!
Crankshaft – Batton will pontificate about “it’s called writing,” then go off on the “comics can be serious and don’t have to be funny” tangent. Then it’s back to his meandering, pointless story about his career. Skip looks like he can’t wait.
FC – Where is Thel? What mother would leave the bathroom while a toddler is in the bathtub? Call CPS!
Gil Thorp – Oh, my God! That last panel – it’s Aldo Kelrast! Or Captain Kangaroo.
Frazz – Wait until Caulfield is in the grocery store and sees a woman whip out her breast and breast feed her toddler.
I still haven’t recovered from that.
Pearls Before Swine – There’s a special circle of Hell for people who do that and spill food on library books.
Edge City (GoComics) – It looks like the kids quickly learned how to do such a half assed job that the parent does it for them.
@CanuckDownSouth: 24 MW- Actually, before Saul adopted her, Greta had a rather successful career on the Mexican dog racing circuit. She was a consistent weiner.
Mark Trail Mix “Bill, you had me at ‘feral hogs’ “
Dennis the Menace-Henry bought a tv that fell off the back of a truck and came without a manual.
@ValdVin: Especially since we’ve established that both the new waiter and cook have been veterans in the restaurant business. No hair nets ?
@I speak Jive:
FC-Tell Thel that her attempts to get rid of Billy and PJ have failed.
love is… being attacked by giant dandelions.
The Phantom-The Ghost Who Teabags
@lynn: I interpreted it as ignoring rather than listening. Hope I’m correct.
Fred Basset Spanish to English.