Metapost: EOM COTW
Post Content
Let’s see Friday off with a bang … a comment of the week bang!
“The work/life balance issue is, for me, eclipsed by the hand/finger balance issue. Do pluggers have one hand with seven fingers, or two hands — one with three, one with four?” –Lurker Who Rarely Comments
The runners up are, as usual, all bangers as well:
“I honestly love that Shoe is still sticking it to Tip O’Neill in year of our bird lord 2026. He did like to hit the sauce, didn’t he! Ha ha, that’s probably why he’s been dead for over 30 years.” –Dan
“I’ll believe those two are actual Pluggers if they start ranting about chemtrails.” –Tonio
“Why is nobody at this pool party wearing swimsuits? And no I’m not asking to see Wilbur frolicking in a Speedo but an ascot seems like a little overdressed.” –Professor Well Actually
“Pluggers rarely pleasure themselves because they can’t stay awake long enough to find porn on their computers.” –Tabby Lavalamp
“Dennis doesn’t know why they keep switching churches, but even he has noticed all the clergy are young attractive men and his dad is tired of his mom’s shit.” –Poewar
“Pluggers specifically avoid asking their doctors if they are still healthy enough for sexual activity.” –nescio
“Where else but a Charterstone pool party would three distinct extraterrestrial species wearing ill-fitting skin suits bump into each other? What a country!” –Charterstone: Dune
“Uh, correct, 1455 to 1487! Now, why did the War of the Roses occur? Who were the major leaders, and what significant military-political events can we point to as turning points in the conflict? What was the role of France? Come on, there’s cash prizes for you, and my A-Level exams are coming up. Cambridge, here I come!” –Voshkod
“Hi and Lois got its start in 1954. So if you consider normal, real world-style aging, a 73-year-old Trixie Flagston Mitchell van Pelt Yokum Doonesbury Arbuckle would be completely age-appropriate for our dapper gentleman here.” –BigTed
“I am not a fan of Jamaal’s sly look in that last panel. Is he getting off on Herb’s pain? Does he think we are too? Buddy, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy seeing your friend suffering, but I can assure you it’s not sexual.” –pugfuggly
“Oh, I’m not killing him. I just showed him the next three weeks of ‘plot’ in the strip!” –Bob Tice
“Well, April, I appreciate the breakout, but I don’t actually want to leave. The people you just killed were my mental health counselor, my job coach, the prison guard who brought me a donut every morning, and the warden I was having a civil conversation with. Norwegian prisons are incredibly lenient and nurturing. Or did you not know that, Little Miss CIA?” –Banana Jr. 6000
“‘I chose the stability of a boring normal job instead of the excitement and instability of the arts.’ ‘It’s a either/or choice?’ ‘Well, there was a way to combine boredom with uncertain artistic work in a dying industry. But someone else took up the job of drawing Luann!’” –Ettorre
“Daisy is enjoying watching the Bumsteads kiss WAY too damn much. Spay or neuter, people! Did Bob Barker live his live for NOTHING?” –A Grave Mind
“The difference between Dagwood and a machine is that Blondie has been given orgasms by a machine.” –Schroduck
“Those aren’t black pants. Those are censor bars.” –Chance
“I can’t wait to use this Worthian passive-aggressive gem. ‘It’s UNREAL how young you look, considering we’re the same age!’ ‘It’s UNREAL that you’ve decorated your entire home by yourself!’ It’s the big smile that carries it.” –MKay
“Competitive eating! Dagwood’s Olympic-style skills are in competitive eating! Do I have to do everything around here?” –matt w
“I like how Gina’s smirking as she breaks the fourth wall. There’s no ‘fight’ going on here, just she and Dennis making snowballs which Joey is throwing at a tree. And missing. From about a foot away. If she and Dennis do go after Joey it won’t be a fight. It’ll be a massacre.” –Spunky The Wonder Squid
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28 replies to “Metapost: EOM COTW”
I am sorry to say, I’m very burned out today. So I don’t think I’ll be able to do the Golden Otters today.
Take care all, and I wish you the best ^^
Congratulations to Lurker Who Rarely Comments and all the other folks!
I hope you feel better soon, Rambling Otter.
Congrats, Lurker and all the Floaters! Hope things improve for you, Rambling Otter.
“I don’t always comment, but when I do…”
-The Lurker Who Rarely Comments, after being awarded COTW
Long balls week (or longer balls than last week):
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
Kelly Kopowski’s Love Slave
February 21st, 2026 at 5:00 am Reply
MW: Emotion? I thought Dr Jeff said “erection”.
Ken
February 21st, 2026 at 4:30 am Reply
MW: And so, the eternal question “won’t they or won’t they” having been answered again, the strip is ready to kick off a new story arc featuring characters we’ve seen a thousand times before and, for some reason, new pets.
A Grave Mind
February 21st, 2026 at 4:33 am Reply
There’s nothing quite so deliriously romantic as feeling…”good?” Jesus, Jeff. Slip some tongue in NOW. You know that hospital talk is going to lead to birds.
Bob Tice
February 21st, 2026 at 4:49 am Reply
MW:
For Mary and Jeff, exchanging sterile bromides is foreplay, play and afterplay.
Lord Flatulence
February 21st, 2026 at 5:10 am Reply
@Bob Tice: “Sterile Bromides” would be a great name for a band.
Charterstoned
February 21st, 2026 at 5:02 am Reply
MW: This strip is beginning to seem like the Charterstone Edition of Dick Tracy’s Crimestoppers Textbook, a compendium of mostly useless factoids that don’t relate to anything in real life.
Maltmash3r
February 21st, 2026 at 5:06 am Reply
MW- I’ll have what he took
Deadly Goon Bugs
February 21st, 2026 at 5:36 am Reply
MW: Ever notice Mary and Jeff only date on the full moon? I’d suspect some occult reasoning, but knowing this strip, it’s because Brigman can’t be bothered to draw another background.
Weaselboy
February 21st, 2026 at 5:59 am Reply
MW – “Hospitals are especially active on such nights!” “Oh, Mary! Your awkward sentence structure is turning me on!”
treetown
February 21st, 2026 at 6:00 am Reply
MW: Will Sunday then be a recap of the past 7+ days of recap – an interative recap?
Voshkod
February 21st, 2026 at 6:12 am Reply
“Mary, you and I both know the medical board doesn’t let me enter the hospital anymore, except as a patient. So let’s drop it, OK?”
BatGuano
February 21st, 2026 at 6:48 am Reply
Dr. Jeff: “I feel GOOD!
Mary: I may need a hospital.
Never has there been an exchange that points out the value of hormone therapy for the late-middle aged in sharper relief. Get your levels checked, Mary!
Hibbleton
February 21st, 2026 at 4:42 am Reply
MW: Jeff thinks; “that’s a load of horseshit,” but chooses his words carefully. “I don’t know about that.”
Peanut Gallery
February 21st, 2026 at 7:02 am Reply
@Hibbleton: I have to give Dr. Jeff credit. “I don’t know about that” is a great all-purpose response when someone says something batshit crazy (especially on a subject that you personally know a hell of a lot more about than they do) but it would be unwise to argue with them.
Baja Gaijin
February 21st, 2026 at 5:03 am Reply
Pluggers: Yet again we get the “pluggers are massive fatasses who are too poverty-stricken to afford clothes that fit, or are so big they just don’t make people-sized clothing to fit their carb-bloated bodies.”
The Quiet Man
February 21st, 2026 at 6:17 am Reply
JP: I laughed like a loon at Warden Pavel’s Cousin/Brother/Whoever jazz-handed ‘GOTTA DANCE!!’ pose in Panel Two. I don’t think that’s what Ces or Manley had in mind for audience reaction at this moment.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
Hibbleton
February 21st, 2026 at 6:19 am Reply
FC: “I hafta hold mommy’s hand so she’ll be safe crossin’ the street. At least until she sobers up.”
TheDiva
February 21st, 2026 at 7:47 am Reply
Dustin: Much like New Yorker cartoons, you can append “Christ, what an asshole” to any installment of Dustin and it works perfectly.
Charterstoned
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:08 am Reply
MW: Not sure you will find “orange” and “hypoallergenic” as shared descriptors for any kind of pet cat—unless you’re talking about Mary dyeing her crotch the shade of a pumpkin and being less crotchety when it comes to Jeff petting her.
Gil Bates
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:42 am Reply
MW: “Yes, I’ve always wanted an orange cat that would love lasagna and hate Mondays.”
I speak Jive
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:54 am Reply
Mary Worth – I’ll try getting a hypoallergenic cat and see if it works out. If it doesn’t, I’ll just dump the cat on one of my meddlees, making the cat adjust to someone new. Then I’ll blithely move on and forget all about it.
Pets are good, but sometimes their owners are assholes.
Mary’s Ex
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:04 am Reply
Don’t know who the young lady Jeff is embracing in the last panel is, or where she came from, but she bears no resemblance to Mary. Good work, Jeff, now the story is getting interesting
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
Liam
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:36 am Reply
FC-“We know what you’re doing in there, Mommy.”
Schroduck
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:52 am Reply
JP: Why does April need the enormous bomb? This is a Scandinavian prison we’re talking about! They probably let you in through the front door if you ask nicely!
pugfuggly
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:53 am Reply
JP: What’s funny about this strip is that in a moth’s time we’re going to have a scene of Katherine trying to figure out what to make for dinner that is going to be presented with the same gravity.
Pozzo
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:03 am Reply
JP: My nominee for throwaway panel of the year.
Banana Jr. 6000
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:03 am Reply
Luann: So…. Luann’s going to poop on the floor?
The Quiet Man
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:36 am Reply
Luann: Yes, Evansii, treating yourself to another donut hole is just like urinating on the floor. [facepalm meme]
Anonymous
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:58 am Reply
@The Quiet Man:
Luann: Yes, Evansii, treating yourself to another donut hole is just like urinating on the floor. [facepalm meme]
You know, we compare this strip to Dustin a lot, but I don’t know if it would ever make the same equation.
“DustinDad pigging out on those donuts in the breakroom is the same as if he shat himself” is just not something I see that strip ever getting into.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
MKay
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:53 am Reply
RMMD: Unhappy fat woman returns to home town where, thanks to June Morgan’s Boot Camp, she acquires a socially acceptable body type. Then (and only then) does she find love where she least expected it. Brought to you by Hallmark and Weight Watchers.
Myrtle
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:05 am Reply
RMMD: Just how many ex-wives does Truck have?
Maybe she was a hairdresser before going into showbiz, and will get back to her roots in Glenwood. Her hair looks marginally better than the other characters.
Horace Broon
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:36 am Reply
RMMD: “Boy, journalism’s really gone downhill since my cousin Brenda retired!”
BigTed
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:07 am Reply
Pluggers: Should you really tell a dog-man you see a bunny rabbit in the sky? He’ll be chasing it for hours, but never, ever catch it.
Tonio
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:10 am Reply
I’ll believe those two are actual Pluggers if they start ranting about chemtrails.
Deadly Goon Bugs
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:19 am Reply
Pluggers: Pluggers have fallen and can’t get up. But at least they can watch the clouds until help comes.
nescio
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:19 am Reply
Pluggers are too intellectually stunted to visualize the profile of Thomas Eakins or the Stoning of St. Stephen in the clouds like kids of yore.
Ettorre
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:06 am Reply
You are a Plugger if you cannot enjoy a moment of childish wonder without sticking it to the so called experts! Weather forecasters are the most arrogant members of the coastal elite!
matt w
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:40 am Reply
Pluggers need an editor, that joke is longer than War and Peace.
Hibbleton
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:52 am Reply
Marvin: Not sure what the message is here. Have fun pissing all over everything now, Marvin. One day you’ll be too weak to piss in anything but a bedpan.
Terry Rhoden
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:37 am Reply
Marvin: They managed to get through a whole week without poop or urine jokes, and well, here we are, second day in a row.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
Liam
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:36 am Reply
FC-“We know what you’re doing in there, Mommy.”
Schroduck
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:52 am Reply
JP: Why does April need the enormous bomb? This is a Scandinavian prison we’re talking about! They probably let you in through the front door if you ask nicely!
pugfuggly
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:53 am Reply
JP: What’s funny about this strip is that in a moth’s time we’re going to have a scene of Katherine trying to figure out what to make for dinner that is going to be presented with the same gravity.
Pozzo
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:03 am Reply
JP: My nominee for throwaway panel of the year.
Banana Jr. 6000
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:03 am Reply
Luann: So…. Luann’s going to poop on the floor?
The Quiet Man
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:36 am Reply
Luann: Yes, Evansii, treating yourself to another donut hole is just like urinating on the floor. [facepalm meme]
Anonymous
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:58 am Reply
@The Quiet Man:
Luann: Yes, Evansii, treating yourself to another donut hole is just like urinating on the floor. [facepalm meme]
You know, we compare this strip to Dustin a lot, but I don’t know if it would ever make the same equation.
“DustinDad pigging out on those donuts in the breakroom is the same as if he shat himself” is just not something I see that strip ever getting into.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
MKay
February 22nd, 2026 at 4:53 am Reply
RMMD: Unhappy fat woman returns to home town where, thanks to June Morgan’s Boot Camp, she acquires a socially acceptable body type. Then (and only then) does she find love where she least expected it. Brought to you by Hallmark and Weight Watchers.
Myrtle
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:05 am Reply
RMMD: Just how many ex-wives does Truck have?
Maybe she was a hairdresser before going into showbiz, and will get back to her roots in Glenwood. Her hair looks marginally better than the other characters.
Horace Broon
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:36 am Reply
RMMD: “Boy, journalism’s really gone downhill since my cousin Brenda retired!”
BigTed
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:07 am Reply
Pluggers: Should you really tell a dog-man you see a bunny rabbit in the sky? He’ll be chasing it for hours, but never, ever catch it.
Tonio
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:10 am Reply
I’ll believe those two are actual Pluggers if they start ranting about chemtrails.
Deadly Goon Bugs
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:19 am Reply
Pluggers: Pluggers have fallen and can’t get up. But at least they can watch the clouds until help comes.
nescio
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:19 am Reply
Pluggers are too intellectually stunted to visualize the profile of Thomas Eakins or the Stoning of St. Stephen in the clouds like kids of yore.
Ettorre
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:06 am Reply
You are a Plugger if you cannot enjoy a moment of childish wonder without sticking it to the so called experts! Weather forecasters are the most arrogant members of the coastal elite!
matt w
February 22nd, 2026 at 7:40 am Reply
Pluggers need an editor, that joke is longer than War and Peace.
Hibbleton
February 22nd, 2026 at 5:52 am Reply
Marvin: Not sure what the message is here. Have fun pissing all over everything now, Marvin. One day you’ll be too weak to piss in anything but a bedpan.
Terry Rhoden
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:37 am Reply
Marvin: They managed to get through a whole week without poop or urine jokes, and well, here we are, second day in a row.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
Ukulele Ike
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:45 am Reply
Dustin: I’ve never been in an art museum where ancient, classical, non-western, romantic, and abstract sculpture were jumbled together in one room. Maybe it’s a real….small museum?
SCULPTURE ROOM — IF YOU LIKE STATUES, YOU’LL PROBABLY FIND SOMETHING GOOD IN HERE
2+2=7
February 22nd, 2026 at 8:36 am Reply
DUSTIN: Dustin’s dad is such a downer whenever he goes into the Softcore Angles Gallery. (Curator: “Remember, here, all the bushes are outside the museum, so get those legs and hands in some awkward but strategically-placed positions, sculptors!”)
Father Deadly Goon Bugs
February 23rd, 2026 at 4:51 am Reply
Pluggers: To be fair, he was trying to perform his Lenten Penance of watching the Family Circus Easter Special in its entirety.
Quiggle
February 23rd, 2026 at 5:23 am Reply
Unfortunately, this plugger’s job was monitoring Epstein’s cell.
Lurker Who Rarely Comments
February 23rd, 2026 at 4:41 am Reply
The work/life balance issue is, for me, eclipsed by the hand/finger balance issue. Do Pluggers have one hand with seven fingers, or two hands — one with three, one with four?
Banana Jr. 6000
February 23rd, 2026 at 4:50 am Reply
@Lurker Who Rarely Comments: That’s easy. The middle one isn’t a finger.
Jonathan Nighswander
February 23rd, 2026 at 4:59 am Reply
@Banana Jr. 6000: That would be an impressive length, I guess that’s why they’re called “pluggers”.
Weaselboy
February 23rd, 2026 at 5:43 am Reply
Pluggers – Is this guy dreaming that he needs a CPAP machine?
Tabby Lavalamp
February 23rd, 2026 at 5:37 am Reply
Pluggers rarely pleasure themselves because they can’t stay awake long enough to find porn on their computers.
An ascot and a pocket square? Ooh la la! Look at Old Man Fancy Boy over there!
Lauralot
February 23rd, 2026 at 5:10 am Reply
MW: No, I’m sorry. As thrilled as I am to move on from “parrots are great,” I refuse to look at this man’s jowls for the next eleven weeks.
Professor Well Actually
February 23rd, 2026 at 5:20 am Reply
MW: why is nobody at this pool party wearing swimsuits? And no I’m not asking to see Wilbur frolicking in a Speedo but an ascot seems like a little overdressed.
richardf8
February 23rd, 2026 at 5:30 am Reply
MW – Guy seems perfectly happy reading The Comics Curmudgeon on his phone, but sure, go fuck with him, why don’t cha?
matt w
February 23rd, 2026 at 5:44 am Reply
Congratulations to June Brigman for perfectly rendering the facial expression of someone who is perfectly content not to be talked to by Toby Cameron and Mary Worth.
BigTed
February 23rd, 2026 at 6:53 am Reply
Mary Worth: Scrolling your phone because a party is really boring? Mary Worth stars, they’re just like us!
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
CanuckDownSouth
February 23rd, 2026 at 5:13 am Reply
GT Is there some regionalism / dialect I’m missing? Because “Ms.” and “Miz” are pronounced the same way where I come from. The writers seem to be forgetting the characters aren’t supposed to be able to read the speech bubbles.
Charterstone: Dune
February 23rd, 2026 at 7:02 am Reply
GT: You can call yourself what you want, Keri, but at least know the different between a pronoun and an honorific.
The Rambling Otter
February 23rd, 2026 at 7:06 am Reply
I remember years back, the censor bot removed a ton of Gil Thorp posts, because of the word Milford.
Victor Von
February 23rd, 2026 at 5:48 am Reply
Dennis the Menace: I don’t think much of the black-and-white stained glass window in the church. Where are they, the Church of Jesus Christ, Polka Dot?
taig
February 23rd, 2026 at 7:01 am Reply
FC: Young Ferris Bueller is a worse concept than Young Sheldon.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
Aaron
February 24th, 2026 at 5:16 am Reply
MW: Hope to God this isn’t a Hi & Lois crossover…
MKay
February 24th, 2026 at 5:05 am Reply
MW: I love the beginning, when anything is possible. Trixie: 1) imaginary 2) inflatable 3) a catfish 4) Belle Batsfrey 5) a beard
SO excited!
Cloots
February 24th, 2026 at 4:40 am Reply
MW My gut is saying Trixie is actually a wealthy and successful engineer finishing a contract in Turkey. She just needs a little more money to get home because she had to pay out of pocket for unused materials and oh no she was robbed of her wallet just outside the airport!
Lauralot
February 24th, 2026 at 5:09 am Reply
MW: Where is Mary looking? Did she adopt a cat offscreen and go blind from toxoplasmosis? “Parasites are great!”
Ken
February 24th, 2026 at 5:39 am Reply
MW: It’s possible Moy recently heard of catfishing and we’re about to be “treated” to a twelve-week-long PSA on the dangers of online dating. However, I think we’ll see a more traditional plot. For example: Mr. H’s daughter Sharon, who is 47, disapproves of Trixie, who is 22. Hijinks ensue, and Mary is in meddler heaven.
Maltmash3r
February 24th, 2026 at 5:43 am Reply
Mw- we’ve already had a catfishing storyline, so let’s hope it is a coming out story. I’ll let the Wortharian historians figure out if the strip has had a gay character before. If not, there may be a lot of clutched pearls from the non-mudges out there.
Hibbleton
February 24th, 2026 at 5:56 am Reply
MW: Toby and Mary are both braless and stoned in P1. If you’re going to be copy and paste from an old strip, it better not be one from the sixties.
Alter Ego
February 24th, 2026 at 7:29 am Reply
MW – Anyone who’s got a fetish for space aliens with big tits, today’s first-panel Toby is for you.
Weaselboy
February 24th, 2026 at 6:07 am Reply
MW – I am loving panel two, in which Mary and Toby are able to have a conversation without saying a word. “You buying this shit?” “Not for a second.”
MonkeyDavid
February 24th, 2026 at 7:59 am Reply
MW—Expecting Ian to suddenly show up and pompously declare “as an English professor, I must say that since it is a hypothetical the subjunctive case is proper, and you should have said ‘wishing she were here.’”
White Rabbit
February 24th, 2026 at 8:36 am Reply
@MonkeyDavid: MW: Expecting Ian to suddenly show up and pompously declare “as an English professor, I must say that since it is a hypothetical the subjunctive case is proper, and you should have said ‘wishing she were here.’”
—-
Subjunctive mood, of course, but “case” is exactly what I too would expect Ian to say.
Doghouse Reilly (Minneapolis)
February 24th, 2026 at 9:10 am Reply
MW: Quinten Crisp has a beard, er girlfriend? Named Trixie? Sure. Why not. Have her give my regards to Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks.
Stuart F
February 24th, 2026 at 10:50 am Reply
Trixie aka “tricksy”: AI girlfriend or pig-butchering scam? Why not both!
Liam
February 24th, 2026 at 4:37 am Reply
MW-Trixie would be there but you can’t tear her away from a good sunbeam.
FC-“Couldn’t you have used Vaseline when you took my temperature?”
Horace Broon
February 24th, 2026 at 9:29 am Reply
FC: Thel is Australian, therefore I can only assume she’s taking Billy’s temperature in Celsius. I’ve often thought the phrase “It’s enough to make your blood boil” when reading the comics, but seldom so literally.
Artist formerly known as Ben
February 24th, 2026 at 11:38 am Reply
Blondie: A cake that looks like a beach? Fun and yum! What is Maya making the syringes out of?
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
Aaron
February 24th, 2026 at 5:16 am Reply
MW: Hope to God this isn’t a Hi & Lois crossover…
MKay
February 24th, 2026 at 5:05 am Reply
MW: I love the beginning, when anything is possible. Trixie: 1) imaginary 2) inflatable 3) a catfish 4) Belle Batsfrey 5) a beard
SO excited!
Cloots
February 24th, 2026 at 4:40 am Reply
MW My gut is saying Trixie is actually a wealthy and successful engineer finishing a contract in Turkey. She just needs a little more money to get home because she had to pay out of pocket for unused materials and oh no she was robbed of her wallet just outside the airport!
Lauralot
February 24th, 2026 at 5:09 am Reply
MW: Where is Mary looking? Did she adopt a cat offscreen and go blind from toxoplasmosis? “Parasites are great!”
Ken
February 24th, 2026 at 5:39 am Reply
MW: It’s possible Moy recently heard of catfishing and we’re about to be “treated” to a twelve-week-long PSA on the dangers of online dating. However, I think we’ll see a more traditional plot. For example: Mr. H’s daughter Sharon, who is 47, disapproves of Trixie, who is 22. Hijinks ensue, and Mary is in meddler heaven.
Maltmash3r
February 24th, 2026 at 5:43 am Reply
Mw- we’ve already had a catfishing storyline, so let’s hope it is a coming out story. I’ll let the Wortharian historians figure out if the strip has had a gay character before. If not, there may be a lot of clutched pearls from the non-mudges out there.
Hibbleton
February 24th, 2026 at 5:56 am Reply
MW: Toby and Mary are both braless and stoned in P1. If you’re going to be copy and paste from an old strip, it better not be one from the sixties.
Alter Ego
February 24th, 2026 at 7:29 am Reply
MW – Anyone who’s got a fetish for space aliens with big tits, today’s first-panel Toby is for you.
Weaselboy
February 24th, 2026 at 6:07 am Reply
MW – I am loving panel two, in which Mary and Toby are able to have a conversation without saying a word. “You buying this shit?” “Not for a second.”
MonkeyDavid
February 24th, 2026 at 7:59 am Reply
MW—Expecting Ian to suddenly show up and pompously declare “as an English professor, I must say that since it is a hypothetical the subjunctive case is proper, and you should have said ‘wishing she were here.’”
White Rabbit
February 24th, 2026 at 8:36 am Reply
@MonkeyDavid: MW: Expecting Ian to suddenly show up and pompously declare “as an English professor, I must say that since it is a hypothetical the subjunctive case is proper, and you should have said ‘wishing she were here.’”
—-
Subjunctive mood, of course, but “case” is exactly what I too would expect Ian to say.
Doghouse Reilly (Minneapolis)
February 24th, 2026 at 9:10 am Reply
MW: Quinten Crisp has a beard, er girlfriend? Named Trixie? Sure. Why not. Have her give my regards to Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks.
Stuart F
February 24th, 2026 at 10:50 am Reply
Trixie aka “tricksy”: AI girlfriend or pig-butchering scam? Why not both!
Liam
February 24th, 2026 at 4:37 am Reply
MW-Trixie would be there but you can’t tear her away from a good sunbeam.
FC-“Couldn’t you have used Vaseline when you took my temperature?”
Horace Broon
February 24th, 2026 at 9:29 am Reply
FC: Thel is Australian, therefore I can only assume she’s taking Billy’s temperature in Celsius. I’ve often thought the phrase “It’s enough to make your blood boil” when reading the comics, but seldom so literally.
Artist formerly known as Ben
February 24th, 2026 at 11:38 am Reply
Blondie: A cake that looks like a beach? Fun and yum! What is Maya making the syringes out of?
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
Old School Allie Cat
February 25th, 2026 at 7:23 am Reply
Luann – I tell people I became a operations trainer in healthcare because all the princess jobs were taken. Seeing the way princessing is going these days, I feel like I made a marginally better choice. Marginally, because healthcare is only slightly more stable than the royals.
And is Luann comparing to herself to her father when he was a “teen”? I’m sure the Evansii see her as a fresh-faced 17-year-old making her way in this crazy world, but it’s been awhile since I mentioned that I began reading Luann when we were both roughly 12 years old. I’ll be 52 later this year. And while I still hold out hope that eventually I’ll be famous, it’s about as likely as Luann getting laid in my lifetime. Or hers… however long that ends up being.
ectojazzmage
February 25th, 2026 at 7:44 am Reply
Judge Parker: Randy and April spice up their love life with a little experimentation, discerning if Randy finds April castrating men with a bowie knife to be sexy. Turns out, he doesn’t. Lesson learned!
Ukulele Ike
February 25th, 2026 at 9:38 am Reply
Ripley: In 1947, Ruth Hensinger’s head and hands were chopped off on the morning of her wedding day.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
pugfuggly
February 26th, 2026 at 4:47 am Reply
MW: God, Mary seems absolutely delirious thinking about what this new situation could bring. “A May-December phishing scam with a closeted widow? Oh…god…I’m feeling light headed…”
Tabby Lavalamp
February 26th, 2026 at 5:53 am Reply
At 32, Trixie is… what, 50 years younger than Dead Astaire here? Even if she turns out to be a gold digger and Mary needs to convince Thirsty Howell the Third that she’s only in it for the money, this is still modern day Mary Worth so it will be a tedious slog where it will take the Meddler-In-Chief several weeks to make him see the light and settle for a pet rabbit or hamster or something that will hang on his every word.
Lauralot
February 26th, 2026 at 5:15 am Reply
MW: Of all the people in the world to side-eye an age gap relationship, Moy chose Toby. I guess someone other than Mary had to do it, as Mary’s too busy staring off into space, fantasizing about how best to meddle.
Twinkles the Elf
February 26th, 2026 at 4:46 am Reply
Toby’s being triggered by that “age difference.” Toby’s in a May-December marriage herself! She’s been waiting for Ian to fall of the perch f-o-r-e-v-e-r, but he just keeps chugging along. She could tell “Trixie” a thing or three about the joys of elderly husbands! Controlling, cantankerous, flatulent, rude, and not nearly as rich as you thought they were when you rashly tied the knot. Run, Trixie, run!
I’m Not Cthulhu, But I Play Him On TV
February 26th, 2026 at 5:14 am Reply
Mary Worth: February 26th, 2026: Dear Penthouse, I never thought it would happen to me, but today I saw Mary and Toby’s O-face at the same time.
A Grave Mind
February 26th, 2026 at 5:36 am Reply
@I’m Not Cthulhu, But I Play Him On TV:
Gold, Jerry!
TK
February 26th, 2026 at 6:00 am Reply
Age difference? Long distance relationship but never actually met or seen them? Mary thinks back to the heady days when Estelle had a similar arrangement. “Oh my. I never thought I’d get this lucky again! Charterstone, you are Paradise!”.
TheDiva
February 26th, 2026 at 6:18 am Reply
MW: “Age difference?” Mary cries, with the eager wide-eyed expression of someone who has won a lottery jackpot. To hell with squabbling over parrots, this is the kind of neighbor drama she lives for!
matt w
February 26th, 2026 at 6:21 am Reply
Not news, but Mary Worth has a serious pacing problem. Everyone knows this storyline is going to drag out for at least a month plus a week of Mary and Jeff recaps, you can’t just blow “new guy’s girlfriend is an obvious catfish” in the first three days. Show some restraint!
Guts Dozier
February 26th, 2026 at 4:52 am Reply
I’m not sure whose voyeurism is more disturbing: the Bumsteads’ dog, or the DeGroot children.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
TheDiva
February 26th, 2026 at 6:37 am Reply
JP: “Sure, just point out which corpse is his and I’ll tie him to the back of the snowmobile.”
RMMD: Look, either Lorna willingly retired and his happy to be free from the rigid beauty standards of Hollywood, or she’s so ashamed at having fallen out of those standards that she’s become a recluse and has to disguise herself to leave the house, but you can’t have it both ways!
Chance
February 27th, 2026 at 4:34 am Reply
Blondie: Those aren’t black pants. Those are censor bars.
Scratchy’s Scrotums of the Week
MKay
February 27th, 2026 at 4:45 am Reply
DtM: What a surprise – Dennis is a junior mansplainer. Gina’s first snowball should go up his nose.
Special Scrotal Awards to the Best No. 69 and Beyond of the Week
69. Doctor Moreau
February 22nd, 2026 at 6:55 am Reply
A Plugger knows that although doctors might call this behavior a symptom of dementia, noise-canceling headphones can bring a few precious moments of peace and quiet.
69. TheDiva
February 23rd, 2026 at 6:59 am Reply
MW: I just want to say, good for Mr. Hart. He endured the social pressure that forced him to hide behind a heteronormative marriage and family, but times have changed and he finally has the courage to put on his best Oscar Wilde cosplay and start trolling for young twinks looking for a silver fox daddy. It’s never too late to live your truth!
69. BigTed
February 25th, 2026 at 7:04 am Reply
Luann: You could say that “rock star” isn’t a reasonable career path, but plenty of bands from Frank’s youth are still successfully performing. Heck, he definitely has the look of a guy who could be in Weezer.
Special Scrotal Awards to the Best No. 69 and Beyond of the Week
169. I speak Jive
February 25th, 2026 at 3:33 pm Reply
Crankshaft – This rambling, pointless shaggy dog story will win the Pulitzer for sure.
Pluggers – He’s driving around with that chair because he can’t get it through his head that the garbage truck won’t pick it up unless it’s wrapped in plastic.
Mary Worth – Wait until Ascot Man learns that Trixie is actually Princess Trixie, Nigerian royalty.
Special Scrotal Awards to the Best No. 69 and Beyond of the Week
69. GarrisonSkunk
February 26th, 2026 at 7:05 am Reply
Blondie, The Neighborhood Bumstead: Say what you will about Dag and Blondie’s humanity, but in my opinion, it was darn nice of them to install a doorbell at a height low enough for Daisy to poke it with her nose.
69. Little Blue Bicycle
February 27th, 2026 at 6:30 am Reply
GT: “You’re Gil’s girlfriend. Where does he get his longevity?”
“His friend Coach Jimmy Johnson told him how to “extenz ” himself. And I like it too!”
Congratulations, Lurker! Thanks, Scratchy!
Thank you Scratchy!
Thanks for the mention, Scratchy!
Congrats to. Lurker and the floaters and thanks for the triple, Scratchy!
Thanks, Josh and Scratchy!
My goodness a mention. I feel validated.
@The Rambling Otter: Sending hugs,feel better,Rambling,remember the water,its not just for swimming in.
@Scratchy Scrotum LXIX: Garrison rings the doggie doorbell in celebration of the Spirit of 69 Scrote! Thanks Scratchy!