Good faces
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Marvin, 11/5/26
The facial expressions in the second panel here are bone-chillingly perfect for the vibe of this strip. Marvin’s dad has a face that says “I want to watch football but I’m going to do the absolute bare minimum to care for my toddler son, and also probably a lot of uptight people are going to think that I’m not even doing the bare minimum,” and Marvin has a face that says “Oh no! I’m going to be stewing in my own poop, for extended periods of time!”
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 11/5/26
Speaking of good facial expressions, I appreciate Rudy’s here. Like, I guess I’m not excited to look at the face of an ostrich in genuine distress because his head and neck are covered in ants, but if I have to, I want to see it done well, and they really nailed it here.
Hi and Lois, 11/5/26
I don’t think Hi and Lois should do strips where little kids talk about dead dogs! I think that’s a little grim, even for the current no-punchline iteration of the strip!
Pluggers, 11/5/26
You’re a plugger if you’re suffering all the time and you want everyone to know it.
8 replies to “Good faces”
Mary Worth Mashup: Reuse of artwork is real, people! I made this mashup before I saw today’s real strip. Really!
MT: “It’s not nice to notice harmful ecological conditions when it’s personal. Now apologize to that man who is dumping toxic waste into the river. It’s disrespectful to your elders!”
High and Lower – I first read this as the kid saying his parents and dog went to the farm upstate. So it could be grimmer.
Related – punchline to a joke: “Mom’s on the roof and we can’t get her down.”
Pluggers: Oh no. It’s finally happened. There’s finally a Pluggers comic I find relatable. What have I done to deserve such a fate, I who have tried to walk in meekness and righteousness all my days? Even the Almighty shuns my polluted flesh! Pity me, and those dear to me.
MW: This is the first I’ve ever heard of carrot muffins, a confection that everyone allegedly likes. I’ve heard of carrot cake, but of course we don’t have Mary delivering cake art to recycle. Couldn’t Moy have called them carrot cupcakes?
To be fair, Marvin’s dad is also wearing a diaper.
Snuffy Smith : tomorrow, Rudy goes to Granny Creeps for a rustic, folksy bumpkin remedy against ant bites, Granny Creeps mistakenly “cures” him from being an Ostrich, and now he’s a stereotypical Prince Charming.
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Luann : …it amazes me how misanthropic this strip can get. Like, it depicts a world where EVERYONE is a useless annoying idiot, characters that are supposed to be the “smart” and “reasonable” ones included.
…Oh, also, luannfan is asking for name suggestions. It lets you suggest up to 5(!) names!
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Marvin : is actually goggle-eyed shocked because he’s imagining how much poop Borys Orlov must produce, and how full HIS diaper must be (the idea being that Marvin thinks the “rule” his dad just stated applies to the players on the field).
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Mary Worth : it turns out Nelly Fenelly HATES muffins in general, and carrot muffins in particular, and also that THAT’s the reason she hates Mary so much, she resents having her least favorite treat pushed on her constantly.
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Pluggers : I didn’t know a person could be THIS literally pear-shaped. (as much as Pluggers are persons, what with the “horrifying human-animal hybrid” thing and all)
Pluggers: You’re a Plugger if your favourite T-shirt is an AI slop rip-off you bought from an scammer in a Facebook group for R.E.M. fans.
H&L: Is That Where Dogs Go To Die, the darker and edgier prequel to All Dogs Go To Heaven.
FC: That’s right, Dolly. Farm kids are lucky, getting up at 5 AM, endless chores from sun up to sundown regardless of summer heat or winter cold, back breaking work without pay, watching those cute animals get slaughtered. Those poor city kids with their part time jobs and disposable income don’t know what they’re missing.