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Crock, 6/13/22

Crock has been in perpetual reruns ever since its creator died and his son decided that doing the thing so many people in this industry do where they continue putting out their father’s strip would be not that much fun, actually, so despite the up-to-date dates on these they were all published years or decades ago. Generally this doesn’t matter much because Crock is “timeless” (detached from any kind of reality as we know it so it can indulge in its elaborately unfunny internal universe) but every once in a while you get a strip like this, with an out-of-nowhere SLAM on some long-irrelevant bit of pop culture detritus. The big question here: is this a wholly justified attack on The Da Vinci Code, the novel from 2003, or on The Da Vinci Code, the movie from 2006? And is its selection as the rerun strip for today meant as an attack on The Da Vinci Code, a stage play that will be running in London for most of this year, or is that just a coincidence? (Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon would, of course, say there are no such thing as coincidences.)

Curtis, 6/13/22

Speaking of out-of-nowhere slams, Curtis has this intermittent running bit where Curtis wildly overestimates the edginess of some webcomic and it feels like a beef with a specific webcomic but I’m not sure which one? I hope they’re aware of Curtis’s laser focus on them, though. I hope they opened the comics pages today and saw Curtis saying to them “Are you just doing Crankshaft jokes? We already have a Crankshaft, buddy, we don’t need you” and felt that burn deep in their soul.

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Beetle Bailey, 5/3/22

Man, I really respect the second panel here for unleashing the full-throttle refusal to give a shit that makes Beetle Bailey the strip we all know and read every day for some reason. Just a bunch of people, some of whom we know and some we don’t, standing around a … void? with no furniture? because that’s what a “rec room” is, in the army? I guess???? Anyway, the fact that everyone’s facial expressions range from mild excitement to vague annoyance is just icing on the cake. Bravo, it doesn’t get more Beetle Bailey vibes than this.

Curtis, 5/3/22

“Ignorant,” Curtis? Derrick and Onion clearly paid attention in class when you were supposed to be learning about Greek mythology, which is more than you can say.

Dick Tracy, 5/3/22

“Yes, your honor, we have Stuntman Mike’s evidence on this. No, I don’t know his last name. I don’t know if he’s actually a stuntman, either. I only talk to him on the computer and his face is always blurred out. Look, are you going to give me a no-knock warrant to raid this day care center or am I going to have to start leaking to the press that you’re a soft-on-crime lib the next time you’re up for re-election?”

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Mary Worth, 4/21/22

I hope I have made it very clear on this blog that I love snide, catty Ian much more than I do boring, supportive Ian, and if you need more proof, I didn’t bother to show you yesterday’s strip, where Ian said it wouldn’t be surprising if one of Toby’s students fell for her because she’s so lovable, but definitely wanted to share today’s, when he stares thoughtfully at the spoonful of grey-beige slurry he’s about to try to choke down and says “Oh, yeah, sometimes students flirt with you for grades, that actually makes a lot more sense, actually.”

Curtis, 4/21/22

Friends, I have been reading the comic strip Curtis for most of its 33-year history, and one thing I have always loved about it is that Curtis’s dad works at the DMV. It’s very specific in a way that a lot of comics dad office jobs aren’t, and specific things are always more interesting than vague ones. But I have to confess that I always — always — assumed that he was one of those stone-faced bureaucrats who sat behind the desk and told you that you needed to bring in a different proof of address when you’re trying to renew your license or whatever. The idea that he’s the guy who goes out in the car with you on driving tests has completely blown my mind. Completely! My image of the man is upended, and I can barely focus on the fact that apparently someone puked all over him today.