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Hi and Lois, 2/16/10

Maybe it’s because I’m not in charge of a tiny human who will be pooping in his or her pants for the next couple of years, but there’s something I find fairly unpleasant about seeing a little baby thought-ballooning “A bathtub is bigger than a toilet!” I mean, yes, it’s possible that we’re just seeing the development of Trixie’s basic understanding of how objects can be related to each other in terms of size, but something about her cheerfulness, combined with her well-known diaper problems, just screams “that bathtub is full of poop!” to me.

Also worthy of note is the fact that the Flagstons, like the Bumsteads, have an anachronistic bathtub that is totally lacking in shower facilities of any kind. I suppose this means it’s only used for the kids, so, you know, crap in it all you want, I guess.

Dennis the Menace, 2/16/10

It appears that Dennis is slowly, slowly inching his way towards modernity. For instance, instead of wearing red overalls and a blue and black striped shirt as his only outfit, he’s now added red pants and a blue and black striped shirt to his wardrobe selections. And instead of hitting baseballs through Mr. Wilson’s window or harassing Margaret with frogs, he’s staring at his doctor with dead, soulless eyes and ordering her to inject herself with God knows what.

Family Circus, 2/16/10

I like Dolly’s shifty eyes in this panel. “The fool! Doesn’t he know that they’re always watching, and judging? ALWAYS WATCHING. ALWAYS JUDGING. Mustn’t let on that I know … musn’t let on…”

Luann, 2/16/10

You’ll notice that Mr. Fogarty doesn’t even bother asking Luann if she can sew. He’s had her in his class for years, so he’s well aware that she has no useful skills of any kind.

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Mark Trail, 2/9/10

OH, SNAP! The physical assault has begun in Mark Trail, and, since I didn’t cheat by reading ahead with These Strange Worlds, I’m actually pretty shocked that the initial perpetrator is not Joe (or possibly Moe) Parker, but rather this distinguished-looking senator, who isn’t so distinguished that he can’t slap an angry lake-bully with his pimp hand when he gets his dander up. Now, um, maybe this is how elected officials ran constituent services back in the ’70s, but I rather think that this was a poor tactical move on the senator’s part. Surely Moe (or possibly Joe) will be on Fox and/or MSNBC (depending the senator’s political affiliation) in short order, dishing up dirt, and blogs will be falling over each other to come up with “heavy handed” puns. At least there aren’t any cameras around to put the YouTube clip into heavy rotation.

Family Circus, 2/9/10

Once again, you’ve underestimated your brother’s idiocy, Dolly, as he’s actually brushed his teeth with peanut butter. You can see that he’s trying to come up with some retort, but hasn’t been able to pry his jaws apart yet.

Hi and Lois, 2/9/10

I kind of like Lois’s stunned expression; it implies that Chip just let loose with a blues number expressing a deep, existential sadness, the sort of dark, powerful emotion that his mother never even imagined possible, let alone that it might reside in her teenage son. Trixie, as ever, can think of nothing but shitting herself.

Hagar the Horrible, 2/9/10

“That’s because, after days being left hanging here, my shoulders have been terribly dislocated and will never heal properly! I’ll won’t be able to move my arms comfortably again for as long as I live! Ha ha, torture, amiright?”

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Herb and Jamaal, 1/30/10

Herb’s mother-in-law Eula is always depicted as argumentative and unpleasant, perhaps because she’s a stereotypical, lazily created mother-in-law character constantly haunted by intrusive thoughts of death and divine punishment. We already know that she attends a church that has a creepy obsession with the afterlife. In this strip, her thought-ballooning begins with a brief moment of justified self-esteem over her good health; but soon she’s distracted that by the realization that her contemporaries are dying at a rapid clip, followed by paranoia that her dead friends are laughing it up at the right hand of Our Lord over her eternal punishment in Hell. Cheery! Presumably she’s going to take this self-loathing out on Herb, for having the temerity to displace her in her daughter’s affections.

Mary Worth, 1/30/10

As is the case with a lot of modern art, I couldn’t tell you specifically what feelings the second panel of this Mary Worth is supposed to evoke, but I enjoy at a visceral level. If I may venture an interpretation: Dawn’s mind is so aflame with shock over Wilbur’s quick capitulation that she’s on the verge of tearing off her own head to rid herself of the confusion and anguish inside it. Wilbur’s eyes, meanwhile, tell the story of a man grimly determined to not force the issue, someone who fervently and implacably believes that, really, it just doesn’t matter.

Family Circus, 1/30/10

Ha ha, it looks like Jeffy has learned the concept of asking for forgiveness rather than permission! Unfortunately, he’s also about to learn why Mommy calls that blanket “the Smotherer.”