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Family Circus, 8/28/20

My favorite facial expression in this whole crowd is definitely Barfy’s. “I’m sorry, what? You thought that was fun? Do you know that my ancestors gave up autonomy and life in the wild and hitched our stars to you clowns so we could live inside, where it’s warm and soft and there aren’t any ticks? If I wanted to be a wolf I’d still be a fucking wolf. What’s the matter with you?”

Rex Morgan, M.D., 8/28/20

Well, there have been a lot of boring plots in Rex Morgan, M.D., lately but at least this time around we’ve got a fun villain and good timely plot so I for one am excited to watch the drama unf–oh. Oh, I see, the cops have caught up with him already. Welp, that’s it for this one folks, tune in next week when [spins wheel] Buck befriends a down-on-his-luck [spins wheel again] classic car restoration expert and helps him set up a website.

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Family Circus, 8/17/20

As a professional comics curmudgeon, my ethics dictate that I must acknowledge when one of the comics I usually dump on is good, and folks: this Family Circus is a good one. The irony of Jeffy’s t-shirt proclaiming that he’s a happy camper as he experiences a comically overwrought meltdown is great, of course, but my favorite thing is just how chill Dolly is. She’s usually the family snitch and would love nothing more than to narc on Jeffy for throwing a tantrum, but look at her: She’s wearing her shades and her casual camping clothes. She’s on vacation, just like she’s trying to explain to her brother. It’s not the time for this, Jeffy! You’re free! You don’t have to be like your usual dumb self here!

Hi and Lois and Daddy Daze, 8/17/20

Meanwhile, I’ve quite rightly never been left in charge of an infant for any length of time, but these strips both seem to depict … pretty good ways to suffocate your infant? Are these scenes bad for infants, health wise? Sound off in the comments on infant safety around huge piles of clothes or stuffed animals or whatever.

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Family Circus, 8/6/20

I get what’s going on here — the water is icy cold, which Dolly is blissfully oblivious about — but I have some notes on the visuals being used to convey this information. I guess those are supposed to be “shiver” lines around Big Daddy Keane’s legs, but they look more like steam (giving the exactly opposite impression of what the panel’s going for) or maybe stink lines, which one also doesn’t usually associate with cold. Although that is a creepy combo, isn’t it? A cold stink. Very Lovecraftian. Also Daddy’s skin seems to be turning black below the knee, representing some kind of horrific rapid-onset gangrene. I take it back, this panel is amazing, actually.

The Lockhorns, 8/6/20

This panel manages to pack two incredibly sad facts into a single efficient gag: that once, long ago, when Loretta met and fell in love with him, Leroy was actually a thoughtful, careful person, but now he leans into his own incompetence as if performing for some invisible audience, all the time.

Pluggers, 8/6/20

Pluggers are familiar with the technology that was prevalent when they were younger, in ways that others, who didn’t grow up with that technology, are not. That sure is a Pluggers joke, all right!