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Gearhead Gertie, 6/27/24

I find Gertie’s husband extremely relatable here. Sometimes, when your loved one just shouts jargon from their special interest that just sounds like gibberish to you, you’ve got to use a very basic, widely understood term from the same topic area to simultaneously hook them in but tether them to the wider world. We’ve all been there! Also, I love to relax on the couch after a long day at work and read from a giant scroll.

Crock, 6/27/24

Despite my many jokes about the historical strips, I don’t actually expect Hagar the Horrible to be an accurate depiction of life in Viking-era Scandinavia, nor do I think Crock should adhere to the historical realities of French colonial North Africa; indeed, I recognize that the anachronisms are in fact the intended fun of the strip. That said, I would hope that the strips’ creators would give a little thought to world-building that goes beyond “these guys live in the desert so they have … sand in their underwear? probably?”

Beetle Bailey, 6/27/24

Man, I assumed those particles coming out of Beetle’s mouth in panel one indicated that he had eaten a bit of Cookie’s cooking and was immediately spitting the half-masticated food back into the buffet. But then I learned in panel two that he hasn’t eaten any of the food yet! Which is somehow much worse! Because what is that then

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Six Chix, 5/30/24

I “read the comics so you don’t have to,” and I’m not too proud to acknowledge that sometimes that role requires that I alert you to when Six Chix does a strip that’s insane but also good? Today’s is wonderful: it hovers at the edge of comprehensibility, offering up a series of claims that seem reasonable on their face (the existence of foodies surely implies the existence of their equal and opposite numbers, yes? and a golden circle is the logical antithesis to the universal “no” sign?) that dissolve into obvious madness when you spend a moment thinking about them. Plus you get to see this weird little dude eating a hamburger! Perfection, don’t change a thing, no idea what the hell is going on here.

Gearhead Gertie, 5/30/24

Look, I admit that, beyond one night years ago where I took this weird apparatus home that measured my breathing and heartbeat and told me that my (reportedly) vigorous snoring did not rise to the level of sleep apnea, I haven’t had much contact with sleep clinics. But I feel reasonably sure that what goes on there does not consist of doctors (?) gaslighting you into thinking that you shouldn’t be scared of your nightmares. Honestly that experience sounds like the real nightmare! Certainly scarier than watching race cars drive around at safe and reasonable speeds for once. Oh, no, now I’m doing it too!

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Pluggers, 5/16/24

The caption is basic down-home folksiness combined with “pluggers are always hungry,” but the facial expression on the man-bear plugger seems to speak to some real desperation behind his question. “How late are y’all open tonight? I’m asking for regular reasons, not I’ve-been-banned-from-literally-every-other-restaurant-in-town-for-noxious-farts reasons. Just curious if you’re open late, and if, once the dinner rush is over, a fella could get a table that wasn’t too close to anybody else.”

Mary Worth, 5/16/24

Fine, I’m done being grumpy. This one’s good. A panel where it’s just a closeup of Wilbur’s crotch and a toilet while he soliloquies about the impermanence of life? That’s art, actually, and I’m sorry I ever thought any different.

Gearhead Gertie, 5/16/24

Oh wow looks like BIG GOVERNMENT is trying to shut down HARD-WORKING SMALL BUSINESSES so employees can go WATCH CAR RACES, can’t believe NASCAR and its lamestream media mouthpiece Gearhead Gertie have GONE WOKE