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Get Fuzzy, 3/16/05

Was Get Fuzzy in a slump the first few weeks it was in the Sun, or is it just the kind of strip where you have to get into the rhythm of it every day to really appreciate it? Either way, I recant my earlier doubt about the strip and am once again a believer.

This may seem a little counterintuitive, given that Satchel and Bucky are a sweet and emotionally vulnerable moron and a self-absorbed and cruel moron, respectively, but one of the reasons I like Get Fuzzy is because I’m a cat and dog lover. The strip actually keeps a lot closer to domestic animals personalities than most comics. Cats have a reputation for mysterious intelligence that any cat owner can tell you is entirely undeserved. They are great at moving and acting as if they know exactly what they’re doing at all times, even when what they’re doing is something incredibly stupid. (We watched our cat take a full minute to gather herself up, judge the distance between herself on the floor and the tabletop, and then launch herself directly into a lava lamp, which almost landed on top of her as they both plummeted to the ground.) Dogs don’t really exude that sort of self-confidence, but they do make rash decisions based on little to no information. I think that’s perfectly encapsulated in this exchange here. Also, I like the phrase “Been there, ate that.”

Incidentally, in my research for this post (yes, I do too do research), I read an online interview with Darby Conley from a few years ago in which he was asked if there was anything his syndicate wouldn’t let him get away with. He said wasn’t allowed to deal with “religion or poo.” Between this and last month’s shizzle outside the litter bizzle, I think at least one of those two have rules have gone out the window.

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Get Fuzzy, 2/10/05

Not to horn in on the territory of the excellent Comics I Don’t Understand, but, well, I don’t understand Rob’s statement in panel one. “Go down as easy as a Parisian in a penalty box?” The beautiful, currently-on-strike sport of ice hockey is played by many nationalities, but the French are not known for the prowess in the game, since the smoking generally leaves them short of breath. (French Canadians are another story, of course, but they might as well be from Indiana as far as most Parisians are concerned.) Is it supposed to be double entendre, and I just don’t get it? Or is it a double entendre that sounds dirty but doesn’t really mean anything, like “the dreaded rear admiral”? Any help would be much appreciated.

Anyway, despite my bafflement and the strip’s somewhat juvenile subject matter, it still made me laugh, mostly at the phrase “Prepare to lose that particular 25 cents, my friend.” Ah, when home brewers boast, only to be felled by their own hubris.

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Get Fuzzy, 2/4/05

See, this is why I was excited about the Sun getting Get Fuzzy. It’s also more proof that a strip can be good without depending on a specific punchline in the last panel that’s been elaborately set up in the lead-in panels (yeah, I’m looking at you, B.C.). Everything Bucky says in this strip made me laugh aloud. Keep up the good work, Pinky! (I also like it when Bucky calls Rob “Pinky.”)

Meanwhile, a quick recap of the serials, since there’s a lot of action going on: in Apartment 3-G, Lu Ann’s niece reveals that she has gotten herself knocked up (apparently, she’s fled to NYC because she’s heard it’s all full of “roadside” “gigs” who won’t judge her moral flaws); in Rex Morgan, M.D., Rex is being suspiciously nonchalant about the discovery of human remains in his backyard; in Mark Trail, Mark seems destined to swim to the safety of an oyster bar, where he sadly won’t be eviscerated by razor-sharp shark teeth; and in Mary Worth, Elaine, the third point in our suddenly interesting love triangle, shows up and offers to give the good Dr. Good a family (if you know what I mean) right then and there. This last incident gives the Mary Worth artists the opportunity to do what they love most, which is to draw arm hair. I offer this retrospective for your edification.

And finally, to start your weekend off, here’s a case of life imitating Gil Thorp:

Melee Erupts at Alabama Girls Basketball Game

“People were screaming and running,” Prattville cheerleader Cherish Cartee said. “Girls lost their cell phones. Keys got lost. It’s something I will never forget.”