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Andy Capp, 1/31/26

I’ve been reading Andy Capp daily again for about a year now, and on the one hand that isn’t very long, given that the strip has run since 1957, but on the other hand it probably puts me in the top 0.1% of Andy Capp Lore Knowers worldwide. Like, I’ve more or less figured out that Andy doesn’t like it when Guitar Bob offers up his musical stylings at the pub, which is crucial knowledge for understanding the “joke” here (such as it is). But imagine if you, like the vast majority of the human race, did not know that, and you stumbled upon this strip. “Hmm, the pub’s landlord is informing one of his patrons that there’s been a change in the entertainment bill tonight. The regular doesn’t react at all. This must be one of those Ken Loach slice-of-life social realism things I’ve heard about.”

Gil Thorp, 1/31/26

Hey, remember when Fox Used Auto did a promotion where if Goshen beat Milford, they’d offer 50% off all cars, apparently indefinitely, and then Goshen beat Milford? Really tells you a lot about how much markup car dealers make given that they’re still in business, huh?

Judge Parker, 1/31/26

“Like, maybe he came back but he grew a beard so you didn’t recognize him, and he’s still sad about it!”

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Gil Thorp, 1/24/26

So, Gil thinks that opinions and interests are determined by the qualities of a person’s “blood” — which is not a metaphor for genetic inheritance, because offspring can exhibit blood-carried qualities entirely different from that of their parents. Maybe these qualities change due to infections or injuries? Maybe if you watch enough movies, your blood cell counts shift in meaningful ways? Unclear but worthy of further study (let’s start draining the Thorp family’s blood and putting it into some centrifuges for analysis is what I’m saying).

Mother Goose and Grimm, 1/24/26

I guess when you have a comic strip where the main characters are a goose who seems to have the legal and social position of a person and a dog who seems to have the legal and social position of a pet, but they both talk and seem to be on the same level intellectually, is not a context where you should be asking questions about why those characters are present at specific times and places. I mean, why are they anywhere at all? Why do they exist? Why would a loving God allow any of this? But still: why are Mother Goose and Grimm in a pharaonic tomb, and why has Mother Goose allowed her pet/housemate/adopted son (he does call her “mom,” I always find that off-putting) to start chewing on the mummies? Do you two want to be prosecuted in Egyptian courts under the 1983 Law on the Protection of Antiquities, and its 2020 amendments? Because this is how you get prosecuted in Egyptian courts under the 1983 Law on the Protection of Antiquities, and its 2020 amendments.

Rex Morgan, M.D., 1/24/26

Oh, sorry, were you thinking Rex’s extremely routine eye surgery wasn’t enough medical action for you? Well, what if, at the same time as he’s undergoing extremely routine eye surgery, one of his kids … was barfing????? Who needs HBO’s The Pitt when you have a thrill ride like this!!!!

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Mary Worth, 1/17/26

Minutes later, Mary would of course be relaying all this information to Toby and Ian’s homeowners insurance carrier. Why should the general Charterstone policy bear all the risk for their negligence?

Blondie, 1/17/26

Look, being Elmo’s #2 is a coveted position, and this kid is not doing well on his first day. Panel two makes it clear this was supposed to be a surprise, but the kid just blurted it out in panel one, ruining it! Sorry, buddy, there’s not going to be any more visits to the house of some weird adult who isn’t your friend’s dad and who doesn’t even have kids your age in your future!

Pluggers, 1/17/26

You can call me cruel for enjoying things like “pluggers routinely pass out on the toilet,” but even I have my limits. I don’t think “pluggers have a bad relationship with their kids” is much fun, actually. I think it’s pretty depressing!

Gil Thorp, 1/17/26

Gil Thorp has had a lot of artists over the years, both permanent and guests, and they’ve all brought something specific and interesting to the strip. The last couple weeks Jason Margos has been filling in, and what he’s brought to the strip is an extreme close-up on Coach Gerads’ weird, gross lips. Enjoy your weekend!