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Dick Tracy, 11/12/26

BIG REVEAL IN DICK TRACY: That weird tiny old man who gets carried around everywhere is a Marine who fought in a battle that took place 76 years ago, which means he’s in his early-to-mid 90s at this point. Presumably back then he was a weird tiny young man who got carried around everywhere, so I’m not sure how effective he was in combat. You’d think this big reveal would’ve been more appropriate for Veterans Day, but I guess Dick Tracy has agreed to cede that holiday to Pluggers, which I respect.

Mother Goose and Grimm, 11/12/26

The composition of this strip bothers me so much! Why do we need Grimm to say the title of the book, and Attila to react to it, when we can also see it printed on the cover? Like it should’ve been Grimm’s dialogue in panel two and then the visual of Ralph in panel three. That’s all you need! Maybe the artist thought, “Oh, I have to have him say it out loud, because some people only listen to the dialog and never read anything,” which doesn’t make sense but makes more sense than anything else.

Luann, 11/12/26

I decided to free myself from reading Luann daily around 2014, and then, for reasons I cannot really articulate, I decided to start inflicting it upon myself again in 2025. All sorts of horrible things happened during that lacuna, I’m sure, most of which I blessedly have no knowledge of, but I am vaguely aware that there was some tragic non-romance storyline between Bernice and a tortured artist type. I was not aware that there were sexy (?) shoes involved in her abortive seduction attempt, and I probably would’ve happily gone to my grave never knowing, but now I will always be cursèd by this particular bit of knowledge. I wouldn’t have bought shoes with that backstory either, mysterious off-panel stranger!

Alice, 11/12/26

BIG REVEAL IN ALICE: That email that Alice was waiting for? It was a thank-you email! STAKES: RAISED

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Pluggers, 11/8/26

This is one of those Pluggers where the art stands in contrast with the caption. We’re told that pluggers have never left the place where they’re from — but here we see a smiling bear-man, striding confidently out of Pluggerville, looking back over his shoulder at his home town with affection but without regret at his new path. Sure, he’s not young anymore, but that doesn’t mean he can’t explore new things, expand his horizons, see the wo[DOG-MAN IS KILLED INSTANTLY BY A SPEEDING LIFTED PICKUP TRUCK DUE TO THE LACK OF PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE ON THIS RURAL ROAD]

Mary Worth, 11/8/26

A tweet I think about a lot is from a woman who claimed that her ex-boyfriend would start shit with guys much bigger than him and then successfully defuse the situation by saying “it’s my birthday, I’m a little birthday boy,” and clearly Nelly is also deploying this strategy. It’s very obvious why Mary has come to her apartment, for the first time ever, but she wouldn’t dare unleash a passive-aggressive emotional interrogation on a sad little birthday girl, would she?

Luann, 11/8/26

I guess “I could use the enjoyment” is a reference to the need to offset the physical discomforts of pregnancy and, soon, the pain of childbirth, but maybe it’s just in general? She’s married to Brad, after all! Brad DeGroot. She could use the enjoyment! Any enjoyment at all, really!

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The Lockhorns, 11/7/26

Sure, Loretta is speaking first and foremost as a shopaholic here, but this is the sort of thought process that can really send someone down some rabbit holes. I’m excited for her to develop an interest in the arcane details of the commercial real estate market, learning more and more about prevailing rental prices, zoning rules, and urbanist theories around placemaking until eventually she’s getting into vicious fights about parking minimums on the r/Levittown subreddit.

Rex Morgan, M.D., 11/7/26

This week’s Rex Morgan “plot” has been a series of strips where Mindy has been shopping at a thrift store and having extremely banal thoughts about the items there, and the whole thing has been so full of nothing happening that it’s practically avant-garde, but now … something has happened! And what’s happened is that Mindy has bumped into a lady who looks super depressed. Is she going to take some time to find out what’s going on with this sad sack? Well, probably not, she has Buck to deal with, that’s emotionally trying enough for anyone.

Luann, 11/7/26

Do you have thoughts about what Brad and Toni should name their baby? Head on over to Luann Fan dot com to share them! I assume there’s some way to share them, based on the little message at the bottom of panel three. Not going over there to find out, though. I already checked the website out once for you people in September and don’t plan to do so again. I’m pretty sure doing that gets you put on a list. A list of people who have visited Luann Fan dot com twice! Maybe you’re willing to risk it but I don’t care to.