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Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 11/11/13

Happy Veterans Day, everybody, and let us never forget that once, long ago, Private Snuffy Smith helped defend the free world from the menace of fascism, as depicted in live action films in which Snuffy was played by little person Bud Duncan wearing a shockingly true-to-cartoon fake nose:

A few years back I linked to 1942’s Private Snuffy Smith, in which Snuffy enlists in the army in order to avoid trouble with the revenuers. In the intervening time, the sequel to that film, the Holy Grail of Snuffiana, has been uploaded to YouTube, the film with the most amazing title of any movie ever made: Hillbilly Blitzkrieg.

The plot involves Nazi spies trying to steal Snuffy’s moonshine formula and use it for rocket fuel, I guess? I only made it through about three minutes of it! Let me know what I missed, if anything.

Mary Worth, 11/11/13

“Neither would I. If not for me, I wouldn’t be here today. I create myself whole from within myself. I am the alpha and omega and nobody, least of all me, can escape me.”

Rex Morgan, M.D., 11/11/13

Guys, were you worried that the Morgans might not be extracting maximum revenue from Sarah’s drawings of horsies? Well, their highly compensated lawyer will see about that.

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Spider-Man, 11/10/13

Aww, poor Spider-Man once dreamed of having his name in lights, either as “Spider-Man” or “Peter Parker,” either one, I’m having a hard time parsing out exactly what he means in that first panel, but the important thing is that he feels an overwhelming sense of personal failure, which makes me happier than I can describe. Still, it’s not like Peter doesn’t still know how to enjoy himself in the crumbling ruin he calls a life! For instance, as long as he manages to distract his hugely successful wife so that she screws up in a very public manner, his day is a little bit brighter.

Mary Worth, 11/10/13

Ooh, it looks like Shelly’s award dinner is at New York’s historic Waldorf-Astoria Hotel! Let’s take a look at Google Street View to see how accurately the strip managed to depict this landmark’s stunning art deco facade:

Yup, they pretty much nailed it! I couldn’t find any pictures of the hotel’s luxurious ballrooms, but I’m sure they all feature the hideous drop ceiling shown in today’s final panel as well.

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Mary Worth, 11/8/13

I think we really need to start wondering if Mary Worth has reached its logical end state: with Mary in some kind of fugue state, possibly full of drugs on her deathbed, just fantasizing about people praising her. She’s not even imagining herself doing anything praiseworthy anymore; she’s just being lavished with praise for things she may or may not have done in the distant past. This is why Mary is looking so ecstatic in panel two: this is her dreamscape, so she can hear Shelly’s very thoughts, and knows that for her entire speech Sheylly will just be smiling beatifically and saying “Mary … Mary … thank you Mary … Mary … thank you … Mary …” for two or three hours.

Spider-Man, 11/8/13

Spider-Man’s thought balloons, meanwhile, are pretty much par for the course in terms of his general unlikeability. “Yeah, it’s such a burden seeing my wife’s hit play, the success of which is making her happy and supporting me financially. I can’t believe I have to keep doing this. Hey, someone just praised me, all right!”