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Most soap strips run recaps on Sunday, so Sunday-only readers can keep up without weekday readers missing any developments. Other story strips show little vignettes outside their current narratives, like Foob’s pet antics, band practice, and walks in the woods. Sweet stuff, sometimes, and a nice break.

The Phantom takes a different approach:

The Phantom, 1/27/07

The Phantom runs separate, unrelated stories on Sunday and throughout the week. In the current Sunday series, the Phantom is investigating strange lights in a kind of jungle Forbidden Zone. The lights are from four “dangerous men” in what look like a couple of Duesenbergs, chasing spunky aviatrix Beryl Markham. The twist is, Beryl Markham flew in the 1930’s and died an old woman 20 years ago. We don’t know whether the guys in the cars are equally time-warped, but since their search patterns followed exactly the same schedule and path every night, we’ve got our suspicions. And, well, because they’re driving Duesenbergs.

The Phantom has strong female characters – Beryl here, that village grandma in the daily strip, President Luaga’s fightin’ secretary, and the Phantom’s own daughter Heloise, who’s been bruited as the next Phantom. And the art, by Rex Morgan, M.D.‘s Graham Nolan, suits the material well.

And if you like strong women and good art in adventure strips:

Steve Canyon 1/27/07

Alert reader Mr. O’Malley caught the announcement that this classic is being republished, apparently in order from the beginning, on the 60th anniversary of its original appearance. This is a real coup for the Humorous Maximus site, whose other offerings you may find, er, less distinguished. Steve Canyon author Milton Caniff was already a big deal when this strip appeared in 1947, from his work on Terry and the Pirates. This introductory Sunday installment already has some of the Caniff trademarks that would last through the 1980’s – exotic women, ineffectual supporting men, and tough-guy banter. Airplanes, the Cold War, and Poteet to follow. I highly recommend adding Steve Canyon to your daily reading.

No snark today – it’s Sunday! Enjoy!

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The Phantom 1/26/07

Trouble in Bangalla – Old Man Mozz has been captured by Smurfs!

Funky Winkerbean 1/26/07

Sorry, Cancer Gal, but here in Funky Winkerbean we roll with no hope of any kind.

Curtis 1/26/07

Hey, Greg – you’re lucky you’re not in Funky Winkerbean.

Sally Forth 1/26/07

Oh, Lord – not again.

9 Chickweed Lane 1/26/07

Yes, you can draw. No, you can’t write.

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Curtis, 1/2/07

Ah, Kwanzaa: What would our life be without you? We would be bereft, is what, since we wouldn’t be treated to the annual totally demented and awesome Kwanztravaganza in Curtis. I didn’t think anything could beat last year’s bat-winged Kwanzaa bear, but this enormous, huge-eyed, telepathic (and the good kind of telepathic, with the glowing rings of telepathy emerging from her brain) golden otter is breathtaking in its over-the-top Kwanztasticness. I was going to go back and read the earlier Curtises I missed during my vacation to see if I could figure out what the hell is going on here, but why bother? Just lie back and enjoy the huge golden otter’s telepathic glow. Ahhhh.

The Phantom, 1/2/07

I did go back and read all the old Phantoms I missed, but I still have no idea what the hell this conversation is supposed to mean. Mostly I just like the sentence “We had it made with that securities job! Now we’re robbing natives!” I like to imagine it coming out of the mouth of one of the fratty Ivy League pricks I went to college with, one of the ones who was all eager to move to New York and get jobs working for Smith Barney or some such, but who one day found himself advancing on a village in Malawi with an AK-47 instead, wondering what had gone wrong with his life.

They’ll Do It Every Time, 1/2/07

The haircut and the striped t-shirt are strongly evocative of Ronald McDonald, which can’t possibly be accidental. But I think what really sells this for me is the fact that the giant cargo shorts are magenta. Because that’s what they’re wearing on the streets. Word.

Mark Trail, 1/2/07

Look at that wistful little smile on Mark’s face in the last panel. Oh, if there’s ever a man who loves the thrill of the struggle with a clever, hard-working beaver, it’s Mark Trail. He’s going to live-trap the hell out of those rodents — but he respects them, is the important thing.

I wonder when Mark is going to tell Dick that he’s the one who set Lucky loose to wreak havoc on Dick’s land. Hint: the best time will be when Dick is unarmed.

Hagar the Horrible, 1/2/07

Oh, for … Hagar and Lucky Eddie do not defend castles! OK? Hagar and Lucky Eddie attack castles that other people defend! Get it? They’re attackers! Not attackees! GAH!

I think there’s something wrong with me that this bothers me so much. But I’m still right, dammit.