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Rex Morgan, M.D., 1/22/25

So with Kelly out of the house, Summer has been whining about being bored and lonely to everyone she knows, and by “everyone she knows” I mean her daughter and her two coworkers and that’s it, which is very clearly part of the problem. The way the whining went is that she would say “What if I got back into the dating scene! Ha ha! Wouldn’t that be crazy” and other people were like “Uh you know there are lots of other things you could do outside the house, right” and Summer was like “What I’m hearing is that you think I should find a man, for sex.” Anyway, I’m loving the footnote in panel two, assuring us that Summer’s first pass at finding a sex partner isn’t really ending with the guy having a stroke right there at the table and Summer just sighing heavily rather than attempting to find medical help for him. He’s just boring!

Slylock Fox, 1/22/25

Both these panels take place as part of the awful Event that saw animals abruptly become sapient and our human world violently transformed into the animal-dominated realm of Slylock and his Forest Kingdom apparatus of oppression. In the first panel, the wolf, still puzzled by his newfound knowledge of the world, is merely aping the predatory stories he’s discovered in human fairy tales about animals; in the second, the wolf is angry at the humiliation heaped upon the animal characters in those books and has decided to elaborately act out one of those stories but change the ending in an act of bloody revenge. It’s a subtle change but I trust you are discerning enough to pick up on the different vibes. In both panels, that’s a real human femur leaning up against the bed, licked clean, as evidence of the carnage that’s already occurred and an indication of more to come.

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Family Circus, 1/17/25

OK, I know comics are, by their nature, cartoonish, and there isn’t always that much variety between faces so other characteristics are used as cues to ID characters, but when I first saw this panel I immediately thought that the lady behind Dolly has Ma Keane’s face and now I can’t shake it. It’s Ma Keane in a weird wig and a weirder fake chin! It’s like one of those movies where Tilda Swinton plays multiple characters (which also makes me think that Tilda Swinton could plausibly play Ma Keane, which would be terrifying and amazing).

Intelligent Life, 1/17/25

Damn, Dark Haired Intelligent Life Character Whose Name Is Not In The Dialogue Today And I Don’t Remember It And Refuse To Look It Up: your friend Mike sounds like he wants to do drugs with you, which frankly would be the coolest thing that ever happened in this dork-ass comic strip. And you suggest watching Doctor Who instead, like a damn nerd! I love Doctor Who and never do drugs myself and even I’m kind of embarrassed for you.

Rex Morgan, M.D., 1/17/25

God, I love the way Michelle is waggling her wedding ring at Summer in the first panel. “Oh, are you sad and lonely at home by yourself? Couldn’t be me! Check out the bling! Big spouse haver over here!”

Curtis, 1/17/25

WARNING: GREG WILKINS KNOWS HE IS IN A COMIC STRIP AND IS AWARE OF THE STRUCTURE OF HIS FICTIONAL UNIVERSE, CONTAINMENT BREACH IMMINENT

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Judge Parker, 1/13/25

A comics tic meant to telegraph character emotional state that I always find a little odd is when they rub the back of their neck in embarrassment, as Sam is doing in panel two here. I get that they have to do these somewhat exaggerated act-outs to convey what’s happening, but I’m a little puzzled as to what he’s embarrassed about, exactly. “Sorry I just assume you don’t follow my advice or the law”? “Sorry I’m about to accuse your family members of complicity in various crimes”? “Sorry I forgot to tell you that the police have established a 24/7 perimeter around the town because they’re obsessed with capturing your daughter specifically, or maybe because we just live in a panopticon dictatorship now, but either way you should be a lot more subtle with your criming”?

Mary Worth, 1/13/25

“Once, a long time ago, I saw my parents. But then they put a blanket between me and them, which caused them to vanish from the universe. But then the blanket moved, and I could see them again, which meant they existed again. It was very scary and terrifying to me! How could they just blink in and out of existence like that? Am I supposed to believe that they’re sometimes still there, even when I’m not looking at them? That’s insane! If something exists, I should be able to see it! It makes me furious! So you see why I was so mad when your glasses just came out of nowhere and appeared on your face? It made no sense to me, to the protagonist of reality!”

Rex Morgan, M.D., 1/13/25

“I just kind of assumed I hated my daughter! But she finally left and now I feel terrible! Is it possible that I … like her, somehow?”