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Panel from Slylock Fox, 10/13/24

The animal revolt that destroyed human dominance of the planet and put the newly sapient beasts in charge was no doubt commanded by a revolutionary vanguard that ultimately evolved into the dictatorial Forest Kingdom apparatus that Slylock serves. However, the new regime has, as is so often the case, laid the foundations for its own undoing, by encouraging its subjects to become literate so that they could learn about themselves and the societies that came before them. Reeky’s sister is apparently already exploring the concepts of constitutional law and the benefits of a limited government, and, sure, today the logic “Well, you lied about one thing, that eliminates all reasonable doubt and you are GUILTY” will pass muster in an owl-run courtroom, but as the political understanding of the animals advances, the arc of the universe will, eventually, bend towards justice for Reeky and all the rest.

Rex Morgan, M.D., 10/13/24

Most people in this strip are inexplicably Truck Tyler fanatics, so I kind of like the reminder that Yvonne, specifically, is a Mud Mountain Murphy stan, so dedicated to his signature hit “Muddy Boots” that she’s willing to be polite when he’s clearly deep in his cult era, or willing to refer to an on-stage simulated pants shitting as “stage fright.”

Mary Worth, 10/13/14

Mary, of course, loves being the advice giver and unlicensed counselor around Charterstone, loves it more than is seemly. Even so, do you think she ever gets a little exasperated by how dumb these people are? “So … job stress as a police officer took Jimmy from you before you could retire together … [long pause] … so do you think that with Ed … [even longer pause] … who you’re always mad at because he works too much … [long, exasperated pause] … at his stressful job … look, do I have to draw a diagram for you or what???”

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Curtis, 10/7/24

While we all like to see a syndicated newspaper comic keep up with times, I’m afraid the occasional bit in Curtis where Curtis faithfully tunes in to his favorite online comic, Dear Ol’ Dad, feels a little out of date, like it’s grounded in the big webcomics boom of the late ’00s and early ’10s. Not that there aren’t still plenty of good online comics, but unless you really go out of your way to follow them (“Dad, can I have $5 a month for the Dear Ol’ Dad Patreon?” “I’m broke, Curtis”), you mostly encounter them appearing at random on your Facebook or Instagram feed. If you’re lucky, they’re cloying panels where blue aliens describe ordinary situations in cutesy circumlocutions; more likely, you get either Off The Mark panels from 2014 that have had the dialogue changed to be racist, or horrifying AI slop where a crying soldier is eating dog food out of a can while dozens of children with too many fingers point and laugh at him, and the caption is “Best Comic Funny [three cry-laughing emojis].” I’m assuming what Curtis is enjoying is the latter.

Slylock Fox, 10/7/24

I think it’s funny that the text makes clear that this is an enlarged photo of Slick Smitty. The strip wants you to know that the new animal society is fully capable of producing normal-sized photos, OK? They just chose not to in this case, for some reason.

Alice, 10/7/24

Reading this panel left-to-right was fun because at first I thought, “Ha ha, it’s funny because Alice is in desperate financial straits,” but then I got to the ATM and was like “AHH AHHH IT HAS LIPS AND A TONGUE WHY ARE THEY THAT COLOR WHY IS THE TONGUE FLAPPING AROUND LIKE THAT AHHHHH”

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“Well helloooooo, ladies! … and gents!”

“Welcome back to World of Animals, an occasional feature—I’m your beloved host, Carl. My how the time does fly; let’s get straight to those fascinating Nature Facts from the wonderful World of Animals!”

One Big Happy (panel), 9/1/24

“What? LIBEL! Wait, libel is when it’s printed. Okay, SLANDER! Hmm, what is it when a printed guy says something? All right James, I’m going to let you off the hook this one time—but watch your step, pal!”

Mark Trail, 9/15/24

“HA! ‘Cat colony in the wild’ is warmblood code for a gang of insatiable, fanged monsters who prowl by night murdering innocent turtles. WIPE THEM OUT! [ahem] Thank you for your kind attention.”

Slylock Fox, (panel) 9/15/24

“Well, of course! Did you think a reptile would ever be so rude? Do you think we’re amphibians or something?”

Mutts, 9/15/24

“Look, we turtles may have our faults, but we’re not delusional.“

Rex Morgan, M.D. (panel), 9/15/24

“Well, you’re the expert! But why not find a nice rock to sun yourself on instead of hogging that bench all week?”

That’s all for today—time to get up from the bench and explore the wonderful World of Animals!

— Turtle Carl