Archive: Wizard of Id

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You guys! You are I hope aware of [Citation Needed], the Wikipedia-themed Tumblr to which I contribute! You will probably also be aware of the associated podcast put out by mad genius Conor Lastowka. Well, I am in the most recent episode, talkin’ about the Wizard of Id! You will want to have a listen, I think.

Oh, and hey, it’s time for your comment of the week, of course!

“‘Script Westview’ is also known by another name: ‘Comic Sans Happiness.'” –Mibbitmaker

And your runners up! Very funny!

“Why is Constance’s nose growing? She hasn’t even denied killing Jackie yet!” –Chyron HR

I used to fly kites when I was a kid and things were simpler. And you’re, like, ten now, right? I lose track of these things.” –Artist formerly known as Ben

“How about this: ‘You’re a plugger if you think every aspect of your life is somehow more folksy and significant than everyone else’s.'” –Frank Lee Meidere

“I wish they would just end Ziggy and Pluggers. Both strips are played out, tired, and constantly recycling the same jokes. At least combine them into a single strip. I mean, Ziggy’s pets are already sentient and he’s, what, some kind of human-sloth hybrid, right? The caption for today’s Zuggers could read, ‘Zuggers talk to their pets like they’re people because actual people will have nothing to do with them.’ Alternatively, in Pliggy, the gas pump could be saying something insulting like ‘Prices are always going up, dipshit,’ or ‘Your ass already has plenty of gas.'” –Effluvius Erratus

“And with a triumphant and horrible cry, Mary Worth bursts out of Wilbur’s chest. ‘It was not this bloated oaf, whose maggoty flesh I have worn these last three weeks, but I who did devise this glorious, meddlesome scheme, I who saved dopey Dawn from the accursed Internet!’ At which point matters take a somewhat nasty turn.” –new_squid_in_town

“Now that is some goggle eyed horror! The Shoe artists must be used to the typical amounts of goggle-eyed-ness, and, like a heroin addict craving a fix, must be amping the goggle eyes to a ridiculous and potentially lethal level in order to just feel human.” –Conor

“‘I don’t know, Max — that just doesn’t “wring” true.’ My work here is done.” –Pozzo

Spider-Man: “The city is being terrorized — terrorized, I say — by a vampire with bad posture, split ends, and a propensity for hugs. Somewhere an emo band is wondering with ironic detachment where its lead singer has gotten to.” –Esther Blodgett

“Isn’t Lureen weeping at the sight of Loweezy’s wattle-scrotum-thingy? Lord knows, that’s what I’d do.” –Oregonian

‘Didn’t Dag get the memo?’ It’s 2011 and he’s wearing a bowtie and a robin-egg blue trenchcoat — safe to say Dag has missed a lot of memos.” –R in CT

‘Hobo tramp’ is not to be confused with Hobotramp, the Supertramp tribute band whose members are all homeless.” –frippy

“Well, he’s either Santa, God, or Aqualung. I like those odds!” –Chyron HR

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Dennis the Menace, 3/2/11

No matter what your opinion of Dennis Mitchell’s ability to install fear via menacing, you have to admit that he’s generally speaking one of the comics’ less introspective characters. Thus, this little scene is actually kind of poignant. He’s too old to menace people Marvin-style by crapping in his drawers, and too young to slap on some Drakkar Noir and menace the ladies with his aggressive adolescent sexuality. So he just looks glumly at his half-eaten cookie. Is this all there is? Cookies? Man, this is no kind of life.

Mary Worth, 3/2/11

It’s come to my attention that some of you don’t know who Iris is. Iris is Wilbur’s girlfriend, so you may have “forgotten” about her in the sense that your brain, in a vain attempt to make the world make sense, refuses to store the words “Wilbur’s” and “girlfriend” next to each other. Anyway, it’s pretty rich that Iris is waxing about how she eventually learned she had to let li’l Tommy out of the nest, because, of course, this is the sort of decision Tommy made on his own:

The world famous Tommy the Tweaker storyline was the very first Mary Worth plot covered on this blog, and if you missed it it’s totally worth your while to start here and work your way forward. Long story short, I think we all know now that Dawn is building an illicit Twitter lab in her room, and we’re on a collision course with heartbreak and/or wackiness.

Wizard of Id, 3/2/11

Hey, remember yesterday, when the Wizard of Id made no sense but at least didn’t involve eating cockroaches? God, I long for that more innocent time.

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Lockhorns, 3/1/11

Wow, if you had asked me, “Which comics couple has a whole secret life in which they run pharming parties and ingest massive amounts of bootleg prescription drugs?”, the Lockhorns would not have been my answer. (Connie and Walt from Zits would have been my number one choice, for the record.) I’m pretty sure this is the first Lockhorns panel I’ve seen where both halves of the titular hell-couple are smiling at the same time, even though Leroy’s got the squiggly-smile that is this comic’s shorthand for intoxication of one sort or another. I’m not sure who the anonymous foreground lady is supposed to be, but Loretta is clearly very excited about introducing her to the mind-altering bounty in that box of wonderful pharmaceutical treats from our neighbors to the north.

Mary Worth, 3/1/11

“Let me tell you something, Wilbur. Your daughter’s lived with you her whole life, so I have to imagine that she’s been forced to watch what I just saw — you inhaling a hamburger right out of your hands, barely pausing to chew — over and over again. So you can’t blame her for developing defensive strategies. I sure wish I had been facing a computer screen instead of facing you when that happened. I kind of wish there were a computer screen between the two of us right now, or maybe just a thick concrete or metal barrier of some kind.”

Wizard of Id, 3/1/11

Aw, isn’t that nice! Remember, whether you’re a prisoner of your job and the low social status associated with it, or just an actual, literal prisoner, you can still escape your bonds and drudgery with the power of your imagination. In this case, the imaginary journey involves macking on sexy ladies, I guess? Seriously, I have no idea what the hell is supposed to be going on here.

Dick Tracy, 3/1/11

The reason we put up with month after month of aimless insanity in Dick Tracy is that, eventually, any given plot will suddenly resolve itself into a brief episode of visceral, nightmarish horror, which remains incomprehensible on any kind of intellectual level but will still be seared into your consciousness, forever. Anyway, as today’s strip features a mass murderer in a gimp mask squirming in terror at the arrival of hundreds of bloodthirsty rats, I think it’s safe to say that this stage of the narrative has arrived.