Post Content

Barney Google and Snuffy Smith and Family Circus, 10/29/23

You know, I was about to go on a whole rant here about how the fact that Hootin’ Holler’s only clergyman is a grifter and fraud has resulted in Snuffy holding to some kind of folk syncretism, since he’s freely combining a pagan ritual in which humans take on the guise of evil spirits with a celebration of the risen Christ. But then I was humbled when I got to today’s Family Circus, a strip whose theology I have always assumed is impeccable. We see the Saints themselves rejoice at seeing children dressing up as gangsters or literal witches! I am, as the kids say, sitting my ass down and learning.

Dick Tracy, 10/29/23

Hey, let’s not forget, this Dick Tracy plot isn’t just about the elevated world of rare book crime, it’s also about stabbing, and since Xaviera here has a knife, she probably did the murders, case closed! I do sincerely appreciate the cinematic composition here; presumably Xaviera keeps talking over the last few panels, but from Dick’s perspective her voice fades away as he catches the glint of the blade and all he can think is knife knife knife KNIFE KNIFE STAB STAB STAB KNIFESTAB

Post Content

Blondie, 10/28/23

Over the years, the syndicated comic strip Blondie shifted from the story of a carefree flapper and the dissolute failson who gave up his comfortable life to be with her to a story about a suburban dad who makes being hungry his whole personality, to the extent that he redefines the calendar itself so that each holiday primarily exists to provide an opportunity for a new and subtly different form of food monomania. For me, the thing that’s oddest about Blondie is that the universe around Dagwood is seemingly warped by the intensity of his own appetites, making him something of an outlier but by no means an aberration in his own world. Anyway, what do you make of the combo of “smiling and sweating” in the final panel here, as he enjoys this bird’s third weird holiday food ode? Does it represent “horny”? It has to, right? Very dark, in my opinion.

Gasoline Alley, 10/28/23

I hate to praise Rufus and Joel, but their proposal to capture this monstrous talking bear and display him to an amazed and horrified public for their own profit is frankly the most sensible one we’ve heard so far for dealing with this beast.

Six Chix, 10/28/23

Hey, wouldn’t it be interesting if pumpkins, like the ones you gut in order to make jack-o-lanterns, could experience fear, and sadness, and probably physical pain, too? Have a fun Halloween, everybody!

Post Content

It’s weekend party time, so get “crunk” with this week’s top comment:

“An erudite bear (not so vicious)/ Mistakenly used ‘meretricious’/ For you see, those who snore/ That he knew, were all whores/ But it’s ok because he’s fictitious.” –Marcus Theory

The runners up are also VERY funny, please savor them like a fine wine:

“I want to thank the creative team behind this comic strip for offering insights into the collapse of the French war effort in 1940. A military that concerns itself with cacti helps explain why the Maginot Line proved so ineffective and why Gens. Gamelin and Weygand stumbled so badly. ‘I see the Nazis are starting to build up their forces but, hey, that pine tree just got laid.’” –KMD

“Head for the nearest planet! Fortunately, the planets in this particular region of space are all conveniently clustered together like billiard balls. Unfortunately, that means we only have a short time to enjoy our stay on one before they all start colliding with each other like billiard balls.” –Peanut Gallery

“The visual setup in Crock is exactly the same as when depicting one character transforming into another. Perhaps the cook is the eternally boiling chicken, the instigator of his own torment, himself the damned punisher and the punished. Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it? The answer, of course, is no.” –Chance

“My favorite kind of Hi and Lois: Lois realizes that she’s trapped, trapped, TRAPPED.” –matt w

“I’ve never believed the whole ‘Millennials can’t afford houses because they waste all their money on takeout coffee and food delivery’ thing, but given that these vampires can’t afford furniture or even a second chair, maybe they have a point.” –Schroduck

“It’s kinda funny that the Perfesser’s date just whipped out one of her models right there at the table, but then again maybe this was her plan all along. ‘Say, have you ever wanted to own your very own set of quality Cretaceous-era dinosaur figures? They called them terrible lizards, but what’s truly terrible is paying too much for fine theropod collectibles. Why, with just five payments of $29.99, you’ll get…’” –pugfuggly

“Sometimes it’s not about the jokes, it’s about letting the reader know they are seen. Rather than the faux-populism of Pluggers celebrating the downwardly mobile direction of America’s working class, Hi and Lois lets the reader know they understand and will not offer false hope or try to fake some silver lining. Irma is every one of us who woke up, realized it’s only Tuesday, and we have four days to slog through until the weekend. Whatever the health benefits of Lois’s newest fad tea are, it’s going to take our reliable old vice of coffee to get us through the Sisyphean task of work and social obligations this week. [sips from oversized mug] See all you tomorrow for some more Comics Curmudgeoning.” –Philip

“Jughaid is right to object to Mz. Prunelly. This is the dangerous woke new math that improves test scores by forbidding children to even look at the problems. Traditional educator grandparents of America to the ramparts!” –I’m Not Cthulhu, But I Play Him On TV

“‘That’s one thing I don’t know how to cure. The FDA will not authorize experiments for my planned ‘Lobotomy 3.0.’” –Ettorre

“I would get tired of constantly looking up everyone’s nostrils if I were a character in this comic strip, though I guess in fairness they all would be looking up mine too.” –Just John

“From the look on Joey’s face, he’s ‘counting piggies’ to make sure there are enough after he eats one.” –BigTed

“And then he told me I’d already used up my feral days for the year, and if I took one more he’d put me to sleep. It’d make me so mad if my balls weren’t in a dumpster behind the vet’s office.” –Voshkod

“The most menacing part of Dennis is how he and Joey are testing the boundaries of the box that keeps them from entering our dimension. A part of a foot … fingers pressing through the wall of separation … a hurricane on the other side of the world … We are not ready. We are not ready…” –Old Man Shadow

“This is actually the writers telegraphing that this isn’t a real bear, just an insane prostitute in a fur suit.” –ectojazzmage

“Mention your line of work? You think I was proud of banging a square? These days I only have sex with revolutionaries. Occasionally a saxophone player. She was hoping her Dad was Gerry Mulligan.” –Ukulele Ike

“Somebody kidnaps you at gunpoint and shoves you in a car trunk, ehh, let it go. Somebody tries to drown you, yeah, I guess you can see how some people might be bothered by that. Absolutely the only thing that actually bothers people in this strip is not hearing their roots country when and how they want.” –Rube

“‘The new man assigned to the computer section isn’t working out, sir.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘He’s been running such CPU-intensive programs and diagnostics that he’s used up most of the fort’s whole monthly supply of kerosene.’” –seismic-2

Remember: If you want an ad-free version of this site sent to you every day via email, for $3 a month you can become a Comics Curmudgeon newsletter subscriber! And if you never want to see banner ads on this site, and want to get cool comment-editing features to boot, for the same low price you can become a Comics Curmudgeon website subscriber! And if you just want to give me money directly, you can put some scratch in my tip jar, or back me on Patreon! Thanks to all for your support and readership!