Post Content

Mary Worth, 10/13/23

Look, I know Sonia here is supposed to be an angry neo-hippie and is riffing on the fact that she’s arguing with her father, or “daddy,” whom she met approximately seven minutes ago, but I’m sorry: she is a zoomer, she was born in the year 2003, she has never heard anyone else say “Daddy-O” in earnest and definitely would never say it herself. Please respect the integrity of your characters, Mary Worth.

Pluggers, 10/13/23

Based on this plugger’s dazed expression as he stares down on his feet, I’m pretty sure he’s completely forgotten why he’s outside, and only seeing this particular pair of crocks clues him in to what his afternoon plans are. It’s sad, really.

Dick Tracy, 10/13/23

“Don’t want this to be a cold case. That’s what I’m calling anything we can’t figure out. Sounds better than ‘failure.’ Current location of my keys? Cold case. My wife’s birthday? You’d better believe that’s a cold case.”

Gasoline Alley, 10/13/23

“Husband? What? I thought there was something special going on between us! Have I been misreading all these signs? Are we not going to raise this child together?”

Post Content

Beetle Bailey, 10/12/23

I don’t know if General Halftrack’s rambling comeback here is supposed to be funny (it isn’t) or if it’s supposed to indicate that he’s flustered and not very smart so the only comeback he can unleash is this unfunny word salad (which also isn’t funny even in a meta way). Either way, not good. I know that a lot of times I take my “Comics Curmudgeon” mission as a chance to riff on some intellectual or social or artistic theme, but sometimes I just gotta point to a strip and say “You didn’t do so hot today, friend.”

Shoe, 10/12/23

Someday I’m going to be senile and in a home somewhere and will have forgotten the names and faces of everyone I’ve ever loved, but certain bits of terrible knowledge will just be burned into my decaying brain forever. “Birds and other animals with cloacae don’t really have sphincters like mammals and just pee and poop freely all day” is one of those facts that will never leave me, and I’m reasonably sure I learned it while researching a post about Shoe. All these bird-people should be wearing adult diapers, is what I’m saying.

Rex Morgan, M.D., 10/12/23

I’m not going to say that this long, shaggy-dog Mud apology tour/Mirakle Method storyline would be redeemed if it ends with Truck summarily firing Buck as his agent and taking on this criminal as an agent. But, like, I wouldn’t be mad about it, either.

Post Content

Mary Worth, 10/11/23

Wow, this current Mary Worth storyline is really upping the moral stakes from “Dogs: Are they good, or should we encourage them to fight to the death” to “The Man: Should he have it stuck to him, or should be he be respected by all?” Since, as former Marine and law enforcement officer, Keith is very much the Man, we can see that this brand new father-daughter relationship has now hit its very first conflict. Sadly, it seems that even their shared love of root beer can’t bridge the gap: Keith is spitting out the remains of his last swig, disgusted that he could possibly enjoy a beverage beloved by a radical like Sonia.

Beetle Bailey, 10/11/23

Honestly, have we ever seen Beetle out of uniform? I can only think of one instance, which was part of a Sarge nightmare sequence, and say what you will about Beetle’s look there, but it wasn’t casual.