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Blondie, 9/20/25

My favorite part of this Blondie strip is “40 reps of what?” Like, she knows that this is some elaborate Dagwood bullshit and she’s trying to cut to the chase and find out exactly what kind of bullshit it is. Sadly, it’s dumber bullshit than she could’ve possibly guessed.

Rex Morgan, M.D., 9/20/25

We must of course never forget that the first time we met Mud Mountain Murphy, he was sharing a bill with Truck and pretended to shit his pants on stage just so he could get a better spot in the order. Subsequently he joined a scam cult that accidentally made him into a better person for real, and I think we can all agree that there would be no funnier time for his cult conditioning to abruptly wear off than right now, when he once again is on stage with Truck, and his ego might be a little bruised because he’s not the center of attention but he can fix that with one weird trick (the trick is pretending to shit his pants).

Crankshaft, 9/20/25

As America’s preeminent newspaper comics blogger, one of my important jobs is to point out when syndicated strip creative teams seemingly forget long-established lore. Take today’s Crankshaft, for instance, which features the title character experiencing shame, something he would simply never do!

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Your top comment …………… right here …………………….. right now:

“I have to assume the Perfesser was examined in the conference room because past conduct required the hospital lawyer to be there. What we’re seeing is the POV of the attorney, hence why the Perfesser is looking directly at the reader and attempting a legalistic argument to defend ignoring his doctor’s advice.” –Philip

And your runners up!!!!!!!!

“Pluggers blur the line between back pain and hip dysplasia.” –Hibbleton

“There’s a lot of subtext in Eve’s ‘Oh … okay,’ most of it along the lines of ‘is she dangerous?’” –Ken

“Given the genericness of Olive’s animal whispering here, I’m starting to believe that Olive is less ‘psychic’ and more ‘imaginative child who has learned how to apply the Barnum effect to fleece these geezers for all they’re worth,’ and I can’t think of a better hobby for a young girl.” –Library Seraph

“Oh he’s standing up? God, I thought the punchline was going to be ‘Pluggers can’t find the remote until it’s at least 2 inches inside.’” –pugfuggly

“Anyway, can you help me? I’ve been vaguely poking at this carrot with a knife for an hour but I can’t seem to cut it.” –TheDiva

“The funny part is, these people aren’t even house-shopping. They needed someone with time on her hands to vent at, and, well, Lois is a failure.” –A Grave Mind

“Family Circus is moving into the crudely labeled political cartoon game. Jeffy symbolizes Jeffy. (They’re not very good at it.)” –matt w

“So it is possible to achieve Felony Fire Hydrant Pissing.” –Mkay

“[Adjusting tie over sloppy shirt] Could you maybe phrase your medical advice in a way that implies I get no respect?” –Dan

“The fridge has a light to expose your nakedness and sin before God and neighbor, Cosmo, everybody knows this! Seriously, you should either wear pajamas or pull the kitchen blinds.” –I’m Not Cthulhu, But I Play Him On TV

“Probably Leroy insulted the French waiter by noticing that he is the only person in universe with a chin. Sure, being chinless is monstrous for us, but this is a Twilight Zone situation.” –Ettore Costa, on BlueSky

“Ok, because sometimes comic strips’ niche interests overlap with my own, I can answer today’s Rex Morgan, M.D.: No, ‘they’ have not started calling Americana music ‘Ameripolitan,’ unless the ‘they’ you are referring to is ‘fans of roots singer Dale Watson.’ Watson has tried to push this branding, going so far as to host an Ameripolitan Awards ceremony for over a decade. Though he is a respected part of the community, no one uses that term unless they’re at his ceremony or on his payroll.This scene could still be a realistic slice of life! Hank might be a gatekeeper, mouthing questionable facts to remind his wife of his superiority. Or maybe Dale Watson himself is in this wedding audience and spreading his brand to gullible old men. There are lots of possibilities, and we’ll need this comic to spend the next month telling us exactly why we are hearing this slightly misinformed statement about country music labels!” –Nevin, on Patreon

“Judge Parker’s fascinating. In panel 1, Sam and Abbey are in conversation. In panel 2, they’ve rotated on a giant turntable. Sam’s talking to a point behind Abbey’s head while she stares directly at me and tells me ‘Let me stop you there with a big no.’ How did she know? How did she know my plans, my terrible secrets? Whatever they are, I guess I’ll be putting them on hold until some future strip, where Abbey stares into the camera and says ‘You know what to do.’” –Matthew Z. Wood

“Being a plugger is a life of misery but come on, fight back against the inevitable just a little. Do not go gentle into that good night/ Pluggers should burn and rave at close of day/ Rage, rage against the dying of the light/ Using a washing machine is a-okay.” –Tabby Lavalamp

“Oh sure — and learn a practical skill like arithmetic? Well, no thank you…” –Dennis Jimenez

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Pluggers, 9/19/25

Look, you know I can be a little spicy when it comes to pluggers and their culture and values, but I’m not made of stone. I don’t wish ill upon them, really, and the fact that so many recent Pluggers panels have been “jokes” about how pluggers are constantly suffering in physical pain and are almost certainly about to die has been fairly depressing to me. That’s why I really enjoy today’s panel, which reminds us about the “fun” aspects of pluggerdom, like walking around in public wearing clothes that are covered with filth of various types. That’s something we can all enjoy in good conscience!

Zits, 9/19/25

Hey, uh, do the Duncans (in-universe) and the Zits creative team (in real life) know how laptops work. Like, do they know that they come with a power cable that you can plug into the wall, and then the laptop will operate even if you’ve drained the battery. Have these people been using laptops until their batteries died, then throwing the laptops in the garbage, then buying new laptops, for years now. I feel like someone should tell them????