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Momma, 7/18/13

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the Momma-centric nature of Momma, but today’s strip really brings home how little energy the strip spends on the relationships amongst the Hobbs siblings. Is Francis just hanging out at Thomas’s house? Is this a thing that happens a lot? Do they have a close relationship? Is the whole “earmuffs” exchange a private joke between them, based on years of shared experiences? It surely can’t refer to actual, physical earmuffs, since none of those are visible or even implied in any of the panels here. Or maybe Francis has just learned to take Thomas’s intermittent delusions in stride!

Rex Morgan, M.D., 7/18/13

Good news, everybody! We’re temporarily done with “Life is too easy and it causes li’l Sarah ennui” and back to “Milton’s heart is going to explode.” Is Milton’s heart exploding right now, inside his chest? Is “10-41” secret doctor code/CB radio lingo for an exploding heart? Who knows! Not me, I’m not a doctor. I do appreciate panel two’s sexy nostril close-up, a traditional form of RMMD fan service that the strip has been far too stingy with lately.

Shoe, 7/18/13

In about 30 seconds these bird-men went from a serious discussion of a pressing issue that forces us to examine the very meaning of our political ideals to dreamily imagining an island made entirely out of pie. Or maybe just an island where pies grow on trees, ready for the plucking. It’s not entirely clear. The point is, though, that these bird-men are, in a profound sense, us. Mmmm, pie!

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Dick Tracy, 7/17/13

When we last checked in with Moon Maid, she was fleeing to Dairyland after her attempt to return to the moon ended in failure. Given the traditionally Chicago-centric world of Dick Tracy, it seemed reasonable to assume that this was a reference to the nearby great state of Wisconsin. But today’s strip makes it seems like she’s wandered into Berlin circa 1945 instead. Is this the scene of a typically violent Dick Tracy storyline’s denoument? Is America’s greatest lawman just leaving ruined buildings in his crime-solving wake?

Mark Trail, 7/17/13

“If isn’t them, I don’t care, though. Fuck otters I don’t know personally. I hope he makes them into hats.”

Heathcliff, 7/17/13

“Also, your ‘tires’ are perfectly two-dimensional circles, somehow resting on their infinitely thin edge. Why aren’t they slicing through the pavement as if it were butter?”

(That “birthday” in the title is my birthday, by the way. I am 39! Enjoy today’s post while I mourn my lost youth.)

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Hagar the Horrible, 7/16/17

You know, somewhere among the many, many posts I’ve written about how Hagar the Horrible whitewashes the Vikings’ well-documented history as bloodthirsty murderers and thieves, you might start think that I’m missing the joke, which is that the whole point of Hagar’s pillaging strips is to contrast the general good nature of the characters with the actual historical carnage. I promise I’m not! I just think it’s funny to reverse it back to a more realistic configuration. I do sometimes wonder though if even the toilers down at Walker-Browne Amalgamated Humor Industries LLC have forgotten about the strip’s central conceit, but I take installments like today as pretty strong evidence that they haven’t. “Ha ha, the people who live here sure care about their landscaping! Let’s hack them to death with our swords, steal all their stuff, enslave their children, and burn their castle to the ground.”

Spider-Man, 7/16/17

Whew, you guys, Spider-Man was saved from unmasking by a combination of his spidey-sense and the quick thinking of his antagonist’s mom. It’s cool to see our noble hero being totally unable to let this thing go. “Will this curious little scamp grow up to be a murderous supervillain? Probably! Will I have to kill him to keep the world safe? Almost certainly! Can’t wait!”

Heathcliff, 7/16/17

As we’ve discussed, the venerable Heathcliff is a secret hotbed of surreal whimsy these days. Sometimes, though, it’s just jokes about birds shitting on you.

Funky Winkerbean, 7/16/17

“And I paid this nice lady with the camera-phone to record it! Just pretend she’s not here. But, you know, make sure she can always see your face.”