Post Content

Blondie and Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 4/20/25

No one person can know the totality of human cultural practice, of course, even within their own country, and I’ve had the repeated experience on this blog of seeing some odd behavior in a comic strip, posting “Nobody does this, right?”, and then being told in no uncertain terms that said behavior is in fact normal and I’m weird for not knowing about it. For instance, at least one person claimed that “blonde moment” is not just a thing that people say, but is actually more common than “senior moment” in their experience. Life is a rich tapestry! Anyway, my main request to the comics is that they at least stay on the same page when they confront me with some novel practice. For instance, do children actually go door to door during the day on Easter Sunday asking for chocolate, as a spring mirror of Halloween trick-or-treating? Or is this the sort of plan that aspiring hillbilly grifter children would come up with, and we’re meant to understand that nobody would possibly go along with it?

Panel from Slylock Fox, 4/20/25

So, uh, who do you guys think drove that car into the ocean? They’re dead now, right? They received a watery comeuppance for their bank-robbing crimes? Their bones have been picked free of flesh by the crabs, and are loosely piled on the floor of the car?

Post Content

Herb and Jamaal, 4/19/25

I wonder if Jamaal knows that Rev. Croom, who to all appearances is just over there quietly enjoying his coffee, is actually musing on the fact that those who fail to call on God will eventually be present with Him, presumably at the final judgement when their beliefs and faith will be found wanting. He’s looking right at Jamaal while he’s contemplating this, so maybe he’s thinking about Jamaal in particular! “There’s a guy who’s going to be cast down into the lake of fire,” he thinks, smiling, before taking another sip.

Shoe, 4/19/25

I feel like there was a first draft of this strip that ran afoul of the editors, or maybe a version that would’ve run in the ’80s or ’90s, in which the dialogue would’ve been exactly the same but the setting was shifted to the local fern bar and the Perfesser was being silently handled a cocktail. Would that be more or less depressing than this one? Discuss.

Post Content

This week’s comment of the week … it’s good for what ails ya:

“Good to see an appearance by Johnny Dollar, the man with action-packed expense account.” –smokey stover

And this week’s runners up: chock full of wholesome goodness!

“Love that Mary Worth goes with a Dutch angle in panel 4 before getting downright non-Euclidean in panel 5. 10/10 no notes.” –Porridge McGruel, on BlueSky

“I like how that guy in the throwaway panels looks less like a distracted driver than some dude updating his score on his vehicular assault app.” –pugfuggly

“Oh come on, Karen! Belle is not a ‘patient adversary’ — she’s been in town less than forty-eight hours and she’s already trying to poison Dawn. And not some kind of slow-acting, make-it-look-natural poison that can leech Dawn’s life away while Belle insists on staying in town to help Wilbur take care of his poor ailing daughter (and, eventually, comfort him in his loss), but freaking drain cleaner that will eat through Dawn like her dad going through a sack of White Castles. The only instance in which she’s displayed patience is being willing to put up with Wilbur, which admittedly shows a great amount of restraint but isn’t exactly ‘adversarial,’ unless this is a long game to get at his life insurance.” –TheDiva

“If anyone ever has to summarise Pardon My Planet’s target audience, I think today’s strip does it perfectly: ‘Aging Gen X grunge fans who are also paranoid raw milk freaks.’” –Schroduck

“If you ever worked in theater or film, one of the most annoying things is when extras or walk-on characters break with blocking and direction and draw attention to themselves. This milkman is parked on the wrong side of the street opposite the market so he can be centered in the frame. He’s facing the wrong direction so he break the fourth wall. He’s not even looking at Heathcliff or reacting to him, undercutting all the stunt work Heathcliff meticulously planned out for the jump. This milkman will be blacklisted from this strip for this blatant unprofessionalism.” –Philip

“Count Weirdly’s purple, detachable primary sexual characteristic, ‘Li’l Scrote’ is back and helping The Count fit together various aerospace-grade Mil-DTL-38999 Series III wiring harness connectors. The connectors are mysteriously missing the pins and sockets necessary for a functioning cable connection, demonstrating once again that Count Weirdly suffers from Oliver Sacks level of perceptual malfunctions, and realistically offers no harm to any Forestville resident, or the government.” –Doc Wonmug

“It’s been a few months now since Marty Moon lost his job for being drunk, right? Everyone else is wearing short sleeves because it’s spring (baseball season), but not Ol’ Marty. He’s been wearing the same ratty denim jacket since January. Probably hasn’t changed ANY of his clothes, TBH. What I’m saying is that Marty might wanna start working on his personal hygiene along with his addiction issues. Pretty sure you can do both.” –brendancalling

“What do you think Dagwood carries in his briefcase? My guess: cold cuts.” –Joe Blevins

“I’m looking forward to Rex Morgan, M.D. finally coming to an end and passing the torch to its replacement, The Many Vengeances of Old Man Murder.” –Victor Von

“The Duke is committing the cardinal error in combat — don’t bring a [squints] cutting board to a Viking fight.” –But What Do I Know?

“Mr. Svenson was apparently in such a rush to grab a quick smoke, that he left a single boot behind, Cinderella-style.” –Guts Dozier

“Try walking down that sidewalk in sandals: a hydrant right up the middle, rivers of dog urine to the sides.” –Handsome Harry Backstayge, Idol of a Million Other Women

“How long do we think Mary Worth Incorporated is going to pad out the ‘Wilbur’s girlfriend keeps getting foiled in her attempts to poison Dawn’ story? The point was made with the first one, but I personally hope it just keeps going for months, with increasingly more elaborate food-based ploys, until it culminates in a Princess Bride-esque switcheroo where Belle ends up dead after consuming the poisoned meal herself.” –bakeryjumpscare

“‘You chump,’ thinks Dustin. ‘You went to the ballet while I stayed home eating tortilla chips and balancing a glass of milk on the sofa, both of which are strictly forbidden while Mom is home. I am wild, I am free, you are a henpecked cuck. Crap, I didn’t say that out loud, did I?’” –I’m Not Cthulhu, But I Play Him On TV

“Dawn knows what’s up. I mean, come on — surely you can’t think Belle is the first person to every try and poison her?” –Old School Allie Cat

“I don’t like what I’m hearing. If that officer of suspicious of someone, he should take the guy downtown, or at least question him with other cops around for intimidation. Multiple casual conversations over the course of the day with relaxed body language is NOT how to pin it on someone!” –Nevin, on Patreon

“At first glance I thought the waitress striding away was saying the caption in the word balloon — which tracks very well for her daily chore of attending to these fossils on daily basis. Therapy would be futile.” –Kirkout

“Man, I love this city. The skyline from the distance, and how the parks, the restaurants, the theater district, and the dump are all conveniently located downtown. There’s a reason they call it ‘the city that never hires urban planners!’” –Voshkod

“Look, kid, your cat’s welcome to eat all the rats and roaches he can kill, but don’t come crying to us when he chokes to death on a disposable e-cig and ruins your weird Victorian child-rearing fantasy or whatever.” –Wilktoast

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! You can get each day’s post ad-free via Patreon if that’s your style! And if you just want to give me money directly, you can put some scratch in my tip jar! Thanks to all for your support and readership!