Dennis the Menace, 4/24/11
Let’s start Easter with a little bit of theology! In the throwaway panels, Dennis appears to flirt with a rejection of the idea that a human institution is necessary to mediate between humanity and God. Nevertheless, upon actually going to church, he proceeds to taunt Mr. Wilson over the latter’s spotty attendance over the year. Mr. Wilson fumes nastily over the wrath that Dennis will encounter on the Day of Judgment. The conundrum thus proposed seems to be: Whom would God favor? One who, like Dennis, offers worship to the Lord in the approved fashion, only to go home and wreak all kinds of devilish mischief; or one who perhaps does not take communion that often, but who at least upholds the divine commandments, if only because of his sullen refusal to leave his house or do much of anything else? Mr. Wilson can take comfort in I Samuel 15:22: “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.” Since the obedience under discussion here was a divine order to exterminate the tribe of the Amalkites, this should dovetail nicely with that killing spree one assumes the tightly wound Mr. Wilson has planned.
Gasoline Alley, 4/24/11
Speaking of theology, our minister here should perhaps spend more time working on his metaphors, as I don’t think it’s really a good idea to compare God to the collapsing airline industry, which has cut back on the little perks of flying, charging nickel-and-dime fees while cramming ever more passengers into aging aircraft; the monopolistic utility corporations, which belch pollution into the air while jacking up electricity rates; or to prescription medication, often rushed to market by profit-driven megacorporations with deadly results. I guess people like greeting cards and scotch tape alright, though, right? I mean, not enough to worship them or anything, but still.
Dick Tracy, 4/24/11
If you were somehow worried that the new author-artist team behind Dick Tracy would downgrade our daily dose of violence of horror, I think you can rest easy now. Baddies vaporizing cops while declaring that they love “roast pig” isn’t even the most unsettling thing on display today; that honor of course goes to the terrified medical personnel fleeing whatever nightmarish creature longtime Dick Tracy fixture B.O. Plenty (reading Spittoon Quarterly, God bless him) has sired on his poor wife.
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 24, 2011 at 10:34 pm and is filed under Dennis the Menace, Dick Tracy, Gasoline Alley. | 36 responses to “” JohnApril 24th, 2011 at 10:40 pm [Reply]
Hate to say it, but those aren’t metaphors coming from the pulpit – they’re similies. Just keeping it real!
Maggie the CatApril 24th, 2011 at 10:41 pm [Reply]
God is going to be really pissed at the Gasoline Alley writer. If someone compared me to an airline I know I’d be. It’s like saying “You’re a selfish, thoughtless asshole!”.
This GuyApril 24th, 2011 at 10:41 pm [Reply]
And the DT team brought back “EEEEEEE!” I love the change, but those little callbacks are nice.
Oh, and unexpected props to Zombie Hank Ketcham for knowing that “suffer” as a transitive verb means “allow” and not “cause to suffer.”
CharleneApril 24th, 2011 at 10:41 pm [Reply]
DT: Yeah, but the violence suddenly makes sense. It’s unsettling, having Dick Tracy suddenly become the best comic on the page.
seismic-2April 24th, 2011 at 10:46 pm [Reply]
Actually, the minister in GA reminds me of Judges 15:15, in which Samson smites a gathering of 1000 folks with the jawbone of an ass.
“God is like duct tape – you can’t see Him but He’s there, lending support to the boobs.”
BryanApril 24th, 2011 at 10:46 pm [Reply]
Let’s start a pool now on what BO Plenty’s kid will look like. I’m betting spider-baby.
ArchieNemesisApril 24th, 2011 at 10:52 pm [Reply]
What you didn’t see in today’s Mark Trail…
pugfugglyApril 24th, 2011 at 11:04 pm [Reply]
GA: “Yes, God does all sorts of great things, but just like airlines, power utilities, drug companies, He gets his cut too. So while I pass around this collection plate, I’ll just remind you that God is also like a well-connected loan shark, in that you don’t f*** with his money if you know what’s good for you…”
DtM: I honestly though on first read that Mrs Wilson said ’smother the little children’, which made me wonder just what denomination they belong to…
Eats Shoots And LeavesApril 24th, 2011 at 11:05 pm [Reply]
MW: Mary and Jeff have been swilling coffee (or whatever) and waving their big stupid white cups around for a week and a half now. I can’t look at the strip now without hearing pig-like slurping noises in my head.
pugfugglyApril 24th, 2011 at 11:07 pm [Reply]
@Bryan (#6):
I’m sure that if that baby were to just inherit his father’s neck, he’d probably get that reaction from the hospital staff
AnonymousApril 24th, 2011 at 11:10 pm [Reply]
On top of that, I’m pretty sure “makes the going great” was a slogan for Pan Am, which collapsed nearly 2 decades ago.
KarMannApril 24th, 2011 at 11:10 pm [Reply]
@John (#1): Similes are a kind of metaphor, a subset if you will. So, the pastor is using similes and metaphors, simultaneously.
KarMannApril 24th, 2011 at 11:13 pm [Reply]
@Mr. O’Malley (#Y293): Please don’t make me think of Mary’s loathsome spheres again. *shudder*
Artist formerly known as BenApril 24th, 2011 at 11:14 pm [Reply]
@seismic-2 (y285): Yipes! I bow to Dewey Cheatham and Howe’s new mistress.
Rocky StoneaxeApril 24th, 2011 at 11:15 pm [Reply]
B.O. Plenty’s sombrero(?) is not unlike the one worn by this character:
http://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/f/f3/Drdome.jpg
sakApril 24th, 2011 at 11:16 pm [Reply]
Ohohoho, “roast pig.” Dick Tracy. What scampish cruelty. What with police officers being roast alive by the two chest mounted beam guns, and all. Wait. Wait a minute… “two chest mounted beam guns”? Congratulations Dick Tracy. You have ruined a Lady Gaga video for me. I am sure you are just as surprised by this as I am.
RustyApril 24th, 2011 at 11:18 pm [Reply]
GA: Most of my childhood Easter church going was spent furtively sneaking jelly beans into my mouth. This may be the first sermon I have heard that wouldn’t have intellectually challenged my 7 year old self.
Sgt. StonedApril 24th, 2011 at 11:19 pm [Reply]
Dick Tracy: The screaming nurse in reminiscent of reactions to the birth of The Penguin in “Batman Returns”.
Artist formerly known as BenApril 24th, 2011 at 11:22 pm [Reply]
GA: Good Reverend, if you need help with your similes, here’s some inspiration.
Rocky StoneaxeApril 24th, 2011 at 11:25 pm [Reply]
@KarMann (#13):
@Mr. O’Malley (#Y293): Please don’t make me think of Mary’s loathsome spheres again. *shudder*
But you and Mary’s loathsome spheres could make such beautiful music together…
http://www.hootersmusicschool.co.uk/
NeigedensApril 24th, 2011 at 11:43 pm [Reply]
I’m an atheist, but Gasoline Alley is kind of making me want to defend the Big Guy. Better metaphor: the Abrahamaic concept of God is like a toilet that ONLY OCCASIONALLY backs up, OK????
FaoladhApril 24th, 2011 at 11:43 pm [Reply]
Why does the kid in Dick Tracy look so much like a young Harold Ramis? If they named him Egon Spengler, I’d laugh and laugh and laugh.
KarMannApril 24th, 2011 at 11:47 pm [Reply]
@Rocky Stoneaxe (#20): The music of the spheres? (I don’t know if that’s the joke you were going for with that link, or just the obvious “hooters”, for I am loathe to follow that link.)
KarMannApril 24th, 2011 at 11:48 pm [Reply]
@Rocky Stoneaxe (#20): Afterthought: And no taping! Neither the music nor the spheres!
NeigedensApril 24th, 2011 at 11:48 pm [Reply]
Although I do like the drug metaphor. “I AM WHO I AM. Specifically, I am like heroin. Sweet, sweet heroin.”
This GuyApril 24th, 2011 at 11:50 pm [Reply]
@Anonymous (#11): Confirmed. And now the pastor’s failure is complete.
SideshowJonApril 24th, 2011 at 11:57 pm [Reply]
Pluggers, being piss poor at math and not even understanding the concepts of economics, will burn $12 worth of gas to avoid a $2 toll.
tb4000April 24th, 2011 at 11:59 pm [Reply]
Dick Tracy suddenly got awesome again. I may have to start reading this again in a non-ironic fashion.
Spotts1701April 24th, 2011 at 11:59 pm [Reply]
@Sgt. Stoned (#18): I was thinking the dream sequence from The Fly, but yours is good.
NoahSnarkApril 25th, 2011 at 12:05 am [Reply]
Having successfully integrated the messages of his new corporate sponsors into a sermon, the preacher in Gasoline Alley proceeded on to phase 2 – replacing the sacrament with Diet Pepsi and Necco wafers.
LisaApril 25th, 2011 at 12:05 am [Reply]
I enjoyed Mark pointing out rabbits’ lowly ranking on the food chain, before explaining the origins of the Easter bunny. Hoppy Easter, kids!
KarMannApril 25th, 2011 at 12:09 am [Reply]
@NoahSnark (#30): “Let’s see if anyone can tell the difference.”
[Old Man] MuffarooApril 25th, 2011 at 12:14 am [Reply]
@Sgt. Stoned (#18): The screaming nurse in reminiscent of reactions to the birth of The Penguin in “Batman Returns”.
Also a classic Charles Addams cartoon in one of the collections that made it to paperback. The father looked sort of like Fester, as I recall it (or maybe now I’m confusing it with “Congratulations! It’s a baby.”)
April 25th, 2011 at 12:15 am [Reply]
Re: Dick Tracy . Interestingly enough, this current arc was actually written and drawn about a year ago for a web fanzine, presumably before Staton and Curtis had any idea they’d be taking over the actual strip. Check it out.
ElkMeadowApril 25th, 2011 at 12:17 am [Reply]
MW Oh no! It’s another “evils of texting” story line!
Liza’s patient is going to croak while she’s Twittering about her date with Drew.
RMMD The deal is set. Dexter prepares to tie the bedsheets together and slip out the window while Holly goes and finds a pay phone. Pay phones are still around, but they’re getting harder and harder to find.
I remember a discussion here at CC a few days ago about pay phones. Our Fred Meyer (Kroger) has pay phones in only two of the store’s three foyers, four phones total. I’m not aware of Albertsons grocery store having one, but there are two outside the next door Wal-Mart. Good luck, Holly.
doug rogersApril 25th, 2011 at 12:19 am [Reply]
DT: Omigod! Hands! The right size! Awesome!
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