Gil Thorp, 6/15/11
Do you guys realize that we’re halfway through June and aren’t even close to finding out how the Milford baseball or softball teams are doing, let alone getting ramped up for the Gil Thorp summer insanity that we’ve been denied for the past few years but that’s going to happen this year, I just know it? Instead, the predictable teachers vs. sinister budget-slashing school-board lunatic storyline is rumbling to a predictable conclusion, with protest singer Al-Jo finally discovering that she’s got something to protest. What I find much more interesting is the fact that the strip creators are themselves apparently so bored with the proceedings that they’ve turned to a fractured narrative chronology to liven things up a bit. How did the dude who’s crushing on Al-Jo and whose name I refuse to even try to remember secure that stage and PA system? Let’s have a lightning-fast one-panel flashback to find out! Aaaand then back to the present. This is art, people.
Pluggers, 6/15/11
Pluggers take their mistresses to shitty fast food restaurants, so you can imagine how cheap and depressing their nights out with their wives are.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 08:50 am and is filed under Gil Thorp, Pluggers. | 197 responses to “” Rocky StoneaxeJune 15th, 2011 at 8:51 am [Reply]
Last night I watched the 1950 British anthology film Trio on TCM. Noted author W. Somerset Maugham (The Razor’s Edge, Of Human Bondage, The Letter, Rain) introduces three of his short stories — including the last segment (“The Sanatorium”) which revolves around the lives of TB patients at an exclusive Scottish sanatorium.
Among the patients are a man and woman (played by Michael Rennie and Jean Simmons) who fall in love and decide to marry against the advice of their physician. “The Sanatorium” ends on a hopeful note, with the happy couple leaving the sanatorium for an uncertain future in the outside world.
Of course, if Tom Batiuk had directed “The Sanatorium”, this couple (let’s call them “Les and Cayla”) would have broken off their engagement and returned to their separate rooms in the sanatorium to await the inevitable visit from Masky McDeath.
(Maugham lost both his parents during childhood — his mother to tuberculosis, his father to cancer!)
OKStanJune 15th, 2011 at 8:51 am [Reply]
Pluggers: Yeah, I took her out…even had a HOT APPLE PIE!! Whooooo!
nescioJune 15th, 2011 at 8:55 am [Reply]
Misprint in today’s Spiderman. It should read “Acting on the stage is nothing–comparable to what you do as Spiderman!” in the last panel.
DoodJune 15th, 2011 at 8:56 am [Reply]
Does Plugger cheating mean not eating the type of animal or fowl you’re married to?
Binder's Butter BeansJune 15th, 2011 at 8:57 am [Reply]
Hey Al-Jo! Is that the parking lot they paved paradise to put up, or what?
[Old Man] MuffarooJune 15th, 2011 at 8:58 am [Reply]
Gasoline – Hey, this is a rip-off of HONEY, I SQUASHED THE KID!
Gil – “Tomorrow after school, we’ll make history in the parking lot!”
I had to check. For a second, I thought I was reading Chickweed Lane.
Mark – The Sheriff heard Mountain Man was
In the hills, packin’ stolen gadgets in
So he headed on up, gonna find that boy,
But he never come down again.
Well…!
I wonder where the Box Town Sheriff went to?
Haha!
You can fall in a hole way up in the mountains!
June 15th, 2011 at 8:59 am [Reply]
Marmaduke – Is he on time for Animal Planet? On time for a 24-hour cable channel? Yes, but just barely. Good thing you hurried.
Grimm – They’d be out in the street if it wasn’t for beauty contests.
Pluggers – Plugger wives know that when their husbands have been out picking up trash, they’ve really been out picking up trash.
queek, source of Cuteness, Kawaii CommandoJune 15th, 2011 at 9:01 am [Reply]
the lolcats want in on the song parody action. x2.
That thing got a Hemi in it?
for Austria.
it’s not just a terminally kewt pic of OCD’s Pudge, it’s also the name of his squeektoy: Miss Moneyhedgie. *giggles and squees*
Mark BJune 15th, 2011 at 9:01 am [Reply]
MW: with any luck, Liza will go down to the bus station and become Doubleup’s new Moll. Her super power involves crazy arms which can turn freaky angles at improbable distances from her body.
[Old Man] MuffarooJune 15th, 2011 at 9:01 am [Reply]
Popeye – “Blow me down! I hits that… and now I has hair growin’ on me palms!”
Jumble – I can’t help thinking I’d have finished in the money (so to speak) if not for an obnoxious Flash ad that overlay the top of the text in the cartoon that wouldn’t go away even if I clicked the X. A slightly higher score is rightfully mine!!
Mark BJune 15th, 2011 at 9:06 am [Reply]
Well, it looks like all of the storylines in Funky Winkerbean are wrapped up. Can we just slap a ‘and they lived happily ever after’ on it and shut it down? No? Oh crap.
Chip WhittleJune 15th, 2011 at 9:06 am [Reply]
Apartment 3-G: What delights me in learning Margo hates talking before she’s had her coffee is her apparent belief that she hates talking less afterward.
Bliss: Sure, the world’s been flooded and billions have died, but fortunately the dog took Snoopy lessons.
Crankshaft: “Stop smiling, you fools! If Batiuk suspects we like eating ice cream we’ll get some caramelcinoma! Quick, put a halfhearted smirk on!”
Crock: “Look! A cultural oasis! It’s the Plugger Riviera! Look for the four-inch tall plastic kiddie pool filled with last fall’s leaves and rainwater!”
Dennis the Menace: Is Mister Wilson listening to his all-black U2-model iPod, or is he cranking up the tunes on his Scout 120 Flash Camera?
Edge City: Gosh, I can hardly imagine the amazing budgetary insight of Abby in balancing the budget by eliminating wasteful spending. Truly, this is the greatest breakthrough in government since John Locke was writing Gasoline Alley.
S. StoutJune 15th, 2011 at 9:08 am [Reply]
Gil Thorp: When did making history in the school parking lot become something to brag about?
Pluggers: Leaving a fast food bag in your car makes you a Plugger? Oh god, I’m a Plugger now…(looks for rope)
LoFoMoFoJune 15th, 2011 at 9:09 am [Reply]
MT: This is beginning to a resemble a Monty Python skit. “Is he a witch or a duck? Burn him! Burn him!”
mvgJune 15th, 2011 at 9:10 am [Reply]
FC: Which is why all of you were single births, Dolly.
GA: Ah, sweet natural selection in action…
AnonymousJune 15th, 2011 at 9:11 am [Reply]
RMMD: “Why don’t we ask her?” I got her tied up in the back room. She’s feisty!
Piranha Club: No doc, Spongebob isn’t on……………………..aw screw it! Why do I waste my time!
MW: Its official. I want Liza to join the Aldo club and take a drive on a curvy, mountain highway.
RangerJune 15th, 2011 at 9:11 am [Reply]
Crap. New laptop. Comment #16 was me. Sorry.
LorneJune 15th, 2011 at 9:14 am [Reply]
Is Gill Thorp trying to be Glee?
I guess the kids are all into the music now, so why not try to jump on that literal bandwagon, even if this is the most inherently unmusical medium there is.
Maybe they can insert a frame of ironically popular sheet music into the big concert scene next week.
June 15th, 2011 at 9:16 am [Reply]
@Binder’s Butter Beans (#5): Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got till it’s gone.
HibbletonJune 15th, 2011 at 9:20 am [Reply]
Love is… size doesn’t matter
Doctor HandsomeJune 15th, 2011 at 9:20 am [Reply]
“What’s this trash doing on the floor of your truck? Didn’t you get a chance to chuck it in the penguin enclosure at the zoo? I know there had to be at least a highway median strip on your route home. You call yourself a Plugger?!!”
teenchyJune 15th, 2011 at 9:21 am [Reply]
@queek, source of Cuteness, Kawaii Commando (Y#271): Japanese housewives, perhaps?
JessyJune 15th, 2011 at 9:22 am [Reply]
MW: Enraged, Dr. Drew tried to speak, but managed only a silent exclamation that seemed to bisect his very brain. “So this is a stroke,” he thought. As the ceiling lifted off the hospital walls, revealing the void above, Drew recoiled from the final horrific certainty of his life: Liza would follow him to the grave and beyond.
anonymousJune 15th, 2011 at 9:23 am [Reply]
Pluggers: Hey, I guess I’m a Plugger, because my husband found fast-food wrappers in my car and just about exploded. Yeah, I cheated. I drove through Wendy’s and got a little something off the “dollar menu”. Get home, and it’s “why didn’t you get MEEEEEE something from Wendy’s?” Because, you dullard. I scraped together a handful of coins for my lunch. I didn’t have $10 to buy you your usual enormous huge meal complete with milkshake and double fries, and you don’t eat supper until 9 p.m. and you don’t like burgers reheated in the microwave….oh, it goes on and on. But yeah. I cheated, I ate Wendy’s WITHOUT YOU! And I enjoyed it! And I’ll sneak out and do it again! Nyaahhh! (soon as I find an extra quarter).
9CL – the position of the feet here is puzzling. Seth appears to be on top of Fern, face up, Fern trapped face up, underneath his bulk. Shouldn’t one of them be face down? Then the feet position would look a lot more … interesting…but right now, all I can think is, Seth is using Fern as a mattress, and she can’t breathe!
ChipperJune 15th, 2011 at 9:24 am [Reply]
GT: The guy who is crushing on Al-Jo is named “6/15.” It’s right there on the monogram above his shirt pocket. Perhaps his parents were inspired by the Seinfeld episode in which George Costanza is crazy for the name “7.”
Chip WhittleJune 15th, 2011 at 9:25 am [Reply]
Gil Thorp: So, of all the plot points that could be addressed in Gil Thorp, they chose to focus on “where could some teens get hold of loudspakers”, and leave it up to the reader to guess how Al-Jo got two, maybe three mouths one above the other.
Love Is… reassuring him on a touchy subject, and clearly just leaving this stuff around for the ironic readers to follow-up on.
Mark Trail: I love the way the baby otter plainly can not believe the Mark Trail story she’s overhearing.
Rex Morgan: How long can it take to “transition” to electronic medical records for Rex Morgan’s career history of nearly eight patients?
Tina’s Groove: Is anyone else finding amusing this guy’s descent into a punctuation-based madness? I mean other than J. Arthur Crank.
Tiga_lileeJune 15th, 2011 at 9:26 am [Reply]
Wow this strip changes my whole perception of a “Plugger”. Obviously their views on inter-species relations are more evolved than I would have imagined.
NekrotzarJune 15th, 2011 at 9:29 am [Reply]
Pluggers don’t have Elliot Spitzer’s expense accounts so they are forced to visit low-budget whorehouses with names like ‘Burger Barn.’
McManxJune 15th, 2011 at 9:29 am [Reply]
Today must be Debauchery Day in the comics:
Popeye – A big, talking dido asks Popeye to “let’s play”;
Get Fuzzy – Francis talks about getting it in the “bully hole bottom”;
Blondie – Dagwood and Herb come out of the closet;
Mark Trail – Otter group sex…
… ’nuff said.
Pluggers – Even a guilty Plugger wouldn’t confess on circumstantial evidence alone. He should force a fecal exam on the principle of “if it’s not in my shit, you must acquit.”
Gasoline Alley – For those of us who have suffered years of inane G Alley plotlines, it’s payback time. Boog is getting killed in a car crusher. YES!!
Phantom – “For those who came in late…” Phantom is letting Harry Potter dig a bullet out of his back with a switch blade. Harry wants to take off and collect helichrysum dasyanthum “for the pain.” But the all knowing Ghost Who Walks won’t be fooled; he knows helichrysum dasyanthum is an anti inflammatory and not an analgesic. Thus he retorts “Pain doesn’t concern me!” …
… now don’t we all feel better now that we understand the hidden meaning behind today’s episode?
June 15th, 2011 at 9:30 am [Reply]
GT – Waldo’s eyeglasses – check – they’ll never find him now….
Pluggers – Hey honey, it’s 9:00 pm on Saturday night – time for our freegan Pizza Hut dumpster dive date!!!
Adios Amigos, DJ.
MapDarkJune 15th, 2011 at 9:32 am [Reply]
Never thought I’d say this , but I REALLY enjoy this whole crazy erotomaniac bitch storyline on Mary Worth XD
So now Liza is making arrangements behind Drew’s back. Because Liza makes people assume they’re dating.
I think Drew should pay to have “I am not dating this crazy woman” signs plastered all over town. That and calls the cops!
Steve the PocketJune 15th, 2011 at 9:34 am [Reply]
Beetle Bailey: GOLF! It’s already been established that every schmuck in the comics pages is obsessed with it, but somehow it’s a surprising enough revelation to count as a punchline!
Crock: I… give up. This feature is becoming a game. “Will Crock make sense today?” Except there’s no real skill involved. On the contestant’s part or the writer’s.
Marvin: Well, not for lack of trying.
Mother Goose and Grimm: That does not make any sense with either game logic or real-world logic.
One Big Happy: That’s jellyfish, kiddo, not squid. I think you need to spend some more time with Mark Trail.
Pluggers: Help me out here. Is “Burger Barn” a real chain that I’ve never heard of and that the entire comic strip industry somehow got an exclusive product placement deal on, or just a really lame comic strip equivalent of “A113″?
Wizard of Id: You never know sometimes — I would berate the previous artist of this strip for failing to draw competently in the strip’s own overly-simplistic style, whereas this guy is at least able to make that look less like chicken scratchings. But then we see what happens when he tries to go outside his comfort zone. Yikes. Here’s a protip: If you’re going to have a cameo, make sure it’s someone you can at least draw.
Esther BlodgettJune 15th, 2011 at 9:41 am [Reply]
@[Old Man] Muffaroo (#y253): I lay my golden fiddle on the ground at your feet, sir.
Spaceman SpiffJune 15th, 2011 at 9:42 am [Reply]
Or, alternatively: Pluggers wouldn’t cheat on their wives despite being in a sexless marriage due to being overweight or downright obese; however, they would cheat on their diet, and get shamed for it by their shrewish, harpy wives! Also: Pluggers are at a greatly increased risk for high cholesterol, blood pressure, and coronary disease.
RangerJune 15th, 2011 at 9:42 am [Reply]
@anonymous (#24):
The position would be correct if Fern is using a strap-on.
DennisJune 15th, 2011 at 9:45 am [Reply]
Pluggers: Mistress? He probably ate some fast food and hit a public restroom. He is a BEAR after all.
Alan's AddictionJune 15th, 2011 at 9:47 am [Reply]
Oh, “Gil Thorpe.” You have such great lines, such as, “Tomorrow, we’ll make history in the parking lot!” and then throw away on sincere sentiment. The only time high hopes for an event happening in a parking lot have ever been met with anything other than crushing disappointment is… uh, never, I think. That poor girl is going to be massively let-down, and, worst of all, even if she wasn’t talking about a youth concert, the outcome would still be the same.
To a real Plugger, even making the effort to tell a plausible lie about where uninteresting garbage came from is too much.
June 15th, 2011 at 9:47 am [Reply]
@Ranger (#35): which is where I was gonna go with Love Is. . . . [*]
TheDivaJune 15th, 2011 at 9:51 am [Reply]
GT: Wasn’t “History in the Parking Lot” a song by Meat Loaf?
Pluggers don’t care if their husbands fall off the diet wagon, as long as they get to fall off with them.
9CL: They seem to be making love in the background of Munch’s “The Scream.” I find this very appropriate.
C’shaft: We all know Cranky can’t be doing this out of the goodness of his heart (as he possesses neither) so what’s his angle? My guess is he’s trading ice cream for prescription medications, which he then sells on the black market at a tidy profit.
FW: “Good, because I’m never, ever saying those again! Whew, that was exhausting! Feel free to tell me how much you love me all you like, though. I’m okay with that.”
HotC: “Shows what you know–Kirk was long dead by the time Voyager entered the continuity!”
MT: I see a good old-fashioned lynch mob in Mark Trail’s future…
Marvin: Why am I not surprised Marvin has a John Wayne Gacy painting on his wall?
MW: Liza’s mistake here was not setting up the threesome, but going for the boy-girl-boy arrangement. If she’d asked that hot nurse in the L&D wing, Dr. Drew would be all over it.
SM: “You break the spines of small children!”
Chip WhittleJune 15th, 2011 at 9:52 am [Reply]
@Spaceman Spiff (#34):
Pluggers wouldn’t cheat on their wives despite being in a sexless marriage due to being overweight or downright obese; however, they would cheat on their diet, and get shamed for it by their shrewish, harpy wives!
Plugger wives would like to point out they’re does, not shrews.
Just Call Me EJune 15th, 2011 at 9:56 am [Reply]
Comic Crossover Wish: Have rejected Liza and rejected Susan drive over the cliff together! Too much like Thelma and Louise?
Esther BlodgettJune 15th, 2011 at 9:58 am [Reply]
MT: The Otter family makes its escape before the townspeople get a look at their tiny little moccasins.
S-M: “Acting on a stage is nothing compared to what you do as Spider-Man…I mean, you have to dodge flaming scenery and catch falling actors while singing overwrought Bono songs.” I haven’t seen the reviews of last night’s premiere of Turn Off the Dark, but I presume that’s what happened.
Plinko CommieJune 15th, 2011 at 10:00 am [Reply]
Does it really come as a surprise to anybody that the only way Les can display affection and arousal to someone is if they look like they’re undergoing chemotherapy?
Uncle LumpyJune 15th, 2011 at 10:07 am [Reply]
“Pain doesn’t concern me — I read Gil Thorp!“
UncleJeffJune 15th, 2011 at 10:07 am [Reply]
Pluggers: I have it on good authority that the original strip did not show Plugger Mama holding a fast food sack.
She was originally holding a pair of kangaroo-sized thong panties.
Thank God for censors.
June 15th, 2011 at 10:10 am [Reply]
9CL: I see four feet clearly belonging to four different people, and none of them have toenails, plus a speech balloon coming from another room. I hate when porn directors decide to get all artsy.
IngeldJune 15th, 2011 at 10:10 am [Reply]
Stupid question about the Pluggers strip. Is the joke an implied idea that cheating for pluggers amounts to “eating fast food” i.e. cheating on a diet, or is the implied joke actual cheating on a spouse, but as Josh suggests, taking them to a fast food restaurant and leaving the evidence?
Chip WhittleJune 15th, 2011 at 10:13 am [Reply]
@Ingeld (#47):
Stupid question about the Pluggers strip. Is the joke an implied idea that cheating for pluggers amounts to “eating fast food” i.e. cheating on a diet, or is the implied joke actual cheating on a spouse, but as Josh suggests, taking them to a fast food restaurant and leaving the evidence?
It’s eating fast food. Taking a mistress to a fast food restaurant would imply Pluggers thought they could find someone to love them, plus it would mean they could only eat half as much fast food.
Alley Oop: OK, now, could we have delayed going to Earth-2 for a couple days and check whether the warp drive kills us first, maybe? Mm?
Arlo and Janis: Aw, Arlo was hoping for a little McEldowney with his cat. Too bad.
Baldo: “Don’t judge a boko by its cover. Judge it by whether it’s in the bargain bin or not! Here, you’ll love Tennessee Road Trips 2008 and the novelization to My Super Ex-Girlfriend!”
Big Top: Awww, Hairy Mary and Mister Bendy just gave birth to Attitude O’Plenty! Someone get the little dickens a tire iron!
Cafe con Leche: “I need some new homies. People who don’t think stiffing your date for the bill is a jerky thing to do.”
Dark Side Of The Horse: Yeah, this is how I sleep, pretty much.
Doctor HandsomeJune 15th, 2011 at 10:16 am [Reply]
@Ingeld (#47): Hahaha, you think Pluggers has “jokes.” That’s adorable.
Chyron HRJune 15th, 2011 at 10:18 am [Reply]
Plug – Just because she was giving your husband a vehicular BJ doesn’t make her trash, Kangaroo Lady.
LUJBEM FEJFJune 15th, 2011 at 10:18 am [Reply]
@[Old Man] Muffaroo (#10): Jumble- Wait a minute! There’s a cash prize for doing the Jumble? I’m all over that!
spikeJune 15th, 2011 at 10:20 am [Reply]
@Esther Blodgett (#46): COTW!
A3G: Whom do I call to have Margo screen my phone calls?
IngeldJune 15th, 2011 at 10:21 am [Reply]
@Doctor Handsome (#49):
Trite
[Old Man] MuffarooJune 15th, 2011 at 10:21 am [Reply]
@Chip Whittle (#40): Plugger wives would like to point out they’re does, not shrews.
Funny, she doesn’t look shrewish!
Love Is… – “…reassuring him on a touchy subject.”
“You see, honey, the reason I don’t show up in the glass is… it’s a cheap mirror! We got it as a factory second, and it doesn’t reflect everything. Now let’s neck!”
June 15th, 2011 at 10:32 am [Reply]
@LUJBEM FEJF (#51): I can picture you claiming the cash prize: “Well, Jeff Knurek is obviously ineligible to win, but this “FEJF” guy seems to be on the up-and-up.”
PozzoJune 15th, 2011 at 10:40 am [Reply]
Plugger Bearman has to think for a second — does “trash from the Burger Barn” mean leftover cups, napkins, etc., or Suzy Mae, who runs the griddle and turns tricks when the rent’s due?
I am Jack's usernameJune 15th, 2011 at 10:41 am [Reply]
Pluggers: “I know I said I’d stop, dear, but I just can’t! I love fucking my food!”
JessyJune 15th, 2011 at 10:41 am [Reply]
9CL: Since the speech balloon in the second panel points to some invisible person on the left, I can only assume that there is a videographer in the room.
Chip WhittleJune 15th, 2011 at 10:41 am [Reply]
The Doozies: Snrrrrkt. Well, next, you call Ziggy and insult him, of course.
Flo and Friends: The parents want to take “tour of the presidential museums”, which they booked through the Herb and Jamaal Observable Experiences Company.
Heart of the City: I may be losing every cool point I ever had or hope to have but isn’t that drawing of Jeri Ryan As Seven backwards?
Heathcliff is, once again, mad. I admit I’m amused by the idea of floating balloon mice over the city.
Little Dog Lost: Aw, look on the bright side, Little Dog, they’ve found several great homes for Stitch already.
Marmaduke: “Is he home in time for Animal Planet, which the cartoonist totally knows is a cable network on 24 hours a day and not some show on those annoying new UHF stations?”
queek, source of Cuteness, Kawaii CommandoJune 15th, 2011 at 10:41 am [Reply]
@Doctor Handsome (#49): what’s that Georgiaism again? oh yes, “Bless their heart.”
Stroker AceJune 15th, 2011 at 10:49 am [Reply]
GT – “Make History in the Parking Lot” was the original title of “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”.
Bring me the Hart of JohnnyJune 15th, 2011 at 10:50 am [Reply]
I’d like to comment on today’s Sally Forth. I like the joke, though what I think really sells it is the background art in Panel 3. Check out the look on the kid’s face over Hilary’s shoulder.
A well-crafted strip, says I.
Chip WhittleJune 15th, 2011 at 10:55 am [Reply]
Monty: Hey, look at that, Sedgwick has Momma for an Auntie.
Nancy: Sluggo is remarkably un-shocked given the creation of a massive mountain range he’s never seen in all the years he’s lived in town.
On A Claire Day: “That was the kind of ‘good luck’ that sounded like it was going to be followed by ‘You’re gonna need it’. Oh well, better get back to Windexing the library books.”
Pearls Before Swine: Awww. I like the croc’s kid.
Joe, the Upper-Evergreen GuyJune 15th, 2011 at 10:55 am [Reply]
FW: “I Love You.”……..(OH SHIT!!! *CANCER CANCER CANCER CANCER CANCER CANCER…*!! Whew. I feel much better now. Needed that to get back on focus.)
Luann: If we’re really sticking together, Toni, maybe I should start changing my underwear more often.
MT: Nothing like a good old-fashioned lynch mob.
MW: If Funky Winkerbean is the “Strip of Smirks”, then Mary Worth is the “Strip of Sneers”.
GregJune 15th, 2011 at 10:56 am [Reply]
GT: If you squint at the items on the “Rally List!” I think you can just make out Leni Reifenstahl’s name. Good to see the damn kids these days aren’t slackers about everything.
Not Just Any DipstickJune 15th, 2011 at 11:00 am [Reply]
@Chyron HR (#50): That’s no Lady, just a rabbit.
[Old Man] MuffarooJune 15th, 2011 at 11:06 am [Reply]
@LUJBEM FEJF (#51): Well, I always assumed there was a prize. I mean, why would I be doing it, right? Which reminds me, I’m still waiting for the COTW money from Josh. Is it rude to keep emailing and texting him, or should I just keep on?
Walker of DogJune 15th, 2011 at 11:07 am [Reply]
@Jessy (#23): Isn’t this how they open the roof at the new Cowboys stadium?
It also has a void – the offensive line.
June 15th, 2011 at 11:18 am [Reply]
6Chix – And that was the day God decided to uncreate the whole universe and Heaven itself, and all of reality vanished into a puff of fail.
A3G – I wish I got phone calls from strangers more often, because now I really want to deploy “who wants to know?!” on them.
A.D. – You know, jokes about hallucinogenic mushrooms never fail to make me laugh. Is it just that mushrooms, like cows, are inherently funny?
Crankshaft – Is Batiuk meaning to be un-depressing and actually kind of heartwarming? What bizarro parallel universe did I wake up in this morning?
DT – Well. I’m really not used to having Dick Tracy storylines start off with a death. Maybe they figured they could make it a twofer as far as all the death fans are concerned?
FW – Hey, congratulations, you figured out how to press your faces together! Now if you can actually kind of open up your mouths a bit, it might be kind of like kissing!
HOTC – Heart, Kirk doesn’t need a porn stash.
JP – You have to give Sam this: at least he doesn’t sieze up and start panicking when he says the phrase “it’s my wife,” unlike, say, Mark Trail.
Lola – If one was going to make a rhyming punchline from a setup about Dr. Seuss, it might behoove one to make sure that any (even one) of Seuss’s poetic characteristics were present. THIS DOESN’T.
Love Is… – talking him down from the realization that neither of you are anatomically correct.
Luann – You people wouldn’t know passion if it bit you in the ass.
MT – The people are making noises about something, but all I see is OTTER FERRY!
MW – “!”? I’d say this is more of a “!!!” situation, Drew.
PBS – Aww…
Phantom – So, Kit, are you meaning to tell us that “pain don’t hurt?”
Pluggers – Pluggers engage in acts of depravity with fast food.
Popeye – Goodnight, everybody.
RMMD – Transitioning to electronic medical records? Holy crap, a soap strip has somehow managed to be topical!? I mean, that’s still going on, not 20 years been and gone! [*]
SM – Psst, artists, that trajectory is going to send Spidey and the rescuee person under his arm straight into the fire. I mean, not that that’s surprising, but I don’t think it’s what you intended.
Edison Lee – …you know, this would actually be far more effective than waiting on the government to do it.
pugfugglyJune 15th, 2011 at 11:20 am [Reply]
FW: “Love you too, Les. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish pounding rivets into the side of a battleship. WE CAN DO IT!!!
A3G: Well that’s just great. I spent the better part of the last decade trying to keep that stupid song out of my head, and Margo sticks it right back in. She really is evil…
Pluggers are kept honest by their complete lack of wits: it never even occurs to them after committing a crime to hide any evidence of it.
teenchyJune 15th, 2011 at 11:20 am [Reply]
FW: Oh crap, an epiphany (or what passes for one in my head)! Could it be that Cayla’s do-rag is meant to remind Les of Lisa’s similar headgear worn during chemo?
Ned RyersonJune 15th, 2011 at 11:21 am [Reply]
RMMD: Okay, here’s another esoteric rant about a stupid throwaway detail in the world of the entitled, closeted doctor and his insanely bejugged wife:
Berna is leaving, so they need another receptionist/office manager (I’m leaning towards the most limited job description for Berna’s position, because, well, Berna) and the Morgans have a resume from the overqualified Masters in Library Science degree holding victim of the economic downturn, Summer Knight (a well-a well-a well-a huh, tell me more, tell me more, like does she specialize in computer data management). Summer Knight is going to bring her experience and technical know-how to bear on the problem of “easing the Morgans into” electronic medical records (while covering the phones, scheduling appointments, tidying up the waiting area, etc.)? Why didn’t the Morgans just buy some off the shelf, commercial software for patient records or contract with a vendor that performs these functions for small medical clinics? Why do they think they should get the laid off librarian from the “city library” to come in and engineer a system from scratch (but make it simple and intuitive enough that the dunderheaded Morgans can figure it out) and pay her as a receptionist? If she has the skills to do something like that, she could surely market them better and parlay her talents into a position in the medical/insurance complex and make a decent salary (even though she’d probably hate it because she’d find people ten times denser that the Morgans). Also if Summer was using her computer data management skills at the city library, she was most likely the “systems librarian” meaning she was probably managing the library’s online catalog and/or circulation system, possibly facilitating access to any online collections or web accessible resources such as eBooks and possibly training staff or library users to make use of these resources. These are valuable skills but would be wasted on trying to teach Rex and June how to use desktop software (and “other duties as assigned”).
Calvin's Cardboard BoxJune 15th, 2011 at 11:21 am [Reply]
@Dennis (#36):
Public restroom? A Bear Plugger’s public restroom is the tree behind the Burger Barn.
Wait, I should send that one in. Opens a whole new realm of gags.
“A Dog Plugger’s Facebook page is the fire hydrant by the supermarket.”
“Kangaroo Pluggers hop into bed with anyone.”
“A Chicken Plugger’s oral sex is indistinguishable from cannibalism”
June 15th, 2011 at 11:26 am [Reply]
MW: The most ineffectual Exclamation point of all time!!!!
FW: gag.
Some GuyJune 15th, 2011 at 11:34 am [Reply]
GT: I think the point of the flashback is to establish that dude-with-the-crush got the equipment from some guy with long hair, who got it from yet another dude who apparently assured him it was really easy to set up.
I hope the fire brigade are on alert.
Phantom: I also hope Kit and Heloise are ready for to take up their responsibilities as the next generation of Phantoms, since The-Ghost-Who-Lacks-Basic-First-Aid-Knowledge is clearly a goner.
RMMD: Y’know, if I went to a doctor and it turned out he was vaguely thinking that it might be an idea to computerise his records at some future date, I would get the hell out of there before he prescribed me opium and leeches.
ElkMeadowJune 15th, 2011 at 11:37 am [Reply]
@Chip Whittle (#48):
Dark Side Of The Horse: Yeah, this is how I sleep, pretty much.
Thanks for the link! I loved Little Nero in Slumberland. I read the comments and learned of the shout-outs to Cul-de-Sac. I wonder if this is the cartoonist’s contribution to the Richard Thompson project that Watterson and others have helped with.
PoteetJune 15th, 2011 at 11:37 am [Reply]
LUANN — Please pardon if I’m the twentieth Mudge to point this out, since I didn’t have time to read all the comments, but dissing a kid’s father right in front of the kid, especially since the kid has been portrayed as very precocious and with excellent hearing, is a cruel, damaging, incredibly stupid thing to do. Of course that makes it standard LUANN, so never mind.
seismic-2June 15th, 2011 at 11:38 am [Reply]
A3G: “May I speak to Abigail Thompson?”
“Who wants to know?!”
Margo is not being rude but genuinely curious. “Let me get this straight – you actually want to speak to Abigail Thimpson? For the love of God, who in the world could possibly want that???”
Crank: It’s really sad to see the line of old people being loaded into the ice cream truck. Sure, not everyone can afford a spot in the Ted Williams Deluxe Eternal Deep Freeze, but even the most destitute seekers of cryogenics shouldn’t be forced to wind up spending eternity as an Ed Crankshaft Kool Kone.
DT: Well, if you can’t find a suitable Pony Tail replacement at the bus station, there’s always the trash down at the Burger Barn.
PoteetJune 15th, 2011 at 11:39 am [Reply]
S-M — From what we’ve been shown of MJ’s alleged acting, I’d say her career and Spidey’s career are a great match.
IconoclastJune 15th, 2011 at 11:39 am [Reply]
That fast food trash bag looks suspiciously like a gasoline can. I suspect that the original version of this morning’s “Pluggers” was far less innocuous, with a joke about Plugger wives having to burn down their husbands trucks to get attention. Mr. Brookins had to do a hasty rewrite after Brad Wesner’s arrest for making terroristic threats.
commodorejohnJune 15th, 2011 at 11:41 am [Reply]
@Some Guy (#75): You’d be hard-up for doctors, then. My mother has been working for the past five years to get our local hospital onto an electronic-records model, and her biggest obstacle (aside from the poorly-defined standards for “meaningful use” as required by the governement) has been getting the docs to A. accept that this needs to happen, B. pay any kind of attention during training, and C. actually use the damn thing.
Uncle LumpyJune 15th, 2011 at 11:42 am [Reply]
Dick Tracy — Oh, man, is this strip heading for a climactic whip battle between Doubleup and Hawai’ian Haku, accompanied by identical faux Ponytails, one of whom is Detective Lizz?
Because I’m totally OK with that!
PoteetJune 15th, 2011 at 11:45 am [Reply]
@Ned Ryerson (#72): As impressively informed and cogent as your entire comment is, I’m afraid that “insanely bejugged” is what will reverberate in my mind. Possibly for weeks.
LogopolisMikeJune 15th, 2011 at 11:45 am [Reply]
@teenchy (#71): Thank you for that head scarf chuckle — I was just going to come in here and complain/freak out because I was actually so relieved that Cayla had been given her heart’s desire, even if it was Creepy Les. And your well-placed humor brought me out of the “taking this strip seriously” funk (pun intended) I’d somehow found myself in.
Mark Trail, meanwhile, is teasing me that the former military man in the woods plot wrongfully accused is going to turn into a remake of First Blood, with less guns and more punching. Like Mrs. Trail, I’m sure I’ll be disappointed, but it’s fun to imagine that world.
Unlike Mary Worth, which has seriously convinced me that if I ever find myself single again, I will never date. Ever.
Government CheeseJune 15th, 2011 at 11:47 am [Reply]
MW: I think we will learn soon what a “restraining order” looks like in the MWuniverse.
Uncle LumpyJune 15th, 2011 at 11:47 am [Reply]
@seismic-2 (#78):
“May I speak to Abigail Thompson?” / “Who wants to know?!”
Margo doesn’t know whether the caller may speak to Abigail Thompson — no one’s ever tried it before.
ElkMeadowJune 15th, 2011 at 11:48 am [Reply]
@commodorejohn (#69):
Transitioning to electronic medical records?
My daughter did that. She spent six weeks, hired as a temp, and just scanned the old dead tree records, like doing photocopying.
PoteetJune 15th, 2011 at 11:52 am [Reply]
DT — What I want to know is how these DT villains ever got as far as they’ve gotten in their careers by the time we meet them, since none of them seem to have functioning prefrontal cortexes.
Little GuyJune 15th, 2011 at 11:53 am [Reply]
GT: So, by August, Gil will discover that Hobart has had a pair of softball players as underaged mistresses?
Artist formerly known as BenJune 15th, 2011 at 11:53 am [Reply]
A3G: Okay, I give. What exactly does Hillary Clinton want with Tommie? Oh, and coffee or no, be cautious when addressing the Secretary of State.
MW: Has Drew thought about putting on a fake mustache and calling himself Drake for a few days? It’s a thought.
DtM: Mr. Wilson’s new goal is to up his medication and scotch intake until he thinks Dennis & Co are Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
Baka GaijinJune 15th, 2011 at 11:57 am [Reply]
@Joe, the Upper-Evergreen Guy (#64): “If we’re really sticking together, Toni, maybe I should start changing my underwear more often.” Ha ha ha ha ewww.
@Uncle Lumpy (#82): Damn, you spoiled it, man. Now all I have to look forward to is interesting, sharp artwork and all the twists and turns to get to your conclusion. Damn you!
m1ngleJune 15th, 2011 at 11:58 am [Reply]
I’m confused, can those pluggers still wear each others clothes?
Baka GaijinJune 15th, 2011 at 12:09 pm [Reply]
Garfield: I was a little scared to get to the last panel. It could have been an evilscaryclown in that box. They come in all sizes, you know.
Cow and Boy: Bok! Billy was totally pwned by a chicken. Bok! Bok!
One Big Happy Classic: EEEEaaaAAAaaaah! Hoppy the HUNGRY evilscaryclown! QLUNQ!
Slyock Fox: That tweaked boy is going to ratchet his jaw open and inhale that cake. Just you watch.
One Big Happy: SWAK!
Pluggers: That’s a “Wesner” if I ever heard one.
Zits: Hector, as a teenager, is a better parent to Jeremy than either of his middle-aged biological parents. Good for him!
Perky BirdJune 15th, 2011 at 12:12 pm [Reply]
Plugger Bear isn’t cheating on his wife sexually, or cheating on his diet. He’s “cheating” on his wife emotionally, because he’s eating someone else’s cooking. He couldn’t stomach another home-cooked meal. I mean, at Burger Barn, he can at least pretend he’s eating 100% beef. At home, it’s hard to pretend it’s beef when you can still vividly recall scraping the cassarole’s “secret ingredient” off the Interstate on-ramp.
Bill ThompsonJune 15th, 2011 at 12:24 pm [Reply]
@Poteet (#88): DT: I’m guessing that Doubleup is supposed to be the kind of psycho Cagney played in White Heat. He’s got a gang and so far they’ve done okay as local thugs. Now his obsession with a comic-book character will undo him.
Mike Curtis, the strip’s writer, posts regularly on the Gocomics forum. He’s mentioned a few of the limitations they’ve had to work under. One is that this arc had a length-limit placed on it by TMS. I’m guessing they had to fast-foward a lot. TMS has placed unidentified limits on what Staton and Curtis can do with the Tracy franchise–nothing too graphic, it seems. Curtis also says that they have permission to write longer arcs.
cheech wizardJune 15th, 2011 at 12:31 pm [Reply]
MW – So, is Liza really a nurse? I’m starting to suspect she’s just a mental patient who wandered down from the fifth floor.
Pluggers – Per fast food and romance, as Richard Pryor put it: “You got to treat me like a lady. You got to take me to Burger King and buy me a Whopper with Cheeeese.”
GA -Hah! The crane’s picking a Booger! Gotta love those hidden jokes. No, not really.
9CL – Foot sex instead of hand sex. There are a lot of things this could imply, but I’m just going to assume it means it was coarser and less refined than before.
MT – See, crime just doesn’t pay. With saps like these, the sheriff’s son could have had a far more profitable career selling them Florida time shares instead.
TheDivaJune 15th, 2011 at 12:33 pm [Reply]
@teenchy (#71): I think you’re on to something here. Maybe Les’ dazed expression is the result of staring at Cayla cross-eyed until she looked enough like a photo-negative version of Dead Lisa for him to convincingly utter the Three Dreaded Words.
Walker of DogJune 15th, 2011 at 12:37 pm [Reply]
@Calvin’s Cardboard Box (#73): NEVER request that kind of service from a chicken or chicken-based Plugger. Trust me.
@commodorejohn (#69): Agreed on Peter’s slacker toss.
“What, I was trying to put it out! Geez!”
June 15th, 2011 at 12:38 pm [Reply]
@commodorejohn (#69): cows on ’shrooms are freakin’ hysterical!
Rocky StoneaxeJune 15th, 2011 at 12:38 pm [Reply]
@Chipper (#25):
GT: The guy who is crushing on Al-Jo is named “6/15.” It’s right there on the monogram above his shirt pocket. Perhaps his parents were inspired by the Seinfeld episode in which George Costanza is crazy for the name “7.”
Funny you should mention the name “7″:
http://www.gocomics.com/heartofthecity
CharlotteJune 15th, 2011 at 12:45 pm [Reply]
MW – Didn’t Dr. Drew have to leave the country last time because he didn’t know how to handle breaking up with Dawn? Is he going to have to leave for another third world country because he doesn’t know how to break up with Liza? Does he just not know how to interact with or read the crazies when it comes to women?
FW – I don’t get it. I thought Les wasn’t sure that he “loved” Cayla? Now he is? does that mean he’s finally over Lisa?
MarcJune 15th, 2011 at 1:05 pm [Reply]
Luann- I hate you two
Funky- I hate you two even more.
Walker of DogJune 15th, 2011 at 1:06 pm [Reply]
FW: Tomorrow, when Les is in mid-smirk, Cayla will whip off her do-rag, revealing her new Medusa-snake-hair implants. Some helpful hints for Cayla:
– Safety tip: When Les turns to stone, he’s probably going to break that porch swing, so be ready to jump clear.
– Dietary tip: You’ll need to adjust your caloric intake to account for the additional nutritional demands. Remember, you’re eating for seventy-five now. Also, watch out for all the snake poop.
MT: The ferryboat-otter has low job satisfaction.
9CL: Sweet Jesus, that had better be Fernanda’s left foot curling around Seth’s completely normal big toe, or I am going to hurl.
Not Just Any DipstickJune 15th, 2011 at 1:09 pm [Reply]
@Perky Bird (#94): At least in Wisconsin it is now legal to scrape whatever you can off the highway. Hope someone enjoys the doe we hit/ran over with 15 passenger van two weeks back. Thump, BOUNCE, little bounce. Poor thing lifted its head after that. An image I could well do without.
Ned RyersonJune 15th, 2011 at 1:15 pm [Reply]
By the way Josh, “dude who’s crushing on Al-Jo” = Jeff Karoub. What? Don’t you cut out the all important opening day lineup strip and tack it up in your fancy free lance writer office as a handy reference to the dizzying world of Gil Thorp? And you call yourself a comics blogger?!
CalicoJune 15th, 2011 at 1:22 pm [Reply]
I do believe this is one of the funniest things I’ve read since…well, since Josh’s last missives on Hootin’ Holler and Lost Forest! Enjoy- I really did belly laugh.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html
troy macgregorJune 15th, 2011 at 1:23 pm [Reply]
A Plugger’s “night out” with their wives probably consists of eating microwaved hot dogs served on a slice of Wonder bread while sitting in lawn chairs in front of their double-wide
CalicoJune 15th, 2011 at 1:23 pm [Reply]
@Ned Ryerson (#105):
Ned, I think that chart would end up looking kind of like the “who has slept with whom” chart in The L Word. Dizzying.
June 15th, 2011 at 1:27 pm [Reply]
Plug: The dog-Plugger was hoping to upgrade to “cow-Plugger” but, as is so often the case, he had to make do with what was at hand.
JP: Detective, you can forget about keeping that line open. Abbey is going to insist that Sam hold up the phone so she can get a live video feed. Eat 5G, copper!
A3G: “I hate talking to people before I’ve had my coffee! Before I’ve had it, too! And during!
Oh God, during is the worst! People… ugh! I’d never have anything to do with them if they didn’t taste so good.”
DT: I respect a boss who’s not afraid to get his hands bloody. His hands! Not afraid to! (Wait, I did it wrong.)
cheech wizardJune 15th, 2011 at 1:28 pm [Reply]
FW – This is way too upbeat for Funky Winkerbean. Whaddaya bet tomorrow has Susan dangling from a water pipe in the basement?
Bring me the Hart of JohnnyJune 15th, 2011 at 1:31 pm [Reply]
@Marc (#102): And I love that comment.
Artist formerly known as BenJune 15th, 2011 at 1:37 pm [Reply]
@cheech wizard (#96):
9CL – Foot sex instead of hand sex. There are a lot of things this could imply, but I’m just going to assume it means it was coarser and less refined than before.
There’s also the fact that her feet are postioned behind his. That’s all I’m gonna say right now.
Baka GaijinJune 15th, 2011 at 1:44 pm [Reply]
@Calico (#106): OMG! That was freaking hilarious! Thanks for sharing.
@troy macgregor (#107): A Plugger’s “night out” with their wives probably consists of eating microwaved hot dogs served on a slice of Wonder bread while sitting in lawn chairs in front of their double-wide. In other words, the mother-in-law is visiting. Veal, tips, all week.
PoteetJune 15th, 2011 at 1:48 pm [Reply]
@Bill Thompson (#95): Thanks. That does seem to help explain Double-Up’s impulse-control issues. Maybe in the next story we’ll see a villain who plans ahead a little more carefully than Double-Up and Hot Rize.
Walker of DogJune 15th, 2011 at 1:50 pm [Reply]
FC: As ugly as these kids are, can you imagine how hideous their partially reabsorbed twins must be? And Dolly, God splits an egg whenever he damn well feels like it. Let’s try not to tell him his business, OK?
RMMD: Instead of Summer Knight, could Rex please hire Christopher Knight:
When it’s time to change,
You’ve got to rearrange
Your medical records into an electronic format compatible with my computer data management skills.
Sha-na-na na-na na na-na-na
Shananana na!
June 15th, 2011 at 1:55 pm [Reply]
@Calico (#106): Truly funny! Thank you.
It does make me wonder if there are effective safe little doggie tranquilizers. Tranqs are how one cat I know (not mine) survives yearly trips from Michigan to Florida.
PoteetJune 15th, 2011 at 1:57 pm [Reply]
@Artist formerly known as Ben (#112): That’s all you NEED to say right now. Brain bleach! Brain bleach!
Artist formerly known as BenJune 15th, 2011 at 2:01 pm [Reply]
HOTC: Go for it, Heart. Go home now and tell your mother that you want to get implants this summer. Then when the smelling salts bring her ’round again, explain that you mean fake cyber implants for your forehead.
Ned RyersonJune 15th, 2011 at 2:02 pm [Reply]
@Walker of Dog (#115): I like your Rex Morgan comment. In fact, I think it’s very groovy.
Artist formerly known as BenJune 15th, 2011 at 2:03 pm [Reply]
@Poteet (#117): Yeah, if you have money invested in brain bleach stock it’s like, “What recession?”
This GuyJune 15th, 2011 at 2:16 pm [Reply]
9CL: Without the (sad) knowledge that Seth is some kind of sexually confused giant, the size difference in their feet would take on a horrifying new dimension.
Love is…: “Of course it’s not too small, honey. I can totally see it without special instruments!”
@TheDiva (#39): Strictly speaking, Kirk died a few months after Voyager’s pilot is set.
@Chip Whittle (#59): Yes, that picture is backwards. Her communicator is on the wrong side. See, the best approach is to never worry about appearing cool, because it’s a lost cause for most of us.
PoteetJune 15th, 2011 at 2:16 pm [Reply]
GT — I’ve stared at those teeth in the last panel for two minutes and still can’t figure out what’s going on. This is why I’m grateful that GT isn’t featured more often. Something weird always catches my eye…with grappling hooks.
gnome de blogJune 15th, 2011 at 2:18 pm [Reply]
Pope Josh:
How did the dude who’s crushing on Al-Jo and whose name I refuse to even try to remember secure that stage and PA system?
I’m sorry to say it, but you’re not infallible. The answer to the question is right there in panel 2: he got them from Derek “Slim” Chance, who has a buddy with a concert-in-the-park setup.
Square from DelawareJune 15th, 2011 at 2:19 pm [Reply]
In pluggers isn’t that Kangaroo from Horton Hears a Who? Now we know why she was angry at Horton. It was misdirected anger.
JH PantsJune 15th, 2011 at 2:23 pm [Reply]
Today’s A3G filled me with joy. Margo is truly a role model for the kids today.
gnome de blogJune 15th, 2011 at 2:24 pm [Reply]
Okay so first Cousin Ruby came along to force Tommie into a disatrous makeover. Then Aunt Iris, who bought her a piano and found her a new career as a starving artist. Now this Susan person shows up. With any luck she’ll bring back the personality that Tommie had stolen from her in about 1978.
JesseBakerJune 15th, 2011 at 2:25 pm [Reply]
So is Liz going to try and defame Drew and ruin his standing with the boss if he doesn’t give her the reaction she desires?
And when is Liz going to go batshit and start channeling Glenn Close with regards to proclaiming “I’m not going to be ignored!”?
Or are they going to save Liz’s psychotic break for when Mary gets involved, as far as knocking her unconscious and taking her hostage while ranting and raving under the delusions that Drew is “cheating on her” with Mary, before the police take Liz away in a straightjacket?
Not to mention Jill; it would be fun to see Jill save the day for Drew and for Mary to realize that Jill’s form of meddling does have it’s purpose when you are dealing with the mentally ill…….
As for the Mark Trail stuff; they need to work in the Mark’s own would be stalker into the mix as far as her coming into town and accidentally finding evidence that mustache guy is the real criminal mastermind and has to be rescued.
Joe, the Upper-Evergreen GuyJune 15th, 2011 at 2:27 pm [Reply]
Crank: The ice cream is just a ploy to get all the old people into the truck…….this strip is actually a remake of the 1973 movie “Soylent Green”…
gnome de blogJune 15th, 2011 at 2:30 pm [Reply]
I’m sure there’s some clever obscurantist meaning to Seth’s foot that only beefwits are unable to grasp. Best I can do is wonder if he has nine toes on the other foot too, or just one?
I went to high school with a kid who had twelve toes, but he had six on each foot.
AustriaJune 15th, 2011 at 2:38 pm [Reply]
@queek, source of Cuteness, Kawaii Commando (#8): I laughed. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve made a reputation for myself…
A3G: I’m amazed Josh didn’t comment on this. This strip is so amazingly Classic Margo. The second panel “WHAT?!” is great.
Arch: Please don’t make me say it again
Blondie: If you crop Dagwood and Herb from their feet to the tops of their heads, it’s Dagwood showing off his bracelet and Herb asking “Shoes?”
“Omigoodness, shoes. Those shoes are mine, Dag. F*cking shoes, Dag.”
FW: And tomorrow begins the new Suicide Susan plotline.
MT: OTTERS! OTTERS! OTTERS! Plot doesn’t exist, there are OTTERS happening!!!
Zits: Wow, even among his friends Jeremy is the bad guy of this strip.
Ned RyersonJune 15th, 2011 at 2:38 pm [Reply]
Aw shit, I had to go look at 9CL. Okay, so, what we’re looking at is presumably two adults, one of whom has a microfoot. The microfoot is grasping one of the big toes of the other person using unusually articulated toes. That’s weird.
gnome de blogJune 15th, 2011 at 2:39 pm [Reply]
@JesseBaker (#127):
What could possibly be better than a Jill-Liza smackdown? Which means of course it won’t happen.
June 15th, 2011 at 2:58 pm [Reply]
@Austria (#130):
Blondie: If you crop Dagwood and Herb from their feet to the tops of their heads, it’s Dagwood showing off his bracelet and Herb asking “Shoes?”
“Omigoodness, shoes. Those shoes are mine, Dag. F*cking shoes, Dag.”
You’ve obviously never seen a Wonder Woman Charm Bracelet:
http://images.comicbookcollector.net/large/5f/5f_102007_0_WonderWomanVol1106TheHumanChar.jpg
(The ginormous shoe on the left belongs to Seth from 9CL!)
JessyJune 15th, 2011 at 3:04 pm [Reply]
@Walker of Dog (#68): . . . snerk! :)
anonymousJune 15th, 2011 at 3:21 pm [Reply]
@Nekrotzar (#28):
The Burger Barn – wasn’t that the exciting new restaurant that opened up in the movie “Gilbert Grape” with Johnny Depp? That middle-of-nowheresville in the movie looked like the Plugger Riviera. I’ll bet The Burger Barn is still packing em in.
June 15th, 2011 at 3:21 pm [Reply]
@Baka Gaijin (#93): Quite right ‘hungry’ and ‘clown’ just shouldn’t be used together. Just what the hell is his party act, does he elbow-shove a path to the cake?
The Spectacular Spider-BrickJune 15th, 2011 at 3:23 pm [Reply]
RMMD: Wait one juttin’ minute here… Wasn’t it just six or seven months ago (two days strip time) that Rex and June were lamenting that they couldn’t afford to pay Berna any more? So why are they thinking about hiring a replacement who will probably demand a higher salary?
bourbon babe, unbuckledJune 15th, 2011 at 3:35 pm [Reply]
MW: I’m not sure what’s coming out of Drew’s mouth there, but I bet I’d understand it better if it had a goat skewered on it.
A3G: I see that Margo has begun training for her new job in customer service.
anonymousJune 15th, 2011 at 3:35 pm [Reply]
@Spaceman Spiff (#34):
This is why Pluggers spend hours each day, divvying up their dozens of $4 Walmart prescriptions into little pill holding boxes. This is why Pluggers social lives consist of shuttling from the greasy spoon to sit in Pluggerville doctors offices all day long. Hop in the crappy truck, off to get pills. Next morning, repeat.
anonymousJune 15th, 2011 at 3:37 pm [Reply]
@commodorejohn (#81):
In every medical establishment I’ve visited in the past few years, there are staff at the front desk tappy-tappying information into a computer. Then you walk down the hall and inevitably you pass a room, door ajar, and you are aghast to see it contains solidly packed patient file folders on shelves from ceiling to floor, all four walls. What are those computers out front FOR? Playing burst-the-bubble?
bourbon babe, unbuckledJune 15th, 2011 at 3:38 pm [Reply]
@Frank Lee Meidere (#y219): I know I’m late to the Hyperbole and a Half Love Party, but I believe that things that are truly wonderful can’t be praised enough—so belatedly, if you’re not yet reading it, then start. Now. (And Calico provides a handy link at 106 above.)
The Simple Dog might be my new favorite dog. Watch out, Gromit—you have competition.
Esther BlodgettJune 15th, 2011 at 3:38 pm [Reply]
@Ned Ryerson (#72): In that you have described my career trajectory (minus the MLS), I’m going to go stick my head in a bucket and cry now.
Neyba BobJune 15th, 2011 at 3:38 pm [Reply]
Since LUJBEM FEJF reads these comments, I’d like to respectfully point out in reference to yesterday’s Jumble, that “storey” is a bona fide word here in Britain. We have oysters too, but that little confusion cost me some time points on the Dallas Morning News version!
[Old Man] MuffarooJune 15th, 2011 at 3:40 pm [Reply]
@Neyba Bob (#143): I ran into that as well, and it took forever to think of the word they had in mind after that.
Neyba BobJune 15th, 2011 at 3:52 pm [Reply]
Same here. The ones with a ‘y’ in can catch me out because I want to put the ‘y’ at the end.
Baka GaijinJune 15th, 2011 at 3:55 pm [Reply]
@Vince M (#136): “Just what the hell is his [the evilscaryclown in One Big Happy] party act…” He eats the children, starting with the toes so they can’t run away…
@anonymous (#140): “What are those computers out front FOR? Playing burst-the-bubble?” Angry Birds.
CrankenstankJune 15th, 2011 at 3:56 pm [Reply]
If a Plugger Dog is married to a Plugger Rabbit, I wonder what species a Plugger Mistress is? Is it the forbidden love, that dare not speak its name, between Dogs and Cats? Or is it even more taboo in Plugger land — the same-species relationship, with a little hot canine on canine action going on?
Scott BotJune 15th, 2011 at 3:56 pm [Reply]
Pluggers – ‘Aw, c’mon, honey, she’s not trash, she’s the assistant manager.’
Écureuil ÉcumantJune 15th, 2011 at 4:10 pm [Reply]
@commodorejohn (#81): Speaking as someone who’s spent the last 40 years in the health information software field trying to do just that … amen.
DoodJune 15th, 2011 at 4:14 pm [Reply]
Pluggers: Most pluggers sleep with a KFC.
MibbitmakerJune 15th, 2011 at 4:21 pm [Reply]
TV Tropes — They make oversnarpologies necessary
9CL: Omigod, they’re starting on feet now!
A3G: Margo using non sequiturs to throw callers off their game. Of course Margo would play it that way. Probably a good way to treat telemarketers who won’t take No Call for an answer.
GA: Somewhere, Oddjob is smiling.
FW: BOXCAR!!!!!
Esther BlodgettJune 15th, 2011 at 4:25 pm [Reply]
@gnome de blog (#123): Psssst. Josh’s question was rhetorical. He answered it in the next sentence. Please don’t anger the Pope, or he’ll wish us into the Pluggerland cornfield.
Écureuil ÉcumantJune 15th, 2011 at 4:29 pm [Reply]
@anonymous (#139): And somehow Pluggers are invulnerable to the law that forbids you from mingling different medications in one non-original container, lacking labeling and warnings of any kind.
teenchyJune 15th, 2011 at 4:36 pm [Reply]
@LogopolisMike (#84) @TheDiva (#97): Well it made more sense to me than the too-easy servant/gang member stereotype comment. If Cayla can’t physically look like Lisa, she can dress like her. Can she sound and smell like Lisa, too? I don’t think I want to go there…
MibbitmakerJune 15th, 2011 at 4:37 pm [Reply]
MT: He’s guilty, alright, an ignorant angry mob says so.
MW: Drew (under his breath, in a rage): “Mary Worth, I loathe you!”
Popeye: …Should we really be watching this…?
Ziggy: Little blobby guy. Bon Apetit, boys!
MarcJune 15th, 2011 at 4:39 pm [Reply]
@Crankenstank (#147):
Plugger Platypus?
LynnJune 15th, 2011 at 4:46 pm [Reply]
@The Spectacular Spider-Brick (#137): Rex and June sold the bass boat, obviously.
Mr K MartinJune 15th, 2011 at 4:52 pm [Reply]
Yesterday’s Shoe. Dog. Hot Dog. I JUST GOT IT! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rocky StoneaxeJune 15th, 2011 at 4:55 pm [Reply]
@bourbon babe, unbuckled (#138):
MW: I’m not sure what’s coming out of Drew’s mouth there, but I bet I’d understand it better if it had a goat skewered on it.
One skewered goat coming right up:
http://www.gettinoutmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/lowresgoat.jpg
LiamJune 15th, 2011 at 5:12 pm [Reply]
MW-Liza, the Jedi mind trick only works on the weak minded.
Love Is-Don’t worry they have this new pill called Viagra. It is supposed to help with problems like this.
MT-Sadly the sheriff fell into one of the pit traps and was never heard from again.
The RidgerJune 15th, 2011 at 5:28 pm [Reply]
@[Old Man] Muffaroo (#10): The Flash is only half working on mine! It won’t let me type anymore. Argggh.
queek, source of Cuteness, Kawaii CommandoJune 15th, 2011 at 5:32 pm [Reply]
@ElkMeadow (#y274): PMP = Pardon My Planet
The RidgerJune 15th, 2011 at 5:38 pm [Reply]
@The Spectacular Spider-Brick (#137): Ms Knight won’t demand a higher salary than Berna. This is because she’s been out of work for six months. Her benefits are drying up and she just needs a job, any job, until she’s eligible to file again. Rex and June are going to screw up. Uh. Fiscally, I mean.
Plus, all she’ll probably do is pick that software up and then start scanning the old records. At least she’ll be busy; waiting for one of Rex’s patients to show up could leave you bored to death.
The RidgerJune 15th, 2011 at 5:39 pm [Reply]
Daingead! I meant “Rex and June are going to screw HER.”
Rana the Pedantic Wet BlanketJune 15th, 2011 at 5:42 pm [Reply]
@yaoi huntress earth (y#211): Nope, you’re not alone. But then, I’m one of those “Scanners” or “Renaissance Souls,” or whatever the latest self-helpy buzz phrase for describing those of us with multiple interests is.
Rana the Pedantic Wet BlanketJune 15th, 2011 at 5:47 pm [Reply]
@Frank Lee Meidere (y#219): Hyperbole and a Half is hilarious.
Very different, but also funny, is Kate Beaton’s Hark a Vagrant.
Rocky StoneaxeJune 15th, 2011 at 6:00 pm [Reply]
@Frank Lee Meidere (#y219):
2010 interview with Allie Brosh (“Hyperbole and a Half”):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzLPsgfOzXs
Mr. O'MalleyJune 15th, 2011 at 6:09 pm [Reply]
@Steve the Pocket (#32): We have a Burger Barn here, but there’s just one of them. It seems not to have changed much since the 1950s, an atmosphere aided by the fact that old car collectors hang out there.
That family at one time owned several hamburger joints, but each one had a different name. One of the others was used in several TV shows, thanks to its retro character, but it’s gone now.
daleJune 15th, 2011 at 6:18 pm [Reply]
@Mibbitmaker (#155):
John Thrasher’s guilt will be confirmed when he is arrested.
In the MT world, only guilty people are punched, arrested, and automatically convicted.
June 15th, 2011 at 6:36 pm [Reply]
@dale (#169): Arrested? I don’t think those calfless, chickenless townsfolk with the pitchforks and torches have arresting on their minds!
commodorejohnJune 15th, 2011 at 6:37 pm [Reply]
@dale (#169): That can’t be true! Mark has been arrested!
zerowolfJune 15th, 2011 at 7:03 pm [Reply]
MW: Is Mountview the last remaining hospital without a sexual harrasment/creating a hostile work environment policy or is Drew just too frigging stupid to go the the HR department and file a complaint?
The RidgerJune 15th, 2011 at 7:11 pm [Reply]
@zerowolf (#172): Drew is a MAN. Men don’t get harassed.
CloudbusterJune 15th, 2011 at 7:19 pm [Reply]
9CL: How many times does this has to happen before Seth gets judged “not gay enough to be on the gay softball team?”
CloudbusterJune 15th, 2011 at 7:24 pm [Reply]
@Anonymous (#16): @Anonymous (#16): “Its official. I want Liza to join the Aldo club and take a drive on a curvy, mountain highway.”
But not too soon! Remember, it’s Drew getting tortured here. Not someone we care about.
AnodizerJune 15th, 2011 at 7:24 pm [Reply]
Pluggers: This strip reminds me of that once proud and famous band that racked up hit after hit when all its original members were young, but now consists of a couple of spun out survivors and their careworn crew of retread rockers slogging through the State Fair circuit. You watch them out of a mixture of fascination and pity, encouraged by rare moments of recaptured glory, but more often suffering through botched harmonies and forgotten lyrics. Pluggers, for me, is like watching that band, now.
queek, source of Cuteness, Kawaii CommandoJune 15th, 2011 at 7:42 pm [Reply]
@Anodizer (#176): FREEBIRD!
(is a chicken)
VinnieJune 15th, 2011 at 7:46 pm [Reply]
DT: I’ve gotta admit, Doubleup is pretty threatening for someone that speaks like Jacob Two-Two.
FW: “I’m not used to treating other human beings with respect and affection… Or thinking about them, really. So, what do you find the most stunningly alluring about me – the immaculate nature of my soul or the godlike expanse of my knowledge?”
MW: “Soon, the whole hospital staff shall be my harem!”
wossnameJune 15th, 2011 at 7:46 pm [Reply]
@queek, source of Cuteness, Kawaii Commando (#177): I wish you hadn’t said that – because my first visceral response to Anodizer’s description was “Skynyrd” – but then I tried to stifle it because I love(d) them so much in their glory days. Then I read your post, and I was like, yup – Skynyrd. Gary R- last man standing.
PsychidJune 15th, 2011 at 8:32 pm [Reply]
You should’ve done the comic for “Gasoline Alley”, where the one dumbass kid decides to get into a car to avoid the rain. But little did he know that the very car he’s in is one lifted up by a magnet, and will thus lead to his untimely death! …But who am I to care? No one’s gonna miss him! PARTY HARDY, EVERYONE!
Frank Lee MeidereJune 15th, 2011 at 8:49 pm [Reply]
AG3: Wasn’t the woman steeling herself up to ring the door bell yesterday? Why is she now on the phone? I tried checking yesterday’s AG3, but it won’t come up.
PoteetJune 15th, 2011 at 8:52 pm [Reply]
@Psychid (#180): I’ve just about reached the point where GA could crush anyone in a car except Walt or Kitty and it would be okay with me. Not great, because I don’t care that much, but okay.
bourbon babe, unbuckledJune 15th, 2011 at 8:58 pm [Reply]
@Frank Lee Meidere (#181): Yes, you’re right. She must have wussed out on oh, relaxing, Susan, and just ringing the darn bell and opted for the cell-phone route—little knowing that she’d be confronted with Margo’s phone “manners.”
commodorejohnJune 15th, 2011 at 9:04 pm [Reply]
@Poteet (#182): I just wish it were Slim. Watching him squirt out of a crushed vehicle in a greasy toothpaste smear would just make my day. (And I haven’t even read this strip in two years – that’s how annoying Slim is.)
DaveyKJune 15th, 2011 at 9:06 pm [Reply]
You don’t need to look up his name thanks to the helpful name tag. That’s “Generic Male 6 of 15.” This revolutionary nomenclature and labeling should be applied to Apartment 3-G where it is most needed.
Sgt. StonedJune 15th, 2011 at 9:13 pm [Reply]
@Anonymous (#16): MW: While guzzling down a bottle of Johnny Walker!
Maria VeigaJune 15th, 2011 at 9:15 pm [Reply]
A3G: Is it me or this is an inane conversation?? The stranger says “May I speak to Abigail Thompson?” and Margo replies: “Who wants to know?!”
Margo’s reply would be more logical if the question had been: Is Abigail Thompson at home? Is Abigail Thompson a silly little thing? Are you the Wicked Witch of the West…er sorry, Margo?
Thanks for all the comments, they’re great fun to read!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beetle BumsteadJune 15th, 2011 at 9:18 pm [Reply]
@S. Stout (#13): We are all Pluggers now, even if we are vegematerians and are just picking up litter.
Écureuil ÉcumantJune 15th, 2011 at 9:52 pm [Reply]
Popeye: Are those Oids named for who they are, or for what they’d give you?
Karen SueJune 15th, 2011 at 10:06 pm [Reply]
@Chipper (#25): Or maybe by “The Prisoner”.
JoshJune 15th, 2011 at 10:08 pm [Reply]
@gnome de blog (#123): Yeah, sorry, is it not clear what I’m going for? I’m sort of narrating in the presence tense. “Who could it be who has arranged this? Ah ha, we find out in a flashback the next panel! Then we are pushed back forward to right after the question is asked!”
Josh
Uncle LumpyJune 15th, 2011 at 10:14 pm [Reply]
@Josh (#191):
Is that why the second panel is all cloudy around the corners? Why didn’t they just make their voices fade out all funny? Works on radio!
Uncle LumpyJune 15th, 2011 at 10:17 pm [Reply]
So did Gil Thorp bring back mumble mumble and his mumble mumble band just so Al-Jo could have sound equipment for her rally?
Dudes, you’re overthinking this. It’s Gil Thorp — relax!
Esther BlodgettJune 15th, 2011 at 10:19 pm [Reply]
@Uncle Lumpy (#192): Where are the Funky Winkerbean Flashback Foto Corners (TM) when you need them?
Rocky StoneaxeJune 15th, 2011 at 10:38 pm [Reply]
@Josh (#191):
All the letterer of Gil Thorp had to do was add a caption box with the word “Earlier” to the second panel!
Chip WhittleJune 15th, 2011 at 11:26 pm [Reply]
@Rocky Stoneaxe (#195):
All the letterer of Gil Thorp had to do was add a caption box with the word “Earlier” to the second panel!
You’re encouraging Gil Thorp to be less linear in its flow of time and space? Are you trying to kill us all, man?
[Old Man] MuffarooJune 15th, 2011 at 11:28 pm [Reply]
[The sound of big band music. Could it be Don Redman?]
Bandleader: Y’ever meet the, uh, Mountain Man?
Another voice: Nah, I never met the guy. Tell me about ‘im.
Bandleader: You’re not kiddin’ me now?
(segues into song)
You never met the… mountain man?
Oh no, you never met the… mountain man?
He’ll say he likes it quiet,
And that outdoor life’s a riot.
I’m talkin’ ’bout that mountain man!
You never met the mountain man?
That funny, funny, funny mountain man!
Digs traps for playin’ tricks,
Pokes you in with pointy sticks,
I see you know the mountain man!
I’m well acquainted with the mountain man.
Yeah, Jim, I know the mountain man.
So if you see me in the forest,
Livin’ simply, like the poorest,
You know I just left that mountain man.
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