Comic Strips

Meanwhile, In the Funny Pages…

Delayed Gratification

I sent my RSVP to the Thorp/Healy wedding and showed up on time. Here it is a week later and the couple has yet to say their vows. Yeah, I understand it is still the same day in comic strip time, but maybe Henry Barajas should have put July 20 or whenever they finally say “I do” on the invite. When the history books show the actual wedding it won’t be dated July 13.

The Phantom by Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel – July 19, 2026

So Kit Walker has learned the fate of his father’s killer. But if the satisfaction for me is diminished by the future Phantom not serving his own brand of justice and just stumbling upon the body, how is Kit’s vengance served? Where is the gratification?

I have yet to settle on whether Edison and friends trip to 1872 England will be about smog or going around the world in 80 days (or maybe some Dickensian story). Maybe neither? I will say that for someone who hates the time-travelling in Ally Oop I am enjoying this adventure.

There has been among the B.C. literati some debate as to whether B.C. is prehistoric of post-apocalyptic. So is Thor above a prophet or a historian?

Words and Pictures

Tuesday’s Prickly City was so wordy there was no room to comfortably fit in Marshall Ramsey‘s signature. Which brought to mind the dramatic difference between the Brevity and Pardon My Planet panels.

Meanwhile Friday’s Thatababy conversation about Comics I Don’t Understand brought to mind Tuesday’s Nancy. My personal CIDU for the week.

More Than Three Wise Men

I don’t know if The Great Wise Ram first appeared this week in The Barn (I doubt it) but it brought to mind other comic strip sages. The Great Guru in B.C., The Tree That Knows Stuff in Over the Hedge, and The Wise Ass on the Hill in Pearls Before Swine.

Those immediately popped up in my memory banks and then … nothing. There must be more. Aren’t there?

Another quiz:

Among the stuffed toys I recognize is Angus from Daddy Daze in the toy box, Sophie from Dog Eat Doug bottom center right, Popeye from Thimble Theatre directly above Sophie, and to the right of Ava (her left) is Krazy Kat from, well, Krazy Kat, or maybe Eightball from Rabbits Against Magic. The doll at Ava’s feet seems familiar but I can’t place her.

In Sync

Pickles follows Phoebe in my GoComics feed and both are comparing apples and oranges today.

Meanwhile…

Day by Dave has a hidden meaning which leads to Gasoline Alley‘s discussion of double entendres and censorship which leads to the self-censorship seen in Strange Brew.

Speaking of Gasoline Alley, that is where the feature image originated.

Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli – August 17, 1997 (h/t James Gauthier)

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Comments 10

  1. Re: Beware of Toddler

    I think the Mother Cat from “Litterbox Comics” is also in the toybox.

  2. I think cats are considered smarter than dogs because they don’t give a damn. If they’re so smart, why aren’t they more popular? Aloofness, random aggression and condescension aren’t endearing. The cuteness factor seems to be running about even, though.

    1. I think it might boil down to the fact that dogs can “smile,” while cats’ means of communicating their happiness is less facially obvious, as their mouths’ expressions are incapable of anthropomorphism. Me, I like them equally.

  3. In B.C., Thor has clearly become a historian. If he were still Hart’s prophet, he would have included at least one piece of fundamentalist Christian imagery among those other drawings.

  4. A recent CIDU post featured a fascinating catalog of Nancy‘s facial expressions. Unfortunately, it only shows the second page of what was probably a three-page reference, but it is still quite interesting.

    1. I would love to see all three pages of the Nancy faces, if anyone knows where to find it.

  5. Another comic strip know-it-all (in the annoying windbag category) would be Phantom’s Old Man Mozz.

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