Post Content

Mother Goose and Grimm, 5/21/26

OK, I guess I respect the Mother Goose and Grimm entries where the strip remembers that part of its remit is doing riffs on fairytales, and I guess I count the public domain monsters that Universal Studios has been intermittently trying to turn into a “Dark Universe” franchise for more than a decade as being in the same ballpark as fairytale characters, but nothing about this works. Like having Dracula (I mean that could be any vampire, I guess, but you get it) ask this question makes sense superficially but honestly I feel like it raises more questions than it answers. Is he mad about this or is that just his face? Why are they hanging out together in the first place? And his question is legitimate! And it doesn’t get a good answer! And is that just a regular human lady waitress, like does she work at a lunch counter specifically for monsters or does she just have blood on tap for the regulars? And why isn’t Frankenstein’s monster doing the “Me take cup blood!”-type diction? And why does Dracula say “why” when he clearly should be saying “vhy?”

Crankshaft, 5/21/26

Sorry I got so worked up there, but since I’m already worked up, I might as well break my silence on the fact that Crankshaft has descended into endless interviews with transparent authorial self-insert character “Batton Thomas.” Normally I’d let this indulgence slide without comment but now they’re showing “Batton’s” characters from his “Three O’Clock High” strip like Harry Dinkle, who has already migrated to the current iteration of Crankshaft! We’re in danger of tearing through the walls of the Funkyverse, and I think the time-travelling janitor who arranged for Summer Moore to save humanity needs to pop through a portal here and execute everyone involved Terminator-style before it’s too late.

The Phantom, 5/21/26

Hey, remember Chatu, the infamous Python, the Phantom’s other big antagonist, the one who isn’t Eric Sahara, the infamous Nomad? Well, Chatu has just been kind of chilling in this cage since 2009 or so but, like the Nomad, it seems like he’s about to re-enter the story. Maybe we’ll get a Nomad/Python teamup that will be strong enough to defeat the Phantom once and for all! Or maybe they’ll just realize that the Ghost Who Walks takes up way too much of their mental energy and they’ll simply go do some low-level crimes that won’t attract his attention and leave him be.

Curtis, 5/21/26

A thing that I really love about Curtis is that it’s a strip that’s not afraid to get a little weird with it. The kids gave their teacher a cake for the last day of school, but whoops, the box is full of rats! Lots and lots of rats! What an amusingly odd scenario.

Post Content

Gil Thorp, 5/20/26

Somehow, this extremely long golf match that has pitted Gil and his ex Mimi against one another in a battle of golfing coaching acumen is still happening, but I have to say I really enjoy the sequence today. In panel one, Mimi and Anthony McKee flash thumbs-ups at each other: “Remember, you’re not going to fuck up this time, right?” “Right!” Panel two: Anthony fucks up. Panel three: “Whoopsie! Sorry I fucked up!” Only Gil can get away with this coaching technique, Mimi.

Pluggers, 5/20/26

I was going to do a “Ha ha, it’s funny…” bit here, but you know what? It’s not funny at all! Due to old age and ill health, pluggers’ mobility is in decline, and they haven’t taken measures that will allow them to live safely in their own home. Don’t be like pluggers! Stay in shape as long as you can, and be aware of your limitations before it’s too late!

Mary Worth, 5/20/26

“Anyway, thank God she’s in a normal, healthy relationship now with me, a guy who can’t distinguish between ‘my girlfriend is in another city’ and ‘my girlfriend dumped me!’”

Post Content

Andy Capp, 5/19/26

Today’s Andy Capp serves two different and distinct audiences: (1) Brits opposed to socialized medicine who will shove it in the face of the average taxpayer and say “Do you want your National Insurance contributions wasted keeping this lout alive?”, and (2) perverts who have been waiting since this strip’s debut in 1957 to see Andy with his shirt off.

Rex Morgan, M.D., 5/19/26

Mud has always had a vague air of menace since he first showed up in this strip, and while it’s waxed and waned, many of us have been wondering “Is this guy ever gonna beat the shit out of someone or what?” We may at last get an answer!

Crock, 5/19/26

You ever get curious about what the Crock guys in the isolated guard tower do with themselves all day? It’s pills! The answer is that they’re doin’ pills!