The Comics Curmudgeon

The hills have eyes, and lolling tongues

$ · November 5, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 11/5/25 Oh, wow, it turns out that this Rex Morgan, M.D., plot is going to involve -- brace yourself -- interpersonal conflict???...

Whose luggage is that and why did they bring it on their date

$ · November 4, 2025

Mary Worth, 11/4/25 Sorry to be a "liberal coastal elitist" who "has a basic understanding of how academia works," but a "teachers conference” isn't really a...

Toby has journeyed far from Charterstone, so nobody can see her shameful between-meals nosh

$ · November 3, 2025

Alice, 11/3/25 Today's Alice will I think be particularly inscrutable to non-Alice regulars, but in my late blog era I have myself become an Alice regular...

Bad romances

$ · November 2, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 11/2/25 So the big news that Augie delivered over pad thai is that not one but two publishers are interested in his manuscript and are...

Just getting her husband's feeble mind palace revved up then going back to her sudoku

$ · November 1, 2025

Blondie, 11/1/25 The thing about Dagwood is that he's a dullard. He's not stupid, though he's also clearly not a genius, but mostly he just lacks any kind of...

Metapost: COMMENTS ... OF THE *FREAK!*

$ · October 31, 2025

Look, guys. I really did plan to do a bunch of Cryptkeeper-style creepy puns for this post, but it's actually been a long and stressful week for me, and it's...

Mostly spooky one-panels

$ · October 31, 2025

Pluggers, 10/31/25 Sorry, I don't think you should be exclaiming "What have you done?" to a guy in a toga unless he just banded together with other patriots...

Melancholy Thursday

$ · October 30, 2025

Shoe, 10/30/25 I love how genuinely sad the Perfesser looks in the second panel. He's there by himself because he had planned to treat himself to something...

I declare victory in my long war against "Crock"

$ · October 29, 2025

Herb and Jamaal, 10/29/25 One of my personal crosses to bear is that I cannot just go along with it when comics deliberately, and for "humorous" effect,...

"The Bum Boat never disappoints" is a phrase that will haunt my nightmares

$ · October 28, 2025

Mary Worth, 10/28/25 Wow, did you know that Dr. Jeff doesn't even like seafood? Did you know he's just been choking it down every other week for years, just...

Quotable Monday

$ · October 27, 2025

Crankshaft, 10/27/25 "I mean, I get it! We're all thinking it. We're all thinking about the guy who dresses up in pizza boxes and how he's mortal, and how...

I can't imagine Ed Crankshaft watching a movie made in the last ten years. Seems very wrong

$ · October 26, 2025

Crankshaft, 10/26/25 Mr. Crankshaft, I know Dagwood Bumstead. Dagwood Bumstead is a friend of mine. He puts together comically large foodstuffs that no...

Forgetful Saturday

$ · October 25, 2025

Pluggers, 10/25/25 Pluggers are exhibiting signs of senile dementia, and it's beginning to have a negative impact on their day-to-day life. Look at this guy,...

Metapost: Your comments are here. Are you ready for them?

$ · October 24, 2025

Many comments were posted on joshreads dot com, the Comics Curmudgeon, this week. Of the ones I saw, this was my favorite: "These are hate handles, so I'd...

Friday is for failure and indignity

$ · October 24, 2025

The Lockhorns, 10/24/25 Loretta has, presumably, been jogging for some time with her friend acquaintance who we are definitely never going to see again, and...

Soapy Thursday

$ · October 23, 2025

Judge Parker, 10/22/25 I don't know if I've actually spelled out the current Judge Parker situation, but it goes like this: April vanished after her...

Wednesday quickies

$ · October 22, 2025

Mary Worth, 10/22/25 "Sure, she can predict the future and bend animals to her will, but not in a big showy way that would attract attention! Sort of like...

Hi still looks super depressed, at least

$ · October 21, 2025

Andy Capp, 10/21/25 I, a guy who has run a blog about comic strips for the better part of two decades now, am, as you might imagine, a huge nerd....

One-panel Monday (ok that Family Circus is kind of two half panels, fine)

$ · October 20, 2025

Mother Goose and Grimm, 10/20/25 Look, I know what I'm about to say is gonna make me sound like a humorless nitpicker, but I promise that I do in fact know...

The past, the future, etc.

$ · October 19, 2025

Beetle Bailey, 10/19/25 When Yuri Gagarin made the first human spaceflight, there were concerns that the experimental capsule he rode into space in would...

You're five times more likely to encounter a bone-in ham in the comics than you are in real life

$ · October 18, 2025

Blondie, 10/18/25 God, I love how genuinely sad Dagwood looks in panel two. Sure, he loves his wife more than anything, but he also made some big promises...

Metapost: Your COTW is hot 'n' ready for you

$ · October 17, 2025

Mmm, it's a delicious comment of the week! "Boy, did I score today, Mary! This extra sandwich was going to be Stanley's until they hauled him away for...

There's big profits to be had in zappin'

$ · October 17, 2025

Dick Tracy, 10/17/25 So Dick Tracy wrapped up the case of the lady scientist with the glowing green zap gun by merely arresting her, not shooting her in the...

Thursday fast takes

$ · October 16, 2025

Marvin, 10/16/25 Lately, when I bring up Marvin as an example of a strip that loves talking about peeing and pooping, some people in the comments will try to...

I think I have the genders of these things pegged correctly, but who knows, really

$ · October 15, 2025

Six Chix, 10/15/25 I genuinely love the open, slightly quizzical expression on the face of the bucket in this panel. He's just a simple bucket! He doesn't...

"Dogs are great ... receivers of my thoughts" is a little unnerving, not gonna lie

$ · October 14, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 10/14/25 Back in the days when Woody Wilson was writing Judge Parker and Rex Morgan, M.D., one of the running bits was that the characters...

Uncanny Monday

$ · October 13, 2025

Mary Worth, 10/13/25 OK, sorry, Mary, I know you don't want to think too hard about the strange logic of Olive's powers and the implications for free will...

10/12, uh, blaze it? Do I have that right?

$ · October 12, 2025

Panel from Slylock Fox, 10/12/25 Look, by anthropomorphic animal logic, it's fine to have an anthropomorphic animal wearing a shirt but no pants or...

Absolutely not necessary to use Muffy's name in dialogue BTW. Adds nothing

$ · October 11, 2025

Shoe, 10/11/25 OK, the fact that this person she dated is named "Lance" pushes this over the edge and makes me genuinely wonder if he's supposed to be an...

Metapost: KAPOW! It's the COTW

$ · October 10, 2025

Wham, bam, thank you faithful commenters for your service! Here's this week's comment of the week: "Saul is over in panel one, pursuing his passion:...

They teach you the tip o' the helmet in firefighter school

$ · October 10, 2025

Mary Worth, 10/10/25 Mary's looking pretty frazzled in panel two, and who can blame her, what with her having just been in a freak balloon accident and then...

Elder Thursday

$ · October 9, 2025

Crankshaft, 10/9/25 Look, characters in comic strips are, ultimately, not real people, and while you can chuckle at their antics, you ultimately shouldn't...

Remember that comic that used to be about Christian cavemen? Well, I've got some interesting news

$ · October 8, 2025

B.C., 10/8/25 I find it funny that [pause to once again consult the character list in the "B.C. (comic strip)" Wikipedia article because I can't remember...

It's the greatly attractive pumpkin, Charlie Brown

$ · October 7, 2025

Mary Worth, 10/7/25 This polite jockeying about who should climb down from the balloon first is getting to "a farmer needs to get a chicken, a fox, and a bag...

Monday is gross and confusing

$ · October 6, 2025

Alice, 10/6/25 We all know of course about the various beloved characters in Alice, the normal comic strip we all read every day and fully understand: Alice,...

Even passive enjoyment leaves pluggers exhausted

$ · October 5, 2025

Dick Tracy, 10/5/25 Longtime readers of this blog know that I have a lot of favorite etymological facts. One of those favorites is that the word...

Balloons? These guys know how to party

$ · October 4, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 10/4/25 Oh, man, Rex and June thought they were going to have an early night of it, but now it looks like they'll be up late spinning an...

Metapost: C to the O to the T to the W

$ · October 3, 2025

My name's the Comics Curmudgeon and I'm here to say/ It's COTW time in a major way! "Ah yes, the old story of the charismatic front man* being tempted to...

Friday is for drugs

$ · October 3, 2025

Wizard of Id, 10/3/25 It absolutely makes sense that people hear "New York" and think of New York City -- the city is a world cultural capital, is the...

We haven't even heard "Muddy Boots" yet, come on guys

$ · October 2, 2025

Gearhead Gertie, 10/2/25 I was actually visiting a friend in Durham on the day Dale Earnhardt died, a date that I will always think of as "North Carolina's...

More comics should be drawn from a ground-level POV

$ · October 1, 2025

Dennis the Menace, 10/1/25 I was thinking the other day about how Dagwood Bumstead and Hi Flagston have extremely generic jobs. Technically Dagwood is an...

Is there a less plugger sport than tennis? Cricket, maybe

$ · September 30, 2025

Hagar the Horrible, 9/30/25 Hagar is the protagonist of this strip, so we usually see things from his perspective, and I have to admit I never really tried...

Can't I enjoy my glass of wine and [squints] potato undisturbed

$ · September 29, 2025

Crock, 9/29/25 The point of this joke is of course that it's annoying when a telemarketer (perhaps one offering you a "banking credit card") interrupts you...

Sunday is for old people

$ · September 28, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 9/28/25 Well, I guess Truck's not-son Cody did in fact come out ahead of beloved (?) tween neo-vaudeville novelty act "Shorty and the...

Generation gaps

$ · September 27, 2025

Judge Parker, 9/27/25 Look, we're all young and hip here [laughs nervously], but the truth is that the soap opera strips are a very traditional medium and...

Metapost: Fallin' for the COTW

$ · September 26, 2025

We're officially in autumn now, folks, so take a big swig of that pumpkin spice latte [note to intern: find more up-to-date seasonal joke here, maybe find...

Unpleasant Friday

$ · September 26, 2025

Beetle Bailey, 9/26/25 Perverts turned on by crudely drawn cartoons everywhere were devastated this week when Beetle Bailey skipped its usual "Miss Buxley...

I guess technically speaking they still have to get out of the tree first

$ · September 25, 2025

Mary Worth, 9/25/25 Wow, back in the day, you could write a long, crazy yarn about an unlikely trio hot-air-balloon-crashing into the remote woods, where...

"Dropping" is a much nicer way to put it than "crashing," let's go with that

$ · September 24, 2025

Crock, 9/24/25 In my freshman year of college, there was an outbreak of E. coli at various Jack in the Boxes that killed four children, and a friend of mine...

"Pluggers" has fallen

$ · September 23, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 9/23/25 Last we saw of Truck and Cody, they had agreed to treat each other as honorary father and son and it was all very heartwarming. But...