The Comics Curmudgeon

Love is ... somewhere. Not in the air necessarily

$ · February 14, 2025

Mary Worth, 2/14/25 Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! Mary Worth would like to take a break from Dawn's romantic crisis to show you what real love looks...

Kudos to Jamaal for following aviculture best practices

$ · February 13, 2025

Archie, 2/13/25 Of course, you've seen a bunch of comics and cartoons and know that spiciness represented by literal flames and smoke emerging from a...

One-panels and more

$ · February 12, 2025

The Lockhorns, 2/12/25 Inexpensive compared to what, Leroy? Eating at a "nice" restaurant? It still is! Eating at home? It never was! No, you've just decided...

Tuesday catchups

$ · February 11, 2025

Mark Trail, 2/11/25 Oh, sorry I didn't update you on the "Mark helps return a displaced manatee to the sea" storyline, or even [checks archives] tell you...

Blasts from the past

$ · February 10, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 2/10/25 Even as I age, I stick to one of my core values, which is that nostalgia is, ultimately, a poison, a way to project your discontent...

Tragic Sunday

$ · February 9, 2025

Mary Worth, 2/9/25 I have not really been talking about this Mary Worth plotline much, because it turns out that seeing a big beefy asshole act in a way...

Indignant Saturday

$ · February 8, 2025

Blondie, 2/8/25 Man, what's your least favorite part of this deeply unpleasant Dagwood dream sequence? A lot of people are going to say "the glasses on the...

Metapost: Who likes comments? You! You like them! (Hopefully)

$ · February 7, 2025

Today is the day when I pick the top comment of the week and honor it publicly, and I got your comment of the week ... right here, buddy. "I'd be pondering...

Gloomy scenarios

$ · February 7, 2025

Beetle Bailey, 2/7/25 Unfortunately, Beetle's little prank happened to fall on the morning when the coalition of America's enemies finally launched their...

Fishy business

$ · February 5, 2025

Hagar the Horrible, 2/6/25 I think the joke here is supposed to be "Lucky Eddie, who is notoriously soft and weak, is a cat guy," and as a cat guy I'm not...

One-panel quickies

$ · February 5, 2025

Hagar the Horrible, 2/5/25 Hagar is of course no friend of kings, so obviously this strip, where he appears to be halpertfacing to the reader while hanging...

"Dustin" is in the middle of what seems to be a week-long haircut plot, God help us all

$ · February 4, 2025

Blondie, 2/4/25 Today is in fact "Thank A Mail Carrier Day," or at least it is according to National Day Calendar Dot Com, and I'm sure that's good enough...

Some gross stuff today, not gonna lie

$ · February 3, 2025

Crock, 2/3/25 Look, man: if you're going to do a comic about a restaurant where they serve flies instead of fries, I think you can get away with just having...

Barry rightfully refuses to risk his good rep as an editor and participant in the African diaspora wikiproject

$ · February 2, 2025

The Phantom, 2/2/25 A fun thing about The Phantom (the comic strip) is that it's one of the oldest superhero franchises, and the Phantom (the character)...

Sorry, nothing that goes on in the Bumstead home constitutes a "healthy lifestyle"

$ · February 1, 2025

Blondie, 2/1/25 You know, this strip originally became a cultural sensation when it was about a dissolute failson who wooed and married a flapper and got...

Metapost: Last comment of the week of the month

$ · January 31, 2025

Let's send January off with a bang in the form of this week's top comment! "Hi is in sales? He is the dourest sales guy ever. He's the opposite of Alec...

Terrible children (and old people to be fair)

$ · January 31, 2025

Pluggers, 1/31/25 I actually sleep with a second pillow -- not because it prevents me from falling out of bed, how would that even work, honestly it makes no...

Unpleasant heterosexuality comix

$ · January 30, 2025

Pardon My Planet, 1/30/25 There's a joke at the core of this panel that is, if not good per se, at least perfectly serviceable -- ha ha, her husband is a...

Grim Wednesday

$ · January 29, 2025

Between Friends, 1/29/25 Really kind of depressing that in every panel where we see the Blonde Between Friends Friend's face here, her facial expression is...

Simply refuse to believe that Hi Flagston has a satisfying social life. It doesn't add up

$ · January 28, 2025

Sam and Silo, 1/28/25 You know what would be awkward? If you were a corrupt city official taking kickbacks from a local sporting goods supplier, and one of...

Crime and punishment comix

$ · January 27, 2025

Slylock Fox, 1/27/25 Now, on the surface, this one is a puzzle. I'm not talking about the actual puzzle in the strip, but the bigger picture: why would this...

Based on how they look and their and sexual chemistry, it should be Luke/Leia honestly

$ · January 26, 2025

Pluggers, 1/26/25 It's interesting that the caption tells us that "pluggers know when they are ready for an upgrade" when the older dog-man very clearly does...

Cancelled riff Saturday

$ · January 25, 2025

Shoe, 1/25/25 I was going to go on a riff here about the circumstances under which a lawyer might have to quickly shift from shoes-off relaxation to...

Metapost: Friday = COTW day

$ · January 24, 2025

Greetings, fellow humans. It is Friday, which means it's the day I share with you my favorite comment of the week from this weblog: "You are among at least...

Plato's cave comics

$ · January 24, 2025

Tina's Groove, 1/24/25 A thing about being a monarch is that nobody can stop you from doing all sorts of awful sicko stuff, and usually this takes the form...

This is a sport that got its start in bootlegging, and look what it's become

$ · January 23, 2025

Gearhead Gertie, 1/23/25 Today's Gearhead Gertie is actually a pretty great commentary about how modern fandoms of all stripes have slowly transformed from...

That head's way too big, honestly very unsettling

$ · January 22, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 1/22/25 So with Kelly out of the house, Summer has been whining about being bored and lonely to everyone she knows, and by "everyone she...

Gloomy Tuesday

$ · January 21, 2025

Marvin, 1/21/25 I really have to respect Marvin for playing the long game and getting me to publicly praise it for turning away from shit and piss jokes and...

This guy's favorite fast food chain is "Clown Burger," c'mon

$ · January 20, 2025

Blondie, 1/20/25 The joke here really ought to be that we all know that there are plenty of cereal varieties with marshmallows out there sold in boxes with...

Bad news from bad dudes

$ · January 19, 2025

Mary Worth, 1/19/25 "Josh," you're probably wondering, "how can this storyline about Dawn's relationship with her new emotionally volatile bully of a...

Animal spirits

$ · January 18, 2025

Shoe, 1/18/25 It's true: closed captions aren't just for the hearing impaired. They also help viewers in a variety of contexts where speech may be difficult...

Metapost: You're commenting, I'm listening

$ · January 17, 2025

Ready for your comment of the week? Ready? Ready???? Here it is! "As an Xer, I find Joey's Thom Browne-inspired skinny jeans and exposed ankles look...

It's a weird chin, man. Not right for the head. Not right at all

$ · January 17, 2025

Family Circus, 1/17/25 OK, I know comics are, by their nature, cartoonish, and there isn't always that much variety between faces so other characteristics...

Polysemy ... Sarge's greatest weakness

$ · January 16, 2025

Beetle Bailey, 1/16/25 I actually am curious about the chain of thought that determined which secondary Beetle Bailey character got the punchline said at him...

Out of the past

$ · January 15, 2025

Marvin, 1/15/25 The thing about writing a blog post a day, every day, forever, is that you can definitely find yourself caught in some ruts, which makes me...

Should've prescribed this jerk a "chill pill" years ago in my opinion

$ · January 14, 2025

Dennis the Menace, 1/14/25 Now, look, today I'm not really interested in litigating whether this is wildly non-menacing ("Aww, I need to show all the parts...

Soapy Monday

$ · January 13, 2025

Judge Parker, 1/13/25 A comics tic meant to telegraph character emotional state that I always find a little odd is when they rub the back of their neck in...

She needs to "duck" more so she doesn't hit her head on things

$ · January 12, 2025

Mary Worth, 1/12/25 This Mary Worth storyline is sadly all too realistic in its depiction of emotional abuse and manipulation. But it's extremely unrealistic...

The clam screams endlessly, it did not consent to becoming a weapon

$ · January 11, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 1/11/25 Oh, I'm sorry, did you find the recent week's worth of Rex Morgan, M.D., Characters Talking On The Phone boring? Well, did it ever...

Metapost: Smoldering, patreonizing comments of the week and change

$ · January 10, 2025

Hello all! I have this week's comment of the week for you, but before that ... a couple of notes. A few of you inquired about my safety in the current LA...

Is Dennis wearing Santa pants? Not comfortable with that either

$ · January 10, 2025

Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 1/10/25 Ha ha, can you imagine? The Smif and Barlow families would be lined up opposite each other, and Steve Harvey would...

I also refuse to "get out" or "live it up" under any circumstances

$ · January 9, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 1/9/25 I regret to inform you that we are almost to the end of the week one of "Kelly is in college, now" and it appears we never did make...

Being able to distinguish objects and surfaces from their surrounding space? Real nerd stuff

$ · January 8, 2025

Dustin, 1/8/25 I think I speak for insufferable pedants everywhere when I say that I immediately clocked this as not being an actual line from Confucius --...

Soapy Tuesday

$ · January 7, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 1/7/25 Look, I get it, soap opera strips are a slow-moving medium, you can't count on people reading every day so you have to repeat stuff,...

The comic strip "Marvin" has also outlived many of its rivals, sadly

$ · January 6, 2025

Judge Parker, 1/6/25 Detective Yelich has been Sam's inside man on the police force since the Great Judge Meth Caper of '23, which, you may recall, included...

You're not drunk until you're TV golf drunk

$ · January 5, 2025

Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 1/5/25 Lord knows I've spent enough time contemplating the economy and politics of Hootin' Holler, so I might as well take...

I'm not sorry if it offends, actually, never apologize for pedantry

$ · January 4, 2025

Blondie, 1/4/25 Yes, I still read the newspaper comics strip Blondie every day, and I actually learn things from it! For instance, Herb saying "mega-...

They don't use cell phones because coverage is so bad, because of the hills

$ · January 3, 2025

No comment of this truncated week, folks -- we'll let pugfuggly have the place of pride till next Friday! Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 1/3/25 OK, Barney...

RETURN TO COMICS BLOGGING IN THE FAR-OFF FUTURE YEAR 2025: MOSTLY MARY WORTH EDITION

$ · January 2, 2025

Hello, faithful readers! Did you have a good Christmahanukkwanzaa? Are you ready for a return to comics blogging form, here on your favorite website,...

Metapost: Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good truncated COTW

$ · December 24, 2024

Folks! It is once again time for me to take my long winter's nap, by which I mean a week or so off from posting on the site so that you can take a break from...