The Comics Curmudgeon

At sea

$ · December 20, 2022

Blondie, 12/20/22 I'm reasonably sure that we've never seen Dagwood and his "fishing buddy" Herb ever actually go fishing? Maybe there was talk of fishing...

Love Iris's jacket, I think it's inspired by the 1980s Star Trek movie uniforms

$ · December 19, 2022

Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 12/19/22 We’ve all wondered about the circumstances of the elaborate gift-giving sequence in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,”...

Women do be shopping (for necessities, and also luxuries)

$ · December 18, 2022

Marvin, 12/18/22 OK, today’s Marvin is dumb and bad and revolves around a terrible “women be shopping!!!!” premise, but I still found it very funny, mostly...

Santa Claus: Enter the Santa-verse

$ · December 17, 2022

Blondie, 12/17/22 I spent a probably embarrassing amount of time staring at this thinking “Which of the third-tier Blondie characters is this dressed up as...

Metapost: Wintry COTW

$ · December 16, 2022

As the snow comes down and that icy wind begins to blow (on you, not me; I live in Southern California), please warm yourself with laughter at this comment...

Cantankerous Friday

$ · December 16, 2022

Crankshaft, 12/16/22 Hey, did you know that "deja vu" means "seen again," and that "vu" is the past participle of the verb "voir," which means "to see," and...

You're living life right if you're WALKING AROUND with pants but not WEARING pants

$ · December 15, 2022

Dustin, 12/15/22 I always criticize the comic strip Dustin for its failure to depict its young-person characters in realistic ways, so I have to give credit...

Grumpy Wednesday

$ · December 14, 2022

Crankshaft, 12/14/22 I love the idea of this TV station boss threatening to make his staff pick up dog shit if they annoy him. There are just lots of levels...

[Sadly, drunkenly] goooooooaaaalllll

$ · December 13, 2022

Curtis, 12/13/22 Part of the whole comedic engine that makes Curtis work is that Greg Wilkins is kind of a square. Still, I hadn’t guessed just how much he...

A deady game of peek-a-book

$ · December 12, 2022

Mary Worth, 12/12/22 Good morning and happy Monday, everybody! Definitely what we all wanted after putting a relaxing weekend behind us to log in and see...

Max will never be swole

$ · December 11, 2022

Panel from Slylock Fox, 12/11/22 There's a lot going on in this panel -- Max trying and failing to pump iron; how peevish the alligator gym attendent is...

Fathers and sons

$ · December 10, 2022

Zits, 12/10/22 The thing about dad jokes is that they are corny but actually perfectly constructed. Think about the classic "I'm hungry!" "Hi, hungry, I'm...

Metapost: Crack o' down COTW

$ · December 9, 2022

Let's get right into the day ... and right into the comment of the week: "As a scholar of game theory and social choice, Elmo knows that any binary selection...

Ah, that Hooper ... always ... giving the signal and such ... classic Hooper

$ · December 9, 2022

Shoe, 12/9/22 I suppose it’s possible that immediately before the action we see here in the strip, Loon was pridefully boasting of his achievements or good...

I assume that drug gangs put a lot of energy into being cool

$ · December 8, 2022

Judge Parker, 12/8/22 When I was a teen, there was a syndicated War of the Worlds show that was a sequel to the 1950s movie version, but set in the present-...

Josh contains multitudes

$ · December 7, 2022

Dustin, 12/7/22 If you had asked me before today, I would have said with some conviction that Blondie and Dustin both fell into the category of “comics I...

The terrorists know Westview must be destroyed

$ · December 6, 2022

Funky Winkerbean, 12/06/22 It probably shouldn't surprise you to learn I have been a daily comics reader for more or less my entire life. But until I really...

The sad ballad of Marty Moon

$ · December 5, 2022

Blondie, 12/5/22 Look, I've grudgingly accepted that Elmo, a child to whom the Bumstead family is not related but who nevertheless just kind of hangs out at...

Dude's named "Greymuzzle" and isn't even a furry, hmm

$ · December 4, 2022

Dick Tracy, 12/4/22 Look, here's a tough message to all you "social justice warriors" out there: if you would simply allow police to do their jobs by...

Ah, the Thai restaurant of DRAMA

$ · December 3, 2022

Hagar the Horrible, 12/3/22 Lucky Eddie is indignant: His position as the ship’s cook is integral to his identity, and is probably a result of his hereditary...

Metapost: December-iffic COTW

$ · December 2, 2022

Is it chilly in here? Or are we all just shivering with laughter at this week’s top comment? "I'm not clear on the rules for business meal deductions, but...

Summer should either be a lot more horrified or a lot more excited in my opinion

$ · December 2, 2022

Mary Worth, 12/2/22 Now, I'm just a simple country blogger, not a fancy math wizard, but if I'm counting right, Nan is around 12ish years older than Zak,...

How is Dagwood even going to get home from this dinner? His carpool left hours ago

$ · December 1, 2022

Blondie, 12/1/22 I have to admit I find it interesting how Dagwood and Mr. Dithers silo off different types of interactions in their relationship. At the...

Mary Worth is also invited to the wedding, so it's gonna get real Oedipal up in there

$ · November 30, 2022

Curtis, 11/30/22 Curtis may have been a little late in celebrating Charles Schulz's 100th birthday, but it's making up for lost time with a whole week of...

Zero, dark and gritty

$ · November 29, 2022

Beetle Bailey, 11/29/22 Beetle Bailey has recently established that, in addition to being extremely stupid, Zero is also an extremely accurate rifleman. But...

A panoply of unpleasantness

$ · November 28, 2022

Rex Morgan, M.D., 11/28/22 Oh my God, this Rex Morgan, M.D., plot really is going to be “Mud Mountain Murphy only pretended to have a catastrophic digestive...

Here comes the groom ... and his secrets

$ · November 27, 2022

Mary Worth, 11/27/22 Ah, this is the point in the Mary Worth storyline where all the characters have been chirpily telling each other how great everything is...

Sparktacular Saturday

$ · November 26, 2022

Folks, today is what would've been Peanuts creator Charles Schulz's 100th birthday! I feel pretty strongly that he was the best who ever did it in the...

Metapost: Post-prandial COTW

$ · November 25, 2022

As you digest your turkey, please enjoy this comment of the week: "'I didn't think you needed a prescription to get ibuprofen.' 'Look, who's the fake doctor...

Look, people NEED TO KNOW about this local mattress store, OK

$ · November 25, 2022

Gil Thorp, 11/25/22 Gil has dug some old game tape out of a box to give us the supervillain origin story of his hated coaching rival, and the truly shocking...

Ungrateful Thursday

$ · November 24, 2022

Six Chix, 11/24/22 If I know my commentors, if I did a post that was just like “what the fuck is this comic about,” a critical mass of you would say “Josh,...

Funkternals

$ · November 23, 2022

Funky Winkerbean, 11/23/22 Oh my God, Mr. Davidson the janitor is some kind of near-immortal being, charged with subtly guiding the world under his care,...

Tuesday quick-ish-ies

$ · November 22, 2022

Family Circus, 11/22/22 Back in 1996, Ma Keane got a kicky new hairstyle and it was such a big deal that it was the subject of feature stories in major...

Monday is for mildly injured children

$ · November 21, 2022

Gil Thorp, 11/21/22 Uh oh, it looks like the fall Gil Thorp storyline is tacking another important teen trend: the scourge of Advil addiction. Today's kids...

Rex was listening to some "music" of his own, if you follow me

$ · November 20, 2022

Dustin, 11/20/22 Look, I’d be lying if I claimed that I haven’t myself stared at the various cutesy branded pants size designation at the Gap with a certain...

Mostly Funkyverse Saturday

$ · November 19, 2022

Funky Winkerbean, 11/19/22 Hey folks, remember beloved but unheralded elder comic book artist Ruby Lith, introduced back in 2019? Remember when she finally...

Metapost: [to the tune of "Candle In The Wind"] and it seems to me / you lived your life / like a Funky Winkerbean (plus COTW)

$ · November 18, 2022

FOLKS … nothing gold can stay, because everything gold will eventually develop cancer, or CTE, or a hearing disability, and that’s why Funky Winkerbean at...

They can't all be highbrow, folks

$ · November 18, 2022

Gasoline Alley, 11/18/22 Big Good Some news, everybody: Rufus has managed to use his sexual wiles to help Walt make his big dream of hanging off the back of...

Good thing Neo-Chicago made medical malpractice lawsuits illegal

$ · November 17, 2022

Dick Tracy, 11/17/22 Look, I know, we're never getting back to the glory days of "guy in gimp suit gets eaten alive by rats," but you have to admit that...

Classic cousin Kyle and/or classic the government, amiright

$ · November 16, 2022

Gil Thorp, 11/16/22 It's been a while since I've kept you up to date on the various plot threads in Gil Thorp, a strip that appears to be on a breakneck pace...

Nothing to lose but etc.

$ · November 15, 2022

Blondie, 11/15/22 I love this comic, which is quite clearly the product of a person who has never encountered protests or union organizing (here collapsed...

That bear loves to lick things, folks [wink]

$ · November 14, 2022

Mary Worth, 11/14/22 I have to say that I’m proud of our girl Iris here: the fact that she was almost dragged to her death by the weight of her hunky...

You don't expect Tommy to shop for his own "items," do you? He's only 28

$ · November 13, 2022

Beetle Bailey, 11/13/22 This is an actually pretty good Beetle Bailey, in my opinion. It uses the longer Sunday format to interesting effect: taking what...

Ghost, zombie, whatever, you get the point

$ · November 12, 2022

Beetle Bailey, 11/12/22 Holy shit! It's Keith Haring, back from the dead and painting a mural on the outside of the Halftracks' house! I'm not sure what the...

Metapost: Armistice COTW

$ · November 11, 2022

Oh look, it’s your comment of the week! Right here! "Deep in the Algerian desert, the countdown for Gerboise Bleue nears zéro. The range safety officer peers...

Josh gets dark

$ · November 11, 2022

Mary Worth, 11/11/22 “Nah, babe. Even the prospect of our tragic death can only shake us out of the boring ruts of our usual routine for a day or so. That’s...

Forbidden municipal romance

$ · November 10, 2022

Gasoline Alley, 11/10/22 Gasoline Alley is, I admit, one of those strips I read out of a sense of professional obligation rather than a true inborn...

I'm talkin' involuntary poopin', if that's not clear

$ · November 9, 2022

Rex Morgan, M.D., 11/9/22 Oh, sorry folks, I haven’t been keeping you up to date on the antics of “Mud Mountain Murphy!” Well, after doing some mild flirting...

Impressive that the tent stays that bold orange color in the relentless Saharan sun

$ · November 8, 2022

Crock, 11/8/22 As America’s #1 syndicated newspaper comic strip blogger, I probably have a better handle on the internal lore of many of the strips than...

All I want to do is travel across the country without looking at a poor person, is that too much to ask

$ · November 7, 2022

Dustin, 11/7/22 Oh, I'm sorry, did you think that the syndicated comic Dustin was done airing its petty grievances about air travel? Well, you thought wrong,...