The Comics Curmudgeon

Comedic (or not) timing

$ · March 2, 2025

Rex Morgan, M.D., 3/2/25 Oh, hey, sorry I haven't kept you up to date on the tale of Summer and Augie and the bad date that Summer ditched to hook up with...

Tales out of school

$ · March 1, 2025

Marvin, 3/1/25 When I was in graduate school, I was the TA for a class taught by an elderly British professor who was eccentric in ways that were variously...

Metapost: Non-leap COTW

$ · February 28, 2025

Sorry, folks: tomorrow just the first of three boring March 1sts that follow February 28ths; we have to wait until 2028 for more leap day glory. I know...

Friday is for avoiding suffering

$ · February 28, 2025

Pardon My Planet, 2/28/25 Not sure how we're meant to understand the scenario here: did this couple literally spend their last dime on this beach vacation,...

Teen faces

$ · February 27, 2025

Hi and Lois, 2/27/25 Now, like me, you probably read this strip and immediately recoiled in disgust at the implications: that Chip is in the living room...

Their cruel, vicious hoots echo through the arena

$ · February 26, 2025

Pluggers, 2/26/25 I've been reading and making fun of Pluggers for nearly 20 years now, and over that time I have against my will acquired a certain amount...

Tuesday is for eating problems

$ · February 25, 2025

Gil Thorp, 2/25/25 Keri Thorp has been struggling with an eating disorder, and apparently their therapist has recommended equine therapy. Did you know that...

I'm on Mary's side here, that stuff's nasty

$ · February 24, 2025

Luann, 2/24/25 It's been fun ("fun") revisiting Luann for the first time in years and figuring out what's changed (there are some new characters I guess) and...

Elder Sunday

February 23, 2025

Crankshaft, 2/23/25 Wait, why does John need Crazy Harry's help? By Spider-Man logic, if he had been bitten by a radioactive cleaning lady, shouldn't he have...

Baffled Saturday

$ · February 22, 2025

Mark Trail, 2/22/25 Cherry's family drama turned out to be even more dramatic than anticipated, and, as Mark makes clear in the final panel, it was no joking...

Metapost: The comments, they're a-callin'

$ · February 21, 2025

Enjoy the siren song of this week's comment ... of the week! "I've heard of shaggy dog stories, but this guy actually grew a beard in the course of listening...

[bravely] Andy Capp

$ · February 21, 2025

Andy Capp, 2/21/25 Among the strips I'm starting to revisit is Andy Capp (never forget: ANDY CAPP!), and of course, there's an important question one asks...

Aging, death, etc.

$ · February 20, 2025

Dick Tracy, 2/20/25 Dick Tracy is a comic strip that operates in an exaggerated storytelling mode, entertaining us with outlandish plots about corpse theft...

"Guy with glasses looks at cop," exactly the sort of front-page photo that grabs the reader

$ · February 19, 2025

Gil Thorp, 2/19/25 Gil Thorp of course always deals with teen issues both of-the-moment and timeless, and there's one of the latter type that I don't think...

The meal isn't FREE, Dawn

$ · February 18, 2025

Bizarro, 2/18/25 Big fan of today's Bizarro for insisting on historical realism in the face of the gauzy, romantic revisionism we usually see on this...

CORPSETHIEF: THE THIEF WHO STEALS CORPSES

$ · February 17, 2025

Dick Tracy, 2/17/25 Not sure if America was in the mood for the Dick Tracy storyline just concluded, about how the families prominent in our civic and...

Panels 'n' more

$ · February 16, 2025

Panels from Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 2/16/25 Now, I joke a lot that the only real industries in Hootin' Holler are moonshining, chicken theft, and...

Josh goes off in some weird directions

$ · February 15, 2025

Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, 2/15/25 Hey, here's a fun fact for you: did you know that ventriloquists don't "throw" their voices anywhere? They just learn...

Metapost: Romantical COTW

$ · February 14, 2025

Folks ... it's Valentine's Day, and you're gonna LOVE this week's top comment! "Dolly makes a crack about her brothers whilst the pitch black void looms ever...

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...