Almost Forgot

I forgot that today was a day I do this. I remembered when I read about something tailor-made for me to talk about on this blog, and I thought, "It'll have to wait until it's my day." Then I remembered it was my day! I'll talk about what I was going to talk about tomorrow, but for now you can read this nonsense. Also, the Meekrat Entertainment Group. It's good stuff.

Cathy

Well... Cathy is ending. This offers no clue how, but it's still sort of sad, for some reason. In the final panel, will she and her husband just be sitting there, emaciated and skeletal, dead to the world, with the bones of their dogs upon their laps? That would be messed up.

Brevity

I spent about twenty minutes looking this one over, and I offer this challenge to you: find the joke. If there's not a joke, then why did they even bother submitting this strip? I expect this sort of thing from certain comics, but I expect more of you, Brevity.

Girls and Sports

You may well know that I hate "Girls and Sports" with a passion. I still don't wish the cartoonist any ill will, and I can't help but think that the shoddy coloring done by one of the syndicates will reflect poorly upon him. It's one thing if the guy's strip is thought poorly of because it's terrible, but quite another if people hate it because someone messed up scanning it in or whatever.

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Let the Wild Rumpus Begin!

It's Cathy's last week, and the gala extravaganza has begun!

I follow the GoComics twitter account, so I got a couple of Cathy-related tidbits yesterday.

First there's this page of submissions that was use to sell Cathy to the syndicate:


(click on the image to read the original blog post)

I kind of like Cathy's character design a little better. The muppet-like face is almost endearing.

But what's most interesting is the lone comment on the blog post. Make sure you read the poster's name. Interesting, isn't it? When you put Cathy into historical perspective...you can kind of understand why it was picked up.

It's just the better part of the next 34 years that makes me scratch my head.

Then there's this. The Youtube fun police apparently didn't like the soundtrack.

1. The art did improve a little, but then hit a bit of a wall. Has the strip ever had a profile shot in it?
   
2. Cathy Guisewite is not Cathy — the strip may have been autobiographical at some point, but if the strip ever had any sort of a ring of truth, it's long gone. (I think something similar happened to Dilbert too, BTW.)
   
3. The first retrospective I see in the video was 19 years ago!
   
4. I see the same gags, over and over.
   

Thoughts?

Since I am totally not covering today's strips, take a look at this.

Crankshaft, September 26, 2010


Wouldn't panel two have been funnier if it was simply "Your turn!" ? Why the extra expository dialog? Just sayin'.

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FoxTrot 9/26/10

I find it hard to believe, knowing Jason and reading FoxTrot since it started, that Jason does not already have any of this stuff.

Pluggers 9/26/10

I love cemeteries as much as the next guy but I find this a bit creepy.

Dick Tracy 9/26/10

"Speaking of sniffing, does my finger smell odd to you?"

Bound & Gagged 9/26/10

Benadryl is an allergy medicine which, after I looked it up on Wikipedia, can also help alleviate airsickness. I'm wondering why the cartoonist chose Benadryl instead of the more commonly used Dramamine.

Born Loser 9/26/10

Wow! That's pretty daring to say that to your mother-in-law. I'm just wondering why Mother Gargle cares considering Brutus does work hard all week. It's not like Brutus just stays at home all week watching reruns on TBS and goofing around on his crappy blog making his wife work and bring home the bacon like a certain comic strip commentator used to do.*




*Me.

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An update on Freshly Squeezed

Hey, Arkholt's back.  Great.  So, on Monday I wrote about the new syndicated comic strip Freshly Squeezed, and how I was worried that I may possibly not like it based on Comics.com's recommendations based on it.  I've read the strips for the intervening days, and the verdict is in.

In the words of that horse guy from Ren and Stimpy, "No sir, I didn't like it."

To lay out the premise again, it's about an older couple who move in with their daughter, son-in-law, and grandson of indeterminate age.  It's a very awkward situation.  That's about it.  There's not really anything clever or funny about it.  It just seems like one long awkward moment.  Now, I'm sure it's a weird feeling to have something like this happen to you, but there are only so many jokes you can make before "Hey, isn't it weird and awkward? Ha ha ha!" gets a bit old.

Frankly, some of them are a bit insulting.  Take these two, for instance:

The first one is basically saying "Yeah, this is weird and we're all just lying to each other about how excited we are about the entire arrangement." The second one is basically saying "I'd rather be anywhere else than here."

Oh, and I can't forget this one:

"We're going to need a lot of alcohol to get through this one."

Oh, yes, and we must immediately establish that the kid does not help with the awkwardness at all, because he doesn't understand anything that's really going on:

Right.  So not only is it awkward, but the grandparents get no empathy or understanding from their daughter, son-in-law, or grandson when they've just had to leave their home because they have no money.  Where's the care and compassion?

Now, I'm not saying that this strip can't ever be good.  Mr. Stein's got a great grasp of good newspaper comic strip art and layout, so he definitely has that going for him.  If he can work on the writing a little bit, it could be great.  For me, right now, it's just not doing it.

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Could Be Better

Hey there, it's another Friday, and therefore another installment of me doing comic commentary. Not much today, but if you're looking to read some things, go to the Meekrat Entertainment Group. You'll find a wealth of things to read. Onward, then:

Loose Parts

Don't they trace the bodies? Isn't that the whole point? I realize that I'm over-analyzing this single panel, but hey, I have to comment on something.

My Cage

It really is a shame that this strip is ending (at least in the newspapers, though probably for good) because it's one of the few strips I look forward to reading. I like how they're going through with using the names of other comics as profanities, which is why I'm spotlighting it today.

Pearls Before Swine

Oh, Pearls, making a vuvuzela joke months after the World Cup ended? I can't tell whether to be ashamed of you for sinking so low or proud of you for bucking expectations.

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Jeepers, It's Commentary!

Hey there, cats and kittens. I'm back, and since I've actually been active over the past week, you can bet your sweet bippy that I'm going to plug the Meekrat Entertainment Group. You should go there and read not comic commentary, as the DCR is now pretty much the only place I comment upon comics, but web-comics and various fictions. Now then, the promised commentary:

We'll start off with my old nemesis, Girls and Sports:

Now, it's a given that I'll usually hate this comic. There's only one comic I hate more than this one, and I pretty much refuse to read that one. The question, then, is why do I hate this specific installment? For one, it's continuing with a series that started last Thursday, which was just messy and made me prone to hate it even more. Second, the recorder hate. Now, I'm not an expert on the triangle or anything, but I'm pretty sure that knowing how to play a recorder trumps knowing how to play a triangle. I realize that Marshall (a name to my enemy) is probably joking about his triangle skills, but how is that woman supposed to know it?

I think it all boils down to the fact that I hate Marshall, and I really don't think his tips are worth the bandwidth they're sent upon. Look at his smug face there in the title panel thing. Look at him. I hate him so much.

Zippy the Pinhead

Now, to lighten things up, Droopy Dog. I like Droopy. He's a class act, he is.

Soup to Nutz

I have no idea how I feel about this comic, as it's one of the many that I read and immediately forget about. Not today, though. I'm not sure if it's being serious about its hate of fourth-wall breaking (something that can be done well, but requires a good bit of skill to accomplish) but using Rat, Pig, and Lio as your straw-men? For shame!

Chuckle Brothers

I had to read this one once or twice before I realized what the supposed joke what, and figuring out brought me no chuckles whatsoever. It's just shameful, really.

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Airplanes Don't Have Ejection Seats!

Hey everyone, Zachary the Stupid Inventor here with today's comics review.
Most of the comics were only s0-so today, so it's a short review.

The Bad:
The Argyle Sweater: This strip was in the good section last week, but today's comic was really bad, mainly because of how illogical it is.... seriously, the reason why The Far Side is still considered genius today is because they always MADE SENSE (Even when there were talking animals or objects the world they lived in still made sense...). Whatever I'll try not to rant today... I'm not a pro anyways.

Non-Sequitur: Oh man when will this story line END! It's really starting to bug me! Also, the video game industry wouldnt collapse if people were nice, there are still fun clean games and educational games etc.. The cartoonist is trying to be overly cynical and needs to stop.

Fort Knox: I usually enjoy this comic, and I don't like that the first time I feature it in a comic review it's in the Bad Section, so my apoligies, normally it's good! It's just the whole "sold my prized possession at the yard sale" plot has been done to DEATH.... also who buys a used teddy bear for $5?

Weird:
Love Is: This comic is always pretty creepy, but today's seems even creepier than usual....

The Good:

Off The Mark: Sooo true!


Get Fuzzy: The three characters of this strip have the weirdest conversations, and this one is awesome! Also I like the way the cats hand in the first panel is sticking out... nice touch!

Ok, that's it for me, see you all next week!
Zachary

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A Good Day, Comics-Wise

So, on a day when there were a bunch of great comics, I get very busy and can't post. Here's the late-late-early edition.

Great

Brewster Rockit, 9/21/2010


Brewster Rockit is funny just about every day, which is not true of many strips. The way Tim Rickard can switch from pop culture to politics to sight gags is fantastic. Brewster should be required reading for a few of the other artists.

Pearls Before Swine 9/21/2010


Pearls give us two gags, which makes up for having to read Snuffy Smith. Pastis takes a silly 2 panel pun and makes 3 pretty funny panels from it, while some artists would be better off running panels from the 40s.

Get Fuzzy 9/21/2010


A rare gag not relying completely on what a pain in the ass Bucky is and hey, it's actually funny!

Not So Much

Crankshaft 9/20/2010


Crankshaft 9/21/2010


If at first you don't succeed, try try again. I guess.

(Added for today because I just can't resist.)



Skreetch? I don't know if that's funny or sad. What do you think?

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How fresh is Freshly Squeezed?

Hey, folks.  It's Arkholt again.  Yes, I have again forgotten to do the Saturday thing, and I've almost forgotten to do today's.  Never fear, however.  I have a comic blurb for you today.  Yes, a single solitary comic blurb, but it covers more than one comic.  Yes, yes, it's confusing, and I'm making no sense, so on with it.

The eminent Alan Gardner, of The Daily Cartoonist, writes today that a "record number of [comic strip] features" have launched this year.  One of them, called Freshly Squeezed, launches on this very day, September 20th.  For your viewing pleasure, the very first strip:

From this strip, it's fairly clear that the mother's parents are coming to live with them.  The parents are apprehensive and the kid is excited.  Great.  Nothing extremely funny about this, but it sets up the premise for the strip, which any good first strip should do.  The art's nothing to sneeze at.

Here's the part that worries me: Comics.com's recommendations for other strips I might like if I like this one.  Those include That's Life, Family Tree, Home and Away, Daddy's Home, Nest Heads, The Humble Stumble, Arlo and Janis, The Buckets, and Fort Knox.  It's true that I like a couple of those.  Fort Knox is okay.  Arlo and Janis is usually funny.  The rest of them, however, I don't like very much.  That's two out of nine.  That's roughly a fifth.  Does this mean that I'll like Freshly Squeezed only one fifth of the time?  I hope not.  Fortunately, I'll be able to get back to you in five days and let you know if I liked more than one of them.

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Short but Timely

Short post today, folks, but at least it's on time.

Brevity

I remember an episode of Mister Ed where this happened. Not the nursing thing, which would have been quite bizarre, but mistaking a Shetland pony (or, at least, some other kind of pony) for a baby horse. In the episode, Mister Ed himself was the culprit and he was quite angry at the end when he found out that the horse he wanted to adopt as his son was actually older than he was. My god, sitcoms back in the day were weird.

In the Sticks

It's always nice seeing ol' Mario in the comics. I'd totally play a game where he was a North Korean pet detective. Not so sure about the other ones, though. I can only imagine that the other three have been mini-games in the "Mario Party" series at one point or another.

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You'll GRUE This Day's Commentary

Moderately sorry about last week, folks. Computer's AC adapter fried so I was unable to update. I have a new one now, though, so here's a pretty late update:

New Adventures of Queen Victoria

This comic is notable only for its fourth panel, but what a panel it is!

Girls and Sports

This comic, as usual, is just idiotic through and through. For one, why would you start a series on Thursday? If this isn't a series, why number it? Two, wouldn't any of the guys' actions in the first two panels give the wrong impression? What are they supposed to be doing, anyway? Synchronized dancing? Is that a thing? Why not just sit next to the girls and see what happens? I don't know, I just don't like this strip.

Baby Blues

Fun fact! Baby Blues did, in fact, have a television show during the early 2000s! Fun fact! I remember it being terrible.

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Vote For Lio! Ground Beef and Bowling Balls

Hey everyone!
Zachary, the Stupid Inventor here with this Wednesday's comic review.
A lot of good ones today so let's get to it!

The Bad:

Andy Capp: Of course you feel a punch line coming, you're in the 2nd panel of a lame!

Non-Sequitur: The eckhart storyline is back, and it's even worse than before.... why oh why do they keep going with this?


The Good:
The Argyle Sweater: Although this panel wishes it was a Far Side, it's funny enough to be awesome in it's own right...

The Elderberries: Gross grammar humor never gets old...


Heart of the City: Awww, poor Dean! That has got to stink! (one minor nitpick, i feel like for sure Dean would have superhero undies, no? Would have been funnier, just my stupid opinion...)


Lio: Mark Tatulli's other strip, it really shines today. The thing that makes this strip awesome for me is the the little hearts on the balloons... it totally changes the strip. Great job!

I praise Lio a lot in my reviews, and now Lio is up for a slot in pennlive.com's comic page.
So if you enjoy Lio as much as I do, please take the time to go an vote for it!
Every little bit helps! Believe me, I know!
http://blog.pennlive.com/life/2010/09/vote_on_the_comic_strip_that_w.html#pd_a_3746718

Off The Mark: Normally i would nitpick as to why Bowling Balls and Pins get along when they should be mortal enemies, but this strip is funny enough that I just let go of the over-analyzing and just laughed,....


Rhymes With Orange: I love Cookie monster, this strip reminds me of the interview he did with NPR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eZ22B-2F5M

Ok, that's it for me, see you all next week!

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Creepy Dirk and Crappy Duck

Duck

Mallard Fillmore has a lot of problems, not the least of which is that Tinsley wouldn't recognize a punchline as it was car-jacking him.

The Glenn Beck rally was on August 28th. Even if you were living under a rock the coverage up to that event was unavoidable. Then after the rally, there was coverage the 29th and 30th (and you could argue that the only reason there even was coverage on the 30th was that the rally was on a Saturday) and then on the 31st there was another little story: the President declared an end to combat missions in Iraq.

Regardless of your political persuasion, Mr Beck's rally was forgotten as the voracious newsbeast moved on to the next controversy.

Tinsley most likely did this strip before the rally was even held, and this is really the only evidence you need to see that he just doesn't get it.

Mallard Fillmore was picked up by the Washington Times, a newspaper that is slightly to the right of Attilla the Hun, during the Clinton Administration. According to Don Markstein's Toonopedia the editor said he provided "a new way of looking at things." In other words, they wanted something to balance out Doonesbury. (Even as Doonesbury spent a good part of the 90s criticizing Clinton for being too conservative, but I digress.)

But take a look at Doonesbury (so I don't have to — I think it peaked in the 80s when Trudeau started doing Quayle as a talking feather.) You won't see Trudeau do anything even close to this. If he does "do" the Beck rally he'll work it into one of his subplots with a reporter, create an equivalent in the Doonesbury-verse, or do something about it being forgotten.

This strip, again regardless of your feelings about Beck and his rally, is just stupid. No one is still waiting at the rally. No one gives a s**t about the rally anymore. Since then we've had the announcement about Iraq and a little story about someone wanting to burn a book or something.

But stay tuned. I'm sure Mallard will have something about that around September 24th.

Here's an example of a non-topical strip that is kicking Tinsley's ass in the timely department.

Doozies, September 14, 2010

You might remember me using the corresponding Lio last week.

Dirk

Sometimes Luann gets kind of scary.

Luann, September 11, 2010

Luann, September 13, 2010

Luann, September 14, 2010


Dirk is just....creepy, and he makes Luann seem very uneven to me. Luann is generally a goofy strip that occasionally gets semi-serious. When this guy is around though, I half-expect something Funky-level to happen.

Pearls Before Swine, September 13, 2010

Pearls was too funny yesterday to not include here.

Brewster Rockit, September 14, 2010

Brewster Rockit has been on a tear. It is my favorite strip right now.

Dog Eat Doug, September 14, 2010

Probably the funniest Garfield strip I've seen in 25 years. Or ever.

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