In today’s strip, the doormat Cayla worries whether the sleeping accommodations and paint on the walls are adequate to properly house the glory who is Mason Jarr, the movie actor. As a reminder, here is an image of Mason Jarr, the movie actor, as he unlocks a car:
Based on her expression of dismay and despair in the last panel, Cayla looks as though Les regularly beats her. BanTom’s portrayal of anyone who isn’t Les Moore is pathetic. She should be saying: “Now, look here, you patriarchal cracker! You clean the damn house for your unannounced house guest! I’m going to Las Vegas. On your dime.”
Instead we got this:
Son of Stuck Funky 
It’s truly impressive how, even after reading this strip for a long time, I can still be amazed by how clueless Batiuk is when it comes to Les. I’m guessing his intention here is a “women are vain, shallow, and crazy” type of “joke”, but I don’t see how anyone other than a wife beater would read this and not come away just thinking “Damn, Les is such an asshole”.
I seem to recall these two morons painting a spare room in Chateau Moore-Mot a few years ago, but I guess that was a different spare room. At least Mason Jarr is just plain old Mason Jarr today, which I suppose counts as “plot progression” with this comic strip.
It’s taken Batom an entire week to establish that Mason is coming and he’ll be staying in the guest bedroom. This could go on for a long, long time. Perhaps next week he’ll very slowly enter the house! I can’t wait! And if Cayla’s psychotic reaction is any indication, we can expect a shit-ton of sub-sitcom-level wackiness once the locals get wind of the Jarr-Man’s arrival. And I bet he does one of those “Hey, gang of pals at local hangout! Look who I’m with…Insert Celebrity Pal Here!” deals too. Ugh, I’m sick just thinking about where this is going. And if he somehow ends up doing an arc about the making of a SJ movie with Les somehow involved? Oh man, this could be bad, very very bad.
Is Batiuk actively trying to figure out as many ways as possible for Les to be a complete douchewaffle? Because he’s succeeding spectacularly.
Stick Mason in either Keisha or Summer’s rooms, which have been rendered permanently vacant since Batom® put them in the Witless Protection Program.
He won’t know the difference.
Wait a minute! Pause! If my memory is correct…aren’t these two supposed to be in Hong Kong by now???
I think the Hong Kong thing was supposed to be a year from now, if memory serves. I sure as Hell don’t want to look it up.
I bet next week, Cayla is so nervous serving dinner to Mason Jarr The Movie Actor that she drops the main dish, and both Les and Mason smirk and order in from Montoni’s.
There could be two reasons that he doesn’t understand the problem. First, he could not understand the woman he married at all and second, he could not understand that Mason might actually have standards. Either way, he still looks like the most clueless, arrogant total dickbag on the comics page.
Given that China has banned the use of crappy puns, there is now no way that Les and Cayla’s trip to Hong Kong can take place. Les would be arrested on the spot.
I’d bet on that storyline simply being ignored and never spoken of ever again.
There will of course be a trip to Montoni’s, for bad pizza and worse punning.
TB takes a week+ to establish a singular point (Mason Jar is coming)…but wraps up a whole Cory returning from the war and getting his SJ collection in less than a week.
The man lacks focus
I admittedly laughed reading the strip this morning, because Cayla’s Reefer Madness-like reaction here is funny, though surely not the way TB intended it to be. Les’ regular schmuckery tempers the unintentional humor somewhat, but the sight of Cayla staring bug-eyed at her hands on a 1930’s Hollywood’s depiction trip-out is able to shine through it.
“My fingers… they’re dragons! Tiny dragons! Tiny dragons wearing goatees and glasses!! And they must feed… feed on the pie that sits untouched for months on end in the Montoni’s pie case!”
Aaanndd … Les More is being an total asshole to “Not Lisa” yet again. Seriously, L’Auteur Glorieux treats her like such a doormat, you have to wonder why he ever maried her to his avatar. Clearly, there’s some sort of serious mental issue in play here.
@ Merry Pookster: I had to go back to be sure, but Batty never even showed Cory getting the damned comic books! Apparently, it happened off panel. Wow, talk about lazy-assed storytelling.
That Cayla’s got an ass that could punch holes in sheetrock!
My fear is that Mason will end up offering Holly (or even worse, Les) some sort of “consultant” role with the SJ movie production, which will lead to yet another “Hollywood = wretched hive of scum and villainy” arc. My bigger fear is that this will end up being one of those Les arcs that eats up an entire season, like the infamous book-launch-tour arc from a few years back.
Les: Of course the bedroom looks fine. How go put this giant portrait of Lisa over the bed.
@Epicus – you know, I actually thought the idea of Holly being hired as a Starbuck Jones consultant would be pretty funny–Tom Batiuk could have her ninny nature clash with Hollywood’s greedy idiocy.
But then I thought that has the danger of being entertaining, and of course we can’t have that…
BC: Yep, more likely that nothing whatsoever will happen and it’ll just aimlessly plod along until everyone is pleading for a week’s worth of Funky at the gym.
OH NO YOU DI-INT!! So basically, Crayola just took a HUGE dump on the sacred Taj MOORE Hal. Thinks it needs a total “re-do.” Goatee Boy is visibly pissed off. Looks completely ready to duct tape her feet, hands, and mouth and deposit her in the basement for the duration of the Mason Jarr The Hollywood Actor’s visit.
… that is, if it weren’t for the fact that she has repeatedly shown an ability to kick his ass sideways any time she wants or needs to. (See softball and “touch” football arcs.)
Kapupe: Cayla vs Les would be like Tyson vs Spinks. IMO Batom ought to do more “Cayla whips Les’ ass at…” arcs, as I’d never tire of seeing Les be humiliated and/or injured.