Well there is nothing that says “Happy 4th of July!” like today’s strip, where Crazy and DSH take turns playing one of Scott Adams’ most/least beloved tertiary Dilbert characters. It’s got everything you would want to celebrate America’s birthday: a close up of DSH’s gaping maw and blackhead-pocked nose, bricks, people not working, Domo, people complaining about having to get out of bed at a reasonable hour, a store with not a single customer shopping… Like I said, everything!
Have a safe and happy 4th everyone.
Son of Stuck Funky 
Here we go again. The nagging henpecking shrews of Westview are once again driving the poor downtrodden menfolk crazy with their illogical hormone-driven insanity. WHY can’t they just let their men sleep in every once in a while? What IS it with them? Why must they BE this way? WOMEN…AMIRITE FELLAS???
God forbid he he might actually get up before noon and oh, do a household chore or pay a bill while Becky is working at school all day or (on Sunday) actually spend time with his wife on a day when she’s home.
Question 1: How old is LePewhead Jean supposed to be anyway? I assume he and Becky are in their 40s, but he actually looks older than the sixtysomething Crazy Harry in most of today’s strip? At least that would explain the “Crankshaft”-style nasal blackheads?
Question 2: Why DOES Battyuk think people of a certain age are subject to this bizarre schnozz-related condition? Has anyone noticed it occurring in the real world?
Question 3: Why is Harry just standing around holding a comic book box? Today’s enthralling conversation takes a minute or two, and at no point does he put it on a counter or table.
Question: Will we ever see the Comix Korner depicted with a paying customer inside?
Can’t wait to see what fresh new adventure starts tomorrow.
Judging from the title panel, it seems that Mr. Grandpa Google has recently discovered the oeuvre of Joseph Ducreux.
Your comment sent me to Grandpa Google. Thanks for introducing me to Joseph Ducreux.
I have to confess… I like the art in today’s strip. Somebody put a lot of work into the color and texture today. The characters look three-dimensional, and John looks tired. Today’s strip immediately reminded of the “tronie” art form. And It’s all so wasted on Funky Winkerbean.
OK, I get why Lefty gets up in the morning and would have even if DSH didn’t spell it out for us. I don’t get it at all with Donna, though. Her defining trait is that she is good at video games. I’m not sure if TB is aware of this or not, but people who play a lot of video games are not, at least stereotypically, people who get up early in the morning.
Yeah, I don’t understand this joke either. Isn’t this Donna?
That gift was so bad she needed a beat panel to respond to it. And now she’s imposing sleep deprivation on the Crazy Harry household? The joke doesn’t work because it relies on a character trait Donna doesn’t have. It also ignores that Harry was a mailman, a profession that requires early rising.
If only there was a character in the strip who was known for being over-the-top aggressive and pushy, and imposing his career on everyone around him at all times. Someone who’s a more extreme version of Becky. Gosh, I can’t even think of anyone like that! Can you?
Donna thinks sleep is a waste of time because . . . uh . . . you could use that time to run away from her husband and his friend? To plot their murders?
It’s funny because if Donna never slept she would have died long ago in a most horrible and agonizing manner…
And Komixxx Korner opens at NOON?! Jesus Fuckin’ Christ this dude is a lazy asshole slacker… Why even waste money renting space from Montoni’s, even though we know he’s probably getting a 90% discount on rent? DSH Johnny might as well just peddle his comics from his own garage! He’d better praise God that his wife has a job with the public school system so there’s some steady income plus healthcare…
Nevermind the fact that John and Becky ain’t exactly newlyweds — I’d have thought he would be very well accustomed to his wife’s work routine by now?
Let’s face it, if you had to spend time in bed with DSH you’d want to get up as soon as humanly possible!
And the expression “salad days” is associated with young people, not people who have been married for many years. Just Batty using words he does not understand in order to sound smart.
I fail to understand why DSH wouldn’t go back to bed after Becky if he’s still tired. An extra hour would give him plenty of time to do some quick household upkeep before he when to open the store. (And while Komix Korner occasionally shows a customer there, unlike Montoni’s, I’m sure there are times he and Harry could take turns taking naps if they need to.)
And what would prompt Donna to say sleep is a waste of time? Is she day trading on the world’s equities markets?
Sometimes I think that sleep is a waste of time, but that doesn’t mean I’m an early bird. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I’ll give Batwad credit: He’s tired of using the same old female stereotypes over and over and over again. So he’s coming up with NEW stereotypes. “Women hate sleeping – I’ve never heard anyone say that before. Brilliant!”
Today’s strip reminds me of how far Batty has gotten away from this strip’s roots. Where are all the young people? Didn’t Becky have a son with Wally, Wally Jr? Who gets him up and ready for school (need I ask)? When was the last time we even saw Wally Jr.?
Not to mention Becky’s adopted daughter, Rana. The last time we saw her was an obligatory Muslim tie-in appearance during the Adeela intro story arc. Adeela and Wally conveniently ran into Rana at the “Culture Café” at Kent State University. I guess Rana is yet another captive of the limbo that is Kent State (Say Hi to Summer and Keisha if you see them). More likely, she makes herself scarce because DSH skeeves her out completely.
When was the last time we saw Maddy Klinghorn? Where are you now, pretty girl?
Wally’s wife Rachel has a son from a prior relationship, but I can’t even remember his name. He was at the table for that Rockwellesque sideways Thanksgiving strip a few years ago.
Does Batty have a disdain for children, or does the orphanage in Westview take anybody?
I know Batty has a son, Brian, but I think I’ve only seen Batty mention him once in his blog. That was when his wife and son went to a comic convention in his place.
Hmmm, come to think of it, that convention came after Batty posted pictures of the San Diego Comic-Con is his blog. You know, the one where he took photos without people’s permission. Pictures of ladies backsides while they were bending over tables and ladies talking on the phone in the parking lot completely away from festivities (stalk much?). I wonder if Cathy angrily confiscated his camera and said, “Brian and I will handle this one!”
Happy July 4th everyone. Love the blog and discussion.
I remain puzzled by the relationship between Gross John and Becky, because it was obvious that Batiuk wanted to pair these two up. He even sent Wally back into a warzone and had him get captured and erroneously declared dead so Gross John could hook up with his wife. This was after he had Gross John sniffing around Becky when Wally was captured the first time. (Wally’s wartime role apparently is “hostage”) Obviously when Batiuk set Comic Book Dork up with is one-armed waifu he didn’t have anything else for them to do. Their shared love of old movies hasn’t been mentioned since it was initially brought up.
So he finally gets them together and they don’t even seem to like each other. Most of the time either character is shown, the other has absolutely nothing to do with the other. Gross John is inevitably paired up with Crazy or some comics-adjacent moron, whereas Becky is almost always paired up with Dinkle.
I’d write it off as laziness, because Batiuk sure has demonstrated that in the past, but it’s more than that. What little relationship Gross John and Becky have has been shown to be contentious. Gross John’s always resenting her. They’re never affectionate. (Not that I’d want to see that, but still…) As I said, they have little to do with one another and when one of them mentions the other, it’s usually to complain. (Admittedly, this is mostly Gross John. Becky never seems to mention him at all.) Gross John’s not a Dad to their children, and he’s been shown to actively dislike Rana. This is despite the fact that her children were calling him “Dad” at the start of Act III. (Mostly for the…. !SHOCKING! reveal when we find out they weren’t referring to Wally) It’s just a weird relationship. It’s one thing to just never do anything with it. What’s going on here is quite another.