January 6-12
The bus driver shortage is becoming acute.
January 13-18
Ed’s back goes out. He gets a massage, and grumbles at a doctor.
January 19-24
Emily, apparently still working for Skip’s newspaper, writes an essay he publishes on the front page. They dream up clever headlines for highly contrived situations.
January 27-February 1
Batton Thomas interview, week 3. Batton sucks at being an art teacher, so he badgers the local paper into letting him draw a cartoon. He meets with a syndicate, NEA, which gives him some advice on how to turn it into a comic strip.
February 3-9
Dinkle has nightmares about the Ohio Music Educators Association convention.
February 10-14
Ed, Ralph, and Keesterman say random things at Dale Evans.
February 17-21
Ed’s back is out again.
February 24-March 1
Workshopping more solutions to the bus driver shortage.
March 3-9
Ralph recruits Ed to be his pickleball partner.
March 10-16
The latest bus driver shortage solution: paying children to attend school.
March 17-23
Batton Death March, week 4. Batton talks about what inspired him to become a cartoonist. Spoiler alert: it was comic books.
March 24
Unrelated gags.
March 31-April 6
Crankshaft orders obscure, expensive-sounding gardening toys from Bean’s End.
April 7-12
The school bus rodeo. Rocky leaves the team via the “transfer portal”; Lena, of all people, delivers the trophy-winning result; and Rocky joins them to celebrate, as if he hadn’t just betrayed them.
April 14
Ed, Ralph Meckler, and Keesterman in Dale Evans.
April 21
Pam, feeling her age, has a date night with Jeff.
April 28
Yet another book signing, this time Lillian at the Ohioana Book Festival. Visitors suggest a lot of Murder In The _____ titles.
May 4
Bean’s End week.
May 11
More lame solutions to the bus drivers shortage.
May 18
Eugene buys wisteria flowers in memory of Lucy, and leaves them on her grave. They are removed by the maintenance crew the very next day.
May 25
Batton Death March, Week 5. Batton comes up with the name for his proto-strip Rappin’ Around, and annoys Roger Bollen, the creator of Animal Crackers. Roger says “just because I visited the syndicates in New York doesn’t mean you have to.” Batton immediately announces his plan to do this, rejecting Bollen’s advice right to his face.
June 2
Crankshaft shows off his AI-powered smart garden.
June 9
Emily and Amelia demand that Lillian start paying them for their work.
June 16
Ed goes to New York City to visit his other daughter.
June 23
Pam laments Ed’s absence. Lillian is pleased to enjoy an explosion-free cookout for a change.
June 30-July 5
Emily and Amelia talk Lillian into making a YouTube video to promote her Murder In The _____ series of novels.
July 7-12
Unrelated gags.
July 14-19
Batton Death March, week 6. Skip visits Batton in his studio. Batton talks about his second trip to New York, eating at Howard Johnson’s, and being ignored by the syndicates. But he returns home to find an important-looking letter in the mail, despite having spoken to no one. After telling a friend about it, Batton realizes that he is now better than everyone else.
July 21
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers arc.
Son of Stuck Funky 