billytheskink

Deuce-bag

Les Moore’s tour of temerity continues in today’s strip. I think we’re seeing why it has been so long since Bull played tennis with Les.

The man is a monster. An individual devoid of any redeeming value. The reason alien invaders will cite for killing every last member of the human race. The image of him smirking, poised to serve, has soured me on the sport of tennis entirely. The revenge fantasies of 90s pop punk bands were kinder to their one-time high school bullies than Les. Donald Trump is appalled by his lack of tact and Bill Laimbeer cannot fathom his level of sportsmanship.

The craziest thing, to me, is that we have known the above to be true for years. We expected this kind of behavior, we know it is coming. It’s terrifying to think about.

Backhanded Compliment

Les finally pries open that smirk in today’s strip. Does he continue to live up to his well-earned reputation as the biggest schmuck on the comics page? Boy, does he ever!

This is, perhaps, the perfect test to see if the jerk store called and is running out of you:
Your friend has a panicked expression on his face and is admittedly struggling to breathe, beyond being typically “winded”, what do you do?

– A – Make a joke about his possibly health-threatening condition being an improvement for the environment.
– B – Do pretty much anything else.

Bonus Haiku:
“I don’t know what it
Is… but I just can’t seem to
Exhale completely”

Even when potentially in need of medical attention, Bull puts forth his second haiku in as many panels. This is notable because it is more than the last three years’ worth of writing from Les and Mopey Pete combined.

Haik-ugh!

Aging gracefully
No one in Westview does it
As today’s strip shows

Smugly smirking Les
Has not spoken yet this week
Still so hate-able

The second panel
It is um… well, it… oh boy
Photoshop away

So many chain links
Has TB found his new muse
Alongside red brick

“These days I grunt when
I sit down for a break… and
When I get back up”

Well, what do you know
Bull is a better poet
Than Les the writer

Wimbledumb

Warning!

Today’s strip contains panels that some readers may find offensive. At least we hope you find Les smirking offensive. If you don’t, what is wrong with you? Anyways, reader discretion is advised.

Bull really has no excuse for not remembering how to open up a can, he used to open up a can all the time on Les. Oh wait, sorry, that was retconned… Or was it ret-retconned?

Les and Bull’s tennis matches were a not uncommon element of late Act II, but I am not sure we’ve seen them play at all in Act III. It was on the tennis court that Les finally became comfortable with having Bull as a coworker, after the reveal that Bull bullied Les back in high school because he went home to an abusive father every night. Just another reminder that literally everybody in this strip wallowed through a maudlin morass of serious issues at some point during Act II.

Marred, Mangled Manner

Hey! Didn’t we see today’s strip back on July 1?. Please don’t let this become a running gag…
Carl is not in view in panel 3. We can only hope he survived the performance.

The United States is now 240 years old, only a couple years younger than Funky looks these days. Have a safe and happy 4th of July everyone!