La Donna Della Mia Vita

Wow. In a comic strip legendary for its epic sadness, I don’t think it’s ever been sadder that it is today. Bad enough that Harry’s devotion to Tarzan “comical books” would lead him to consider cashing in his daughter’s college fund. But when Donna, the only woman in the world who finds him desireable, dares to (only-half-) jokingly expresses her longing for him, everyone in the room is immediately and visibly repulsed. I suppose Maddie can be forgiven her reaction to hearing her parents allude to “gettin’ busy”. As for John, he’s probably skeeved at the thought of caressing anything besides pubescent boys.

A while back, someone stated on Twitter that the Komix Korner was based on Ground Zero Comics in Strongsville, Ohio (15 miles from TB’s home in Medina). I couldn’t find GZ Comics’ website, but some pics found on patch.com seem to support this. The store’s nestled in a strip mall, not above a pizza joint, but like the Korner, it’s decorated with nerd tchotchkes. They also have a Space Invaders machine just like Tony’s.

Banq-wit

That dimple (visible even at a distance in panel 2) signifies that Becky’s saying something witty (or thinks she is). And Harriet can’t help but remind her husband what a humorless prick he was when he had Becky’s job.

Celeb attendees at the band banquet include (L-R) Jabba the Hutt, John Cleese, Schroeder from Peanuts and Milhouse Van Houten.

Walk Off Jerkoff

So the nerd who was traumatized by gym class now schools the class jock regarding sports jargon? Well, first…a quick Google search suggests that there is such a thing as a “walk off free throw“. And anyway, Bull’s obviously feeling good about his team and about being interviewed “on the sports news”. Would it kill Les to overlook Bull’s poor grammar and offer his old friend and coworker just a little affirmation? Ass.