Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy

Here’s hoping I’m misreading today’s strip and Darrin and Jess aren’t the proud parents of four bouncing baby boys. That’d be hard to manage, even with Darrin’s lead tech consultant role at Montoni’s Pizza. It’s a strange strip; not only do we get five panels instead of 4, but ever single person looks genuinely happy at the news. Darrin looks so ecstatic he’s almost unrecognizable, Ann looks ready to drop that 10 lb phone she’s holding she’s so happy. Random Stranger Darrin Called looks pleased, too, as Funky shares the news at the greasy pizza joint. Les isn’t smirking, we’ll just have to leave it at that.

We don’t know the name yet, of course, but we do know he’s a Scorpio born in the year of the Snake. Delightful.

All You Zombies

Hopefully we’re done with football for the time being, and can get back to Westview High School business as usual: Les’ yellow shirt, bricks, banners haphazardly taped to the walls, and the teachers (and the cartoonist) displaying how out of touch they are with young people. A zombie theme would actually be quite fitting for The Student Council Homecoming Dance: the somber, dead-eyed students walk the halls as if in a trance.

Never Forget. (That the Scapegoats Suck)

Ya know, a SMALL nod to the event that changed the course of America might be nice. This is the funnies, of course, it’s not like I’m asking Garfield to stare sullenly at an American flag for three panels but it’s a little off that a strip that deals in melancholy as currency would pass up the chance to remember what happened on this date in New York City over a decade ago.

No such luck. Instead, today’s strip is just a time-marking daily grind forward until the next real story arc. Even the telephone pole and goal post weigh in on the current situation with some of the most weirdly-spaced dialog balloons since Mark Trail!

MarkT

Goodness Gracious

Lower your expectations! I’m left to swim in BeckoningChasm’s wake after his most excellent guest hosting duties. A tip of the Funky Fedora to you, BC!

Now, onto the snark.

Quick, Les, take a seat with the rest of the class so we can pick *someone* we know out of this sea of unknown students. Cody, Owen, pressed into service as one of the only two students we’ve been introduced to in this gaggle of malformed, floating heads, does his best with the predictable but bad news he’s been given in today’s strip.

Hoo-boy. I hope this strip doesn’t indicate we’re in for a cycle (recycle) of “The Scapegoats are terrible” knee-slappers. That could make for a long snark fortnight for yours truly!