Give the governor “HRRUMMPF!”

Believe it or not, today’s strip IS different from yesterday’s strip.

Well… I mean, some of the words are different between the two strips, that is all. It isn’t really different in tone or subject, the “gag” is derived from the exact same idea as yesterday’s strip, the artwork features the same characters in the same poses from nearly the same angles (what is this, Garfield?). It begs the question, did TB hatch this story arc because he decided that writing unpleasant elderly people is his wheelhouse (he wouldn’t be entirely wrong) or did he honestly believe that Funky Winkerbean was lacking in unpleasant elderly people (self-awareness is not a TB hallmark)?

Biddy Budd

A hearty salute to Epicus who, like all of our fine folks here at SOSF, deserves credit for finding something to say about this strip… especially when it spends two weeks on a remarkably contrived and amazing uninteresting road trip. Yep, billytheskink here to play tour guide on this journey from an Ocala retirement community back to Palookaville, Ohio which, of course, continues in today’s strip.

Holly’s mother is a nag. That’s it. I’m reasonably sure TB used this same gag with Jeff’s vile mother over in Crankshaft several years back. If TB stretches this gag out over the week there are going to be a lot of short posts.

Hai-Quack

An old running gag
Pops back up in today’s strip
Oh goody, oh joy

The life and times of
Claude Barlow: Volume 7
Just volume 7?

Dinkle’s been working
On this Claude Barlow tome since
President Carter

“Up your nose with a
rubber hose”, but with Dinkle
you’d need oil pipe

Really? Duck Pond huh?
Barlow’s talent limited
Kinda like Dinkle’s

Dinkle’s productive
This is more writing than seen
From Les and Pete both

A Special Denouncement

It’s about time! I was wondering if we’d ever get there, but today’s strip finally gives us the call back to John Darling we’ve been expecting. Yes, Phil is terrible at his (former) job, just like he was back in 1979. Back then, making fun of the local weather forecaster was a comedy trend surpassed only by making fun of Billy Carter…

JD7-30-79
This strip appeared opposite an ad imploring you to come test drive the all-new Chevrolet Citation…

Oh, for Pete’s sake!

I remain baffled by the pie case at Montoni’s. Who eats pie there?
That’s a rhetorical question of course, nobody eats anything at Montoni’s. Not even Crazy, who is only ever seen there sipping a bottomless coffee or soda and avoiding his job. But still, what’s with the pie case?

Solutions in search of problems

Scene change in today’s strip! And you thought we were gonna spend all week at the high school… Frankly, so did I.

So Holly… uh, Donna doesn’t know what head cleaning solution is. Donna, the middle-aged adult, doesn’t know what head cleaning solution is. Donna, the comic book geek and Space Invaders champion, the wife of tape-baking super nerd Crazy Harry, doesn’t know what head cleaning solution is.

Yeah, OK. It’s better than looking in on Les’ classes at least.