Comic Strip Megathread XVI: Winking Throwbacks to Retro Sexism

SomeMathGuy · # ? Jul 21, 2016 17:13

My Lovely Horse posted:

Makeup leads to fornication.

Has Luann ever done a teenage pregnancy arc? I kinda can't believe it hasn't.

That would imply the unmarried have anatomies more complex than Ken dolls. Newspaper readers would revolt.

Adbot · # ? May 29, 2024 19:23

treasureplane · # ? Jul 21, 2016 17:18

King Aroo (June 28, 1951)

Barnaby (December 3, 1942)

Nancy (August 12, 1943)

Wash Tubbs (April 25, 1929)

Gasoline Alley (May 10, 1923)

Barney Google (May 11, 1922)

Alley Oop (August 10, 1933)

Lil' Abner (January 7, 1937)

EasyEW · # ? Jul 21, 2016 17:43

Bloom County

Skippy (May 23, 1929)

Loss, Regret, Despair, And A Rapid Escalation Of Sheer Panic (Featuring Good Ol' Charlie Brown) (July 18, 1969)

Mopey Pete and Boy Lisa Commit Breaking And Entering

Meanwhile, Crankshaft gets screwed by life...and the horrible people in it.

Rip Haywire

Out Our Way (August 2-3, 1929)

Thimble Theater (February 7, 1930)

Kennel · # ? Jul 21, 2016 17:50

EasyEW posted:

The lighter side of workplace fatalities.

SomeMathGuy · # ? Jul 21, 2016 17:53

EasyEW posted:

Meanwhile, Crankshaft gets screwed by life...and the horrible people in it.

Ah yes, those notoriously fickle baseball scouts - one chance to show up based on the whims of rotation scheduling or they give up on you forever, that's their motto! They would definitely not doggedly pursue a good pitching prospect, and ~~if one good Major League team had a serious interest in said pitcher, there would certainly not be more than one team scouting him.~~

e: Actually, wait, if this is a minor league team such that the Tigers might call him up, then it's, what, their AAA club? And Ed is the best pitcher "they ever had"? Detroit would have intimate knowledge of his performance. They'd probably at least try him out before bumping him back down, they wouldn't necessarily need to scout him.

SomeMathGuy fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Jul 21, 2016

A HUNGRY MOUTH · # ? Jul 21, 2016 18:13

Selachian posted:

So who's worse, Bud Grace or Mike Lester?

Bud Grace learned all his jokes from the 1950s, Mike Lester drew all his morals from them.

Mercedes Colomar · # ? Jul 21, 2016 18:13

Tina's Groove

Family Circus

Rose is Rose

One Big Happy

Foob

Compu-Toon

Bizarro

Dilbert

A HUNGRY MOUTH · # ? Jul 21, 2016 18:24

Manuel Calavera posted:

Dilbert

Whoa, what a weird misprint, I thought Dilbert was supposed to be the Adams mouthpiece character??

Ensign_Ricky · # ? Jul 21, 2016 19:13

dismas posted:

i think the university of missouri has a statue of beetle bailey on campus. at least they did when my brother went there twenty years ago

ah yeah there's a picture here: https://mizzoumag.missouri.edu/2013/02/como-art-in-plain-view/

Beetle Bailey is at least a very recognizable character. For years I thought Funky Winkerbean was something that The Simpsons made up as a joke about vague, unknown comic characters by creating the most milquetoast character that of course Marge would be a fan of. Then I started reading the Comic Megathreads. Basically, gently caress TomBat.

Aardmania posted:

Dick Tracy

Flattop's Killdozer? I can't get over it!

(Also, put me down for 2000 Bison Dollars that the new owner of the Bugle is Doc Ock. Dude has a history of marrying rich old women.)

EasyEW · # ? Jul 21, 2016 19:39

SomeMathGuy posted:

Ah yes, those notoriously fickle baseball scouts - one chance to show up based on the whims of rotation scheduling or they give up on you forever, that's their motto! They would definitely not doggedly pursue a good pitching prospect, and ~~if one good Major League team had a serious interest in said pitcher, there would certainly not be more than one team scouting him.~~

e: Actually, wait, if this is a minor league team such that the Tigers might call him up, then it's, what, their AAA club? And Ed is the best pitcher "they ever had"? Detroit would have intimate knowledge of his performance. They'd probably at least try him out before bumping him back down, they wouldn't necessarily need to scout him.

As little as I know about old-school baseball, it's at least plausible that a single afternoon could ruin Ed. Dick Bass spent 17 years in the minors, but his pitching career with the Washington Senators was a single game in 1939 that went dramatically south in the eighth inning. One chance was all he got. It's a whole other universe, I tell ya.

EasyEW fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Jul 21, 2016

The Bloop · # ? Jul 21, 2016 19:49

Manuel Calavera posted:

Family Circus

LOL at the little black kid flipping Billy off for asking such a stupid question.

SomeMathGuy · # ? Jul 21, 2016 20:05

EasyEW posted:

As little as I know about old-school baseball, it's at least plausible that a single afternoon could ruin Ed. Dick Bass spent 17 years in the minors, but his pitching career with the Washington Senators was a single game in 1939 that went dramatically south in the last inning. One chance was all he got. It's a whole other universe, I tell ya.

I do love a good old school baseball story. However, in Dick Bass' case he's

Actually pitching
Spent 17 years in the minors, probably an indication that he's not the standout one would assume a "greatest pitcher in club history" would be
33 and thus subject to endless unquantifiable manager concerns about longevity as a fresh starter. Average player age in the MLB today is 27 and I wouldn't be too surprised if it trended even younger back then
Not in competition with a guy who is apparently best known for throwing balls directly at the batters' heads.

In Crankshaft's hypothetical scenario scouts that are specifically interested in Ed don't scout him because of the pitching rotation, which is just silly even before you get into the fact that starters not up on the mound would still be in the dugout and showing up to practice. At that point the head coach would, I assume, notice that, hey, Ed isn't warming up in the bullpen, something must be amiss.

So basically I have a hard time seeing this as anything other than a combination of Batiuk's unwillingness to write a feasible portrayal of other professions (see also: everything related to Hollywood) and his clumsy attempts to shoehorn more pathos into his characters' backstories via flashbacks (see also: ... loving everything in the Funkiverse). He's trying to make me feel bad for Ed Crankshaft - typically his unsympathetic curmudgeonly source of comedy, I might add - and instead I'm caught up on what scan as contrivances.

Murdstone · # ? Jul 21, 2016 21:55

Aardmania posted:

Heathcliff

I assume that this was playing in the background.

I didn't know that seeing the Catillac Cats would make me happy, but here we are.

LordPants posted:

Has Spider-Man been cloned in newspaper form?

I myself have done it many times using Silly Putty. :haw:

F Minus

Mary Worth

"I myself have to cope with my giant, ape-like hands."

Rex Morgan MD

Secret Agent X-9

"As we wait, would you like a cigarette? They're Camels, which 4 out of 5 doctors recommend."

Apartment 3-G

Lowen SoDium · # ? Jul 21, 2016 22:24

Johnny Walker posted:

Rex Morgan MD

He has come back for his foot!

Andorra · Andorra Dec 12, 2012

Johnny Walker posted:

Rex Morgan MD

Is the cane gold?

Odonata · # ? Jul 21, 2016 23:09

Andorra posted:

Is the cane gold?

Funny you should ask that...

I Wish I Were Gary Larson, or, Foolish Mortals

Curse of the Undead! or, Scary Gary

Moving. Spiritually enriching. Sublime. �High� art, or, Gasoline Alley

Phoebe and her Unicorn, or, Heavenly Nostrils

Descent into Madness, or, Ziggy

MRA Awakenings

Best Comic in the Thread, or, Cul de Sac

WickedHate · # ? Jul 21, 2016 23:13

Odonata posted:

Descent into Madness, or, Ziggy

I don't know what this means, but it has the cadence of a joke

Achernar · Achernar Sep 2, 2011

Julet Esqu posted:

Please be Clown-9, Please be Clown-9, Please be Clown-9...

Tuxedo Ted · # ? Jul 22, 2016 00:01

Odonata posted:

Best Comic in the Thread, or, Cul de Sac

I really love this strip.

Endless Mike · # ? Jul 22, 2016 00:24

Odonata posted:

Best Comic in the Thread, or, Cul de Sac

Need to find this Pokespot.

TyrsHTML · TyrsHTML May 13, 2004

Julet Esqu posted:

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man

As someone who actually deals with trusts and death issues on a regular basis: Trusts don't work this way.

JaggerMcDagger · # ? Jul 22, 2016 01:29

Julet Esqu posted:

Luann

LOOK AT THAT SLUT TIFFANY TEACHING THAT CHILD HOW TO BE A WHORE

(This is legit the interpretation some of the commenters at GoComics have gleaned, though I will leave that to JaggerMcDagger to explore)

quote:

sarcasm} you�re a lifesaver, Tiffany

It should be noted that the poster of that comment posts EVERYWHERE on GoComics.

quote:

As was suggested yesterday, here it is early in the line-up.

This is the recurring list of answers for recurring questions. If you think you have seen it or them before, then you have.

Yes, we all know this is just a comic strip. People like to think about it just as they do with other forms of fiction, though, and many find that a relaxing diversion.

K2 is Kafe Kablooie which is the cafe in The Fuse that is run by TJ, an investor in the Fuse. The Fuse an entertainment complex in an old factory of unexplained background which was bought by Luann�s parents.

Les is Al Grey�s nephew, son of his sister who is a single parent. He is employed as a favor to Mr. Grey. Yes, Les was the high school bully who shook down fellow students.

Shannon is 6 years old. She was not always 6 in the strip, but is currently 6.

Luann is a teenager as are her friends. Her cohort just finished their first year of college. Since it happened in Luanntime which does not map consistently with real world time it took two years of our time.

In Luanntime compared to real world time a five minute conversation might extend over a week or more of strips, but one year can take multiple 3D (real time) years, and even have multiple summers. As one poster once mentioned, if you can not cope with that then think of them like recollections, so in a second (third, whatever) same summer you are reading recollections that fill you in more on that same summer.

Sunday strips are usually, but not always, stand-alones.

Quill used to work at the Fuse. Quill is from Australia. He is Luann�s ex-boyfriend who worked a trade between The Fuse and the Mooney University Theatre Program in which he is a student on a student visa. The University was remodeling its theater space so the trade was old theater equipment which he would install and manage in exchange for free use of the Fuse theater by the university department. He was with a student learning program in NYC in the past and left the Fuse shortly after he and Luann broke up to go on tour during Spring Break. It is unclear if that was with a student theatre program also, and unclear if real world visa rules apply in 2D. He is still a student at the university.

Luann chose to attend the community college for her first two years to save money while getting a better handle on what she wants to study and later do in life, meanwhile she is taking some required general core/introductory classes, though usually we have seen only one series of art classes and two fellow students in those classes.

Toni, who is Shannon�s aunt, and the older sister of Jonah, is engaged to Brad, Luann�s brother. They had first planned on a Sept 11th wedding to honor the 9/11 firefighters, but the week that their boss could work in for them both to have off begins on Dec. 11.

The Fuse Follies signs never mentioned a competition of prizes, so until we learn otherwise it might just be an open stage night.

Shannon�s mother left soon after she was born. We do not know who she was.

Toni did her best as a young adult to try to help her brother after their parents died, but he acted out quite a bit, hence the appearance of Shannon in their lives. He is often heading off to auditions at which times Shannon usually stays with Toni.

Delta spent her freshman year at Howard University in Washington, DC

Aaron Hill long ago moved to Hawaii, though he might be anywhere as a college student. His move to Hawaii led to an oft-repeated phrase where missing or retired characters are �in the volcano�. Dirk, too, is among those who have been gone for quite some time.

You create paragraphs by placing a letter (I usually use L.) between the �less than� and �greater than� symbols. Here is the former to guide you: <

If you decide to spend the less than a buck a month to go Pro, which i did to eliminate advertisements, you will have to click on a person�s name to get the reply button at the bottom if you have the same interface i have.

If you have a question you will often find the answer in the comments section. Sometimes one of the very extra-considerate members will even have included the image of a relevant strip or its URL.

No, no one asked any questions yet.

quote:

I can see Shannon looking like the world�s youngest hooker in the Thursday night edition of this strip.

quote:

Oooo, GLITTER!
Now let�s find some PASTE and then get it in EVERYBODY�S Hair!!!!

quote:

I hope Tiff is not going to transform Shannon into Jonbenett Ramsey.

?????

quote:

@WildeBill
WildeBill said �I hope Tiff is not going to transform Shannon into Jonbenett Ramsey.�
I think Tiff WAS a Jonbennett Ramsey who survived. In misguided but sincere compassion, she�s showing Shannon how she survived�twisted, maybe, but functioning. Fortunately, Shannon has Toni and Brad to keep her in balance. I get the impression Tiffany had no one.

??????????????????????

quote:

�Glossing Over Things�
�Gotta Face Up�
�Glitterbugs�
�Make Up Sessions�
�Take Me As I Glam�
�A Preen Sweep�
�Me �And Eye Sha-dow�.� (♪)
�Lashing Out�
�Mulling Over Rouge�
�This Must Be The Face� (♬)
�The Less We Say About It, The Better�.� (♪)
�We�ll Make It Up, As We Go Along�.� (♪)
�Powder And Puff Girls�
�Tango And Fashion�
or
�Please�Don�t Make Me Blush!�

fort knox

Evil Mastermind · # ? Jul 22, 2016 01:58

The Classic Dinette Set knows what works.

Working Daze is GOD SHUT UP!

Super-Fun-Pak-Comix is better than drinking alone.

Just Dan Again · # ? Jul 22, 2016 02:02

Tangentially related to the Batiuk shrine a few pages back, Chester, Illinois has twelve (and counting!) statues of characters from Popeye/Thimble Theater scattered around town. Guess they've added one every year since 2006 in honor of the strip's creator being born there.

Wanamingo · # ? Jul 22, 2016 02:45

Six Chix

Zippy the Pinhead

Nancy

Arlo and Janis

Andertoons

Pluggers

Green Intern · # ? Jul 22, 2016 03:23

JaggerMcDagger posted:

fort knox

This is the saddest Gift of the Magi version yet.

The Bloop · # ? Jul 22, 2016 03:36

.

Only registered members can see post attachments!

Tiggum · # ? Jul 22, 2016 04:23

EasyEW posted:

Mopey Pete and Boy Lisa Commit Breaking And Entering

These are comic book writers/artists, right? And one of them is not at all familiar with the 1960s Batman TV show?

Johnny Walker posted:

Mary Worth

Hey, the keyboard has a space bar! It still doesn't look like a real keyboard, but it's a start!

WickedHate posted:

I don't know what this means, but it has the cadence of a joke

The mechanic is either taking advantage of Ziggy or playing a joke on him. Ziggy suspects that this is happening but lacks the confidence to confront him about it and will just go along with whatever happens.

Wanamingo posted:

Nancy

Reply All

Murdstone · # ? Jul 22, 2016 04:30

Luann fans are the weirdest fans since the 9CL fans that posted about that comic until Brooke had his hissy fit and closed the comments. They moved to that other site for a while. It's still going there, I see. It looks like a lot less "Honorable Master" stuff though. Just talking about what's going on.

Wanamingo posted:

Nancy

It still bugs me how Gilchrist reworked Phil Phumble from the little dopey guy he was into this tall Christian jock we have today. It wasn't even necessary. In a way having him the way he was before and still get Fritzi may have worked even better for the kind of feel-good Hallmark Channel crap Gilchrist seems to like producing.

treasureplane · # ? Jul 22, 2016 05:20

Wanamingo posted:

Six Chix

We justifiably give Gilchrist and McEldowney a lot of guff, but sometimes I wonder if Anne Gibbons' Six Chix strips aren't the actual worst thing in this thread.

Julet Esqu · # ? Jul 22, 2016 05:42

Phantom Classic

Radio Patrol

Rip Kirby

Big Ben Bolt

karmicknight · # ? Jul 22, 2016 06:29

treasureplane posted:

We justifiably give Gilchrist and McEldowney a lot of guff, but sometimes I wonder if Anne Gibbons' Six Chix strips aren't the actual worst thing in this thread.

It is certainly the one with the least effort in writing and artwork. It is both advantaged and disadvantaged by being in the Six Chix lineup, because we only see it once a week, but it is still obviously the weakest of the strips produced for that comic.

SomeMathGuy · # ? Jul 22, 2016 06:52

Wanamingo posted:

Six Chix

No, not Ohio, that person is just an out and proud Grover Cleveland scholar. They will not be dissuaded by popular talk about how nonconsecutive terms aren't "cool," or how the kids these days just don't dig late 19th century bureaucratic reform the way they used to! Their's is a higher calling, and if you're not with them, well, they couldn't care less.

Mark Trail

You see the undocumented island about which not much is known doesn't have stinging ants because

Pearls Before Swine

The Phantom

Aardmania · # ? Jul 22, 2016 07:21

Heathcliff

Piranha Club

Dick Tracy

Judge Parker

Today's script has been brought to you by the Monster Energy Drink advertising department.

9 Chickweed Lane

Simian_Prime · # ? Jul 22, 2016 07:36

Nice implied fellatio with the drinking straw there, JP.

The MSJ · The MSJ May 17, 2010

Achernar posted:

Please be Clown-9, Please be Clown-9, Please be Clown-9...

Thank you for reminding me of the best character ever.

Strontium · # ? Jul 22, 2016 09:11

Intelligent Life

Take It From the Tinkersons

Dark Side of the Horse

Say Nothing · # ? Jul 22, 2016 10:33

Say Nothing posted:

I'm guessing her most likely course of action will be to fall off the cliff.

SomeMathGuy posted:

Mark Trail

You see the undocumented island about which not much is known doesn't have stinging ants because

Geomancing · # ? Jul 22, 2016 13:20

Johnny Walker posted:

It still bugs me how Gilchrist reworked Phil Phumble from the little dopey guy he was into this tall Christian jock we have today. It wasn't even necessary. In a way having him the way he was before and still get Fritzi may have worked even better for the kind of feel-good Hallmark Channel crap Gilchrist seems to like producing.

He doesn't want Phil to be with Fritzi. He wants Guy Gilchrist to be with Fritzi, and he can't have his self-insert represented by a short round pushover.

Adbot · # ? May 29, 2024 19:23

Hwurmp · Hwurmp May 20, 2005

I can't wait for Classic Phantom/Rip Kirby/Radio Patrol Cop Guy to just slap that dizzy dame so she falls in love with him, realizes that the best thing a woman can ever be is a housewife, and stops making all this dang blamed trouble