Comic Strips 2022: Girls Are People!

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > BSS: Bisexual Super Son > Comic Strips 2022: Girls Are People!

Why do you read this thread anyway? This poll is closed.
I enjoy reading contemporary newspaper comics.	64	26.02%
I hate reading contemporary newspaper comics.	42	17.07%
I enjoy reading historical newspaper comics.	88	35.77%
I enjoy reading newspaper comics from foreign countries.	52	21.14%
Total:	246 votes

[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

Mister Beeg: Sep 7, 2012; A Certified Jerk

Arnold (January 23-29, 1984)

# ? Sep 7, 2022 06:26

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 29, 2024 06:59

riderchop: Aug 10, 2010; av by @daikonquest!

Heathcliff

Compu-toon

Garfield

Overboard

Monty

For Better or For Worse

Classic Arlo and Janis (September 30, 2000)

Rae The Doe, which you can support by pledging to the author's Patreon

On The Fastrack

Safe Havens

# ? Sep 7, 2022 06:39

Samovar: Jun 4, 2011; When I want to relax, I read an essay by Engels. When I want something more serious, I read Corto Maltese.

Strontium posted:

Take It From the Tinkersons

Is this the first time we've seen the name of the school because goddamn.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 07:06

Strontium: Aug 28, 2009; Dexter didn't much care for the party.

Samovar posted:

Is this the first time we've seen the name of the school because goddamn.

No, it shows up every now and then because Bettwy insists on using a zoom out panel every chance he gets. Here's a random one I found from 2017.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 08:36

Maxwell Lord: Dec 12, 2008; I am drowning.
There is no sign of land.
You are coming down with me, hand in unlovable hand.

And I hope you die.

I hope we both die.; Grimey Drawer

Medenmath posted:

Vintage Valiant (Feb. 22, 1953)

That is an amazing dog

# ? Sep 7, 2022 09:12

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

goatface posted:

I feel like it's going for more of a (pre-(?))teen drama with occasional humour than comedy.

Pity there's also no drama then.

Haifisch posted:

Yeah, it's slice of life, not a gag strip. It probably just seems odd to a lot of people because American comic strips don't do the slice of life thing very often without being a full-blown soap opera strip.

So what's the appeal? Ordinary things happen to ordinary people and nothing particularly funny or dramatic results. Why would anyone want to read this?

riderchop posted:

Classic Arlo and Janis (September 30, 2000)

She goes out to call the cat in and the cat comes inside. Then there's two more panels that I'm assuming contain the substance of the joke, but I don't get it. What am I missing?

# ? Sep 7, 2022 09:32

Zereth: Jul 9, 2003

Tiggum posted:

She goes out to call the cat in and the cat comes inside. Then there's two more panels that I'm assuming contain the substance of the joke, but I don't get it. What am I missing?

The cat BOLTS inside. She's looking around to see if there's something out there the cat knows about that she doesn't.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 09:44

someone awful.: Sep 7, 2007

Tiggum posted:

Pity there's also no drama then.

So what's the appeal? Ordinary things happen to ordinary people and nothing particularly funny or dramatic results. Why would anyone want to read this?

for an adult, probably nothing. but as a young kid I took a lot of comfort in reading fairly bland stories about people my age living their normal lives, occasionally having minor conflicts with their friends which always resolved amiably, getting up to low-impact shenanigans like school talent shows etc.

i would have absolutely loved this version of Heart back then

# ? Sep 7, 2022 10:49

Mr. Squishy: Mar 22, 2010; A country where you can always get richer.

Tiggum posted:

She goes out to call the cat in and the cat comes inside. Then there's two more panels that I'm assuming contain the substance of the joke, but I don't get it. What am I missing?

The cat, unusually, runs straight in rather than just ignoring her. After a moment of being taken aback (panel 3), she nervously checks the sky for hawks or any other predator the cat would be fleeing from. That's my reading anyway, I'm not totally convinced about it.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 11:40

Selachian: Oct 9, 2012

Falli

Rhymes with Orange

Get Fuzzy 9/6/02

Brenda Starr 5/30 - 6/1/49

Smokey Stover 12/18/49

Everyday Movies 7/19/35

"You're from New York? Then that's all right -- you see we're very particular about who we take in here?"

# ? Sep 7, 2022 11:43

Stultus Maximus: Dec 21, 2009; USPOL May

Maxwell Lord posted:

That is an amazing pack of dog

# ? Sep 7, 2022 11:54

Vargo: Dec 27, 2008; 'Cuz it's KILLIN' ME!

someone awful. posted:

for an adult, probably nothing. but as a young kid I took a lot of comfort in reading fairly bland stories about people my age living their normal lives, occasionally having minor conflicts with their friends which always resolved amiably, getting up to low-impact shenanigans like school talent shows etc.

i would have absolutely loved this version of Heart back then

This is actually the second time I've taken up posting Heart, after the first couple of weeks, I came to the conclusion "this isn't for me but it will make some child very happy and that's good."

I'm not saying that Heart is beyond criticism, but sometimes it feels like people are judging it based on how it appeals to 35-year-olds and not how it appeals to 10-year-old girls, which is who it's for.

Breaking Cat News

Phoebe and Her Unicorn

Wallace the Brave

Heart of the City

Curtis

# ? Sep 7, 2022 12:24

Huxley: Oct 10, 2012; Grimey Drawer

Tiggum posted:

Something to do with gridiron?

This past weekend was the first full Saturday of college football in the US. The first week is usually full of mismatches, as the big schools schedule easy teams to start the year with a win.

"The line" is a gambling term for how lopsided a game is expected to be, and 35 is a lot.

So Janis goes, "why do you have so much food for a bad game?" And Arlo responds, "I'm expecting to be bored so I'll need something to do." He's so excited about football being back, he's prepared to watch anything.

There's also a reference to the running gag that Janis doesn't understand football but is nonetheless interested in/adept at gambling on it.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 12:56

Endless Mike: Aug 13, 2003

Yeah, that's the joke, but in reality, even when there's lots of blowout games, it's usually not hard to find something more interesting to watch. Starting right at noon you had UNC @ App State and NC State @ ECU which were both fun, close games. The big afternoon game was Georgia vs. Oregon, but that was immediately obviously going to be a blowout (though the line was a lot closer than 35), but at the same time was Cincinnati @ Arkansas, which was a close, competitive game, and at night you had Utah @ Florida, which was a very competitive game that didn't end until the final buzzer.

Though I suppose if you're Arlo, you're watching Auburn play a paycheck game against Mercer which had a 31.5 point spread, which Auburn did cover, but that didn't start until the evening.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 13:25

Green Intern: Dec 29, 2008; Loon, Crazy and Laughable

Some Guy TT posted:

The Demons of Baseball

If this turns into a Getter Robo plot, I won't be surprised. I'm loving Demons of Baseball so far.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 13:46

The_Other: Dec 28, 2012; Welcome Back, Galaxy Geek.

Solver: Green Door

John Allison's Patreon John Allison's Gumroad store
Forward Slash Scare website for Allison's side comics

John Allison posted:

I always liked the term �the catbird seat�, though it�s not in common usage these days, so it�s not a great one to drop in the supermarket when making idle chitty chat (oiseau) with the cashier. Its origin is a short story by James Thurber.

The number 60 bus was the first local bus a lot of Sheffield students would catch when they started university in the city, as it would run past the halls of residence in Broomhill, to the University, into the city and sometimes beyond. I felt a pang of sadness when I learned that the route was replaced in 2009.

Also, I just wanted to share this from Allison's Twitter about yesterday's Bad Machinery page
https://twitter.com/badmachinery/status/1567106846602706945

# ? Sep 7, 2022 15:11

kidcoelacanth: Sep 23, 2009

the catbird seat is a thing they say on nascar broadcasts a lot and i choose to believe that's where allison got it

# ? Sep 7, 2022 15:13

Huxley: Oct 10, 2012; Grimey Drawer

A+J

# ? Sep 7, 2022 15:24

Powered Descent: Jul 13, 2008; We haven't had that spirit here since 1969.

Vargo posted:

This is actually the second time I've taken up posting Heart, after the first couple of weeks, I came to the conclusion "this isn't for me but it will make some child very happy and that's good."

I'm not saying that Heart is beyond criticism, but sometimes it feels like people are judging it based on how it appeals to 35-year-olds and not how it appeals to 10-year-old girls, which is who it's for.

Didn't Heart get a new artist a year or two back? I seem to recall having an opinion on whether the new art was an improvement or not, but I don't remember which side of the question I actually came down on.

Bizarro

The Family Circus

# ? Sep 7, 2022 15:38

goatface: Dec 5, 2007; I had a video of that when I was about 6.

I remember it being shit.; Grimey Drawer

The art came with the new run, it has changed a bit since the start. It's a bit less muppety than it used to be.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 15:44

Vargo: Dec 27, 2008; 'Cuz it's KILLIN' ME!

Powered Descent posted:

Didn't Heart get a new artist a year or two back? I seem to recall having an opinion on whether the new art was an improvement or not, but I don't remember which side of the question I actually came down on.

Heart was originally created by Mark Tatulli, who does Lio, and the art was pretty much that of a more commercially-accessible Lio. Here's three random examples:

Tatulli decided to step away from the strip a few years and webcomic artist Steenz took over (reportedly on Tatulli's recommendation). Steenz redid the art entirely and also basically re-launched the series, keeping some characterizations and settings the same but doing the current tone.

I started posting it most recently as a comparison point to some other legacy strips that were recently taken over by webcomics people, like Mark Trail and Nancy.

I would say that Steenz is doing better with the deadlines than the others, but every time I say that, we get a strip that's like, still done in zip-a-tone with half-drawn backgrounds.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 16:23

Darthemed: Oct 28, 2007; "A data unit?
For me?"; College Slice

Docks

Retail

Popcom

# ? Sep 7, 2022 18:05

Mister Beeg: Sep 7, 2012; A Certified Jerk

Huh, apparently Out Our Way had a Sunday strip as well, although the Sundays only focused on the Willets family, who only appeared occasionally in the dailies. They were ghosted by another cartoonist (the son of the editor at the syndicate) and are considered inferior by fans of the strip

# ? Sep 7, 2022 18:20

EasyEW: Mar 8, 2006; I've got my father's great big six-shooter with me 'n' if anybody in this woods wants to start somethin' just let 'em--but they DASSN'T.

Mutts

Sally Forth

Skippy (November 15, 1934)

Peanuts (September 10, 1975)

The Afterlife Of My Father, John Darling

Says the woman who attempted (and bailed on) a documentary about her father (John Darling), and presumably still has hours of unedited interview footage with the people he used to work with, presumably sitting at the back of the junk room. So cheer up, Jess, you still have their memories! Their horrible, horrible memories of an unbearable man!

The Crankshaft Leg Of This Lame Crossover

Just in case you didn't see the Mort Walker Inc. cameo the first couple of times...

Mutt and Jeff

Rip Haywire

Thimble Theater (April 8, 1939)

Out Our Way (October 12-14, 1939)

# ? Sep 7, 2022 18:21

Shaman Tank Spec: Dec 26, 2003; *blep*

Darthemed posted:

What an awesome... joke?

:confused:

# ? Sep 7, 2022 18:29

rannum: Nov 3, 2012

Shaman Tank Spec posted:

What an awesome... joke?

You expect little kids to have a spotty memory, but she has everything down pat from phone to first names

# ? Sep 7, 2022 18:38

PainterofCrap: Oct 17, 2002; hey bebe

EasyEW posted:

Out Our Way (October 12-14, 1939)

My father talked about picking fresh road tar & chewing it when he was a kid. He was born in 1933.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 18:38

Mister Beeg: Sep 7, 2012; A Certified Jerk

PainterofCrap posted:

My father talked about picking fresh road tar & chewing it when he was a kid. He was born in 1933.

I only know this was a thing from, of all things, "Dennis the Menace". There was a Sunday strip where Mr. Wilson commented that he used to do that when he was a kid.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 18:40

Sundae: Dec 1, 2005

Shaman Tank Spec posted:

What an awesome... joke?

That was also a thing kids did/practiced in the 80s, which might be in the artist's memory from his own childhood? Not sure how old he is. TL;DR: Kid gets lost, kid should have address/phone number / parent names all memorized. It turned into a recited thing kids did under far too often of circumstances b/c they've memorized it but don't know the right circumstances for when to use it. "Hi, I'm your new teacher, Ms. Ladyperson." "Hi Ms. Ladyperson. My name is Susie Susington *bzzt, rote memory kicks in* and I live at...."

# ? Sep 7, 2022 19:07

Stultus Maximus: Dec 21, 2009; USPOL May

Sundae posted:

That was also a thing kids did/practiced in the 80s, which might be in the artist's memory from his own childhood? Not sure how old he is. TL;DR: Kid gets lost, kid should have address/phone number / parent names all memorized. It turned into a recited thing kids did under far too often of circumstances b/c they've memorized it but don't know the right circumstances for when to use it. "Hi, I'm your new teacher, Ms. Ladyperson." "Hi Ms. Ladyperson. My name is Susie Susington *bzzt, rote memory kicks in* and I live at...."

Percival Wemys Madison The Vicarage Harcourt St. Anthony

# ? Sep 7, 2022 19:31

Doomykins: Jun 28, 2008; Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

Jucika "442 - Jucika's Running Stadium Record"

"443 - Jucika Is Also Studying"

"Dolgoz�k esti iskol�ja = Evening School For Workers"

Pusztai making a big push for the modern day need for horny jail.

Mister Beeg posted:

Huh, apparently Out Our Way had a Sunday strip as well, although the Sundays only focused on the Willets family, who only appeared occasionally in the dailies. They were ghosted by another cartoonist (the son of the editor at the syndicate) and are considered inferior by fans of the strip

These are great though.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 19:35

Haifisch: Nov 13, 2010; Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!; Taco Defender

2018 Spiderman

1980 comics

Locher Tracy

Remember kids: ACAB

Footrot Flats

The Lockhorns

Computoon: Origins

# ? Sep 7, 2022 20:07

Professor Wayne: Aug 27, 2008; So, Harvey, what became of the giant penny?

They actually let him keep it.

Pickles

Hagar the Horrible

Zits

# ? Sep 7, 2022 20:14

BigglesSWE: Dec 2, 2014; How 'bout them hawks news huh!

Ballard Street

# ? Sep 7, 2022 20:30

Yvonmukluk: Oct 10, 2012; Everything is Sinister

Bad Machinery

Behold! The Definitive Lottie Grote panel.

# ? Sep 7, 2022 21:36

Twelve by Pies: May 4, 2012; Again a very likpatous story

Tiggum posted:

So what's the appeal? Ordinary things happen to ordinary people and nothing particularly funny or dramatic results. Why would anyone want to read this?

https://twitter.com/intofourths/status/1212875784282615808

# ? Sep 7, 2022 22:07