tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59328644751161256892023-11-16T18:33:23.083+11:00Comics for the BlindA picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip is no ordinary picture! It's worth a lot less.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.comBlogger902125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-51646998186068777882019-03-25T20:35:00.001+11:002019-03-25T20:36:28.858+11:00This Blog is DeprecatedI realised today that since I got <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ComicsForTheBlind/">my Facebook page</a>, keeping this blog was basically just duplicating effort and dividing my (hypothetical) audience, so from this point forward you should not expect to see anything posted here. My commentary goes on <a href="https://twitter.com/Blindcomics">Twitter</a> and my comic descriptions go on Facebook, and my edits go on both. So follow me there if you still want to see this stuff.<br />
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As of today I also have <a href="https://www.patreon.com/tiggum">a patreon</a>, which you are absolutely free to ignore and which you will get absolutely nothing for donating to. I just kind of realised that there was no reason not to have one. Worst case scenario I get nothing out of it, but on the off chance that someone wants to give me some money, who am I to stand in their way?<br />
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In case you're interested in anything else I do, I also have <a href="https://tiggumblog.blogspot.com/">another blog</a> where I review TV shows and post whatever other writing I feel like doing and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Wallsy">a YouTube channel</a> where I put occasional let's plays and other stupid garbage. Oh, and a <a href="https://twitter.com/tiggumwalls">personal Twitter</a> in case you feel like following me there.<br />
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And that's it. I'm not deleting this blog so you can still go back and look at my old posts if that brings you joy, but for new stuff check the Facebooks and Twitters.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-14168545449134373022018-09-10T19:56:00.001+10:002018-09-10T19:56:11.417+10:00It's still happening<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ComicsForTheBlind/">Facebook</a> - <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/blindcomics">Twitter</a></div>
Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-45362004051826698302018-09-07T18:26:00.000+10:002018-09-08T01:59:58.119+10:00There's something really weird going on in the comics page today<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://twitter.com/blindcomics/">Twitter</a> - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ComicsForTheBlind/">Facebook</a>Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-39375782311841305112017-06-16T16:10:00.002+10:002017-06-16T16:10:40.700+10:00FilthI meant to pot this last week when it actually happened but then I completely forgot and was just reminded of it today. So anyway, this is <a href="http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2017/06/06">an actual, unedited Luann strip</a> that appeared in newspapers and on GoComics.<br />
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I don't have anything to say about it, I just had to document its existence, because no one would believe it.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-32952879922187295132017-03-29T17:40:00.000+11:002017-03-29T17:40:10.177+11:00The Fusco Brothers - 2017-03-29<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A man and a woman are standing in a room. The walls are a sort of uneven black and pink chequer pattern that produces a sort of optical illusion of blue patches. In two places, the pattern is unevenly matched, producing distinct squares. There is part of a window visible, drawn erratically and without regard for perspective, making it unpleasant to look at for too long. The sill and trim are white, while the glass is black and blue chequer pattern.<br />
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The man, standing next to the window, is dressed in black, with black, unkempt hair and dark stubble. He has a very large nose and bags under his eyes, and is staring blankly. He is holding a sign in front of him which reads:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
LIVING THE<br />DREAM.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
PLEASE<br />WAKE ME.</blockquote>
The text is centred and printed in a simple, slightly rough, sans-serif font. The sign itself is a very pale yellow colour and appears to be at least a couple of centimetres thick in some places, but thinner in others.<br />
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The woman is in the extreme foreground, visible only from the neck up. What can be seen of her clothing is black. She, like the man, has a very large nose, but also has very large lips and large eyes. Whereas the man has no chin at all, his head and neck being utterly undifferentiated, the woman has a very pointy chin. Her eyebrows are thick and black. Her hair is brown and worn in a style vaguely reminiscent of Princess Leia in the first Star Wars film (which is to say, episode four).<br />
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To clarify, the woman's hair is parted in the middle, with large pompom-like buns on either side of her head, obscuring her ears. Its colour is neither particularly dark nor light. The buns are crosshatched and shaded on the bottom, giving the impression of an overhead light source. Nothing else in the scene indicates such lighting, however.<br />
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Both people in the scene are drawn without regard to perspective, appearing to be mostly in profile but with both eyes visible, suggesting that they may have four eyes each, two on either side of the nose, but this seems unlikely to be the artist's intent. The woman's hair is also confusing, as much more of her right bun (furthest from the viewer) is visible than should be the case, almost like it's not attached to her head at all but floating in the air behind her.<br />
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It is unclear what the artist hoped to convey through these drawings as the entirety of the joke (such as it is) is conveyed in the sign held by the man. The illustrations give us no further insight, nor is there any additional joke conveyed through the art. Furthermore, we are given no indication of who these people are, where they are, or why one of them should be communicating his dissatisfaction with life through the medium of a slightly humours sign. Their expressions, however, leave us in no doubt that the sentiment (a desire to escape from the realities of their existences) is genuine and held by both parties. Perhaps this isn't a joke at all. Perhaps this is a cry for help from JC Duffy. Hopefully he will get the support he needs.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-1619219547585766702017-03-28T18:56:00.001+11:002017-03-28T18:56:21.247+11:00Andy Capp - 2017-03-28<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Florence Capp, a working class English woman, is visiting a supposed psychic, a fortune teller who goes by the name of "Mystic Mary". Flo is wearing a blue jacket, cardigan, windcheater, hoodie, or similar garment, with matching trousers. The trousers have pocket on the left side (and possibly a matching one on the right, although it is impossible to say from this angle). She is also wearing pale blue gloves and a pink headscarf with black spots. Her hair, where it is visible sticking out from behind the scarf, is bright yellow with some squiggles probably meant to imply curls. She is sitting up straight, hands clasped before her, holding a grey handbag or purse. She seems to be paying careful attention to "Mary".<br />
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"Mary" is dressed in what appears to be wizards' robes, pale purple with yellow stars, and some S-shapes on the (loose, baggy) cuffs. She also wears a matching hood, bonnet or cap. Her hair, peeking out from the cap, is black and sparse. She appears to be wearing black lipstick. She is leaning forward, eyes closed, hands held out before her, fingers splayed. Motion lines indicate that her hands are waving.<br />
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Between the two women is a table, completely covered by a white table cloth bearing the words "MYSTIC MARY" in a vaguely whimsical font. On the table is a "crystal ball", a clear glass sphere resting on a black base. The two women are seated on three-legged, wooden stools. The background is mostly a dark pink colour, but the top part is a solid black, indicating perhaps that the two women are seated in the only well-lit part of a dark room.<br />
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"Ah, the mists are clearing" says "Mary". "I can see now..."<br />
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In the next panel, "Mary" has opened her eyes and raised her hands slightly. Mrs Capp has leaned forward, placed one hand (palm-down) on the table and opened her mouth to speak. Her other hand (still holding the grey bag) hangs at her side.<br />
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"A tall handsome man is going to call for you and wants you to go with him" says "Mary".<br />
"Oh!" says Florence. "How exciting!"<br />
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The third and final panel takes place some unspecified amount of time later. Florence is now at home, answering the door to a police officer. The house is a pinkish-orange colour, and several bricks are visible, suggesting that the entire wall is made of brick and that Roger Mahoney (or whoever drew this strip) was too lazy to draw the rest of them. The front step appears to be made of stone or concrete, being a blueish-grey colour, which matches the colour of an unidentified object sticking out above the doorway.<br />
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The police officer is standing outside the house, on what appear to be square or rectangular concrete pavers, each of about 60 square centimetres. The background is a pale blue sky, in which a single white cloud can be seen at the edge of the frame. The weather appears overcast.<br />
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Florence is now wearing the same blue jacket, coat or whatever it is as before but with a black skirt, and has removed her gloves and scarf. She stands listening to the police officer with a look of weary resignation. The police officer is wearing an old-fashioned British police uniform, black with golden buttons and epaulettes, black shoes and a black helmet with gold trim and insignia. His eyes are closed but his mouth is open as he is speaking.<br />
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"He's in the cells, Flo" he says. "Can you come and bail him out?"<br />
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The officer is taller than Flo, and based on the statement made earlier by "Mystic Mary" one can infer that he is also handsome. Thus, her prophecy is fulfilled, as this tall, handsome man has come to see Florence and asked her to accompany him, although not for the romantic reason she may have expected or hoped for.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-12365884236451109052017-03-27T22:20:00.002+11:002017-03-27T22:20:38.494+11:00The Born Loser - 2017-03-27<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Brutus Thornapple, a man who appears to be in late middle age, with a largely bald head (save for a narrow band of hair stretching horizontally from ear to ear via the back of his head, and a single strand poking up from the top, near the back), wearing a black suit, white shirt, red bow tie, and brown shoes, sits at a table. One foot is on the floor, the other hangs in the air - his right leg is balanced across his left, perpendicular, so as to display the sole of his right shoe to the viewer. His left arm rests on his right shin.<br />
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The table is brown, apparently wooden, with four legs, and appears to have a round top. Most of the table is concealed by a white table cloth, which hangs nearly to the ground. The chair on which he is seated is the same colour as the table - presumably made of the same material - and of a fairly typical "dining chair" style, with four legs and a slightly angled back. The background is a pale green void.<br />
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Thornapple is holding a white teacup in his right hand, slightly in front of and below his face. There is a puff of steam floating in the air above the teacup. Thornapple appears to be looking in the reader's direction, breaking the so-called "fourth wall". His mouth is open as he addresses us, his audience, saying "There's nothing like a good, strong cup of coffee to get you going in the morning!"<br />
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In the second panel, Thormapple has moved the cup to his lips and closed his eyes. The puff of steam is gone, replaced by a single wisp. Thornapple is apparently taking sip of the beverage (implied to be coffee) presumably contained within the cup.<br />
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In the third panel, Thormapple has placed the cup on the table, near the edge closest to him. The single wisp of steam still floats above the cup. Thornapple's right hand is no longer visible, presumably hidden behind him. His eyes are still (or perhaps again) closed and his mouth is open once more as he is again speaking. This time, however, he looks disappointed (or perhaps resigned) as he says "Unfortunately, this is decaf!", the exclamation mark at odds with his dejected pose.<br />
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The joke, such as it is, sets up in its premise the expectation that Thornapple is currently drinking a good, strong cup of coffee - the implication being that a good, strong cup of coffee contains sufficient caffeine to "get [one] going". The punchline contrasts with both this implication and also with the appearance of Thornapple's face in panel two (which could be interpreted as a look of satisfaction) and, ideally, surprises us with the information that the beverage Thornapple is drinking is actually decaffeinated coffee, and therefore will not have the power to "get [him] going".<br />
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This joke follows a fairly typical scheme for generating amusement, which is to create expectations in the minds of the audience only to reveal that those expectations are unfounded. The audience is then pleasantly surprised to discover their mistake, and marvels at the cleverness of the joker in pulling off this deception. Specifically, we are led to believe that Thornapple is talking about the beverage that he is currently consuming, but in fact he was referring to some other, hypothetical beverage - one that he would prefer to be drinking, but is, for unstated reasons, not drinking.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-27074837536828020832016-11-10T19:23:00.001+11:002016-11-10T19:23:26.282+11:00Curtis<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" data-select-like-a-boss="1" style="text-align: left;">Curtis, 2016-11-10.</td></tr>
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I had more to say about <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/curtis/2016-11-10">today's Curtis</a> than would fit on Twitter, so I thought I may as well post it here.<br />
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The first thing I noticed, that I was originally going to comment on, was that sign in the first panel. "Upspeak", I assume, refers to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_rising_terminal">HRT</a>, a vocal peculiarity associated largely with women, particularly young women. Also Australians, but that seems less relevant. Is that a subtle way of saying "no women allowed"? That can't be the intended meaning, surely?<br />
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That led me down a bit of a rabbit hole on Wikipedia so I read about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_lisp">gay lisp</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexy_baby_voice">sexy baby voice</a> among other things, which was interesting, but doesn't really relate to this comic. Anyway, all that almost distracted me from actually reading the strip, so I almost missed the weirdest thing about it.<br />
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The joke follows a pretty standard form of complaining about gym memberships (you don't go and they're hard to cancel) but hold up a second - that's Barry he's talking to. I'm not sure how old Barry is supposed to be, but Curtis is apparently 11 and Barry's younger, so let's say... 9?<br />
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Why is Gunther complaining about gym memberships to a nine-year-old? No wonder he's not saying anything back. What would he say? Is Gunther expecting sympathy or understanding from a literal child? What a weird situation.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-1716976207154792422016-01-28T20:09:00.003+11:002016-01-28T20:09:53.155+11:00Gunther and Quill finally admit it<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sequence based on recent Luann comics.</td></tr>
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OK, so this is a thing I spent way too long on. It's basically just what I saw when I looked at <a href="http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2016/01/28">the latest Luann strip</a>.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-13047119956549738662016-01-06T17:06:00.001+11:002016-01-06T17:06:23.805+11:00These are the characters we're supposed to like<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Based on the <i>Luann</i> strip for 2016-01-05.</td></tr>
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<br />Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-90314092542041413232015-09-13T18:24:00.000+10:002015-09-13T18:24:10.494+10:00The Phantom: The Challenge 2015-05-11 - 2015-09-12Get comfortable everyone, because this is going to be a long one. Long and irritating.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMtSTDCN4GfoOfMnU6zvDHm8whosop0qlwoE8Dr3xEGx1k8l_nMA6rFs4cPOD2wggALSoyTUfMEp43OzUCEWIBqgF8HQ0JrCvEHEH36kEQV5lIfGn_uUasJB3a1xPzba5rVYpIzX1HrU/s1600/TP150512panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMtSTDCN4GfoOfMnU6zvDHm8whosop0qlwoE8Dr3xEGx1k8l_nMA6rFs4cPOD2wggALSoyTUfMEp43OzUCEWIBqgF8HQ0JrCvEHEH36kEQV5lIfGn_uUasJB3a1xPzba5rVYpIzX1HrU/s200/TP150512panel.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-05-12.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Yes, it's election time for the Bandar. But hasn't Guran always been chief? Since when do they have elections?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9WZ08npUaUlTyk4LRZK3eXpF8In73iIzGxy8IVJqg3ZZP6bKW4JlFX98QyCOhjdcYMhTjIUf68UknDtcrSJXA12vL1-RJXzbTmIJV0uwQNQpZ2hhRxfW1B2fkLeCOftipzbpxKAN2gc/s1600/TP150513panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9WZ08npUaUlTyk4LRZK3eXpF8In73iIzGxy8IVJqg3ZZP6bKW4JlFX98QyCOhjdcYMhTjIUf68UknDtcrSJXA12vL1-RJXzbTmIJV0uwQNQpZ2hhRxfW1B2fkLeCOftipzbpxKAN2gc/s400/TP150513panel.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-05-13.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh, OK. Fair enough then. Doesn't sound very exciting, but a new Bandar chief could be interesting and shake up the status quo a bit. Not much for the Phantom to do though, since he's hardly going to interfere in a peaceful and democratic election. It's a Bandar matter.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbeAwgWNRL4iuC4IoUDVa1iyY9E3APBk5ft0u6AE4_KTk_2z4Tqn4OmE3hwkrSLvfGUZrSSODL7xOL2nujrYXGUiUCa6orTeeMgFu8NGs80HRYu-yyebFshKeGemIpRKE2-Jfp_h0_LM/s1600/TP150516.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbeAwgWNRL4iuC4IoUDVa1iyY9E3APBk5ft0u6AE4_KTk_2z4Tqn4OmE3hwkrSLvfGUZrSSODL7xOL2nujrYXGUiUCa6orTeeMgFu8NGs80HRYu-yyebFshKeGemIpRKE2-Jfp_h0_LM/s640/TP150516.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-05-16.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
See?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYH8XjSZ57twuIeraSq8i2iB_glWJXXGORM5zk8NLG6frzQW_-oWYmWjUjmfmd8rqOy3_tVMhIz0FZ4Reaes6ggL0bohN00TmJKX9TkxF0VsevsOBhJrgGGLbmfBjlWhpXfoHfM2aI9A4/s1600/TP150519.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYH8XjSZ57twuIeraSq8i2iB_glWJXXGORM5zk8NLG6frzQW_-oWYmWjUjmfmd8rqOy3_tVMhIz0FZ4Reaes6ggL0bohN00TmJKX9TkxF0VsevsOBhJrgGGLbmfBjlWhpXfoHfM2aI9A4/s640/TP150519.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-05-19.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's a Bandar matter.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeYnbZSg6G5Pr5pFEBlRTiIKzj7dQzkv5Zn_oqNHMvocHoTTVzAhCS2FbTc5BH7QllwQnINc3CFdwMUHd_JS3LYrvXpgx8mcF5FOnWTqovSA4bKTsx1d0Q81f8lEfS-daDlUtufOceDk/s1600/TP150521panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeYnbZSg6G5Pr5pFEBlRTiIKzj7dQzkv5Zn_oqNHMvocHoTTVzAhCS2FbTc5BH7QllwQnINc3CFdwMUHd_JS3LYrvXpgx8mcF5FOnWTqovSA4bKTsx1d0Q81f8lEfS-daDlUtufOceDk/s200/TP150521panel.png" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-05-21.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Glad we've got that settled once and for all. So how does this election work anyway?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNincFonYRyon4IE4KkAIhG9xczhCo-3zHrN4x1k_I_NJiYIstlxNTvznzmWwA5JijBXmXg_0Bec16JK0LvyxRh7-F7rH3VJLlwTCpZkjxQh-Kfha-m-2DCTL_GJWfsOQXcCJ6o2XGi3s/s1600/TP150522.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNincFonYRyon4IE4KkAIhG9xczhCo-3zHrN4x1k_I_NJiYIstlxNTvznzmWwA5JijBXmXg_0Bec16JK0LvyxRh7-F7rH3VJLlwTCpZkjxQh-Kfha-m-2DCTL_GJWfsOQXcCJ6o2XGi3s/s640/TP150522.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-05-22.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It is an election though, right? (Spoiler: It is an election, the contest is meaningless)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1g6AUoAvecBpjjt_hUUJbySX2VReJSan5AvsxH_h5yrJNO5wBBDHG_V7Eq96ZUCC5bnezlBRWCqqaigD61axRKRMjc8cp_iyX9D4U_nzJpQhfWWSTMLd_AuJ9IzsYhxZMscc-0aGksM/s1600/TP150523.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1g6AUoAvecBpjjt_hUUJbySX2VReJSan5AvsxH_h5yrJNO5wBBDHG_V7Eq96ZUCC5bnezlBRWCqqaigD61axRKRMjc8cp_iyX9D4U_nzJpQhfWWSTMLd_AuJ9IzsYhxZMscc-0aGksM/s640/TP150523.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-05-23.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What? Why would you think that? It didn't occur to you that someone younger than you might want to be the next chief? And why would Babudan only challenge you when you were both really old? I'm beginning to think Guran didn't really think this through.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNbxpNZWCLLeKTF8FI73AIX5nscWcpSHkeBy-1s-v3ND2Qs4I3GJ6O0cJjur-NdMPKeow282dopB1VENLbXzU_9WPrloxseT3Ht5m9sm672dnLBgcUp7E3uvxWmOXhn5z6fI8r9-wpdg/s1600/TP150529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNbxpNZWCLLeKTF8FI73AIX5nscWcpSHkeBy-1s-v3ND2Qs4I3GJ6O0cJjur-NdMPKeow282dopB1VENLbXzU_9WPrloxseT3Ht5m9sm672dnLBgcUp7E3uvxWmOXhn5z6fI8r9-wpdg/s640/TP150529.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-05-29.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yeah, this really doesn't affect the Phantom at all. It's a Bandar matter.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2skSC7fStZ61AVx8bgEYENPrInZOVf09Ia9IPXUTrupTYBrKr7qPNp8Z59d1S9A6wZ2o25yuJ4T1TWCUfPm3-gKVHNzv0RbkAQPcakS3QvU3gFDLhca7JkAlmLmuuvSaAlekZE_pmWSQ/s1600/TP150601panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2skSC7fStZ61AVx8bgEYENPrInZOVf09Ia9IPXUTrupTYBrKr7qPNp8Z59d1S9A6wZ2o25yuJ4T1TWCUfPm3-gKVHNzv0RbkAQPcakS3QvU3gFDLhca7JkAlmLmuuvSaAlekZE_pmWSQ/s200/TP150601panel.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-06-01.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
No. He doesn't.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwZgHtHNDkD7G_7bXM81jItgNEu-5CBs6PlL4qK2e8YfBTbZo792I25uCfkK9aFtOBNuCurnzmv4yNIS3rWfCo16ib1G739ZbA_qc-bbvTNrNldjSDBhN6KUBRD5MZulrwZLal9PiQDM/s1600/TP150604panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwZgHtHNDkD7G_7bXM81jItgNEu-5CBs6PlL4qK2e8YfBTbZo792I25uCfkK9aFtOBNuCurnzmv4yNIS3rWfCo16ib1G739ZbA_qc-bbvTNrNldjSDBhN6KUBRD5MZulrwZLal9PiQDM/s200/TP150604panel.png" width="174" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-06-04.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
See? By the way, in the middle of this election story the Phantom took off to break into some dude's flat in Mawitaan 'cause he was a criminal or something. We didn't really get any detail on this, I think DePaul just wanted to break up the monotony of the election plot.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRscGZHNP5k29Bt8SpP7inCViRYGBcu4oJ9hynYHkVFuYo1dnDzn1FMI5l1wqjePtpOXD6q-VTUxVG-ZYFbjXsQIkWqIsNjSOktaXVRJNJbT6WSZ0lT9xd1sB8iKPSlei7Wv6dBswgmU/s1600/TP150605.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRscGZHNP5k29Bt8SpP7inCViRYGBcu4oJ9hynYHkVFuYo1dnDzn1FMI5l1wqjePtpOXD6q-VTUxVG-ZYFbjXsQIkWqIsNjSOktaXVRJNJbT6WSZ0lT9xd1sB8iKPSlei7Wv6dBswgmU/s640/TP150605.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-06-05.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's funny, see, because he's pretending he has a normal job but actually he's stealing that guy's stuff and is about to beat the shit out of him.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgovoYoMrFG2Y1r8IekwlnrmuAiz1XqCYZ4KMNB0WR8ivT9mGaXT1i-z3oS7pFJ_7fKtS9xHppeG8M_GhREvVqlPf3t4V9arLMBL-DiT29R2rRz-bF12eV536AVgrAJhEkYzW58ljTPyZE/s1600/TP150609.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgovoYoMrFG2Y1r8IekwlnrmuAiz1XqCYZ4KMNB0WR8ivT9mGaXT1i-z3oS7pFJ_7fKtS9xHppeG8M_GhREvVqlPf3t4V9arLMBL-DiT29R2rRz-bF12eV536AVgrAJhEkYzW58ljTPyZE/s640/TP150609.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-06-09.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And he just kept talking to his kids on speaker while waiting to ambush the guy. This bit was just kind of weird. And then he handed the guy over to the police. Sort of. By the way, we're well over a month into this story now.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqDjIGj1GdE1483aBwsw5V47hdG6HfToSaQfm-wJlux0slKEyH9ZwoF2_HuFlpce415uATridUbUZ4a4_xo0zwxDEKk_YM6A_HemGFKZGNfPLI303Dx2eBJjZMqP8QIHD0giHiywisEY/s1600/TP150618.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqDjIGj1GdE1483aBwsw5V47hdG6HfToSaQfm-wJlux0slKEyH9ZwoF2_HuFlpce415uATridUbUZ4a4_xo0zwxDEKk_YM6A_HemGFKZGNfPLI303Dx2eBJjZMqP8QIHD0giHiywisEY/s640/TP150618.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-06-18.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
You have a telephone, Kit. You were just using it a moment ago to talk to your kids. Why wouldn't you just phone the police yourself? Oh, and part of this plan involved renting a flat three months in advance so he could remove his costume and just walk out of the building with everyone else. Why couldn't he go out the same way he came in? It is a mystery.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDUvmjhMMik9Lx2YkwtP5KlcspkD_IF31QcVJXBJWGMoRaN-zBDoMwnW5V9evX2TLxFcZNubnvtON-jfLINF49H0HolvHJzIroybol34hpFrdimOkziKxWE-tyBfK4IAWRyUc6rP5ArQ/s1600/TP150624.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDUvmjhMMik9Lx2YkwtP5KlcspkD_IF31QcVJXBJWGMoRaN-zBDoMwnW5V9evX2TLxFcZNubnvtON-jfLINF49H0HolvHJzIroybol34hpFrdimOkziKxWE-tyBfK4IAWRyUc6rP5ArQ/s640/TP150624.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-06-24.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The first time I read that dialogue, I thought the old woman was calling Kit "Mr. Handsome", which would have been the most hilarious cover identity. Back in the deep woods, the kids are still trying to help Guran win the pointless contest, but guess what?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVWsTxmFJCHTnE2YFetM8i0KTiViMvSJ2GwfT5gRh6nrKoQqes5J4hNFLdSkkWBBKUKImlcI-rTjYC-ByPqGMlgdc0rdCx65rCy7fE4ASmkgOOSBBoet_WNnsRhClCOoRWr6tHJbrkPw/s1600/TP150630panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVWsTxmFJCHTnE2YFetM8i0KTiViMvSJ2GwfT5gRh6nrKoQqes5J4hNFLdSkkWBBKUKImlcI-rTjYC-ByPqGMlgdc0rdCx65rCy7fE4ASmkgOOSBBoet_WNnsRhClCOoRWr6tHJbrkPw/s200/TP150630panel.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-06-30.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yep, it's still a Bandar matter. But Kit jr just won't let it go.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhh13ObYIrXvUF_sigRpLa9-vHXM4zNhUneDNwl7jf0qVTrLqASS4kjdLyo96SjZkpahelyny49LaO4SnE7GyTehsxV2QQZpg4XzKaxPvo-UjmgNhZ6aCLXjlc1mnovLGeugTZ2o9834/s1600/TP150706.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvhh13ObYIrXvUF_sigRpLa9-vHXM4zNhUneDNwl7jf0qVTrLqASS4kjdLyo96SjZkpahelyny49LaO4SnE7GyTehsxV2QQZpg4XzKaxPvo-UjmgNhZ6aCLXjlc1mnovLGeugTZ2o9834/s640/TP150706.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-07-06.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
You and everyone else, Heloise. Thus begins the part of the story where Heloise just owns the fuck out of Kit for a while. It certainly didn't make this slog worthwhile, but it was pretty cool.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLagLWAK0zYj1YJSEELG00AyOdga0T5KzX_gZXo0BKCU9IMZ53bPQ53Ym4YO803AyvkuTU-UlSIo7pmKKgoV9V-7JHyHpKVdxcZmAn_KOuegfPh9lCwi6uwi6mXLeqWtHg4eZO2QkI02E/s1600/TP150707panels.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLagLWAK0zYj1YJSEELG00AyOdga0T5KzX_gZXo0BKCU9IMZ53bPQ53Ym4YO803AyvkuTU-UlSIo7pmKKgoV9V-7JHyHpKVdxcZmAn_KOuegfPh9lCwi6uwi6mXLeqWtHg4eZO2QkI02E/s400/TP150707panels.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-07-07.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We also got a hint of what could be a pretty cool direction for the comic.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ArbEcnF5Upy8RPmCARkyfh1BX33RWi4JY59vzdGu4Qh5D0eloRNtfuYLMgPuYOM5Wyy1YqV3oQUaz70vd6YzXFRm-etM2bbwr3QczLpEKwuj7yPhOBfSDh9TPXI-AkmQlGSC_bbHbac/s1600/TP150709panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ArbEcnF5Upy8RPmCARkyfh1BX33RWi4JY59vzdGu4Qh5D0eloRNtfuYLMgPuYOM5Wyy1YqV3oQUaz70vd6YzXFRm-etM2bbwr3QczLpEKwuj7yPhOBfSDh9TPXI-AkmQlGSC_bbHbac/s200/TP150709panel.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-07-09.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Imagine if they actually had time pass for these characters. We could see the twins grow up while the Phantom got older and slower, there would be the genuine chance that any mission could be his last, and then when he eventually did die, the drama of who would be the next Phantom. My vote would got to Heloise. But don't waste too much time speculating on that because that will never happen. Nothing can disrupt the precious status quo. Whoops, did I just spoil the outcome of this election story?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_o6e3bH-ddG63zsVFqcqCugvoULPWaajjnwC8lB46dgmBjVxprd3ChU6M_tUaELdHDhiKuiNcg9IqHDtFZbxbOrzH2UJvXb38g7RVRAm8lmTi7uGRRBCpPhQ5i9WLRKt2BYHqd_7JVw/s1600/TP150710panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_o6e3bH-ddG63zsVFqcqCugvoULPWaajjnwC8lB46dgmBjVxprd3ChU6M_tUaELdHDhiKuiNcg9IqHDtFZbxbOrzH2UJvXb38g7RVRAm8lmTi7uGRRBCpPhQ5i9WLRKt2BYHqd_7JVw/s200/TP150710panel.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-07-10.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, he is right. The two of you will be teenagers forever. Anyway, back to the election. How's that going?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5LjHmmCTTuwGgx9wP4ijVN8dN2LAeXNogOpFHhNs2rmN10NzAopzwbGQo1DqBFD37ABZSCHbtrNBmw3TXPMevprfqMS-CyNr2_IIt_a6m5Soy_H0Jm_4JLzKny5w2KoP-sD0BSEbYy0/s1600/TP150711panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5LjHmmCTTuwGgx9wP4ijVN8dN2LAeXNogOpFHhNs2rmN10NzAopzwbGQo1DqBFD37ABZSCHbtrNBmw3TXPMevprfqMS-CyNr2_IIt_a6m5Soy_H0Jm_4JLzKny5w2KoP-sD0BSEbYy0/s200/TP150711panel.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-07-11.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh right, still a Bandar matter. This story has been going for two whole months now, and we're only half way through. Anyway, the actual (pointless) contest starts now with the public speaking section.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5Ar3iC4elzCwTuCNH8KwKSrpoMMs6kguKR2_c9okUhH6qqJkYbSOOjImcRVjibFE3jZl-r4BKBCl0l_kEs6sPjvjEAFD8Asmg_SQt9eZOWwWOAFCvnq9O26q86WEquJpntwmlQofbyg/s1600/TP150713.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5Ar3iC4elzCwTuCNH8KwKSrpoMMs6kguKR2_c9okUhH6qqJkYbSOOjImcRVjibFE3jZl-r4BKBCl0l_kEs6sPjvjEAFD8Asmg_SQt9eZOWwWOAFCvnq9O26q86WEquJpntwmlQofbyg/s640/TP150713.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-07-13.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So he studied and practised? What an arsehole. Next up is the race. Kipawa beats Guran by a mile, and passes him on the way back.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjOOWfEfRQVYT5-DLw3HnwHkVumx8jdErL91u99SVmX69FxphLXAMzepTwYVEgubf4oSBLuh8Z2JScqJ0uC25WuXaqwephbluHn2cfu_4xx43CT7rL87TFW8frGlTKtBJtNCjbRGgID0/s1600/TP150722.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjOOWfEfRQVYT5-DLw3HnwHkVumx8jdErL91u99SVmX69FxphLXAMzepTwYVEgubf4oSBLuh8Z2JScqJ0uC25WuXaqwephbluHn2cfu_4xx43CT7rL87TFW8frGlTKtBJtNCjbRGgID0/s640/TP150722.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-07-22.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh, you tried to help your respected opponent save some face? What an arsehole. OK, telling everyone about it like that doesn't make you come across well, but still. Next up is the archery contest. Apparently Guran is still pretty good at that, because it's a tie. But...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pgQk0dJoXZkSaz2esANf5qinwsx1hp1J02pvax_dm7saClv_Z_MD1krtF6b89pm5g67E6aNf8Tj4tPkZaqzsNvnreQPXAiIYEVUlK3GR5FTVtvfJRBrBEBZB-KrB1368N5oZIPHbcKU/s1600/TP150729.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pgQk0dJoXZkSaz2esANf5qinwsx1hp1J02pvax_dm7saClv_Z_MD1krtF6b89pm5g67E6aNf8Tj4tPkZaqzsNvnreQPXAiIYEVUlK3GR5FTVtvfJRBrBEBZB-KrB1368N5oZIPHbcKU/s200/TP150729.png" width="168" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-07-29.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So yeah, just a reminder that the actual contest is totally meaningless and it all comes down to a vote at the end.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsyOy3KB-3EbzeDpCpDTzU42vvPODWYULEc8lFYdNnNyjlBOU3IVs0cWnmkVQcUYJ8L54arb5ggSnQF_wB5wiNYaPaLQlmvrPws699GofFaZlU-eaBMgoLZ6c7m0Y-LkPr7_NkgZoo2M/s1600/TP150730.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHsyOy3KB-3EbzeDpCpDTzU42vvPODWYULEc8lFYdNnNyjlBOU3IVs0cWnmkVQcUYJ8L54arb5ggSnQF_wB5wiNYaPaLQlmvrPws699GofFaZlU-eaBMgoLZ6c7m0Y-LkPr7_NkgZoo2M/s640/TP150730.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-07-30.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yeah, no shit. A couple of geniuses you've raised there, Kit. Sending them away to school is starting to seem like an even better idea. Up next is the rope climb, but Kipawa's finally worked out Guran's plan, so he, well, basically he does the same thing he did in the running race, but this time everyone thinks it's great?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oLisF-AxfU_-rj3TiLj-uDmPX1HmEZe4VAkIuAbfbKLOfl5BPLsoS_Erp-vgmY51Dla-QCHYKAzYzEGpeSPmIZU5i4EDm6QZKGANmdliffHGBIXuWp3bCBtP3D5W9o05rHVn6bYorz8/s1600/TP150807.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oLisF-AxfU_-rj3TiLj-uDmPX1HmEZe4VAkIuAbfbKLOfl5BPLsoS_Erp-vgmY51Dla-QCHYKAzYzEGpeSPmIZU5i4EDm6QZKGANmdliffHGBIXuWp3bCBtP3D5W9o05rHVn6bYorz8/s640/TP150807.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-08-07.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Keep in mind, this is a tiny remote village, everyone here has known each other their entire lives. This whole test of character thing should be completely redundant. Anyway, the last challenge is the medicine contest. Unfortunately only two people know the location of the absolutely essential ghost orchid - Guran and Babudan, and Babudan won't share that information with Kipawa.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W8d5mzyZdevHdkx-e5xf_aJ8NVgJdKg-L4K__BWPx3DCB1__PXlmYZ_2DM5heBigiK5cIerPRIum0_T0oDM1Au_-NV8c5XkDzMEr40rN8uqnndLqSQ0DLkQl7R-kFol_1lJF5zviEb8/s1600/TP150815.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W8d5mzyZdevHdkx-e5xf_aJ8NVgJdKg-L4K__BWPx3DCB1__PXlmYZ_2DM5heBigiK5cIerPRIum0_T0oDM1Au_-NV8c5XkDzMEr40rN8uqnndLqSQ0DLkQl7R-kFol_1lJF5zviEb8/s640/TP150815.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-08-15.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Spoiler: It wasn't Babudan, it was Guran. And it's all irrelevant anyway since it comes down to a vote and people would probably be pissed if Guran won the medicine contest just because he was keeping life-saving knowledge to himself just to win a contest.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpobXgvW-fFk5sTvykigWK5bbbM6Okdfl_Ioms0LOa9p_La9yTfmI2mShPTZYNpsmQxyr892A-JGbB77qR05rO8ARQvzmYZWEWyQI1le9hTs2cShyoUMZlWCtZ3OGjh2XktedLBxEQGtw/s1600/TP150822panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpobXgvW-fFk5sTvykigWK5bbbM6Okdfl_Ioms0LOa9p_La9yTfmI2mShPTZYNpsmQxyr892A-JGbB77qR05rO8ARQvzmYZWEWyQI1le9hTs2cShyoUMZlWCtZ3OGjh2XktedLBxEQGtw/s400/TP150822panel.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-08-22.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Good question, Kit! Why do you even care whjo the chief is anyway? It's a Bandar matter. And with the contests out of the way it's time for the actual vote. It's an open ballot for some reason, and each person goes up one by one and declares their vote. The first vote goes to Kipawa, and Kit jr immediately ssumes that he's going to win.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlOEkHu1_UncHUVLojfVP0lRZmd7_udAbmFUYZaddi5J9NZjOmMgwqlKdK8OiEAWzdTIEPC_6avDiJeFVB8RRD8FfL-PWeUW-nYU_SoLS97JHDiZnrbb1j5f5v6mkZuFPlZfyrF77_40/s1600/TP150826.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlOEkHu1_UncHUVLojfVP0lRZmd7_udAbmFUYZaddi5J9NZjOmMgwqlKdK8OiEAWzdTIEPC_6avDiJeFVB8RRD8FfL-PWeUW-nYU_SoLS97JHDiZnrbb1j5f5v6mkZuFPlZfyrF77_40/s640/TP150826.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-08-26.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But it turns out that other people get to vote too, which apparently comes as a shock to the hypothetical next Phantom. And by the way, not only is it an open ballot, but kids get to vote too. Presumably from whatever age they can walk and talk.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSCtTgVjXcdDlZ9Vogah4BGG97USdGgTSGWJuSrhBjCzepW6wjP6KwACutSJMGJrLsgtTLa6Zera6-lw4Xwe3c_3lUQ7op7X1Qs8lRnYl6u5tsLGvI_yvyAjlPBhuyo2qbPQuZDB4-E0/s1600/TP150828.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBSCtTgVjXcdDlZ9Vogah4BGG97USdGgTSGWJuSrhBjCzepW6wjP6KwACutSJMGJrLsgtTLa6Zera6-lw4Xwe3c_3lUQ7op7X1Qs8lRnYl6u5tsLGvI_yvyAjlPBhuyo2qbPQuZDB4-E0/s640/TP150828.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-08-28.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Call me cynical if you like, but doesn't this basically just mean that parents get extra votes? Even letting kids vote in secret ballots would be pretty suspect, but if their parents can be right there to make sure they vote the way they're supposed to, doesn't that call the whole thing into question? In the end the whole thing is a huge waste of time though, because Kipawa suddenly pulls out of the race.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69FbpSGaRd3Yw6do8SDxjpCDn0-hNQuqlLqp7bqHUnL0TxjPatyt5tjew9GHp4-ajXYFFgtpC-Elr_v4NEJ0Cfi_sKJyczTZyBJ_O21Bq1Q6yt_37sw8SA-wF5B8ZEB8_dG-hwGyojks/s1600/TP150908.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69FbpSGaRd3Yw6do8SDxjpCDn0-hNQuqlLqp7bqHUnL0TxjPatyt5tjew9GHp4-ajXYFFgtpC-Elr_v4NEJ0Cfi_sKJyczTZyBJ_O21Bq1Q6yt_37sw8SA-wF5B8ZEB8_dG-hwGyojks/s640/TP150908.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-09-08.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ah, taste that sweet status quo! What do you think the chances are that Kit and Heloise being sent away to school never gets mentioned again?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82o41EKdZNvqRcHkrIbSPJH0wBcinjZq2IlmnGk6bh-_bpfYLZs_284DA_mUxjmGlSwEzyh9bU6KRp-QgBBMHw7nhJLQyT_hqN01oHlmTKwSwpM1lt4vhtCoFaBXzXv_bkLc1Qrmf8Ag/s1600/TP150910.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82o41EKdZNvqRcHkrIbSPJH0wBcinjZq2IlmnGk6bh-_bpfYLZs_284DA_mUxjmGlSwEzyh9bU6KRp-QgBBMHw7nhJLQyT_hqN01oHlmTKwSwpM1lt4vhtCoFaBXzXv_bkLc1Qrmf8Ag/s640/TP150910.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Phantom, 2015-09-10.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I don't believe that. And what's this about a coup? There was a lawful election and you stayed in power. That's basically the opposite of a coup. Four months, that took. Four months for absolutely fucking nothing to happen. It's hard to believe this is the same writer behind that Python Strikes Back story from a few years ago, or even some of the more recent Sunday stories. Ryan's still doing good work, but DePaul really seems to be phoning it in most of the time now.<br />
<br />Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-69889819019457922622015-08-09T16:40:00.001+10:002015-08-09T16:40:06.643+10:00Love is a battlefield<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/UOgSh4r.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/UOgSh4r.png" height="182" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Panel from <i>Mary Worth</i>, 2015-08-09.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That's an interesting choice of quotation. Is it supposed to imply that Toby and Ian are at war?Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-19711239724751231272015-08-08T18:20:00.002+10:002015-08-08T18:20:46.048+10:00As though one Les Moore wasn't bad enough...If you haven't been keeping up with Funky Winkerbean lately, you've been missing out. Although it's normally one of King Features worse offerings, Tom Batiuk has really outdone himself this time, descending to almost Brooke McEldowneyan levels.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
It really started quite a while back, when Les was put in charge of organising his highschool reunion - an event at which people who see each other all the time anyway would get to see each other in a slightly different location - but that was just the usual Funky Winkerbean stuff: Les feeling sorry for himself; Les complaining; people inexplicably putting up with Les; other people doing the thing Les was supposed to be doing; Les continuing to complain about having to do the thing that he's not actually doing; etc.<br />
<br />
The reunion itself started just like any other Funky Winkerbean plot (see previous paragraph) but then a flight of whimsy struck old Tom Batiuk. in <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-07-10">the July 10 strip</a>, "Crazy" began blathering about some nonsense that turned out to be time travel. <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-07-13">The following Monday</a> brought us a flashback to whenever the hell the Funky Winkerbean cast were supposedly in highschool now - time jumps where characters age but the year stays the same make for confusing chronology.<br />
<br />
Turns out, there was a time portal in Crazy's locker (which for some reason he's the only one who remembers). Never mind the fact that this group of people weren't friends and wouldn't have been hanging out together at the time, long-time readers noticed that one of the kids about to travel to the future was Lisa. That same Lisa who ended up marrying Les and dying of cancer. Why would you include her in this story? This is about to get really awkward, isn't it? It gets worse.<br />
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<a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-07-17">Cindy met herself</a>. <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-07-18">Funky met himself</a>. <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-07-19">Holly and Bull met themselves</a>. <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-07-21">Crazy met himself</a>. And it had to come to this eventually - <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-07-28">Lisa began to feel left out</a>. So, they took this opportunity to warn her about her entirely preventable death, right? Ha ha, no. If they did that, Les would never be able to write a terrible book about it and then get paid to sabotage the film adaptation, and this, like everything, is all about Les. It gets worse.<br />
<br />
You may have noticed that while everyone else was meeting their past/future selves, I didn't say what Les was doing. Well, not much up to this point, but while the present-day cast members were doing their best to make sure their friend stays dead, young Les was doing some snooping, and what did he find? Oh, just <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-07-29">the book describing the entirely preventable death of his future wife</a>. So he immediately went and warned her, right? Of course not. In fact, <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-07-31">he did his best to drag Lisa back to the past immediately</a> so she wouldn't have any opportunity to find out about her entirely preventable death.<br />
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But hey, it's generally agreed that you shouldn't mess with the past, right? If you change the timeline, who knows what might happen? Well, that would probably still be a pretty shitty justification even if Crazy hadn't <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-08-04">given his younger self a smartphone</a> to take back with him. Who cares if history gets altered as long as Les still gets to write his terrible book? It still gets worse.<br />
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Today's strip hits us with the final insult. Surely, you're thinking, even Tom Batiuk couldn't make this worse now, right? And the kids have gone back to their own time, so what could it possibly be? Oh, I know, how about <a href="http://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2015-08-08">it was all a dream</a>? Yeah, he was just stringing us along this whole time. If he was always going to cop out like this, he could have had them warn Lisa like as though they were decent human beings and still had Les keep his precious cancerwife backstory.<br />
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Or. OR. He could have left Lisa out of the time travel story like as though <i>he</i> was a decent human being. Why would you do this you fucking hack? Did you just want to make sure everyone remembers the tragic story of Lisa's tragic cancer death and how tragic it was for Les? Trust me, we remember. We fucking remember.<br />
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<br />Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-57374709448802700912015-07-27T14:29:00.001+10:002015-07-27T14:29:38.841+10:00I hope the pool has a good filter<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Panels from Mary Worth 2015-07-26.</td></tr>
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Ew.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-67367195221546522792015-06-02T15:46:00.000+10:002015-06-02T15:49:30.132+10:00Who likes golf? Not Dagwood!<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>In 1970 I interviewed the late Chic Young, creator of Blondie, when he had been writing and drawing that strip daily and Sunday-for forty years, or 14,500 strips. It was the most popular of all comic strips, reaching 60 million readers in every corner of the world and in many languages, and I asked him the secret of its durability.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"It's durable because it's simple, " he said. "It's built on four things that everybody does: sleeping, eating, raising a family and making money." The comic twists on these four themes are as various in the strip as they are in life. Dagwood's efforts to get money from his boss, Mr. Dithers, have their perpetual counterweight in Blondie's efforts to spend it. "I try to keep Dagwood in a world that people are used to, " Young said. "</i><b><i>He never does anything as special as playing golf</i></b><i>, and the people who come to the door are just the people that an average family has to deal with."</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
- William Zinsser (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060891548/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0060891548&linkCode=as2&tag=themi00-20&linkId=K647D2TPSB5YUUSF">On Writing Well</a>)</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/X3x7gOo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/X3x7gOo.gif" height="186" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Blondie, 2014-11-08.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Blondie, 2014-11-10.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Blondie, 2015-04-08.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Blondie, 2015-04-12.</td></tr>
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OK, so technically he's not actually playing real golf in any of these strips, but...Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-87117942718318108552015-02-23T22:49:00.002+11:002015-02-23T22:49:45.982+11:00Ziggy is even weirder than you thought<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/8y0JkR3.gif" height="186" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Between Friends, 2015-02-16.</td></tr>
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Oh no, some complete strangers you'll probably never see again may have heard you singing along to some music! What a calamity! How will you ever live it down? Oh wait, I know - by just carrying on with your life and forgetting about it like literally everyone else already has.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/KXNNNkV.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/KXNNNkV.gif" height="204" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Six Chix, 2015-02-17.</td></tr>
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I can't even focus on the whole "the cows don't want the bull to go because he's good at sex" aspect of this, because what are those horrifying lumps on their backs? They remind me of the stumps left after Matt Damon's wings are cut off in <i>Dogma</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/Lxzz1Ia.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/Lxzz1Ia.gif" height="188" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Buckets, 2015-02-20.</td></tr>
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You know, someday you and everyone who ever knew you or even heard your name will be dead and forgotten. Your existence is a mere speck of dust compared with the vastness of space and time. Bet you feel pretty foolish for caring about things now.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Nancy, 2015-02-21.</td></tr>
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What's that you say? Having a character repeat everything the person on the other end of the line says back to them for the sake of the audience is lazy and sounds terribly unnatural? Well, how would you have done it then? Oh, have the dialogue balloon come from the phone like most cartoonists do? Well, sure, I guess that works. Have a panel showing the other side of the phone call? Yeah, you could do it that way. Just phrase the dialogue in such a way as to make it obvious what the second person is saying? Well, now you're just talking crazy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/VY48txe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/VY48txe.jpg" height="450" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Ziggy, 2015-02-22.</td></tr>
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The implications of this are staggering. <i>Ziggy</i> is a comic in which every single person or animal its protagonist encounters is a condescending jerk to him and everything he does ends in dismal failure - and apparently that's all his own weird fantasy. He's playing a virtual-reality game of his own design in which all this happens. And while he plays it, he's not wearing any pants. Just let that sink in for a moment.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-42680111080671193552015-02-14T19:02:00.002+11:002015-02-14T19:02:26.957+11:00Cupid should be locked up<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/KvPeGh2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/KvPeGh2.gif" height="206" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Buni, 2015-02-13.</td></tr>
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I don't think I've seen Cupid's arrows equated with date rape before. That's dark.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/rrgji4A.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/rrgji4A.gif" height="208" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Dark Side of the Horse, 2015-02-13.</td></tr>
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Whereas this is just funny. No commentary, I just liked it.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-30721648093161721162015-02-13T16:45:00.002+11:002015-02-13T16:45:28.028+11:00The office of yesterday, today!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/uAUgpuj.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/uAUgpuj.gif" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Office Hours, 1966-11-25.</td></tr>
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I love how many things in this single panel are so clearly indicative of the time period it was published in, but what I really love is that you can still see all these things in comic strips being written and published today. Even the smoking in the office, if we count <a href="http://www.gocomics.com/shoe/2015/02/09"><i>Shoe</i>'s open-air newspaper office</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/Y9HTb3G.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/Y9HTb3G.gif" height="212" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Marvin, 2015-02-10.</td></tr>
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<i>Because he's a baby!</i> God damn, what the fuck is wrong with you, Tom Armstrong?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/DQOnYWE.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/DQOnYWE.gif" height="208" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Grand Avenue, 2015-02-10.</td></tr>
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Perfect dialogue! Now it can be repeated at any time with no alterations!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/XDnPSMl.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/XDnPSMl.gif" height="186" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Blondie, 2015-02-12.</td></tr>
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I can't decide if this is clever or not. It's <em>Blondie</em>, so probably not.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-58388499208002475342015-02-11T00:25:00.002+11:002015-02-11T00:25:56.373+11:00This blog also available on devices<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/pRazAK6.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/pRazAK6.gif" height="206" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Herb and Jamaal, 2015-02-09.</td></tr>
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I just really love Herb and Jamaal's vagueness, especially when it comes to technology. Those things we have in our pockets? You know, you use them to make calls, send text messages... what do you call those things? Oh, I know, devices!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/9Az2Oyd.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/9Az2Oyd.gif" height="198" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Rudy Park, 2015-02-09.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/93Q6X0o.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/93Q6X0o.gif" height="198" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Candorville, 2015-02-09.</td></tr>
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Darrin Bell dedicated both of his terrible comics today to the same idiotic bullshit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/QPjwsfo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/QPjwsfo.gif" height="220" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">WuMo, 2015-02-09.</td></tr>
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Huh? What's wrong with February?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/rHD21IP.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/rHD21IP.gif" height="186" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Apartment 3-G, 2015-02-09.</td></tr>
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So, I guess the twist in this Apartment 3-G storyline is that Diane is a clone of Gabriella?Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-56613201578106611182015-02-06T11:35:00.001+11:002015-02-06T11:35:36.919+11:00Don't trust anyone over thirty<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/wWbdjOo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/wWbdjOo.gif" height="194" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Curtis, 2015-02-05.</td></tr>
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Are we seriously expected to believe that Curtis doesn't like any musicians who are over the age of 30? Really?Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-56774938331635794962015-02-05T15:42:00.001+11:002015-02-05T15:42:48.270+11:00Bad pet owners<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/DXDJcOg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/DXDJcOg.gif" height="210" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Marvin, 2015-02-04.</td></tr>
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Does that mean his office is an entire floor?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/Btz9TJS.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/Btz9TJS.gif" height="400" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Hazel, 2015-02-04.</td></tr>
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Don't feed your cat milk, adult cats are lactose intolerant.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-51263034649433809622015-02-04T15:58:00.001+11:002015-02-04T15:58:12.249+11:00Mysteries of physics and language<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/hqDCFh3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/hqDCFh3.gif" height="200" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">B.C. 2015-02-03.</td></tr>
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How do those wheel contraptions work, anyway? There's no pedals, and you never see anyone putting their foot on the ground to push off like on a skateboard. Not that that would even work with that design. Once the wheel is in motion they'd be OK, but how do you get started?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/heavjyZ.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/heavjyZ.gif" height="182" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">The Born Loser, 2015-02-03.</td></tr>
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That's not what surf and turf is. Either of those options. Surf and turf is steak with seafood, usually stuff like calamari, mussels, scallops and prawns. I've never seen steak served with lobster.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-50115774978632112972015-02-03T14:08:00.001+11:002015-02-03T14:08:44.808+11:00Bad advice and inaccuracies<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/yLsMOCA.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/yLsMOCA.gif" height="206" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dog Eat Doug, 2015-01-02.</td></tr>
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They do though. They're called "comics".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/zbJek76.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/zbJek76.gif" height="200" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flo and Friends, 2015-01-02.</td></tr>
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PSA: <a href="http://skepdic.com/chiro.html">Chiropractors are dangerous charlatans</a>.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-24973458177415080702015-01-31T14:50:00.001+11:002015-01-31T14:50:17.946+11:00I Don't Get It<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/WigtEQu.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/WigtEQu.gif" height="200" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>B.C.</em> 2015-01-30.</td></tr>
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But Peter's wearing even less himself.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5932864475116125689.post-51731833285190294272014-09-26T01:41:00.002+10:002014-09-26T01:41:51.951+10:00Sitcom Thursday: Creepy Kid<a href="http://www.gocomics.com/the-born-loser/2014/09/23"><strong>The Born Loser</strong>, 2014-09-23</a>.<br />
<br />
"I'm an eternal optimist. A glass-half-full type of person!" says Brutus's co-worker. "How about you, Thorny— are you a glass-half-full or half-empty guy?"<br />
"I'm the born loser, so I'm a glass-completely-empty type of guy." says Brutus.<br />
<hr style="width: 50%;" />
Is it just me or is it really weird how this comic has its protagonist just come right out and acknowledge his role in it? And this isn't an isolated thing either, he does it all the time. He is "the born loser" and he knows it. Not merely <i>a</i> born loser, <i>the</i>. And it isn't even necessary to the joke, you can remove the words "I'm the born loser, so" and it works just as well. It's more obviously fourth-wall breaking than anything Ted Forth has ever done.<br />
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<a href="https://comicskingdom.com/beetle-bailey-1/2014-09-23"><strong>Beetle Bailey</strong>, 2014-09-23</a>.<br />
<br />
"Can you take this truck to the dump, Zero?" asks Sgt. Snorkel.<br />
"Okay, Sarge" says Pvt. Zero.<br />
Some time later Zero returns with the ute still loaded full of garbage.<br />
"I'm back from the dump, Sarge" he says. "Where do you want me to take it now?"<br />
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With that instruction I'd expect Zero to return on a bus, having left the ute behind.<br />
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<a href="https://comicskingdom.com/curtis/2014-09-23"><strong>Curtis</strong>, 2014-09-23</a>.<br />
<br />
"Did any of you children <i>read</i> during the summer vacation ?" asks Mrs Nelson.<br />
"I did, Mrs. Nelson !" says Curtis. "'Vampire Feast,' 'The Thing From the Deep' and 'Mutant Zombie Landlord'!"<br />
Mrs Nelson glares at him.<br />
"Hey, they had a front cover, back cover and pages in between ! Technically that's a <b>book</b> !!"<br />
<hr style="width: 50%;" />
I'm with Curtis on this. He's constantly getting flack for reading comics, despite the fact that he's apparently the only student in his class who reads any kind of book at all. It's pretty shitty to criticise him for it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.gocomics.com/onebighappy/2014/09/24"><strong>One Big Happy</strong>, 2014-09-24</a>.<br />
<br />
"Library lady, these tomatoes are for you. My grandpa grew them!" says Ruthie.<br />
"Why, thank you, Ruthie!" says the library lady. "They're beautiful! Thank your grandpa for me, will you?<br />
"Yes'm."<br />
The library lady takes the tomatoes and begins to leave. James follows her.<br />
"No, James, it's not going to happen."<br />
"I sure enjoy seein' a hefty gal eat!" says James.<br />
The library lady grimaces.<br />
"I know, I know."<br />
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Well, that sure is creepy.Mathew Wallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06524311857930464031noreply@blogger.com0