Apartment 3-G is still just talk, talk talk. Jack's back now, and there's something wrong with his horse, but who gives a shit? Nothing is happening. Where is Margo? I'd even settle for Lu Ann. Just anything that gets us away from Tommie and Carol. I'm not even going to do a particular strip here, there is literally nothing to comment on. Moving on.
Mary Worth has finally finished the wrap-up and recap of the psychic Olive (prophet of the Lord) story with the conclusion that she's not psychic or anything, just intuitive, and Mary will definitely keep in touch with her (she definitely will not). The new story has started, but nothing has actually happened yet, so...
Nothing is happening in Luann either. We cut away from Rosa and Gunther (thank god), but in their place we got Luann and Bernice doing nothing and not revealing Bernice's mysterious new roommate, and now we're back with Bwad and Toni and TJ's insurance fraud, which sounds fun in theory, but nothing is actually happening. TJ just got the money and Bwad is still being all passive-aggressive about his suspicions, but TJ hasn't actually bought anything yet and Bwad is too spineless to actually confront him, so I guess this is going nowhere.
In Judge Parker, Neddy and Sam have met with Rocky and obviously he is absolutely thrilled to give her free use of his property to start her business because that's just how things work in this comic. And we've heard that there may be some ongoing drama with Godiva, but she hasn't actually been in the strip at all so it's just been boring people talking about something interesting that may or may not be happening off-screen.
But here's something. Sally Forth is actually dipping it's toe into the soap-opera genre this week, as it does from time to time. Alice, Sally's co-worker (and only friend) Alice has been looking for a new job, leaving Sally feeling conflicted. On the one hand, she doesn't want to hold Alice back, but she feels that their friendship probably won't survive if they don't see each other at work.
Sally is at her desk, writing something with a pen on paper like a caveman. Alice walks in.
"Hey, Alice, what's up?" says Sally.
Alice remains silent.
"Did... did the mood just change in this room?" asks Sally, looking around. "Is there a switch for that kind of thing?"
"I got a job offer." says Alice.
OK, it's not much, but honestly I have never seen the soap strips be so boring all at the same time like this before. There's usually something happening!
Showing posts with label Sally Forth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sally Forth. Show all posts
2014-06-09
Melodrama Monday: I probably shouldn't care this much about Luann
Apartment 3-G this week has been nearly incomprehensible. The combination of Frank Bolle's refusal to draw anything but people standing around talking (and only from the shoulders up) with dialogue that more closely resembles random sentences than an actual conversation has made it difficult, but I've mostly managed to piece together what's happening.
It turns out that Jack's wife died several years ago and Carol, his current girlfriend, was her best friend. This sounds like there might be some sort of murder conspiracy going on, but that's way too exciting for Apartment 3-G. Does this look like Judge Parker? No, Judge Parker is drawn competently.
Also Tommie is still around. And so is Lily the deer, who is now apparently "friends" with Mary the mare. Although the only evidence we've seen of this friendship so far is Carol saying so.
Apartment 3-G, 2014-06-09.
In the wee hours of the morning...
"Jack, what are you doing out here and why are you up at five A.M.?" asks Carol.
"Joey and I are taking a trip." says Jack.
"What are you talking about?!" asks Carol.
"You should go back to bed, Carol." says Jack.
Who is Joey? Has Joey been mentioned before and I just forgot? Also, the art in this strip reminds me of that Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where the guy somehow drains Counsellor Troi's youth, because Jack is looking younger than normal and Carol appears to now be about 80.
Luann, 2014-06-05.
"How awesome that you're valedictorian!" says Luann, to Bernice.
"No surprise, though" says Delta.
"I dunno," says Bernice, "you're right up there, Delta. Gunther, too. And Rosa"
"Want us to help you with your grad speech?" asks Delta.
"Nope. I'm gonna get help from Tiffany"
"Tiffany?!" screeches Luann, the only member of her friendship group who still holds this pathetic grudge. She is ignored.
"What, you're doing a cheer routine?" asks Delta.
"It's a secret" says Bernice.
There are about ten students in this graduating class, and apparently four of them were in the running for valedictorian. And notably, Luann was not one of them. I'm really looking forward to this graduation, to see if they actually go ahead with the "Luann is a lazy dumbass who is barely tolerated by her friends" thing they've been building up lately. I'd love to see Delta, Bernice, Tiffany, Rosa and Quill all do well and go off and be successful leaving Luann, Gunther and Knute behind forever. In my ideal version of events, the comic follows Tiffany from that point on, but seeing Luann's inevitable failures would be fine too.
Sally Forth has been focusing on Hilary and her friends this week, and their newly re-formed band. Turns out Hilary's kind of an arsehole.
Sally Forth, 2014-06-04.
"Despite what you may think, Hil," says Faye, "you're not the only one who's been writing songs for this band."
Hilary takes a look at the sheaf of papers.
"Wow, Faye, these are really heartfelt... revealing... personal... all the better to save for your solo album instead."
"I'm gonna kill her." Says Faye to Nona.
"Just channel that rage back into your songwriting." suggests Nona.
But then Nona reminded Hilary that they have to study and don't really have time for this anyway, a fact that Hilary had completely forgotten.
It turns out that Jack's wife died several years ago and Carol, his current girlfriend, was her best friend. This sounds like there might be some sort of murder conspiracy going on, but that's way too exciting for Apartment 3-G. Does this look like Judge Parker? No, Judge Parker is drawn competently.
Also Tommie is still around. And so is Lily the deer, who is now apparently "friends" with Mary the mare. Although the only evidence we've seen of this friendship so far is Carol saying so.
Apartment 3-G, 2014-06-09.
In the wee hours of the morning...
"Jack, what are you doing out here and why are you up at five A.M.?" asks Carol.
"Joey and I are taking a trip." says Jack.
"What are you talking about?!" asks Carol.
"You should go back to bed, Carol." says Jack.
Who is Joey? Has Joey been mentioned before and I just forgot? Also, the art in this strip reminds me of that Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where the guy somehow drains Counsellor Troi's youth, because Jack is looking younger than normal and Carol appears to now be about 80.
Luann, 2014-06-05.
"How awesome that you're valedictorian!" says Luann, to Bernice.
"No surprise, though" says Delta.
"I dunno," says Bernice, "you're right up there, Delta. Gunther, too. And Rosa"
"Want us to help you with your grad speech?" asks Delta.
"Nope. I'm gonna get help from Tiffany"
"Tiffany?!" screeches Luann, the only member of her friendship group who still holds this pathetic grudge. She is ignored.
"What, you're doing a cheer routine?" asks Delta.
"It's a secret" says Bernice.
There are about ten students in this graduating class, and apparently four of them were in the running for valedictorian. And notably, Luann was not one of them. I'm really looking forward to this graduation, to see if they actually go ahead with the "Luann is a lazy dumbass who is barely tolerated by her friends" thing they've been building up lately. I'd love to see Delta, Bernice, Tiffany, Rosa and Quill all do well and go off and be successful leaving Luann, Gunther and Knute behind forever. In my ideal version of events, the comic follows Tiffany from that point on, but seeing Luann's inevitable failures would be fine too.
Sally Forth has been focusing on Hilary and her friends this week, and their newly re-formed band. Turns out Hilary's kind of an arsehole.
Sally Forth, 2014-06-04.
"Despite what you may think, Hil," says Faye, "you're not the only one who's been writing songs for this band."
Hilary takes a look at the sheaf of papers.
"Wow, Faye, these are really heartfelt... revealing... personal... all the better to save for your solo album instead."
"I'm gonna kill her." Says Faye to Nona.
"Just channel that rage back into your songwriting." suggests Nona.
But then Nona reminded Hilary that they have to study and don't really have time for this anyway, a fact that Hilary had completely forgotten.
2014-03-14
Philosophical Friday: Consistently Good Comics
I thought that today instead of talking about what's wrong with a particular comic I'd just point out a few that there's nothing wrong with, some comics that are pretty much good every day.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Stan Lee is a mad genius and his version of Spider-Man is lazy, selfish and incompetent and fights some of the most absurd villains, including a guy named Bigelow who did time and therefore started calling himself Big Time and became obsessed with clocks. Or a bad actor who decided to dress as a clown and commit crimes, and had a car that looked like a duck. It's ridiculous and dumb, but it's about a guy who got super-powers by being bitten by a radioactive spider and decided to dress in a weird costume and become a vigilante, so what do you expect?
The Creeps
A strong contender for "best comic", The Creeps uses clever wordplay and unexpected twists to great effect and also sometimes plays with the format to add to the joke.
Cul de Sac
One of the best comics about children, now unfortunately in reruns due to the author's poor health.
Ham Shears
Ham Shears is a pig who moved to the city to find his fortune. He works at Boss's Butcher Shop and lives with Jill and Ingrid. Everyone in this comic is just a little bit odd. Boss thinks that every woman is named Jill. Jill is frighteningly intense about picking apples. Ham Shears is delightfully earnest.
Heathcliff
The other comic about a fat orange cat. The one that's actually good. Not that Garfield doesn't have its points, but Heathcliff is clearly the superior product. Unlike Garfield, Heathcliff goes in more for surreal humour and the unexpected.
Heavenly Nostrils
A comic about a girl and a unicorn. A well-executed take on the child and talking pet formula.
One Big Happy
A comic about kids. Not an original premise but done well and consistently funny.
Pros & Cons
Witty banter between police, lawyers and various others. The art style is a little off-putting at first but it does grow on you. There's also a graphic novel.
Reply All
I think everyone has the same reaction when they see Reply All — this comic looks like garbage. And it does. Donna Lewis really, really can't draw and doesn't seem to even be making any attempt to improve. But the writing's pretty good. If she got someone else to draw it then there wouldn't even be any question about it, it would be a good comic.
Sally Forth
This comic about a pretty ordinary middle-class American family was exactly as unremarkable as it sounds until a few years ago when the writing was taken over by Francesco Marciuliano and the family started going slowly insane. Ted likes to imagine his life is a TV show and may or may not have once been an assassin and one of Hilary's friends can hear other people's thoughts, but the great thing about it is how the crazy stuff is kind of just in the background of this relatively ordinary story.
Wee Pals
Morrie Turner created this comic in 1965 and continued to produce it until his death earlier this year, and it stayed funny and relevant the entire time. Amazingly, Turner worked so far ahead that we're still seeing new content even now, and hopefully it'll go into reruns when those run out.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Stan Lee is a mad genius and his version of Spider-Man is lazy, selfish and incompetent and fights some of the most absurd villains, including a guy named Bigelow who did time and therefore started calling himself Big Time and became obsessed with clocks. Or a bad actor who decided to dress as a clown and commit crimes, and had a car that looked like a duck. It's ridiculous and dumb, but it's about a guy who got super-powers by being bitten by a radioactive spider and decided to dress in a weird costume and become a vigilante, so what do you expect?
The Creeps
A strong contender for "best comic", The Creeps uses clever wordplay and unexpected twists to great effect and also sometimes plays with the format to add to the joke.
Cul de Sac
One of the best comics about children, now unfortunately in reruns due to the author's poor health.
Ham Shears
Ham Shears is a pig who moved to the city to find his fortune. He works at Boss's Butcher Shop and lives with Jill and Ingrid. Everyone in this comic is just a little bit odd. Boss thinks that every woman is named Jill. Jill is frighteningly intense about picking apples. Ham Shears is delightfully earnest.
Heathcliff
The other comic about a fat orange cat. The one that's actually good. Not that Garfield doesn't have its points, but Heathcliff is clearly the superior product. Unlike Garfield, Heathcliff goes in more for surreal humour and the unexpected.
Heavenly Nostrils
A comic about a girl and a unicorn. A well-executed take on the child and talking pet formula.
One Big Happy
A comic about kids. Not an original premise but done well and consistently funny.
Pros & Cons
Witty banter between police, lawyers and various others. The art style is a little off-putting at first but it does grow on you. There's also a graphic novel.
Reply All
I think everyone has the same reaction when they see Reply All — this comic looks like garbage. And it does. Donna Lewis really, really can't draw and doesn't seem to even be making any attempt to improve. But the writing's pretty good. If she got someone else to draw it then there wouldn't even be any question about it, it would be a good comic.
Sally Forth
This comic about a pretty ordinary middle-class American family was exactly as unremarkable as it sounds until a few years ago when the writing was taken over by Francesco Marciuliano and the family started going slowly insane. Ted likes to imagine his life is a TV show and may or may not have once been an assassin and one of Hilary's friends can hear other people's thoughts, but the great thing about it is how the crazy stuff is kind of just in the background of this relatively ordinary story.
Wee Pals
Morrie Turner created this comic in 1965 and continued to produce it until his death earlier this year, and it stayed funny and relevant the entire time. Amazingly, Turner worked so far ahead that we're still seeing new content even now, and hopefully it'll go into reruns when those run out.
2014-03-10
Melodrama Monday: You're So Party Let's Go Dancey
As expected, Tommie's fiancé appears to have died in a plane crash, although there's still the potential for entertainment in this scenario given that no one else in Apartment 3-G ever met him, so they might decide that Tommie just made him up. Her trying to convince everyone that she was actually engaged to a guy they never met and he really did die and wasn't made up could be pretty great. Unfortunately it's probably not going to happen.
Mary Worth's Tommie the reformed drug dealer plot is still moving pretty slowly, and seems unable to make up its mind what exactly Tommie's problem is. Is he worried about slipping back into crime, or about becoming a drug addict (again?) or just about not being accepted because of his past? Whatever it is, his current struggle is whether or not he should get drunk or try to stay sober and get a job. I know what I'm hoping for.
Luann took a break this week from the main cast wittering on about the school dance to bring us everyone's least favourite recurring story, Brad and Toni want to spend the evening together but have to look after Toni's niece Shannon.
As far as I'm aware it's never been explained why Brad and Toni, two independent adults, have so much difficulty finding time to spend alone together, but they complain about it constantly, and every time they do get together it's ruined by either Shannon, TJ or both.
The other element of these vignettes is that Toni's brother is an unfit parent and therefore Shannon is boisterous and disobedient (but actually she seems pretty normal to me) and Brad and Toni do their best to ignore and neglect her as much as possible.
Their method this time involved locking themselves in a closet tohave sex make out chastely hold hands during a supposed game of hide and seek. Naturally this resulted in them becoming trapped in there.
"I hear you!" calls Shannon. "Come out!"
"Brad, what happened?" asks Toni, concernedly.
"The lock broke!" shrieks Brad.
"Shannon?" calls Toni. "Honey, we're locked in. Brad's calling a fireman friend to get us out. So just be calm OK? Shannon?"
Meanwhile, Shannon takes the opportunity to go through Toni's wallet.
For the first time ever it looks like Shannon might actually be doing something to justify Brad's poor opinion of her, but it turns out she was just getting a credit card to use to open the door. Oh, and Brad forgot to phone his fireman friend back so he turned up later.
Things have also been happening in Sally Forth lately. Hilary decided that her band, New Delhi Monkey Gang, needed a chart-friendly, non-werewolf song to get some attention, so she wrote You're So Party Let's Go Dancey. Faye and Nona reluctantly went along with it to a point, but a T-shirt and music video were considered to be taking things too far. Hilary had to be stopped.
"Okay, Hil." said Faye. "We're not gonna wear that shirt. We're not gonna make a video. And we're not gonna play 'You're So Party Let's Go Dancey' anymore... I think we need a new direction... and I think I need to take over the band for a while."
"What?!" cried Hilary.
"Nona already wrote the new band name on the drum kit." said Faye.
"Actually," said Nona, "I wrote it on paper that I taped on the drum kit. I know how whimsical we are."
I bring this up for several reasons. One, because New Delhi Monkey Gang was an awesome name. Two, I don't know why but I really love You're So Party Let's Go Dancey as a song title. Three, I really enjoy the Hilary-centric stories in Sally Forth. And four, today's strip reminds us that Nona is able to hear the thoughts of those around her and Hilary keeps forgetting she can do that, which is hilarious.
Mary Worth's Tommie the reformed drug dealer plot is still moving pretty slowly, and seems unable to make up its mind what exactly Tommie's problem is. Is he worried about slipping back into crime, or about becoming a drug addict (again?) or just about not being accepted because of his past? Whatever it is, his current struggle is whether or not he should get drunk or try to stay sober and get a job. I know what I'm hoping for.
Luann took a break this week from the main cast wittering on about the school dance to bring us everyone's least favourite recurring story, Brad and Toni want to spend the evening together but have to look after Toni's niece Shannon.
As far as I'm aware it's never been explained why Brad and Toni, two independent adults, have so much difficulty finding time to spend alone together, but they complain about it constantly, and every time they do get together it's ruined by either Shannon, TJ or both.
The other element of these vignettes is that Toni's brother is an unfit parent and therefore Shannon is boisterous and disobedient (but actually she seems pretty normal to me) and Brad and Toni do their best to ignore and neglect her as much as possible.
Their method this time involved locking themselves in a closet to
"I hear you!" calls Shannon. "Come out!"
"Brad, what happened?" asks Toni, concernedly.
"The lock broke!" shrieks Brad.
"Shannon?" calls Toni. "Honey, we're locked in. Brad's calling a fireman friend to get us out. So just be calm OK? Shannon?"
Meanwhile, Shannon takes the opportunity to go through Toni's wallet.
For the first time ever it looks like Shannon might actually be doing something to justify Brad's poor opinion of her, but it turns out she was just getting a credit card to use to open the door. Oh, and Brad forgot to phone his fireman friend back so he turned up later.
Things have also been happening in Sally Forth lately. Hilary decided that her band, New Delhi Monkey Gang, needed a chart-friendly, non-werewolf song to get some attention, so she wrote You're So Party Let's Go Dancey. Faye and Nona reluctantly went along with it to a point, but a T-shirt and music video were considered to be taking things too far. Hilary had to be stopped.
"Okay, Hil." said Faye. "We're not gonna wear that shirt. We're not gonna make a video. And we're not gonna play 'You're So Party Let's Go Dancey' anymore... I think we need a new direction... and I think I need to take over the band for a while."
"What?!" cried Hilary.
"Nona already wrote the new band name on the drum kit." said Faye.
"Actually," said Nona, "I wrote it on paper that I taped on the drum kit. I know how whimsical we are."
I bring this up for several reasons. One, because New Delhi Monkey Gang was an awesome name. Two, I don't know why but I really love You're So Party Let's Go Dancey as a song title. Three, I really enjoy the Hilary-centric stories in Sally Forth. And four, today's strip reminds us that Nona is able to hear the thoughts of those around her and Hilary keeps forgetting she can do that, which is hilarious.
2013-09-03
2012-06-20
Sally Forth
"Okay, Hil, you can do this..." thinks Hilary. "You can survive finals week. You can get through all your exams..."
"And then you can enjoy summer." thinks Nona.
"Wow, even I heard that!" says Faye.
"We're an unusual bunch, aren't we?" remarks Hilary.
Comic
"And then you can enjoy summer." thinks Nona.
"Wow, even I heard that!" says Faye.
"We're an unusual bunch, aren't we?" remarks Hilary.
Comic
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