Worst Independence Day Ever

It's a sad day in the history of your country when fucking Hi & Lois shows more fight and backbone than a majority of the people actually elected to fight and show backbone. This is a legacy strip, it's only goal is to stay the course, not ruffle feathers, and give readers a light chuckle (not a guarantee). Not upset the populace by suggesting that we might have to fight a tyrannical ruler again.

And look at their faces, with the exception of Trixie, the Flagstons absolutely know that fascism is here, several of their neighbors are Nazis and nothing set up to keep this from happening is going to work. Dot's thrilled to start fighting though.

August 23, 1966

Just to the front door? I would think you could make it to the mailbox or the street (whichever is further). Maybe the bathroom is further away. I could definitely make it to the street with toothpaste at my house.

It's amazing how the Fourth of July turns people into inconsiderate scofflaws. "Hey, my dog gets anxious with fireworks, can you go easy this year?" I'll make sure to point the loud ones at your house. "The neighbor down the street is a veteran with PTSD." Then he should understand that he fought for my right to shoot off loud noise makers. "Why are people shooting off fireworks? It's June 29th." It's our right and perfectly legal. All within the law (law says no fireworks until July 3 and 4). "Our city is thinking about banning fireworks." I'll still shoot them off. It's my right.

You're all jerks!

The Taekwondo Kid

August 15, 1966

It took me a second to realize that this guy is a Santa Claus. The "yo-ho-ho..." threw me off and the bad scan job. And is he holding a tambourine? Does this poor guy need money or is he just in the holiday spirit?

Santa Goodslob.

Wilberforce doesn't want to waste his summer learning martial arts when he just pays Hurricane Hattie $5 a month to be his bodyguard. He already wastes his weekend with his numerous sports teams. Wasting his Monday through Friday is a bridge too far.

Why do we do this "taekwondo" --> "taekwondon't" stuff? It's not taekwondoo, it's taekwondoh. It's like the old commercial "Sega does what Nintendon't." I get what you're doing, but it's wrong.

Such an Awkwardly Written Last Panel

June 24, 1966

There's a simple solution to this. Don't loan things out to your neighbor. They're your neighbor, not a friend. They may act all friendly and polite, but they'll report you to the city if your gutters so much as look at them funny.

Of course they all remember each other. They probably get together for lunch or something every couple weeks. Not to mention the trauma bond they all share.

At Least It's In a Vase

January 25, 1987

Why does Brutus look like he's really pulling one over on her and getting a bargain in the fifth panel? She's a businesswoman and probably kind of a sleazy one. Well, not sleazy, just looking out for number one.

I like the veil. Adds a layer of mystery that kind of makes the $25 worth it.

Ooh, a dandelion from your own yard. Yes, very thoughtful.

There actually is a Children's Day. It's an international holiday usually used to bring causes that highlight child welfare across the world to light. This year, in the United States, it is on June 8. Hopefully there are still dandelions around to give to Wilberforce that day.

A brief history of the Heber Institute posted yesterday. If you would like to support me or this website, you can click on the Support page.

Brutus Could Barely See the Parade Anyway

June 8, 1966

I'm going to assume that the joke for this strip is that he's an officer and has long forgotten what a lowly sailor likes or would want.

"Oh, Gob!"? Is this guy's name 'Gob'? As in, George Oscar Bluth as portrayed by Will Arnett in the cult favorite TV show Arrested Development? Does this lady know him or is Gob some sort of military codename?

July 4, 2011

Calm down. It's just a parade. Why can't Wilberforce just scoot past those four people?

When I first commented on this strip, I pointed out the person of color in the "crowd". That man would become Arnie, a beloved character who not only works with Brutus but also lives next door. Wait. Do all Veeblefester employees live in some sort of compound or enclave?

"Everybody Is Irish on Saint Patrick's Day" Is the Only Acceptable Cultural Appropriation Apparently

April 12, 1966

You know, if a boss offered this kind of ultimatum now, it would be accepted. One week of vacation? Hot damn!

I am a bit confused with what the woman is doing. Smoking? Does the boss not like cigarette smoke? I get it. But I am concerned about the guy with the dynamite plunger. Won't that kill you all?

Yeah, I'm not gonna do any of that. I feel this would just give the Irish an excuse to punch me.

If you would like to support me or this website, you can utilize the new Support page at the top of the page. Thank you for your support and readership!

Slab Crab

February 14, 2025

Sorry I was gone all week. I caused you to miss this lovely comic featuring Brutus and Gladys' last Valentine's as a married couple.

October 5, 1986

Who is this frog? Prince Andrew? How about you find a woman over the age of consent, and not, you know, a 9-year-old?

And this isn't going to be a One Froggy Evening situation. If that frog prince doesn't sing, Hattie will just play frog baseball with him or just throw him against a wall.

I mean, if Todd Sweeney has the best meat then paying his exorbitant prices is fine. I'm willing to pay a little more for fresh cut slabs of the best beef this side of the Ohio River from Todd Sweeney, the demon butcher of Fleet Street.

I posted a link on social media yesterday, but for those who may have missed it, Timmy and the Robot posted yesterday. If you would like to support me or this website, you can buy me a cup of coffee over on Ko-fi.

Mother Fruitcake

August 17, 1986

Is it me or does this not flow like it should? We don't see the man take Brutus' burger so it's like he's still just eating his own. I don't know. It just seems clunky.

Brutus was going to take the fruitcake to the county line and bury it in a shallow grave a few feet off a lonely and isolated road. Thanks, Uncle Ted, you just saved Brutus some gas!

The 2024 Year In Review posted earlier this week. It's not much, but it's honest work. If you would like to support me or this website, you can buy me a cup of coffee over on Ko-fi.

She Should Just Move In!!

February 4, 1966

I don't judge based on appearances. Maybe they are an orchestra. With four guitars. And no other instruments.

This comic actually seems like it would be a TV show back in the 1960s. Maybe on opposite My Mother, the Car. And like My Mother, the Car it would be canceled after one season.

What is Mother Gargle wearing? Is that a nightshirt? Is Mother Gargle the charwoman or laundress who stole Ebenezer Scrooge's clothes after he died? Tell Bob Cratchit I say "hi".

Worth a Shot, I Guess

February 3, 1966

Ooh. Don't like this. "Daddy's bridey"? "Surprisey for Daddy"? As much as I want that seemingly alive dough monster to smother them, I also feel they should be put on trial for crimes.

The pork butt should be good, right? I don't like spinach. I've never had the other stuff. Isn't this just soul food? That's probably the blandest soul food to ever be cooked. Gladys seems like someone who vastly under-seasons. Or over-seasons, which can also make food taste bad.

Out With the Old...

2024 YEAR IN REVIEW

2024 suuuuucked. Hopefully yours was better. Mine wasn't. And it's not even ending well either. Because of this year, I didn't get around to writing as much as I wanted to. I also didn't read as much as I wanted to. But 2025 will be better for both. Hopefully they let me have books, a Kindle, and my writing stuff in the Trump Camps I will inevitably wind up in.

Here are what I consider my better posts from 2024 in no particular order. The first is Harry Anderson's Sideshow, a look at the 1987 NBC special featuring Night Court's Harry Anderson running a carnival sideshow with several carnival acts and numerous celebrities. Next, The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope features a full week of catching up after a break including a pretty decent classic strip. Going back to the beginning of the year, I began posting classic Born Loser strips starting with the very first one from May 1965, plus Brutus has already decided 2024 is going to suck. Good call, man.

In Diner Dilemma, Brutus is tired of his regular diner but does nothing about it and his life remains unchanged. And finally, in Mother Strange, adults eat some bugs and Mother Gargle is mad...Mean mad!

Feel free to peruse all 258 posts from 2024. Hell, feel free to scroll through all 4,357 posts going back to 2008. Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen. I wrote and posted all of them and I'm fine.

As always, please share posts you enjoy, follow me on social media, and if you would like support me or this site, you can buy me a cup of coffee on Ko-fi.

February 2, 1966

Yeah, it's the arrows' fault.

I don't know what damage he expects to exert on these arrows, but I feel most of the damage will happen to the bow, which is also not at fault.

This guy seems drunk.

Brutus was back at Echo Glen Point back in 2023 for the new year. It was also the day the last Funky Winkerbean was published. Wait. Was losing Funky Winkerbean part of problem? God, I hope not.

I feel Brutus' 2025 will remain exactly the same as every other previous year. The worst things that will happen to him are bad food at the diner, Veeblefester threatening to fire him, and way too many visits from Mother Gargle. We should all be so lucky in 2025.

Everybody Wants a Log

January 25, 1966

I'm not a huge movie person, but did actors die on the set a lot back then? Is this why Russell Crowe wasn't in Gladiator 2? Did Paul Mescal kill him accidentally on set? Has anyone seen Russell Crowe in the last year or so?

Remember 2019? Before the world turned upside down? I had stopped doing Born Loser posts in May of that year but returned because 2020 happened and I was home a lot! So I never got to comment on this one or probably any of the others that we'll see this week. I am disappointed that we won't get an original Christmas strip this year though.

It's an artificial fireplace log, Brutus. It's not really going to burn.

Christmas On Marrow-Bone Ridge

Christmas on Marrow-Bone Ridge premiered December 3, 1962 and lasted for 18 installments. Distributed by Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), the strip was written and drawn by Walt Scott who was the cartoonist for The Little People. The Little People, an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of small people surrounded by normal-sized things. The Little People was a Sunday only strip and lasted from 1952 until Scott's death in 1970. Scott also did work on Captain Easy and did numerous Christmas-themed strips for NEA.

Merry Christmas

&

Happy Holidays

Did They Also Send a Newsletter About Their 2024?

July 27, 1986

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn entered the public domain in 1961(? I'm seeing conflicting dates and I don't care enough to investigate further) so if they are reimaginings, then they are fair game and kudos to nameless author here for getting his money. And if they are just word-for-word copies of the originals then that's really on the publisher, isn't it?

What I don't like is this guy writing Huckleberry Finn in the 1980s. Is he still using n-word Jim? That ain't cool.

I find it hard to believe that Wilberforce doesn't know what a Christmas card is. I'm also a little upset at Gladys' use of "back in the last century". But the last century was 24 years ago. I've spent more years in the 21st Century than I did the 20th. Now I hate this strip even more.

The Berwalds get another mention.

In case you missed it, I have an expanded post on Joseph Bartleson and his family of Tecumseh, Kansas, with the lovely obituary for 11-year-old Sylvia Bartleston included. If you would like to support me or this website, you can buy me a cup of coffee on Ko-fi.

Gift of the Magi

January 19, 1966

At least you took out another useless organ and weren't performing open heart surgery. That would be terrible.

The appendectomy is going to be comped, right? I don't feel insurance would cover it since it's a mistake.

Why is Brutus just getting Gladys clothes? I'm not knocking a nice pair of pants or whatever, but where's the imagination? I absolutely suck at buying gifts, but I can be somewhat thoughtful.