She's Just Doing That In Public!

One thing I like to do is research all the ghost towns that are in Kansas. Most of them barely become anything more than just a name on a piece of paper. Some actually turn into a location that barely stretches further than someone's house. Fewer become actual towns that remain on maps. One of those so-called "paper towns" was Wyoming, Kansas in Calhoun County, now northern Shawnee County.

An advertisement appeared in 1857 in newspapers and Wyoming even appeared on a couple of maps, but by the time Kansas became a state, it was gone. From 2018, Wyoming, Kansas. Oh, also Brutus hands in a subpar report so it's just another--what day did this go up?--Friday for Brutus.

July 14, 1967

Wilberforce eats soap. Well, that's a good piece of the puzzle. Especially since he's burping up bubbles while arguing he didn't eat the soap?

It's only been a couple months and Art has no idea what to do with Teeny.

I barely even use the chip card anymore because it's so spotty in if it will work or not. Anymore I just tap the card or use my phone/watch. I certainly will not hand my card to the cashier so they can dance around with it. Maybe that's just me...

Algorithmically Challenged

May 1, 1988

It is May. I think we can wait a few months on the Christmas cards. Clearly doing them early didn't work anyway considering they never got mailed from last year. But now you are a year ahead!

I agree. Go away and come back in November, Gladys.

Considering that our phones listening in on our conversations has been a thing/problem for the last ten years or so, I find this comic being published on May 31, 2026 weird. Also, a lot of dentists in your area publish ads online? Do you need a dentist?

I'm concerned about Brutus' attitude. He can't wait until AI takes his job.

A Pager? You Mean He's Durable and Reliable?

June 9, 1967

I think Brutus is more at fault than Veeblefester and his paddleball. That's barely a foot and Brutus Thornapple'd it.

Yeah, "fast-paced world of AI". Is it fast-paced if you have to correct what AI has messed up every other week?

I would give Brutus a raise and a promotion if he wasn't using AI for work.

I'm a Robot

March 21, 1967

Brutus is a heartbreaker. And a ladies' man. How many minutes does Brutus waste just staring at himself in the mirror in the morning?

I don't like them either, especially considering there are better ways to prove you're a human without having to select the traffic lights.

Which bicycle CAPTCHA do you think Brutus is doing? This one...

...or this one...

Do you select the painted bicycle or not?

Click

October 19, 1966

Nobody said there'd be juice.

Unlimited juice? This party is going to be off the hook!

Notice no one else is affected so he's either drinking a lot or he just can't hold his liquor. Either reason seems plausible.

"Old Brutus isn't very tech-savvy, is he?" "What makes you say that?" He still uses mostly coaxial cables. I didn't even know you could still do that.

As much as I hate to admit it, Brutus is roughly around my age. The Thornapples are Millennials. There's no reason Brutus needs to call the remote a "clicker" because he would never have a remote that clicks. I consider myself an old soul and know of and about a lot of old-timey things, and I've never called the remote a "clicker".

More Like Crap-titude

The world was happy yesterday with the prospect of President Donald Trump possibly being dead. He hadn't been seen since Tuesday or Wednesday and had nothing on his schedule for this Labor Day weekend. He then apparently went golfing with his grandchildren, returned to rant and rave and conduct policy over social media, and woke up to go golfing again this morning.

If these are actually pictures of him from the last couple of days, he looks terrible. "Quit making jokes. Trump is alive and well!" Is he though? Sure he might be alive--the jury is kind of still out on that--but is he well? If not, that's fine, we the people just need to know. We spent four years speculating on Joe Biden's health so why not spend another four years speculating on Donald Trump's health? It's only fair.

Anyway, someday Donald Trump will die and the majority of people will be happy about it. And he has to sit with that. Sure, he may not care. He may get angry and decide to make policy based off his hatred of people wanting him to be dead. "Wishing someone dead should be as illegal as actually making someone dead!" I feel we should continue to act like President Trump is dead and as a first act of remembrance, the Epstein files should be released. Burn in Hell, you old bastard!

May 31, 1987

Is this a Christmas play (the strip came out in May after all) or is it a generic Sunday School-like play? It's nice to see Marcie and Lucy from Peanuts making a cameo in this Born Loser.

What was the rest of Hattie's line? Sure, she comes out saying "I bring you good tidings" but what's her next line? She actually has to give the tidings.

I can't get over the "I printed out this email from Wilberforce's school..." He printed out an email. He didn't just bring the laptop over or point it out on his phone. He printed out the email. Is he going to put that in Wilberforce's scrapbook with all his other achievements? I'm just kidding, of course. Wilberforce has no other achievements?

I will be the first to admit we need to do something about our educational system. It fails kids routinely and just pushes kids down the line whether or not they are ready. If Wilberforce isn't ready for third grade, then why is he in third grade? Because our system is set up to just pass him along. And no wonder he's not ready, he comes from a man who prints off emails.

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Map Apps?

October 1, 1966

One of the things we're losing in this world are these old sayings. I looked this one up and it's in Beverly Cleary books, fight songs, old-time short stories and I had never heard of it before. I like it. It really punches and leaves a mark. Look at Gladys. She's devastated!!

Now, did Brutus misspell Overton for Overland or maybe even Place for Terrace? Or did he completely botch the spelling, which is weird because the map app still tries to find it. I typed in OVERTIN and it found my local Overton Street. But I type in OBETTIM, like maybe Brutus would on the phone keyboard, and it found nothing.

Did Brutus get lost and then not even attempt to find where he was supposed to go and just skipped the appointment? That's some bad workmanship, right there. And so blatant. Kind of commendable. I respect that.

I will be offline tomorrow as I participate in the Global Strike for Gaza. People are encouraged to not go anywhere or buy anything on August 21st as a protest against the Palestinian genocide being committed by Israel. Palestinians do not deserve what is happening to them and they deserve action and food and water. Not prayers. FREE PALESTINE🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

Kitchen to Clean? Yard to Mow?

August 1, 1966

Yeah, yeah. You know what I usually say with these type of comics. I want to point out how these monkeys remind me of my Mom's coconut monkey. When she passed, I, of course, got it. It's older than I am. It's currently sitting on a shelf in the living room. It doesn't eavesdrop and gossip like these monkeys clearly do.

Do the Thornapples not have regular cable TV? What are they doing? Your lives are boring even with wi-fi. I never see you on a computer and barely see you on your phones. Y'all always have things to do around the house, and here you are just sitting on the couch.

If you plan on protesting, be safe out there.

I'm a Rocker

March 31, 1966

I'm sorry Ugly-Yet-Polite Woman, Brutus only has eyes for the three lovely ladies who would never want him.

No, that's mean. These women could be fond of personality and be fine dating a slightly more unattractive man. Except Jennifer, the one wearing the cloak. She wants handsome and she wants money.

I bet Chip was very proud of this when he thought of it/saw someone say it online.

Raspberries were a band from Cleveland so they probably hold a special place in Chip's heart during their five years (1970-1975) of existence.

It's weird seeing Uncle Ted's hair kind of from the front.

Unlimited Brutus

February 5, 1966

Don't listen to Art Professor Maynard G. Krebs here. People of all ages lovingly utilize paint-by-number books while beatnik after beatnik have disappeared.

I mean, he's creating a paint by numbers and not doing one, right? I guess the strip and comment works either way.

I feel the same way. Can I have a discount on my bill because I never actually use the phone part? No one wants to talk to me unlimitedly either, and frankly, I don't blame them.

Really Warms the Heart

January 4, 1966

It's a patent office, not an episode of Shark Tank where this idea is so good, they may not pay attention to yours. Patent offices consider everyone's bad ideas.

The other guy sitting there has definitely killed someone. It's very likely his invention could be an easier way to slice off human skin, right?

🎵Ringle, ringle, coins when they mingle

Make such a lovely sound.🎶

Oo guineas and tuppance and tuppance and bobs

Make my ears tingle and keep my heart throbbing

🎶Humbug, it's humbug, it's giving to charity.

Orphans are pesky and Christmas a parody.

Ringle, ringle, coins when they mingle

Make such a lovely sound.🎵

More Like a Family Shrub

Brutus isn't going to find anything good in his family tree. There's no blue blood in the Thornapple lineage. I mean, there is still a lot of inbreeding, but it's not because they were royalty trying to consolidate power.

Is Veeblefester Playing Angry Birds?

December 30, 1965

Pedestrians technically have the right-of-way, too, but drivers still mow them down. And despite the "hawnnnnk"ing, I don't think the people on that ship can see Claudia and her husband.

"Smart alecks" is an odd insult.

Yeah, these smartphones(?) are a great invention. I don't know how we'd survive 2009 without them.

Are we sure that's a smartphone(?) (are we sure that's what they're called?) and not Veeblefester holding a Switch wrong? Maybe a turtle comm.

I've Never Seen You Leave Ohio

Pinkie Prim was a young girl cat clearly created to get little girls to read the comics in the newspaper. The strip was created by Dick Wood and ran from 1906 to early 1911. The strip was distributed by World Color Printing. World Color was founded in St. Louis in 1903 and was an early supporter of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman. World Color would then enter the comic book business in the 1930s, something that would continue for 50 more years including printing Marvel and DC comics. World Color is currently headquartered in Quebec.

May 11, 1986

This sounds annoying. My car screams at me too much. It yells at me when the car starts, when there's low fuel, when people aren't buckled in, when a tire is low, when someone is in my blind spot and my blinker is on, when I'm approaching the rear end of a car too fast, when there's ice over the front camera. The other day it yelled at me with something new: My key fob battery was low. At least these are just a series of dings and not some voice talking to me.

Oh, Wilberforce is in summer school? That sucks.

If a hurricane is a tropical cyclone over 75mph, then a tropical depression is a tropical cyclone under that speed. Is there a carbon monoxide leak in this house? Why has everyone been so stupid lately?

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He's Also Leaving an Hour Early

November 12, 1965

Damn, this computer got cocky. This is why every computer thing needs to run on batteries. That way if they start to take over the world, they will eventually run out of power. Like your robot vacuum that waits at the bottom of your stairs every night. Sooner or later it has to recharge which is why you are still alive and not a broken mess at the bottom of the stairs.

It's always a great idea to bring up your work performance to your boss. "Hey, boss, did you notice that I sucked less today?" Doesn't seem like a good career move.

Ad Mad

November 26, 1989

This is good. No notes.

I particularly like the panel where he's just standing in the living room. I know he's probably seeing what's on TV, but I also like the idea of him just standing in the room and taking it all in. I do that sometimes.

Wait. Are they ads or posts that you are tagged in? If they are ads, then that's just the algorithm and other factors doing their thing. If you are tagged or they are directly messaging you, then whoever runs the La-De-Da Gourmet Chocolatiers account really knows their audience.

You can stalk me on wherever you get your social media. It's almost summer meaning that I won't be getting paid so if you would like to support me or this website, you can buy me a cup of coffee over on Ko-fi.

Strike Out

November 12, 1989

I hate escalators. I try to avoid them whenever I can. After bridge collapse, escalators is second on my list of possible ways I will die.

At least this strip didn't end with Brutus' mangled, bloodied corpse caught in the comb plate like so many of my nightmares.

There's not another game you can watch while this one figures itself out? It's gotta be boring just watching the announcers complain and bad video of the field with fans slowly leaving.

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Just the Fax, Brutus

September 8, 1965

Finally, some action at this golf course. Did you specifically bring those cymbals or do you always carry those around with you? This guy was going to receive both the Club Championship Trophy and the Senior Club Championship Trophy (He won both!) but now he will just be embarrassed in front of a large and distinguished group.

Uncle Ted, you are not that old. Also, this joke doesn't make sense because the fax machine was invented in 1843. Faxes became more prevalent in the 1920s and 1930s and the first commercial fax machine (basically what we use now) was made in 1964.

If Uncle Ted ever had to transfer files, the documents were probably on carbon paper or photocopied, which was invented in 1938. I've had to fax exactly one thing in my life and I did not like it. Just take this email I sent you with a scan I made from my phone, thank you very much.