Famous Last Words

May 19, 1985

I swear these Sunday strips are thinkers. I guess this guy doesn't have a stutter but is using a stutter to make fun of Brutus. I applaud Brutus for standing up to this jerk. That kind of talk isn't necessary. It was wrong then, and it's wrong now.

If this was pre-1938, Wilberforce could get a job right now. I'm sure there's a factory or mine that would love to have him.

Lewis Hine, 1911.

Actually, maybe you could send Wilberforce to a farm. You can apparently work at any age if you're on a farm. I started working at 14. Food service--university cafeteria. Still, in my mind, the second best job I've ever had.

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Gladys Parker: Fashion & Mopsy

I've been fascinated with the comic strip Mopsy since I found a drawing that someone did of Mopsy on an old newspaper in an abandoned house. Mopsy was created by Gladys Parker, one of the few women cartoonists working in comic strips at that time. Mopsy was clearly modeled after Parker, who not only wrote and drew a comic strip but also designed and created her own clothes.

Gladys Parker was born in 1908 in Tonawanda, New York. She shaved two years off her age saying she was born in 1910. She moved to New York City to study fashion illustrating which led her into doing illustrations for a newspaper and then doing the comic May and Junie. Parker's big break came when she was given the reins to Flapper Fannie. She worked on Flapper Fannie, expanding the cast to include a little sister, Betty, and making Fannie look more like herself, from 1930 until 1935. Mopsy began in 1940 and it became her focus for the next 25 years.

Parker still did the occasional illustrated advertisement but, besides Mopsy, Parker worked diligently on her own fashion designs, designing, creating, selling, and even modeling her line of fashion that had Hollywood's seal of approval. Parker retired in 1965 and passed away due to lung cancer in 1966 at the age of 58. If you would like to read more about Gladys Parker, her comics, and her fashions, the wonderful book Gladys Parker: A Life in Comics, A Passion for Fashion by Trina Robbins is available on Amazon or you can order from your local bookstore.

The tag from one of Parker's dresses. The dress, a black and white vertical striped piece, is currently
in the Tonawanda Museum

Gay and Her Gang was a comic strip Parker did before being given Flapper Fannie. It lasted only two
years, 1928-1929.

Parker models one of her designs.

Parker's customized Ferrari with Mopsy on the door.

#Schulz100

Today would've been Charles Schulz's 100th birthday. The creator of Peanuts sadly passed away back in 2000 but his characters and inspiration live on today through the comic strips and television specials. There probably isn't a cartoonist alive that wasn't inspired by Schulz and the 92 comics that are celebrating his birth is testament to that. You can read all of the comics over at the Schulz Museum but here are a few of my favorites and a couple that didn't make the tribute page.

Agnes

Animal Crackers

Back In the Day

Broom Hilda

Curtis

Dark Side of the Horse

Diamond Lil

Dick Tracy

Drabble

For Better or For Worse

Garfield

Heathcliff

Mutts

Sally Forth

The Born Loser

It's Because of the Black Friday Act of 2007

August 18, 1973

Brutus is a really good artist--but only if he's drunk. Kind of like Curly being really good at boxing but only if "Pop Goes the Weasel" is playing.

No, it's because most people have Friday off so it just makes sense to have discounts on things so people will get out and shop for the upcoming holiday season.

But that's not why we're here. Why is Gladys at home? Are we supposed to believe this took place after Gladys went shopping? Is it 4 A.M. and Gladys is just about to head out? Maybe she stayed home and made Brutus bear the brunt of this capitalistic anarchy.

Only Gladys Has Legitimate Gratitude

August 17, 1973

Why would you even say that? Just say "Ok" and move on. I'm not even laughing at the actual joke but at Veeblefester's trust in Brutus. All Brutus has to do is not change a damn thing but instead Brutus will begin charging $8 a month for Tea Cozy Blue.

Mother Gargle was just there on Tuesday!

I've been very bombarded with being thankful and showing gratitude this year. I guess three years of pandemic does that to people. Anyway, I'm grateful for many things and am grateful I have so many great people in my life. From my family and friends to my coworkers and students. They all make me a better person. And I can't forget my dedicated readers--all 20 of you. May you all have a happy and safe holiday season.

H A P P Y    T H A N K S G I V I N G

Second Lunch

August 15, 1973

Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise. Or at least the paradise section of the pet store.

That macaw looks like he's lived through some stuff. I had a friends whose mom owned a bird. I don't know why you'd want a pet that could launch their body fluids across the room but she had one.

Instead of spending another giant chunk of money at a restaurant, just go down the block and pick up some fast food if you're hungry again.

And finish your wine before you leave.

Can't Get No Satisfaction

August 14, 1973

$70?!? You're spending way too much on the sun. Who's your sun guy?

I guess they do have the beach to themselves which is a nice perk.

Isn't him admitting defeat a win? Ugh. I don't care. What I do care about is that it's only Tuesday and Mother Gargle and Brutus are already fighting with each other. We still have four to five more days of this. Meanwhile, Gladys, Wilberforce, and us suffer.

Please don't fight. It's Turkey Jesus' birthday.

Thanksgiving Prologue

August 13, 1973

Just pour the gas on the car and throw a lit match at it, Brutus.

Those trading stamps aren't going to worth crap here in a couple of months, Gladys. We got a good old-fashioned energy crisis a-coming up in October which will cause a decline in the usage of trading stamps because stations would instead focus on lower prices to gain customer loyalty.

You're eating year-old leftovers? I don't think you should be doing that. I don't care how frozen it's been this whole time.

Brutus and the Waiter Are Wearing the Same Thing

I am no longer on Twitter. I knew this day was coming but I figured I had some time. I was honestly thinking it would crash and become virtually useless by the time I left but, yet, here we are. I've updated my Linktree to add a couple more places where you can follow me, Mastodon and my old Tumblr that I haven't updated since 2014. You will probably see me mostly on Instagram but who knows what the future will bring. It was a fun, yet traumatic ride while it lasted.

April 21, 1985

One of my favorite tropes is animals that talk but only when no one is around, refuse to talk when anyone else is around, or says things that it shouldn't. There's an episode of Matlock where Matlock is given a parrot that only says "Your mother is a jackass!". Reciting the Gettysburg Address is almost as good.

GoComics is still down. Here's the original black-and-white posted by Chip on the Born Loser Facebook Page. The wrong website went down.

What kind of movies does Brutus watch? Are there that many movies where someone sends back their food? I mean, it's kind of a trope but not enough of one to warrant it's own listing. Anyway, I hope Brutus is prepared for a fight when the chef barges out of the kitchen with a knife screaming about the steak being perfect.

If you would like to support my writing, research, and website, you can buy me a cup of coffee over on Ko-fi.