Gil Thorp by Henry Barajas and Rachel Merrill for May 13, 2016

Panel one, NO freckles?? Disappearing act! They went to go visit the Thorp kids!!!

Well, yes, Del, something like that.

If you were a bit less self-absorbed, kid, you might have noticed that one reason your Dad was late is that his car has been impounded and his license has been suspended. It takes longer to get to the games, when you have to take the bus from the Central City courthouse to get to them.

He might suspect something when his dad is missing from the house for a few days you would think.

In all reality , " Tell him if he keeps it up he’s going to go blind !

Ah ha. Young Master Bader’s discovery of Daddy Del’s shortcoming has led to an EES reaction. The sudden impact of Dad’s deviant behavior has been prolonged by legalese, extending the storyline and stymieing a shuddering, climatic finish.

How come the fathers in this strip are always such oafs?

I don’t understand why Barry has to go to jail for his father’s mistake. Central City has strange laws.

Barf Bader is so concerned about Grand Master Bader missing part of his game he’s gotten so pale his freckles are gone in P1. And what is that dripping down the outside of his glass? Can’t he keep his hands off himself long enough to take a drink?

P2. “Tell him what? That you can’t get yourself pregnant? Don’t worry so much. I did that a lot as a kid, too. Then I discovered drinking.

For years we thought that the sun causes freckles. Now, through the magic of Gil Thorp, in P3 we find out they really come from shocking news. You learn something new every day.

I hope all this bad news doesn’t mess up Barry’s stats. After all, that’s what’s really important.

P1…hey! this scotch tastes pretty good!

Mrs B knows that Barry is home and yet they’re having this super-secret conversation in normal uppercase non-italicized font.

P-1: Proof that yesterday’s comment on swollen hand was prophetic.P-2: Help Daddy Bader find his missing eye glasses. He already knows where his drink glasses are.P-3: One mistake = Jail! Time for a new hobby.

So is there a time lag between P1 and P2 or is Barry just talking to himself out loud? There’s no “Later…” box in P2, so I guess he just wanders around talking to nobody in particular.P3 – One mistake my ass. Bader’s been on big benders bi-weekly. Makes Moon’s martini marathons mighty meek.

Will Daddy Bader be “twice as tough” behind bars, or will he end up as his cellmate’s girlfriend?

P2 – Del looking all disheveled and putting his shirt and tie back on? “Aaaaaaaafternoon delight!” No wonder Master looks traumatized in P3, he accidentally got an eyeful of his parents getting it on.But what the hell is that thing on the table in P2? Is it a clock radio with an odd-shaped lamp coming out of it? Or a police scanner? Or maybe a device used to communicate with the aliens? And speaking of aliens, no aliens were harmed in the making of today’s Mopped Up Thorp.

@MOP: P-2-Why that’s the bedroom big Bader blender.