Rip Haywire by Dan Thompson for April 29, 2020

Got grim in a hurry.

Rip is own his way. He will arrive just in the nick of time. I hope.

But who pulled the he trigger? Coltrane, or Jenkins?

Ka-WTF?

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the more Dan T amps up the detail of the artwork and the “true to the movies” adventure quotient of the strip the less fun it has become?

My first acquaintance with Rip was when a crudely drawn version of Rip and Cobra were involved in a gunfight with an unseen opponent. Cobra was complaining that Rip should not have broken up with her and Rip was telling her that this was not the time to bring that up. Then it turned out that the person shooting at them was Rip’s mother, saying she wanted grand kids.

I was sold on the spot, even more so when TNT showed up with his silky coat. The strip had it’s iconic art styling and could be relied on to give you at least three or four laughs each week, even though it only ran six days a week.

The stories were a sure place to find goofy fun!

Now we get well drawn but neither goofy nor fun dramas.

While I can recommend pointless fun, I cannot recommend pointless drama. What was the point of the completely un-fun Christmas murder mystery with Rip playing an obese Dick Tracy? Was Rip’s obesity supposed to be the joke?

And again, what was the point of the completely un-fun adventure in Blood Curdling Pass?

Now we are off on a new adventure, which again seems to have no jokes in it, much less laughs, only to see one of the core characters get shot.

I’m sorry Dan, but I am straining my imagination and I simply cannot imagine any way in which Sophia getting shot is funny.

That has to be Coltrane. He has that “goon” nose.

KA-NOOOOOO! /vadervoice

RJ, you just quipped while denying you would quip! You just lost any credibility non-quipping would have gotten you!

KA-QUIP!

NOOOOOO!!!!!! Not Sopapilla!!!! Please don’t kill her off!!

R.J. … There’s no easier way to say this, but… YES!!! Yes, you are becoming more and more like your dad with each and every strip.

Now, get ready to do what your dad would do at a time like this… Aim for the jaw!

OH! And never ignore the giggling knuckles. EVER!!!

Gee, I wonder how Jenkins convinced Coltrane to work for him…