Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson for July 03, 2021

I did a face plant at the beach when I was a kid. Every time I go to the beach, I swear, I can still taste it.

A wasp. Vespula vulgaris. Also referred to as a yellowjacket.

Young Dill is just a tad jealous of Andre.

Would she though, Dil?

Wasps and yellowjackets are two different species. Wasps are larger.

YES PETEY !! A freaking WASP ! Now GET OVER IT ! Geez !

Boys focusing on what matters. Sorry Alice. Keep Dil away from the sand though.

Poor Alice, about to have her dreams shattered.

Alice has big eyes for Andre.

Poor Dill. Some day someone will need some sand eaten and you’ll be the hero!

Petey is thinking about a wasp diorama and Dill is jealous of Andre, and Andre is strangely fascinated my a paper cup from McDonalds. Something tells me Alice is gong to be disappointed.

Sigh. If only someone would’ve explained to me, when I was younger, that there is a direct correlation between how much sand you can eat and how impressed a female can become!

This strip beautifully highlights each of these characters’ personalities.

He’s jealous!!

Alice to Dill: “Who do you think you are, Brad Pitt?”

(Brad Pitt is known for his sand-eating capacity; that’s why Jennifer Aniston has never gotten over him.)

Eating a bucketful of sand might not impress Alice, but it sure as heck would impress his proctologist…

Ironically, the movie the Mega-Gulp cup ties into is “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”

Disparate agendas. Dill’s jealousy deepens. The Dancing Queen wants heroic Andre to be her audience. Andre reveals his preference for collecting. Petey is still pondering, peteyishly….

Dill! Stop! NO SAND-eating!

Don’t do it, Dill. Don’t be a tragic hero…unless you have a new and exciting daredevil stunt, not the same old kid stuff.