Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Dan Davis for January 21, 2025

So, you filled in for her now in a situation where you were both present, and where there was no logical reason to pretend you were her and claim a reward for an essay she worked on, just so you could immediately reveal your sisterly sleight-of-hand to a newspaper reporter whose ostensible job is to disseminate information to the public? Sure, makes perfect sense.

Where’s Crankshaft?

Too bad it wastes the readers’ time.

They fill in? Okay, Skippy, drop the Big One and make them fallout!

How much time did this HIGH-larious prank save yesterday? A few seconds? How much time did today’s explanation waste? It reminds me of some friends of my sisters when growing up. They were identical cousins—err, sisters. The only physical difference between them was a tiny beauty mark on one’s face. So, on April Fools, they’d cover up that with makeup, and add a fake one to the other, and swap bunk beds! They did it for years. It fooled their mother…Exactly never. Just a waste of time. And also makeup. These two, maybe age 20 or 14 or 8 or whatever age they are today would be wasting time whenever they set up this lame anti-joke. Maybe NOT dress in the same color-coded clothes? Kind of a a tip-off! Quarter inch from reality, people. (CUE TOMMY AND LOLGUYVER SPENDING THEIR TIME SCREAMING LOL)

So name both of them in the by-line, pin-up boy!

I remember when this was a good daily strip. Alas, those days are few and far between now.

Said in unison: “And as we’re sure you know, twins are interchangeable. We have no individual personalities, traits or even interests of our own.”

It seems that there are some sets of twins who just love switching for the hell of it. They just love to see the reaction from people when they spring this on them. Some day they (the twins) will meet someone who just doesn’t have a sense of humor and suffer the consequences.

It seems that there are sets of twins that love to get a reaction from people by making a switch. They think it’s funny to do this but there are some that don’t see the humor. I think this is the one time that it’s not funny.

Somehow I don’t think he’d appreciate this. At all.

And speaking as someone who’s an identical twin, we never did this. It’s hard enough convincing others that you’re two separate people without pulling stunts like this that just make it seem like you’re just two copies of the same person.

Good writing includes creating unique, independent, memorable characters. Here, we have two sisters who are so similar that they think of themselves as interchangeable (Right down to wearing the same style of clothes and hairstyle). Yeah, that sounds like a spellbinding story element.

Have these twins ever met the much younger twins who slave at Lil’s Illegal Bookstore?

It’s hard to tell them apart because one doesn’t have a Mirror Universe Spock Beard. (raises eyebrow)

If JJ hates this strip so much, then why is he here?

Fill in for what? This makes no sense for one to write an essay and put the other’s name on it.

Ha ha ha. Because April fool! Ha ha ha. Gotcha ya old goat. We indenteecal tweens sure fools you ya old goat didn’t we not. Ha ha. Ohwaitsaminute it still January. Oh well it make as much sense as this does anyways.

“And didja notice how our eyes are rapidly receding? We can make them completely sink into our skulls! Watch!”

Ah yes, the old identical twins making people think that they are each other trick. An oldie but a goodie.

Fraud.

The ole “switcheroo”!!!!!!

Not logical… if it’s a waste of time, why continue to follow the strip?

the way skippy stuck out his thumb i think he wanted one of them to apply rotation on there sugar plumb

dating should be interesting then

I wonder if their boyfriends can tell the difference.

Deceivers!

As a father of twins, I can attest to such attempts at shenanigans.

After two weeks say goodbye to Cranky for awhile

Twins do the “switcheroo” all over the globe—-it’s their main form of amusement