Recent Comments

1. 6 days ago on Annie

   Brass Bancroft of the Secret Service was played by young Ronald Reagan in four 1940s B movies (available from Warner Archive). But the fellow in the last panel looks more like Jack Holt, whose career lasted from silents to television (and is one of the stars caricatured in the cartoon “Mickey’s Polo Game”).

2. 16 days ago on Nancy Classics

   Wait — Wasn’t Rollo the normal-looking rich kid?

3. about 1 month ago on Doonesbury

   So begins the secret origin of … the Red Rascal!

4. about 2 months ago on Peanuts Begins

   Back when Violet was Charlie Brown’s sort-of crush, Lucy was a mostly harmless younger kid, and Schroder was a precocious toddler. In time they’d end up the same age.

5. 2 months ago on Tank McNamara

   … and the typo is in panel two. Sneaky.

6. 5 months ago on Super-Fun-Pak Comix

   Look up “Flatland” by Edwin Abbott.

7. 5 months ago on Dick Tracy

   Mysta was created with the face and figure of Moon Maid, Junior’s late wife. In fact, I think she was believed to be (even by herself) the original. Somehow hanging out with Junior and his present family feels like a setup for soap opera scandal — unless they’d already done that in a period (I missed some years before finding a reliable online source).

8. 5 months ago on Nancy Classics

   Didn’t they have a resident rich kid for money gags? Think the name was Rollo.

9. 5 months ago on Doonesbury

   Well, “bungled years” nicely describes the impact of the Republican-led House of Representatives. Afraid to do anything beneficial because it might make the government look good; unable to agree on a Speaker for any length of time; allowing a clown like Tuberville to publicly damage the military to impress a very few voters; and competing to see who can grovel most humiliatingly to avoid a mean tweet from Trump.

10. 5 months ago on Doonesbury

    For a stretch Doonesbury’s life was not fun: His wife left him and his career in advertising cratered. Trudeau found this handy for commenting on the economy and age discrimination but ultimately felt sorry for his titular character. A summer daydream — old college chum Bernie hires him and Mike starts a new life in Seattle — was suddenly revealed to be real life. Thereafter Michael Doonesbury prospered, remarried happily, started his own company, and saw his daughter turn out okay. This may or may not be his last summer daydream, but it’s an oblique shot at boomers — plus some older politicians — hanging on to power under the delusion they’re indispensable.