Red and Rover by Brian Basset for September 07, 2022

You can hear your tummy growl in the air-filled cabin of the spaceship.

Last week, Red said he’d be dragged, kicking and screaming, to the school bus.

Well, where’s the kicking and screaming?? The bus driver would just leave without him!!

Com’ on Red, let’s light this candle! Astronaut talk for let’s go, ha

Rover just wants to hog all the Tang and Space Food Sticks!

Just like the Far Out Space Nuts. “Lunch.” “Launch!”

That’s so cute! And the bus driver in the last frame! I love this one!

This is the cartoon I was remembering recently when I commented that a reference to Jaws from 1975 might have been outside the time-frame of this marvellously nostalgic strip whereas a reference to Alien from 1979 was definitely outside the time-frame. Someone agreed and pointed out that the time-frame seems to be around 1970.

Last year, Red spoke about The Fugitive as having not yet revealed the identity of the One Armed Man so that strip was set in 1967 at the latest. In another story arc last year, he used the phrase “Houston, we have a problem,” so that dated the story arc to 1970 at the earliest.

I have recently been referring to Tom and Jerry cartoons particularly a very recent series from 2019 which is the year these reprints date from. I compared a 2019 Tom and Jerry cartoon called “Farmed and Dangerous” to a 1949 cartoon called “Old Rocking Chair Tom”.In both cartoons, Tom and Jerry ended up as friends sharing food on a veranda.

I’ve remembered that “Farmed and Dangerous” was also used as the title of a Scooby Doo cartoon from 2005. Another Tom and Jerry cartoon from the recent 2019 season was called “Something To Crow About”. It also had a farm setting and showed Tom and Jerry joining forces against a living scarecrow. A 2015 Scooby Doo cartoon was called “Eating Crow” and had Scooby and his teenage companions investigating an apparently living scarecrow on a farm.

He may not be kicking and screaming, but Red still isn’t on the bus !!!

You do not see adults in the strip very often !

Red just can’t let gooo, but when he sees all his friends and that girl he likes, he’ll settle in…

The sooner you start a job you don’t like, the sooner you get done. Get on the bus kid, get on the bus.

the goodbye to Rover on first day back and school is precious. Don’t worry, Red – Rover will be waiting after school as he always has.

What is with all the repeats? Did Brian stop drawing the strip or…